Mr. Money Mustache may be frugal, but he's high income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole premise of the website reads like who can out poor each other the most. There was a lady that bragged about living in her friend's backyard shed and saving $100,000 in 3 years.

Also bragging about hiding your kid's birthday and Christmas presents to sell on ebay was very distasteful to me.

The site reminds me of that extreme show where people did nasty things to save money.

Yes! Or the person who refused to pay for trash pickup and would do throw it in his work's dumpster. Or the person who only showers at work's gym to save a few bucks. Just disgustingly cheap.

I read on one site that MMM (or one of the readers) saved money by using one toilet to pee in and lined the other with a trash bag. They would all poop in the trash bag lined toilet and then just throw it away to eliminate the need to flush the toilets as often and lower the water bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped reading him for his inflexibility. He wrote, in either a post or in the comments, that he didn't budge birthday presents for kids because his son only hung out with families with the same values as them. I found that really sad, that he would deprive his son from knowing the joy of giving. Of course, he, and possibly you, might say that he could make the kid a gift, but that still usually costs something for supplies. He just isn't really teaching his kid how to make money mistakes.

Therein the article he won't pay for cards to play a game, despite having the goal of having him hang out with friends. Then it mentions that the kid has $700, but I bet he isn't allowed to use it or is guilted into not using it.

I think he'd have more regular readers if he showed more relatability.

I agree. It is good to reject a materialistic, disposable consumer culture. However, if you veer off too far in the other direction, your life is still all about money, but instead you are obsessing about not spending it. To me, an ideal financial situation is to not have to think about money pretty much ever, that is, not wishing for more, or worrying about not having enough. I live a very moderate lifestyle that MMM would scoff at (why drive to the train station when you can BIKE!), but my finances are pretty much on autopilot and I like it that way.

Completely agree with this!!!! He's obsessed with money.

[Anonymous]

I'm imagine his wife is fairly unattractive given he probably doesn't allow her to spend a penny keeping his her appearance. And don't try and tell me you can do everything just as good at home. Bet the woman hasn't had a Brazilian in her life and she has some mousy brown hair she wears up most of the time. She's probably rather granola. I've also found mmm to be sexist and felt bad for his wife.

[Anonymous]

He sounds like he is super bored not working. And he is probably driving his kid crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He sounds like he is super bored not working. And he is probably driving his kid crazy.

I can only imagine how much other parents must love him. Sure send your kid over to play magic. Oh, you won't pay for pizza and cards? Just pizza? Uh and you want me to count the slices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He sounds like he is super bored not working. And he is probably driving his kid crazy.

This. Early retirement is one of those things that sounds great and probably is....for a while. Hence his need to control everything his kid and wife do and the blog.

[Anonymous]

I think y'all are missing the point. I'm not a huge fan of his, but his version of "retirement" is getting to do whatever he wants to do. He works all the time, but he's doing what he wants to do instead of taking orders from someone else. He's the boss, but can walk away pretty much whenever he wants instead of having to worry about creditors.

I don't think he's ever preached passivity in retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole premise of the website reads like who can out poor each other the most. There was a lady that bragged about living in her friend's backyard shed and saving $100,000 in 3 years.

Also bragging about hiding your kid's birthday and Christmas presents to sell on ebay was very distasteful to me.

The site reminds me of that extreme show where people did nasty things to save money.

One asked for Amazon gift cards when people asked him what he wanted for the holidays. Used those gift cards to buy gifts for those people next year.

[Anonymous]

I used to really like his blog. I don't read it much anymore, but that's mostly because I don't find the topics very useful anymore. I still like the idea of becoming financially independent at an early age.

[Anonymous]

I like that he points out that if we don't live intentionally then we are on a consumer treadmill that is stressful and pointless.

I don't take his advice to the extreme but live moderately and save a lot. But I like the message he spreads.

Also I have a friend who doesn't do presents and I respect her for it. It's not my way ( I love to give presents) but more peer to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole premise of the website reads like who can out poor each other the most. There was a lady that bragged about living in her friend's backyard shed and saving $100,000 in 3 years.

Also bragging about hiding your kid's birthday and Christmas presents to sell on ebay was very distasteful to me.

The site reminds me of that extreme show where people did nasty things to save money.

One asked for Amazon gift cards when people asked him what he wanted for the holidays. Used those gift cards to buy gifts for those people next year.

