476 comments

A One-Question Survey – Who Are the Mustachians?

bigleafAll right, I’ve been curious about this for a while, and maybe you have been too: Who are you? Who are we in general?

As this blog has grown, the people have come from all corners of the internet. Search engines, newspaper and magazine features, other blogs, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and any number of other places.

While the overall numbers are easy to track with the “see the stats” link I make public down there in the footer, and the mix of countries is nicely displayed in a pie chart, it would be really neat to see a quick breakdown of the types of people we have around here.

Since this is a blog about work and money, I figured we could just share the industries in which we work. From there, it will be fun to look through the data and see what it means. I’ll add a section after the poll once we have enough results.

Don’t worry if you don’t quite fit into one category exactly, just take a guess. For Science!

What type of work do you do?

View Results

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Numbers now updated for June 2017

Wow, this has been a fun poll – most of the responses happened in the early days, but a trickle of later readers have kept contributing to the poll and I encourage you to do so as well. It only takes about one second.

I think the poll has answered my biggest speculation: we are indeed way heavy on engineers. Take software engineers, for example. These are supposed to be only about 0.5% of the population (1 in 200).. but we are 1 in 6 here! I have noticed this while meeting groups of readers in the US and Canada as well, but now with the poll results we can present a few interesting statistics:

There are about 1.1 million software developers in the US these days, according to the BLS.

Over the past 3 months, about 2,130,000 unique visitors have stopped by this site, according to Google Analytics’ best guess. They made 5 million visits and pulled down 22 million page views.

If 16% of these are software people as the poll suggests, that adds up to about 340,800 developers. Of course, only 75% of us are in the United States, so we are down to 225,600.

In other words, if these stats are anywhere close to correct, about 23% of the Entire US Software Engineering Workforce has read Mr. Money Mustache in the past 3 months.

This would explain why existing readers have been telling me that their coworkers spontaneously came up and told them about the blog. Statistics tell us this should be a rare event, as the blog only reaches 0.5% of the US population (1 in 200). But among software engineers, the likelihood of Mustachianism is a solid 50 times higher.

So, nice work, fellow engineers. Now that we’re all hanging out like this, graced with the company of an even larger group of talented people in other fields, I’m sure we can accomplish more powerful things than ever before.

  • Lance September 17, 2013, 8:26 pm

    I am a corporate accountant with a CPA license working at a manufacturing plant for a Fortune 500 company.

    Reply
    • CP@China September 17, 2013, 10:43 pm

      I also have a problem not knowing what category to put myself into.. Working in finance of a manufacturing company…with a finance degree and an engineering degree.. and to make matters more complicated located in China but being German.. btw.. I looked at the stats.. but China is nowhere to be found.. I guess under “not set”. Really enjoy reading the MMM blog..

      Reply
      • Matthew September 18, 2013, 12:44 pm

        You guys are “other” cubicle workers just like me. Finance at a fortune 500 (non financial industry) company

        Reply
    • Kat September 18, 2013, 11:13 am

      Lol, another finance professional (planning and analysis), but I feel I better align to the technology infrastructure industry that I support.

      Reply
      • Free Money Minute September 18, 2013, 12:56 pm

        I work in the finance industry too but I do technical work for them.

        Reply
      • Rachel September 18, 2013, 3:18 pm

        I went with function over industry and chose financial industry since I provide financial support to a company in the tech industry. Oh choices choices…

        Reply
        • Jennifer September 20, 2013, 3:43 am

          I went with function over industry too! Accountant in a Branding agency (with lots of arty/design people)!

          Reply
        • JT September 20, 2013, 3:59 am

          Accountant in a design agency! Fellow staff think I’m a smarty pants with numbers, but I’ve been following MMM principles and that turns you into a smarty pants… combine this with the technical training of an accountant and you get smarty pants to the power of ‘x’!! Thanks MMM!

          Reply
    • Debt Blag September 18, 2013, 1:57 pm

      I too had trouble picking, but went with my job’s function (rather than the industry, or company)

      Reply
    • Neil September 18, 2013, 11:27 pm

      Yes, I also fall into the corporate accounting category. I was slightly unclear about whether to be describing job or industry (I work in the engineering industry, in a sub-segment with significant artsy overlaps), or job. And if I’m describing a job, does accounting falls under finance, or if that more specifically implies banking in this context. I ended up voting for “other cubicle jockey.”

      Reply
      • YumiRoll March 20, 2015, 4:48 am

        I am a controller (accountant) at a Bourbon distillery. I voted for other cubicle jockey as well. Born and raised in Japan…frugality is in my blood. Thanks for great articles… I started getting rid of stuff to simplify my life.

        Reply
    • kween September 19, 2013, 7:10 pm

      I am a clinical therapist for a state criminal facility.

      Reply
    • FI in 10 September 20, 2013, 2:53 pm

      I am a group sales manager for a large hotel in the Northeast. I discovered this blog a few months ago and think I’ve caught up on every article.

      One of your articles mentioned something very simple about finding an employer that will pay you more to do the same job you’re doing now. I remember first thinking, “yeah, well duh …” But my next thought was, “if it’s so obvious, why haven’t I done that lately?” That week, I checked out some local openings, called on one, set up an interview and two weeks later had an offer for 25% more than I was currently making! When I presented the offer to my current employer, they matched it, and I stayed put.

      It’s easy to say that a lot of the advice here is obvious. Well, if you can accept that the advice is in your best interest and you know you’re not doing it already, then just how obvious is it?

      My wife and I have always been what I thought to be pretty frugal, but this blog has provided me a new measuring stick of frugality. We’ve made some “obvious” changes and have increased our savings rate to about 50% of take home pay.

      In 10 years, it’s “peace out.” I may not even say good bye. :)

      Reply
    • Kate September 29, 2013, 4:58 pm

      MMM- I discovered your blog a couple days ago, and have pretty much done nothing but obsess over it in my spare time since then. I have to confess, first, that I discovered you by way of Dave Ramsey’s forums. Hubby listened to him on the radio, got interested, we started paying off our debt (debt free next month (except the house) – woot). You have a following there as well, despite your general disdain for him. While I don’t mind the occasional scripture thrown my way, I prefer a few F-bombs. So, we are revamping our lifestyle and stashing our cash… but no clear end-game in sight for us. Then I started reading your blog and thought – holy shit – we could retire and hang out and do what we want! That’s one hell of an end-game. I actually love, love, LOVE my job, so no plans to truly quit that one, but the idea that I could just work part time when I feel like it – love it! So, we are still just junior mini-mustaches with lots of work to do, but loving your blog and feeling so inspired by the idea of working BECAUSE I want to, WHEN I want to, rather than ALL THE TIME because I HAVE to!

