Mister Mustache and Other Stories

What does does the other partner in the relationship do? I mean, how many people have a vacation property just sitting around to sell? Would that we could all be senior executives in cheap states. Sound almost complainypants to me. MMM already advocates moving. The only one stopping you is you.

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Same goes for being an executive. Get the education and sell yourself. MMM sort of outlines how. By being here, you show knowledge, understanding and flexibility. All are desireable qualities. Make them work for you! Lindsey March 17, , 3: Actually, the weather would be stopping me from moving to Alabama! And I live in Interior Alaska, so am not a weather wimp, but it just takes thinking about places in the South to get me sweating….

Jen March 17, , 9: Why not move to Vietnam or Cambodia then — with their current stash, all the readers here could retire this instant in those places.

Short Stories: Mister Mustache by J. D. Hager

FederalMustache March 18, , Point taken, Call , that definitely fringed on sounding complainypants. I humbly beg forgiveness from the Mustacho-sphere.

The idea of moving is sometimes a good one, but we have to at least acknowledge that picking up and moving across the country is one of the least likely life changes discussed on this blog. I do have to disagree that MMM kinda shows us how to become an executive. MMM also made a good point that this is an example of a guy turning back the clock on lifestyle inflation, even though he theoretically could afford a lavish cost of living.

Just say No to Stuff. Sarah March 18, , 7: Yes, it is harder to move than to cut your clothing budget, but we moved a year ago from a bigger fancy house requiring lots of driving to a more modest one, and it has been such a helpful change — we have breathing room and a much better savings rate. It was a lot of work to sell the house, but we were motivated and now our life is less stressful too. So I would definitely encourage anyone to consider it! Jen March 18, , 6: CALL March 18, , 8: I believe this may be the best part of the MMM experience.

As a group, we all know we suck, and are not afraid to admit it, either to ourselves or others. I said you were approaching complainypants, and you said thank you! I applaud your effort to gain new marketable skills — it shows off your flexibility! Look at these two badasses, Call and FederalMustache, conversing and displaying such mastery of Mustachian principles.

Brings a tear to my eye! I would have written enthusiastically about the topic about 10 years ago, as I used to read all the management books and was all excited to move up as quickly as possible. Aimee February 24, , I actually have a vacation property just sitting around. Own my co-op in NJ and am in the process of buying a two family house. Mrs EconoWiser March 17, , I would love a follow-up six or nine months from now when this dude is retired. Before and after pictures are also very much my thing.

I loooooooooove reader case studies, btw. The Kechi One March 17, , 2: Mike March 17, , 5: My Financial Independence Journey March 17, , 5: That is a very impressive story. Kudos to JJ for making the changes that will hopefully allow him to retire a few months. I could probably up my a few thousand dollars a year by switching from cooking at home to eating out, and another couple thousand a year by getting the top of the line cable package.

And so on and so forth down every line item of spending in my budget. I could hit a dress shop on my way home so I would have something to wear to the restaurant tonight. I would taxi there and back so I could enjoy some champagne with my meal. The masseuse would come to the house just before bed to help me relax because spending all that money is very stressful. The snow is melting and revealing some gifts the dogs have deposited there over the winter. I bet there is someone I could pay to come and do the spring scooping for me. Aaron March 18, , 9: Also, he had a vacation home.

The more stuff you own and if you have a second home you can have more stuff the more stuff breaks. Pools and jacuzzis are expensive to maintain. When you make enough money, a small amount of wear and tear becomes a replacement item when the old thing was still usable or could just use some TLC.

Mr. Money Mustache

Mr March 17, , 7: How on earth does someone go through K in a year?!? Regardless, stories like this are very cool and may even warrant their own page on the MMM blog. Plot them on a Google Map. Money Mustache March 17, , 8: Much more often, I hear the opposite from high-income people: Or they blame it on their expensive area, or the five kids in private school, etc.

Part of breaking this pattern is seeing someone else in your situation who has already done it successfully i. Debbie M March 17, , Dallas is a lot harder to be frugal in than where I live Austin. At least an old friend of mine told me she spent a lot more money when she moved there for a job. She had to eat out at lunch with her co-workers because that was the only way to find out important information she needed.

