I think Mr. Money Mustache is overly optimistic about how easy the path he proposes is. He retired in 7 years on two 6-figure salaries and a bull market. My stocks have been doing ok, but nearly even close to as well as his did in the years before. I think his advice is still good for people without two six-figure salaries, but the early retirement idea becomes less realistic the lower the income you’re working with (but it’s still not pointless, since having savings is still hugely helpful for reducing stress and creating options).
I’m also not sure if he’s clear enough about how hard it is to find agreement between two partners on this. I think delaying gratification to buy freedom is a good choice, but a lot of people disagree, even after reading about Mr. Money Mustache.
Even for people who want to save money, some things worth having in life really are expensive, like living near friends. I suspect the mustachian path is much longer if you live in San Francisco, but it may be worth working significantly longer to live near your community.
Or you could buy a used RV for $20k and cut your housing costs down by 90% for life.
But I wouldn’t do it, so I can’t tell you to do it. The Mr. Money Mustache way is not about living on the cheap. It’s about living the GOOD LIFE on the cheap. The fundamental lesson of this blog is that there is plenty of money to go around in this country, so you don’t have to eliminate your spending on everything to become financially independent. You just have to cut out your waste. And for the most part, buying yourself a home is not a waste.
I live in one of the nicer houses in my town’s nicest (to me) neighborhood
However, I agree that he doesn’t do a good job of emphasizing these sorts of points, and I think that it would be good if he did emphasize them more.
A high cost of living area is worth it if it comes with a proportionally higher salary. For example, if you spend 25k/year in a LCOL area and make 50k/year, then move to a HCOL area and spend 50k/year but make 100k, you’re able to save 2x as much as before despite have the same equivalent salary. This will get you to retirement much faster, at which point you can switch back to the LCOL area.
Of course, the numbers are far more complicated than that because of things like taxes, but you get the idea.
I think Mr. Money Mustache is overly optimistic about how easy the path he proposes is. He retired in 7 years on two 6-figure salaries and a bull market. My stocks have been doing ok, but nearly even close to as well as his did in the years before. I think his advice is still good for people without two six-figure salaries, but the early retirement idea becomes less realistic the lower the income you’re working with (but it’s still not pointless, since having savings is still hugely helpful for reducing stress and creating options).
I’m also not sure if he’s clear enough about how hard it is to find agreement between two partners on this. I think delaying gratification to buy freedom is a good choice, but a lot of people disagree, even after reading about Mr. Money Mustache.
Even for people who want to save money, some things worth having in life really are expensive, like living near friends. I suspect the mustachian path is much longer if you live in San Francisco, but it may be worth working significantly longer to live near your community.
I get the impression that MMM does agree with paying for certain expensive things. For example, friends and family:
and a home:
However, I agree that he doesn’t do a good job of emphasizing these sorts of points, and I think that it would be good if he did emphasize them more.
A high cost of living area is worth it if it comes with a proportionally higher salary. For example, if you spend 25k/year in a LCOL area and make 50k/year, then move to a HCOL area and spend 50k/year but make 100k, you’re able to save 2x as much as before despite have the same equivalent salary. This will get you to retirement much faster, at which point you can switch back to the LCOL area.
Of course, the numbers are far more complicated than that because of things like taxes, but you get the idea.