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Amen. I live a block away from my job. I'm spoiled/ruined now. I'm so spoiled because if I lost my job tomorrow, I think I would just go ahead and retire to a cheaper area rather than try to find a job where I had to commute. It's so not worth it to me.
As @eddiehaskell said it's all about our happiness settings. I just wish they would not make it seem like this type of lifestyle was "easy" or without sacrifice. In my opinion it's not.
But that's the thing....you think it would be a sacrifice, for you. Maybe other people don't view the MMM type lifestyle as a sacrifice.
MMM has deeper motivations for riding a bike in Colorado in the winter than merely saving money. It's all about the environment for him. It's also about being a bad*ss. He feels people in rich countries have become addicted to comfort and convenience. This has made people weak (physically, mentally, emotionally--it's all connected). He believes that selective voluntary deprivation is actually a good and healthy thing. While I really don't want to ride my bike in the winter in Colorado, I completely agree with his overall premise.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 10-27-2018 at 04:45 PM..
What most people on CD would do is not relevant to my commentary nor is the idea of living off of 20k a year which I wouldn’t want to do but understand that’s feasible. It’s how he got there that is and has always been questionable given that he started that thread asking who wants to join him leaving out the most pertinent information
Yes, I agree. I don't like Eddie's easy breezy type of comment. In that other thread he made it sound as though anyone can just drop everything and retire at 30, as if it was as simple as picking something up at the grocery store.
I didn’t have to live the way that guy did, fortunately, but I did come to realize that control over my time was way more important than any material possession. I don’t understand why people get so annoyed at the MMM types. I kind of admire their conviction.
I agree. I don't know why people get mad at MMM types, either. I think it's because people always get mad whenever anyone questions the standard way of doing things and does something different.
Plus I understand he doesn't pay for health care like many do. He uses the low income to qualify for subsidy on that. Health care is expensive and when someone else foots the bill you have a lot of options.
I don't get why people make a big deal out of that. As long as he's following the rules, he's not doing anything wrong.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 10-27-2018 at 04:45 PM..
The efficientcy thing really does get somewhat fun. You are always evaluating things and tightening screws to eliminate waste. Have an $80/month bill...can you get it to $50? Maybe get 5% cashback on top of that?
Unfortunately, for a lot of people, it's never fun. Humans are not naturally frugal or efficient. Most of us are only efficient when we're forced to be, unfortunately. However, we can learn to override that lazy/inefficient programming in our brains to a significant degree.
Are you planning to stay in the Bay Area once you retire? Just curious.
I have multiple scenarios running through my head right now. I probably will not retire in the Bay Area, for both financial and other reasons (I'm scared as h*ll about the potential for another big earthquake, for one). Even if I decide to stay in CA, I think I will retire somewhere more fun like San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, or San Diego.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 10-27-2018 at 04:47 PM..
What is Mr. MM going to tell his kids if they want to go to college?
What is he going to do if one day he cannot physically ride his bike any longer or do physical repairs?
Oh wait his website makes 400k a year since 2016. No worries for him.
So when is he going to do a seminar at Home Depot and WalMart and get their underpaid staff to retire in their 40's?
He would be the first one to say those people need to earn more. And if you bothered to read his blog, you would know that. Oh, but that's right, you're only interested in criticizing rather than learning.
Why do you give ill informed opinions on things that don't interest you?
I live in the PNW, about 15 miles outside Seattle specifically, and biking is my main form of transportation. Year round. I argue that the greatest challenge here isn't the rain as much as the hills (that's what gore tex was designed for!). I personally have to tackle elevation difference of 1200 ft total, but most days it's 300-750ft. So my bike is electric and my 500 watt motor takes care of the elevation gain just fine.
Within 3 miles I have bike to: Dentist. Doctor. Post office. City Hall. Library. Fish Hatchery. Art Gallery. Coffee shop. Donut shop. Target. Generic grocery store. Department of Motor Vehicles (damn near ironic.. I had to pick up car tags!). Buy Nothing and Craigslist pick ups and drop offs (do you even know what Buy Nothing is?). Value Village. Furniture store. Yoga studio. And my personal favorite: Costco. Yep. I've hauled eggs, milk, coffee, muffins, peanut butter, cereal, bags of chips and gold fish crackers on my bike. At at once (I have two panniers, back rack and a backpack).
I've carried small appliances and other household goods. Clothing. Moving boxes. Ice cream cake. Donuts. Yoga mat. Small stool. Broom. Bedding. Suitcase.
If you think biking is moronic you should stay clear of Munich. Everyone rides bikes in Munich and people carry all of the above and their dog and their toddler while wearing heels and skirts.
I’ve only been to his website a few times but maybe MMM is a little disconnected from the common folks...talking to other yuppies.
He doesn't put it quite that bluntly, but he does basically say his blog is aimed at middle and upper middle class professionals--many of whom have nicer things but are just as dependent on their jobs as people who work at WalMart.
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