Not strictly early FI but cutting cable made me an outsider on a lot of discussion about TV shows and even ads. It's surprising how much TV ads influence daily discussions.
Saving more money than other people at my salary level means I vacation less and spend less on luxuries. I go out to restaurants a lot less too.
* Cutting cable is happening on a cultural level, independent of financial motives. People, not just information-conscious consumer Mustachians, are fed up with commercials and paying for things they don't watch. Netflix is slowly changing the game until we get to a point where we simply pay for what we watch.
* I don't know if people are actually eating out less as a whole, but you'd sure think they are with all of the healthy eating movements that have garnered traction over the past 10 years, not to mention all of America's general obsession with eating salads now. So, there's definitely reasons to eat out less other than simply saving money. Being healthier, learning valuable skills (good cooking), and spending more time with loved ones by involving them in the cooking are all reasons for not eating out less. Saving money is only the byproduct.
* I won't say that the general population is traveling less - because that probably isn't true. But I can almost guarantee that travel from city to city will become almost nonexistent in the future as technology brings everything we'd ever want right to us. And travel will become a nominal expense in the future so it will almost be synonymous with eating as we develop more efficient technologies and infrastructure. That's my guess. Lots of people are already living like this though by ordering everything they need online, working from home, etc.
So, as you can see, not all of these obvious money-saving habits are rooted by the motivation to save money. This blog primarily advocates for living a better life. Saving money is just the by-product. Being FI simply opens up the door for you to explore your perfect-fitting lifestyle. It doesn't mean you can't find like-minded people now even if you have to deal with a few socially constructed minions at the moment.
Honestly, knowledge is both a blessing and a curse. It opens some doors, and closes others. Once those doors are closed, you can't ever look back or see what's inside again. It's a literal wall between what you know now and what you knew then. Yes, it can be very depressing and isolating. To know everything would be to be put in the most isolated position fathomable. Once you begin to complicate knowledge with people's beliefs (things that can't be proven but are guiding lights) then it becomes even more complex and difficult to find people that you can tolerate for over 5 minutes.
