If Pete deducts those business expenses, I don't see it as dishonest. I've bought two rental properties in the past decade. I don't consider the expenses for those properties (taxes, insurance, repairs, improvements) as "my" expenses. I look at it as NET rental income and have been pleased to see that increase over the years.
Sure.
But if you're funding your travel and a lot of your fun from your business, don't come tell me bragging "hey look we only spent $25k this year!" if you rolled a lot of expenses into a side category.
On the flip side, him doing this really inspired me to develop side hustles that would pay for deductible luxuries.
Before covid, I was regularly going out for dinners at the more expensive restaurants, went driving at a race track, attended galas, did paint nights, cooking classes, wine tastings, attended really cool presentations, was part of multiple high end clubs, etc, etc and I never paid a single after tax cent for any of it.
I hadn't paid for an expensive meal in 4 years, and I was a known regular at my favourite restaurant.
I didn't look at it and think "that's disingenuous" I looked at it and said "that's brilliant".
Pete, in my opinion, is WAY cooler for having engineered this really great life for himself that costs him so little out of pocket than he is for having saved and almost irrelevant 600K nest egg while working for 10 years. That's literally the least interesting and least profitable thing he's done, and it's the one thing I have zero interest in emulating.
He's not a guy who worked for 10 years at an engineering job and then retired and lived on 25K indefinitely. That's just not his story.
He's a guy who thankfully only spent 10 years working a day job before he had saved enough to feel confident to start living the life he *actually* wanted, where he ended up WAY more successful and found way to keep his out-of-pocket expenses crazy low.
He has over and over and over again said that his goal is to live his best life, not to be as frugal as possible, and not to save as much as possible.
His thing has always been about thinking outside the box, challenging the norm, and considering doing things a different way.
That's what he's doing.
To me, he's staying totally on brand, being honest about it, and doing something that, to me, is an amazing model for how dynamic retirement can be.
You want a great hedge against inflation? Learn how to get other people to pay for your luxuries. It's a big part of my plans.