164 comments

Three Months of Slacking

Unsuccessfully but Refreshingly trying to climb the local waterfall

“MMM, are you still alive?”
– somebody on Twitter

Holy Shit! I just realized that the last time I wrote a blog post for you was on April 18th, and now it’s late July. That’s an entire quarter of a year that I have let this wonderful, golden field of interesting opportunities and people sit untended.

 How could Mr. Money Mustache, a reliable stalwart of bossy financial advice since 2011 and usually good for at least one post per month, have drifted so far from his original dedication? It’s a question that earnest fans have been asking, and that I have even started asking myself.

When you break out of any habit, it can be hard to get back into it: the psychological barriers start to stack up and the pressure rises and you find yourself waiting for more and more unattainably perfect conditions that, surprise surprise, never really come.

If it’s a workout habit that you have broken, you might tell yourself,

“Oh, I just need to get over this injury or this cold… And then my Mom is visiting next week but after that I’ll be ready to get back to the gym.“

With my blog-writing hobby I make excuses like,

“Oh, now that it has been so long, I have to wait until I have something really interesting or worthwhile to say.

And yeah okay, maybe I have a few articles like that in the drafts folder, but those ones take a lot of thinking and focus to write, so I’d better wait until I am feeling really smart and focused to crack into that subject.”

But in both cases, the correct solution is just to say,

“Fuck it. I am going to just do something towards my goal, no matter how tiny.”

To get back in shape, you just need to start with at least a few pushups, which you can do right now on the floor of your office or kitchen. To resurrect the MMM Blog, Mustache just has to type some shit into the computer, and heck, why not just an easy breezy article telling you about some of the interesting things I’ve been doing in lieu of blogging?

Some stories from a real life of early retirement, which may be more relevant than plain old financial analysis and reader case studies anyway. And once we’re all caught up in life, maybe it’ll be easier to keep in touch on a more regular basis henceforth.

So in fairly rapidfire format, here’s what I’ve been up to this spring and summer:

1) Renovating The Shit Out of Our New Two-House Compound

We found the previous shower had been leaking for years and creating the most interesting scene of decay. We tore out and rebuilt the whole area, and cut in a nice window for good measure.

You may recall that back in January, I teamed up with a friend to buy the house next door, with cash, at a below-market price. Once she moved in, we realized that it needed even more renovations than we originally planned. So I’ve had a joyful time tearing down walls, framing in new windows and doors, reworking the floorplan and changing the wall surfaces, as well as fixing the shoddy plumbing and electrical work that was found along the way.

On my own house right next door, I’ve been going just a bit wild with metalworking, making all sorts of fences and decks and even a “Juliet Balcony” which features a fireman pole allowing me to slide quickly down from my master bedroom to the ground where we have a shared hot tub between our properties – in case of Hot Tub Emergencies, of course.

Cutting a giant hole in the back of my house (in February!), adding a sliding door where there was previously only a silly little shitty window, then many fun, casual days of metalworking. The last pic is my side deck, which I built mostly out of wood but also features lots of metal and a fun little outdoor kitchen including coffee machine and induction cooktop!

2) Working on a Pretty Big Documentary Project

Hmmm.. something seems different about the HQ kitchen.

I have said for years that I would never do it, but somehow a very persuasive filmmaker who has made some documentaries that I really respect, roped me into helping out with a probably-pretty-big documentary.

I did a casting call in March and found a couple that I am now coaching and working with throughout 2021. The film company doesn’t want me to talk about it much until they are ready to announce it, but suffice it to say that it is taking a lot of my time and energy, which comes out of what would otherwise be my blog-writing time budget.

However, this is the good kind of hardship – forcing me to experience things I wouldn’t otherwise get to do, and the end result will be reaching a lot more people than I could by just writing on this website alone. My fingers are crossed that it will come out the way I hope!

3) Switching 120,000 Underserved MMM Email Subscribers over for Better Newsletters

Easier signups, and better eventual emails.

Since the beginning, I’ve mostly ignored the fact that I sorta have a list of email subscribers, with predictable lackluster results. People were able to subscribe and unsubscribe themselves automatically, and the only thing it got them was an automated mailing of any new blog articles on the day that I posted them. The emails were poorly formatted, people who had non-gmail addresses often had trouble subscribing, and many probably wondered why I couldn’t make it work better.

Thankfully, a mini-crisis happened that has forced me to do the work to solve this problem, at last: Google announced that they were shutting down the aging Feedburner email service, so all of the old-school bloggers like me who were still using it were forced to migrate to a more modern platform.

I did some research, and in the end I decided to go with a higher-end option called ConvertKit, which is one of the most popular email services. It can do a lot more cool stuff, and I have taken advantage of this to create an automated (and free of course) “MMM Boot Camp” email series that people can sign up for. 

It’s just a curated feed of some of my most useful articles (about 35 out of the 500), which automatically go out to people once per week until they have graduated, so you’d think it would be pretty easy for me to create this.

But as I read through my old stuff, of course I realized that much of it was crappy and outdated so I ended up partially rewriting every one of those 35 posts as I went through, which took some time. The good news is, the updated versions are here on the website as well, so the work should benefit anyone who happens to read them in the future.

4) Having lots of Fun Times (and Hard Times) In Real Life

Just another cool sunset/storm in my back yard, taken during the traditional Evening Walk.

