Can I Live On This Amount

[Papa Carl]

As I have posted in several other threads in regards to this subject, my wife and (now almost 4 year old daughter) live well on less than this. ( I have submitted my monthly spending, along with a video of where we live, and the vehicle I drive in previous posts)

 

We do not have the "nest egg", which is entirely my fault, and would be nice, in case of medical emergency etc. however I find that I can "save" a little each month to work towards a "nest egg", and God willing I will live long enough to increase this to an amount that will be useful to my wife after I am no longer here.

 

My life style is not the same as it was in Canada, the UK or for that matter Malaysia, however I have adapted and am "satisfied" with what we have and live on day to day. 

 

I had more than I needed when living in other countries, and have learned to "live to my means", which helps a great deal. Most of this must be credited to my wife, who has helped me learn "the value of money", and to live with in my means. 

 

Without her, life would be no where near what it is now.

 

As I have said before, I have less, but I am much more "content" with life now, than at any time in my past.

 

 

Papa Carl

[robert k]

Always good to hear from Papa Carl! :thumbsup:

[stevewool]

As I have posted in several other threads in regards to this subject, my wife and (now almost 4 year old daughter) live well on less than this. ( I have submitted my monthly spending, along with a video of where we live, and the vehicle I drive in previous posts)

 

We do not have the "nest egg", which is entirely my fault, and would be nice, in case of medical emergency etc. however I find that I can "save" a little each month to work towards a "nest egg", and God willing I will live long enough to increase this to an amount that will be useful to my wife after I am no longer here.

 

My life style is not the same as it was in Canada, the UK or for that matter Malaysia, however I have adapted and am "satisfied" with what we have and live on day to day. 

 

I had more than I needed when living in other countries, and have learned to "live to my means", which helps a great deal. Most of this must be credited to my wife, who has helped me learn "the value of money", and to live with in my means. 

 

Without her, life would be no where near what it is now.

 

As I have said before, I have less, but I am much more "content" with life now, than at any time in my past.

 

 

Papa Carl

Well said , i think if we have that special person in our lives we all can live the way we want too and with very little money just love and respect for one another

[BrettGC]

My life style is not the same as it was in Canada, the UK or for that matter Malaysia, however I have adapted and am "satisfied" with what we have and live on day to day. 

 

How has it changed Carl, what where your old expectations compared to how you see them now?

 

Carl, you always make realistic and perceptive posts, I personally have learned a lot from you, thanks. 

[frosty (chris)]

As I have posted in several other threads in regards to this subject, my wife and (now almost 4 year old daughter) live well on less than this. ( I have submitted my monthly spending, along with a video of where we live, and the vehicle I drive in previous posts)

 

We do not have the "nest egg", which is entirely my fault, and would be nice, in case of medical emergency etc. however I find that I can "save" a little each month to work towards a "nest egg", and God willing I will live long enough to increase this to an amount that will be useful to my wife after I am no longer here.

 

My life style is not the same as it was in Canada, the UK or for that matter Malaysia, however I have adapted and am "satisfied" with what we have and live on day to day. 

 

I had more than I needed when living in other countries, and have learned to "live to my means", which helps a great deal. Most of this must be credited to my wife, who has helped me learn "the value of money", and to live with in my means. 

 

Without her, life would be no where near what it is now.

 

As I have said before, I have less, but I am much more "content" with life now, than at any time in my past.

 

 

Papa Carl

Triple like, great post, one of the best I have read on here. Good luck to you

[Papa Carl]

Many thanks for your kind words, Robert, Steve, Brett and Chris, although I am not sure I deserve such praise when there are so many other members here who are far more dependable than I in regards to daily reading and contribution to this forum.

 

Without their reliability of participation, and contribution to the forum, by providing such an excellent repository of accurate and up to date information this forum would not be what in my opinion it is......, the best forum for people seeking insight and information about what it is like to live and visit here in the Philippines. 

 

There are an abundance of sites on the net, regarding the Philippines, most at best are entertaining but not very informative. They are an open forum where inaccurate information, and some what unreliable and biased opinions are expressed, with no or little care or concern for others, with far too many derogatory comments about Filipino men and especially women, who it seems most forums look upon as commodities to be bought and used, and then discarded.

 

Tom and the moderators I am sure get very few pats on the back for what they do, with very little if any reward, not to mention the core of our members who continuously contribute sometimes controversial but important information.

 

Brett, in regards to your question of how my lifestyle or attitude has changed,.... well when living in Canada or the UK, I had much more than I needed for one thing, and at the time I am sure I thought I needed them to be happy. However upon reflection, did I need the 5 bedroom house, with pond and conservatory etc., did I really need the Jag and the TVR sports car?  Did I really need literally hundreds of potential TV channels to watch? or the closet and drawers full of clothes that I rarely wore? Did I really need the membership to the exclusive sport and fitness club that I rarely used? Believe me at the time I was sure I needed the fancy dishwasher, that cleaned and sterilized our pots and pans, (now I am the dishwasher! like I was when I first started out with my own place when I left my parents home.) I could go on and on about things I thought I could not survive without, or at the least wanted and deserved so I thought, but I am sure you can guess for yourself.

 

Needless to say, I have much less now of everything, clothes, food, space (my house here is less then a quarter of the size in the UK), the car I drive is an amalgamation of vehicles, but is works, gets me to where I am going safely, has A/C (which is needed here, but was not really needed in Canada or the UK) etc. 

 

So I guess what I am saying is,.... although I am not as "rich" as I was, I feel as though I am far more content with what I have, and have learned the value of what I have far better than when I had more.

 

I am thinking of a song from an album called "Twin Sons of Different Mothers" by Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg, and a song titled "The Power of Gold", or other similar songs.

