Poll - How many Mustachians do you know personally

[hybrid]

As I've read this forum over time it's become rather obvious that although the online community is large, the number of folks that have heard of MMM is still quite small and many folks feel like they are the exception to the rule around them. Having said that, there are some folks like myself that know Mustachians (or have brought them into the fold). I am curious what the Mustachian social demographics look like. Thanks for contributing your vote.

[schimt]

Just a coworker who actually introduced me to the idea of FIRE and MMM. He is always excited to talk about it with me, regardless of who is around and whats going on. We work in a production environment, he is an electrician and i am in management. Wish i has more people to talk about this stuff with. I do have a friend who is showing interest and even started reading a little of the blog

[boyerbt]

My girlfriend would fall under the category of "mustachian" but she doesn't visit the forums so I didn't count her which brings my total to 0. All of the people that I know are very spend-centric and I would be very surprised to find out if anyone in my close circle visits any of the MMM pages.

[frugalnacho]

My girlfriend would fall under the category of "mustachian" but she doesn't visit the forums so I didn't count her which brings my total to 0. All of the people that I know are very spend-centric and I would be very surprised to find out if anyone in my close circle visits any of the MMM pages.

I thought he meant someone that embodies mustachianism, not necessarily a forum member or blog reader.  A frugal relative that doesn't waste money and saves a significant portion of their income I would consider a mustachian even though they may have never heard of MMM or this forum.

I voted zero, but my wife is in on it with me.  But that's as far as it goes, our other family members are very unmustachian. 

[hybrid]

My girlfriend would fall under the category of "mustachian" but she doesn't visit the forums so I didn't count her which brings my total to 0. All of the people that I know are very spend-centric and I would be very surprised to find out if anyone in my close circle visits any of the MMM pages.

I thought he meant someone that embodies mustachianism, not necessarily a forum member or blog reader.  A frugal relative that doesn't waste money and saves a significant portion of their income I would consider a mustachian even though they may have never heard of MMM or this forum.

I voted zero, but my wife is in on it with me.  But that's as far as it goes, our other family members are very unmustachian.

People can interpret it as they like, but yes, I agree that someone does not have to be a forum member to share the same values. Someone who is a big Dave Ramsey follower, for instance, shares most of those same values and would be a great sounding board when discussing personal finance. In frugalnachos case I would have included the wife as immediate family.

[Cherry Lane]

I went to a mustachian meetup a few months ago, so I met some people there.  But I didn't count them and voted "one unrelated person" for the one other person I know who reads MMM.

[SnpKraklePhyz]

My parents are very frugal as are almost all the rest of my extended family. I think I'm the only one to read this website and the forums but very little would surprise my family. No one has retired early but all who have retired have plenty of savings and live well below their means. I have found a few others outside my family who live this way as well.

[hybrid]

I went to a mustachian meetup a few months ago, so I met some people there.  But I didn't count them and voted "one unrelated person" for the one other person I know who reads MMM.

In Richmond? TrulyStashin, who has become a friend of mine, has been pretty good about putting these together. She is rather busy though lately, and my life got turned upside down earlier this year with a big family project. Getting these a little better organized and regular is on my bucket list. A pity life so inconveniently gets in the way so often, if only I was retired. Hey, wait a minute.... ;-)

[Luck12]

My siblings are all pretty frugal, maybe as much as I am though they all make a lot less so not sure if it's by necessity or by principle.  My good friend is also an MMM type and spends less than I do though ironically he thinks the whole MMM thing is cliche. 

[MandyM]

I'm an island. I thought I would have a convert or two in some of the friends I've talked to, but nope. My family is full of high spending, bed pan types. I'm glad to have the forums!

[Russ]

Looks like I'm the only "lots of people" so far? Doesn't hurt that I also count forum members I haven't met but am on first-name basis with, but even without them I'm still at 10+ mustache friends IRL.

[minimustache1985]

I get my natural frugalness from my parents, who aren't extreme mustachians by any means but were far ahead of the game compared to most.  My mom is retired in her paid off house and lives reasonably frugally.

