Always enjoy hearing from you RoG, sorry to be a yin to MMM's hyper-optimistic plowing another 400k into the market yang (ARS points this out frequently, and he's a mod, so I do worry about getting booted, but I also like to express alternative points of view in hopefully a dark corner of the forum, so as not to distract the 'young hopefuls' that are helping each other out).
I'm just thinking (aloud I guess) that the rush to FI can seem very self centered. I read lots of PF blogs (I am 1 percent, 1500 days, 2million, retire by 40, retire before Dad, lacking ambition), and they have either gone somewhat dark or are busily posting pat-themselves-on-the-back net worth gain posts and how great it will be when they make it to the next milestone. "Whew, that first million came quicker than I thought, and now I have even more!".
I used to think like you, that the best investments I could make were in my own family being FI and that money was better in my hands than giving it to charity. "I'll get around to that later", I told myself for the first 10 or so years, which is fine when you you building up. But those days eventually come to an end, I'm pretty sure they have for MMM. Sure, the Market might go to hell in a hand-basket, but I'm way ahead at a young age and most people seem to be lucky to get to retire at all. I don't want to ride a bike as my main form of transportation, but I have come to the conclusion that the next car I buy will cost less than 1% of my net worth, because I can, and because impressing people doesn't do anything for me. There is nothing that I want for myself that will make me as happy or make my family more better off in any lasting way, and yet the market keeps giving me more. So, finally, I find that the real satisfaction in life and FI is giving to others and seeing how much more appreciative they are of my gifts than I could be.
I disagree (but it's just an opinion) that blogs really fit the bill when it comes to giving the most needy people the steady foundation that they need, or saving the environment in a meaningful way. Blogs are fun entertainment, and camaraderie, but no substitute for actually handing a plate of hot food to someone that is homeless and looking them in the eye and telling them you are glad they came by, and listening to their story.
The internet does do one good thing, which is provide a cheap, environmentally friendly way to spend life energy that otherwise might be spend doing something more negative and consumerist, so I'm not anti-blog, and I click on plenty of MMM's pages. But, I'd really enjoy one of those clicks being MMM doing the ice-bucket challenge or helping out someone other than his Mom and a guy in Hawaii with his carpentourism...