I used to do the same thing as you–pay my basic bills only, put gas in my car and food on the table, and leave the rest in the bank. Because of this I saved up $2100 in 3 months, enough for half the down payment on my condo (where I still live today). I definitely need to get back into that lifestyle, instead of my current “pay the bills and spend the rest” thing I’m doing. I’m also in my early 30′s, married with no (living) children. (I was pregnant but my daughter was stillborn when I was 7 months along.)

But again, good for you, very inspiring!

@ John, unfortunately, you might be right. I find that money, what you do, etc seem to rank highest on lists reasons why people will date you. LOL! My hang up is my love for service particularly in developing nations. It’s not something I ever want to “grow out of”. All the best to you!

First, I must apologize for an omission in my savings. I mentioned savings after net income. The way I define net income however is after taxes and after my 401k/IRA. If I took the retirement savings into account, which are all in stocks, and related it to gross income, my savings is actually 57%. Because roughly 24% went to taxes, my lifestyle consumes only 19% of my gross income. Needless to say, when realize I pay more in taxes than for my rent, food, utilities, vehicle, and entertainment combined, I cringe.

A few of people are thinking that a person who is not spending money is not happy. This is an interesting hypothesis but fails testing on the only subject that matters to me – me. If I loved yachts then not being able to afford sailing might make me unhappy. However, I enjoy doing things that don’t require spending money. These include talking with friends, walking around town, volleyball at a local church, basketball at the park, and reading books from the library.

And then there are habits I have that compound my frugality. I intentionally live close to work and bike most days. I unplug my washer and dryer when I don’t use them. I recycle. I donate my most valuable resource, time, to my favorite causes because it means more to me. But not everything I do is practical. I don’t like automatic billing because I like to be able to know where all the dimes go and when. I’ll sacrifice some of the convenience for control.

Saving money doesn’t make me happy. It makes me comfortable and optimistic towards the future. As to talking about finances with a significant other, I can’t really say. I’ve never had that conversation so I can’t offer any advice as Trent can. The only thing I do, right or wrong, is not advertise my net worth to people. I want people to like or hate me for who I am. Maybe that’s why I’m still single, ha ha ha!

Even after the few months, that money would be triple had I invested in the stock market instead.

Sometimes I feel like a chump for not buying the McMansion or living it up a little more.

For starters, I don’t think it’s quite right to say “money doesn’t bring him any happiness right now”. I think the 47% of John’s income that he does spend covers both necessities and happy-stuff so part of it is buying happiness now. Why would he need to spend more when he’s sufficiently happy at the present time with the amount he’s currently spending on happy-stuff?

To answer your questions, think of it this way : Discretionary money represents gratification that can be unleashed now, a year or 30 years from now and on whatever catches your fancy, then or now. It’s a personal choice. For example, some may choose to spend money on a fancy car now while others may choose to save for a trip to Mexico, retirement or the unexpected. All are or will be receiving gratification; the spenders immediately now, and the savers sometime in the future. Can savers spend some savings now for immediate gratification? Yes, they can and many do — there’s been many recent news articles on savers raiding 401(k) accounts and while all received gratification from doing so, those who raided for essentials probably received gratification of a different flavor than those who raided for fun stuff. I note that had these savers been spenders to start with, they wouldn’t have had a 401(k) to raid.

IMO, John’s more of a saver-by-default than a put-the-last-dollar-in-the-bank saver; he just makes too much money for the lifestyle he leads so he banks the excess.

I’m not sure I can explain this any better.

Life is all about choices and it sounds to me like John is making excellent financial choices without compromising his happiness or values. Congrats!

Here’s the gist of what I’m trying to get at: if money doesn’t bring him any happiness right now, why would a huge pile of it later on in life give him any gratification at all? Whatever he wants to spend it on later—can’t he spend a little of it now on that very same thing?

@ Demi (comment #32) : Bowerbird?

John – Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity! There are people out there who can truly find value in themselves, rather than the latest gadget! It is obvious that you understand the meaning of life and how to live simply (not just simply live). You should share your story with kids heading off to college so they can shred those credit card offers and have a future!

John,
Congrats on living a responsible lifestyle.
But more importantly, your ideal death is absolutely classic.
A SciFi fan, I take it.

For all of the commenters that seem worried about John being Scrooge-ish, it seems to me that someone willing to spend $300 for a gift for another person is hardly a Scrooge.

Keep up the good work!