We live here now.

Free Money Finance posted the 10 most hated money-saving tips according to the comments he’s received over the years, writing over 700 tips.

These aren’t necessarily earth-shatteringly new strategies, but that’s not the point of this list. The point is, these are the common-sense tips to which people claim to be decidedly immune. Do check out the list for yourself, but noteworthy for us is that sitting in the number one hated money-saving tip:

1. Move to a lower cost-of-living city

You can’t say we didn’t invite y’all. That you refuse to take us up on it only leaves more houses for us. (Closing on #6 and #7 currently, by the way.)

Every now and then I succumb to feelings of inadequacy because I only have an undergraduate degree. A professional degree (teaching) wasn’t for me. Neither were the two M.A. programs that accepted me, but that I subsequently declined.

With the second of the two M.A. programs, I just couldn’t bring myself to accept because I knew that taking the time off to study would hurt my career, and being able to put a couple more letters behind my name would do nothing to help it. As I looked over course descriptions and envisioned which classes would be the lesser evils to slog through, I realized that I could learn more, and I had learned more, outside of school. One of the defining moments for me occurred when a PhD student interviewed me for her research on alternative schools and tutoring centres. If I was the source, then why did I have to go back to school? To read about what I’d spent the last year doing? Obviously I’d managed to figure things out on my own. For permission to interview people who know something I don’t? I do that every year when I speak with university admissions departments and confirm any news on the homeschooled applicant front.

I tried really hard not to be swayed by the prestige factor of a graduate diploma. Instead, I thought long and hard about what knowledge I needed, and whether a graduate program was the only place I could get that knowledge. I thought about what my clients needed from me, and what I needed to be able to do for them, and what people would pay me for. Based on that criteria, I decided that the time and money spent on a higher degree just didn’t make any sense.

A good response to the question, “How far should I go in academics?” can be found here. Some of the noteworthy points raised include:

There are a series of mistakes in the minds of most would-be Ph.D. students. The main one is some version of the labor theory of value. They assume that if they work hard enough, and jump through enough academic hoops, some college will hire them.

They do not begin as entrepreneurs. They do not ask the key question: “What is the likely state of the market in three or four years for holders of a Ph.D. in the field that I want to earn mine in?” Why not? Because they do not see economic value as something imputed by buyers of the services supplied by holders of a Ph.D. They see consumer demand as somehow generated by the work it takes to earn a Ph.D.

You don’t need a Ph.D. to be a scholar. You need one to be hired by a university that will pay you. But the odds against getting hired full-time by a university are high. This has been true since 1969 in most fields.

Marx never got hired by a university. Neither did Freud. They changed the world.

We don’t really have that much snow, but the temperatures are cold enough to keep what little there is on the ground. It’s been enough to force me to buy boots, but not a winter coat yet.

More excitingly, though, is that we finally got the rest of our stuff moved in! There wasn’t really all that much — maybe 15 medium and small boxes, but the big ticket items were the key: kitchen pantry, dressers, Joe’s organ and the Sumo!

Clothing-wise, we’d gotten very good at living with whatever a medium-sized suitcase can hold. It now seems both ridiculous and obscene that I unpacked a dresser drawer full of only socks, underwear, nylons and pyjamas. For the last six months, I’d been living with less than that in total.

As much as it bothered us to be without our stuff, for me at least it was more annoying because it was a sign that things weren’t done yet. For sure, a dresser is far better for clothing storage than a rubbermaid container on the floor, but I’m not as thrilled about the literal “baggage” that came with it. Yes, it’s nice to own some clothing with sleeves now (remember, the suitcase was packed in June!) but it will be interesting to see how much of it I keep, or at least keep out and not in storage in the basement.

Despite all the frustration over delays with finally “moving in” I know for me, the experience of “living without stuff” was very rewarding. This coincides nicely with our family’s new “pick one couple to buy for” rule. We already bought Mom and Dad’s gift, and I’ve already ordered Joe’s, so my holiday shopping is done! It’s not that I would have minded buying more gifts for more people, but I just don’t feel a need to. And, I certainly don’t want more crap filling up our little house. There are still some things we need. (or do we . . . ?The jury’s still out on that one.) Joe won’t complain about the addition of anything fleece to our household. But otherwise, I think we’re doing pretty well and have managed to adopt the change in lifestyle we were hoping we would.

Well, we made it through October with NO SNOW, which is apparently no small feat!

If only it would hold off another 3 weeks, then I’ll be in Orlando and won’t need to break down and buy a winter coat at W*lm*rt.  I figure, if I can just last the 22 days or so before we leave for our Orlando-Toronto-Philadelphia-Toronto trek, then I can get a coat in either Toronto or Philadelphia for better selection.  (And if in Philadelphia, then I can use play money USD to do it!)

As if playing chicken with the weather weren’t thrill-seeking enough, I’m also in a battle of wills against our thermostat.  Notice that I said I’m engaged in the battle; I’m not convinced the thermostat really cares. But, it does taunt me by displaying exactly how many minutes (by the day and by the week) the furnace has been on.  There’s something very satisfying about seeing it display 00:00, even if it means the indoor temperature has been set at 14 degrees in order to do it.  I had to cave in today, though, because the drywall mudding needs greater-than-freezing temperatures in which to set.  So, a cozy night lies ahead!