Got kicked out of Mr Money Mustache...

[Fermion]

Part of the MMM philosophy is true though. Spending leads to more spending.

I see it all of the time when we start a new hobby or buy something big.

Last time it hit us was with snowmobiles. We bought one, then liked it so bought another. They both wouldn't fit in the truck so we bought a two sled trailer. Insurance on both. I then became uncomfortable driving the truck and trailer on icy roads and purchased snow tires. A few rides in we decided we needed better snow gear/clothing.

Never ends.

[Markola]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hnzw_rui However, I just don't fancy depriving myself now to achieve super, super, super early retirement just so I can deprive future me some more when I'm retired. Having lots of free time to pursue my passions and hobbies would sure be nice but not if it means I couldn't afford to pursue my passions and hobbies.

+1. When I was about 30 we started with a financial planner. We learned better soon and now manage our own money but I still have that plan in a drawer. We discussed our goals and values with the FP and her resulting plan called for a generous $3M at age 59.5 such that work would be optional at that point. All kinds of wildly unpredictable things have since happened, and we live well. But now at age 49, it amazes me that we are still almost exactly on track to have $3M at age 59.5, if we choose to keep working that long. I guess I'm saying that, after studying it fairly heavily the last few years, ER the MMM way just as soon as possible is terrific if that's a committed goal, but the evidence for us is that it really wasn't what we set out to do. We were excited about our careers and, most days, still enjoy them. And as much as I admire MMM, we enjoy having a few extra lazy shekels to travel, ride bikes only when we want to ride bikes, and indulge in buying the occasional nice shirt (deeply on sale, of course).


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[begood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hausfrau We are also looking at private HS for our kiddo and college after that. I have the feeling it would be scoffed at MMM. We are older than the MMM demographic (40s/50s).

hausfrau, I have been pleasantly surprised. A lot of MMMers understand that it's not always about how cheaply you can do something; it's about utilizing money to optimize your life. For us, that means we jumped off a cliff six years ago - sold our house, moved across the country, my husband left a 20-year-career with a multinational corporation - and we simplified our lives tremendously. It seems to me the whole point of saving all that money for all those years was to "buy" ourselves the opportunity to take that leap when the time came.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hausfrau We are also looking at private HS for our kiddo and college after that. I have the feeling it would be scoffed at MMM. We are older than the MMM demographic (40s/50s).

No scoffing here! I was a single mother (OK, so a single mother with a good job) and sent DS to a military boarding school. It was exactly what he needed. I still managed to retire at 61.

[pullmyfinger]

DH and I went to a local MMM gathering a few months ago. As expected, at 46 and 48 we were the oldest and the only ones FIREd. There were 3 other people over 40, but the majority were early 30's and late 20's. They were a very friendly bunch but I would say no one else there was even close to being FI, merely aspirational. Other than a couple of people, I would say the rest of the group had no idea how to determine what it means to be FI. There seemed to be an unrealistic (to me at least) attitude that one didn't need a particularly big portfolio to hang it up for good. There were a couple who were well read on basic finance books and who had well thought out questions for DH and I. For obvious reasons we didn't give out specifics of our situation. One thing that was really annoying was the girl in her mid-twenties who dropped out of college and worked in a low paying job stating "I don't think I would ever want to retire" said in a very condescending way. I bit my tongue but wanted to say "Gee honey, graduate from college, work 15 to 20 years in your field and then see what you think". Or the mean-spirited side of me wanted to say "Gee you're right, you'll probably never be able to retire" but I would have felt very guilty so I'm glad I didn't say that.

As a committed environmentalist, I like anything that promotes decreased consumption. I don't however like the idea that there is only one way to do things, such as one must ride a bike. And that whole "face punch" thing is massively annoying. I occasionally go on the forum but don't find that much in common with many of the folks there even though we live on a small income. I do think it has value for those who are starting out especially to see a different less consumerist mindset as long as they don't get discouraged by the somewhat militant quality of some of the posts.

[Music Lover]

I sometimes pop into MMM, but it's not my style. I pick up the occasional tip but don't have the passion for bike commuting that many over there seem to have. I have no interest in arriving at w*rk sweaty or frozen just to save $2 a day in fuel. I also place a value on my time and the increased commute time isn't worth the $2 in savings.

And, yes, the "face punch" thing is very annoying.