      Reply
      • Nina October 4, 2013, 5:58 am

        Dave Ramsey is like elementary school, MMM is high school, financial independence or early retirement (whatever you wanna call it) is college/university, so there is no shame in having started with D. Ramsey.
        Don’t we all have to start somewhere?

        Reply
    • Adrian December 31, 2013, 5:37 pm

      MMM from your job survey options i can tell you have a large fan base from the High Tech industry. However, it seems you are missing a large group that can largely benefit from Mustachian principles: Consumer Goods Companies (manufacturing, distribution, research, sales, marketing) and Retail (grocery, mass merchandisers) Industries. The latter have probably one of the lowest salaries, the largest working hours, have less benefits and are mostly from mid to low family income segments. Mustachian principles and lifestyle recommendations could be relevant for this other Industries, and wish you could also reach them. Could it be possible to work for Wal-mart and retire comfortably? Thanks, Caribbean Mustachian

      Reply
    • Adrian December 31, 2013, 5:42 pm

      I am a Marketing Director for a Beverage Company, and have worked in sales and marketing positions in Household Product companies, Tobacco industry and Advertising Agencies.

      Reply
    • Susanna February 23, 2016, 7:53 am

      You should have included student! I’m studying education but I’d like to get a head start on not being in massive amounts of debt when I graduate.

      Reply
  • Grant September 17, 2013, 8:26 pm

    I’m “Other” = stay at home parent for coming on to 3 years, but was in IT and will be returning to it shortly…

    Reply
    • Lance September 17, 2013, 8:27 pm

      Do you think it will be hard to return to IT even after a short three year break? I’d imagine the technology changes pretty quickly and skills could get dated fast.

      Reply
      • Grant September 17, 2013, 9:04 pm

        Yes and no…
        Even though I have moved from Sydney (big smoke) to Newcastle (biggest country town in Australia…) and I was working in carrier networking and that doesn’t exist here, I have no fear that I will find *a* job.

        The last few years before leaving the workforce I was getting less technical and more into change management/procedure improvement/documentation anyway, so theoretically the technical-ness shouldn’t be a barrier. Additionally, if you want to improve your managerial skills, have a go at parenting a 5year old and twin 3year olds! (I can imagine the interview now… Q:”can you describe a time when you have had to deal with difficult employees?” A:”I’ve just spent the last 3 years in a hostile work environment with recalcitrant colleagues. It has taken every ounce of my imagination to keep them engaged and proactive, keeping them focused on the task at hand, whilst also contributing to the professional and personal development and wellbeing…”

        The irony is I don’t want to go back full time or smash out another career just yet (I would like to spend a bit more time with my kids while they still want to be around me, and I like the volunteer work at school), so I am actually looking for low end helpdesk jobs (hopefully part time) – which will probably go to someone with less experience but more pieces of paper than me! So I am doing some self-study to get those pieces of paper (again), and may have to dumb-down my resume.

        Reply
      • Christof September 17, 2013, 10:51 pm

        That’s one of the myth we IT guys throw around to keep others out of our profitable niche. ;-)

        It’s hard to get back to the same position in the same company because the processes have changed and a lot of information was passed around informally.

        It’s not hard at a different company that is using other products for version control, builds, project management and most likely other frameworks and entirely different programming concepts. You would have to learn those anyway. Even then things change only gradually… .NET is from 2000, Java is from the nineties, JavaScript was hot 10 years ago, HTML is 20 years old, OOP is approaching 30 years in mainstream. REST, WPF, SOA are each 10 years in the field already.

        And then there are companies like mine that are using an older language that has many existing applications out there. Half of my employees were well in the 50ties when I hired them.

        Reply
      • Edward September 18, 2013, 10:54 am

        Lance, the vast majority of the work I get in IT is for old dated technologies. Somebody who’s no longer with an organization set something up in an obscure programming language or on an old server and it’s now broken. The client doesn’t care about upgrading to the latest and greatest, they just want their old jalopy to work again. …I sigh, shake my head, and fix it. I would venture that there’s more money to be made in supporting old Fortran and dBase systems than there is helping people configure their latest iPhone apps. I get calls from people who need help because they still have important documents stuck on 1.44MB floppy disks. A recent graduate is really screwed if he/she has to go in and repair something written in dBase IV. So, that’s where I come in.

        Reply
    • homehandymum February 17, 2014, 4:17 pm

      Another stay at home parent here. When I worked it was in a biomedical research facility, so very firmly in the “Other” category. ‘Biochemist’ is not a common feature of these job lists :)

      We now home educate our munchkins, so no return to full-time work in my near future, and I have no desire to go back to lab work anyway. Currently working on some little side-hustles, but mostly working on the Frugality side of the equation, while my partner concentrates on the Earning side. (I just worked out how to fix my broken washing machine – a $15 part and you tube to the rescue. go me.)

      Reply
  • Brandon Curtis September 17, 2013, 8:26 pm

    I bet we have a preponderance of engineers!

    Reply
    • MoneyAhoy September 18, 2013, 7:44 am

      Mechanical engineer here – checking in for duty!

      Reply
      • izzy September 18, 2013, 1:24 pm

        Another MechE here. Grad student still!

        Reply
    • Peter September 18, 2013, 12:57 pm

      Mechanical Engineer >:D

      Voting shows Software, Engineering, and High Tech are well represented.

      Reply
    • Doug September 18, 2013, 1:35 pm

      Electrical Engineer, largely retired now. It figures we would have engineering types here. My thoughts are if I can understand why a fluorescent lamp is more efficient than an incandescent lamp, or how a power transformer with low eddy current and hysteresis losses is more efficient, and many other examples of efficiency I can transfer those skills to improving efficiency in my own life. That translates to more savings and having to work less, just like how a generator works less if appliances are more efficient.

      Similarly, back in March there was a topic about the stock market. I said you should invest like a governor that gives the engine more fuel when the speed is low (more money into stocks when they are cheap) and less fuel when the speed is high (buy less or sell some stocks when they are expensive). Such a ridiculously simple investing scheme ultimately leads to a better rate of return.

      Reply
      • Johnny Aloha September 18, 2013, 4:25 pm

        In theory, true. But how do you know when the stock market is high? I’ve thought it was high for about 8-12 month, and therefore I’ve missed out on some pretty good returns.

        Reply
        • Doug September 19, 2013, 6:44 pm

          You don’t always know when the stock market is high, but if you keep an asset mix of equities and fixed income and your percent of equities goes up (and usually fixed income goes down) it’s time to rebalance, taking profits from equities and putting it into fixed income. When equities drop, reverse the flow just like the governor.

