Starters: $1 per meal, see http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com ; creative use of http://Zillow.com or http://Trulia.com can find undeveloped building lots for under $2000.
(Naysayers, this subthread isn't for you.)
In a city, this would at first seem impractical. But if you cut back to a much smaller vehicle, there is generally safe free parking to be found at night. Especially if your friend has an apartment, but doesn't use the parking. Gym membership for showers, kitchen at work, maybe a games room. You really only need a box to live in most days.
This would let you pull in high wages, living low and gathering savings, then retire to the country to bootstrap your amazing SaaS business.
Oh fantasy.
Back in reality, I currently rent a bedroom from a fairly rich family. Especially during the winter, I save a huge amount on bills. The only problem is the lack of private space, but temporarily that's fine.
an email that I made: specialemailforthisrightnow@gmail.com
I keep good track of what I spend, and live pretty frugally, so here's some info on "what's possible" (assuming a single person living in the midwest US).
I eat for ~$90 a month (oatmeal, fruit, beans and rice, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti, chicken once a week, ground beef once a week).
I pay:
-$200/month for rent and utilities (live in a house with 4 others guys in midwest collegetown). And it's a decent sized place with cable internet, so you could probably get cheaper (though likely not on the east or west coast).
-$30/month for cell phone plan.
-Computer was homebuilt from parts and is 4 years old.
-$200/year for clothes/toiletries.
That comes to about $11 a day.
Now, my expenses or higher because I opt to have health insurance, a car, travel, and go out every now and then.
It's the health insurance, living in high cost-of-living places, car, going out, and travel that makes your goal difficult.
As an aside, why I know this type of lifestyle is not for me and why I find it so alien...
"-$200/year for clothes/toiletries"
...is blown in one quarterly trip to Aesop.
Chances are he would find a date who has similar interests - and there are lots of free things to do, walks, parks, bike rides, picnics (grab something from the dumpster at Subway before you leave)
People are very wasteful. Just because something goes into the trash doesn't mean its without utility. It just means someone decided it didn't have any utility for them. Many perfectly fine things go into the trash everyday. Letting them rot in a landfill instead of being recycled seems way more distasteful than a smell that will wash right off.
If you are going to try it, the first rule of dumpster diving is to leave the site in better shape than when you found it. If you make a mess, you clean it up. Its the decent thing to do, and helps keeps the neighbors calm. Its an oddly invasive act, as peoples trash is basically a story of their life, so anything that soothes people about you going into a dumpster is good.
Personally, I did it largely for the sense of adventure. Its like a modern day treasure hunt. The fact that I was able to furnish my apartment very richly for nothing was a bonus.
Once you've got housing/transportation knocked out to your satisfaction 400 a month is pretty much living like a god damn king.
0) Find a reliable car. This seems like a no brainer, but honestly some cars are just _built like tanks._ This is the toughest part as you'll end up spending more money since these cars naturally hold their resale value a bit better.
Find something like an older Toyota with an S engine [Camry], or perhaps a Volvo, etc.
My rule of thumb? If you don't get search results for "[Car in question] + 300,000 miles" -- you're about to buy the wrong car!
My Mustang has 300,000mi+ on the clock, my old minivan had 240,000, and it's not hard to imagine my Camry making it to 300,000mi
if I continue to maintain it.
So be aware that you're effectively making a bet that the part you're buying isn't a dud. Otherwise you're going to find out
why they charge such a ridiculous markup. (Hint: the shop won't make you wait 2 weeks while their parts supplier processes the RMA. --
They swap in a brand new part in 24 hours, and hope that the RMA goes through.)
* You should be able to: rotate your tires, change your own oil, change air & cabin air filters, check the levels of all other fluids.
* It's nice if you can: top off & change other fluids, replace belts, change spark plugs & wires, replace a distributor cap or similar component. (Only applies to older vehicles with a cap or external ignition control module driving the ignition coils. On modern vehicles you'll have coil-on-plug fired directly from the ECU.)
* You're doing _really well_ if you can: change your own brakes [pads, rotors, drums, and shoes], swap out components on the accessory belt (anything pulley driven, like your pumps, alternator, etc.), replace _any_ suspension or steering components.
(As a precaution: the last category involves some _very dangerous jobs._ -- Improper installation of brakes will at best render your vehicle immobile, at worst it will endanger the safety of yourself and others on the road.
As for suspension: those springs support a significant amount of weight. They are _incredibly dangerous_ if not handled properly.)
