A small sampling in nearby counties. I have played all of these courses, but for some it has been many years dating back to my high school golf team days:

http://www.diamondmountaingolf.com/course/membership

http://www.trinityalpsgolf.com/golf.html

http://www.beaupregc.com/greenfees.html

http://www.goldhillsgolf.com/membership.shtml

As you can see it runs the spectrum. Some of these are lower elevation courses that play year round, some are higher and have shorter seasons. All have good fishing and hunting nearby

And most don't fit your criteria, but whatev.

Are you implying that the "intellectual classes" emphasize the practical? Seems to me, nothing could be further from the truth. Academics are some of the people most obsessed with things that have little relevance to everyday life.

It doesnt seem like that at all.
It seems like the people who have expensive tastes who live in the lap of luxury wouldn't be content with it though.


Gym memberships that include entry into rec leagues, and (for some sports) all the equipment needed are around $40/m.

Music instrument rental is $10/m, and instructional material is free online.
You have access to unimited movie, tv, music and other media content for free with the internet.

Learning how to and becoming proficient at cooking probably reduces your cost of living, by token of the fact that you wont have the same need to go out for 'good food'.

You can sit in on countless university lectures without having to be enrolled. No cost.

Learn to play poker, and play small stakes online for a profit or a miniscule loss.

Read a book.

WRITE a book.

Get a pet.

Pick up sluts.

Meet a girl you like, and settle down.

Volunteer at charitable organizations.

MAKE BETWEEN 10,000 30,000 POSTS ON AN ONLINE FORUM.


These are all possible ways to spend your time.

So is getting a job. But NOT getting a job is something a lot of people would entertain. Especially people who can't get a good job. Most people in the world live off of far less than 30k/y, and they arent miserable because of it.

Living in a big city isnt a necessary requirement.

I personally prefer some expensive things and wouldnt be able to get by on 1m, but i think MOST people would be very content with that lifestyle and that the only thing that would drive htem into work is the social aspect.

The cost savings between preparing "good food" at home vs out for a single person is very minimal.

The cost savings between preparing good food at home and fast food is minimal. The difference between good food at home and quality restaurants (whose food quality is still worse than well-prepared home food) is substantial.

Actually it isn't. But go ahead and keep insisting it is. (IE Go buy a USDA prime filet. Check the cost.)

Watch paint dry

Count to a million

Work out pi to further than anyone else has

Look to see what other movies sync up with Pink Floyd albums

You are right there are so many enjoyable things to do.

I honestly don't think many of you freaks cook. Here is a basic sampling of crap I need to make 2 steaks for me and a friend.

2 Steaks: $20 (USDA Choice Ribeye ~$10 a lbs)
Peppers: $2
Garlic: $.50
Oregano: $3
Salt/Pepper/Oil: $.5

There will be some oregano left over, but the uses of fresh oregano are limited and I'm going to assume we don't create such complicated menus weekly that we can utilize a maximum amount of oregano for freshness.

I've spent $26 to make two steaks. I have no sides created, no drinks, and need to take my time and effort to do this. Of course if I enjoy cooking, that is great. If I don't and view cleaning dishes etc as a waste (in addition to the tangible cost). I actually have to care about this.

Some things are noticeably cheaper though. I can make delicious salads for myself for ~2 dollars and with a wide variety of vinaigrette that may or may not be expensive to make.

The point being that if you're going to make "gourmet" quality meals, they're going to cost a gourmet amount. If I could buy an entire tenderloin at $6 a lbs and cook 20 of these for a gianormous group, I'd save a **** ton of money. Sadly things aren't typically sold like this. Ergo many things cost a premium for freshness/quality/amount etc.

It isn't. I don't cook but lately we have tried to cook a few meals just because it is good to have as a skill. The cost even if you exclude stuff like spices which you wouldn't need to buy after you have a stocked kitchen was the same or more than a nice casual restaurant with good food. Dinning out only becomes expensive when you include wine which is marked up a lot. This is probably less true the less meat-centric your diet is.

Buy your meat at Costco. You can get a whole USDA Choice ribeye for ~$5/lb. Get a vacuum sealer, cut into steaks, seal and freeze. Have an herb garden. Keep a vegetable garden and a small fruit tree orchard. Make your own juices, beer and wine.

Thremp, of those golf courses only one of those didn't fit my criteria, quit ****ing trolling.

I didn't intend for this thread to devolve into specifics on how to live best on the cheap, but that topic is at least interesting. I wholly agree that urban living on this restricted budget would blow. A rural outdoor lifestyle in flyover country is completely doable.

You could buy a quarter or half cow at a time, ~2/pound.

Once you start doing stuff like this it is surviving rather than living comfortably. No one is saying that if you pinch every penny you can't do it but that is a pretty miserable way to live.

Given all the money in the world, I would still prefer to buy my meat that way. Much preferred over going to any restaurant. Even if the restaurants gave it away for free i'd prefer to buy it this way.

Henry, I might actually be able to live a better life off $30/k year than how happy I would be if i had as much money as you do living the way you do. Different interests/values I guess.

FYP

lol frozen meat

Oh my.

Do we pay people to process meat for us... or do we learn to use a knife ourselves?

You can have it processed into whatever cuts you want. I've never processed beef myself but do process my own deer (by choice).

And if you think frozen meat is bad you're doing it wrong.

Umm... Frozen meat is inferior.

Inferior != bad.

Frozen isn't LOL either.

Yes, meat loses quality when you freeze it, but not as much as you are arguing (a $10/lb cut does not lose half of its value or desirability if frozen). Yes, cells rupture and blood is lost. It makes the biggest difference in the loin cuts. I would never freeze a backstrap. Everything else is fine to freeze if you pick it up cheap enough.

Depending where you shop many stores receive/store frozen meat and thaw it before they put it up for sale.

While true, I don't think Thremp shops there. Those stores don't typically sell USDA Prime fillets.

Prime, Choice and Select graded beef should never be sold previously frozen

I see that we're discussing meat now.

Can't wait for whats next - my vote is for how long one can live in a national park without any access to civilization.

Good point. I think they have to mark it as previously frozen if they do that too.