But isn't that true for most people who own a house. The house is essentially the savings plan and, in many ways, retirement plan?

I guess that's true, I just don't tend to think about it that way since my parents had it so different.

Okay, I think I'm gonna pack up one more box and then get out of here. I've just spent an hour and a half culling most of the crap out of my file cabinet. The desk will have to wait for next week.

I live in the Bay Area which is admittedly hell for housing costs. But still, most of my friends managed to buy here.

Yeah, but maybe they have crazy-ass mortgages. Or are just generally living way beyond their means and accumulating massive credit card debt. It's hard to tell.

People are constantly calling in to Dave Ramsey owing tens of thousands on credit cards and cars for no good reason. Even though they make 50K or whatever, they just had to have a 35K new car and 4-bedroom house, even though they couldn't really afford it.

My parents definitely wanted us all to be happy, and they equate happiness with a career you enjoy, a paid-for house, and a family if you get one. They've resigned themselves to neither my sister nor I giving them any more grandkids except by marriage, but wouldn't mind it if I got married to someone I loved (neither would I!).

I'd been envying my coworker, with whom we used to share a nanny, because they have a fancy house that they renovated, and kids were in private school, and the own art, and he races cars as a hobby, and I couldn't figure out how they did it on his 35-hour a week as an architect plus her 9-month appointment as an academic librarian salaries. Well, it turned out, their entire salaries were going to the mortgage and the private schools. Everything else turned out to be consumer debt! She's the one who said stuff like, "we cut back drinking wine and now we're only drinking 2 bottles a week and saving so much!" Now that they are seeing a financial planner, they are seriously considering selling the house and buying something smaller to repay the debts. And they aren't doing private school any more. And I'm not envious, either.

People are constantly calling in to Dave Ramsey owing tens of thousands on credit cards and cars for no good reason. Even though they make 50K or whatever, they just had to have a 35K new car and 4-bedroom house, even though they couldn't really afford it.

This is where I'm way ahead of most people I know--my car should be paid off more than a year early, and my credit card is down to $200 as of today. (The only reason it was over $0 was because I finally got renters insurance last week, so I feel much safer right now. You never know when a fellow renter will fall asleep with a candle or cigarette lit and burn down the whole building, or for that matter if a tornado hits, my top-floor apartment would be the first to go.)

I'm going to start bringing in my lunch to work starting tomorrow. I'm stopping by the grocery store tonight to fill up my fridge, and see how much I can save from doing that.

Food is practically my only discretionary spending right now and it still varies wildly. What I would really love is a cooking “cheaply” cookbook. Not for college students or the like, but a normal (good) cookbook that has that as an underlying philosophy. Anyone have any recs?

I think there's a Craig Claiborne called Budget Gourmet or something? You already use Moosewood Cooks at Home, I know, which is my default "cheap cooking" book - no meat is cheaper, and there are a lot of basic recipes with eggs, canned beans, etc.

That's true. I should go back to that one. Aside from a few favorites, I haven't made much from it lately.

It's not really a problem for home--stuff like fried eggs and toast is comfort food for dinner. I'm more looking for things I can bring in to work easily.

I'm not sure I know what I mean by making changes. I don't think it means budgeting more. What I need to start with is getting a direction. Well, what a great time for it, with job ending and all.

Hey, you can get COBRA at the end of a contract, right? You don't have to be laid off, or anything? Otherwise je suis screwée.