The Cost To Move Across The Country: $131.89

streamI hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend, and, of course, I thank all of those who serve in the military.

I’m writing this from the great state of Michigan after a 19-hour trek from Florida. Ever since I got here I’ve been busy integrating myself into a new lifestyle, and I’ve been spending a ton of time with family. Of course, moving up on a holiday weekend means everything is crazy, and everyone is home from work and anxious to see me. It’s been fantastic to reconnect and take advantage of the small things in life which is hard to do when I’m almost 1,300 miles away from everyone.

So the costs are in for the big move, and it came out to: $131.89. Not bad!

This broke down into $117.42 for gas and $14.47 for food. Although, my last gas stop came only 15 miles away from my final destination. I was trying to make the cross-country move on less than $100, but it wasn’t meant to be!

I’ve read stories about people moving across the country and spending thousands of dollars on doing so, as professional movers with their big trucks can add up quickly. Well, I didn’t hire any movers. Furthermore, if anything didn’t fit in my little Toyota Corolla, it didn’t go with me. I guess this cheap and easy move across the States just goes to show how an attachment to material possessions can be an expensive habit. For me, I have a few items in my possession that I’d hate to go without: My laptop is probably chief among these items, as it would be difficult (but not impossible) to share this journey, check in with other investors, and follow my portfolio/passive income without it. But, in general, I just don’t need a lot of stuff around me to make me happy. I don’t derive happiness from stuff; I derive happiness from experiences in my life – experiences like writing, reading, investing, and the fantastic backyard barbecue I was a part of yesterday afternoon. And these experiences require time, which is really at the heart of what this journey to financial independence is all about.

However, while this move was financially inexpensive, it was costly in other ways. As I’ve discussed before, I left behind a relationship that was really fantastic. It’s hard to admit to someone that doing what’s best for your long-term happiness ultimately leads to separation from one another. Luckily, I couldn’t have asked for a better partner, and she’s been incredibly understanding and supportive through the whole process. She knows my family well, and she gets why I’d want to be closer to them. And, of course, I left behind Florida. Palm trees, blue sky, sunshine, and no state income tax. Just writing that sentence makes me think I’m crazy! I guess I miss the days of living extremely frugally while I ate super cheap and used my little scooter to get around town; those were golden years for me. However, we grow as people over time, and life changes. I would think life would be pretty boring if it were the same thing every day. So I look at this as an adventure, and I’m truly happy to be back near family after five extremely productive and successful years in Florida. The big challenge will be replicating some of that success back home here, so we’ll see!

As I mentioned above, this trip took almost exactly 19 hours. I drove straight through, stopping only for fuel and food. And I made sure to combine these two every time I got off the freeway. And since this drive was 1,289 miles that means I averaged 67.8 miles per hour over the course of the entire journey. Slower than I anticipated, but I think about 1/3 of I-75 was under construction. At least, it sure seemed that way!

So what if I were able to drive a little faster? Well, if I would have been able to average 73 miles per hour on the way up – still reasonable with the speed limit being 70 through most areas – I would have made it here in just over 17 1/2 hours. That’s an extra hour and a half of my life! And that extra time didn’t even require much extra effort. I think what this exercise shows is that just a little extra input over long distances makes a big difference in the results.

Now, think about that in investing terms. I’ve been investing for just over four years now – starting in March 2010. Let’s say I would have been able to invest just another $100 per month over the last four years. At a 10% annualized return – should be easy considering the S&P 500 is up 75% over the past four years – that’s an extra $5,921.18 in my portfolio, and that’s not even counting the extra two months of April and May due to the fact that most online calculators (like the one I used) like to use years for calculations. Plus, that return is much lower than what I probably could have produced. And that $5,921.18 would be generating $207.23 in annual dividend income based on a 3.5% yield (similar to my own portfolio’s yield). That’s an extra $200+ per year in completely passive income that would likely outpace inflation for the rest of my life, eventually growing into much, much more income as I reinvest it back into my equity stakes, growing the portfolio and passive dividend income. A drip turns into a stream pretty quickly.

Seemingly small sacrifices can make a huge difference over a great period of time. Extrapolating that $100/month example out over 30 years and you’re looking at $227,932.53. Now that stream turned into a river. Maybe I should grab a flotation device since this example is drowning me in cash, because that kind of principle is generating almost $8,000 per year in growing dividend income. And while this example excludes the effects of taxation and inflation for illustration purposes, you get the gist of how small steps can make huge differences over time. It just takes patience, persistence, perseverance, and consistency. Simple concepts, but extremely powerful allies if used correctly.