Within my age group though I'm on an island.  Just this morning my (always broke) coworker was talking about buying a new tablet because it's a three paycheck month which will pay off the last thing he bought and be able to pay off the tablet within 3 months and only pay "about $40" in interest, and my boss took out a 401(k) loan earlier this year for optional home improvements.  It makes me sad for them, but I don't know how to say anything without worrying that I'm prying or sound like I'm judging so I refrain most of the time.

Honestly, part of the reason I visit these boards is to remind me that while I'm no super mustachian that I'm not crazy to think this way, and to remind me that despite being way ahead of "average" I could be doing way better.

[Noodle]

Depends on your definition. I don't know anyone who is in hard-core debt-repayment/retirement saving mode, or who lives a full-on Mustachian lifestyle. However, 99% of the people I hang with live beneath their means, have conservative mortgages, older cars, sale or outlet purchased clothes, modest vacations, ample emergency funds, etc. Part of that is the values of my family, and part is having a career in non-profits with modest salaries and budgets.

[Spartana]

My sister, my Mom and my ex-DH. That's about all so I marked "no one outside my immediate family". Everyone else I know personally IRL wants to work themselves to death (and work until they die) so they can have more money, more stuff, and bigger, better, fancier stuff. Of course I'm in consumer-ville central (The OC) of SoCal where McMansions and Lexis' rule!.

[Beric01]

Met my first so far just a few days ago - from another forum (he doesn't post here). I've posted in the SF/Bay meetup thread but nothing is happening soon. :-(

[Thegoblinchief]

Looks like I'm the only "lots of people" so far? Doesn't hurt that I also count forum members I haven't met but am on first-name basis with, but even without them I'm still at 10+ mustache friends IRL.

Madison seems to have a really strong nexus.

I voted several, since my wife is mostly on board, have a couple friends that are similar, and I've met a few local Mustachians IRL.

[trailrated]

Still on the to do list to find some

[Middlesbrough]

I would say I only knew one. My grandma's brother was a pastor out in California. He was married with no kids. His wife died and he moved back to the Midwest with my grandma. He bought a few sweets he enjoyed that were expensive, but other than that he was loaded due to living a simple lifestyle and not having kids. He died several years ago and left a huge chunk of change to charity. Other than that, I don't know anyone who is frugal unless they don't have income not to be.

[okashira]

Strange. I wasn't feeling sad, until I found this poll and realized I had to vote "not one soul."

[jfer_rose]

I picked lots of people because I've gone to enough local MMM meetups and have met many of the same people enough times that it is beginning to feel like a community. And hi Cherry Lane-- I think you're one of the folks I met once!

I even had a small world incident-- at a local Mustachian Meetup, I learned that one of the attendees had only recently stopped being roomates with one of my close friends. I had met this Mustachian before with my friend, but the meetup was a different context and I didn't recognize her at first.

[Beric01]

Still on the to do list to find some

South Bay here. Maybe we should orchestrate a South Bay meetup? I know there's a number of us here.

[Dicey]

Here's the thing. They do not go around waving banners promoting their status.

You can find them if you know what to look for. When I was a working, one of my fanciest designer accounts was run by an invisibly frugal woman who took over the high-end design business from her dad. We had the best chats that had nothing to do with the business at hand. I also have another friend who I met through volunteering. He wears jeans and short-sleeve plaid shirts every day. Drives a beat up mid-size truck. Until recently, he owned a bunch of lakefront apartment buildings. His tenants all thought he was the handyman and he wanted it that way. Seriously, I can think of at least a half dozen more without even delving into the family tree. They're out there, but can be sensitive to potential criticism or simply don't want to flash their 'stache. Careful observation and polite, strategic questions will help you find your people. Believe me, you are not alone.

Somewhere there's a map here where you can "pin" yourself. Check it out. There might be a fellow MMMer nearby.

I turned a neighbor onto the site recently and he loves it. He just sold his fancy-pants car and bought a used but lovely Camry. I smile every time I see it, which is a lot, because he rides his bike to work now.

[soccerluvof4]

I don't know one. I know they are out there since I see several post on this forum from my state. I do know people that I think make some intelligent frugal decisions in our "circle" etc..  and could be but not sure if its on that one practice. And who knows if others perceive me to be. It would be nice to meet a few or have one good friend to share ideas with. Maybe I will need to go to the next meet-up in my state. Right now we still have a lot of work to do ourselves as we are totally done in 2 years now. Just waiting on my DW.