I regift every gift card I get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think y'all are missing the point. I'm not a huge fan of his, but his version of "retirement" is getting to do whatever he wants to do. He works all the time, but he's doing what he wants to do instead of taking orders from someone else. He's the boss, but can walk away pretty much whenever he wants instead of having to worry about creditors.

I don't think he's ever preached passivity in retirement.

Well, I don't think that's true. Does he really do what he wants to do? You telling me he wants to make pitches on behalf of companies who pay him money for referrals? Really? He woke up one day and thought that this is what he aspires to do in his retirement? Oh but you say this is just tangential to his true passion, which is to save money and help others save money. But I can put that spin on any job - in my capacity as a software engineer, I get to help create information systems that help improve efficiency for the greater good of our civilization, an honorable endeavor that I've always dreamed of doing as a child, and it's just tangential that I have to fill out time cards and put cover sheets on TPS reports.

We can all choose to walk away. The government provides a safety net. It's easy to choose to do less, it takes no special power other than laziness and willingness to reduce your standards. I can drive a beater, I can date a high school drop out, I can live in the back of a van down by the river. It is far better to live your life as a productive member of society, however, because the wealth of our nation wasn't built by people who chose to walk away, but by those with a sense of purpose, driven to work with others to expand the common good.

MMM is actually such a person - his innate sense of need for a purpose in life has driven him to create this valuable platform for connecting people with services, value which is being rewarded back to him by the companies who benefit from the business he refers. Some advertising agencies provide free search, some provide free games, some provide free personal blogs, all to sell advertisements and referrals. MMM does the same with a particular type of financial advice. In the end, he is really no different from any other successful entrepreneur who is driven with a deep sense of personal purpose and enthusiasm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole premise of the website reads like who can out poor each other the most. There was a lady that bragged about living in her friend's backyard shed and saving $100,000 in 3 years.

Also bragging about hiding your kid's birthday and Christmas presents to sell on ebay was very distasteful to me.

The site reminds me of that extreme show where people did nasty things to save money.

One asked for Amazon gift cards when people asked him what he wanted for the holidays. Used those gift cards to buy gifts for those people next year.

I regift every gift card I get.

yikes. I do too. And I'm not even that cheap. I just find I can't use gift cards that well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think y'all are missing the point. I'm not a huge fan of his, but his version of "retirement" is getting to do whatever he wants to do. He works all the time, but he's doing what he wants to do instead of taking orders from someone else. He's the boss, but can walk away pretty much whenever he wants instead of having to worry about creditors.

I don't think he's ever preached passivity in retirement.

Well, I don't think that's true. Does he really do what he wants to do? You telling me he wants to make pitches on behalf of companies who pay him money for referrals? Really? He woke up one day and thought that this is what he aspires to do in his retirement? Oh but you say this is just tangential to his true passion, which is to save money and help others save money. But I can put that spin on any job - in my capacity as a software engineer, I get to help create information systems that help improve efficiency for the greater good of our civilization, an honorable endeavor that I've always dreamed of doing as a child, and it's just tangential that I have to fill out time cards and put cover sheets on TPS reports.

We can all choose to walk away. The government provides a safety net. It's easy to choose to do less, it takes no special power other than laziness and willingness to reduce your standards. I can drive a beater, I can date a high school drop out, I can live in the back of a van down by the river. It is far better to live your life as a productive member of society, however, because the wealth of our nation wasn't built by people who chose to walk away, but by those with a sense of purpose, driven to work with others to expand the common good.

MMM is actually such a person - his innate sense of need for a purpose in life has driven him to create this valuable platform for connecting people with services, value which is being rewarded back to him by the companies who benefit from the business he refers. Some advertising agencies provide free search, some provide free games, some provide free personal blogs, all to sell advertisements and referrals. MMM does the same with a particular type of financial advice. In the end, he is really no different from any other successful entrepreneur who is driven with a deep sense of personal purpose and enthusiasm.

THIS! /thread

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I take issue with his whole premise.

I love my work and will probably work until I die or get dementia.

Same goes for my DH.

So neither of us wants to retire early. We have a nice work/family balance. And we like to buy the things that make our lives easier or support or interests and hobbies. And we can afford it.

We are also saving for that late retirement.

Maybe he hated his engineering job/worked too much? But the truth is he's NOT retired, he's just not traditionally employed. Well, neither am I.

So, I don't see him as being very honest. He's playing semantic games about working and retirement.