I’ve had a series of wonderful visitors who came and stayed at my house, sometimes for a week or more. Friends and I have hosted some big events at the HQ Coworking space, which left me both energized and drained at the same time. Then I got Strep Throat in mid-July, which knocked me out for the count for a full week or more – even well after the antibiotics worked their magic, I have still been having some ups and downs with energy. 

And then of course there’s the heat – I am always more energetic in cool weather (The typical 50 degree sunny days of a Colorado winter are some of my favorite for outdoor work in t-shirt and jeans). So the summer season here is always a challenge for me, with an endless procession of cloudless 95 degree desert days (35C) making me resent the very Sun I normally worship so much. I’ve been taking refuge indoor more than I should, hiding in my air conditioned house and making excuses and accomplishing less because of it. At least this has led me to the keyboard today, to write this blog post.

5) “Cutting the Pipe” at HQ and Installing a Giant Fancy Heat Pump system.

I had fun working alongside my co-owner Mr. 1500 for this work. Everything was easy about this install … except rebuilding some of the filthy century-old ductwork we found once we took out the old furnace.

Since I first bought the building in 2017, the MMM-HQ coworking space has been limping along with a clunky decades-old gas furnace, a gas water heater that was about 20 years overdue to spring a leak, no central air conditioning at all, and very high utility bills due to the way our local gas company charges commercial customers.

When you combine these irritants and contrast them with the fact that we happen to have a glorious DIY solar electric array on the rooftop that makes a surplus of power, you can see why I would be itching to tear out all the gas appliances, cancel the service account permanently, and install all-electric replacements that are more efficient and will also save an estimated shit-ton of money each year.

I’ll save the full details of this for my very next blog article, but as a spoiler: we found and successfully installed a unit that should be able to cool and heat our building year-round, is very DIY-friendly, and cost only about $4000 to buy. It should prove to be a great annual return on investment, and I am excited to start installing these things on all of my properties and those of any friends who are doing upgrades.

And with that, I’d say we are all caught up.

In the comments: what have YOU been up to these past 3 months? And what subjects do you think we should be covering here on MMM in the next three?

  • Tim H July 26, 2021, 9:44 am

    First post here. I stumbled into your blog over a year ago and finished reading all 520+ posts in May 2021 (and the comments). For a while after, I was like “let me guess, no more MMM anymore, just as I finish all the posts!” Glad to see you back!

    Your writings have changed me life to say the least. I probably could win the award for the least un-Mustachian life you’ve probably ever encountered, really deserving of some repeated face-punchings. Now, I can’t not see the waste in my life and society. I feel like a completely changed person.

    Unfortunately, not everyone in my family of four feels the same way. My son is into it, but the rest, not nearly enough. I’d say we’ve reduced our consumption from “unlimited vodka bar visits 24/7” to maybe a good-size daily flask or a bottle on certain days. Still way too much for me. I feel like the dealer who drugged his family and now is sober and and dealing with the ramification of said choices.

    I need to reread the post about how on Selling the Dream to other family members. I’m very much a work-in-progress. Regardless, I truly appreciate the vision you’ve put forward for us to live a kick-ass life!

    Reply
  • Ryan Stephenson July 26, 2021, 11:11 am

    Left Verizon for Mint; got my Cox internet back down to $80/mo from $110, probably going to go down further to $50/mo service; swapped car insurance to MetroMile – pay as you drive; financed an eBike so I have no excuse to ditch the car.

    Downloaded 3 years of transactions from my CU for spreadsheet analysis. My gross bi-weekly paycheck is $1930
    Total saving is 17%
    – 12% State Retirement account
    – 5% tax-sheltered HSA

    I can and will start saving another 10-12%. Also contemplating some further drastic measures
    – Find a roommate. I don’t efficiently use my 600sf duplex rental
    – Cut internet down to $50/mo as mentioned
    – Conserve energy. I consume between 144 and 512 kWh costing me $35-$86 /mo.
    – Get a second job, something like $15/hr @ 15hrs/wk
    – Nix plan for Euro trip?
    – Sell car, quit car insurance

    My first significant FIRE goal is eliminating my $40k student debt. Need help evaluating altneratives between paying more on student debt OR investing savings to pay off student debt.

    Reply
  • Steve Cox July 26, 2021, 12:10 pm

    In your article you write “ The good news is, the updated versions are here on the website as well, so the work should benefit anyone who happens to read them in the future.”

    Someone forgot to create a clickable link on the word “here” ….

    It would be interesting to read the updated posts.

    Reply
  • ChasC July 26, 2021, 12:15 pm

    Ah MrMM,
    I’ve missed you.
    What have I been doing to distract myself from this wondering? Ridden my bicycle, lots. Done a bunch of plumbing for friends. Upgrading my fire alarms and protection in my home. Walked in the woods. Worked some paid on a part-time basis on my terms.
    Can report your post did trigger something good…have been using my garage squat rack and free weights for the first time in 5 weeks. Felt good. Needed to do something whilst waiting for my pasta bake was cooking and this was a good thing. Have signed up to your stream of articles and all is good. Take care mate. All the best to you and yours from southwest England.
    Chas

    Reply
  • Tom Sheppard July 26, 2021, 12:22 pm

    Everyone gets caught up in other projects! Looking forward to more info on the documentary.

    Ideas for blog posts;

    – being driven to be successful in the rat race, how did you switch off, change, or was it the plan all along?

