If You Think This is About Extreme Frugality, You’re Missing The Point

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Good points, it actually is somewhat complicated to understand how to classify the home improvements, but in MMM's case it clearly didn't impact his FI.  I just think it's worth evaluating the statement that this life of abundance is 25k/yr and they can easily trim that down if need be.  When someone online makes a claim that I don't see an example of IRL, I question it.  Some people's expenses go up when they retire early, especially if they're not constrained by income.  There have been threads on this over on Early-Retirement.org, due to the long running bull market.

It's also a bit of an odd claim, a financially successful small business owner is never going to spend even a small fraction of these multimillions, so what is the point of making more?   It just instictually makes me wonder, we'll have to wait for January and see.

[SnpKraklePhyz]

Does anyone else think maybe he didn't literally mean "multi-millionare" but rather that it was hyperbole to make the point that any American is extremely wealthy?

[thepokercab]

I think EV is approaching this in the form of a math problem.  He sees 25K on one one side of the equation, and then he sees E-bikes, trip to South America, home remodeling costs on one side, and can't balance the equation. Although I think, as folks have noted here, there are personal expenses vs investments vs business expenses, and I doubt very many people lump all of that into one bucket and just classify them as "expenses". 

But even if tomorrow some scandal broke and we found out MMM spent 100K this year I really don't think I would care that much.  Sure, he'd look kind of stupid for continually saying 25K a year, but i don't think its the point.  Its not like he is selling some product where I would demand my money back.  What he is saying just makes sense to me, and I've been seeing the results pile up in my savings and investment accounts; not to mention a better quality of life. I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining it.  Find what makes you truly happy, pursue that, and don't get caught up in all of the other consumer BS out there that isn't really adding any happiness to your life.  If MMM is fudging on his spending numbers, does that somehow make it all a lie? 

[galliver]

Good points, it actually is somewhat complicated to understand how to classify the home improvements, but in MMM's case it clearly didn't impact his FI.  I just think it's worth evaluating the statement that this life of abundance is 25k/yr and they can easily trim that down if need be.  When someone online makes a claim that I don't see an example of IRL, I question it.  Some people's expenses go up when they retire early, especially if they're not constrained by income.  There have been threads on this over on Early-Retirement.org, due to the long running bull market.

It's also a bit of an odd claim, a financially successful small business owner is never going to spend even a small fraction of these multimillions, so what is the point of making more?   It just instictually makes me wonder, we'll have to wait for January and see.

He has said before that he donates fairly large sums, generally from his business, to causes he believes in.

And like many other commenters I don't think house renovation costs belong in his "living expenses." Routine maintenance, yes, but this was a one-time project related to getting the new house, so that makes sense to roll into the new house cost. And that was more than covered by selling the old house, which like someone else mentioned is basically reallocating the equity, not buying something new.

My favorite part was the end...

"I want you to spend like you are the richest person in the world, a person who has so much happiness and balance in your life that you can’t imagine anything you could buy that would make you any happier."

[MikeBear]

Does anyone else think maybe he didn't literally mean "multi-millionare" but rather that it was hyperbole to make the point that any American is extremely wealthy?

Nope, he doesn't make mistakes like that. He meant what he said quite literally. He's previously put forth in an earlier post that he turned down well over a million dollars for the blog over a year ago. I can only imagine that it's worth has gone up since then. Plus he was already FI with money, and now can add the sale of his $400k rental, and the remaining money of his personal house all to the stash.

[MKinVA]

To get back to the point of his post, I think what he's saying is it's not starving yourself, living in a box, etc., but figuring out what really makes you happy and cutting out all the rest. Some people love to go to restaurants. It's a hobby. They should go to restaurants, just save enough money and arrange your life thusly. He calls them clown cars, but we all know people who get a lot of happiness puttering with an old car that probably costs them twice what it should. But it's about the joy. Chase what makes you happy, and chase it with everything in you, and leave the rest of the crap behind.

The consumerism is just a distraction. Don't be distracted from your real joy.

[deborah]

To get back to the point of his post, I think what he's saying is it's not starving yourself, living in a box, etc., but figuring out what really makes you happy and cutting out all the rest. Some people love to go to restaurants. It's a hobby. They should go to restaurants, just save enough money and arrange your life thusly. He calls them clown cars, but we all know people who get a lot of happiness puttering with an old car that probably costs them twice what it should. But it's about the joy. Chase what makes you happy, and chase it with everything in you, and leave the rest of the crap behind.