She had to pay a percent of the total bill no matter how little she ordered because otherwise you get a bad reputation. You have to dress up more there, and not just with less casual clothes, but from the right designers, blah blah blah. She eventually moved back here and is spending less again same kind of job—working in insurance. And my parents moved to a Dallas suburb from a Houston suburb when I was in college, so I have a bias against Dallas. You dont have to be the best dressed or most spending to network. Lord March 17, , 4: I was in Dallas yesterday drove from and then back to Austin for a work-related but fun event.

I live pretty close in — 1. Not that I always do depends on the expected grocery load , but I sometimes bike to the grocery, am easy bike to downtown, the UT campus and all that surrounds it, etc. Neo March 17, , 7: As for me, sad to say, I am sure that my husband will delay my retirement goals by at least a decade. Not complaining, of course, that is my responsibility for making such a choice of a life partner. Only wish I knew how to make things better. Example — his recent purchase of a huge smart 3D TV and continuous flow of Amazon packages of blu-ray discs.

Recently he had this idea to buy a massage chair. Neo March 17, , No worries Jen its not that serious: Xtal March 18, , 7: We eat vegetarian meals at home, live in a paid-off house, and watch a CRT TV with a digital antenna. CincyCat March 19, , 8: Frugal Toque March 18, , 5: Yesterday I bought a fridge that constantly eats some of my food. How could I say no? Juli March 18, , 8: What in the world is it made of??? I found my perfect purse on the clearance rack at the Vera Bradley outlet. And I will use it for years. Crazy expensive accessories are something that I have just never understood.

Money Mustache March 18, , 2: WageSlave March 17, , How high is high? My friends all call me cheap. But there it is. Melinda Gonzalez March 17, , 7: It seems like common sense, but sometimes people just need a little push in the right direction. Sarah March 17, , 9: That said, if he treated it as a hobby, then it would be the magic type of hobby that I always dream of that actually makes you money…. Money Mustache March 17, , 9: That was one of the parts of the story that I liked the most.

I often write that regardless of how important you think you are, it is healthy to get down to some old-fashioned hard work in your limited spare time. Paradoxically, developing these extra skills instead of just playing golf or going to resorts is what GIVES you more free time over the rest of your life.

The multi-skilled person is able to live a more efficient and worry-free life: Jamesqf March 17, , 2: Aaron March 18, , 4: Doug in London, ON March 17, , 9: Wow, another great story of a successful mustachian. By the way, who are these Joneses I am supposed to keep up with? It really is great having financial freedom.

Presently I have a lead on a job nothing firm yet which would be full time, good pay, would probably run to years end, and is about Km away. In the past I would jump on it now and ask questions later, but instead am weighing the pros and cons. That beats the hell out of having a lot of stuff and worrying about paying for it all. Last but not least, the gurus of the endless growth and reckless consumption believe that if there were more mustachians the economy would collapse. Doug in London, ON March 17, , If I did take the job I would find a temporary place to stay nearby.

I do love that you managed to give up your second car. Just call me Al March 17, , 9: Easy, I just stopped living on auto-pilot, woke the fuck up and cut the shit. His story is nearly identical to mine except I have one rental and I kept the vacation property. I made , a year net and was saving half and blowing the other, thinking I was doing just great.

It has taken me 2 now on 3 years to come down off my addicted lifestyle, so kudos to JJ for doing it in one. My spending is all documented for my own personal embarrassment. Knocked it down to 54, in year 2. Like I said, I was saving half my income, so , per year for roughly 16 years. Will this save me money or cost me money?

But, I can hold my own. So, the answer for me was; high income, high savings, and just a good old ass kick into the right frame of mind. And yeah MMM, we obviously needed your help, or at least your example. Wow — another extremely badass tale and again I notice plenty of appropriate profanity.. It is epecially cool that you came here from the big MSN feature of a year or so ago. That got 14 pages of violent complaints on the MSN site itself, yet it still yielded thousands of real people who chose to join in, become regular readers and fix some of their own shit while the complainers drifted off elsewhere on the Internet to find more things to complain about.

