Surprising self-evaluation after first year on the job.

In the spring of 2013, I graduated after a long time in school (4 years for undergrad, 2 years for grad school, 3 years for professional school). I had landed my dream job and intended to pursue financial independence. Because of all that school, I entered the workforce on the older side (28) in the fall of 2013.

I had been very frugal in school and for years had tracked every single penny I spent. For 2014, I decided to budget a little differently. I set an aggressive auto-investing schedule and allowed myself the freedom to spend whatever was leftover however I saw fit. I didn't track my spending at all for the entire year of 2014.

Then at the beginning of 2015 I decided to do a self-evaluation to see how things had gone in 2014 and to set goals for 2015. So I decided to add up all my spending for 2014. I was extremely apprehensive because in my mind, I had been living extravagantly and I certainly hadn't taken any extreme cost saving measures.

However, when I crunched the numbers, I found out that I had spent a bit over $12,000 -- just over the federal poverty line for a household size of one. This was incredibly eye opening to me. For the first time, I truly understood how powerful controlling the spending side of the equation is. I could take an 80% pay cut, maintain my spending levels, and still put a little money away. In just my first full calendar year of working, I could get laid off and have enough savings to maintain my spending levels for a couple years.

I also realized just how crazy most people's spending habits are. I had been having the time of my life, "free spending" without a second thought and I couldn't possibly imagine how I would spend tens of thousands of dollars more per year even if I wanted to.

Realizing just how little I need to spend to truly be happy has been quite powerful for me. Has anyone else had a similar experience?