So remember to make the small sacrifices, reap the surprisingly big rewards over great periods of time, and enjoy both the journey and the destination.

Did you enjoy your holiday weekend? Do you believe in the power of small sacrifices over time? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: mapichai/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Similar Posts

87 Comments

  1. I do agree with small sacrifices over time. Some of them are easier than other, and some becomes habits you just want to stick to. For instance, we drink tapwater to our meals 95% of the time, no soda, no carb. water, no beer. Healthy and 100% free. We put water in glass bottles in the refrigerator to make it cool. Of course we have wine at times as well. But when you count on the alternative cost of drinking soda or juice twice a day over say a ten year period… It adds upp quickly.

  2. I’d rather work an extra few hours a month than cut $100/month in expenses but to each their own. Respect your journey and you’ve come really far. Awesome

  3. Just hypothetical but what if you did both, over the course of 30 years? I doubt my frugality will ever approach the Mantra level… but that doesnt mean i dont strive to cut out where i can or realize a penny saved is a penny earned. Too many hours worked makes Zol a dull boy.

  4. Are you going to support yourself on passive income plus blogging income? Will that leave you any money to invest?

  5. It was back to work for me over the holiday weekend. No fun BBQs to be had but maybe when I’m home again I can get something together. Your move across the country was cheaper than our move across our city last year. Best of luck in Michigan!

  6. DM,

    Glad you made it home safely. I am with you on the small sacrifices adding up over time. At the beginning of the year I took up running and barely could make it one lap around the track. I just ran 4 1/2 miles this past Sunday. Like investing, it was the small initial steps, the 2 and 3 minute runs five months ago that built the foundation for future success.

    Enjoy the cool summer weather in Michigan!

    MDP

  7. Rob F,

    Yeah, I really wanted to be under $100. Although, that probably wouldn’t have been totally accurate because I would have been starting off with a 3/4 tank of fuel and ending on empty. But it would have been a great headline! 🙂

    Take care.

  8. Sensim,

    That’s a fantastic way to save money. I honestly wish I enjoyed water, but must admit I can’t stand it. I drink flavored water, and even that is not really my preference. I enjoy pop and juices most of the time, but both have high sugar content. As such, they’re mostly weekend treats nowadays.

    But great job saving that money. Your “no beer and no soda fund” will probably add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  9. Andrew,

    Absolutely. To each their own. Frugality isn’t for everyone, and some prefer working more. We all have different means, goals, and methods. I’ve always placed a great priority on my time, and frugality has empowered me via savings while making the idea of retiring by 40 realistic. But financial independence isn’t for everyone, and even for those who pursue it you’ll find many different ways to skin a cat. 🙂

    Thanks for the support! Much appreciated. And best of luck with your strategy!

    Cheers.

  10. Josh,

    Well, the plan is to drop the expenses down enough to where the blogging income pays for expenditures and also leaves a bit left over to combine with dividend income so that I can continue to actively invest. I’m not sure if this is going to work, however. So I’m on a trial period right now. I’m going to give it a few months to see how it goes. While it’s an absolute dream come true to even be able to just pay for expenses via the work I do here, I still want to continue to invest and chase complete freedom. And that’s because while I truly enjoy writing and inspiring, I want to be able to say that I achieved financial independence as I set out to do, and be able to passively pay for my lifestyle. Anything less is still technically working for a living, albeit working in a much more enjoyable setting.

    We’ll see what happens. I think the worst-case scenario is that I have to get a part-time job to fund continuing investments, which is still a great position to be in! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  11. JC,

    Thanks for stopping by. Hope you had fun in Vegas! 🙂

    And my move was pretty cheap considering the distance and everything. Good thing that Corolla is an absolute beast on the mileage. Of course, I also took it pretty easy on the accelerator pedal and used cruise control whenever possible.

    Thanks for the support, bud. Hope all is well over there. Don’t work too hard!

    Best regards.

  12. Man, it was an absolute great weekend here. Glad you made it! Now the hard part begins, saving at the rate you were while in FL. 😉

  13. MDP,

    That’s great stuff right there. Exactly what I’m talking about! Congrats for being able to run 4 1/2 miles as well. That sounds easy, but I know firsthand that’s incredibly difficult if you haven’t been training for it. I’ve personally never been a great runner, but have always instead been able to put on muscle fairly easily. That’s perhaps because when I was younger I concentrated more on anaerobic exercise over aerobic due to my aspirations in bodybuilding and what not.

    Thanks for sharing that!

    Cheers.

