Mr. Money Mustache vs. Fat Money Pig
Man, there’s never a dull moment being Mr. Money Mustache.
Late the other night, I was relaxing in my home office and fiddling about with the computer, and Ding, up popped an email from this blog’s Contact Submission Form:
Name: FatMoneyPig
Comments: Hi,
I have a personal finance blog, you have a personal finance blog. Want to trade links on our blogrolls? I actually read your blog, so this is not some random spam email.
Btw your layout is great, but the logo has to go. Honestly, it looks it was created in the 90′s. Luckily, I can help you design one.
Thanks,
FMP
Uh-oh, I thought, this young lad is already in over his head. I love meeting other bloggers, but I also get a good daily chuckle when I have a look at my logo. How dare he tell me that it has to go!? So I wrote back to him:
Dear Fat Money Pig,
What the fuck are you talking about!? My logo is AWESOME!!!
Look at that shit.. it’s two record players over top of a big mixer board, but instead ‘a’ regular records, I got FUCKIN’ DOLLAR BILL PLATTERS SPINNING!
And they’re not just one dollar bills, one is a single, and one is a fifty. AND THEY BOTH HAVE BIG FANCY MONEY MUSTACHES THAT I DREW ON MYSELF!!!!
It’s like Mr. Money Mustache is scratching and mixing ACTUAL MONEY!!!! The logo is so fucking great, I just opened up the original giant .PSD version and I’m admiring it in full detail on my 26″ LCD monitor right now. Damn, I am good.
Meanwhile, look at your little pig with a monocle. In what way is he even remotely badass? He reminds me of a Microsoft office help avatar. “Oh, let moneypig help you add a table to your document!”
I would love to see you try to design a logo that even approaches the knee level of my logo. If you succeed, I will feature this dramatic battle we have just had on Mr. Money Mustache and send you a few readers.
You’d think that after a throwdown like that, Fat Money Pig would run back to the barnyard and try to fit in with the regular animals despite his awkward gait and the monocle. But no, just a minute later I received this:
Hi MMM,
I have dual 26″ screens and your logo looks equally as bad on both of them. I showed my dog your logo and now all he does is hide under my couch. You owe me a new dog.
I will make you a logo that will be so awesome you will end up transferring ownership of your website.
Also, respect the pig with the monocle. That is all.
Sincerely,
FMP
“Equally as Bad”, eh? Good thing this is a logo contest and not a writing contest, son. But FMP came through a few days later with this email:
This is called a real logo. You’re welcome.
FMP
Aww.. he’s so cute!! I think I’ll call him Yosemite Stash.
But is he Mustachian? Is he Bad Ass? Does he look wise and countercultural and fancy and high-tech like my presidential record players? You can stroll back to the top of this page to see the official MMM logo for comparison.
I did have some plans for my own logo – a new slogan, for example, and changing the font to be my own handwriting instead of the generic stuff that’s in there now. But I was never thinking of losing those turntables.
What do YOU think? LET’S HAVE A POLL!!!!
Loading ...Either way, thanks to Fat Money Pig for this entertaining exchange and the cute logo proposal. You might want to check out his website at http://fatmoneypig.com.
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Mr. Money Mustache is a family man living in the United States who retired from work, relatively wealthy, at about age 30. After several years of retirement, he noticed that his still-working peers were envious of his lifestyle. They were making more money than he ever had, yet they were somehow still broke. So he decided to write this blog to educate the world on how it is done.
You know, posts like these really help set this blog apart from some of the other, less entertaining blogs I read. Thanks for adding a chuckle to my morning.
Regarding the logo, I kind of agree with his point, but I definitely don’t like his solution. Can we get another choice?
+1 for the turntables. (Wikki, wikki…)
I’ve never really looked at your logo before, so I scrolled up to see it. Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is “boobies”. Don’t go with the cartoon tho…
Yeah, hate to agree with FMP, you did a good job… but I really don’t like either. Didn’t you use to have a dollar bill with just a mustache drawn on it? I liked that. I don’t get the turn table thing… I don’t like FMP’s guy. Neither are pleaseing to the eye, unless I suppose you made it. FMP does have a good sense of humor, just generic logos. hmmm…
I was going to write (more or less) exactly that, but Sarah already did.
I never noticed the turntables, but now that I look, I don’t get it either.
But its definitely better than the cartoon.
Hmm.. apparently my logo isn’t as awesome to all readers as it is to me!
I imagine this is at least partly because not everyone is not as much of a fan of hiphop and turntablism I am.
I’ll have to give Fat Money Pig some credit for pointing this out after all :-)
I have an idea for an entirely new type of logo that might be quite fun. A 1920s banker up close to the camera with a gleam in his eye, and a big mean money mustache that trails off into the distance. With old Wall Street buildings in the background. Maybe a revolver somewhere in the pic as well.