          Sometimes there are signs the economy is peaking and it’s time to take profits. I recall seeing those signs in 2006-07. I walked into a book store and saw books like: Start Late, Finish Rich and others that suggested endless optimism. I even read an article in the Business Section of The Globe and Mail suggesting that the economy is better managed now (I’ll understand if you break into a fit of hysterical laughter and fall off your chair!) and recessions are a thing of the past. Traditionally your age is the percent you should have in fixed income investments. I read articles suggestion you greatly increase the amount you have in equities because they outperform all other assets. That may be true, but the presence of such articles suggests the market is near a peak. When you read all this nonsense about how the good times are going to go on forever it’s time to take a defensive stance. That’s like the engine with the RPMs red lining because it’s being forced to go far beyond the setpoint, like a fully loaded truck descending a 10% grade in low gear. At that speed the governor clamps the throttle shut (make damn sure your fingers are out of the way!) with a ton of force and if you monitor the fuel injectors you’ll see they are continuously turned off and delivering no fuel. The engine is using compression and internal drag to absorb power and thus behave like a brake.

          Reply
    • Debt Blag September 18, 2013, 2:10 pm

      Interesting, because it looks like you’re right! I wonder why that is. The “tinkering” aspect of personal finance, maybe? The high-ish disposable income?

      Reply
      • MoneyAhoy September 19, 2013, 10:07 am

        Maybe it’s just because we’re numbers people and we like to optimize things to crank out the most efficiency possible?!?

        Reply
        • Chris October 25, 2013, 9:00 pm

          Ha, exactly. We love to optimize. Aero engineer working in the solar PV world BTW. I can’t understand how some of my fellow engineers can be good at their jobs, yet have their financial lives in shambles. Not very optimizishy…

          Reply
    • WhitewaterChica September 19, 2013, 12:56 pm

      Ceramic engineer though I currently work with polymers :)

      Reply
    • Patrick December 20, 2013, 7:36 am

      Where are the Chemical Engineers at?

      Reply
  • Chris Gammell September 17, 2013, 8:27 pm

    As someone who often posts surveys online, I would say you probably should have asked for an income input. Although your community is awesome enough to keep answering survey questions if asked! :-D

    There’s a wide range between the beginning and the end of a career, especially in something like engineering. And the more I learn, the more I realize the power of a large amount of incident cash…only so much that frugality can do for you (though that is often a great start!).

    Reply
    • Miss Growing Green September 17, 2013, 9:25 pm

      Even more important than an income input, in my opinion, would be a savings rate input (i.e. saving/investing <$500 a month, <$1000 a month, etc.). What you earn is less important than what you save- I make less than a lot of high-powered business people but also save more than most people.

      Or better yet, look at both sets of data. It would be interesting to see the correlation (or lack thereof) between higher earning and higher spending.

      Reply
      • Jamesqf September 17, 2013, 10:25 pm

        Could be a problem for some of us, who don’t have consistent year-to-year incomes and/or savings rates.

        Reply
      • Elizabeth September 18, 2013, 5:01 am

        I was thinking the same thing — only % of income saved rather than trying to look at salary and savings.

        Salary doesn’t mean a whole lot on its own because it depends on where you live. (For example, you can make a lot more as a teacher in Canada than in the U.S.)

        Reply
        • RetiredAt63 September 19, 2013, 5:33 am

          Depends on where in Canada and at what level. Looking at the two provinces I am familiar with, Quebec pays very poorly compared to Ontario for full time work, but Quebec CEGEPs are very proactive at making sure full time work loads are filled by full time people, not a bunch of hourly people, compared to Ontario Colleges. OTOH, Quebec income taxes are high. Net is always more important than gross, and living costs matter too. I look at COL in the US compared to here, and wonder why people complain about health insurance premiums, for example – their % disposable income is so much higher than ours, there should be room in the budget.
          Re the survey, now retired, but would have been education (environmental science).

          Reply
    • Chermysl September 17, 2013, 10:24 pm

      I’m thinking this survey isn’t so much about current earnings or earning potential as it is about finding a possible correlation between our choice of occupation and being of a frugal bent.

      Reply
    • CincyCat September 18, 2013, 1:35 pm

      Hmmm… Income (as well as a given currency’s buying power) varies dramatically by locale. For example, a $75K household income probably gets someone a lot more in, say, southern Ohio than it does in southern California. I remember talking about house prices years ago with someone from southern California, and he was shocked that we “only” paid $110K for our 4 bedroom cape cod with a finished basement & fenced 1/4 acre backyard. He said $110K would barely be a “down payment” for the same house/yard in his area of the country.

      That said, it might be fun/interesting to see what the distribution of Mustachians is by metropolitan area, and compare that to median household income, housing prices and level of education in the area.

      For example, here is a link to the city-data website for “Cincinnati” (which you could probably guess is the area where I’m from, given my screen name). http://www.city-data.com/city/Cincinnati-Ohio.html The results even within this metro area will vary quite a bit, if you drill down by zip.

      Reply
  • Dragline September 17, 2013, 8:30 pm

    Whooooo — are you?

    Sounds like a song . . . ;-)

    Reply
  • Angela September 17, 2013, 8:31 pm

    I am a stay at home homeschooling mum, with no intention of returning to the workforce. Was in admin/accounts before that. Husband is a forklift technician (mechanic).

    Reply
    • Tamlynn September 18, 2013, 11:36 am

      I’m also a stay at home homeschooling mom. I hope I never have to get a full time job unless I really want it.

      Reply
    • Sharon September 21, 2013, 12:25 pm

      I’m also a stay at home homeschooling mom, though I checked “entrepreneur” as I also run a micro business from home (selling yarn online).

      Reply
  • Alyssa September 17, 2013, 8:35 pm

    Would be cool to see a student section on here – just to account for the people who aren’t really making big money yet. I’m a full time student with 2 part time jobs (1 at a cafe & another at a hotel), so I just selected “other”, but I’m sure many other “big money” people are in that category so I don’t think I fit too well. Oh well, this will be cool to see final results!

    Reply
    • Tim September 18, 2013, 1:09 pm

      Agreed. I’m a graduate student in the sciences. I put other, because “teacher or other education” doesn’t fit at all what I do now, “doctor or healthcare industry” describes my research but not my occupation, and “other engineering or high tech” doesn’t describe science adequately.

      Reply
  • Caitlin September 17, 2013, 8:37 pm

    I am a sales assistant at a direct mail marketing firm. Why are you asking? I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t more questions.