  14. KeithX,

    A great weekend, indeed! And it looks like we’ve got another beautiful one coming up as well. I came at the right time. 🙂

    As far as savings, I’m going to do my best. I doubt I’ll be able to hit 60% any time soon, but if I can get to 20%-30% without a conventional job I’ll be ecstatic. It’ll really depend on how low I can get my expenses, which I’m working on as we speak. We’ll see how it goes!

    Best wishes.

  15. Minimalists live fuller lives I believe. I made the mistake in my 20,s of just acquiring stuff and lived by the motto. He who has the most toys wins. It didnt make me a happy person. I had everything I have ever wanted but it was nothing I ever needed. Took some close deaths in the family to finally wake me up to all of this. Great sites like this have have helped me immensely. A few years ago I sold all my toys and these days I am trimming all my needless expenses. Just yesterday i trimmed my cable/internet bill by dropping to a lower tier internet speed and dropping HBO as well. These two things off my bill save me $34 a month or $408 a year. I didnt need the faster internet speed and for hbo I will just torrent game of thrones now. It all adds up especially if you are investing your saving! Compound fever!
    Words to live by!
    Watch your pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves!

    Good day and Grind on Mantra!

  16. Glad to hear you made it home safely. Look forward to following this new chapter in your journey.
    Good point about the small choices we can make between wants and needs.

  17. DM,

    Good to see you you made it in one piece.
    Like you say, small sacrifices will eventually lead to large amount. Compounding is a powerful
    Or as the cliché goes: “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” – Einstein
    Or as Buffet said: “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

    Both cliches but both still very true.

    Best,

    DW

  18. I love your motto of ‘if it didnt fit in my car, then it didnt move with me’. I commend you for being a minimalist. Ive heard people spends thousands of dollars on moves..and Im sure I will be spending more than amount on my move across the city later this year.
    Best wishes in Michigan. I used to go down to Michigan a few times a year, but not much anymore. I still go down to southwest Ontario where my wife’s family is from.

  19. Asset-Grinder,

    Great advice there: Watching the pennies will definitely allow the dollars to take care of themselves. Makes sense and cents. 🙂

    Glad you cut back on your lifestyle and found happiness in the process. Too often we’re so busy spending and consuming that we don’t see a different way of living.

    And nice job cutting out some of the expenses. You’ve obviously done well with building wealth for yourself, so make to celebrate that as well.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Take care.

  20. Greg,

    Thanks so much for the kind words. It feels great to see family so much. I’m actually sitting next to my little sister as I type. 🙂

    Appreciate the support so much. I look forward to sharing everything and also getting back to regular writing now that I’m back on track!

    Cheers.

  21. DW,

    Compounding is such a powerful force, and that’s really what we’re trying to leverage here. Except for those of us seeking an extremely early retirement or financial independence we’re just maximizing the input of capital because the time frame is being reduced so heavily. And it’s because of our reduced time that our ability to save will be the primary determiner of our ability to reach FI.

    And I hope we’re both sitting in the shade of a massive Redwood one day! 🙂

    Best regards.

  22. Rich Arnold,

    Haha! Great point there.

    Although, I found a way to use their products and reduce my caloric intake: Propel Water. Black Cherry is pretty good, in my opinion. 🙂

    Take care!

  23. OK, new to the sight. I appreciate the goals and am a dividend growth investor. Not understanding leaving behind a significant other who you enjoyed sharing your life with. I hope you splurge and bring her up this summer when your settled. Sure is fun to count the effects of compound interest, but not alone… is it?

    now, a suggestion for your next blog. Michigan is the home of some great companies. Some even have stocks that are great stocks to own. I hope you’ll introduce yourself to the hometown dividend stocks and share a couple of favorites with us :*) FD – also from Michigan.

    best of luck

  24. R2R,

    Excited for your move? Congrats again on the recent house purchase. I’m happy for you guys!

    I’ve been to Ontario a few times, mainly Windsor. I’d like to check out Toronto at some point, though. I hear it’s a great city! Vancouver is another Canadian city I’d like to visit someday.

    Best of luck with the move!!

    Take care.

  25. own_advisor,

    Thanks for dropping by! As a new reader, I hope you enjoy your stay here. 🙂

    My decision to leave wasn’t based on money. In fact, I would have been much better off financially if I would have stayed in Florida and kept working at the car dealership I was employed at. This decision was based around family. As I noted previously, I have a niece coming and I want to be a part of her life. In addition, more generally I miss my entire family. It just got to the point to where I wasn’t happy in Florida anymore. I’m not opposed to moving back at some point, but I’m very happy with being up here. As far as my relationship goes, it was incredibly difficult, but she wasn’t interested in moving up here. I could have just stayed because it was easy, but I would have regretted it.