[Jessa]

My folks (really, my dad) are good with money, when I first got my $3/week allowance at age 8, my father sat me down with a "think about how much of this you want to put into savings" talk. I always tried to save (low income made it not as easy some times as others), always put in at least the match on my 401k, and more once I was making enough money, only ever had car loan debt (which I didn't know was bad before MMM), so I had some solid principles. My dad is planning on retiring early at 62, and when I told him about MMM, he said that was great for him, but MMM was really lucky and most people can't do that. He also thinks that living on less than $30k a year is very ambitious, which surprised me because...I do it because I have to, my take home pay is less than that after medical, 401k, and taxes, and I'm working on reducing it further. I figured of anyone my dad would be at least partially on board, but while he supports my decisions, he's not really buying into the concept. Most other people I know think I'm deluded. Some people are like "oh, I know I should be better with my spending" but more are like "OMG, I couldn't live without cable!" I'm still working on my SO, who was onboard with a few of my suggestions (cancelling cable), but resistant to others (he supports me riding my bike to work but has no interest in doing so himself). So I'm all alone at this point.

[hybrid]

My folks (really, my dad) are good with money, when I first got my $3/week allowance at age 8, my father sat me down with a "think about how much of this you want to put into savings" talk. I always tried to save (low income made it not as easy some times as others), always put in at least the match on my 401k, and more once I was making enough money, only ever had car loan debt (which I didn't know was bad before MMM), so I had some solid principles. My dad is planning on retiring early at 62, and when I told him about MMM, he said that was great for him, but MMM was really lucky and most people can't do that. He also thinks that living on less than $30k a year is very ambitious, which surprised me because...I do it because I have to, my take home pay is less than that after medical, 401k, and taxes, and I'm working on reducing it further. I figured of anyone my dad would be at least partially on board, but while he supports my decisions, he's not really buying into the concept. Most other people I know think I'm deluded. Some people are like "oh, I know I should be better with my spending" but more are like "OMG, I couldn't live without cable!" I'm still working on my SO, who was onboard with a few of my suggestions (cancelling cable), but resistant to others (he supports me riding my bike to work but has no interest in doing so himself). So I'm all alone at this point.

I think your Dad is probably just looking at your situation through his own filter, many if not most of us do that sort of thing. In a few years when you have a substantial stash set aside I am confident he will have a new appreciation for what you are trying to accomplish. Good luck!

[Ftao93]

We had a small meetup in Denver where I met JordanRead and handful of others.  Great fun.

Since I am frequently in Boulder I would love to have a beer with MMM.  Maybe do a promo Facepunch shot.

[Zikoris]

In addition to my boyfriend, I've met about 10 through our Mustachian meetup group. We mostly go hiking in the local mountains and discuss various business ventures and ideas.

[Cherry Lane]

I went to a mustachian meetup a few months ago, so I met some people there.  But I didn't count them and voted "one unrelated person" for the one other person I know who reads MMM.

In Richmond? TrulyStashin, who has become a friend of mine, has been pretty good about putting these together. She is rather busy though lately, and my life got turned upside down earlier this year with a big family project. Getting these a little better organized and regular is on my bucket list. A pity life so inconveniently gets in the way so often, if only I was retired. Hey, wait a minute.... ;-)

Nope.  DC here.  Though I've noticed (with some envy) the Richmond group seems to be pretty active.  I'm in the area on occasion, but so far not when meetups are happening.

I picked lots of people because I've gone to enough local MMM meetups and have met many of the same people enough times that it is beginning to feel like a community. And hi Cherry Lane-- I think you're one of the folks I met once!

Hi, Jfer_rose!  Yes, we met at Yards Park.  I need to get to more events so I can claim that same community feeling!

[Gone Fishing]

Nobody I know personally is planning on ER in their 30/40's. 

My grandfather worked hard, saved and retired in his mid 50's which was a lot earlier than most folks around him.  My dad could have retired in his mid 50's but held on a little longer because he hit a sweet spot in his career plus 2008 was a bit unnerving. On a side note, we are going to retire within 60 days of each other:) 

Probably 10 years ago I met a fellow that retired in his 40's, he was in his 60's at the time.   I had a good converation with him and his wife.  He was an attorney and his dad had died young, so he made the decision not to wait around to start living.  He also said they met a lot of resistance from their peers, but pushed on in spite of it.  They were probably 20 years into their retirement at the time, and you could see the joy in their faces.  I wish I could touch base with him but I do not remember his name.