    – you seem to have found fulfilment after the rat race using your hands on skills. What would you be doing if that wasn’t interesting to you?

    – Do you think as you age maybe the MMM ethos may change?

    Reply
  • Brady Faught July 26, 2021, 12:46 pm

    Nice work on the heat pump! Vast majority of people aren’t aware one of the biggest personal carbon pollution footprints is the fossil fuel ‘natural’ gas they burn in their home. We all hate seeing a car idling for 10 minutes, but our homes are basically idling all day and night. MMM promoting all-electric living is awesome!!

    I’d love to see your analysis on $ savings over your old gas + A/C system, compared to a single heat pump that does both which is around 300% efficient (science!). Here in B.C. Canada we have clean electricity, I know CO isn’t quite there yet but the solar can go a long way, especially when you’re using max A/C during those hot sunny days when the solar is pumping excess electrons.

    Reply
  • meatro July 26, 2021, 12:49 pm

    me, this morning: aw great, a new MMM post, I wonder what’s in it
    me, shortly later: hey wait, the dude is just, like, livin’ ^^

    Also, thank you for doing the deed on the documentary. From what I imagine you’re like (you remind me of a friend of mine for whom this would be true), that was a bit of a hurdle. I really like your (and my similar friend’s) speaking and sense of humor. I hope the doc is easily accessible to the public. You will absolutely reach more people and invariably help some along their way. Your short interview with PBS came to me by way of Youtube algorithm but immediately hit home and planted the seed for me to come around. And I’ve used your longer talk to introduce the concept to my life interest. So I personally can really say thank you for continuing on in that medium and I’m looking forward to checking it out when it’s ready.

    Be good, man.

    Reply
  • Georgy July 26, 2021, 12:52 pm

    Thank You for sharing So Much Terrific Stuff . . .
    AND
    Encouraging So Many of us in the process.

    Hope to hear from you again . . . whenever you decide.
    All Best,
    -g-

    Reply
  • Liesbet July 26, 2021, 1:11 pm

    Welcome back, MMM. It’s always nice to read a personal update. You have been busy – the perfect excuse to skip a few months of blogging!

    What have we been doing the last three months? Researching, bargaining, and missing out on buying a used F350 for our next adventure. The pandemic has finally caught up with us and out nomadic lifestyle and because of the ripple affect – and the lack of computer chips – we are now faced with a very capitalistic world of high demand and elusive supply of SuperDuty trucks. In any other case, we would move on and have plenty of time.

    But… We already bought our truck camper (a good deal we didn’t want to pass up on in case we wouldn’t find a camper AFTER we found our truck) three months ago and are dying to hit the road again. The next adventure: South America.

    During those three past months, we left the camper in the seller’s yard in Vermont, kept crossing our fingers, and – finally, after three years – managed to visit my family, parents, and friends in Belgium for three weeks. Upon our return, we lucked out (were determined enough) to buy our F350 second hand in Rhode Island. It has most of the simple features we desire, but we hate the color. Black. Beggars can’t be choosers.

    So, in a month or so, the next Roaming About chapter begins and we will head west again. The three of us (husband, rescue dog and me) are looking forward to the mountains and rivers of Colorado before continuing west and then south to Baja California.

    Welcome back, MMM. It’s always nice to read a personal update. You have been busy – the perfect excuse to skip a few months of blogging!

    What have we been doing the last three months? Researching, bargaining, and missing out on buying a used F350 for our next adventure. The pandemic has finally caught in with us and out nomadic lifestyle and because of the ripple affect – and the lack of computer chips – we are now faced with a very capitalistic world of high demand and elusive supply of SuperDuty trucks. In any other case, we would move on and have time.

    But… We already bought our truck camper (a good deal we didn’t want to pass up on in case we wouldn’t find a camper AFTER we found our truck) three months ago and are dying to hit the road again. The next adventure: South America.

    During those three months, we left the camper in the seller’s yard in Vermont, kept crossing our fingers, and – finally, after three years – managed to visit my family, parents, and friends in Belgium for three weeks. Upon our return, we lucked out (we’re determined enough) to buy our F350. It has most of the simple features we desire, but we hate the color. Black. Baggers can’t be choosers.

    So, in a month or so, the next chapter begins and se will head west again. The three of us (husband, rescue dog and me) are looking forward to the mountains, rivers of Colorado before continuing west and then south to Baja California.

    Happy rest of the summer!

    Reply
  • Kyle July 26, 2021, 1:25 pm

    You sent this blog post to my email twice.

    I did enjoy it the first time, but the second time was just okay.

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache July 26, 2021, 2:21 pm

      Hey Kyle, just thought I’d respond since I’m still learning ConvertKit. I looked into my super nice user interface, found your account and the date you subscribed, and saw the history of emails that went out – from my side, there was only one. How many minutes or seconds apart did you see the timestamps on the receiving end?

      Either way, I’ll keep an eye on it. Overall, this first batch of 120,000+ emails went remarkably smoothly – no complaints, many compliments on the better formatting, no errors of any sort.

      Reply
      • Johan July 26, 2021, 11:02 pm

        I got it twice as well but the second time it looks like it came from the old newsletter.

        Reply
  • Annie July 26, 2021, 1:29 pm

    My husband built a chicken coop and run in our backyard and I painted it inside and out. Although it was about $900 in inflated lumber costs and $100 of exterior paint, it will be offer a good return on the money put in in terms of fresh eggs, entertainment (watching our cute flock of 9) and learning as my son will sell the surplus eggs for $5 a dozen.