Any other graphic design enthusiasts are welcome to submit logos as well. If yours becomes the new logo, there will be a permanent credit given to you!
FMP’s logo is great!
…If your audience also enjoys Bob the Builder, and Dora the Explorer.
What you need is a Dollar Bill like you used to have. Maybe update it by giving Ole’ George a Pirate patch (+1 badassery)
Cute is the appropriate term…not suitable for this blog.
Agree with most everyone else, I don’t particularly like either, but I prefer the current logo to the cowboy theme. The turntables don’t necessarily jump out to me as particularly relevant, though that is nice background info about you.
Perhaps just a series/collage of bills with mustaches. Would it be ludicrous to put ‘staches on bills with females?
Writing “equally as bad” is equally as bad as spelling monocle “monacle”. Just sayin’. :-)
Gasp!! You are right. I just fixed the article. Mr. Money Mustache loses the spelling contest! Gerard and FMP know how to spell Monocle better than me, so you each get a point.
Monocle doesn’t need a capital letter unless it’s first in the sentence.
I agree – the turntables are lost on me. But so is the wild west shooter…
But your blog is great!
Ahh, et et al.
First of all, I KNOW when capital letters are supposed to be used. But because I am Fancy, I like to capitalize other things when I want to place emphasis on them. That’s just how Mr. Money Mustache rolls.
Secondly, I don’t GET how people cannot GET a pair of turntables! I explained it perfectly as part of the discourse with the Fat Money Pig!
When you like a sound, you put a vinyl record containing that sound on a turntable, and you put on a funky drum break in the background, and you scratch the record in a wicked complex rhythm over top of the beat. Nowadays, if you don’t happen to have a full 12″ record player in your pocket, you use the Baby Scratch application on your iphone to accomplish this instant hiphopification of any concept.
If you like talking or hearing about money, you could put some currency on the record player and scratch that. Then you’d be hearing the deep grooves of the Federal Reserve, but much more funkily than Ben Bernake had ever intended his policies to be played!
But, of course, US currency doesn’t actually have audio grooves in it, so I was making a METAPHOR with this part of the logo. And that metaphor might sum up as “Mr. Money Mustache takes the stale old concepts of personal finance, and mixes them up into something much more fresh, almost as if you are getting your lessons from Jurassic 5 themselves.
If anyone still doesn’t get that.. it’s OK.. you can still enjoy the blog at a much lower level, like the part about saving your money :-)
What I love about this blog is you don’t back down. Like right now. Batman didn’t walk around Gotham asking people if it was okay if he dressed like a bat. No, he dressed like a bat. Did anyone complain when he was saving their ass?
You’re the hero. Don’t change it.
MMM is snuggling the little one into bed, so I’m going to have to make the call: Heidi – I declare this THE MOST MUSTACHIAN COMMENT OF THE DAY!!! I’m sure MMM might even blush a little behind his enormous Money Mustache after reading it.
Oh my, I must admit it brings a tear to my eye. We are so proud of you Heidi! You have come a long way from that day in May when you told me I should swear less … and now, you are already winning your first MMCA? What a golden day this is :-)
I totally understand the concept of the turntables with the dollar bills and the mustaches as you’ve explained it, and your illustration thoroughly expresses that concept in all its detail. However, visually it lacks impact and it doesn’t read well from a distance. Additionally, the idea is too complex to be effectively expressed in a simple strong visual statement. You are in good company, though, lots of people corner themselves like this…it’s easy to get excited about an image you create, especially if you are up close to the monitor while designing it. I’m going to forward a link to your blog to my guy, a designer, who has rocked a ‘stache (no longer does) and is a fan of the turntables. I’m sure that he will agree with me (but he will also appreciate your idea and effort) and any suggestions he might have would blow the clip-art submissions away (take that, Yosemite Stache).
I do believe all pigs should be respected, because they are brilliant and bacon is delicious…
Thanks for reading!
See I like that it doesn’t smack you in the face at the top of every page. That would give me a headache. Loud brightly colored logos are obnoxiously overused, and yours is much more mustachian than that. Think of all the mustachioed heroes/evil doers in the movies. Do they yell? No, they speak softly in gravelly voices that command attention and respect, and occasionally terror. Your logo is a soft gravelly voice. And if only super cool people can recognize it’s bassassity, then that’s just a sacrifice you’re going to have to make.
P.S. To the person who said all they see is boobies: WTF?
Very entertaining as always! (I hadn’t actually noticed that you’d switched from the dollar bills you had there before.)