    I’ll definitely have to look into some hometown companies, but I would never invest in a company based on location. It might be fun exercise, though! 🙂

    Hope you stay in touch.

    Cheers.

  26. Hey dm,

    Been reading your blog for the past few weeks, and it’s been an inspiration to start cutting back expenses and be more aware of where my money is going, as well as investing more and with more wisdom in dividend growth stocks. Just moved within my city and costs were rather low, just uhaul 60$ plus a few trips back n forth, but last year did a move from Ca to ny and it was in the thousands. Not fun. Impressive to move on such a small amount.

    Also glad to hear you’ll be blogging even more, keep up the great writing. I think part of your draw is how personal you are and how the readers relate to you.

    Good luck in Michigan. Watch out for deer!!!

  27. We see financial independence the same way. If blogging can provide you enough income to live, but you rely on it, you aren’t financially independent. Blogging has turned into your job, and while it may be your dream job, you are still attached to it, and you can’t leave it whenever you wish.
    I hope your blog takes off from here, and you earn 4X your annual expenses from it. I want to see you reach FI!

  28. Paul,

    Hey, I’m glad you’ve found some inspiration here in what I’m doing and you’ve made some positive changes in your life. The little sacrifices do indeed add up! Trust me. 🙂

    I appreciate the well wishes. So far, it’s wonderful. And I’ll definitely keep an eye out for deer. My family lives a bit off the beaten path, so there’s plenty around here.

    Stay in touch. And keep up the great work!

    Take care.

  29. Steve,

    Leaving Florida was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. Saying goodbye to people I love to spend more time with other people I love was incredibly hard. But after weeks of discussing options, this was the only thing that really made sense. It’s very sad to leave something so great behind for something so wonderful. I’m just very lucky that I have people that love me.

    Appreciate the welcome! It’s good to be home.

    Best regards.

  30. Josh,

    We’re definitely on the same page there. And I hope the blog takes off even more as well. Not only would that allow me more opportunity to seek FI, but I’d also reach a larger audience and hopefully inspire more people. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  31. DM – You did really well with keeping the cost down on your trip back to Michigan. The dollars you save in your trip can now go towards other essential items now that your income is more limited. And you are 100% right, every little bit helps. As you’ve seen with the growth of your own portfolio, and hopefully with mine eventually, pennies turn to nickels, nickels turns to dimes, dimes to quarters, and quarters to dollars.

    Wishing you continued success in your personal journey!

  32. Jason,

    Welcome back to the midwest and glad your trip went well. I know you grew up in Michigan, but I was wondering if you ever went cliff diving there? I was google it for a possible trip this summer and it seems pretty exiting stuff.

  33. This statement says it all… “Seemingly small sacrifices can make a huge difference.” Great way to highlight the point with actual numbers. We always read about the “latte” factor etc. but seldom realize that a dollar here or there really does make huge differences. We always seem to focus on the current “spend” and never the future accumulation of those little spends. Good to hear from you too by the way!

  34. Hey DM,
    That is awesome that you spent so little on your cross country trip. Hope that all is well. I like to travel and Im a sucker for stopping at a random stops to try craft beer in different states. Other than that I try to purchase my meals at grocery stores in order to save money on expenses. It doesnt help I get 20 MPG driving a Cadillac Deville. However I feel it is important to get away from the city from time to time. Good Luck!

  35. I also have the goal to reach FI. In my case when I am 40-50. But I don’t think I will stop working, I’ll be fine with the feeling that I don’t have to work. Today I have a job that I love and many of my colleagues continue to work even past their retirement age. Two of them are 77 years and still enjoy it. DM have you ever thought of finding a job that you like more then the car dealership? Best wishes from sweden!

  36. Well done on getting home in one cheap, efficient trip! It must be just fantastic to see your family and start to settle in with them. It’s really inspiring to see you focusing and acting on what you value most in life, despite the tough decisions your having to make in the process.

    Totally agree with the amazing power of small ‘sacrifices’ over time, although sometimes the numbers are so huge it can be hard to really believe them, despite the mathematical accuracy presented. I often wish a future version of me, 10, 15 years from now, would appear for a couple of minutes every day to say “thanks for putting away that extra $3 a day – now I’m about to enjoy a wonderful 3 month vacation in Hawaii with my family as a result!”. Sometimes I feel we just don’t give our ‘future selves’ enough attention, compared with our ‘now selves’ – even though they’re the same person.

    Enjoy the new found time with your family!