The consumerism is just a distraction. Don't be distracted from your real joy.

+1

[Daisy]

I loved MMM's latest post.

I heard this song on my drive home today and I think it explains the philosophy quite well. Banana pancakes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Graa_Vm5eA

[deborah]

My post on the blog wasn't approved either.  Basically what I said is that Mustachianism has gotten me back in touch with who I was as a kid, doing things like riding a bicycle everywhere and spending every afternoon at the library.  While I came from poverty, the experience of bicycle riding and library visits didn't make me feel deprived.  They made me feel happy and fulfilled.  Now that I have decided to reject consumerism and actually enjoy the real, simple pleasures in life, I feel a lot happier.  I think that goes along with what MMM was saying in the blog post.

That's weird. I've never posted anything on MMM's blogs before until this one as I have experienced most/all of the negative stereotyping that comes from being a ERee on a low income (sadly, often from some of the forum members here). I don't think I said anything profound or even anything that enhanced the conversation but it looks like it went thru. Your comments sound like they have much more  "meat" then my fluffy little post did. Wonder why it was cut? Same with the other poster?

I'm actually wondering whether they were cut - at about the same time, there was someone whose post was repeated, and I had a difficult time getting contact with this site, so maybe there was actually a site glitch rather than actually post-cutting going on.

[steveo]

I think some MMM articles have been poorly done but overall he writes really well and I think his message is awesome. I thought this blog post was a return to form.

It was good stuff.

[Ynari]

I'm not too fond of MMM posts criticizing the mainstream. If they don't get it, let them work for 60 years of their life. But I acknowledge it must be difficult to deal with so many haters misunderstanding the goal and method here, so I hope he manages to get across to some of them.


Side note on renovation: it all depends on the increased worth of the house. If he put in 60k and it went up in value 60k+, then he could recoup the expense upon sale, making it an investment (not one that provides him passive income, but an investment nonetheless). If he put in 60k and the value went up by e.g. 40k, it's a 20k expense. On the other hand, replacing your carpet every 7-10 years isn't an investment, it's maintenance, because the value of your home doesn't change a whole lot (at least, amortized over the 7-10 year period of wear and tear, which should be included in anyone's FI budget for things like this.) Some items may count as renovation as well as maintenance, so the quantities should be separated if you care about accuracy.

On the other, OTHER, hand, the housing costs aren't even factored into his 25k budget, only his 40k imputed rent budget. Which is an estimate anyway. If he had originally owned a house worth 60k more than whatever it was (I forget how much his previous house cost, but say he'd been living in a $360k house this whole time instead of a $300k house), would you still be upset at the 25k budget? Hopefully not, because all that means is that his 40k estimated budget would be 42k. The 25k stays the same. It's not a lie as long as he adjusts his imputed rent budget to account for living in a similar house (which actually sounds like it'll be lower than before.)

[odput]

I'm not too fond of MMM posts criticizing the mainstream. If they don't get it, let them work for 60 years of their life.

But he states quite clearly and very early on that one of the intents of the blog is to change the world (in not so many words)...to free the enslaved from the chains they don't see/are used to

And also to stop the machine of consumption from consuming the entire planet before it's too late

[Homey The Clown]

On the accounting for home renovation, I think this is only fair for purely investment properties. We live in our house. When we redid the kitchen, it would be disingenuous to pull that aside and say that's investment rather than expense. If we live here forever, there will never be any return on the investment. The originial purchase of the house was an investment. The eventual return will be living here without a mortgage payment. The nicer kitchen won't increase that return.

[tooqk4u22]

I sense that EVs issue is akin to being the "Retirement Police" but that doesn't make it completely invalid.  MMM spends about $25k per year on basic and certain lifestyle expenses and "works" to funds certain other expenses.  Is the trip to blogger conferences or to south america related to the blog...yes, are they necessary, not likely...they are desireable to him and uses the blog income/base to cover/rationalize these....same goes for the bike, phones, etc.  Another example was when he did the Hawaii project - he essentially worked to cover that - did it come out of the $25K spending, no....was there a cost, yes (labor)....but at the end of it all its a choice.

The comment above if MMM ran a bike shop would you expect him to include purchases for merchandise in his expenses... I wouldn't (not unlike costs for webhosting).  But if was riding around on a $5k bike under the guise of marketing expense or toured the Alps for three weeks for a "bike conference" then yes that is either an expense or a choice to "work to cover it" cost. Again, I think this is the issue EV has. 

