My wife and I were discussing just how little we actually spend on general living expenses, and part of it was that we've always been really shrewd.  Curious what everyone else does on this front.

• Since my wife owns her own antique business (just a sole proprietorship, but she rents space in Medina, OH), she's a whiz at furnishing with high-end stuff on a shoestring budget.  We've basically furnished our whole house on about $2,000.  Normally, that would sound a little sketchy, but you'd never know it, as it's mostly really sturdy, well-kept heirloom furniture from estate sales or through family connections.
   
• We've never paid for home internet.  I've always rooted my Android phone and set it up to be a mobile hotspot with unlimited tethering, so we've always just double-dipped in our cell phone plan for our Internet.  Does mean that we don't do anything with IoT stuff (since the Internet "turns off" when I disengage the hotspot or leave the house), but it's hardly a big inconvenience. (If you're a T-Mobile customer, I can actually help others with this, too.)
   
• We've never paid for home entertainment.  No cable, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or anything else like that.  I tried a free month of Sling once, but even with that, we just weren't using it enough, so we cancelled.  We've always found "other" ways of watching what we want.
   
• Even where we live and the house we bought fits here.  Between my monthly mortgage, homeowner's insurance, and property tax allocation (it's a single payment into an escrow service), we pay less than $350 a month, but the house itself is nice (albeit small and in a poor neighborhood).
   
• As an aside, we tend to buy most things lightly used.  Nearly all of my daughter's clothes are second-hand.  A good chunk of mine are, too, since I wear mostly T-shirts and basketball shorts or sweats to work in.  We've never purchased a "new" car.

We tend to think we've done a pretty good job with most of what we have, but I'm always looking for ways to stretch things even further.

posted by O-Trap

My wife and I were discussing just how little we actually spend on general living expenses, and part of it was that we've always been really shrewd.  Curious what everyone else does on this front.

• Since my wife owns her own antique business (just a sole proprietorship, but she rents space in Medina, OH), she's a whiz at furnishing with high-end stuff on a shoestring budget.  We've basically furnished our whole house on about $2,000.  Normally, that would sound a little sketchy, but you'd never know it, as it's mostly really sturdy, well-kept heirloom furniture from estate sales or through family connections.
   
• We've never paid for home internet.  I've always rooted my Android phone and set it up to be a mobile hotspot with unlimited tethering, so we've always just double-dipped in our cell phone plan for our Internet.  Does mean that we don't do anything with IoT stuff (since the Internet "turns off" when I disengage the hotspot or leave the house), but it's hardly a big inconvenience. (If you're a T-Mobile customer, I can actually help others with this, too.)
   
• We've never paid for home entertainment.  No cable, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or anything else like that.  I tried a free month of Sling once, but even with that, we just weren't using it enough, so we cancelled.  We've always found "other" ways of watching what we want.
   
• Even where we live and the house we bought fits here.  Between my monthly mortgage, homeowner's insurance, and property tax allocation (it's a single payment into an escrow service), we pay less than $350 a month, but the house itself is nice (albeit small and in a poor neighborhood).
   
• As an aside, we tend to buy most things lightly used.  Nearly all of my daughter's clothes are second-hand.  A good chunk of mine are, too, since I wear mostly T-shirts and basketball shorts or sweats to work in.  We've never purchased a "new" car.

We tend to think we've done a pretty good job with most of what we have, but I'm always looking for ways to stretch things even further.

That internet sounds really slow 

posted by geeblock

That internet sounds really slow 

It's not really.  I mean, streaming in UHD isn't an option, but I can stream anything else, give or take.  I can even game over it.

It's a little slower right now with everyone home, but this is still more than enough to do pretty much anything but stream in 4K.  Technically, that speed is borderline good enough for 4K, but it's not consistent enough, and you'd end up with a little buffering.