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Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
101–110 of 252 posts
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
You would need to know the value of their house to fully judge their situation. If we assume they live in a reasonable house that would cost $1,500 per month to rent / mortgage and we assume they save $750 per month on the costs of working (commuting, baby sitting, eating out) they have an effective income of... $52,000. The median household income in the U.S is $51,000 and that's for households that will often have…
Edit: He actually states his house is worth around $400k, which would make it a nice house for the area. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/06/01/raising-a-family-o... He says he lives in a four bedroom four bathroom house. And he says he lives in what he believes to be one of the nicest neighborhoods in Longmont. His wife also states that the house has around 2600 square feet. That means the house is worth at least…
True, but fewer places as naturally beautiful or outdoor-friendly that Boulder Valley. There's a reason that Colorado has the lowest obesity rate in the country. There's just so many great athletic activites.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#103Interesting article, and it would do well for most people to consider increasing wealth through investments. From the article: Our bread-and-butter living expenses are paid for by a single rental house we own, which generates about $25,000 per year after expenses. One nit, perhaps, on that - is the rental house completely managed by someone else? If not, I assume there is at least some minimal amount of work associat…
If everyone took such advice, they'd all be working for only ten or fifteen out of their 80 years of life, instead of 40 or 45. So you'd only need a third as many total jobs to provide full employment. And those jobs would be focused on things that actually benefit their consumers.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#104Weird coincidence, I just rediscovered his site today. Keeps getting better.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#105early retirement doesn’t only happen to Powerball winners and those who luck into a big inheritance. Right. It also happens to those who get lucky in the stock market, and chose the right job at the right time. http://money.msn.com/retirement/article.aspx?post=dd544488-f... I was able to save more: $5,000 into the retirement account, $3,000 into an employee stock purchase plan, and $10,000 in cash. Year 2 'stash: $23…
I've read his analysis before and I had the same issue. It's quite easy to retire early if you have a high income and live frugally. Unfortunately a lot of people have to live frugally just to get by. Your average middle class family couldn't even dream of putting away $490k in 7 years even if they lived frugally and got lucky on stocks. I read another blog, I think it was a different guy, who talked about how he did…
Please keep in mind that most people's income is below US$2000 per year.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#106early retirement doesn’t only happen to Powerball winners and those who luck into a big inheritance. Right. It also happens to those who get lucky in the stock market, and chose the right job at the right time. http://money.msn.com/retirement/article.aspx?post=dd544488-f... I was able to save more: $5,000 into the retirement account, $3,000 into an employee stock purchase plan, and $10,000 in cash. Year 2 'stash: $23…
This is the part I feel needs to be highlighted. He got an early influx of money through stock plans, the dot com boom, and quick house appreciation. A lot of people have to make do without any of those things. I feel with those conditions, his "advice" for retiring early has a huge asterisk.
The words "fooled by randomness" come to mind. He got lucky, and thinks that he didn't.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#107I think his formulas are based off of assumptions that don't fit reality for people. A good example is lifetime stock market average. I did a study recently where I tracked the date and cash amount of every retirement contribution I've ever made, and pretended I simply bought an S&P-500 index fund on each of those dates. I then calculated my lifetime APY, and it was nowhere near the averages that the magazines claim. I've been a pretty consistent retirement saver but the point is that my savings past tracks what is probably true for most people - I've had more to save in years where times were good (and the stock market was higher), and less to save in years where times were bad (and the stock market was lower). When you take the same formulas that he claims as gospel and plug in more reasonable "stock market average performance" each year, you get vastly different conclusions.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's questionable what knowing what a dollar is worth if you orient your life in a way to make as little of them as possible. I think you should value a dollar, but also work hard and apply yourself. It's a strange combination... He got the investment income is the secret part, but then seemingly stopped at the earliest opportunity. It just seems lazy. I agree with him that spending more than you make is irre…
I completely agree with this. My grandfather is a millionaire...apparantly. I never would have guessed it. He drives a near-broken-down 1980-something honda. He takes frugality to the extreme. I love talking to him and hearing his investing advice, but it gets irritating hearing about how he saved $0.50 on a book or hitch-hiked to Colorado for a family event. I don't see him much, but I've hardly ever seen him smile.…
My grandfather was a millionaire, on a high school teacher's salary When he died at the ripe old age of 95, he had a 35 year old car with 70k miles on it. His idea of diversification was CDs in a bunch of different banks, in case one failed. He did not spend money on himself. There was a big fight over spending money on a cordless phone for him at one point, because he had a corded one that was good enough. It was better for everyone if he could have a phone in the walker or next to him, rather than tethered to the wall on the other side of the room.
I think the great depression and the shortages of WW2 were hard on him in ways that I just can't know.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#109I think his formulas are based off of assumptions that don't fit reality for people. A good example is lifetime stock market average. I did a study recently where I tracked the date and cash amount of every retirement contribution I've ever made, and pretended I simply bought an S&P-500 index fund on each of those dates. I then calculated my lifetime APY, and it was nowhere near the averages that the magazines claim.…
The standard figures are definitely optimistic, but when you check your returns make sure to include dividends reinvested. In recent years, they're good for about 2%/yr if you buy something like the S&P 500.
I find it somewhat baffling how many financial tools ignore the effects of dividends when calculating returns.
Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
Edit: He actually states his house is worth around $400k, which would make it a nice house for the area. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/06/01/raising-a-family-o... He says he lives in a four bedroom four bathroom house. And he says he lives in what he believes to be one of the nicest neighborhoods in Longmont. His wife also states that the house has around 2600 square feet. That means the house is worth at least…
True, but fewer places as naturally beautiful or outdoor-friendly that Boulder Valley. There's a reason that Colorado has the lowest obesity rate in the country. There's just so many great athletic activites.
I agree, Boulder is an amazing place to be. World class outdoor activities like climbing and skiing are close by. Plus CU-Boulder is there, so you get the benefits of a big University. Richard Dawkins and Brian Greene both gave talks this year. And housing is reasonable once you get outside of the city of Boulder.