i know it can be done-but it can come at a large cost in the way of time and energy to implement some major 'cost cutting' efforts. relying on garage sales, thrift stores and the like for clothing/houslhold goods purchases means seeking out and finding those things you need-so unless you luck into hitting a sale that happens to have what you need right off the bat there can be hours/days of going from sale to sale and store to store seeking out your necessities (maybe not as difficult with an adult only household-we don't tend to outgrow clothing but with kids it can be a more pressing issue). as far as grocery shopping goes-unless you've got one or two stores that you can easily compare prices at and go with the cheaper alternative-running all over town to multiple locations in search of the best price can end up costing alot time and gas wise. meal wise-if you go from more expensive prepared foods to 'homemade' theres a preparation and time element in cooking involved, so that has to be figured in. so i think a person has to consider what their time is worth.
i have to think that part of the reason the person in the article was successful was because he had a 'partner' (wife) who supported his efforts in more ways than the article explored. working multiple jobs with insane hours and no days off for months at a time means the work of laundry, shopping, meal preparation, bill paying, cleaning, yard upkeep/home repairs, auto maintainance... is falling on someone else. i might have had the energy to do this when i was single/newly married-but absent of someone able/willing to take on all the work of the above items it would not have been possible.
we recently simplified our lives and as a result are able to save a much larger percent of our income. but we did that by selling our home, taking advantage of a tremendous amount of equity and paying off all of our debts (the remaining funds which were 400% more than our debts went into the bank for a future home purchase when we can take advantage of a better buyer's market). but there are some 'luxuries' (in the minds of many) that we choose to continue to have because when we balance the cost in terms of time and energy expended as well as long term investment of materials and upkeep we end up saving by hiring them out. a key example would be yard work. we live in rental with close to 12,000 square feet of lawn, trees, plants, bushes....to keep it up would mean investing in mowers, trimmers, ladders, weed abatement sprayers, edgers...and would entail several hours of work per week. we opt to have a service come in and do everything on a weekly basis for around $60 per month. a 'luxury' for some-beyond the financial savings it frees up hours that can be better used for other pursuits. we opt to have expanded satelite service-costly, but as compared to renting movies, going out to the movies or other entertainment venues with the kids it's much more cost efficient. it just comes down to both short and long term savings for us.
i have a family member who has lived a very bare bones, watch every penny, save as much as you can lifestyle for decades. and he managed to live entirely off his moderate overtime income and bank every cent of his regular salary. yes, he managed to save enough to pay cash for his 3 kids to attend high cost private universities, but the cost emotionaly for his nuclear and extended family (in my opinion) has not been worth it. his kids have a very strained relationship with him by virtue of spending only a few hours per week with him (and those in pursuit of those bargain deals), he has alienated friends and family from himself and his children because his minimal 'free time' was always directed at supporting his bare bones existance so it has never been 'worth it' for him to maintain/facilitate these relationships. and-those times when he did interact with family/friends-it was very uncomfortable because he was so focused on shareing his knowledge of cost cutting, bargain hunting...people were made to feel guilty for sharing memories of vacations, school activities and anything he views as a non necessity.
so, in my opinion-if you're going to adopt that lifestyle, take into consideration the non financial cost of these efforts and the impact they will have on both you and the people you care about.
