I posted the following on JD's blog review of their book:
I love reading the Frugalwoods blog, but I have become a little disillusioned...
I reserved a copy of the book at the library and started reading through the Amazon reviews. Someone pointed out a link to Actblue's IRS filings and Nate (whose actual first name apparently is James) made $225,000 in 2014, the year that they decided to be more frugal (link from amazon review:
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/455097038 )
I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with them making a great income (including Liz's income from when she worked full time for a w-2, I bet their income was around $300k). But I feel a little cheated when she talks about her anxiety over things like being able to stay home with her child and how she could make up for her lost income.
That's so disingenuous. Anyone making the kind of money their husband does can stay at home with their child with absolutely no difficulty. Even on half of that income!
I also have no problem whatsoever with them sourcing out used items. It's awesome for the planet. But now what I object to is her description of things like getting her stroller-
"As we pulled into the thrift store parking lot, I spied my dream stroller sitting out front. Resplendent with 20 inch wheels, there it sat. I leapt out of the car and rushed over to claim it."
I am all for sourcing out used things, but when you make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, maybe one shouldn't be so anxious to get the used item that someone else making a lot less money than you might need.
In summary, I think it's awesome that they make great money and it's awesome that they are frugal and help others to be frugal. But the tone of the blog makes it sound like their frugality was the key to their success, when really it was only a small part of the equation. She does talk about privilege, it's true, but not enough in the right way. From her blog, I would have guessed they made around $150k or so. Not approaching $300k
eta: Full disclosure, I will probably make around $210k this year (about a third of it is overtime that won't happen next year, but still a high base income around $130k). One of my siblings makes around $50k. Even if she led a hardcore frugal lifestyle, she won't be nearly as well off as I would be given the income I make. I could put her entire salary of $50k in the bank without much trouble. She cannot do that. If I was to tell her that she could, it would be dishonest. I think that this is what rankles me more, the misleading...saving 93% of your income is a lot easier (as they reported in 2014 including their retirement) if you make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.