  37. Another alternative is instead of drinking no pop (or juice) is to limit your purchase. My wife and I buy 1 2-liter a week and when its gone, its gone. But like Rich said, you also own part of those companies, and that company funds your habit of buying their products.

    Essentially they are paying you to buy their product!

  38. I hate to come here and only have a contrarian comment… but this post made for a perfect chance to note that this probably is not the best way to account for the cost of your trip. Driving is significantly more expensive than just the gas. A rough government estimate of $0.50 /mile would mean the trip’s true cost was about $650. Even with a very cheap car it’s unlikely the true cost of driving is less than $0.30 /mile. A $400 move is still very cheap, but I think it’s important for the financially conscious to think about how the true cost of driving is more than gas.

  39. AFFJ,

    You’re absolutely right. Little savings here and there can really add up over time. $100/month doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re talking 30 years it becomes a rather significant sum of money. So if you’re saving $1,000/month or more…well, you can see where massive changes can start to occur in your life.

    Appreciate the support. I’m glad to be back at it! And I wish you the best with your ongoing journey as well. The more we individually succeed, the more we motivate and inspire each other to succeed as a group.

    Cheers.

  40. DividendVet,

    Hmm. I’ve actually never heard of this. Now, I grew up in the Metro Detroit area when I was much younger, and then eventually moved toward the east/middle of the state. So that could be something that’s popular along the lakes? I’ve just never personally heard of it or run into anyone who’s mentioned it. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!

    Sounds like fun though. Hope you have a great time, and be safe if you go. 🙂

    Take care.

  41. DivHut,

    Yeah, that’s the latte factor at work there. $100 really isn’t that much money – people routinely spend that much on cable. However, just that one little sacrifice every single month, consistently for decades on end, can have a massive impact on your financial future. It just takes a little willpower. Unfortunately, most people lack that willpower. Give them an extra $50 and they’ll find a way to spend it. But this blog is my platform to hopefully reach a few people out there. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  42. Brian,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    I’d definitely like to take it a bit slower the next time I’m off on a trip. This was kind of a unique road trip because I was simply moving from one place to another. So I didn’t have a lot of time to see the sights or anything, and plus I had my whole car loaded down with stuff. 🙂

    Great job with buying food at the grocery store. I spent more on food than I would have liked on the way up here, but, overall, I don’t think I did too bad. Always room for improvement, though.

    Best of luck with your new blog and your journey. Looks like you’re off to a great start!

    Best wishes.

  43. hallar84,

    Well, I think it depends on your definition of “work”. I have no desire to actually go into a physical office or a location outside of my home and clock in for a certain period of time and do whatever work is prescribed to me, and then clock out when told to…and certainly will not continue doing that once I’m financially independent. I look at it this way: I enjoy exercising, right? But if I were to land a “job” that required me to clock in at 7 a.m. and work out for 8 hours and then clock out at 3 p.m. and go home…well, I wouldn’t like working out very much anymore. I think the routine and forced agenda gets to me after a while, no matter how enjoyable the actual “work” is.

    But as far as finding a job I enjoy more than the dealership, you’re looking at it! I’m currently on a trial period of three months or so to see if I can pay for all of my expenses via the income I make from my writing alone. I don’t know if it’s realistic or not, but I’m going to give it a shot. If after three months I’m coming close to covering all of my expenses then I think that writing will be my new permanent full-time job. I’d be incredibly happy if I’m able to make this jump – a quantum leap for me – so we’ll see how it goes!

    Although, I will say that this won’t end my journey. As long as I need to exchange time/effort for money to pay for my lifestyle I’m not financially independent. So writing/blogging will just take the place of the dealership job and I’ll keep marching along to FI! 🙂

    Thanks for the continued support. I really do appreciate it! And I’m truly glad you found a job that you enjoy so much you’d continue to do it even if you didn’t have to. You’re very lucky to be in that position!

    Best regards.

  44. Jason,

    Thanks so much. It is really fantastic to be near family again. I’m in such a wonderful position right now – it feels like a dream. Of course, I wish my partner in crime could be up here with me. Her support made all this possible, so I feel really guilty that she’s not here as well. Life can be so funny sometimes.

    And, man, I wish our future selves could indeed travel back in time to tell us of the great life they’re living because of the sacrifices we’re making today. It’s hard to really know how good things will be down the road when you’re scrimping and saving today. Of course, the “future you” doesn’t have to be 30 or 40 years in the future. I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor from just the past four years, so change can be fast and dramatic. It just depends on how much sacrifice you want to give up front. The more you can sacrifice now, the faster the future you can merge with the present you.

