a. it's hypocritical. you don't work but you still want others to to serve you.
b. instead of conspicuous consumption -- it's conspicuous leisure. Just another side of the same coin.
Having said that I hate my job ...I'm curious how much MMM makes with this blog - it sounds like a job to me. It's a free lance one however.
Your points are pretty weak.
A. Obviously they did work, or they wouldn't be able to retire. How else do you think they got the income? Also, it doesn't sound like you're very familiar with the DIY ethos of this blog because most of the service is performed by Mustachians themselves. They do it themselves instead of hiring out.
B. Their conspicuous leisure is less likely to destroy the planet. Going for a hike doesn't cause global warming.
Hope that helps, Mr. Troll. Have a great day.
Yeah that was really helpful.
A. Where did I say that they didn't work at one time or another? The aim is not to however, or only to do so for a limited time. Also how many DIY tasks can you really do for it to really count ? How about a DIY infrastructure? How about DIY city planning? How about a DIY roads and highway? How about DIY commercial air flying? I mean really your points are ridiculous.
B. Environment has got nothing to do with it. But I guess I see where you're coming from. My point is conspicuous leisure and consumption are one in the same.
A. MMM has a post about "what if everyone did this" or some such. I'm not saying it would work as well as he dreams about there, but he makes some really good points. Points that when combined with the reality that not everyone would even want to do this, reveals that there's no real issue with doing it.
B. Conspicuous leisure and consumption are one in the same is your point. I see where you are coming from. But for most of the people in this community it isn't leisure that we are seeking, it is freedom. I may very well go play racquetball until 10 am every morning once FI. But I'll probably still work 40 hours a week for many weeks out of the year. High wage part time work is just much harder to come by, so I'd like to be in a position where the wage isn't something I
need.
I personally don't see anything
wrong with spending everything you earn. What is bizarre is how many people fail to
own it. You are correct that there are alot of people on this forum that get pretty haughty when talking about those who overspend and don't have any savings. But all of us face similar sentiments from those people in the workplace regarding our saving, and we just have to grin and bear it. And all of those people seem to also have the same problem the MMM community has, that we'd ultimately like more time off to pursue other things. But they fail to connect the time-suck of work to the money-suck of consumption.
The median MMMer, within two standard deviations I'd say, has identified something in their life (work-life balance for me) that they would like to correct, and is taking positive action to fix it.
The median person I work with, within two standard deviations I'd say, has identified something in their life (don't own the newest biggest/truck/house/vacation), that they would like to correct, and is taking no action to fix it, so they borrow money and work until they die.
That's probably where some of the high and mighty attitude comes from. I have absolute faith that there are enough people out there who can't be bothered that certain jobs will always be covered. But lets examine that thesis for a second:
Commercial airline travel: This isn't actually necessary. You don't need to get somewhere all that quickly if you don't have to be back at work by Monday. And lots and lots of air travel happens in personal planes flown by owner. Not precisely an MMM level hobby, but I think MMM principles could be applied to it to make it much more affordable.
DIY roads and highways: If we all switched to riding bikes, we'd need alot fewer roads and highways. And there's going to be plenty of folks who need to work for 10 years building the fewer roads and highways we do need, as they save up their stache.
And nothing about MMM philosophy has anything to do with others. I don't care if you go to work every day or not. Go for it, if that's what gets you off. But if you hate your job, that's sort of your fault, particularly long term. There's another way, if you want it.