For the house  I see it merely as a transfer of assets.....if I sold a house for $200k and then bought another one for $200k or less (including renovation costs) then it really is spending or investment - if it was more all in then the difference would be spending.  The notion of investment doesn't come into play for a primary home.  I mean if he had spent $50k adding on to is $400k house would that have been an investment...I don't think so.

[mak1277]

There have to be some tax planning considerations involved, too, in what MMM posts to the blog.  Clearly he would be asking for trouble if he deducted something as a business expense but then included it in a listing of personal expenses on the blog. 

We've gone down the rabbit hole a little bit here I think.  At some point, you have to decide if you want to put your faith in MMM's disclosures or not.  If you're super skeptical about what he discloses, where does that stop?  Personally, I have a hard time accepting that anyone can spend under $300 for coffee/beers/restaurants during a year, but that's exactly what MMM disclosed for 2013.  I can choose to believe that or not...but it doesn't really change the facts and arithmetic behind the possibility of early retirement.  If MMM turned out to be a big fat liar, it doesn't really change my views on ER, as long as I still trust in the 4% rule and the other assumptions we all make when considering ER.

[bacchi]

I can choose to believe that or not...but it doesn't really change the facts and arithmetic behind the possibility of early retirement.  If MMM turned out to be a big fat liar, it doesn't really change my views on ER, as long as I still trust in the 4% rule and the other assumptions we all make when considering ER.

Agreed. If YOU can make it with 4%, it doesn't matter if someone else is neglecting to include their classic car renovation because it'll "eventually" stop being a hobby.

As far as EV's question about the numbers -- this is a young board. E-r.org has many older early-retirees. If the economy doesn't crash and unemployment doesn't skyrocket, I suspect the numbers here will rise considerably in the next 5 years.

[Cassie]

Overall, I think the message is good & many people overspend.  However, I have always had a problem with his "funny" accounting & claims that he is living in luxury on $25k/year for 3 people.  No he is spending way more every year.  I think it could be misleading if people take this for gospel & decide to retire on a small amount of $ & think they can live the same lifestyle-oops no you can't.   In the end  if it inspires people to spend less & save more then that is great.   Also I think the boasting he does is just style & theater presence so to speak.  You need something to distinguish yourself from all the other bloggers out there & he has done that.  Nothing is wrong with that either.  Spartana spends very little & actually saves on her small income-do I believe Mr MM is doing the same-nope-too many luxuries that I don't hear Spartana talking about.

[Eric]

My post on the blog wasn't approved either.  Basically what I said is that Mustachianism has gotten me back in touch with who I was as a kid, doing things like riding a bicycle everywhere and spending every afternoon at the library.  While I came from poverty, the experience of bicycle riding and library visits didn't make me feel deprived.  They made me feel happy and fulfilled.  Now that I have decided to reject consumerism and actually enjoy the real, simple pleasures in life, I feel a lot happier.  I think that goes along with what MMM was saying in the blog post.

That's weird. I've never posted anything on MMM's blogs before until this one as I have experienced most/all of the negative stereotyping that comes from being a ERee on a low income (sadly, often from some of the forum members here). I don't think I said anything profound or even anything that enhanced the conversation but it looks like it went thru. Your comments sound like they have much more  "meat" then my fluffy little post did. Wonder why it was cut? Same with the other poster?

I'm actually wondering whether they were cut - at about the same time, there was someone whose post was repeated, and I had a difficult time getting contact with this site, so maybe there was actually a site glitch rather than actually post-cutting going on.

You guys, MoneyCat's post is there in the comments section.  Not sure where the disconnect is here.  Maybe it's because the comments don't show immediately upon submission like they do on the forum? 

People always complain about this for some reason.  A few months back, we had someone come onto the forums and have total infantile meltdown because his post wasn't allowed by MMM.  Deleted his account and everything.  When I searched for it, it was sitting right there with all the other blog comments.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

I will let this go, I promise, I'm encouraged that I'm not the only person that 'feels' this way, that a guy that boasts about having 3 nail guns and enjoys construction and remodeling might spend a little more than 25k/yr if all of the purchases were treated as expenses.  It is kind of interesting to talk about if they are business related or not, or investments, but that wasn't my point.  He has given himself the gift of not having to worry about money, so he probably does spend more than 25k/yr, it just doesn't grab headlines when the number gets bigger. 

I benchmark him against RootofGood and Retireby40, both disclose their monthly spending in technicolor detail for a family similar to mine, and they spend 32k (no mortgage) and 54k (includes mortgage), respectively, and they don't have any fancy spending along the lines of what I sometimes read about here.