    Reply
  • Thomas R. Arneberg July 26, 2021, 1:45 pm

    Thanks for destroying my productivity at work today. I just spent about 90 minutes reading not only this article, but following your hypertext links to reread some of the classics. (And, of course, following the links in THOSE articles to read still more.) Good thing I no longer need to work for money! (Thanks in part to reading your blog for 8 years.)

    Reply
  • B July 26, 2021, 2:08 pm

    Love the catchup blogpost- always great to hear from the king of money blogs (at least in my mind :)).

    One thing I’d love to hear about from your perspective is what you’ve learned from being a parent over the last decade and a half or so- generally, but also how productivity / stashing / time for other projects has gone over that time. We are five years into our own parenting project and we are loving the little humans we have but also wondering if we will ever get any of our own projects completed again or be able to add to the stash as we once did pre-kids.

    Cheers, man- thankful for this blog!

    Reply
  • Madeline July 26, 2021, 2:37 pm

    When you post about the heat pump, could you address the fact that they are usually installed high on a wall. I guess this is so the cool air will fall, but what about the heated air? Does it ever reach the floor, or does it hover at ceiling level? Are there any systems that account for the way hot and cold air behaves? Thanks.

    Reply
  • Olaf July 26, 2021, 3:24 pm

    That is awesome that you installed a fire pole, talk about a unique touch! I too have been enjoying my air-conditioned home here in CO, but I venture out in the evenings after it cools down for a hike or mtb ride a couple days a week.

    Over the past three months, I decided to quit my day job as it was too emotionally taxing. With my new found free time I decided to launch a finance blog and happened to fall into a new job by accident, which has been liberating and exciting.

    I would love to see more content on MMM that focuses on how your medical insurance hacking worked with strep throat and a followup on your margin loan post. Learning more about your experience with margin and if you would do it again would be a great followup to the initial post.

    Reply
  • Rachel Roelands July 26, 2021, 6:54 pm

    I’m just sitting here shocked that you use A/C. Not sure if it deserves a facepunch. Just acclimate!

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache July 26, 2021, 8:08 pm

      Haha, yep that’s a good tough attitude!

      Being a gentle, luxury-oriented blogger however, I usually just suggest people challenge themselves a little bit in the AC department: wait until the house gets TOO HOT, then back it off just a degree or two so you are comfortable again. And push that threshold a little bit over time.

      Interestingly enough, both our body/heart physical fitness and our overall health have a big influence on how much heat tolerance the typical person has. Right now, since I’m still recovering from illness, I get hot a lot more easily than I normally would. So I’ve had to keep my house at a formerly-unthinkable 78 degrees (!). When I’m at full health I find I’m pretty comfortable up to about 84 indoors.

      Reply
      • James July 28, 2021, 1:44 pm

        This is much more difficult for me when I have to go into the office. They keep it so cold there that it’s a shock to go from one environment to the other if I’m trying to keep them temp at home a bit warmer.

        Reply
  • Linder July 26, 2021, 10:15 pm

    I’m still getting used to being FIRE’d (date Jan 1, 2020). It’s been a weird 18 months with stock market going down abruptly then up up up. With my expenses low, and my investments doing well, I feel like I have extra money for the first time. It’s not like I’m spending too much money, but I feel secure, albeit cautious. Almost like a fairy tale in a way because I was so focused on not spending and saving when I was working. It’s an adjustment to my relationship with money. Just before I retired, I told my financial advisor that I expected at least one major downturn in the next 10 years. Little did I know it would be 3 months later. But I had faith in the market (I weathered 2008 relatively ok) and I’m better off now than I was when I retired 18 months ago. Reading all the comments above, I feel like I should have been more productive with my time, but I’ve been focused on me (working out more, learning how to be vegan, shedding 30 yrs of high tech stress), doing house projects (smaller than MMM’s), and the garden is actually fun this year. Looking forward to the next MMM news…

    Reply
  • Johan July 26, 2021, 11:09 pm

    Nice heat pump. Are you using a forced air system? It was hard to tell by the snippet if you repaired the duct or completely removed it.

    We had a contractor install a 4 zone mini-split Heat Pump from Friedrich this summer. It is cold climate compatible too for our cold NE winters. Hoping it cuts the gas bill come winter time.

    Check your state for any qualifying rebates, too.

    Reply
  • ZeroGBuff July 27, 2021, 8:06 am

    Good to hear from you, MMM! I’m especially looking forward to the article on cutting your gas service. Would you please give an update after the winter on how well the heat pump system worked? I’ve been looking into it, and while many systems claim to be able to handle cold weather, all the articles I find from HVAC experts say the opposite.

    I’m very interested in getting off the natural gas train, and I have an aging furnace and hot water heater that will likely need to be replaced in the next several years. However, I’ve also had a misconfigured furnace in the past that couldn’t keep up during cold snaps, and I’m not eager to return to those days either.

    Reply
  • April July 27, 2021, 10:52 am

    Post- Hot Tub Emergencies, do you ever climb back up that pole? I used to love climbing up ropes and poles as a kid
    :-)

    Reply
  • Audre July 27, 2021, 3:18 pm

    Why not switch over to something like rockwool from fiberglass insulation? Seems superior in terms of r value, sound proof, safety for human health, and maybe is better for rodents and moisture?