    Appreciate the support. Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  45. Kipp,

    That’s essentially what I do. I drink my flavored Propel water (Pepsi product) during the week when I’m busy watching my calories and working out. Then on the weekend, I drink pop. I’ll typically consume 2-3 cans of pop per day on the weekend. So I’ll typically buy just two 12-packs for an entire month, and that’s it. It’s still not entirely healthy, but life is all about compromise. I’m a good boy during the week, and then I eat/drink what I want on the weekends. All work and no play makes Jason a dull boy, right?

    Cheers!

  46. Alex,

    Hmm, I’m not sure about $650. Factoring out the gas, that means I “spent” an additional $533 on wear and tear. I just don’t see that on this Toyota. I used up maybe 3% or so of the life of my tires (factoring on 35,000 miles per set), so that’s about $19.50 on tires. Suspension? I worked in the auto industry and you just don’t do that much suspension work unless you’re really beating your car up. Brakes? I did very little stopping on the entire trip, as it was almost all freeway. But I suppose a case could be made for another $10-$20 on brakes, depending on your calculations. Depreciation? My car is still worth much more than I paid based on KBB or Blackbook. I could go on, but I think the government estimate is inaccurate. Depends on what you’re driving, how you’re driving, etc. I worked in the auto industry for eight years, and we’d have some people spend thousands of dollars on their cars, while others would spend very little. It just depends.

    But I agree that the true cost of my move was probably a bit more than just gas, but I also don’t think it was anywhere near the $400-$650 you’re quoting.

    Cheers!

  47. I understand how you mean. I think your blog will be even better and bigger with more time to write. I’d love a post on how you will structure your day now when you are working for yourself!

  48. Way to go DM! I see you are already flexing your frugal muscles. There’s no way in hell my wife and I will match that expense per person when we move to the PNW. Although we will trim down our possessions, we are still going to move furniture and a huge bed. But that’s OK because everyone has a different situation.

    Kudos again, and keep up the good vibes!

  49. This post made me smile because you seem to find a frugal way to do anything you want. Don’t take that the wrong way. I meant that many people view moving as an expensive thing and *think* that they have to drop a lot of money to move and it’s not always so. I think it’s a good thing you find a way to do things frugally. My bf is a lot like you, tries to find a frugal way to do pretty much almost anything.

  50. hallar84,

    That’s a fantastic idea! It’s been added to my list of drafts. 🙂

    I’ll write a post on that once I get a regular routine down here. It’ll be an exciting article to write!

    Cheers.

  51. Spoonman,

    We definitely all have different situations. I’m excited for you guys. The PNW definitely seems like an interesting place to live. Although, as I understand it the taxation in Oregon is quite a bit higher than Washington. I could be wrong on that, but I believe the income tax in Oregon is pretty strong.

    Appreciate the ongoing support!

    Best regards.

  52. Lila,

    That’s funny! I suppose I do always think of ways to save money, or approach a situation from a frugal mindset. I guess it’s just habit now. After years of living below my means I’m on a frugal cruise control of sorts, where the path of least resistance for me is the frugal path.

    That’s great your boyfriend also thinks that way. It’s a great way to save money with little effort once you’re used to it! 🙂

    Take care.

  53. 130 bucks? Well done!

    Just stopping by to wish you well with your new adventure! Please enjoy the summer for me, because I cannot! Today was absolutely beautiful outside which made me feel sad because l still need to trade my time for money…. I’ve been listening to Dave Ramsey lately, it could be worse I guess!

    CI

  54. CI,

    Thanks, bud! Always good to hear from you. And great job on the consistent stock buying as of late! 🙂

    Sorry to hear you can’t enjoy the summer. That totally sucks, man. I hope you get some free time here and there to make the most of it. But I know I’m definitely enjoying this weather. I never thought I’d say it, but I was a bit burned out on the heat down in Florida. It sounds crazy to me because I love it hot, but I had to just take a break from it.

    Best wishes!

  55. Definitely agree on the personal sacrifices allowing individuals to make massive gains over time, the smallest one that I gave up as it was a personal test just to see how connected I really was with the world and wanting to save money as well was the basic cell phone, pretty simple – but pretty expensive as well. [example] It was a massive money pit because it kept me directly connected to the feed, $120 a month for the service, just to be on and use it.. and then being directly connected to the products and media moguls that were trying to coerce me out of my hard earned cash! It was such an eye opening experience, just that small change, and afterwards looking around, and watching the world with real eyes again after so long, really was mind boggling to say the least, But I did make a slightly positive turn of it, as instead of paying them the $120 dollars every month in form of cellular phone payments, I have been able to drop that $120 dollars into stock to own a portion of the telecommunications company.
    If I am going to be giving out $120 a month anyway- I might as well be buying the bank.
    I never believed in giving up the cup of coffee, but in reality, I go to Starbucks maybe once every 3 months if necessary. The hugest savings we obtained were by getting rid of the second vehicle, reducing to one with two workers, and changing our housing options to allow for much cheaper living and being in an area where we can grow our own vegetables has helped as well and we are much happier for it.
    Good job moving across the country on such a great budget!

