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Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

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Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#241

Post by salvadors »

jamesaguilar wrote: post #121
PKop wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why? Seriously, why can't he come to his own conclusion about said lifestyle choices? You don't have to agree with him, but why can't he judge certain lifestyle choices as better or worse? Just as you have done for yourself. I think if he doesn't clearly define what he thinks is better and why, then what advice is he really providing? People can choose to agree or not, without taking it as a personal insult.

It's not really the same. If I pick a lifestyle for myself, that's not a judgment on other people's lifestyles. If I pick a lifestyle then start calling other people wasteful, that is a judgment on others. Be it true or not, that rubs some people the wrong way. Personally I don't care if he judges me. He's living within a few tens of percent above the poverty line (based on his comments in this article). Of course th…

Income is only a part of the picture when it comes to poverty. Assets count too. Not having to pay rent or a mortgage because you own your house outright makes a significant difference, for example. Most people could have higher disposable income on a much lower salary if they didn't have to meet rent/mortgage, make car payments, service historic debts, etc.

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#242

Post by salvadors »

hkmurakami wrote: post #124
nlawalker wrote: post #65

I always recommend the following two posts to anyone who has discovered MMM, as I think they best sum up his context, history, mindset, goals and living situation - all of which are good to understand before you start taking what he writes as guidance: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/15/a-brief-history-of... http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/06/01/raising-a-family-o... It's important to keep in mind that his…

Iirc, MMM's savings were buoyed significantly by being a part of the boom years of both the stock market and real estate market. Whether his financial standing can be replicated by someone following his exact footsteps today remains to be seen.

The returns on your investments may certainly vary under lots of circumstances. But if you're able to living on under 50% of your income, then we're simply talking about how good the outcome will be — not whether it'll be good or not.

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#243

Post by salvadors »

cmccabe wrote: post #238

If everyone was as stingy with their money as this guy is, the economy would crash. We need spending to drive growth and provide employment. If everyone hoards cash and refuses to spend it, you get the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Time invested in saving money is not always worth it. If you're making the equivalent of $50 an hour, an hour spent agonizing over how to save $25 is a net loss for you. You are…

> If you're making the equivalent of $50 an hour, an hour spent agonizing over how to save $25 is a net loss for you.

Only if you would have spent that hour working instead, and if you would actually earn an extra $50 (net) for working that hour (many people wouldn't), and if that potential hour's work is now lost to you.

It's pretty rare for all three of those things to be full, and most of the people I've ever met who have been in that scenario have learned pretty quickly that working every hour possible isn't really a fun way to spend your life.

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#244

Post by solnyshok »

StavrosK wrote: post #175
Swizec wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And combined with the exorbitant rent those guys pay. I've talked to a New Yorker visiting Ljubljana, he was extremely excited about getting a flat for 1700eur/month because that was about half his NYC rent. It was probably one of the ten most expensive flats you can get in Ljubljana. And we have exorbitant rent prices compared to the rest of my home country. So yeah, I can easily see how an american would think livi…

Hah, my luxurious studio apartment in Greece (new, fully furnished/decorated, good area, next to the sea) is 400 euros/month.

hi, can you elaborate a bit on this? is that countryside seaside or some major city? would love to try Greece. Going to Bulgaria for the next 3mo atm.

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#245

Post by StavrosK »

solnyshok wrote: post #244
StavrosK wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hah, my luxurious studio apartment in Greece (new, fully furnished/decorated, good area, next to the sea) is 400 euros/month.

hi, can you elaborate a bit on this? is that countryside seaside or some major city? would love to try Greece. Going to Bulgaria for the next 3mo atm.

It's Thessaloniki, the second largest city. Countryside will run you around 150/200 euros/month. I'm not sure how much seaside will run you, but they get expensive in the summer.

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#246

Post by [deleted] »

nevinera wrote: post #177
Swizec wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And combined with the exorbitant rent those guys pay. I've talked to a New Yorker visiting Ljubljana, he was extremely excited about getting a flat for 1700eur/month because that was about half his NYC rent. It was probably one of the ten most expensive flats you can get in Ljubljana. And we have exorbitant rent prices compared to the rest of my home country. So yeah, I can easily see how an american would think livi…

New York City is the single most expensive place to live on the continent. It hardly affects how "an American" would think anything.