If that sucker gets published in the way I hope it does, we can only imagine the results! Just call me Al March 17, , Rob aka Captain and Mrs Slow March 17, , 3: Joe yolfer March 17, , 9: Bobthetree March 17, , I knew I needed to get off my butt and find a rental in Dallas. I need to talk to some people about these things. FishingMN March 17, , Especially since Texas has much higher property taxes than my area of Colorado. When you buy a nice house at housing crash houses as JJ did, you KNOW it is going to rise faster than inflation, eventually to be sold in a boom and re-allocated to other assets if the yield drops.

JJ March 17, , You readers truly make this site better with your positive feedback and encouragement. OK, it sounds like people want details, and being a numbers guy I appreciate that. Actually more than half. Now I park my own car. My cooking is actually edible now too. Brought leftovers for lunch when I worked full time, and was able to squeeze gym workouts in during the lunch hour as an added benefit now I go to the gym whenever I damn well want!

Those things are fun. But not THAT much fun. Sold all that crap. Purple March 17, , Defib March 18, , 3: JJ I wonder if you l lived where I live. I spent k last year as a single male with no kids in his early 30s. I want to make a little blog detailing my experience. JJ March 22, , I lived a few blocks up in The Ashton, but essentially the same thing I think the same builder built the Cirque and McKinney.

Lisa March 18, , 1: SavvyFinancialLatina March 18, , 1: JJ, I would love to have a chat with you. I live in Dallas, and I am planning to buy a house or two in the next year. I would love some advice on the real estate market and some of things you encountered. Must-stash March 19, , 2: Big changes are key but so are little changes — what an inspiring story and a great action list. Melinda March 21, , 6: Considered Richardson and Garland as well.

D March 21, , 7: Johnny Moneyseed March 17, , 5: Mustache, your site has led more people to me than any other site. Check out the sweet analytics graphic to see the power of the Mustachians. Jeremy March 17, , At one point in life when I first became financially independent, I actually tried to spend more money since I was still pulling in a good income.

Jen March 18, , So nice reading the comments — seems like many readers have successfully retired! Nunayo March 19, , 8: Yes, that would be awesome. I wonder how the readership demographics actually stack up. The survey could include savings rates, that would be awesome. Mine is around 50 percent of net income. Started a business working from home. Simple Economist March 18, , That is a pretty epic story. The book recommendation is great and we are looking to do very similar things to JJ. I think the best part of the story was the description of the epiphany type moment.

JJ, I do Vegas on the cheap and I still have a good time. Crazy I know but I love to visit Vegas. SavvyFinancialLatina March 18, , MMM, any way you could pass this guy my email or visa versa? I am looking at purchasing two home in the Dallas area over the next two years. I need some advice on the Dallas real estate market. I would greatly appreciate it!!! Ceecee March 18, , A handy thing to keep in mind, along with property and income taxes and bike-friendliness, when deciding where to move in the future.

Pretired Nick March 18, , 1: That feeling of hopelessness is in itself its own trap, as one tends to fill the void with things that cost money, alcohol, going out to eat, massages, toys, etc. JJ, way to go man! First off, I immediately bought your book recommendation; never heard of it and is right up my alley. Matt March 19, , 9: Demographics — female, 62, Biologist, always frugal thanks to Scottish side of my ancestry?

Big sense of entitlement, you all know the type. Money issues were only part of the breakup, but when one spouse is calling the other cheap when the thriftiness lets the spender spend, it sure does contribute. Sarah April 3, , 2: Most everything I wear is from thrift stores as well and I work in an upscale office in the Washington, DC area. I wear flip flops or slide-on sneakers to drive which saves my dressy shoes and my feet lots of wear and tear. It was great for me and will also be fantastic for introducing my wife to the basics. Then I come to this post and read this wonderful story!

How great is this book? Bruno May 18, , Speaking of that dude: Not really easy reading, but worth it. MichaelInSeattle January 3, , I love all of your comments. Now I have 4. Easy peasy with my stash. FYI, I live in the same apartment that I have rented for 19 years, right smack, dab on the water, with whales and seals and otters and eagles and herons as my daily companions.

