Comments on: Is Living Cheap Really Worth It? Ask Alan and Bob

By: Marie

Marie — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:20:51 +0000

I noticed a typo: “At age 30, Alan has been living a much nicer life than Alan” – should be “than Bob.”

By: Rozann

Rozann — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:17:45 +0000

Years ago while living in WA state we knew a family, Dad was an othodontist, mom was a stay-home-mom, three children. Mom wore the same dress to church every Sunday the four years we lived there. I found out that she was frugal in many ways. I wondered what they did with his good income. After we moved away and began receiving their annual Christmas letter, it became clear. She was frugal in those ways so they could spurge on a winter skiing vacation to Austria, or a week long stay at Disney World, or a family trip to Hawaii. They took there children on fantastic vacations, and have them the gift of experiences. She was not interested in clothes, jewelry, shoes or any other “show off” sort of consumerism. What a lesson!

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:03:49 +0000

Terry #4. Get a second job, or get a BETTER job, sell some superfluous stuff, start a part time business in your spare time from your minimum wage job. do some baby sitting or dog walking to earn extra money. WHAT KIND OF A DEGREE, FOR WHICH YOU ARE DROWNING IN STUDENT LOAN DEBT, prepares you for a minimum wage job? Sounds like there is a problem with which you are not dealing. A person who makes only minimum wage is a student, or an adult with no sense or ambition, anyone can make more than minimum wage if they want to earn more money. Get work cleaning houses, weeding gardens, pick up aluminum cans and recycle them for money, DO SOMETHING!

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 17:48:15 +0000

Realistically speaking, both of the characters in this little story are living very high lifestyles.

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 17:45:07 +0000

You should be setting aside 20%, not 10%.

the reason you do it is that your future earnings are not guaranteed and you need to pay for retirement.

If you can’t afford to put 20% aside by the time you are 30 then you are on alert that you are in financial trouble and need a plan to get out of it within the next 5 years or so.

By: Claire Fuller

Claire Fuller — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:55:08 +0000

I’ve been saving 10% ever since I was a school teacher at 24 yrs old making 20K/yr. My 403B mutual funds don’t make that much.
Although my realestate did quite well during the boom.

By: rk

rk — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:24:30 +0000

this is a good article, and I believe in setting aside 10% of your income yearly (more if you can afford it), but the problem is that few IRA’s pay 10% (most are 7 or 8%) and the market fluctuates a good deal. Also, there are very few industries where you can count on a yearly 4% raise.

By: liko

liko — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:06:31 +0000

I was a below average student and was making $60k at the age of 25. Pretty much all my friends from school (average state college – WSU) made over $50k by the time they were 25. All it takes is a 4 year degree in MIS, Computer Science, or any Engineering major and it almost guarantees you that kind of a salary by the time you’re 25.

Or, if you don’t like school just an union electrical apprenticeship and you’ll be make close to 80k by the time you’re 25 (my brothers did that).

By: Reality

Reality — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:01:00 +0000

What about REAL people who only make 20-25K per year??

“Let’s take a look at Alan and Bob. Both are 25 years old, both are making $50,000 a year, and both will be receiving 4% raises each year.”

OK, What Planet are Alan and Bob living on?? I can’t be Earth because I dont know of ANY 25 year olds with jobs that pay $50,000 a year!!

By: divorced guy

divorced guy — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:15:57 +0000

You left out the part about “live without the extras, save and invest, pay off the house early” and THEN get raped by the court system as the ugly EX wife, who never made a mortgage payment or paid a bill, gets 90% of the house equity, 35% of your income, and lives like a queen, while you eat dogfood, suffer bad health care, and live in a trailer house for the next 20 years. FORGET SAVING! Spend it…at least you’ll get to enjoy it SOMETIME in your life!

By: Shauna

Shauna — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:45:50 +0000

The principle makes a lot of sense, I just believe it can be taken further. I’m currently contemplating a career change that would allow me to make just about what “Alan” and “Bob” are making at the same age. The difference is that I am used to living on about $25,000/year and I intend to continue to do so and put the additional $25k towards debt reduction and savings. About 10 years of this will allow me to buy the loft of my dreams and enjoy a comfortable mid-life as well as retirement.

By: Joel

Joel — Wed, 02 May 2007 19:20:14 +0000

Great Article.

Terry, Sell things on Ebay, Day trade, maintain a blog. Find something you’re good at that you enjoy that doesn’t take too much time out of your day, and use it to earn a supplemental income. Also, take advantage of any government programs for low-wage earners to lower your expenses or increase your income.

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 08:29:36 +0000

I earn my state minimum wage and have student loan payments to make. How am I supposed to spend less than I earn and invest the rest???

By: Wanda

Wanda — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 03:12:44 +0000

I always think that “I’ll never look as good as I do now… so I better get that cashmere sweater!” But (usually) the voice of reason wins out. ;)

By: Harm

Harm — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 22:16:31 +0000

The column doesn’t say you shouldn’t spend ANY
money when you’re young, just that you should save
10%. One other thing, is Bob spending 10% of the
income from his savings? If that is an IRA, it might
be hard. Much better to keep reinvesting….
Living like the grasshopper in the fable, eh, Erik?
Believe me, when you’re 60 or 65, you (MOST likely)
won’t be quite ready to “bask in the recliner”, LoL

By: Erik

Erik — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 20:57:49 +0000

What about the argument that you’ll get more enjoyment out of your money while you’re young and spry (when you can travel or skydive or party) than you would when your body is rapidly disintegrating and all you want to do is bask in the recliner (should you even make it that long…)?