Jan 4, 2013
“Honey! Wake Up!” “MMpph?” “I heard my phone ringing a bunch so I got up and checked my voicemail. Luke says the pipes burst in our house and it flooded.. you probably have to go back.” These are the words with which Mrs. Money Mustache awakened me from my otherwise-beautiful Hawaiian sleep this morning. She…
In my ongoing and painstaking research on what separates Wealthy Mustachians who feel life is full of abundance, from Consumer Suckas who can’t seem to get ahead because of life’s many expenses, I notice many patterns. Certain behavioral habits tend to make people wealthier, and others provide a grinding pull towards the gutter. Complainypants disease, an…
So the Mustache family is now happily living in the little vacation suite I built for us with the indispensable help of my friend and host Johnny Aloha. There are still some finishing touches to add (including paint), but for the most part everything works now. The nicest part of this place is the shower,…
Want to hear something really weird? All this time, I’ve been writing this blog about financial independence, a term and movement that is often credited to the 1993 book “Your Money or Your Life”. I had been assuming that Mr. Money Mustache himself was at least partly motivated by a long-ago reading of that book…
This Hawaii place has quite a reputation to outsiders. You can’t get halfway through the word without people’s eyes fogging up as they start to dream about beaches and scenery and sunshine. And much of it is true – even on my third visit, the magic of this place remains. For me it’s the temperature,…
Whew! It has been quite a week here in Hawaii, as I’ve been in Nuclear Robot Work Mode since arriving. It has been incredibly fun so far, and yet mixed in with all the fun and hard work have been some important life lessons pertaining to both early retirement and home renovation. As we’ve learned…
This is just a note for the fun people of O’ahu who wrote emails and comments last week, interested in getting together. I’ll delete this post after the Hawaii trip ends, since it is only relevant to us islanders. There are a surprising number of Mustachians around here – over 50 have gotten in touch…
So, here I am on a tropical island. It’s 4:06am local time. The only light is that of the moon peeking through the canopy of Monkey Pod trees that covers the entire property and the only sound is the rustling of leaves in the night wind. Temperature is in the bare feet with t-shirt range…
The real estate market has been pretty interesting in my area in recent months, and perhaps in yours as well. It’s a topic worthy of discussion on this blog, since many of us consider property ownership to be a key part of our early retirement strategy. If you live in an area where houses are…
Dear Boss, This is to inform you that an opportunity has come up for me to spend the next seven weeks in Hawaii, and thus performance of my regular work duties will become spotty and unpredictable during this time. love, Mr. Money Mustache I’ve been keeping this a secret from you for a while,…
“Spend Less!” “No, Earn More!” The battle goes on, with scathing mockery volleyed between the opposing camps. Mainstream personal finance pundits like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman advocate lower spending for those in debt. Yet they have an apparently unlimited upper ceiling on how much increased spending can still lead to happiness, as evidenced by…
I, Mr. Money Mustache, am going to gain twenty pounds of muscle mass, AND set a lifetime bench-pressing record…by March 21st, 2013! You heard it here first, and now I absolutely have to get it done, to avoid an incredible public ridicule and loss of credibility. I’m both nervous and excited as I type this,…