  56. Congrats on the move and welcome back to Michigan! I haven’t done much blogging or reading your blog lately, it came as a shock that you moved away from Florida. However I know what you mean about family, that is the main reason I still live here. Wishing you the best in your new adventure. You missed a rough winter! We didn’t have much of a spring either, but summer came in with a bang, it’s been nice and HOT.

  57. Mathew Walker,

    Great job there finding what expenses you could easily cut from your life and now finding yourself better off for it. And your experience of saving $X and then investing that $X in stocks is essentially what I did over the last 4+ years. Keep it up! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  58. mysavingstyle,

    Hey, good to hear from you again! Hope all is well. And thank you for the warm welcome back. It’s good to be near family again.

    It’s good I decided to come back now after that brutal winter! Hopefully we don’t see something like that again for at least a decade. I need to ease into the cold weather. 🙂

    Best regards.

  59. I’m pretty sure that the ESTIMATED 50-60 cents per mile cost for driving includes literally everything– depreciation, financing, maintenance, gas, insurance, registration, fees, etc… The idea is that you include all of these costs and then divide the sum of these costs by the number of miles driven between when a car is purchased and sold, and you get a “price per mile diven”. It’s a useful exercise to do this. But you can’t really hold to this number staunchly as a perfect representation of cost for each individual.

    First consider that the estimate is based on buying a new car and driving if 15k miles per year for 5 years, and then selling the car. Second it includes financing and depreciation, neither of which are applicable here. Next, the estimate is somewhat of a mid-point for various cars. It costs far less to drive a Corolla than it does to drive something like a Jaguar. AAA provides 5 different cost estimates, based on the type of vehicle being driven. I could go on and on about the inaccuracies of applying estimated costs per mile to this trip, but I think the point is made.

    However… the cost of the move must be more than the $132. That may be the cost of driving up there, but what about the cost of the things you must now buy that didn’t come in your car? A mattress for example (yes you can deduct what you sold your previous one for, and maybe even come out ahead). And the cost of setting up utilities, transfering your tag, DL, etc… Moving is expensive, one way or the other. If you rent a truck for $1000, it may save you $1000 in purchases when you arrive– just depends on your overall situation.

  60. Mo,

    I hear what you’re saying. I could see how the move might cost a bit more due to wear on the vehicle. I think most of the other costs are bunk, though. Insurance won’t actually be a cost as part of the “move”, but may go up due to the zip code I’m now in. Registration must be done once per year, regardless of where I live.

    However, you make a good point regarding furniture. If I were one to own expensive furniture and grow attached to it then this would be something to factor in. But the mattress and other furniture I owned was old and worn out anyhow. The actual costs are no different whether I were to move and buy new furniture in a new place or just replace due to wear and tear. I’m currently renting a room, so I don’t have any costs related to new furniture, utility set-up, etc.

    But like I said in a previous comment, I would say the costs would ultimately add up to more than $132 just based on wear on the car. I think you could make a case for $150-$175, perhaps as high as $200 if you really want to stretch it. Still a pretty cheap move. 🙂

    Cheers.

  61. Jason, I think that frugality has a bad meaning for a lot of people.

    I’m reading “The Tightwad Gazette” by Amy Dacyczyn and that book is kind of strange but full of philosophical sections about money in certain chapters. In one of her articles she said that many households apply frugal tactics during struggling economical times, so adults and their kids learn that frugality is “bad” and includes “deprivation” and becomes something to be avoided.

    I’ve recently started using coupons and using them during sales. I’m not intense about it, just a casual couponer, only spend 5-20 minutes a week but already starting to see the savings.

    One week, I got a bag of 4 lb sugar for .98 during a store sale and a coupon, in a DINK household that will last us for 6-8 months, maybe a year. The following week instead of spending $2-3 dollars on cheese slices I got them for .98 or .99 cents during another sale where I also used a coupon, can’t remember but I know it was under a dollar.

    I got 3 bottles of hydrogen peroxide for $1.07 with tax at Walgreens this past Monday by using my Walgreens rewards card and a Walgreens store coupon. We go through 1 hydrogen peroxide bottle each year in a DINK household so it works out.

