Living the Good Life on $24,000 a Year? Retire in Your 20’s or 30’s?

[dfrecore]

The numbers in the original scenario are completely unrealistic.
- $80/mo property taxes? On what planet?
- $20 car insurance? again, where is this possible?
- $30 gasoline a month? I guess you're not going more than 5 miles from home. Ever.
- $15 cell phone plan - I guess it's for a single person.
- $200 for food - I guess maybe for a single person who doesn't eat much or well. That's certainly not buying steak or chicken breasts or pork chops
- even "free" Obamacare plans make you pay for doctor's visits and whatnot. Prescriptions.
- $600/mo for vacations will not be much of a vacation. You'd have to save for MANY months in order to do a 3-day weekend to a nearby beach.
- and the "left over" money is honestly not giving you much buffer if something happens

Nowhere is there savings for car repairs or buying a used car when yours dies. Nowhere is there savings for home repairs.
Here's a list of things I personally have had happen, or have friends who have had happen in just a few years:
- I just bought filters for my home and it ran me $100. Those are supposed to be changed monthly.
- water heater goes out $1000
- leak in downstairs ceiling that turns out to be minor plumbing issue $500
- tree grew into the main line $25,000
- minor roof leak $600
- major roof leak $2500
- entirely new roof $12k
- A/C problem (3x in a single year) - $195 each time
- new A/C $9k
- appliance repair $300
- new/used appliance when something goes out $500-$3000
- raccoons getting into your crawlspace
- tree rats in your attic space
- major mouse infestation $300, need for continued servicing going forward $30/mo
- bees build a gigantic hive in your tree, $300
- bees build a hive in your walls, $1700
- your kid breaks a window playing baseball $600

None of these even take into account the cost of kids (I have a senior in high school, it's insanely expensive for all of his crap this year). Buying a crib or formula or clothing if you have a baby. Continued clothes for your growing children. I guess they won't be able to play a sport or do literally anything else, because all of that is expensive. 1 season of soccer is $150, plus the cost of cleats. Your gas bill will be going up for sure, driving to 2x weekly practices and Saturday games. Don't let them be really good at a sport, in which case your costs will go up by 3x-10x.

So, this scenario is fine I guess if you are single with no kids, don't like to do much, and nothing bad ever happens. And you can find this elusive place with $80 property taxes that will never go up, $20 car insurance that will never go up, HO insurance that never goes up, grocery costs never go up, and gas prices never go up. I mean, what can go wrong planning out a life like that??