I’m not keeping it all in the bank, and I wouldn’t suggest you do either.

Instead I would suggest to invest in things that will become more expensive later. I know that sounds obvious but tools, equipment, canned and pantry good are not exactly flashy investments like stocks and bonds but there are ways to prepare.

…and if you rotate your back stock you’ll always have something to donate to somebody who needs it more than you. If you can maintain a reserve then there’s probably someone who needs it more than you do.

You don’t have to spend a lot to live richly. By making all of my own food I eat a wonderful variety of a healthy things everyday. All the food is fresh prepared by me, canned by me, or bespoke junk.

Besides, within walking distance of where I live now there are acres of wild grapes and raspberries and you can eat the fish from the water. The wild turkeys out here are comically inept, I bet I could harvest more than my family would ever need with a couple of rocks a day. They are such funny little creatures and none too bright but I did see one out run/hover a mountain lion.

I squeeze pennies so hard they need therapy and always have. I remember loaning money to my older siblings to buy game systems and fund dates.

Ever since I saw a documentary on the great depression and spoke to my grandmother about what it was like to live through it I started noticing that we as a country we’re not doing so great. I’ve been working and saving most of my money since I was in first grade, but by middle school I just decided to abstain from almost every kind of expense I could.

I’ve never struggled financially but that’s because I learned that you don’t need to buy much stuff if you make your own, can live on less, and have a pervasive crippling anxiety about the collapse of western civilization.

So yeah I’ve been running on the vibe “The Great depression is coming again and there’s no way I can save enough to be prepared”

This has earned me a meager modest lifestyle, but my family eats very well, has a clean home, and has plenty of modern luxuries and toys even if some of them might be a bit worn, rough around the edges, or unfashionable.

I didn’t have to learn to live on lentils but I did have to give up on things my parents found very accessible like restaurants, travel, new things, packaged food, college, free time, bars, weekends, my own room, cars, movie theaters, most museums and non-critical medical care.

So yeah, I guess compared to my peers I’m crushing it because in all of my frugality I managed to avoid racking up six figures of college debt! I’ll never own a house though.

“If this is your entire personality it makes sense that the only place you have to talk about it is with people who think they have no choice but to invite you.”

“If you don’t learn how to read the room you may not be invited back into it.”