To be honest, the cartoon is lame. Doesn’t fit your style of writing at all. (Sorry FMP.)
At this point we’d still come read your blog even if you had Canadian currency up top. (I’m Canadian, so I might be a tad biased, eh?)
That exchange is great! Dog hiding under the couch…
I agree that the style of the logo he proposed is not really suitable for this blog. I do think that you could get some value out of a logo that was smaller and recognizable. Your current thing is more of a banner – to tell you the truth I never even noticed it.
I think Yosemite Stash looks a bit young to have hair on his upper lip. Maybe crinkle a dollar bill in the shape of a stash and slap that on him.
Oh, and give the poor guy some boots!
Ha I never even noticed your logo – writing style, content, and the use of profanity is what keeps me returning for more!
Hi MMM,
So I took my college undergrad in Advertising – take this as you’d like. Without any real world experience (I went directly into web design) I’d say that your logo could use some improvements in relevancy to your users. However, it’s not bad, it’s just related to you is all. A logo should be more related to your users – IMHO. And it should be more related to your service. HOWEVER – you will notice that many logos have nothing to do with users or service… it’s just a plain typography choice. Nokia, Sybase etc.
Ditto here on not really noticing the logo!
I would like to know what the lady equivalent to the badass ‘stache is. Lean-livin’ leg hair?
LMAO! However, you can buy few plastic razors and make them last years (I learned about this in the Tightwad Gazette years ago), so there is no need to have lean-livin’ leg hair, unless you want to ….. or maybe if it is winter and no one sees them…… or you are just lazy and don’t feel like shaving or if you wear Wellies or cowgal boots and knee socks/tights.
Also, I have seen some ladies who CAN support a badass ‘stashe — I just try not to stare!
the FMG logo looks childish. More like a cartoon version of Billy the Kid.
I like yours because it has these old and wise men. MMM is wise, experienced, mature, etc.. Not a cartoon. Whatever you do, don’t use a cartoon drawing.
It has good relevant stuff:
- Money
- Wise old men
- Big mustaches
- Old looking pictures
I don’t understand what the mixing board and turn tables have to do with anything though.
err, by FMG I meant FMP: Fat Money Pig. (the logo he made for you)
BTW – I get emailed with all the responses to your post… when I click on the link it sends be to “http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/05/poll-test/”… I’d like to be sent to the recent post aka http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/05/poll-test/#comment-#125
I know I am specific/pain! :P
Your original logo was awesome – simple and very recognizable.
Those of you who prefer the original logo over mine, I hope you guys run out of shampoo while in the shower. Although I disagree with y’alls artistic taste, I do agree that MMM’s content is why he has so many readers. :)
FMP
Hahahaaa! Thank you, I will take this as a graceful admission of Logo Defeat. However, since we all had fun today, we ALL win.
I don’t use shampoo!! And I haven’t paid for a haircut in over 10 years!
If you change to anything remotely like that stupid-ass cartoon, I will never be back.
FMP’s MMM logo is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.
Hey hey there. Little Yosemite Stash isn’t that bad. He’s just not wise enough for my image, that’s all.
Remember, this is a guy who took the trouble to make a logo for the MMM blog. That is an extremely cool thing to do on a whim.
Your avatar is good, regardless!
This blog is awesome. I need to start using the f bomb more on my website.
Keep the turntables, or at least keep the money visual motif. It very much suits the feel of your blog.
The FMP logo was a very nice gift, but is totally inappropriate for the feel of your blog. It is too simplistic in palette and appearance and doesn’t lend the texture that the bill designs do.
Aww, come on . . . “Stash the Cash Cowboy?” He does have a certain panache, you have to give him that!
I could take or leave the turntables. My favorite part of your logo is the hand-drawn handlebar mustaches on the dead presidents!
Dead presidents = money
Handlebar mustaches = hip, irreverent (when drawn on dead presidents)
My ad blocker catches your logo. I had no idea it existed until now.
Please return to blogging on personal finance. I found that useful.
Thanks Jay Dugger, this comment is even more helpful and witty than it was the first time you posted it as part of the Higher Cause article!
Posting only serious personal finance articles should really be my goal. I apologize for all the slip-ups in recent months.
Maybe you should just break out the mustache from the dollar bills and use as your logo and then for the banner use the whole thing…also I think you could build on your international followning by sometimes putting a mustache on bills from other counties….:-) In sweden we have some bills with women on them….that would be fun:-)))))
^ This! :)
So I dig the turn tables because this is about a new spin on thinking…. er forget I made that bad pun. I will say with no offense intended that cartoon characters like the one that fmp gave you and uses remind me of the check cashing places – that was their marketing scheme when I was younger.
