Be prepared for prolonged hibernation (for boy). In one scenario, my family income might drop….

See also my blogpost

• SG: bare-bones ffree=realistic #WorldBank^wife
• comparison of minimalist^conserver^simple lifestyle.
• ffree ^ envy+FOMO

In contrast, this blogpost is more about deprivation.

— Q: among the three ffree scenarios, is the jobless scenario belt-tightening like 苦行僧, deprived –> kids feeling inferior to classmates?

A: As of 2020, the spending habits of my wife and kids imply a burn rate that is 50% higher than the $3k/M estimate in my bare-bones ffree. However, I have reason to believe that once kids grow up, my family burn rate will drop.

A: In my numerical analysis, I zeroed out luxury spend, mostly air tickets and restaurants, not the premium foods we buy from stores. In a jobless situation, I feel confident we Can make these adjustments and get used to it, over 2 years.

• $100/M additional spend would provide creature comfort such as … nearby vacations, day tours
• Remember, staycation hotels and restaurants are new to me and wife. Removing them is not deprivation.
• In any city I know, there are plenty of high-quality free-entrance places for vacation. In fact, those commercial establishments requiring a ticket are usually smallish and artificial.
• coffee shop 杂菜饭 (mixed vegie rice) is an example of frugal indulgence .. ##frugal indulgence ] SG 

A: In the Singapore context, S$2k/M is not abject poverty. In the U.S. low income might be more harsh… I can only imagine but my imagination is based on limited observations.

A: In any country, my kids would need to adjust and grow up as confident kids in spite of family income lower than classmates’.

• me: Hi Mike, if you didn’t have your parents living with you as a kid, I wonder if you felt inferior to your peers in school.
• Mike: Nope, I used it as ambition to do better than them.
• me: I find it hard to believe. I saw this kind of fighting spirit and optimism only in movies
• Mike: Its actually true
• … I then shared with Mike my childhood experiences as the only kid without television at home. I felt deprived but survived.

— A: To live comfortably within SGD2k-3k/M, family member need to live like me — practice everyday mindful spending and restrict careless spending, similar to restricting calories. Basically, everything more than $10 needs a conscious decision. Tough? Easy for me.

On a deeper level, Freedom^Responsibility are two sides of the same coin. Responsible spending, Self-discipline and Living-within-means are necessary for financial freedom. Without them, even a $5k passive income would become “insufficient” sooner or later as you liquidate the income-generate asset.

The Business Times article described a max-savings lifestyle, not too different from me.

— globalization: food and clothing cost is reducing world wide, so is the minimum cost of living in SG. U.S. would require car ownership, even for a retiree !

Q2: but why is our monthly burn rate not reducing?
A2: I would say as a bachelor, my burn rate did reduce gradually, but as a family we all want the same level of luxury and creature comfort as our neighbors. We would FEEL impoverished and deprived if we can only afford to consume at the same level as 10Y ago (which has now become cheaper.)

This Q2 has implications on FIRE and bare-bones ffree.

Wife, as a mainstream consumer, wants to feel “affordable” when considering certain everyday “lifestyle” spend like a toy, personal care, home fixture, fancy food… If her friends can afford something, but I tell her “not necessary”, she would feel deprived. To me these “lifestyle” items are all unnecessary almost irresponsible, but I’m no purist either — look in the mirror! My wife is not a minimalist. Me? neither!