    I got your update email twice – once with good formatting, once with the old formatting. Should we unsubscribe from the old one?

    A lot of people would love a car buying article update. I live in a very hilly area with bad winters and treacherous roads. I’m an essential worker and must go to work even when everything else shuts down from snow. I’ve been a diehard Prius driver, and have had a few years of success in my used Prius, however, this last winter, the ground clearance just wasn’t enough to get over my unplowed city street. While it didn’t inch me closer to financial independence, I ended up getting a RAV4 Prime this year. It seemed like the right choice for the environment, also sending the signal to companies that this is what customers want. But does that really matter? Would buying used, even if something like a hybrid that gets 31 mpg, be better than buying new? Do the metals in these batteries offset the benefits of electric? Btw I’m not asking for personal advice – my RAV4 deposit is not refundable ;)

    I think more analyses on conscious consumerism is something you do well and would be appreciated, especially since, tho a personal finance blog (ostensibly), you don’t put penny pinching above all other values. You really find the sweet spots when saving money is the best thing for society and the environment. More of that is always appreciated.

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache July 28, 2021, 8:04 pm

      Hey Audre!

      Good point about the email – I forgot that Feedburner emails may not have quite shut off yet. I’ll manually turn that off before sending anything else.

      Also, congrats on the plug-in hybrid Rav4! Those are nice luxurious vehicles and seem kind of perfect for your use situation. And no, EV batteries don’t have a significant environmental impact compared to the huge fuel savings they create.

      Sure, you could save some money by getting a used gas-only RAV4. But with today’s used car market (and RAV4’s perpetually high resale value), your new purchase actually might be MORE frugal in the long run – factoring in fuel and maintenance savings, and then eventually selling that thing if you don’t need it once you retire from that job.

      Reply
  • Dharma Bum July 27, 2021, 4:08 pm

    Glad to hear that you have been productively busy. I envy your skill and talent.
    I recently turned an open area of my basement into a “workshop” by framing a partition wall, drywalling and finishing it, and installing one of those sliding “barn doors”. No big deal, but for me, it was a satisfying accomplishment. I never got any experience with that kind of stuff in my youth, so I had to learn it all from YouTube. So, that’s been fun.
    I also bought a property up on Georgian Bay (on the Bruce Peninsula). It was purchased before COVID, so I got lucky timing wise and got it before the herd suddenly decided that property purchased in the boondocks was a great idea since they figured they would never have to return to the office again.
    I finally got the environmental and building department permits, had the land cleared and excavated, culvert dropped into the ditch, and rudimentary driveway access bridged in. I cut down a bunch of trees that blocked my water view, and set myself up a nice fire pit area to relax and watch the sunsets as I wait patiently for at least one fucking trade to show up and start the construction process. I can’t even get the concrete guy to come and pour some goddamned footings, they are all so bloody busy. Well, at least I tripled my money since the pre-COVID land purchase. Pure dumb luck.
    I also helped my daughter buy her first house. That was its own special nightmare, what with the bidding wars and blind auctions going on in the GTA housing market. Had to venture up to Newmarket. Nothing under 1.3 million within spitting distance of Toronto area. Crazy times.
    Now I think I am going to buy the house next door to my son in Alberta and turn the two properties into a compound. Out there you can get 4 houses for the price of one in Toronto. Retirement is busy, for sure!

    Reply
  • Tom July 27, 2021, 5:37 pm

    In the past 3 months, I’ve been planning out new side hustles. I’ve also been learning as many new skills as I can. Sadly, I am older and still not able to retire but thankfully, I’m in good financial (and physical) shape. Wish I learned about the FIRE movement when I was younger!
    I am interested in hearing more about the bigger picture – life, the why’s, learning from mistakes, etc.
    Thank you!

    Reply
  • Mama Minou July 27, 2021, 8:49 pm

    I have been busy these last few months working long hours giving Covid vaccines as a public health nurse. I thought I would soon be back to other fun parts of my job from BC, but up go our numbers again. However, I took a short vacation and tried kayaking for the first time. Amazing. Also working on keeping my blueberry bushes alive in the heat and making a list of home projects to tackle in the future. Thanks for the “Just do one thing towards the goal” message, something I remind myself of daily!

    Reply
  • isip July 27, 2021, 9:42 pm

    Welcome back Sir!!! I just figured no news is good news. So when are you going to get that Tesla?

    Reply
  • former player July 28, 2021, 2:43 am

    I’d be interested in your take on this update to Limits to Growth-

    https://advisory.kpmg.us/articles/2021/limits-to-growth.html

    Reply
  • Lamont Cranston July 28, 2021, 5:03 am

    Your mention of the house you bought using the IBKR loan, prompted me. I also got a loan at 1.3% to buy a house for my daughter and her husband and give them a mortgage. It all went pretty smooth, I had a little learning curve on how to get it set up, but I got it done. I did let the money age and transferred the money to the title company yesterday and they close Friday.
    The kids bought a foreclosure property and were getting an FHA loan. House needs a little work, so lots of loan requirements. They qualified easily, but a week before close an inspector said there was a crack in the foundation of the small addition, that caused a delay and forced an new complete round trip for a new mortgage, inspections and the whole process. Then just before closing the mortgage company merged with another and that put in another delay. This purchase started in January. Your IBKR story allowed me to move Vangaurd funds to IBKR, then get a Margin loan. Skipping the FHA Mortgage and all their rules, will save them money because, the FHA loan required repairs, that basically would have had to be done twice, now they can do it the way they want it the first time. I borrowed 38% which is cutting it closer than I wanted, so to protect myself, I setup a Home Equity Line of Credit. If the stock market drops, I can draw on that credit line to bolster my IBKR funds. I hope I never need it, but it’s there if I do, and the cost to setup the line of credit was $0. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache July 28, 2021, 7:49 pm