    Reply
  • Rick D September 17, 2013, 8:38 pm

    accountant in the finance industry.

    Reply
  • Teknosmurf September 17, 2013, 8:38 pm

    Us engineers (especially software guys) apparently think alike!

    Reply
    • Chermysl September 17, 2013, 10:26 pm

      Ahem. Software guys, and chicks.

      Reply
      • gitstash September 18, 2013, 7:59 am

        Software chicks….represent!

        Reply
        • Laurel September 18, 2013, 11:42 am

          Another software chick here!

          Reply
          • Al September 27, 2013, 11:13 am

            Another another software/db chick here.

            Reply
            • Kristen October 26, 2015, 5:07 pm

              Software gals represent!

  • Rozy September 17, 2013, 8:42 pm

    Been a wife, mother, homemaker, homeschool teacher for the past 25 years; before I became a mother I was an administrative assistant, and was so glad to get out of the rat race. Still trying to convert my husband to frugality, he’s come a long way but not as far as I’d like so we can reach our goals. It’s great to see our adult children following my teachings and example rather than his. They will be so much further ahead in life than we are.

    Reply
  • Lily September 17, 2013, 8:43 pm

    Sometimes I feel like the only younger person here, but I’ve read your whole blog and recently caught up to the current posts. I’m still in college and try to apply your advice as best as I can – though I know I will be ahead of the game at graduation time when all my peers are buying cars or going on expensive vacations while I’m content with my bike and small apartment.

    Reply
    • Nikhil September 18, 2013, 9:28 am

      You’re not alone, I just finished undergrad less than an year ago, and there are plenty of other <30s here.

      Reply
      • greg September 18, 2013, 10:03 pm

        yep – found this blog just after graduating myself after getting the boot over after ERE got a job as a quant

        Reply
    • Uncephalized September 18, 2013, 1:31 pm

      25yo here. Not alone. :-)

      I was a mechanical engineer for a couple of years, now I’m retraining myself to do web development/working on invention ideas/writing, so I can work while traveling with my wife.

      Reply
    • Ryan September 18, 2013, 1:35 pm

      I feel like the only young person on the blog too! Looks like there are a few of us. I am 19 and in college. Working on a startup and investing since I was 16. This blog has helped me jumpstart everything and live even more efficiently than I did! Glad to know there are some great young people on here doing awesome things!

      Reply
    • Al September 27, 2013, 11:16 am

      I’ve been reading since 21, now I’m 23. This blog inspired me to save 35% of my measly income. and to purchase my first house last year, too.

      Reply
  • Renaite September 17, 2013, 8:48 pm

    I’m a User Experience Analyst/Designer, but I called that “something artsy” because it just doesn’t seem to be on the same level as a programmer or other IT gig – though I’m in the IT department. I guess it could have been “other cubicle” type as well.

    Reply
  • Kingston September 17, 2013, 8:48 pm

    Accidentally became F.I. via a lucky real-estate investment and retired without realizing that’s what I was doing (left the workforce to have kids and never went back full-time). Now trying to get my act together to ensure I can hold onto my freedom. I do want to work again, but not sure at what. In the past, I have worked in financial journalism, real estate (appraisal, sales, and as a landlord), and consumer advocacy.

    Reply
    • mike September 18, 2013, 12:11 am

      Real estate happened for me too.

      What I’d like to know is how many had a serendipitous investment that jump started their financial future.

      While I have high respect for those who can save so much of their paychecks and can turn that into a nice retirement, it was a one time event that really got things going for me. Then of course a great blog like MMM.

      Looks like most of the respondents to the survey are college degreed plus. Not to be smug, but I think the people who read this blog are higher educated.

      Reply
  • jo September 17, 2013, 8:53 pm

    Project manager for IT delivery for a financial institution? I guess it’s Another Sort of Cubicle Jockey…

    Reply
    • Greg September 19, 2013, 6:48 pm

      Same here! Except it’s turning more into data centre management for the financials – out in Singapore

      Reply
  • Eric September 17, 2013, 8:55 pm

    I’m “other” as well. Sad overworked barista here headed back to college for a marketable degree-hopefully statistics. I’m really glad I’ve found your site. Looking forward to graduating with almost no debt and earning a salary that I can realistically save 50% of!

    Reply
    • chopper_41 September 19, 2013, 2:00 pm

      When you’ve graduated, check into careers as a Data Scientist. I anticipate lots of demand and very good money in this field.

      Reply
  • Valerie September 17, 2013, 9:03 pm

    You missed a huge chunk of the population, where’s the service industry?Though sometimes I do feel like I don’t make enough money/haven’t made enough money in the past to belong here.

    I’m a cake decorator at Whole Foods going to school in the evenings for a career change into geology/environmental science.

    Reply
    • Mrs. PoP September 18, 2013, 4:52 am

      agree totally! We are a service economy, so “other” would be huge if we looked at an even cross section of the US.

      And what about stuff like sales? Would Mr PoP’s IT sales position go in “other”? He’s definitely not development or engineering of IT products, but works in that industry…

      Reply
  • Steve September 17, 2013, 9:06 pm

    I’m a yacht rigger and a real estate agent on the side, I checked other…

    Definitely an interesting spread, I’m curious to see the poll results in a few days once more answers come in.

    Reply
  • Nate September 17, 2013, 9:10 pm

    you should add ‘sales’ as an option for this poll.

    Reply
  • Juan Alonso September 17, 2013, 9:11 pm

    Software engineer happy to see that software engineer is the first choice. :)

    Reply
  • Miss Growing Green September 17, 2013, 9:19 pm

    I was able to cast my vote in the “Whatever I want to do- I’m retired” category!
    Perfect timing for this post- I “retired” last week at 29 years old (previously in the “other high tech job” category- is that where biologists would go?).

    Mr. Money Mustache- you have been a huge inspiration during my journey and with my current blog. I’m a huge fan!

    Reply
    • Christof September 17, 2013, 10:57 pm

      Congratulations! 29 years is awesome for early retirement!

      Reply
      • Miss Growing Green September 19, 2013, 4:09 am

        Thanks Christof! But, to be fair, I suppose I am 29 and 1/2 ;)

        Reply
  • insourcelife September 17, 2013, 9:22 pm

    Great idea! Will be interesting to see the results once readers have a chance to vote.

    Reply
  • Jay September 17, 2013, 9:23 pm

    Canadian engineer. Father of two. Real estate investor. Stock market investor. using maximum leverage in all investments while I can afford the risks because I have a salary that covers way more than my expenses. I have always saved over 18% of my income per year. Back in 2003, that meant increasing my net worth by 9k/year with a 50k/y salary. Nowadays that mean increasing my net worth by 92k/y on a 65k/y salary and investment income from real estate assets and dividend stocks. Yes, no typo here, that is 92,000$/y increase.

