What is the cost of EXISTING?

[debit.servus]

Say one has decided that life isn't worth living, and simply wants to exist as a hermit. What is the minimum amount of money this person needs to eat, drink, be clothed and sleep in the cheapest part of the USA, eat the cheapest food, wearing the cheapest possible clothes, while practicing extreme frugality day in and day out?

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

Depending on how he/she feels about 1)being alone even when surrounded by people, and 2) homeless shelters and soup kitchens/food pantries it could possibly be done with $0 income theoretically; ... wouldn't be much of a life imo though.

 

[TMG51]

What are you talking about? There are bums on street corners everywhere existing for free. Do you want to be a bum?

 

[Wabbit]

One could always go to prison. 3 hots and a cot. Make it a federal crime and your doing time in a federal prison. Make sure no one gets hurt and you might even end up in a minimum security facility. Although if I ever thought I was at a point like this in my live, I prob try and live off the land in the mountains or some ****. If life wasn't worth living, I couldn't be to upset if a bear ate me.

 

[jonsun]

daniel suelo lived in a cave in utah for 15 years

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suelo

 

[tripper]

If you have even a tiny bit of money, go exist in Thailand or the Philippines, you can live decently on almost nothing.
I personally lived in a '69 Class A RV 25 years ago on $20 a week for a couple of years. Had a lot of ramen and popcorn.

 

[frater secessus]

The mendicant orders, buddhist monks, etc, lived contemplative and valuable lives without income.   I wouldn't call them bums.

OP, does "life isn't worth living" mean "society not worth engaging"?  I ask because the former phrase is infamous for inclusion in suicide notes.

To onlookers (not necessarily the OP):  suicidal ideation is a serious thing.  Even for folks who come out the other side intact, the stress of the ideation is brutal on the body and soul.  Physicians and the like are trained professionals and they deal with stuff like destructive thoughts all the time.  It's part of their job.  When I finally came clean about my jacked up internal life, my primary at the VA handled the situation with grace, compassion, and respect.  My life is much, much better now.  It's a life now rather than desperate day-by-day survival.

Sorry to derail if this wasn't the issue.  I think it's worth bringing up anyhow because the forum's demographics (generally older caucasian males living alone / away from population centers) are way overrepresented in suicide rates.  And we tend to "man up" or "suck it up" instead of talking to someone when we need to.

 

[Queen]

There is really no point in answering, when the op drops a question and doesn't bother to come back to the thread to respond or clarify, it's just noise.

 

[Wabbit]

...Where DO these questions come from??? To what purpose?...

Does there have to be a purpose? What happens if there isn't? Maybe its curiosity, maybe its philosophical in nature, or maybe its just a question thrown out there for people to chew on. More than likely its a different reason. What purpose does any question serve, take your question for example. What is the purpose of it?

 

[debit.servus]

I've heard of people EXISTING, NOT living and want to know their living costs.

 

[John61CT]

How long is a piece of string?

Every dollar you spend and every one you earn is the result of a decision, cause and effect.

You make your choices, picking up one end of the stick means picking up the other.

Living in extreme simplicity without overly risking your survival is much more difficult than just "fitting in" to the mainstream.

I have lived in developing countries as the locals do, just bare sustenance getting by, and believe me, most would be happier being poor in an earlier-developed nation among your own. You have to actually **want** to live like that, radically change most of your beliefs and living habits, it's not just an alternative lifestyle for average westerners.

 

[user 15722]

Say one has decided that life isn't worth living, and simply wants to exist as a hermit. What is the minimum amount of money this person needs to eat, drink, be clothed and sleep in the cheapest part of the USA, eat the cheapest food, wearing the cheapest possible clothes, while practicing extreme frugality day in and day out?

Many, many years back an acquaintance was curious about that...
Most of they way through consumption of a bottle of wine he threw the remainder through the window of the police station.
Bwalaa !  100% taxpayer supported for some period of time...
wheels

 

[akrvbob]

... your soul.