      Great story Lamont, and thanks for sharing! I agree – the BEST part of a cash / margin loan purchase is taking the whole slow crappiness of the mortgage/appraisal process OUT of it. The owners can always refinance the house into a conventional mortgage later, AFTER they fix it up.

      As for your 38% ratio – yeah, it is a bit risky if we were to have a big market crash. And note that your home equity line of credit could be a bit too slow to provide that top-up, in the event of a sudden crash. You might consider moving some money over proactively to cut down your margin, and/or continue to pay it down periodically as you continue to earn and save money if you are still bringing in an income these days. You could also set all your stock dividends to NOT reinvest, which will cause them to go into repaying the margin loan instead.

      Good luck!

      Reply
      • Lamaint Cranston July 29, 2021, 10:14 am

        Good Idea about preempting any market fall buy moving home equity money now, Best part of that, my home equity loan has 6 months at 0 .99% I expect the kids to get a new mortgage within one year,
        I wrote the mortgage at 4% first year and 6% second year, great incentive to get this all taken care of sooner.

        Reply
    • joe July 29, 2021, 3:43 am

      The margin loan is at a floating rate – Might still be worth them switching to a fixed rate home loan at a later stage to lock in a low rate rather than waiting for the Fed to ramp up rates? Or will you just use the HELOC and they pay you?

      Reply
      • Lamont Cranston July 29, 2021, 10:16 am

        The plan is to get the house mortgage ready, then they get a new mortgage, ASAP. Rates are very good now and could change.

        Reply
  • Bitter to Richer July 28, 2021, 12:35 pm

    I’m excited to see a new post, it’s felt like ages!

    On the same note, I’m glad everything is going well for you and you’re busy in the best ways – good luck on that documentary (I’ll be waiting for that announcement).

    Reply
  • James July 28, 2021, 12:58 pm

    Was that shower leak behind it in the wall? We have a 2nd floor shower that I think is leaking down to a 1st floor bathroom. Not dropping through but leaking to where we can see some water damage. I’m worried about what I might find but not sure where to start when it comes to seeing what we’re actually dealing with.

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache July 28, 2021, 7:43 pm

      Yeah, the leak in this case was from poorly installed wall materials that were letting the water through around the side of the tub where it could slide down the wall and pool up on the hidden floor beneath that tub (and eventually drip down through the garage ceiling below)

      These shower leaks can happen through the tiles, or through a loose drain, or through the showerhead (one quick fix for that is to unscrew the showerhead neck and re-install it with plenty of teflon tape). A leaky valve is also possible but less common.

      However, once it has leaked long enough for you to notice staining below, there is probably plenty of decay and mold in there. I look at this as an opportunity to completely re-do the shower to be much nicer anyway :-)

      But if the shower/tub are something you’d rather preserve, I’d cut out a big square of that ceiling where you see the water damage, and shine a flashlight in to investigate further and see if you can figure out where the water is coming from.

      Reply
  • Chris B July 28, 2021, 3:03 pm

    I suggest getting into some philosophical questions that perplex the MMM cult:

    Do we default to consumerism because we lack a sense of purpose?
    Why do we keep believing the ads that say “buy just one more thing and you’ll be happy” even when it rarely works?
    What exactly are a Mustachian’s obligations to their society beyond just paying taxes and following laws?
    In the individualism vs. collectivism divide, are people on each extreme doomed to be exploited (individualists by consumer culture, collectivists by whomever is declared the leader)?
    How much is it reasonable to sacrifice to make social change happen?
    Could health be quantified the way net worth is?
    If the effect of technology growth has been that we stare at our screens more, how does one break out of that trap?
    How does a reforming consumerist find meaning to replace their addiction to luxury?
    Is the good life the pursuit of pleasant feelings, or accomplishment, and how to decide?

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache July 28, 2021, 7:39 pm

      Great deep ideas Chris, thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Diane Page August 1, 2021, 1:25 pm

        Would appreciate an article on cost of externalities and how to take account of that in our capitalist economy and individual financial planning.

        I was standing in my kitchen pulling yet another plastic wrapper off of some edible commodity, and wondering “Why the hell isn’t there a plastic tax on every producer who makes plastic stuff, packs their stuff in plastic, or ships their stuff with plastic?”

        See also Gretchen Daily and Natural Capital Project, which I interpret as an attempt to integrate value of maintaining the environment into capitalist concepts of return on investment formulas. I think that has its limitations as maintaining the environment should also be correlated with survival of the human species, but the concept of Gross Ecosystem Product as a companion measure to GDP is intriguing.

        Reply
  • Audre July 28, 2021, 8:07 pm

    Why not switch over to something like rockwool from fiberglass insulation? Seems superior in terms of r value, sound proof, safety for human health, and maybe is better for rodents and moisture?

