Originally Posted by
jgillam
I agree with living a life with few bills. It's awesome but, not always cool.
My wife and I made a deliberate decision years ago, to live even for frugally than we had been. We have a few nice things but mostly do without the things our broke friends are buying. The car is old, we shop at second hand stores a lot and don't go out much or on big vacations. We have a goal of paying off the house and, in 2 years we are done, 15 years early. We will be in our early 40's with slightly above average incomes and some financial discipline. There is an amazing thing about living this way, we have a reasonable emergency fund and when things break or come up, we don't freak out because we can cover it without worry.
Saving for something that is important to you, like a LD hike, just takes some discipline and the willingness to cut out the unnecessary things in our lives. It creates breathing room and allows you to save money and energy.