    Target had a sale yesterday on Tampons, where if you bought 2 of the 36 count of Tampax Tampons you got a free 2.6 or 2.7 oz deodorant and that “free” deodorant was packaged with a trial sized deodorant.

    This was nice because I only go through 2-3 deodorants per year and that’s with me using deodorant every single day.

    Last year I wrote to Hy-Vee (a high-end supermarket) and told them how much I loved their store and how nice their staff is whenever I go in there, well this was before I knew anything about couponing. The manager sent me a $15 gift card so I called him up and thanked him for it.

    I have learned within the past month that if you write to your favorite companies and ask them for coupons, they will send them as a courtesy. I’ve also learned that you can now get coupons for organic produce, milk, yogurt, even fruits like bananas, etc. Usually you have to write the organic companies and they will send them to you.

    Even though I’m not like the ladies who coupon as if its their part-time or full-time job, I am starting to see the savings from being frugal and using them. To me this is worth 5-20 minutes/week of my time and if I can get my needs and wants met through sales and coupons then that is worth it to me. This takes less time and cash than spending an hour at work earning a wage.

    The financial nerd in me actually did calculate this out. I had to figure out if casual couponing was worth it. I don’t spend a lot of time at the stores either, I make my list, get in and out. I go either early in the morning, late evening, or early afternoon when stores are slow and I only go to stores that are 5-15 minutes away from my house.

    Not everyone is privileged to have a job they love. It would be nice if we all did. Even if I did have a job that I loved, I wouldn’t want to spend more than 40-45 hours at my job.

    I have many things I like to do during my free time. I love to visit my parents, spend time with my bf and my cousins and other relatives like my aunts and uncle, I have my hobbies, I like to go to parks, museums and zoos, I like to travel (you can surprisingly travel frugally since the travel industry is cut-throat in competition), I like to volunteer, I also love to read, etc.

  62. Lila,

    How nice that you got a $15 gift card from Hy-Vee! That’s very cool. Good for them for taking their customer relationships seriously.

    And I hear you about not wanting to be at a job any more than 40-45 hours. I’m on the same page. I equate it to anything I love. I enjoy working out regularly. But if I HAD TO work out by going into the gym at 7:30 in the morning and not leaving until 6:00 at night, and having to meet certain fitness “quotas” every single day…well, I wouldn’t like working out very more. Maybe I’m just the type of person who gets burned out on something if I’m forced to do it for 45-50 hours per week, every single week for years on end. Like you, I just have too many other things in life I really enjoy. And I also enjoy my unstructured free time very much as well, and it’s hard to have any of that at all when you’re busy all the time.

    Best wishes!

  63. Completely agree. I used to spend $6-12 dollars on lunch, stop by the vending machine at work and get 1-3 snacks, stop by Starbucks or Dunking Donuts spend another $4-6, stop by the gas station and buy 2-4 of the $1.39 soda pops *every* single day. This was a typical day for me.

    At the time this didn’t seem like much money to me, I’m not sure why but this was what I thought at the time, but when you’re doing this every day it all adds up. I used to think “Why am I always broke?” – I was very foolish.

    It takes awhile to change poor habits.

  64. Thanks for reading my long post and responding! It’s so nice how you respond to me and your other readers. 😀

  65. Hi Lila,

    Better late than never to come to your realization about these seemingly small and insignificant purchases and see their compounding effects.

  66. Lila,

    “It takes awhile to change poor habits.”

    Indeed. Some people may recommend to slowly cut back on consumerism, but I did it pretty much cold turkey. And that’s what I recommend. You’ll know right away if you’re in it to win it or not.

    Cheers!

  67. I know this discussion is old but I just got back from 9 great days in the mountains!

    One of the neatest things I’ve done recently was take a trip similar to yours from Florida to PA. I couldn’t do it in one trip like you so at about nine pm I pulled into a Walmart, unrolled my sleeping bag (February) in the back seat of my car, pinned up some old sheets around the windows for privacy and spent the night. No $100/night hotel for me. Got a great night’s sleep and saved a bit of cash. A good feeling.

  68. Steve,

    Nice job there. If I would have became tired enough to need a stop I would have done it the same way. Although, I didn’t have a sleeping bag, so I would have just reclined my front seat back and drifted off for a few hours or so. It’s always a good feeling to save a little cash. And it’s the little victories like that that amount to big changes in your life from not only the absolute dollars saved, but also the change in your perception/lifestyle.

    Take care!

  69. Why would you move from Michigan from Florida? Michigan taxes dividend income while Florida does not, no to mention the weather.

Leave a Reply