    I got your update email twice – once with good formatting, once with the old formatting. Should we unsubscribe from the old one?

    A lot of people would love a car buying article update. I live in a very hilly area with bad winters and treacherous roads. I’m an essential worker and must go to work even when everything else shuts down from snow. I’ve been a diehard Prius driver, and have had a few years of success in my used Prius, however, this last winter, the ground clearance just wasn’t enough to get over my unplowed city street during an ongoing, terrible storm. While it didn’t inch me closer to financial independence, I ended up getting a RAV4 Prime this year. It seemed like the right choice for the environment, also sending the signal to companies that this is what customers want. But does that really matter? Would buying used, even if something like a hybrid that gets 31 mpg, be better than buying new? Do the metals in these batteries offset the benefits of electric? Btw I’m not asking for personal advice – my RAV4 deposit is not refundable ;)

    I think more analyses on conscious consumerism is something you do well and would be appreciated, especially since, tho a personal finance blog (ostensibly), you don’t put penny pinching above all other values. You really find the sweet spots when saving money is the best thing for society and the environment. More of that is always appreciated.

    Reply
  • Wojtek July 29, 2021, 5:50 am

    How can I find the ~35 articles that comprise the new boot camp on the blog? I am already subscribed but would love to revisit these since they got updated.

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache August 2, 2021, 3:57 pm

      I’m a bit behind on actually releasing that stream of articles to the bootcamp subscribers, but I will indeed share the list here on the blog once I get my act together – for people (like me) who like reading stuff proactively more than we like getting emails. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Reply
  • Arrgo July 29, 2021, 6:11 am

    Hi MMM. All of your DIY repairs and renovation projects are really inspiring to me. I’ve started doing more things myself instead of paying someone all the time and its a good feeling (and saves quite a bit of money too!) An idea for you would be to do some posts on how you approach these projects and how others could learn to do things themselves. Perhaps a DIY motivation series or something. Thanks.

    Reply
  • Amy Reyes July 30, 2021, 11:40 am

    Thank you for the post! I had to laugh at the difference between your definition of “slacking” and mine. You’re killin’ it. It’s nice to step away from the computer and roll up the sleeves. Glad you are back and thank you for the reminder to show up for our goals every day—even if it’s just a baby step. Cheers!

    Reply
  • David August 3, 2021, 6:31 am

    Thanks for this post. Great to see the site is still alive. This kind of post where you just do something is for me actually more inspiring than your philosophical ones. Actions speak louder than Words and all that. I’m actually not getting to any of my own projects. I’m managing by making a list of things to do, but don’t get round to completing any major item due to work.

    For me I would love to see more fixing/upgrading posts. Doesn’t need to be big. Small projects are actually more attainable for us who are still working.

    Reply
  • Matt G August 5, 2021, 11:04 pm

    The nice part about your hiatus is that I re-read previous articles to get my Mustache fix. I found lots of great info and tenets to revisited and consider. You might have been busy but your volume of work is a great resource to have!

    I have been spending a lot of time with my kids. That has been a gift.
    We’re using a new ski cabin as an Air BnB and learning the short term rental business.
    I got licensed and bonded as a handyman, now working for a local HOA as a contractor at a great rate.
    We bought an off market rental home and did a quick renovation in our market with a huge rental shortage.
    Due to the hot real estate market, we’re debating selling a house or two, but the cost of selling them is expensive with capital gains and sales costs!
    We’re lucky to be healthy, have great tenants and continue to learn and grow.

    Reply
  • Mary August 6, 2021, 7:41 am

    Hello! We are one of a small, but growing community of families that live on our sailboat (no other land based house) and spend our time doing projects on said sailboat, while traveling around the world. It can be an expensive lifestyle (if you own a very large boat and hire out all of the work) or a very modest lifestyle if living on an affordable boat and doing repairs and updates yourself. We have chosen the latter. These past couple months we have been living in a harbor in a small town called Luperon in the Dominican Republic. We are attempting to revive the parts of our brain that in years past learned Spanish, and encouraging our kids to learn with us. Cheers to early retirement!

    Reply
  • Annika August 7, 2021, 12:01 am

    Hey MMM,

    So you don’t have something really interesting or worthwhile to say? You’re not really feeling smart or focused to crack into a highly sophisticated and super-well researched topic?

    Guess what. Even if I just sat next to you for one day listening to random stories, your genuine experiences would make more of a difference than anything money could ever buy.

    You are making an impact. Wanna know how much?

    Because of you, we were motivated to pay off 16,000 € in debit card debt in under a year while I wasn’t even working in my career (because I took care of little mustache no. 4).

    Because of you, the car is paid off and my husband now thinks a good used vehicle is all you need (THATs a 180).

    Because of you, we started insourcing everything, my husband and I do EVERYTHING. We build and repair, produce, cook at home and even grow our own food. Last night my husband did repairs on our daughter’s cellphone worth 160€ with a cheap kit that cost 20€. PLUS: teaching our daughter that doing it yourself is the new fancy: priceless.

    Because of you, we realized that we do not need outside validation. Our greatest source of validation now comes from the HARD WORK we put into raising our kids, living a sustainable life and trying to help out others less fortunate. That was a change particularly for me as I came from a high-status career that I now stepped back from gladly do spend my limited time on what really matters to me.