[daylatedollarshort]

I would rather use my hiking and biking time for scenic parks and trails and places we can take the dog. I like being in my top safety rated car with air bags and crumple zones when I have to drive through traffic. Yesterday I drove to the store for shopping and for our hiking time we went took the dog to a park with a lake and gardens.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pullmyfinger DH and I went to a local MMM gathering a few months ago. As expected, at 46 and 48 we were the oldest and the only ones FIREd. There were 3 other people over 40, but the majority were early 30's and late 20's. They were a very friendly bunch but I would say no one else there was even close to being FI, merely aspirational. Other than a couple of people, I would say the rest of the group had no idea how to determine what it means to be FI. There seemed to be an unrealistic (to me at least) attitude that one didn't need a particularly big portfolio to hang it up for good. There were a couple who were well read on basic finance books and who had well thought out questions for DH and I. For obvious reasons we didn't give out specifics of our situation. One thing that was really annoying was the girl in her mid-twenties who dropped out of college and worked in a low paying job stating "I don't think I would ever want to retire" said in a very condescending way.

I've been to a few MMM meetups. The Triangle NC meetups have a much higher quality of attendees.

There's typically at least one other that's FI or darn close (one 30-something guy had 10-15 rental single family houses mostly paid off and throwing off more than he needed to get by). An amazing level of wealth and achievement among folks that are 20-somethings and early 30-somethings, though I agree most were still working on reaching FI and not close to it yet.

I haven't encountered any whining college dropouts. The typical MMMer is an engineer or programmer (in fact I one that wasn't, other than a post-doc researcher in the sciences).

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort I would rather use my hiking and biking time for scenic parks and trails and places we can take the dog. I like being in my top safety rated car with air bags and crumple zones when I have to drive through traffic. Yesterday I drove to the store for shopping and for our hiking time we went to a park with a lake and gardens.

+1 No way would I risk my life riding on the 8-10 lane major highway with 60 mph traffic to go the few miles to my old workplace. We've walked along that road to go to the Aldi and it's not a very fun walk (though has some scenic views of the downtown skyline!).

The MMM answer to that is "you choose where you live". Of course, I'd rather live where I do where houses are $150k instead of where MMM lives and houses are $400-500k. I can drive a lifetime of miles for $250-350k. So we walk to grocery stores, shops, and restaurants in the neighborhood and drive to most destinations 1-2+ miles away that require crossing major roads. Then we hike in the nearby state parks or greenways.

[hausfrau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hnzw_rui Private HS and college? You definitely need a punch in the face for that.

Ha, well it may not come to pass. We're perfectly fine with state colleges and public HS, but given where we are now, we're planning on private school, just in case. Private HS tuition in the Midwest isn't too bad though.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO The typical MMMer is an engineer or programmer (in fact I one that wasn't, other than a post-doc researcher in the sciences).

The sites I make or save the most from, besides here, are the sites where engineer brain types post on fatwallet, flyertalk, slickdeals and Reddit and have worked out the ROI on their time. I've been going through the various forums with one project every month or so like learning deal stacking one month, passive income smart phone apps the next, sign up bonuses on credit cards after that, etc. Maybe each activity only nets a few hundred dollars to several thousand at most each year, but combined together the extra income is really adding up, and most of it is passive, or at least low effort once I understand the basics.

[JTOrt]

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Originally Posted by JoeWras And speaking of age diversity, I'm a bit worried about imoldernu. He dropped off 6 weeks ago. I hope it is just an IL to FL move or something like that. He's gone silent before, but this time it is worrying me a bit.

He posted his retirement story on another forum a couple days ago and looks to be participating in that community.

[meierlde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa bear Anywhere in Ohio is LCOL with arguably some of the best hospitals in the world, including children's hospitals. Back on topic - my retirement plan fits in better here, but I post a lot more on MMM because I do a lot of DIY projects and have rentals. I bring more value to those posts than I would here with anything investment or financial related.

Note also there are a number of good state universities in Ohio, so you can pay instate tution.

[ER Eddie]

I've enjoyed MMM's "Overheard at Work" thread occasionally. People telling stories about what boobs their coworkers are. It can be funny sometimes, but mostly it just makes me thankful I'm not like the people in that thread -- spending way too much, living paycheck to paycheck, running on debt.

I've got several of my own stories, but I haven't bothered posting. MMM has too high of a traffic level for me. ER.org is a better size -- big enough to have a diversity of opinion, but small enough to have conversations. By the time I check back at MMM, there are 7 to 10 pages of unread posts. I don't have that kind of time.

Also, it's more welcoming here. When I made a "Hello" post here a couple years ago, I had all kinds of welcomes and suggestions. The "introduce yourself" thread at MMM is just a long list of newbies posting a paragraph about themselves, with no one saying hello or anything, just one "hello" post after another. Doesn't feel very welcoming.

[sailor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hnzw_rui CI'm not sure I'd derive as much enjoyment from riding rollercoasters, travel and going to anime/comic/sci-fi conventions when I'm 50. If I still do, awesome. If not, at least I have pictures.

Ha,
I started watching anime kind of by accident, well after my 40th birthday.
Now addicted.
Few weeks ago I expanded my horizons towards manga and Light Novels.
Do not lose hope
I plan to be cosplaying with my kids when I'm 50.