February 17, 2017
The Tim Ferriss Show#221: Mr. Money Mustache — Living Beautifully on $25-27K Per Year
Mr. Money Mustache (Pete Adeney @mrmoneymustache) http://www.mrmoneymustache.com
- Pete grew up in Canada in a family of mostly eccentric musicians
- He graduated from Computer Engineering and worked in various tech companies before retiring at age 30
- Pete, his wife, and their now eleven-year-old son live near Boulder, CO
- Pete and his wife have not had real jobs since 2005, giving them free time for interesting projects, side businesses and adventures
- In 2011 Pete started his blog, Money Mustache, which now has 300mil page views and has reached 23mil people
Misconecptions in the media
- not actually retired
- extremely frugal
- his philosophy doesn’t apply to less wealthy people or people with more kids
How did you accomplish early retirement?
- optimizing all aspects of lifestyle for maximal fun at minimal expense
- basic index fund investing
- using bicycle for transportation
Key aspects of philosophy:
- you will be healthier, wealthier and able to retire earlier if you seek efficiency in the way you spend your money
- time is happiness
- spend less on purchases so you can spend less time at work
- you only need to accumulate 25x your annual spending to retire earlier
How did you arrive at that number?
- based on long-term studying of stock market dating back to 1920s
- if you know how much you need to live on, all you need to do is save up 25x that amount, and that will fund you with passive income with a high degree of safety for the rest of your life
What are some of the books that have had the biggest impact on you?
- Happy City by Charles Montgomery
- Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
Why did you decide to stay in the US?
- many of the problems that stem from under-regulation are also its strengths
- entrepreneurial, optimism, lack of rules goes along with my personality
- giant range of geographies
- more variety and excitement
What’s your thought process when you consider buying something?
- mental beatdown to shut off easy things i.e. a car I won’t use
- when dealing with things you really want:
- take time to think about it
- consider how much space it will take up
- consider what you will do if it breaks
- ask yourself if it’s removing a negative in your life, adding positives won’t increase happiness
- if it is something I think I need every day i.e. replacing a dishwasher, it will be a happiness booster
What purchases have most improved your happiness?
- studio building that I made over the last year
- fireplace
- windows
- things related to home, vacation and food
Any experiments you would like my audience to try?
- not using a car to get your groceries or go to work
- voluntary hardship. if it looks hard, try it
Other book recommendations
- Any book by John Bogle
- The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins
- Your Money Or Your Life by Joseph R. Dominguez
- The Little Book That Beats the Market by Joel Greenblatt
Tim’s letter recommendation related to voluntary hardship:
Sign up for a short email every Friday from Tim at http://www.fourhourworkweek.com
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