The FMP logo is adorable, but I’m not sure it illustrates your point. And that is the purpose of a logo – to embody a HUGE idea. :/
So I’m going to have to vote the original logo, even though aesthetically, I’m all for the new one.
the turntables just look a little flat. maybe a little more contrast would help.
oh and FMP’s font looks like comic sans…that in addition to the overly cartoony pig makes it look juvenile, like clip art, but I like the concept!
I much prefer FMP’s proposed logo to your current logo. I also have to agree with the other commenters who feel it still needs quite a bit of tweaking.
I think it’s an eye catching logo but really doesn’t convey the gently curmudgeonly tone of your blog.
I’m not a huge fan of either one, but I do like the turntables better. The content of the blog vastly outweighs the logo at the top though, and I’d think a lot of people would read it through something like Google Reader (such as myself), where the logo doesn’t even show.
I quite enjoyed reading the exchange. The lack of politeness was very funny. And I don’t see why FMP said the MMM logo seemed to be from the ’90s…perhaps because the logo’s text is in Times New Roman?
And when I first saw the proposed new logo, I thought it looked ridiculous. It still does, though I suppose I could get used to it if you decided to change it. Also, why is the text pink?
That’s not Times New Roman. I don’t know what it is… but I know it’s not TNR. :)
A write-in vote for boobies.
FMP’s blog is about shopping, not personal finance. The internet equivalent of the fliers I get in my mailbox on Tuesday.
Also, another vote for boobies in the logo somewhere.
My personal vote would be some sort of mustache/merkin combination so that Mrs. MM gets some credit as being a part of the blog. I think a mustache/merkin combination on top of a happy and smiling Benjamin (who would clearly be smiling for more than one reason) would not only make the point in a delightfully obscene way, it would give readers some clue as to the nature of language and talk used here. it ain’t your average, stuffy financial blog!
I’m glad you posted this for two reasons. 1) It was hilarious! 2) Now I actually know what your logo is, although I suppose I could have figured it out if I had paid more attention.
That said, I like the original logo better.
If FMP’s cowboy was enhanced with some graying mustache hairs to give him the look of wisdom and character that comes with age, then my vote would be swayed.
I’d say that the turntables you have now are more of a background than a logo. It doesn’t have a defined outline, it’s not something you could print on a business card as a ‘mark’ – you’d use it as the background. So I agree that what FMP proposed is more of a logo…BUT it’s NOT the right one for you.
I vote to keep your existing background and ADD a graphic logo on the left of your text site title. Or if you don’t want to have an image logo, at least develop a more stylized version of “Mr. Money Mustache” (e.g. Microsoft just uses their name as their mark). Ya know, play around with adding a mustache to letters, use a more personalized font and kern it nicely, etc.
Personally, I would also adjust the coloration on the turntables so the presidents match the brown of the background instead of being kind of pinkish – the colors of the header don’t graphically connect with the rest of the site that well.
PS I agree that your site design is great though, don’t change that!
I’ve been busy reading on my feed reader and didn’t even notice the new logo. I clicked through to check out the FMP logo and my complaint is that the pig is very small. I want to see a big fat juicy money grubbing pig.
I like the new logo even though it looks a little dated (but cool!) b/c of what it says about the main author. Who I like very much =)
(despite his dated logo making skillz)
Love your blog, couldn’t care less about the logo. It’s there, quiet, unoffensive, just hanging out at the top of the page (where I don’t spend much time anyway).
If I were to comment on your idea of the old guy with the financial buildings…. I thought you were more original that to “tip your hat” to images of “normal” financial thinking. Now, if he were to be waving goodbye (or some other hand gesture), that would be more in keeping with the image I have of you from your blog. ;)
The turntables are cool, but they’re not very bold. Nor do they adapt well to differing displays.
Just discovered the site. All good points–stuff my Chinese Mom’s been pushing the last 40 years!
The turntables though…at least they need to be 1200s. What you have look like Numark deejay in a box.
*upon closer examination, I see they’re Numarks!
And I like oatmeal, too.
Good point, I knew someone would eventually catch me for using cheap turntables :-) A new banner/logo is definitely in order someday – I was of course joking when I said I thought it was awesome, since it’s just a 15-minute photoshop job. But I DO still like the concept, so I’m keeping that.
Go with your instincts…your logo is so bad it’s awesome!
MMM, I am a new reader of your blog am I’m totally in love with it. I’m currently reading all of your old posts and this one made me laugh out loud (or LOL if you’re one of those types). Everytime I’m having a shitty-ass-day I’m going to come back and read this post.
Keep up the BADASS work!
Could you please add your old logo to the text of the post for us folks that are late to the show and reading through from the beginning?