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When i traveled through western europe a few years ago, my budget was 40 euro a day (for everything - food, lodging, fun). and it wasn't really that hard. i stayed in hostels, ate pasta and etc. from grocery stores, routinely pooled money with other travelers to buy nicer food from grocers and liquor, met up with people at the hostel common rooms who led me to great local bars and fantastic house parties, and on top of it all still went out during the day to see the sights and museums and etc. Public transportation is wonderful and cheap. Two hours after eating, 90% of meals are forgotten anyway, so might as well just eat something cheap and healthy or healthy-ish. fast food and regular dining out is wasteful.
when at home I like to do the various things mentioned above, plus my two-cents is simple: live within your means, and never use credit for anything. ever. credit is not worth it. if you really want it, save up for it and it'll all be worth it. the only debt i think is at all reasonable is a mortgage, and even there it better not be more than 25% of your take-home pay or you will be payment poor and still poor.
I don't have CC's or any other credit b/c I always keep an emergency fund on hand of at least 1000$ for unforeseen expenses. that is how you avoid credit cards for "emergencies." Plus, a little planning ahead and foresight will prevent an awful lot of "emergency" spending. as has been mentioned before, certain things will run out or need replacing, so plan for it. you're going to have to do your brakes periodically, your A/C will fail at some point, you will need to do routine maintenance on your house or car. so plan for them and life will be better. /soapbox
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These are the good old days...
formerly Murp0434
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