[LuxLiving]

I agree, disneysteve, that because we as a group try to live below our means that gives us an edge.

With the push of a couple of keystrokes we could pay off our house out of our MM fund and w/our current level of expenditures be able to live on under $10,000.00 a year, which our retirement money could provide for a goodly number of years (not adjusted for inflation purposes). And that's for four adult people living in a nice, heat/cooled home. Would it be easy or living 'well'? Doubtful. Hubster would have to quit work as we couldn't afford a lot of gas, or car insurance, but he's close to retirement anyway.

Yearly
3720.00 utilities including cable tv & internet & landline
660.00 house taxes
1000.00 house insurance
3600.00 food which is an increase over what I spend now!
_______
$8980.00 which would leave 1,020.00 for clothes, gifts, & any taxi rides, plus medical & dental expenses. Not ideal, but in my mind it helps me as a woman who hasn't worked outside the home in a good number of years a bit of comfort level thinking that I could possibly get a job to keep a roof over our heads & the wolf of hunger from our bellies if push came to shove.

Shanks mare would have to be put to footing it though!

That he keeps working helps us pay for life insurance on him, health insurance for the two of us (the boys pay their own), and we get to travel some and have money for some of the niceties that life has to offer. Two nice paid for recent vehicles currently sit outside, with money put back to replace them. I'm feeling okay. Not elated, but Hubster did just recently get a raise. Maybe a bit 'antsy' but that's thinking the entire U.S. economy is a house of cards that could implode upon itself and take everyone down with it. Thanks alot you fear mongering media types!!

Oh yeah, my 2 1/2 acres would have to go back to a jungle motif as I couldn't afford to keep it mowed, but yeah, in a crash situation, we'd be okay.

For now, I'm like many of the rest of you here. I try to keep mindful of our spending habits and cut the corners where I can. Gas has been a pain in the bohunkis this month though. However today I see that gas in our neighborhood has dropped by 2 cents a gallon! Ehh, for this, I should be thrilled??? Not!

**The reason our taxes and house insurance are so low is that buying less house than the realtors say you can afford thing!