People like to ask that question, as it gives them an easy out; "those guys probably live boring lifes".
I'd say I don't sacrifice much. I spent a month income on vacation this summer, went skiing in the alps this winter. I have hobbies I enjoy where I don't cheap out on gear or experiences.
I'm privileged to have an income that enables this. But still I'm baffled on how my peers with the same income use all their money. And I don't really see how they are able to spend most of their money, and how they benefit from it compared to me. For comparison, my salary is about $70K in Norway.
IF I'd felt I now sacrifices something of importance, it still would be worth it. I can take years off and do what I want, switch to a lower paying job with higher QoL etc, retire early or other things, while those not making the same "sacrifices" will have to work.
Know a Googler who makes $350k/yr. Lives in San Jose, CA and no kids. Says he can't figure out how to save because his "modest" expenses are too high; thus, he needs a higher salary. Borderline absurdity.
Getting a new car every 3-4 years is extremly expensive. A lot of people think they can't live with an old beater, that they absolutely must have a "new-ish" car. An old beater for those people is a 5 year old car. An old beater for me is an 15-20 year old car.
"Warren Buffett lives in a modest house that's worth 0.001% of his total wealth".
An old beater car can be a huge inconvenience though. My 16-year old (when bought) Saxo had to have bearings replaced, but the bolts for the suspension arm were so rusted they snapped during the process and cost me 1/2 the price of the car to get a new arm and bolts, too. Replaced that car with a 15-year old Astra for a little more oomph (1.6L over 1.1L) which recently had it's handbrake rust onto the disc. A few whacks with a hammer fixed that, but I couldn't use it until after the place I wanted to go was closed because I needed my girlfriend to be able to hit the foot brake when I hit the handbrake off.
Both cars required a replacement battery within a year of buying, as well as new stereo wires for the Saxo which I had to acquire from a Peugeot 106 in a scrapyard and various bulbs for the Astra. These problems are less about age but more about previous owners and myself.
I can't wait until I can afford a newer car, something closer to 5-10 years old instead of 15-20, because I won't be praying that my car will pull off every time I haven't used it for 3 days.
living frugal - meaning actively reflecting on expenses and consumption behavior - actually leads to realizing that life is not about acquiring status symbols to impress the wrong friends or a bigger TV. It's a very healthy virtue.
I'd say I don't sacrifice much. I spent a month income on vacation this summer, went skiing in the alps this winter. I have hobbies I enjoy where I don't cheap out on gear or experiences.
I'm privileged to have an income that enables this. But still I'm baffled on how my peers with the same income use all their money. And I don't really see how they are able to spend most of their money, and how they benefit from it compared to me. For comparison, my salary is about $70K in Norway.
IF I'd felt I now sacrifices something of importance, it still would be worth it. I can take years off and do what I want, switch to a lower paying job with higher QoL etc, retire early or other things, while those not making the same "sacrifices" will have to work.