I wonder if people will be demoralized if a 'normal' family start cutting expenses in the hope of hitting 25k/yr for a 40 y.o. family of 3 living a nice lifestyle.  It's no wonder there was an article about if MMM is ruining your marriage, overdoing the frugality has been a source of friction in my family, but I feel that we are still frugal, along the lines of RoG and RB40.

[Daisy]

I understand and share a lot of EV2020's concerns. I don't think MMM is trying to pull a fast one on us or anything, although even if he is the advice is still solid. Live on less, have fun on less, invest, be charitable and generous with your time and money.

MMM's life is a little more interesting because of the financial benefits the blog provides to him. Nothing wrong with that - he has earned his readership very well. However, some of the fun and travel provided to him from the blog maybe decreases the need for him to fund other forms of travel/fun/entertainment because he is already getting it from his blog. Also, knowing he has an extra stash hanging around and growing ever further is a great "insurance" to have to fall back on if the regular stash (non-blog related) and expenses run into issues due to market crashes or huge unexpected expenses.

Others on this forum say "MMM can live on $25k, why can't you?" or base their plans on just that. MMM can ride out a financial crash a little more easily these days because of the financial benefits the blog has provided him. That's why some of us stress having a good buffer around, as we all can't be awesome blog writers. So when we mention needing a $10k buffer per year, let's say, we run into some resistance from people who are trying to match MMM's lifestyle.

Spartana is more of the FIRE pure play as she lives solely on her stash gained from years of employment and smart expensing. However, without MMM and his blog (and winnings!), we probably would have never virtually met Spartana so we wouldn't know her story. It's a catch-22.

[deborah]

I think that there's an important message in all this - we are all individuals, with individual budgets and constraints. Therefore, our FIRE amounts are all different, even when you don't include the fat that most of us prudently add to our FIRE amounts.

And like MMM, many of us have a reasonable amount of fat. For instance, I am retired. I like to think of my retirement funds as two separate income streams. One of these pays almost everything except for about $5k. The other is only touched when I get to the last $5k of my budget, and it is growing much faster than I anticipated. Reading between the lines, a number of the people who are RE have these sorts of setups. Sometimes because we didn't realise we were FI and could actually retire until long after we were able to. Sometimes because we did all the figures, and were FI, and couldn't believe it for a while. Sometimes because we just wanted that little bit extra (we loved our jobs, the time wasn't right...). And sometimes because things went well the first few years of retirement, and the stash grew even though we were already retired.

So, in fact a lot of us are like MMM in that we do have an extra stash besides what is in our budget. This means that if something needs cash - a spendy thing on our bucket list, or a family emergency - we can just throw the cash at it. Also, if our investments do go pear-shaped, it doesn't matter, because there is enough fat (the reason for the 4% rule). This is almost a natural product of being frugal.

[Guizmo]

haters gon' hate, playas gon' play

[MikeBear]

So, like a body of work where the instigator has deeply invested themself into something that was risky, I am grateful to have been given this gift of Mustachian input outside my own limited opinion, and would appreciate the opportunity to write an epilogue.  Spoiler alert, if you didn't like what I had to say from the outset, this is the genesis of why you didn't like it, so by all means pursue the Mustachian philosophy until you are FI, and then maybe come back to this.

I waited a few days, and still hesitated tonight about posting this, but, well , I will just feel better if I do, so here we go...

Where I was coming from, in an admittedly flawed way, was that I suspect that this blog will also go the way of JD Roth's Get Rich Slowly.  However, it might happen a bit more 'slowly' (and MMM will be proportionately richer, which I think he is perfectly aware of).  But maybe it was flawed to be upset if we start to get posts about a second passive home in Hawaii (or some warm winter locale), which is also quite manageable on a marginally higher 35k/yr.  Early retirement, when your side hustle income meets or exceeds what you used to make, is pretty much a slam dunk marketable ER blog.  And I'd agree with MMM that this is something to celebrate.

From what I've seen on this blog, FI is perhaps better judged after RE.  You RE, and then pursue your passion with a modicum of income potential.  Maybe it becomes obvious that you are FI when the paychecks you didn't necessarily need start small and get bigger, or maybe you squeeze it into how it turns out.  But no-one is going to go public and then say they failed miserably, which is always what I know in the back of my mind when I read someone's blog.