[deleted]

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#247

Post by aliston »

tomp wrote: post #239
futhey wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eurobus is so comfortable and inexpensive, I frequently found myself opting to spend more nights asleep on the bus when a comfortable hostel bed was available. I've done less than $500/mo in South America and S.E. Asia (Much nicer tropical beaches and interesting places). Also, American's wouldn't be spending 300 euro / month on insurance / etc. (Presuming this because the figure was quoted in dollars). I really like…

I'm very curious about how you traveled for so cheap in South America. Could I ask you to elaborate? What did you do, mainly (sleep in hotels, stay in appartments in cities, travel around by bus/car/bicycle, backpack and sleep in tents, ...)?

Based on what I saw traveling through South America for 5 months, $500 would be a stretch in Chile, Argentina or Brazil. A hostel or a really cheap apartment would probably be 2/3rds of that alone... especially as a white dude. You might be able to swing it in a place like rural Bolivia or an (for lack of a better work) economically depressed country in Central America (Panama, Guatemala), but I wouldn't really want to try. Think about it... your budget is $16/day. You'd basically be eating empanadas or similar for every meal, you'd have no travel budget, you'd be stuck living in either a really, really crappy apartment with 10 roommates or a hostel dorm... and even then it would be close. Honestly, a much more reasonable budget, where you would actually be able to enjoy your time and not stress about budget, safety and turning down a bunch of awesome experiences (soccer matches, trips to national parks, wine tasting...) is probably 2k/mo.

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#248

Post by kragen »

DifE-Q wrote: post #234
kragen wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did the sleeping with Bedouins thing work? Do you, like, walk into a coffee house in a Bedouin neighborhood and hope to meet someone who will invite you to stay at their house? Or is it more a meeting on the road kind of thing? Do the monasteries charge you hotel-room-like fees, or do you have to belong to their religion, or what?

Well...there are no Bedouin neighborhoods. I am talking about Bedouin that are still Bedouin traveling around in the desert. So yes...meet them, befriend them...sleep the night and get fed. But sometimes you can stay a week or so and help work, etc. Let them know where you want to go and they will tell you how to get there..and hook you up with more contacts. Sometimes those are family that live in towns and you stay…

Cool, that sounds wonderful! Did you speak Arabic before you got there?

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#249

Post by cmccabe »

salvadors wrote: post #243
cmccabe wrote: post #238

If everyone was as stingy with their money as this guy is, the economy would crash. We need spending to drive growth and provide employment. If everyone hoards cash and refuses to spend it, you get the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Time invested in saving money is not always worth it. If you're making the equivalent of $50 an hour, an hour spent agonizing over how to save $25 is a net loss for you. You are…

> If you're making the equivalent of $50 an hour, an hour spent agonizing over how to save $25 is a net loss for you. Only if you would have spent that hour working instead, and if you would actually earn an extra $50 (net) for working that hour (many people wouldn't), and if that potential hour's work is now lost to you. It's pretty rare for all three of those things to be full, and most of the people I've ever met…

You're missing the point again. The time spent IS work. The question is whether you want to effectively take an informal side job that pays you poorly, called the "saving money job."

Re: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

#250

Post by futhey »

aliston wrote: post #247
tomp wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm very curious about how you traveled for so cheap in South America. Could I ask you to elaborate? What did you do, mainly (sleep in hotels, stay in appartments in cities, travel around by bus/car/bicycle, backpack and sleep in tents, ...)?

Based on what I saw traveling through South America for 5 months, $500 would be a stretch in Chile, Argentina or Brazil. A hostel or a really cheap apartment would probably be 2/3rds of that alone... especially as a white dude. You might be able to swing it in a place like rural Bolivia or an (for lack of a better work) economically depressed country in Central America (Panama, Guatemala), but I wouldn't really want…

I speak Portuguese, which allows you to use websites like easyquarto to rent rooms at market value. R$1,000 is a typical monthly wage in most of the interesting parts of Brazil ($500US), and cost of living in Brazil has outpaced Chile and Argentina in recent years, although I'm not arguing I'm exempting Rio & BA since the cost of living is somewhat inflated. I've been to every part of Brazil on that budget (Outside of holidays), including airfare (Once you learn the pricing system), Even the super expensive island of Fernando de Noronha. We all cooked our own meals, with enough left over to splurge 2-3 times per week. In most places, travelers pay a steep premium for inexperience.
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