We also have friends in their mid 60's that enjoyed meandering self-employed career paths where they called the shots and didn't have to worry about what others thought, all the while living frugally and saving aggressively.  They are fully retired now.       

[Peacefulwarrior]

My great-grandfather was the most hardcore mustachian. He came from a family of absolutely nothing, and worked his way up to a net worth of around $17 million by working hard and smart, saving and investing. He passed away some years ago, but he helped take care of me while I was a baby and I had the pleasure of knowing him up until I was around 16. His idea of fine dining was a pizza at the local pizzaria, but only at lunch because it cost more in the evening. Up until age 86 I saw him do 10 pushups on his knuckles which he claimed to do every morning. His daughter (my grandmother) has adopted his lifestyle, and is living the same principles today. She has a really big net worth (from both working, saving and investing and obviously also a big heritage). She drives a very cheap and old car, cook all her meals at home, walk around most of the time instead of driving, do all house chores herself even at age 80. What she does spend a lot of money on though is traveling. She travels 4-5 times a year to far away and kinda extreme places. But other than that she is very frugal, and is always the one who wants to bring lunch boxes etc. when we get together instead of eating out. She is a very big inspiration for me.

[makincaid]

I've met several since joining the local outdoor club.

[trailrated]

Still on the to do list to find some

South Bay here. Maybe we should orchestrate a South Bay meetup? I know there's a number of us here.

Sign me up!

[RootofGood]

I'm friends with 1 person.  She introduced me to the Mustache a few years ago.  We have met once IRL and kept in touch through social media and forums otherwise.  Not sure if I would count the folks I've met at the NC mustachian meetup last fall as more than "acquaintances" at this point (no offense guys ;) ) since I've only met them once for a few hours. 

[Helvegen]

None IRL. Keeping up with the Joneses is a big thing where I am at. My state has some of the highest levels of personal debt in the nation.

[Mrs. Frugalwoods]

So far, I only know myself and my husband IRL. My parents and siblings are pretty frugal, but they're not mustachian. They consider me and Mr. Frugalwoods to be extreme frugal weirdos--in the most loving way possible.

The Boston MMM group has had a few meet-ups that we haven't been able to swing schedule-wise, but I hope to go in the future. I'd love to have local mustachian friends to hang with!

[Rezdent]

I counted my spouse because he's mostly on board.  He doesn't actually read the blog - but I do share the content with him for great conversations!

No one else IRL.
I suspect that's partly due to the fact that *I* stay undercover and don't bring it up.  I've gotten some pretty harsh feedback from people who don't understand and I'd prefer to avoid that with people that are likely to be around for a while (coworkers and neighbors especially).

If I met a mustachian but didn't let them know because of my fear of their judgment...and they avoided the topic for fear of possible judgment from me...Both of us suspecting that the other was either really poor or mustachian but neither of us taking the risk to talk then how would we know?
I don't pry and I don't share too much about it because I worry that it could affect my career or my relationship with the neighborhood.
The meet ups sound like a great way to find new friends.

[HappierAtHome]

I know bona fide Mustachians from attending Meetups, which is cool. It's definitely helped me to feel less alone in my endeavours.

I've also found that as I'm more open about my own choices and goals, others are more willing to share their victories with me. Through this I've discovered a few friends who were heavily engaged in Mustachian behaviour without me knowing it. One couple I know save 70% of their combined income - now that's pretty cool! They had no interest in reading the site.

[Elderwood17]

I had one person at work who refer me to this site.  I know and hang with a lot of relatively frugal people, but when I talk about this site or about saving more than then the standard 'frugal' 10-20 percent of income they tell me I am getting too extreme.

[hybrid]

I had one person at work who refer me to this site.  I know and hang with a lot of relatively frugal people, but when I talk about this site or about saving more than then the standard 'frugal' 10-20 percent of income they tell me I am getting too extreme.

