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I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

mrmoneymustache.com

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Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#51

Post by crikli »

anthonyb wrote: post #17
alanfalcon wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And not having a credit score can be a wonderful way to live life.

Until you need to borrow money for a car or a house...

If a purchase requires you to borrow money, seriously ask yourself if you need to make the purchase. Could you (the royal you) buy a cheaper car, borrowing less or paying cash? Could you sustain another year in your current living situation?

The problem with debt-financed purchasing is that while it expands short-term options if not managed properly it can severely limit long-term options.

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#52

Post by Mz »

scribu wrote: post #47
valentin wrote: post #41

Site seems to be really slow, here is the cached version: http://tinyurl.com/c94nnmy Long url: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&biw=1...

Offtopic: What's the point of using tinyurl outside of twitter? I would understand if you had your own vanity shortener (it would be obnoxius, but at least it would make some kind of sense).

On small screens, sometimes long urls wrap and break? I was first introed to url shorteners to get around breakage, long before I ever heard of twitter.

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#53

Post by crikli »

ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #49

Well, I am happy that $4000 is so inconsequential to Mr. Money Mustache that he can just say 'fuck you' to it. Not everyone is so lucky. I am sure there are plenty of families or individuals who would sacrificed their 'integrity' or 'freedom of speech' on their blog for that kind money to feed their families, pay for their home or get a medical procedure done. It doesn't sound like any of these issues are a concern t…

"Also, is this really an issue of freedom of speech? Seems a little melodramatic to me."

I had the same thought. It seemed to me like the author was trying to make his position far more noble than what it really is. The whole thing boils down to "Look at me, I just turned down $50K so that I could still say 'fuck'".

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#54

Post by ZanderEarth32 »

crikli wrote: post #53
ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #49

Well, I am happy that $4000 is so inconsequential to Mr. Money Mustache that he can just say 'fuck you' to it. Not everyone is so lucky. I am sure there are plenty of families or individuals who would sacrificed their 'integrity' or 'freedom of speech' on their blog for that kind money to feed their families, pay for their home or get a medical procedure done. It doesn't sound like any of these issues are a concern t…

"Also, is this really an issue of freedom of speech? Seems a little melodramatic to me." I had the same thought. It seemed to me like the author was trying to make his position far more noble than what it really is. The whole thing boils down to "Look at me, I just turned down $50K so that I could still say 'fuck'".

Exactly. The post could very easily have been titled,

'I just turned down $4k because I dont need it and like to say 4 letter words'

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#55

Post by gfodor »

ghshephard wrote: post #10
gfodor wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying credit cards are bad financial decisions is like saying getting a drivers license is a bad safety decision. Beyond the fact that you can use credit cards to your financial benefit, simply getting the card has no consequences whatsoever. (Unless you buy into the 'you must keep a balance to maintain good credit' myth.)

Getting a drivers license is perhaps the worst safety decision a modern human can make. The reality is that your _average_ person, if they have something, will use it. Whether that's a drivers license or a credit card is immaterial. This, of course, contrasts with something like a condom, where, if you are going to have sex (unlike driving, or purchasing on credit) - you are going to do it, regardless of whether you…

People get drivers licenses in order to drive, and they get credit cards to take on debt, build their credit, or make payments quicker and easier.

Drivers licenses don't make people drive poorly nor do credit cards make people make poor financial decisions. If you're going to convolute the two through some form of causality, the argument you could make is that people who are apt to make poor financial decisions are more apt to pile up credit cards.

Your claim that getting a drivers license is the "worst safety decision a modern human can make" is pure hyperbole. What about not putting on a seatbelt? What about not checking their tires and brakes regularly? What about failing to adjust their mirrors? Those are the actions that reduce safety, not getting the license, much like buying that HDTV you cannot afford reduces financial standing, not getting the credit card.

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#56

Post by pbiggar »

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #20

Since when did $4,000 a month become "FU Money." Is that serious? If you make $4K a month after taxes, I'd say you have a pretty small salary to just be honest with you. The article, I suppose, was about more than this but much of it spent so much time talking about how much money this is. I don't want any of the younger HNers around here to get the wrong idea, as I didn't really know when I was younger, this is not,…

I think you're missing the point of his blog. The entire premise is that by cutting your expenses, living within your means, and some clever hacking, you can be "free". I can certainly see how 4K would be FU money, say, if I moved to a low cost economy like Thailand, Costa Rica, or even middle America.

the entire blog I mean, not just this post

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#57

Post by Mz »

crikli wrote: post #53
ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #49

Well, I am happy that $4000 is so inconsequential to Mr. Money Mustache that he can just say 'fuck you' to it. Not everyone is so lucky. I am sure there are plenty of families or individuals who would sacrificed their 'integrity' or 'freedom of speech' on their blog for that kind money to feed their families, pay for their home or get a medical procedure done. It doesn't sound like any of these issues are a concern t…

"Also, is this really an issue of freedom of speech? Seems a little melodramatic to me." I had the same thought. It seemed to me like the author was trying to make his position far more noble than what it really is. The whole thing boils down to "Look at me, I just turned down $50K so that I could still say 'fuck'".

I swear like a sailor. I try to keep it down to a dull roar online. If I could make $4k/month by removing a single swear word from my site, I would be a total sellout in a heart beat. Fuck "integrity" of that sort.

Mz bookmarks article to try to figure out if she can sell her soul for $4k/month at some future date.

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#58

Post by reitzensteinm »

ZanderEarth32 wrote: post #49

Well, I am happy that $4000 is so inconsequential to Mr. Money Mustache that he can just say 'fuck you' to it. Not everyone is so lucky. I am sure there are plenty of families or individuals who would sacrificed their 'integrity' or 'freedom of speech' on their blog for that kind money to feed their families, pay for their home or get a medical procedure done. It doesn't sound like any of these issues are a concern t…

The purpose of his site is documenting financial freedom by reducing expenses, so I don't understand your criticism at all. Just because he can forgo that money doesn't mean it's not substantial.

Eg, his monthly income is reduced from $6000 to $2000, but he only spends $2000, it may be a reduction of 66% but he can still live with the decision.

Compare that with someone that makes $20k a month and spends $20k a month - $4k a month is a small amount of money, but he can't give it up.

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#59

Post by slig »

Retric wrote: post #39
slig wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, how much of the 4k should be re-invested to counter the inflation?

That's a function of both inflation rate and your expected ROI. Using 3% inflation and 6% ROI you need to reinvest ~51.6% of your income to break even. (1-(ROI-((1/(1-inflation rate))-1)))/ ROI = 1-(.06-((1/(1-.03))-1))/.06 = ~51.6% Edit: Ok there must be a simpler way to write that... ((1/(1-inflation))-1) / ROI = ((1/(1-.03))-1)/.06 = 51.6% PS: Just keeping what left over when you subtract the inflation rate from y…

Got it. Thanks!

Re: I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech

#60

Post by lwat »

Mz wrote: post #52
scribu wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Offtopic: What's the point of using tinyurl outside of twitter? I would understand if you had your own vanity shortener (it would be obnoxius, but at least it would make some kind of sense).

On small screens, sometimes long urls wrap and break? I was first introed to url shorteners to get around breakage, long before I ever heard of twitter.

HN shortens display of long URLs automatically and shorteners are bad long term so please don't use them here.
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