---
To elaborate a bit on point #1 we will use a fairly recent example.
I had a timing belt installed: I purchased the components [the belt, idler pulleys, water pump, various gaskets] myself for $90. These components have a 5-year/50,000 mi warranty on the parts themselves.
(The shop offered a 2 year / 12,000 mi. warranty for comparison.)
The labor comes to $375 because I have a mechanic that will install customer supplied parts. Total I spent: $465 for a job that costs $600-$800 in my area.
If you want to know where the extra money comes from: let's look at the parts I _didn't supply._
I needed a thermostat & gasket, a power steering belt, an a serpentine belt. The thermostat and gasket were $25, the belts were $40 a piece, for a total of $105. I could've bought my own thermostat and gasket for $12, and I could've gotten _the same exact belts_ for $9/piece. (A savings of $75 dollars.)
At this kind of markup: my timing belt kit would've cost $200+ instead of $90, which falls right in line with the $600-$800 estimate from other shops.
If you're used to paying for parts through a garage: you're probably paying twice as much as you need to for parts. Finding parts is a cinch: you can either ask your local part store [and then source the parts there, or online] -- or you can use a parts catalog like RockAuto which has their inventory broken down by make, model, year, and engine. When it comes to car parts: it's worth shopping around to save money on shipping; auto parts can get quite heavy, and it makes a huge difference if you can get them shipped from a single warehouse.
"As a precaution: the last category involves some _very dangerous jobs._ -- Improper installation of brakes will at best render your vehicle immobile, at worst it will endanger the safety of yourself and others on the road."
You have to evaluate yourself and your ability to follow directions closely. Can you bake a cake and it is edible? Can you do basic sysadmin / programming stuff from instructions? Can you build ikea type furniture without damaging yourself or the tools or the furniture? If not, the odds of a successful brake job are pretty low. If you can, it'll probably be OK.
What I enjoy about working on my brakes, is because I'm doing it myself I can go as slow and methodical and detailed as possible; no boss standing over me complaining that book labor is 2 hrs and I'm at 1.75 hrs and we're both losing money in 15 minutes so slap it together and hope for the best. Its my life on the line and I've got all the time in the world; I'll triple check, just because I can.
And the money saved I can put into brand new top of the line parts, not re manufactured or merely as good as stock. Zero labor cost means I can buy the most expensive ridiculous "racing" "pro" level stuff and still come out ahead of taking it into a shop. Just like a synthetic oil change at home is cheaper than the used french fry grease or whatever it is the quickie lube place claims is motor oil.
The biggest problem I've found is you're not doing "real" suspension work until you crack an impact socket (been there, done that) or bend a one meter cheater bar by putting a ten foot pipe on it. Also you have to be pretty hard core to own a brake cylinder hone or spring compressor, some specialized stuff is pretty expensive.
Amen! I spend $50 an oil change. Not because I take it to a shop, but because my cars only get the best of the best.
You bet I've tried running royal purple in my Mustang for shits and giggles!
Both my camry and mustang are little eco-tuned 4 cylinders, but they purr like kittens!
>until you crack an impact socket
I'm sure you know this, but for the benefit of others: that's actually what an impact socket is _designed to do._ They are made out of a different type of metal that cracks instead of shatters.
At the speed & torque these impact guns are capable of: using the right socket is the difference between being slightly bummed that you have to buy a new socket, and becoming legally blind in one eye.
>some specialized stuff is pretty expensive
At least around here: many autoparts stores will rent out such equipment for fairly reasonable prices.
(Of course they usually have a "you break it you bought it" policy if they don't offer some kind of insurance; and then you're paying full price for a broken machine.)
(You also may need _other_ equipment to drive it; for instance I don't really have a compressor suitable for pneumatic tooling at home.)
> I'm at 1.75 hrs and we're both losing money in 15 minutes so slap it together and hope for the best
My recent timing belt job is actually the first time either of my cars has been at a shop.
I dropped it off right before close in the middle of the week and the guy says: "and let me guess, you need it in a hurry?"
And I'm like: "of course not, take all the time you need!" (Writing this out: it may sound a little sarcastic. In context however it wasn't, this guy's shop is literally halfway between my home and my job, and both are in walking/biking distance. So I was in no rush for him to finish.)
At my last computer repair job we had a similar motto: the only way we lose money is if the customer comes back. Obviously expedience is something of a virtue when doing repairs [or any sort of billable work]: but I hope that many shops value doing a good job above beating the book time.