A nice place to live, and it has the most awesome side benefit of the greatest bicycle commute along the Puget Sound every day to my 8 minute water taxi ride into downtown Seattle. Keep it up everyone—it works! Diane Page August 21, , 1: Wow, I am in the processing of reinventing my financial and otherwise life, and this is making me wonder if I should go bolder.

My husband — a force of nature with a giant heart. Why the fuck do we live here? Then hubby quit his government lawyer job to represent oppressed workers, fight discrimination and generally do good. We had financial projections that we thought were conservative and supportable. He found out the women on the staff were being paid less than the men and started agitating on behalf of the women workers. They fired his ass! I was enormously proud of him but I kept the family books and his practice lost money at an impressive clip, contrary to projections — a fatal blow being that partner who drained all the accounts and ran off leaving nothing but overdue bills.

So we were living the double income two-kids suburban affluent life on one salary, sustained by tapping home equity and amassing credit card debt. And what kind of person spends a third of his retirement account restoring the TR3-A his uncle left him when he is bringing in no income?

I calculate what will be the least time consuming option, if actually taking an hour or so to drive through traffic and take her to the store would require less time than answering her phone calls as she repeatedly calls up and asks the same question over and over, having forgotten that she just called five minutes before. Today, in like half an hour.

Mr. Money Mustache’s Own Story

We hang up, and I try to finish up my kitchen chores, loading the dishwasher and taking out the compost. After about five minutes the phone rings again. Are you taking me to the store today? Is it today right now? Sometimes her dementia seems so deep and existential, so enlightened. There are heady lessons hidden there. Today, tomorrow, and yesterday are all irrelevant. The past is distorted and the future unknown. All we have is this present moment. I try to cherish these small morsels of wisdom buried in such a dark and scary place.

Of course this all happened back when yesterday was still today, and I wonder if the today happening now is at all different than the yesterday I remember. There is a crazy lady sitting across the little cafe patio from me. She is laughing and talking to herself, sipping something out of a paper cup that may or may not be coffee. She has headphones on but they are not plugged into anything. She seems to be singing along to her own soundtrack.

Naturally I take my journal out and start to write, her antics having stirred my creative juices into motion. She begins eyeing me suspiciously. She stands up and begins to rearrange all the empty chairs near her. She takes something out of her pocket that looks like a wet t-shirt and begins slapping it on the tables.

She is still speaking to somebody, perhaps even herself. What am I writing? I better not be writing about her, she screams. Of course I write this all down in my notebook, and tell her I am writing a poem about the woman I love. This seems to satisfy her and she gets a dreamy look in her eyes, like I have just reminded her about something long forgotten.

She nods her head and walks away, throwing her paper cup and wet t-shirt in the trash, her untethered earphone cord swinging behind her. From Mister Mustache and Other Stories. The pub was always bumping on a Tuesday or Thursday night. Dollar pints of the finest microbrews brought torrents of revelers flooding into the hardwood aisles. Amber glasses of bitters and pales sparkled in brass-rimmed bar lights, and evil porters and stouts darkened the room more than seemed appropriate.

The tables and chairs would be pushed to the side, making room for more people drinking more beer. A band would be inducing the crowd into a throbbing frenzy. Nobody ever knew the name of the band, which never looked the same. Many of the musicians looked familiar, like maybe the drummer was playing bass last week, or the guitarist had been dancing in the aisles on Tuesday. But then, many faces looked familiar. But the direction of approach is important.

The brown and white palomino I am riding is getting tired, and so am I. That is one of the disadvantages of being an outlaw. You often travel for hours with no apparent destination. Being an outlaw, you sometimes have to take things as they come. Willy-Wully is my Woolly Mammoth. Willy-Wully is so small I can hold him in my hand. He is able to roar very loud for such a tiny mammoth. One roar from Willy-Wully and all the dogs in the neighborhood stop barking.

My dad complains that Willy-Wully tramples his TV dinners and poops in the ice cream. Sometimes when Willy-Wully is surprised he throws ice cubes. One day when I get home from school Willy-Wully is nowhere to be found. My dad tells me he went home on a boat.

• Our Musical World, Book 3: Native (North) America - Sounds of the Past...Visions of a Future (Our Musical World: Exploring Humanitys Creative Diversity).
• Mr. Money Mustache’s Own Story.
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