91–100 of 252 posts
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.
early 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 feel with those conditions, his "advice" for retiring early has a huge asterisk.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Obviously everyone's health situation differs, but my health insurance experiences have been similar to MMM's. For an 'average' person/family, health insurance shouldn't be breaking the bank (e.g. $200-300 per month). I've heard of some realistic pre-existing health conditions that required $600+/month for specialty meds, but if that $7000+ per year is enough to make the difference in your 'retirement', it wouldn't b…
> For an 'average' person/family, health insurance shouldn't be breaking the bank (e.g. $200-300 per month). Let's play dueling anecdotes. $300 a month was right around the cost of my COBRA premium for a group plan covering myself only, circa 2006. $150 a month was what I paid as for an individual plan in my mid 20s circa 1998, and that was for a plan with relatively spare coverage and high deductibles. Perfectly hea…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your plan needs the nest egg + house paid off. I will have 150k USD(100k GBP) by the time I'm 26 but no house. so i doubt I could survive a decade on it.
Nope, it doesn't. A single person can very easily live on $15kpa. Even in the Bay Area. I've been doing it for 3 years, in fact, at $12-$16kpa. It probably does mean having housemates and being careful about where you choose to live, but it's imminently doable.
Since then. my life has changed a lot, to the point where the confidence in predicting my expenditure is wearing off. I'd describe it as a slightly panicked feeling of having to work harder, since I'm trying to cover the worst possible situation that my mind can invent. I probably should invest the time to collect another set of hard data...
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…
It all depends on where you live. I doubt where he lives (Longmont CO) is that expensive. There are plenty of places in the USA where 25k will go a long way. Remember he has no mortgage and other debts. If he has relatively low property taxes and doesn't care about having a new car every 5 years etc., then 25k a year is more than enough. It certainly isn't poverty level or anything. I don't get why people on here are…
Yeah, but that's one of the constraints I'm talking about. There are many worthwhile places to live on the planet that would be out of that range.
> I don't get why people on here are so negative about it. Don't be bitter because you live in the valley and spend 2k+ a month just for a crappy apartment.
I'm not and I don't. :) He just happens to be espousing a (rather extreme) philosophy that I disagree with, and I think people might want to think twice before following in his footsteps.
I agree with you that people that spend so much time at work that they don't have time to spend with their family should probably think twice about that too. Just because I said I disagree with one extreme doesn't mean I agree with the other extreme!
Wealth is relative. You can increase your own in only one of two ways- either earn more or spend less. Obviously his advice is the latter, but if you fall into the former category (and let's face it, if you're a frequent visitor to this site you almost certainly are) then that is probably terrible advice.
I happen to live in D.C. and I can tell you that things are very good here. The job market is one of the hottest in the nation, real estate prices are astronomical and ever-growing, and most people you interact with around the city are above-average wage earners compared to the rest of the country.
Yes it is expensive to live here, but a rising tide lifts all boats. If you want to prosper, it helps to sell in a market that is ripe with people who have the means to buy what you are selling. That could be your skills if you are looking for work or a product or service if you are trying to get something started. All things being equal, a strong economy helps all participants. If you move to the middle of Kansas, chances are you'll spend a lot less, but you'll probably earn a lot less too.
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…