econprof, I don’t know about living on 7K unless you have your own septic/well/solar, land to grow a sizeable garden, your TV/Internet svc rigged, you buy your own cell phone minutes as needed and never travel.
You example on Early Retirement Extreme was living in apt in Chicago. Not only would I NOT want to live in an apt, I HATE high winds and Chicago has about the worst weather in the nation!
I agree with brian that bartering items and services with friends/relatives/clients, using coupons and shopping deeply-discounted food and other necessities, one can live a life slightly above their means … at ANY age.
Of course no one really knows what the future will bring WRT: future utility rates in urban areas. I think I could retire comfortably on $40K per year and still travel by road whenever I wanted to (that is, if I had no mortgage).
Plane tix, rental cars, restaurants and lodging (though lodging often can’t be avoided) add up quickly and are difficult for a lower-income retiree to afford more than a one-week trip per year. I like to travel multiple times per year and know how to do it on the cheap and also receive comped lodging (thru barter and points accumulation).
