So I tell myself though truthfully I don’t know that but we have warming trend coming up and I’m hopeful to ride to work the rest of the week, though there is too much snow on the Rail Trail to ride that both ways this week though I’m hoping this weekends dire emergency snowstorm will actually be a good soaking that will along with warmer temperatures eat away the snow.
I decided to catch the earlier bus downtown so to avoid the crazies in the Capitol and lest I get caught not wearing my politician suit as I catch the shuttle over to my office overlooking the city garbage dump. I was looking at that SuperDuty owned by the suburban office complex developer, the large size with the long bed and club cab. I guess at one level I still question whether or not I really want one though I don’t want a Honda Civic or a pickup with a blown engine, I don’t trust the EPA mandated technology .
Its a sunny but very cold morning and I could have ridden my mountain bike to work. But I think most of the rest of the week I can do it and riding Corning’s Hill and fighting the traffic at NY 32 and US 9W sucks. And let’s be honest, it’s still so damn cold out today but the weather is only going to improve as spring approaches. I just want to be able to ride both ways to work and not have to deal with the buses and the downtown crazies. Plus I have a milk bottle to donate to one of the recycling bins along the way. They had the security screeners checking people’s IDs as they headed in the Capitol today but it wasn’t too crowded. That sun was nice on the bus windows, but I do miss riding into work. Tomorrow I’ll bike in, even if It does mean I’m riding down to the express in the snow in the afternoon.
I was sort of trolling the Trumpster on Facebook, and one of my buddies from High School was calling me out again about not buying land out in country, and continue to live in the city. Don’t you know you’re gettng old. You are wasting time, just paying rent as you get older and older. And spending money on big-assed trucks. But honestly, I am not ready to give up traveling, to feed hogs and goats. Especially not in New York with the burn ban and all the gun restrictions, and neighbors so close by. How dare you burn a plastic yogurt container! I would rather keep investing and watching as things grow, learn and anticipate that better tomorrow then actually be out in the cold smashing frozen water troughs. I’d rather spend my summers smoking weed and floating down a tube in wilderness, riding my mountain bike to work rather then driving. Still that is a real sensitive thing, that bites a lot on my nerves. It’s just basically impossible to get the deep rural I crave but also be able to have a reasonable commute to work. And it’s hard to walk away from your job when you make good money. Truth is I think I’d rather have the Ford SuperDuty now rather then some house in BFE, where I’m dependent on driving everywhere and can’t burn shit in New York with regulations and neighbors just so I could have some chickens, when eggs are pretty damn cheap at the grocery store.
Truth is maybe this is something I should explore with Google AI. While I get the dangers of AI, and sometimes it’s super sycophant, it has given me a lot of piece of mind thinking about buying a Ford SuperDuty, my investments and plans. In some ways, I find it a lot easier to be honest to a computer, as it’s much less likely to tell me my ideas are dumb or at least roll their eyes at my ideas. It is a lot easier to keep things in context when the AI breaks it down, and not be so damn fearful as social media and the news media wants to be so afraid. Don’t buy a house today? Tomorrow, you will be evicted and living in snow. Land prices are only going up. So may be case, but there are other places, and I think my landlord is quite happy to collect reliable checks on my dumpy apartment while he makes no fixes. But it’s not like a house is guaranteed either, the government can condemn a property at any time to build a highway or other infrastructure project, and it’s a lot easier for government workers to harass a homeowner then a renter.
As the sad desperate individual without a F-350 truck, I need to ride my mountain bike, after dark, oh so dangerous, down to the grocery store to fill his desire to have more carbohydrates in the form of whole wheat flour, because you know I am addict when it comes to apple pancakes and home-made bread. I mean I got to have something to wash down with all that apple cider vingar. Plus I need more frozen fruit. And maybe more apples and bananas, because I’m an addict. Though I’ve been trying to cut on fruit at work. Also, because I am using my mountain bike to grocery shop, it often requires a second trip during the week, especially now my that my inventory of supplies has grown and less and less since my stock up before retiring Big Red.
One advantage to not having a vehicle is riding out in the car with my dad driving I get to observe the landscape more. It just strikes me how built up it is – and how not rural it is despite being said to be rural. If anything, it’s car dependent but not able to have the freedoms I crave in the rural life. You really have to get out a lot further to be the kind of deep rural I enjoy so much when I travel to the wilderness.
This philosophy, popularized by author Ramit Sethi, advocates for intentional spending by aggressively cutting costs on non-essential, low-value items to fund, without guilt, the passions that bring true joy. It moves away from traditional, restrictive budgeting, focusing instead on high-value “money dials” like travel, convenience, or fitness.
Key Components of the Philosophy
Definition of Frugality: Frugality is not about hoarding money; it is the ability to choose what you love enough to spend extravagantly on, while ruthlessly cutting costs on things you do not.
Money Dials: These are the key areas where you choose to spend, such as health, travel, or convenience.
Avoiding Deprivation: The approach rejects a “survival mindset” or constant penny-pinching, which rarely works long-term. Instead, it encourages focusing on high-impact savings.
Examples of “Merciless” Cuts: Reducing expenses on cable TV, subscription services, or clothes you don’t care about to save for a big trip or dream home.
Implementing the Strategy
Identify Your Values: Determine what truly brings value to your life, rather than spending on items out of obligation.
Create a “Rich Life” Plan: Define your financial goals and create a system to fund them automatically.
Automate Finances: Use automation to ensure savings and investment goals are met first, allowing for guilt-free spending on the rest. This approach aims to move from a mindset of limitation to one of intentionality, where money serves as a tool to create a meaningful life.