    I believe leverage will allow me to get to my FI target number (net worth) faster. Once there? Sell whatever is needed to clear all investment debts (mortgages, trading margins, regular margins, RRSP margins) and live off 4-5% yield on my net worth. Current age: 34. Target date for FI: 35. Target date to leave work, sell assets, clear investment debts: anytime after 35 when I stop enjoying working. Worries: 1.inflation. 2.how to get my kids motivated toward work when dad will not get up to go to work every morning like everyone else’s dad does. Where I spend way less than anyone around me: clothes, cars. Where I spend way more than anyone around me: traveling, purchased my iPhone cash without contract. Reading MMM since: August 2013.

    Reply
    • MikeInJax September 20, 2013, 6:04 am

      Jay and MMM – would like to know more about investing in real estate … what to look for, how to maximize leverage without loosing the farm, how to manage… Perhaps there is a post in the blog about successful RE investing and if so, shame on me and after this comment I’ll search. Otherwise, any advice on where to start reading?
      Just started reading MMM recently and love the perspective and encouragement that you don’t have to have gazillions to enjoy life!

      Reply
  • Dan September 17, 2013, 9:25 pm

    Do I win anything if I fit into four categories? Takes me an age to explain my job to people when I first meet them. If I decline to explain, it usually comes off as arrogance. “Look at Mr. Complicated job over here!”. Sometimes people are suspicious because I’ll tell multiple people about one facet of my work, depending on the context, and it doesn’t always match up. Hopefully at least a few people think I’m in a Mexican drug cartel.

    Reply
    • Liam September 17, 2013, 10:27 pm

      You’re a high-school teacher who works in a car wash and cooks meth on the side aren’t you?

      Reply
    • Mrs. PoP September 18, 2013, 4:47 am

      haha, that’s the way I feel about my job sometimes. Depending on the interests/background of the person I’m talking to, I’ll describe my job in very different ways. They’re all accurate to a certain degree, but hearing only one will never give a person a true understanding of what I do.

      Reply
  • Mama Minou September 17, 2013, 9:36 pm

    I’m a Public Health nurse. Any other Mustachian nurses out there?

    Reply
    • Karen September 18, 2013, 12:26 am

      ICU nurse here! Good to see our line of work represented here :)

      Reply
    • Renee s September 18, 2013, 5:54 am

      me! I am a public health nurse, too! :)

      Reply
    • Elizabeth September 18, 2013, 6:14 am

      I’m a nurse (though not public health) am I the only one who thinks it strange that he said “Doctor or healthcare industry” instead of “Nurse or healthcare industry”? We out number the doctors last time I checked . . .

      Reply
      • The Only Girl in the Mill September 18, 2013, 8:32 am

        In most law offices, paralegals outnumber lawyers.

        Which do you think of first when talking about people working in law?
        It isn’t always about numbers.

        Reply
      • Mickey Cee September 18, 2013, 7:08 pm

        Psychiatric nurse here (unfortunately!)

        Reply
      • Naloxone January 24, 2015, 9:18 am

        … and, in my experience you (nurses) are far more inclined to be Mustachian than physicians. I’m a doctor. Recently completed residency. Starting salary in my subspecialty is about $450k in private practice, which means ~ $25k a month take-home. How ridiculous are those numbers?! Even with $300k in student loans (quite common for physicians), retirement should be 12 years in the future, max. But I have yet to talk to fellow early career MDs/DOs interested in saving even HALF of this obscene bounty, or indeed with ANY savings goals aside from enough to achieve a 401(k) match. I have spoken with several RNs, on the other hand, who have paid off their mortgage or are well on their way toward that end.

        I’d be interested to know the percentage of Mustachians who are physicians. My guess, based on my experience and on the replies for this post, would be very small.

        Reply
        • MustachianMD August 1, 2015, 7:28 pm

          I am an MD, I feel like there is an equal proportion of RNs and MDs that are frugal. I think that many of us are shamed into not talking about money and FIRE because of these fields are suppose to be callings so we should want to do them forever and money should not be an issue. Where I work, there are a many nurses and doctors that will work overtime to make more money to buy fancy toys, but there is a silent group of us (usually you can tell by their car and when you talk to them about life goals) that are frugal and eyeing financial freedom even if we are not planning to retire anytime soon.

          Reply
          • JerseyMark July 30, 2017, 1:56 pm

            I am also a physician – Internal Medicine so not as high salary as some specialties. However, I have always been somewhat of a mustachian – only went to a college giving me a full ride instead of paying and taking loans. Went to state med school to minimize loans for my medical degree. Live well within my means, max 403Bs for myself and spouse plus Backdoor Roths for both of us and extra money goes towards some taxable investing and extra mortgage payments.
            I think there are a decent number of closet mustachian doctors.

            Reply
    • Emily September 18, 2013, 9:27 am

      Oncology nurse! I agree with Elizabeth, we do seem to outnumber the doctors – could it be an aversion to debt?

      Reply
      • LeighinCT September 18, 2013, 8:20 pm

        Oncology RN here as well!

        Reply
    • Elaine September 19, 2013, 8:08 am

      I’m a pediatric nurse practitioner with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering

      Reply
    • Umnichka November 21, 2013, 1:25 pm

      I am a Cardiology Nurse Practitioner, working part time (or semi-retired?). I only recently found MMM and have read about half of the blog posts already, starting from the beginning. We as a family have made a lot of changes already and are currently saving 45% of our monthly income. Good stuff here, keep them coming, MMM! We are now switching to Republic cell phones. Can’t wait. I’m also an immigrant from Russia, so that probably makes me a lot different than most people on here :)

      Reply
    • Frugal Red September 5, 2014, 5:04 am

      Orthopedic / Rehab Nurse in NYC here! Where I work the Mustachian lifestyle seems to be the minority.

      Reply
    • lorenlaurenlorraine December 3, 2014, 7:35 pm

      ICU Nurse :)

      Reply
    • Sophia June 13, 2017, 4:07 pm

      Nurse Educator here 😊
      I’ve been ferociously reading since I discovered this blog last month. I’ve recommended this site to everyone who would listen, family, friends, students and other nurses. I can’t believe how much time and money I wasted all these years. The good thing is MMM had inspired me to change my wasteful ways. Looking forward to FI, hopefully in 10 years or less.

      Reply
    • classical_liberal June 13, 2017, 8:04 pm

      Travel nurse here. Nurses are well represented in the forum here, check it out!

