Super-Frugal Chronicles #2

This is a back-up of some comments from the Reddit post which I backed up last week.

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Q: Are you one of those crazy 30ish frugal super early retirees, or one of those more realistic 40-50ish ones that didn't go all crazy from 21 up.

A (lightly edited): I'm 35. But there is a blend here of super-frugal and inheritance, and I'll try to explain that blend here.

When I got married, some friends who came from out of town to the wedding told a story to illustrate their wonder that I was ever able to get married -- apparently, I had ruined a blind date they had tried to set up for me by obsessively talking about the cheapest way to eat. I didn't even realize it was a date.

This story shows I'm not exactly neuro-typical, and that I've been willing to go obsessive about FIRE (though I only learned that term later, when I stumbled upon early retirement extreme). 

I maxed out Roth IRAs with index funds in my 20s, but then as I thought collapse was immanent, I made my only financial goal paying off the house. We live in a smaller house than anyone in our social circle, so with some moderately intense savings rates (say 30% to 50% . . . I'm not like some of the Jedi Masters you can see online) it was possible.

I had enough fuck you money to take some time off after I experienced a lot of deaths in my family, but the reason I now have a nest egg large enough for a sub-2% withdrawal is because of inheritance.

As to your question. . . I guess I'm something in between the two, perhaps?

Q: 

[They quoted me with]

obsessively talking about the cheapest way to eat

[Then asked]

What's that?

A: (again, lightly edited): At the time, my conclusion was lentils and rice. I have to give credit to Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme for prior discovery. I also know that on the date I talked about it and using value menus judiciously. I remember that part, just not that it was a date.

Since that time my wife has helped me to see some value in variety. So, a dollar a person isn't a
sustainable level for our family to be happy. I just make sure I don't pay someone else to cook or
clean up. And that will have to be frugal enough.