Ep. 78: MrMoneyMustache

Maximum Enthusiasm

Growing up, my parents always told me that if I couldn’t pay cash for something, I couldn’t afford it. With few exceptions, like my first home, that has been my life motto. It is true for the last 5 vehicles I’ve purchased, as well as everything else in my life… I do use credit cards as a way of leveraging points, perks and privileges, but I pay my balances off each month. Yes…I am one of those “weirdos” that MMM talks about: I am debt-free, very much on purpose, I don’t buy things I can’t afford, I don’t need the latest, newest, greatest stuff (ok, unless it’s a bike, then I do, and I splurge! )… I drive fewer miles than I ride on my bike each year, I live places where I can bike commute or walk to the places I need to frequent, and one other money saving life hack: I quit alcohol back in late 2017 and according to my “I’m done drinking app,” I’ve saved over $30k- enough to buy a car! Ok, I digress, this isn’t about me, it’s about my guest, but hopefully this preview gives you a small inkling as to why I was SO doggone excited to connect with this guest and to interview him!! ********************************************** I am so excited to bring MMM to your ears!! I've been a long-time fan and follower of MMM and have read his blog posts and newsletters time after time, always learning and always appreciating his approach to things. I really like how he breaks down the math on dollars and cents saved by doing things like riding a bike versus driving a car, how his family budgets their funds for groceries and living less-expensively so that they can live MORE expansively. FIRE = Financial Independence Retire Early is a movement I've been studying, following, living myself personally and embodying for awhile now. Save more, spend less, live more of your life and spend less of it buying/storing/selling crap... I learned even more about MMM and what drives him, as well as what he's into these days (like Peter Attia's book Outlive) and I'm so excited to share it with you here! Please give his website a look: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ Subscribe to his free boot camp and his newsletters, and follow him on IG as well. Be inspired to think outside the box and set down your consumerism mindset while ponding the possibilities of what else might be possible! Here's just one of many great quotes from his blog: "These days, it’s totally normal for even the most indebted people to go out to enjoy acres of Sushi and lakes of Sake on Friday nights, laughing and having a grand old time without the smallest thought about the deepening grave of debt they are digging. It doesn’t even strike them as a problem that they don’t own their own houses and even their cars are borrowed. “This is socialization, it’s important!”, they rationalize. “And besides, sushi is extremely yummy!” You too want to participate. You drive yourself to the restaurant in your own borrowed car and live “the good life”. It can be pleasant to indulge in these things, and it sure is easy. But there’s another path available: the more difficult yet far better one. Certain rare people live in the same society, and work the same jobs as the folks described above. But they’re a little bit better at math, and they can think a little bit further into the future. They see that money is useful for spending, but even more useful as a tool for earning more money. So they train themselves to master finance, and hard work, and self discipline. And they figure out how to have just as much fun as the big spenders, while being sure to do it in a way that allows them to save at least 50-75% of their income."