I do think that MMM will let us down (which I know irritates people, but it's a Stoic position; if he doesn't let me down I will be wholeheartedly impressed), or we should read the blog as though it might not always be as motivating  as it began (comments about him being a multimillionaire, using badassity to mean staying in a hotel and riding in an Uber taxi...  It's not Jacob's ERE, which was a little less varnished...). 

I don't fault anybody for enjoying the fruits of their success, many ER's should probably step up the spend in their own life, but we look to MMM who,in retirement, has a 'stache to enjoy that passively allows him more temptations and yet lives a full life on the same spend.  More power to him if he can sell the Monk lifestyle, as long as there is nothing in it for him.  If there is, he's nothing more than a Monk parading as a televangelist, which is what I sometimes think.

I won't belabor the point, I'm happy I can be allowed to not follow blindly and still not get kicked out.  There is no refund for us if his philosophy only profits the cult leader, but I would be saddened to not be able to express myself.  I believe that's ultimately how WWII started, and I hope people continue to appreciate how fortunate we are to be able to express dissent.  How valuable independent thought is.

Maybe this thread was gratuitous (as Matchwed suggested), but we should encourage people to try to be ahead of the curve.  I am sorry if it offended anyone.

Wow, it's quite obvious that you still just don't get it, because you refuse to open yourself to the fact that the best part of MMM, is awakening others to the POSSIBILITY of ER. Many people have never even entertained the thought, as they have literally been brainwashed their entire lives to believe the lie. That lie consisting of being good little consumer drones, working 50 years, retiring sickly on dumpster diving and dregs, and dying as fast as you can. Nobody says you have to be a 100% clone of MMM, but that you can pick and choose the parts that you can live with and make work, and still get to nearly the same end result.

I personally couldn't care LESS if MMM became a multi-millionaire (which it appears that he did do, so KUDOS to him!) and even eventually sells the blog. That's not what I'm here for, and I'm also not going to anticipate that as a failure on his part. If it happens, I will hold it up as the greatest SUCCESS on his part, and more proof that he was right all along.

He is a hero to me, because he face-punched me awake, just barely in time. He is a human, not a god, and I don't worship him. I do though appreciate his philosophy, and I'm glad I finally stumbled over his blog this year. Yes, a lot of it has been brought up by others over the years, but he condensed it, makes people "get it" quickly and people seem to find him as they need him the most.

If you are simply hanging around here because you just can't WAIT to pick over his corpse when he "fails" according to your "rules", then you should probably move along and figure out your own life somewhere else.

So, why the "fear" of being "kicked out" since you were never a true Mustachian in the first place?

[MikeBear]

Wow, it's quite obvious that you still just don't get it, because you refuse to open yourself to the fact that the best part of MMM, is awakening others to the POSSIBILITY of ER. Many people have never even entertained the thought, as they have literally been brainwashed their entire lives to believe the lie. That lie consisting of being good little consumer drones, working 50 years, retiring sickly on dumpster diving and dregs, and dying as fast as you can. Nobody says you have to be a 100% clone of MMM, but that you can pick and choose the parts that you can live with and make work, and still get to nearly the same end result.

I personally couldn't care LESS if MMM became a multi-millionaire (which it appears that he did do, so KUDOS to him!) and even eventually sells the blog. That's not what I'm here for, and I'm also not going to anticipate that as a failure on his part. If it happens, I will hold it up as the greatest SUCCESS on his part, and more proof that he was right all along.

He is a hero to me, because he face-punched me awake, just barely in time. He is a human, not a god, and I don't worship him. I do though appreciate his philosophy, and I'm glad I finally stumbled over his blog this year. Yes, a lot of it has been brought up by others over the years, but he condensed it, makes people "get it" quickly and people seem to find him as they need him the most.

If you are simply hanging around here because you just can't WAIT to pick over his corpse when he "fails" according to your "rules", then you should probably move along and figure out your own life somewhere else.

So, why the "fear" of being "kicked out" since you were never a true Mustachian in the first place?

Sorry, just quoting, because I find this interesting.  I hope others read what I originally said because it was more valuable than this in my opinion, but maybe not, I'm open minded...

OK, then keep talking for better clarity, maybe you will eventually understand the whole gestalt and that it's not one size fits all. Dissect that part of the sentence above I bolded, and tell me WHY you "find this interesting". You won't hurt my feelings, let her rip!

