Living Well & Peacefully on $12,000 a Year

I stumbled upon this wonderful story today about a woman who has found contentment in her life yet lives at the “poverty” line.    I can relate to her story because when I was a resident I blogged in detail about my own budget which was also at the poverty line ==>  MD Living in Poverty .  It was through the cutting of unnecessary expenses and eschewing the greed fueled American lifestyle that I was able to escape medicine.   No fancy car, latest high tech gadget, or gaudy piece of jewelry was worth giving up my freedom for as long as I was chained to a job in healthcare.  Thanks to this realization, I will never step foot in a hospital again unless it is to visit a dying relative  (I made a vow to not spend my last days in a hospital bed no matter what the circumstances!  I consider myself a DNA- “Do Not Admit”).

Anyone can do this if they really want to make a change in their lives.  By living within her means, Ms. Wilcoxon has been able to escape the relentless and punishing American rat race.   Unlike most other Americans who work themselves to death so they can buy things to justify the countless hours they clock in everyday and to impress others within their social circles, this woman has courageously turned her back on all that.   She appears to have found a MUCH easier path to achieving happiness and peace in her life without all the needless sacrifice.   Instead of slogging away, 12 hrs a day, at some dreaded soul sucking job, Ms. Wilcoxon instead lives on a charming boathouse on the bay in San Francisco and leisurely spends her days taking in the beautiful environs and doing what she loves to do…paint.    Kudos to You, Ms. Wilcoxon, for discovering the secret on living well….and all for a mere 12K year!!  Here are some highlights from the video portraying her lifestyle:

“I don’t have huge payments, I’m not stressed out by a job, I make just enough money to pay for my lifestyle, I don’t need a lot of money for a big house with 3 cars and 5 bedrooms and big payments, it‘s not what I’m interested in.”

Wilcoxon lives on about $12,000 a year, paying a small monthly fee to the cooperative for berth rights (which includes sewage and laundry). Her electric bills are only about $12 in the summer and $60 during the frosty winter months.

Her minimal expenses allow Wilcoxon to live as an artist. Her work has been shown in the American University Museum (Washington DC) and she’s represented in New York (Brenda Taylor Gallery) and San Francisco (Jack Fischer Gallery), but her most enduring work is her boat home itself.

Can Afford $180 Air Jordans but not a $20 physician copay???

Seriously, what is wrong with this country? People can stand in line for hours in sub zero weather for a freaking pair of sneakers yet can’t get their fat asses off the couch to protest and vocalize the injustices in our govt right now? I am almost beginning to think that Nike has some sort of contract with Congress to keep Americans in their slumber.
Furthermore, I can’t fathom dropping that kind of money on footware. As my loyal readers may already know, I am quite the frugal minded person and I run a fiercely controlled budget. So my burning question is where are these folks getting this money? Can anyone tell me? Yet at the same time, they can’t cough up 20 bucks to pay the copay for a routine doctor’s visit? As society continues to devalue healthcare, you can only imagine where salaries are going to continue to trend. Why go through the rigors and hell of med school, when you can get a job working in fashion, sports, or anything pop culture related? That’s where the money seems to be going nowadays (at least before the economy completely goes off the cliff). Unbelievable! America is truly doomed until it gets its priorities back on track.

No health insurance? Here’s your bill for the night!

Need more evidence that healthcare in the United States is spiraling out of control?  Here’s some poor guy’s healthcare bill that was posted online after having recently spent one night in the hospital.  To add insult to injury, the bill came just one week before Christmas!  Season’s Greetings!   Just to put things in perspective, a one night stay at The Royal Penthouse Suite at the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland (billed as the world’s most expensive hotel room) would’ve cost a mere $65,000. http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/01/travel/expensive-hotel-suites-cnngo/index.html

Tis the Season for Finals!

Oh how I miss some of my old gunner med school classmates….