Ha, yeah, I am having that same discussion with an old friend of mine. He seems to be stuck in the mindset that frugality today equates to deprivation, and I have been demonstrating how that often isn't the case at all. He has a nice stash set aside and will be just fine in the long run, but he also talks of how much he would like to retire to Germany in the not too distant future. He could certainly pull it off years earlier with just a few tweaks to his current lifestyle (ditch the leased Acura and get a used Corolla), but he seems to be stuck in his ways of thinking. Different strokes. Like others have mentioned, this forum helps reinforce my choices because I can see where it is working for others. I'm also lucky to have a circle of friends that have embraced a frugal lifestyle to varying degrees.

[iris lily]

I voted "several" but really, outside of my frugal extended family, we only have one close friend who is Mustachean. All of our other friends are in hock up to their eyeballs. And we are old, our friends are old, so it's a sad thing for them. anyway.

Our very Mustachean friend is single and could retire today by standards here. He's 55  years old. But he wants to wait until he's got $2 million liquid. I think he's got $1.5m now. He's the only person outside of family that we talk about 'stache money.

[Adventine]

I'm so envious of those who've met other Mustachians in real life! I only know one baby Mustachian in real life (my boyfriend), who started saving and investing a good chunk of his income only last year. Apart from that... no.

[dcheesi]

My parents are Depression-frugal, but they didn't set out to retire early or anything like that. My brother and my girlfriend are both naturally spendy but frugal-ish by necessity. But I don't know anyone who's really bought into the whole philosophy; certainly, there's no one with whom I could sit and chat about Mustachian theory or goals.

[ManyMountains]

I'm on an island with my wife, and we're bringing our young son with us!

[Dicey]

I turned a neighbor onto the site recently and he loves it. He just sold his fancy-pants car and bought a used but lovely Camry. I smile every time I see it, which is a lot, because he rides his bike to work now.

Ha, is feels funny to quote myself, but I wanted to add another chapter to this story to encourage all those who say they have no mustachian friends. After I told my neighbor about this site (literally over the fence), we had them over for dinner. We discussed careers and the value of taking an initially lower paying job with a solid defined benefit pension plan, which is what DH did to ensure his own secure retirement. Yes, they are no longer the norm, but they do exist. My neighbor was already interested in pursuing this, so DH gave him some suggestions and interview tips.

Just after I posted the above, my neighbor came to the door, grinning ear-to-ear. He'd just been hired that afternoon by a company with an even better plan than DH's. I am so thrilled for him and for what this means to their lovely young family. We look forward to getting to know them better and watching them grow and thrive in the coming years. Patrick, if you're reading this - HOORAY for you!

So, to reiterate: the mustachians (though they may not know the term yet) are out there. Never preach and expect to convert. Always listen for the undercurrent and watch for clues. Observe astutely, probe gently and you will find them. One great place to look for them is in the lunchroom at work. If they're packing their lunch and if that lunch is full of home cooked goodness in reusable containers, you're probably onto a kindred spirit.

[EarlyRetirementGuy]

No-one. It's lonely but I know that some people have to work to continue paying out dividends.

[Booritocat]

Alone on a island in central Wisconsin.  Anyone have a spare boat?

[RichLife]

Just me really. I have some frugal family members but they then are too scared of any investing beyond a retirement savings account because "the banks will just run off with your money". Explaining that the real banks taking your money occurs when you keep all your money in a standard savings account which continually lowered interest rates has not yet succeeded. Maybe someday in the future when I've got more to show for it that can change. I also hope that through writing a blog I can get more of my friends interested aside from gaining regular readers as I build it up. And of course I'd be happy to make some good friends on here to talk money matters and other matters with :)

[senecando]

Alone on a island in central Wisconsin.  Anyone have a spare boat?

Whenever we put together the mega Chicago-MKE-Madison-Twin-Cities meetup, we're expecting you to come. 2 hours to Madison is nothing! Russ could bike that in 10 minutes while modbanning some trolls!

[Squirrel away]

I don't know anyone. I suppose I could count my OH but he wouldn't be bothering with this unless I was forcing him to!

[Lian]

I don't know anyone in my personal life who has any interest. I've worked with a couple of people in the past who retired at a young age - pre-MMM years, but they must have been "mustachian" in their spending and saving. I don't know the people that I work with now well enough to know their spending habits or retirement goals - but they all drive big, shiny new SUVs and Ford F-150s (why are these so popular), so I'm judging without really knowing.