    And most important, because of you, our kids know more about sensible financial decisions than my husband and I ever knew before trying to self-educate on it. And while we enjoy our new life so much, baby mustache no. 5 is on the way (you always knew your blog procudes little mustachians, you just didn’t think we’d go the extra mile XD)

    The value you added to our family is priceless. So I hope you get some happiness out of it just by hearing how much of an impact you’ve been making. If you decided not to blog for six months, we’d still profit from everything we ever learned from you. And if you then come back, on a sunny winter’s day, sharing what’s been going on in your awesome life, I’ll be here and listen.

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache August 7, 2021, 8:40 am

      WOW!!! Thank you Annika and thanks to your family too! This has got to be the most generous comment or email or anything that I have ever read. Congratulations on your super badass life (are you in Germany?) and I hope it keeps even more fulfilling as the years go on.

      Reply
  • Martize Smith August 7, 2021, 12:07 pm

    Life throws a lot at you and can cause hardships. Use those moments and take the energy and channel it into a product things and accomplish your goals. Might as well get a reward for your troubles.

    Reply
  • Hannah August 8, 2021, 1:04 pm

    Glad to hear you’ve had a fun and productive summer and that you’re indeed alive and well 😛

    Please keep us posted re the documentary – sounds very interesting and good luck with it!!

    So many interesting ideas for future posts:
    – recent asset inflation (houses, stocks) and how this impacts FIRE for those earlier on their journey
    – home improvements to decrease carbon footprint and decrease costs, and which are most impactful/least expensive to make (for renters too)
    – government debt across the world, inflation and impact on future taxes, work, and investment potential
    – negotiating remote/part-time/flexible work effectively
    – permanent shifts in work and attitudes around work following 18 months of COVID
    – how to find and build community after FIREing
    – how to FIRE and avoid negative social aspects (family/friends not understanding your choices, jealousy, believing you’ve made the right decision for yourself and your family while others believe you’re making a mistake)
    – most important skills to keep up or develop to keep you employable or able to minimize cost if retiring very early
    – the real cost of raising a child, and a second or third child
    -FIREing in high cost of living places

    Just my thoughts! Love your work and so glad you’re interested to continue inspiring us 🤗

    Hope you feel better following the strep throat earlier this summer, and enjoy what’s left of the summer!

    Reply
  • Martize Smith August 14, 2021, 4:43 pm

    I don’t know what slacking is but I get the point of the article. Successful content by wealth say it’s sometimes necessary to take a break or productivity will drop were human. As long as at some point we’re rested up and ready to drive back into our personal goals and vision.

    Reply
  • Michael CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet August 16, 2021, 8:10 pm

    this a pretty good story of a couple who fixed up houses as part of their FIRE plan too and now live in Portugal … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAfBEwgHsC8

    Reply
  • Gary Grewal August 17, 2021, 8:00 pm

    Wow, I was expecting to read a lot more leisure time, but you sure have kept busy with lots of projects Pete! Can’t wait for this documentary.

    Also, I wish I could hire you for my house. That bathroom window is a genius shape and the fireman’s pole looks like it would never get old.

    Reply
  • Sunedayzzz August 17, 2021, 10:23 pm

    Since MMM mentioned his solar, I’d like to add these comments: If you are considering a solar array for your home or business, I would recommend the additional purchase of a battery back-up system. It’s like doubling your solar savings. After our solar panels are fully charged, the extra energy from the sun gets stored in the battery for later use. This has come in handy for us at night, and also when the power goes out. Our power stays on because of the battery back-up and the only way we can really tell when our neighborhood has lost power is when we look out our window and don’t see any lights on from our neighbors’ homes. At the time that we had our system installed, the battery, a Tesla Powerwall, was an additional $7,200. Our electric company reimbursed us $3,600, so the battery was well worth the cost and the savings!

    Reply
  • Chris August 19, 2021, 8:52 am

    I just caught up. It took me a year and a half of reading when I could find some time with two little ones at home, but I read every post and it changed my future plans and current habits. Thanks MMM your posts are inspiring.

    Reply
  • Andreas August 22, 2021, 3:03 am

    Would love to se an “updated version”/repost of this classic post:

    https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/10/03/the-practical-benefits-of-outrageous-optimism/

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache August 23, 2021, 11:26 am

      Yeah, that is definitely going into the boot camp as it’s still the most useful one I’ve ever written!

      But now that you mention it, I should bump it up to be earlier in the series. If people get that boost of optimistic adrenaline earlier in the course, they will be MORE POWERFUL for the rest of the session, which will multiply the effects of everything else. Thanks for the suggestion!

      Reply
  • Harriet August 24, 2021, 1:54 pm

    Hey MMM – been following you for a while. I am curious…..I understand Social Security is based on your later years of earnings (which exclude investment income I think), so how does not working impact your expected

    Reply
  • Carolyn M August 24, 2021, 10:30 pm

    Please write that solar post soon. I’m contemplating switching to solar even though my utility bills aren’t that high. I want to be warm in the winter!

    Reply
  • Taylor August 29, 2021, 2:44 pm

    I always enjoy reading your posts, MMM

    This summer, I Thru-Hiked 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. It’s a very Mustachian way to travel!

    Reply
  • Angie September 7, 2021, 10:16 am

    If you call this 3 months of “slacking,” I’m not sure what slacking even is anymore, lol.

    Thanks for the update and congratulations on all the progress you’ve been able to make on your house!

    Reply

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