The MMM Show - Episode 4: Staying the Course 

"Don't waste your life watching tv, ever" *Closes youtube*

Really enjoying the show from the UK - thanks to you and your son for taking the time to do this. Loved this episode, we're 1 year into our FIRE journey and it can seem like a slog but it's amazing looking back how far we've come already. Thanks for the encouragement

What I like about his principles is that it is not about hoarding your wealth to sit on a beach someplace watching your investment accounts rise. He is talking about designing a life full of meaningful activities, social engagement, helping others, committment to family and activity outdoors. The challenge to create weekends like this, you will make yourself happy FIRST. Happiness does not come from "retiring". The challenge of becoming your best self outside of tv/gaming/consumption, is actually far more difficult than saving. That is the challenge that I value in what he advocates.

Thanks for sharing your gifts in your content. Right in line with what we’re focused on. Let’s live

Early retiree late 40s. About ten years into early retirement, a little concerned that I've run out of interest in the things that I was enjoying (travel, fitness, watching and playing sports). Kind of feeling like I've hit a screeching halt w/ my interests. No desire to return to work, financially doing okay. Guess it's time to find new challenges, interests ---hobbies, studies, etc. I know a lot of folks start to volunteer to help their community - this might be something I will do (driving vets to their appts, helping at the hospital, YMCA, etc). Good thoughts about your five-six points ----very good points, food for thought.

Love the show! Theme suggestion: Mustachian parenting. I admire your parenting views shared thus far, I’d love to hear more!

the commuting topic would be interesting! I have been traveling 60+ miles (approximately 2 hours round trip) to my job for the last 8 years. It is quite literally soul sucking to say the least. Wish I could ride a bike, but its unrealistic working 10 hours a day plus transit.

First! Pumped for another MMM upload

Great video - thank you for addressing this topic and helping prevent many existential crises among the early retirees here :)

The Fish in the background looks like he approves

MMM, I know you may not see this question, but our plan is to save 50k to put down on a 150k house, (or hopefully less). This will take 3 yrs. 25k this year to pay off student loans, 50k for next to years on house. We will be 38 yrs old then, then saving 25k each year after for retirement. If we put less on house, we won't be able to save 65% anymore. Should we put less down on house and lose the 65% savings, or put big down pmt and lose 2 yrs of retirement savings. I hope you see this. I don't know which is smarter, but we would like to move to a more peaceful home. Thanks.

please consider publishing on podcast platforms.

Very helpful ideas. Thanks!

Nice.. Great examples!

Hey MMM, PLEASE READ! Would like some advice and I'll try to keep it short. I'm 29, been reading MMM for about 3 years now, and recently made a big career switch from being a manager of a physician's office wellness program to a self employed handyman/carpenter. I have a BS degree and a MS degree in exercise physiology (no student loan debt) but was discouraged with little to no career advancement, the boring monotony of my desk job, and low/stagnant wages. I had experience as a cabinet builder/carpenter and had a lot of tools and my wife recently graduated nursing school so I pulled the plug on my job of 3 years and we moved to the other side of our state (Michigan). We bought a house in September 2018, our first, and I started renovating. I got in touch with a local business owner who had LOTS of handyman work and we hit it off and I got to work. I have been working full time for him since and loving every minute of it and excited for what lies ahead. Now the questions: 1. Does this count as mustachian? I'm not retired but I am also not doing something I dislike for 40yrs... I'm physically active (which I'm very happy about because I felt the desk work was counterintuitive to what I was explaining to patients), socially engaged, more problem solving/challenging, etc.and making around the same amount of money post tax. Which leads to my next question, TAXES 2. I will get 1099'd from this business owner which is foreign to me. Do I go it alone on Turbo Tax (and maybe someone can lead me in the right direction) or get an accountant? 3. We have some debt, car around 8K, wife student loans around 10K, about 11K in savings, 2k checking, I have about 4K in 401K/Trad from previous job and about 2K in IRA (nothing fancy). Should I really work to pay those off (mainly principal on student loans) or stack more in investments? And if I wanted to invest more do I just go to Vanguard and give them my money? Also, I'm a little confused on the early retirement: I thought there were fees for withdrawing from IRA/Trad before a certain age? Is that different for Vanguard/Other investments? Should I move my 401k & IRA to Vanguard or other investments? Use savings to pay off debt? 4. Being self employed is another topic... I find I spend a little more to grow my business. Tools, materials, upkeep and maintenance (can't really bike and I drive a big, gas guzzling van to haul TONS of tools and sometimes a trailer). Is there a mustachian way to being self employed? Anyway, I imagine most of these questions are not black and white but any advice to help me become more mustachian would be grateful! Thanks MMM and fellow mustachians!

