Yes. I’m actually working on structuring my life to do this right now. It may or may not be a permanent decision.
I’ve spent the last 5 years working too hard to keep a struggling business going (and a lot of years in the corporate world before that), and I’m completely burned out and NOT ready to return to the corporate world full time, so I’ve been trying to set things up so I can take some time and figure out what I want to do next.
Basically I’ll be living on the TIME side of the time/money trade-off for a while, instead of the other place where I’ve lived for years.
To achieve this, I:
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Cut expenses.
Cable TV: gone (well, I have antenna service: $14/month.
Magazine subscriptions - a lot of them have lapsed. I can go to the library/bookstore if I really want to read them.
I never really did have a lot of other monthly expenses - I’m a pretty low maintenance girl. Get a haircut at SuperCuts every few months, don’t get my nails done, hair colored, legs waxed or anything like that. My gym costs less than $200/year so that’s not a biggie.
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Spend much less money.
Can’t remember the last time I went shopping for “designer clothes.” (also can’t believe I wore a fancy suit every day for years.) Clothes shopping is now a few basic things at Target every few months. Helps that I have closets full of stuff from the yuppie days.
Cook for myself instead of prepared food. Even eating steak is less costly than frozen entrees, and better for me. Easier now 'cause I have the time. Also helps that my best guy friend takes me out a lot and always refuses to let me pay for anything ever, so I never feel deprived. (I do time-intensive things for him, so it works out pretty well.)
Will be traveling around by car this summer to visit/catch up with a lot of friends, so less expensive AND great to have the time to reconnect.
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Sold a bunch of stuff. Now I’m not as cluttered AND don’t have to pay for extra storage space.
I was able to buy a small, modest house last year and pay cash for it, so I have no mortgage (only Property TAXES!). It’s in town so I can walk to a lot of things, even though I do have a car, so I only buy gas every 2 weeks or so. Didn’t put AC in my house, but got a used room AC. We’ll see if I survive the summer.
I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been able to take my “nest egg” and invest in a couple rental properties that should generate enough income to pay for the basics (property tax, insurance, food) and I plan to work enough on a project or part-time basis to pay for any “extras” I want: trips, new computer, etc. I also have everything I need for my house (furniture wise, etc.) thanks to all those years (20+) of working and living fairly modestly.
I do have some projects going now (some loose ends from my business, a small house I’m re-habbing, etc.) so I’m not just sitting around the house.
Basically I’m working to design my life as “simple” - for the mental relief as much as the $ savings - but it doesn’t feel deprived. So far it feels pretty good. Now I’ve got to learn what I want to do with the new free time (already doing some volunteer work, etc.). My sense is that after a while I’ll go back to being a bit more “mainstream” (in the work sense) but probably never back to where I was, because it’s just not worth it to me any more. The best possible situation that I could eventually design would be to do some kind of project work that would pay well but I could have time off between projects. May be consulting, may be more of the house rehabbing or something seasonal (summers, Christmas). Time will tell. Already I’m feeling much more realxed about things, like I’m getting back to my old self again and not that stressed out harpy that I felt I was too many days.
What would be hard for me to give up?
Probably the car, given that I’m in the US. And mobility is so tough otherwise.
What would I do to cut expenses further?
Give up my cable internet connection if needed.
Start making gifts for friends and family instead of buying them. Or, more of what I’ve started doing, which is finding things at flea markets and antique shows, etc. that are unique and individual but inexpensive. Again, a benefit of not having to work all the time is that I can search around for stuff like this.
Give up the gym and just walk/run more.
Take in a roommate in my house (being very selective, of course).
OR, move into the small apt. I now rent and rent out my house instead. Nice option to have, I know.
Other big discoveries:
There are a lot of resources out there that cost nothing or next to it to take advantage of.
For example, the library is great. Can read magazines, books, borrow tapes and videos, get on the internet.
I’ve missed my friends that I’ve drifted away from because I was too busy and have been trying to reconnect with, and they’ve been delighted to hear from me. (Or at least that’s what they say!
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This is long and rambling, and perhaps not a fair example because it hasn’t really involved much sacrifice (or felt like it), but that may be just because I’m enjoying my simpler life so much more. Anyway, this is one woman’s example/experience.