This is all very interesting.
We've always lived on about $25k, if you didn't include the mortgage (even before the blog). Our lifestyle has not inflated at all, which is the whole point.
The amount spent on Ecuador according to Mint was $0, as all of it was paid for by the retreat organizers. If you had to allocate a dollar value to it, it would probably be the cost of the retreat that others paid, plus the plane ticket, which was about $900. MMM is the only one that went (he had to be talked into it, by the way, so it's not something he would have normally done). We don't normally separate our family for 10 days like that. It was a lot of work for him. He had to prepare a speech and had countless one on one sessions that took up most of his days. Yes, he had a lot of fun, but it was business through and through. It was less fun for my son and I, as we were without a dad for 10 days.
At the end of the expense article, MMM writes: "*Note: I did not include any costs related to rebuilding our new house in this total, which so far have added to about $25,000 including things like engineering, permit fees, steel, lumber, electrical and plumbing parts, kitchen cabinets, and all new windows and doors. This is because the end result will be selling our current house and ending up with $100k to spare from the transaction. It’s more of an investment than a spending spree, although it sure feels otherwise when all these cardboard boxes keep arriving on the job site."
So, he does disclose that we spent $25,000 on the house so far, thereby effectively doubling our spending, yes. Would we have done this without the blog? The answer is likely Yes. We have a line of credit that we are using to fund that purchase. But, we also plan to sell this house, thereby being $100k further ahead. There's nothing to hide here, it is all included in the article.
The only other travel spending (besides Ecuador) is the trip to St. Louis. Again, MMM would never have gone there except for the financial blogger conference. Again, we lost him for 4 days. That trip probably cost about $500.
Hawaii was last year, but as I mentioned, the cost of MMMs plane ticket was the only thing expensed, so it wasn't very much ($700).
I have yet to put together all our blog expenses for the year, but the amount is pretty minimal. It seems that many are imagining this huge amount for blog expenses that is allowing us to inflate our lifestyle beyond the $25k listed in our expenses. That is in fact false. I can honestly say that none of these expenses would have been incurred without the blog.
Our Mint account doesn't even include our business expenses as those are all on separate credit cards and bank accounts.
Anyway, it seems like different folks see things differently. We always do what we feel is right and in the most honest way possible to help our readers as much as possible. There is no hiding of information or trying to trick readers. Remember, this is our private life we are talking about and I personally already feel uncomfortable with how much MMM shares with everyone. He chooses to be open and honest about everything, which I think is what people like. So as a reader, I would be happy that he chooses to trust everyone and share so much of his life and his finances.