      Reply
  • FlanFan September 17, 2013, 9:44 pm

    I’m a hostess at a law firm – I get drinks for lawyers and clients, take plastic wrap off catered lunches, and pick up booze for parties.

    Reply
  • Ian September 17, 2013, 9:47 pm

    Other: truck driver!

    Reply
    • Nancy Gonzalez September 21, 2013, 2:12 am

      My husband is also a truck driver :) Do you drive locally or OTR?
      I am a preschool teacher but hoping to go back to school next Fall to get a Masters in Social Work.

      Reply
  • Rich September 17, 2013, 9:55 pm

    Professional services. Though I’m the broader legal industry, I don’t like to answer that I’m in the legal field since it implies that I’m a lawyer. I’m sure professional/business services in general is a big chunk of the “other” category.

    Reply
  • jflo September 17, 2013, 9:56 pm

    Although I’m technically a lawyer, I work in the non-profit sector on health care access. Wondering how many other folks out there are in NPs.
    Whining about NP salaries is a popular pasttime in this sector – consumerism still happens even among the do-gooders. This blog has helped me re-realize how blessed I am. Even with a lower salary than many of my law school peers, I still have choices and fighting the consumerist urges makes us all freer.

    Reply
    • Liz September 18, 2013, 3:26 pm

      Another NP worker, in affordable/low-income housing. Not only do I love your blog for lessons I can incorporate into my own life, but we’re also putting together financial education programming (including intro-investing) for the communities we work with.

      Reply
    • Tina September 20, 2013, 5:57 am

      Another not for profit worker here with a management background, living in Australia. On my comparatively low salary mustachian choices are essential.

      Reply
  • Mikhaela September 17, 2013, 10:10 pm

    I work in non-profit marketing but I’m also an artist/graphic designer so I put “artsy.” You have a lot of readers in software development!

    Reply
    • Angela September 18, 2013, 5:36 am

      I’m in non-profit too! Specifically in global public health. I’m not making nearly as much as physicians but choose doctor/healthcare since that seemed like the only appropriate choice. The idea of asking mustachians about savings rate is a great one. Perhaps just asking about their savings in 2013 to date or the last 3 months or another short time period since this can vary quite a bit over time in the same person.

      Reply
      • Mikhaela September 18, 2013, 1:07 pm

        Ditto here on global health! But because I’m in marketing, still thinking “Artsy.”

        My savings rate is just getting going, though… think it is usually about 25%-30%.

        Reply
  • linktalk September 17, 2013, 10:11 pm

    Others: Project Manager in the Charity Sector! (btw, I am a Singaporean. Not sure if you get many readers from my part of the world!)

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache September 18, 2013, 8:15 am

      Welcome! According to that pie chart on the stats page I linked to in the article, Singapore is the 11th most Mustachian country with about 4360 visits over the last month.

      Reply
  • RGB September 17, 2013, 10:23 pm

    I’m an open source software engineer (Linux kernel security hacker!). I get paid to write free software, from home no less! :D

    We’ve been car-free all our adult lives.

    Here’s how I get 2 months worth of groceries:
    http://tricolour.ca/photos/2013/09/17/cargo_bike.html

    And how I get lumber from Home Depot to reinforce our roof rafters before installing solar panels (they even let me ride right into the store!):
    http://tricolour.net/photos/2011/12/13/cargo_bike.html
    And storm doors (with kids!):
    http://tricolour.net/photos/2008/08/12/cargo_bike.html
    http://tricolour.net/photos/2008/08/02/cargo_bike.html

    Ya gotta have fun at this stuff. :-)

    Reply
    • Lauren September 18, 2013, 9:26 am

      That’s awesome! Is the recumbant your own design?

      Reply
      • RGB September 18, 2013, 10:27 am

        No, it is a design by Australian company http://greenspeed.com.au, however the trailer is.

        That trike is the first production unit of a new model I provoked from the designer/manufacturer, combining the benefits of their GTO and GTT (solo and tandem) models. The idea for the overhead racks came from a photo on their web site of someone using one of their tandem trikes as a working vehicle for a plumbing business, carrying 5m lengths of ABS pipe to job sites.

        The 4×8′ cargo trailer I designed/built: http://hpv.tricolour.net/organ-trailer.html

        The cargo bike is a standard bike adapted with an after-market rack made by http://www.xtracycle.com/ . I am very impressed by the reliability and versatility of the Xtracycle system. It makes living car-free *much* easier.

        Reply
  • Jen September 17, 2013, 11:11 pm

    Gosh I have been a SAHM for 13 years, only category available is “other”.

    Reply
    • Frau Rosen September 18, 2013, 11:35 am

      I’m also a stay-at-home mother and I homeschool my 12 year old son. He has special needs and does so much better at home than school. My husband works in retail management. Having one parent (it doesn’t matter if it’s mother or father) home is such a benefit both to the child(ren) and the household, emotionally and financially. I can save the family more money by frugal homemaking than I’d earn at this point. (I have a BA in German and previously worked in administrative positions in government and the travel industry.) Plus, as MMM and MM have shown, having just one child is an awesome way to experience parenthood but still live a frugal, fun, comfortable life.

      Reply
    • Nomi September 18, 2013, 4:36 pm

      Another stay at home mum here! I have worked part time after each of my kids but no longer. We have decided to specialise for a few of years while our kids are young. I focus on running the household (frugally!)and take on a very traditional homemaker role (which many many people think is nuts in this day and age. I promise you I’m not oppressed just because I do all the cooking, mowing and ironing! I also manage and make the money decisions in our house!) this means that my partner can really focus on building up his career and earning more. Its only for a few years and i think it creates maximum efficiency. We both acknowledge that neither of us could do what we are able to do right now without the others hard work and we have never been happier or saved more in our 12 years together. We hope that once the kids are in school and their schedule is more rigid that we can both be working -me more, him less-until we retire that is…..

      Reply
      • Steph September 18, 2013, 9:49 pm

        Another SAHM here, that voted “other”. I am also the chief financial officer of our household. We make financial decisions together, but generally I am doing 99% of the research that goes into making those decisions. My husband work’s shift work in healthcare. I may go back to work at some point but right now we are trying to strike a balance between building our portfolio and spending quality time as a family. We are renters in an area where the price to rent ratio is around 53. SAHM’s are very rare here as the cost of living (the fancy/complicated life) is extremely high.

        Reply
        • Lilypad September 21, 2013, 9:25 pm

          We are renters in a high cost area (Seattle) too. All those software engineers have pushed up prices crazily, so we’re just letting them fight it out at their bidding wars for now. It is a bummer to not be able to buy a house in your home town, though.

