@Dicey the 5, 8, 11 numbers came from the advisor. Our portfolio can support 5 at 5% withdrawal rate right now. We outflow $9K/mo right now, but after excluding mortgage, college savings, and childcare we might be at 5. We honestly haven't run the numbers in a long time because everything is on autopay and we don't feel a need to spend more. The higher numbers from the advisor let us figure out what One More Year looks like. And my husband who has always said he wants to travel more has been dreaming of a Delta Private Jets membership, which is insane ("But free empty legs!").
I was reacting to the number 11. Any advisor who targets in such a way...no, wait! Using an advisor at all isn't considered particularly mustachian.
If your lifestyle really requires eleven thousand dollars each and every month*, I'd posit that you might not be all that mustachian yourself, and that you are going to have to work more years than necessary just to support that level of spending. If private jets are that important to you, it's your choice to make.
*Plenty of people on this site may earn that or more, but they're squirreling it away like mad, not spending it. If you really, really need $11k/month to support your lifestyle in retirement, we may not be your tribe.
Geez, such a welcoming tribe Dicey has! I definitely am not your tribe then lol, my frugal $10k month budget has me and my girlfriend doing very unmustachian things this month like...hiking Yosemite, hanging out at Mammoth Lake, and spending two weeks sailing from St. Vincent to Grenada. Don't worry RelaxedGal I say go for the gusto if you are still enjoying your current situation...if not $5k month is more than fine too!
This is the MMM Forum, hosted by Pete Ademy, creator of the Mr. Money Mustache blog, where MMM calls people Spendypants and Consumer Sukkas. AFIK, he's the coiner of the term "facepunch". He throws them when people make really stupid life and/or spending decisions. He decries clown cars and clown houses. He is the king of optimizing, of hard physical labor to maintain personal fitness, of saving the planet by making more environmental and budget friendly choices, of spending according to your values. And stoicism. And God bless him, he swears like a sailor. If you want to follow along, even if you choose a "lite" version of mustachianism, you'll find this an amazingly supportive crowd. If you're looking to reinforce your decision to live a Spendypants lifestyle, you may not find this to be such a welcoming place, because that's not the purpose of this site. There are lots of other options out there, they're just not MMM.
Everything can be done in a spendy way or a less spendy way. There is a load of information about travel hacking here, for example. There is a steady stream of support and encouragement available to anyone who asks. You can write a case study and knowledgeable people will jump in to help you streamline your budget. Stumped for a frugal way to do something? Post your question and help will be quickly and abundantly available. There's also a cool thread where people share the most helpful thing they've learned here, and another where people post how they save money every day.
To clarify, I'm not responding to RG. This comment is directed at ol1970's perceived lack of welcome. Hey, if you need to have a lifstyle that costs ten grand a month (absent extenuating circumstances, such as high medical costs) that's fine. But I'm a mustachian, and I generally prefer the company of less spendy folks. That's why I like it here. I love to help people accelerate their path to FIRE. I love it when I give someone a tip and they use it to their benefit. It's possible that I have fed other mustachians at my table, and perhaps offered my getaway place gratis to others, none of whom I knew IRL. If a person embraces Mustachianism to even a small degree here, the support from the tribe is warm, and rich, and good. There's nothing to lose and much to gain by hanging out with us.
Finally, it's perfectly possible to "go for the gusto" at any income level. It's a mindset, just like mustachianism.