erejacob

Permanent residents (like we are) will have their own sewer hookup (a hose coming out of the RV which is tied into a receptacle in the septic or city sewer system), electricity, and water. So it's more like living in a small house that could technically be driven away. Every few days I have to empty the tanks which, since everything is permanently hooked up, means pulling two levers that flush the tanks into the sewer. It takes about five minutes to empty them and I can go and collect my mail while that happens.

BTW, I'll take that bet. We have a joint account, so it's pretty clear where the money is going.

Of course one can suffer these things without having the risk factors. I presume the experts who calculated those numbers corrected for that.

So in about half the cases (half the cost to be precise), sickness really is your fault.

One of the reasons high deductible plans have such low premiums despite not screwing people over with small print is that they attract a more healthy segment of the population, because a high deductible creates some incentive to avoid those [preventable] diseases.

As it is, people are only hit on their regular expensive plans if they smoke. Imagine if they were also hit with higher premiums if they were overweight (BMI>25, 2/3s of Americans are overweight), drank too much, smoked too much, didn't engage in regular physical activity, etc. Then the premiums for those who have a lifestyle which wasn't likely to cause chronic diseases would only pay half of what they're currently paying. Those who engage in risky lifestyles would see their premiums increase by 50%.

As someone else noticed in this thread, it's more of an attitude.

Also to clarify a bit, the method I recommend is more about crushing pounds or dollars than pinching pennies. It's much easier to attack a few large expenses like housing, transportation, and food than worrying about hundreds of little things.

The general trick to owning expensive equipment is to find something with very little depreciation (usually top quality items) and buy used. This makes the carrying cost rather low. For example, my hand planes for woodworking are $300+ each, but I could sell them again for 90%+ of what I paid for them, so my effective cost is only thirty bucks. A brief search on the net reveals one can get 2000 paintballs for $30. Now I don't know if they're any good or not, but that sounds pretty cheap to me. How many shots for a game? 100? That's less than two bucks.

So I think you could do it pretty cheaply if you "invest" the money and do the organizing footwork.

Tax laws differ by income. If you make less, taxes go down. The capital gains tax goes away. Dividends become qualified.

The millionaire next door [there or to be] types---the silent majority?---may get caught in the crossfire.

However, having seen this recession coming from two years away and having tried to warn people about it only to be told by some/many that there's no problem and everything is fine, etc. I can't really sympathize that much, sorry. While it may not be someone's fault for being laid off or not being able to find a job, it certainly is their fault for not having the savings to cover two years of unemployment given the known 20% risk of it. I don't feel smug about it. I feel exasperated having told people who proceeded to do nothing. And now they want my sympathy?

The Cassandra complex comes to mind. Given how I come across to you, it indicates that I'm just a poor salesman when it comes to getting my point across to your demographic.

On the other hand having money that was put into savings instead of stuff creates the feeling of power and potential. When I started saving I counted my net worth in cars (because consumerism was still my frame of reference). Imagine walking past a car lot and knowing one has enough money to buy 1-2-3, .... later 8-9-10 ... today dozens of cars (now I count in houses instead ;-) ) on the lot in _cash_ is a very interesting and positive feeling. It's the feeling of being in control and essentially being able to do what you want. Things no longer happen to you. One has financial agency. This is completely different from a reactive mindset.