          Reply
        • Laura September 25, 2013, 6:25 pm

          Another SAHM, who checked OTHER, although now, I have one college grad and one a SOPH in college – so now I’m a SAH-Happy Person? A former-SAHM? Retired? I’m not really sure how to define myself in terms of “Industry”. I worked in Banking and Finance before having kids, so I have been 100% CFO of our household $’s.

          Reply
  • Sandy September 17, 2013, 11:12 pm

    I’m a stay at home mom with some benefits coming in from previous jobs and I’m back in night school to get my teaching degree. My husband is a tax lawyer. He works only 4 days a week and we still manage to live off of half our income.

    Reply
    • Keshet October 1, 2013, 2:48 am

      I’m a former military translator, now SAHM, homeschooling 3 kids, and CFO as we build up our rental house portfolio while active duty military hubby deploys.

      Reply
  • Al September 17, 2013, 11:31 pm

    Other…translator

    Reply
    • Silvie September 18, 2013, 3:16 am

      Me too! Nice to see another translator on this website :)

      Reply
      • Erik Y September 18, 2013, 7:18 am

        I’m curious what languages you translate. One of my brothers wasa Japanese translator when he lived in Japan. My two youngest kids are in a Spanish immersion school. I think speaking multiple languages is great on so many levels, even better if you can make. Living from it.

        Reply
        • Silvie September 19, 2013, 3:56 am

          I am a native Dutch speaker and translate English to Dutch and Dutch to English.

          At my school in the Netherlands, learning French and German was mandatory. I also took Latin, which is the mother of all Roman languages like French and Spanish. I studied a little Spanish as a hobby, but to be a professional translator, you need to be fluent (near-native level) in both languages. A lot of people think translating is easier than it really is.

          Reply
      • greg September 18, 2013, 10:04 pm

        spread the word? ‘Stash growing in all languages!

        Reply
      • Beverly September 19, 2013, 12:06 am

        Translator too, based in Spain, but originally from the UK. I am self-employed and translate from Spanish and French to English.

        Thanks MMM for all your inspiring work!

        Reply
    • Ann September 21, 2013, 11:01 am

      Translator here too, I guess that falls under intellectual services? I do French to English and some project management with an agency in Toulouse, France!

      Reply
  • Erin Adventure September 17, 2013, 11:51 pm

    Bat biologist. And my mustachian husband is an ICU nurse. We’re huge fans!

    Reply
    • CMac September 18, 2013, 5:07 am

      Wow, so interesting! Bats are such fascinating creatures and your husband’s job sounds like a great mix of rewarding and challenging.

      Reply
    • lurker September 18, 2013, 7:22 am

      Sooo cool. after you save the bats could you figure out what is going on with the honeybees?????

      Riddle me this bat person….

      Reply
      • Erin Adventure September 20, 2013, 1:22 am

        Any other wildlife/botany/biology people out there in Mustachi-land?

        I care deeply about wildlife conservation issues, especially of “underdog” species (bats, bees, etc, and the human-mediated impacts they face). Wildlife work is rewarding and full of interesting problem solving opportunities. I know my line of work, well the pay anyway, doesn’t quite fit the best paths to FI suggested by MMM. With wildlife you have to get specialized schooling, you face a lot of discouragement (like habitat loss, really negative people, development/McMansions, etc), and the field overall just doesn’t pay well. That last one means our FI goals will take a bit longer to accomplish than we would prefer.

        There are other perks to my line of work – happily being outside in all seasons and weather, seeing wildlife on the regular, and my husband’s flexible nursing schedule allows him to join on fieldwork trips. That comes in really handy when our research takes place in national parks and we can only backpack to the sites. It’s like a mini-vacation!

        One thing I’ve always appreciated about this blog is that MMM doesn’t just addresses $$ but he also approaches consumer behavior, responsible stewardship, and minimizing “stuff” one face-punch at a time. Every choice we make about our stuff, good or bad, has a larger impact on more than just our own FI.

        Reply
  • wd September 17, 2013, 11:53 pm

    Criminalist…

    No not criminal… but criminalist.

    Reply
  • K September 18, 2013, 12:03 am

    I’m a project officer working for the State Government. Desk jockey I guess?

    Could be worse. I’m mid-20s and earn more than my parents combined and around 30% more than my former university peers..

    Reply
    • Kenoryn September 19, 2013, 8:41 am

      I’m a policy analyst with the Provincial government – I put myself as ‘other cubicle jockey’.

      Reply
  • Randy September 18, 2013, 12:09 am

    I guess we airline mechanics aren’t too common around here!
    Or other “trades.”
    Bummer.
    But, having tried to speak to my coworkers about financial things, this disappointing statistic is not surprising.

    Reply
    • The Only Girl in the Mill September 18, 2013, 7:56 am

      I used to work in airline maintenance! I was an engineer at a maintenance base.

      Fun times!

      Reply
    • Matt June 5, 2014, 8:21 am

      “But, having tried to speak to my coworkers about financial things, this disappointing statistic is not surprising.”

      Oh yeah!

      Automotive technician here, and the lack of financial savvy in my workplace is pretty mind-blowing. My first day on the job, one of my coworkers (with a 20k+ tool bill at 22% APR) told me, “Since you don’t have a lot of tools yet, just go on the Snap On truck. He’ll get you set up with everything you need, and you can make payments on it every week.” Despite the fact that they were starting me out with oil changes and tires, for which I needed literally NOTHING that the shop didn’t already provide. There is a surprising amount of tool buying that is nothing more than keeping up with the Joneses.

      Every tool purchase I’ve made since then has been justified by a) allowing me to do jobs I cannot currently do without them, or b) significantly improving my productivity for jobs that I can already do. If more technicians thought this way, it could almost be a lucrative career for them.

      Reply
  • Anil @ PeerCube September 18, 2013, 12:10 am

    I couldn’t vote. It appears that your poll restricts one vote per IP address so it excludes your readers who share IP address.

    Reply
    • Cas September 18, 2013, 5:05 am

      Can you not just clear your cookies and try again?

      Reply
  • Suzie September 18, 2013, 12:15 am

    Other – Communications in the Environmental Charity industry. Couldn’t figure out where either of those two sat.

    Reply
  • Jason September 18, 2013, 12:52 am

    Military gets no love? Other for me then.

    Reply
    • Johnny Moneyseed September 18, 2013, 7:19 pm

      Same here brother. There should have been two addition options “Marines” and “Military non-Marines”.

