Apr 25, 2013
Ahh, money. The more you have of it, the more you get to spend, right? Everybody does it that way, so that must be the right way to do it. We all agree that, sure, the debtors and the flashy live-beyond-their-means club need to rein things in. But for those honest folks who work hard…
Hi there. If we haven’t met, my name is Mr. Money Mustache. I’m the freaky financial magician who retired along with a lovely wife at age 30 in order to start a family, as well as start living a great life. We did this on two normal salaries with no lottery winnings or Silicon Valley…
“He’s not really Retired.” “It says right in the blog that he does construction work. Also he manages his own rental houses. And has a blog. That doesn’t sound like retirement to me.” “That Brief History of the ‘Stash stuff doesn’t add up to me. I think he’s making it all up.” “Yes, he has…
At the beginning of your financial life, there are plenty of traps laid out to bite you. In all probability, you were raised by financially unskilled parents, meaning you picked up deadly habits like buying automatic-transmission trucks on credit and commuting enormous distances in them. All while thinking you are living a perfectly reasonable life…
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself” – F. D. Roosevelt, 1932 “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – B. McFerrin, 1988 Most of us know enough not to disagree openly with unassailable pillars of wisdom like those above. But somehow, we also have a hell of a time putting them into practice in…
Things have been a little quiet around this website in recent days, as Mr. Money Mustache has been lured away from the computer and out into the great outdoors for much of the past week. The weather has been outrageously nice, and the magical healing properties of Mother Nature have been working their magic on…
Overheard in a Reddit forum recently: Dear forum, I feel a bit stuck. I’ve got a solid job, I’m making 401(k) contributions, have no debt and my spending is under control. Making extra mortgage payments and buying a bit of Vanguard index funds with any money I have left over. I drive a fuel-efficient car…
I’ve got some terrible news for the most dedicated Mr. Money Mustache fans, those strange but generous people who post positive comments here and there around the Internet or in the comment sections of this website, sometimes idolizing the bossy older brother of the FIRE movement. I, Mr. Money Mustache, am not actually a particularly…
In the world of early retirees, we have a concept that goes by names like “The 4% rule”, or “The 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate”, or simply “The SWR.” As with all things financial, it’s the subject of plenty of controversy, and we’ll get to that (and then punch it flat) later. But for now, for…
These reader case studies sure are fun. First you get to engage in a little voyeurism as you peek in on another person’s life. Then you can actually compliment them, offer advice, or throw out a few Mustachian Face Punches as you see fit. All to a real person, and all from the comfort of…
Just a few minutes ago, I was at the grocery store bagging up a few last-minute purchases for a dinner party we’re hosting tonight. I was enjoying a bit of small talk with the young lady running the register, when suddenly she transformed into a zombie and started rapidly muttering some nonsense that had nothing…
Well, there goes another million. Sometime last week, this blog reached the “two million page views” milestone. It took less than three months to get that second million, compared to nine months for the first one, which I wrote about on December 10th. I remember we all thought we were pretty big business back then,…
The other week while enjoying a day of catching giant fish on Lake Tahoe, I got another interesting question from a reader. I think this one is worth answering online, because the situation probably sounds familiar to many people. Hey MMM, I have a situation that only your level of badassery can cut through. Let’s get…
Well, that was interesting. Yesterday an old MMM article appeared on the front page of MSN.com (the 13th most viewed website in the world, apparently), and it sent quite a flock of people here. It was a bit embarrassing, since the article was described as a “guest posting”, but really it was just an existing…
Part of my duty to you as Mr. Money Mustache is to research the entire field of personal finance and investing, and report back to you with any significant findings. We need to know if there are any competing ideas, bloggers, or book authors that have something valuable to offer us. We also need to…
If you’re like me, you currently live somewhere. But can you explain exactly WHY you live there? For most people throughout the history of our species, the reason they have lived somewhere is because they were born nearby. And the reason they were born there is because their parents were born nearby. Very rarely, a…