[MikeBear]

Well, I have nothing except my well paying job awaiting me after a good nights rest, so I'll write a little because I enjoy writing.  I don't know what you have against me (MikeBear), but it does seem like you have it out for me.  I don't care.  I'm, uh, not making any money or winning any points or really doing anything other than discussing.  But feel free to respond.  Wail away, carry on.  I just wanted to put something constructive out there, even if it were counter-cultural, but feel free to get upset with what I'm doing.  It's interesting.  Honestly.

You misunderstand me, perhaps it's due to a lack of proper phrasing on my part.

I simply don't like anything that distracts newbies from MMM's basic message when they are trying to find their own way. I believe that criticism just for criticism's sake is dangerous, and may cause some to give up too soon before they can find that way that works for them. I do think you complain too much/are a bit too nit-picky about MMM for the wrong reasons, and/or possibly you just really can't ever see yourself as part of this. There's been all this discussion you started in multiple threads then you basically came back and stated that nothing has changed. That's because it seems your mind is made up that MMM isn't worth following because some day he's going to betray you in some way you couldn't handle.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

following because some day he's going to betray you in some way you couldn't handle.

Happened with Get Rich Slowly and ERE.  With no downside to the seller of course...  As long as the readers are fine with all this, I'm just trying to raise awareness...

[MikeBear]

following because some day he's going to betray you in some way you couldn't handle.

Happened with Get Rich Slowly and ERE.  With no downside to the seller of course...  As long as the readers are fine with all this, I'm just trying to raise awareness...

Ok, that's  your point of view, you've now made it perfectly clear, and it's a consideration from where you are coming from. My point of view is that it doesn't matter if he eventually does, because the basic principles he originally put forth on "Mustachianism" (that HE created, mind you!) are, and always will be still VALID and complete as a whole work.

I think it's bigger than even the creator of the movement, and IMO, is something that a lot more people would be a whole lot better off to at least try to follow it as best they can.

Ok, I do get passionate over the whole thing, as I really do believe it's worth that much that it trumps even the human that "created" it.

[Daisy]

following because some day he's going to betray you in some way you couldn't handle.

Happened with Get Rich Slowly and ERE.  With no downside to the seller of course...  As long as the readers are fine with all this, I'm just trying to raise awareness...

I could care less if MMM's blog makes him millions. He was FIRE'd before he started the blog. Would he have remained FIRE'd without blog income? I am guessing yes.

But he was able to find a way to entertain himself and get his message out while FIRE'd and is now in an even better financial position, while doing something he loves. We should all be so lucky to find a similar passion in life. Not to mention how many people have been helped by his example and advice. Give it a rest, dude (coming from someone who barely ever uses the word dude).

But I still agree with you on the need for a buffer. Buffer is almost as good as butter, although butter will always win that argument. ;-)

[Eddy]

I actually understand what EscapeVelocity means. When you think of MMM, you may doubt his credibility. He may spend more money than just 25k a year, BUT those 25k are his living expenses plus entertainment and so so. However, as an intelligent man, he also makes investments that may cost money. Money that he already has, but those investments always give him returns. So he did not spend anything at the end!

Btw, he already stated that most of the money that he earns from the blog, he gives it to charity because he does not need it! He may use that money to maintain his blog or for a business trip, but because it is business or an investment, he does not count it in his living expenses, and that makes totally sense!

There was a post where he mentioned that he did not use to donate to charity before he was retired, but that he respects people who do it. However, he found himself in the situation where now he can also donate to charity because he has the money already and does not need it.

[MoneyCat]

I think a lot of Mustachian philosophy is based on the idea that what you own actually owns you and the very Buddhist concept that desire is the root of despair.  The fewer possessions you have, the less you need to maintain or store and that saves you time, money, and aggravation.  When you don't desire the newest gadgets or the most expensive luxury goods, you can find true happiness by enjoying the real, simple pleasures of life.  I honestly don't think it gets much more complicated than that with Mustachianism.

[sirdoug007]

I was looking back through the archives the other day, and he is pretty explicit about all his spending in his annual wrapups, including house renovations.  I'm wondering if much of this thread isn't a bit of a tempest in a teapot -- all may be revealed when he posts his 2014 expenses in a few weeks. 

^This

Those who want to know more about the business income aspect of things could entertain the thought of making an offer for the blog -- was listening to JD Roth's interview with the Mad Fientist this morning, and he talked about how that was part of him making the decision to sell, and that disclosing the blog financials was part of the negotiation process.

My guess on how those negotiations would go is he would reply "Go fuck yourself!" and it'd be over.  He has said many times the blog is not about making money.