 

I am sorry that I did not keep up all the pensions that I contributed to, or made any special investments when I was younger, I wish I had planned for my "retirement" like so many other members have mentioned in the forum, I wish I had the "nest egg" that is often spoken about, as I am sure that it would make life much easier for myself, my wife and daughter, especially when I am no longer around to provide for them.

However we have each other, we do things together every day, I spend more time with our daughter than I ever did with my children from my first marriage.

I am fortunate to have work that pays enough for us to live better than most here in the Philippines, although only a fraction of what I made in Canada, the UK or any other place I have lived and worked.

I love teaching and enjoy my students, I wish I did not have to teach 50 classes a week to earn the money I am now making, but thankful that there are 50 classes a week for me to teach!

 

In short, I no longer require all the things I used to, I have much less, I earn much less, and I own much less, however I need much less to live a better life style (in my opinion), I appreciate those around me more, spend more time with the people I love, and get much more from them in return.

 

I am an aging 59 year old man, (but I am a devilishly handsome fellow, ha ha), married to an unbelievably beautiful 27 year old caring, kind, giving, intelligent woman, who chose me, and chased me, even when I had nothing to offer her, and we have an incredible 4 year old daughter,....... I am one very lucky man! and thankful for what I have (possibly for the first time in my life).

 

Hope that answers your question Brett.

 

 

Papa Carl

[Curley]

Well said , i think if we have that special person in our lives we all can live the way we want too and with very little money just love and respect for one another

 

Couldn't agree more, wish I had "a special one".

[stevewool]

 

Well said , i think if we have that special person in our lives we all can live the way we want too and with very little money just love and respect for one another

 

Couldn't agree more, wish I had "a special one".

 

the special one takes some finding, but they are out there

[Hey Steve]

They are absolutely out there, I agree, Steve. I found mine too and with what I will give up in moving to the Philippines is nothing compared to what I will gain and I fully expect to many positive experiences such as Papa Carl in the near future. My wife is an eternal optimist and keeps me in good spirits each day. We'll be moving to her country, her land, her farm and will build on it. What I will give up pales nothing in comparison to the experiences and life I will gain.

[BrettGC]

Many thanks for your kind words, Robert, Steve, Brett and Chris, although I am not sure I deserve such praise when there are so many other members here who are far more dependable than I in regards to daily reading and contribution to this forum.

 

Without their reliability of participation, and contribution to the forum, by providing such an excellent repository of accurate and up to date information this forum would not be what in my opinion it is......, the best forum for people seeking insight and information about what it is like to live and visit here in the Philippines. 

 

There are an abundance of sites on the net, regarding the Philippines, most at best are entertaining but not very informative. They are an open forum where inaccurate information, and some what unreliable and biased opinions are expressed, with no or little care or concern for others, with far too many derogatory comments about Filipino men and especially women, who it seems most forums look upon as commodities to be bought and used, and then discarded.

 

Tom and the moderators I am sure get very few pats on the back for what they do, with very little if any reward, not to mention the core of our members who continuously contribute sometimes controversial but important information.

 

Brett, in regards to your question of how my lifestyle or attitude has changed,.... well when living in Canada or the UK, I had much more than I needed for one thing, and at the time I am sure I thought I needed them to be happy. However upon reflection, did I need the 5 bedroom house, with pond and conservatory etc., did I really need the Jag and the TVR sports car?  Did I really need literally hundreds of potential TV channels to watch? or the closet and drawers full of clothes that I rarely wore? Did I really need the membership to the exclusive sport and fitness club that I rarely used? Believe me at the time I was sure I needed the fancy dishwasher, that cleaned and sterilized our pots and pans, (now I am the dishwasher! like I was when I first started out with my own place when I left my parents home.) I could go on and on about things I thought I could not survive without, or at the least wanted and deserved so I thought, but I am sure you can guess for yourself.

 

Needless to say, I have much less now of everything, clothes, food, space (my house here is less then a quarter of the size in the UK), the car I drive is an amalgamation of vehicles, but is works, gets me to where I am going safely, has A/C (which is needed here, but was not really needed in Canada or the UK) etc. 

 

So I guess what I am saying is,.... although I am not as "rich" as I was, I feel as though I am far more content with what I have, and have learned the value of what I have far better than when I had more.

 

I am thinking of a song from an album called "Twin Sons of Different Mothers" by Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg, and a song titled "The Power of Gold", or other similar songs.

 

I am sorry that I did not keep up all the pensions that I contributed to, or made any special investments when I was younger, I wish I had planned for my "retirement" like so many other members have mentioned in the forum, I wish I had the "nest egg" that is often spoken about, as I am sure that it would make life much easier for myself, my wife and daughter, especially when I am no longer around to provide for them.

However we have each other, we do things together every day, I spend more time with our daughter than I ever did with my children from my first marriage.

I am fortunate to have work that pays enough for us to live better than most here in the Philippines, although only a fraction of what I made in Canada, the UK or any other place I have lived and worked.

I love teaching and enjoy my students, I wish I did not have to teach 50 classes a week to earn the money I am now making, but thankful that there are 50 classes a week for me to teach!

 

In short, I no longer require all the things I used to, I have much less, I earn much less, and I own much less, however I need much less to live a better life style (in my opinion), I appreciate those around me more, spend more time with the people I love, and get much more from them in return.

 

I am an aging 59 year old man, (but I am a devilishly handsome fellow, ha ha), married to an unbelievably beautiful 27 year old caring, kind, giving, intelligent woman, who chose me, and chased me, even when I had nothing to offer her, and we have an incredible 4 year old daughter,....... I am one very lucky man! and thankful for what I have (possibly for the first time in my life).

 

Hope that answers your question Brett.

 

 

Papa Carl

 

 

Triple like Carl!

 

Pretty much as I thought... Life for me isn't about the material thing either.