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

washingtonpost.com

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

#51

Post by graeme »

stevenwei wrote: post #47

While I do think there is value in aggressively saving and reducing unnecessary expenses (avoiding excessive 'lifestyle inflation'), I can't help but feel that MMM has taken it too far to the extreme. There are tons of interesting and worthwhile experiences out there that you're going to miss out on if you intentionally constrain your budget to $25k/year for the entirety of your life.[1] There are folks here who have…

I agree, though from what I gather his investments could let him spend more without drawing down capital. He just hadn't found a need.

But it sounds like he's got emergency cover. Plus with his blog he's adding new revenue.

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

#52

Post by pdeuchler »

firefoxman1 wrote: post #39
jonknee wrote: post #31

I have a hard time seeing the appeal of intentionally living long term with a near poverty level income. I could never be content watching my son bike to school in 20 degrees because I don't want to work. Let alone spend years bragging about it.

I bike to school and work in 20 degrees because my dad wants me to learn the value of a dollar before I'm in the "real world" (he also started me investing pretty early). I have 0 resentment and complete respect for him because of it.

That's a false dichotomy. I was never forced to bike to school in freezing temperatures, and yet I've managed to learn the value of a dollar quite well, if I do say so myself.

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

#53

Post by dustinupdyke »

jonknee wrote: post #31

I have a hard time seeing the appeal of intentionally living long term with a near poverty level income. I could never be content watching my son bike to school in 20 degrees because I don't want to work. Let alone spend years bragging about it.

He said don't _have_ to work, I think there is a big difference there.

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

#54

Post by jonknee »

firefoxman1 wrote: post #39
jonknee wrote: post #31

I have a hard time seeing the appeal of intentionally living long term with a near poverty level income. I could never be content watching my son bike to school in 20 degrees because I don't want to work. Let alone spend years bragging about it.

I bike to school and work in 20 degrees because my dad wants me to learn the value of a dollar before I'm in the "real world" (he also started me investing pretty early). I have 0 resentment and complete respect for him because of it.

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 irresponsible, but I also think there's a happy medium where you can both have a coffee and a retirement account. You're not taking any of it with you anyways, might as well enjoy a few moments of it.

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

#56

Post by [deleted] »

brown9-2 wrote: post #38
citricsquid wrote: post #33

Earlier 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…

Why does the value of their home factor into their annual income? You can't pay for healthcare with pieces of your house.

[deleted]

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

#57

Post by jonknee »

dustinupdyke wrote: post #53
jonknee wrote: post #31

I have a hard time seeing the appeal of intentionally living long term with a near poverty level income. I could never be content watching my son bike to school in 20 degrees because I don't want to work. Let alone spend years bragging about it.

He said don't _have_ to work, I think there is a big difference there.

He's not actually working though, so not really a big difference. Technically I could move to a third world country tomorrow and be "retired", but that doesn't fit my goals.

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

#58

Post by [deleted] »

pdeuchler wrote: post #52
firefoxman1 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bike to school and work in 20 degrees because my dad wants me to learn the value of a dollar before I'm in the "real world" (he also started me investing pretty early). I have 0 resentment and complete respect for him because of it.

That's a false dichotomy. I was never forced to bike to school in freezing temperatures, and yet I've managed to learn the value of a dollar quite well, if I do say so myself.

[deleted]

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

#59

Post by Zimahl »

brown9-2 wrote: post #42
31reasons wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He owns and runs a VERY popular blog. He is probably making at least $10k/month from advertisements on the blog alone.

If this is the case, then the figures mentioned in the article are incomplete and misleading.

At one point he was making $4k per month on credit card referrals[1].

[1] http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/06/21/i-just-gave-up-400...

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

#60

Post by salvadors »

foobarian wrote: post #32

I thought that harping on riding a bike was a bit disingenuous. I used to do do it daily, but after a close brush with death (got doored by a car stopped at a red light) I've come to think the risks are high enough that continuing it would be irresponsible for a family man.

What about the risks of driving?
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