      Reply
    • Thomas September 19, 2013, 5:23 am

      Air Force here, so I probably would have answered “cubicle jockey” even if military was an option

      Reply
      • Brian September 20, 2013, 3:40 am

        Same, another Air Force desk jockey. Getting some sweet savings rates out here in the desert…

        Reply
  • Nikki September 18, 2013, 2:27 am

    Thought I’d chime in with an elaboration for my teacher vote:

    I was a full-time adjunct lecturer at a public university in Texas making $22,000 a year before taxes. I did extra work coaching online courses (basically I was the first point of contact for students via email and was responsible for grading all of their work–I made $24 per student for 8 week courses). I also started webcam modeling (adult entertainment) to bring in extra money.

    While I was able to pay more than the minimum payment on my student loans, my savings were a bit pitiful. I was always stressed because I worked incredibly long hours and had little to show for it. I wasn’t satisfied with my work.

    SO I MOVED TO SOUTH KOREA! Now I teach at a middle school, make more money than I did at my university (barely), have rent covered by my employer, don’t need a car to get around, and enjoy a lower cost of living. I still do webcam modeling because it’s fun and a nice little boost for my savings, but it’s more of a side-hustle than a necessity now. (It’s also a nifty way to qualify for Roth IRA contributions abroad!)

    I currently save over 80% of my income, but this level of spending won’t be sustainable once I leave my job and Korea. I estimate that I can retire in about 13 years if I keep it up, at age 40.

    Things are a little slower for teachers making less than $30k a year, but we’ll get there eventually (and sooner than most, if we’d like). ^___^

    Reply
  • Kiwi Frugal Fan September 18, 2013, 2:42 am

    I’m a public servant (bureaucrat) living in Wellington, NZ. I love your blog and am particularly trying to follow your principle of constant optimization. It’s tricky cutting down costs with a largish mortgage and three small children, but we are working towards our goal of retirement by 50.

    Reply
    • Meghan September 18, 2013, 3:49 pm

      I work for one of the big banks in Auckland, NZ. My husband (Industrialisation Engineer – IT category?) and I are aiming for FI in 2020 when we intend to do our delayed OE. I will be 44 and he will be 56. No children, one elderly dog. It’s definitely easier to save money without children in the mix!

      Reply
    • Toasty September 18, 2013, 3:59 pm

      Woohoo! Wellingtonian as well. I am business development for an accounting firm. I have been investing for about 20 years and have a significant share portfolio as well as 4 leveraged investment properties and an unencumbered home. I was always after more income to fund an increasingly expensive lifestyle…and then I stumbled over this blog about 6 months ago and its all changed.

      All car plans have been dumped. Garage is now full of bikes bought at 50 to 75% off sales and car use is banned in our suburb if we can bike somewhere.

      I re-evaluated our spending and we are up to about a 40% savings rate and climbing. The wife is not entirely convinced but coming on board slowly.

      I have also passed this website on to quite a few clients so interesting to see their reactions.

      Reply
      • Kiwi Frugal Fan September 19, 2013, 2:31 am

        Yay – go Wellington! My husband and I still have a long way to go to FI, but we did do well in the property boom in early-mid 2000s so that has helped a lot. We always bike to work, even in Wellington’s fiercest southerly winds! I love cruising around the waterfront in the mornings. We’ve also put our holiday house on the market so we are embracing MMM principles!

        Reply
        • Neil imrie September 20, 2013, 3:10 am

          Another kiwi, 49, living the good life in New Plymouth. Long time investor, retired from teaching 6 months ago.

          Reply
          • Meghan September 20, 2013, 9:21 pm

            Hi Kiwi, Toasty, and Neil!

            Great to see there are a few of us Kiwis reading MMM.

            Hubby and I started investing in property almost 10 years ago but were (mature) students back then, so we didn’t have the resources to throw much of our own money at the investing. We are now starting to ramp this up (both working fulltime) having fairly recently become Mustachian. We currently save about 30% of our income and with a bit of restructuring, should be able to increase this considerably over the next few months.

            Reply
  • Emil September 18, 2013, 2:58 am

    For us situated in Europes welfare states, government work is a fairly large sector which does not fit in to any of your categories. Me, I work in an equivalent to the IRS, and enjoy such benefits as a generous pension plan, and an employer sponsored mortage, currently at 2,3%:-)

    Reply
  • Matt Becker September 18, 2013, 3:51 am

    Currently in software development but looking to move into financial planning.

    Reply
    • Stephen September 18, 2013, 6:59 am

      Ironically, I am in the financial planning/consumer economics field at the moment but I seem to be doing more and more software development/tech work.

      I think I enjoy the combination of the two and I think there are efficiencies to be gain in both fields. Maybe when I retire in a few years I finish up engineering.

      Reply
  • Genevieve in Paris (France) September 18, 2013, 4:07 am

    I’m totally “different”: I’m french, living in Europe, France, in a very nice place just at the limit of Paris. Mum of two girls, I’m “home working” as a designer, trying to launch my small company and brand, and working for others (which is not easy). I was a freelancer in journalism and communication before. My husband works in a very big company.
    In France, the situation is quite different: very good public health insurance system, for example, but I’m always interested in the way you think about money and you shape your lifes (I read the comments also), mainly because in the french bourgeoisie – I guess I that’s where I belong! !-) – almost nobody speaks about money and we don’t know enough about managing our financial lives…
    Therefore, I like very much your blog, because it helps me thinking out of the box, including for my small company. It gives also a very nice insight on american lifes! Thank you for all this!
    PS: I would be glad to discover american blogs – but true blogs, not advertising – about running a small business…
    PS2: Please, feel free to tell me when my english is bad! I’m also improving it when reading your blog and all the comments! Nice and cheap lessons!-)

    Reply
    • Kenoryn September 19, 2013, 8:52 am

      Actually your English is great! Beaucoup mieux que mon français. :) We would say “I like your blog very much” rather than “I like very much your blog”. Also plural of “life” is “lives” instead of “lifes”.

      Reply
      • Geneviève September 20, 2013, 4:08 am

        Thanks for your (usefull and nice) reply!
        I realise that I didn’t mention where I was in Mustachism… Well, the truth is: far, quite far from the arrival! But there is some hope!

        Reply
  • CrucialDebtCrusher September 18, 2013, 4:34 am

    It’s going to be a bunch of web devs that want out.

    Reply
  • Marie September 18, 2013, 4:43 am

    I’m a nanny so I fall in the teacher/education category. I noticed in the 50 jobs post that there’s another nanny as well. (Also, first comment after 7 months of voracious reading)

    Reply
  • Scott September 18, 2013, 4:51 am

    Job in sport and recreation industry in local government.

    Reply

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