Like the themed shows. Great idea.

Will you please make a video on choosing which broker to use for investing in stocks? Or perhaps going into which stocks are best to purchase? Also, can you talk about how to tap into that money if and when you need it?

9:41 Very true! I think more people should be better versed in economics, not just personal finance.

Awesome job jnr MMM!

Would like an episode on investing MMM!

Please grow a massive mustache! PS: Thanks for vids m8

Cool to have the topic of each episode within the title like 'episode 4 staying the course' ??

MMM you are a living legend. I want to kiss the ground you walk on.

Nice touch 4:26

Hi MMM I have been following your blog a for 3 years now and am on my way to FIRE, hopefully within the next 4-5 years. I was wondering if you could do an episode on Healthcare options for early an retiree within the Untied States. Thanks.

Thank you very much for the videos. I also want to start investing, unfortunately Robin Hood/Vanguard is not available in my country, Romania. Do you know other platforms to recommend for investing with low commissions ?

Can you start a MMM Show Telegram Group or Discord ? I live in Colorado as well. My wife and I would love to meet more F.I.R.E. friends

If one doesn't have tv then how can one watch game of thrones?

On a somber note related here, Jack Bogle passed today. The father of the low cost mutual fund. RIP Jack and thank you for making me wealthy.

THEME: buying things used This has been one of my favorite aspects of following you. When i started reading your blog, back in 2013 i was already biking to work, and saving some for retirement. but One of the biggest things i took away was "buying things used." I know you're super into math and long term payouts/costs of basic purchasing decisions. But i have a feeling (just a feeling mind you, no math to back it up) that buying things used is actually even cheaper than we think because the general public (the people selling their used stuff at garage sales or online) aren't able to keep up with inflation. my only evidence for this would be my own garage sales as a kid. My parents would sell nice, but used furniture for $50-$100...twenty/thirty years later, i still see those kinds of deals! where's the inflation? I've seen the same with toys, video games, bikes, clothes, shoes, everything. what sold for $1 twenty years ago, still sells for a dollar. HERE'S THE QUESTION: Does buying things USED have HIDDEN savings, similar to how some purchases have hidden costs?

THEME: Healthcare.

More on the not wasting your life theme. Travel - how to make that fit in with MMM philosophy. Please approach topics in a way that includes those of us who aren't millennials - we watch, too! Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Mr MM Dude! Writing from Holland. Just got into your blog and videos. I'm 30 years old and just now starting to think about how to achieve financial independence. Your info is gold, thanks alot. Trying to figure out how to implement your advice in Holland. Good thing we are already a biking country. I do already must things by bike or on foot, saves me alot of car BS. Opened up an investment account yesterday. I'm in the process of choosing which index/stocks/ETF to buy. Still a noob in this field, so gobbling up all those precious MMM golden nuggets of advice. Cheers and thanks!

$10.000 a MONTH!? I hope you mean 1% of the value per YEAR :-)

You have hopefully got a hobby/passion that you can monetise (for me it's growing flowers on a medium scale to sell). I've spent the last few years educating myself on all the techniques and costs involved. Great video!

what would happen if half the country did FIRE? would that remove many good workers from the workforce? Would we lose all the doctors? doesn't seem like FIRE can scale to a nation.

Could you do an episode on FOMO? Totally feel it about getting a house. With rates going up and same with prices it feels like if you don't get one now you may miss out. At least that's what the lender made it seem like.

I’d like to hear what you think about late starters to the financial freedom way of living .. it could be a theme for a show. Loving your show .. thanks for sharing all this great info 👍🏼

Theme: Alternative housing ideas for extreme savings rate (75% or higher). My wife and I recently moved into an RV full-time and dropped our monthly rent/utilities from $3000 mo to under $500 living in HCL California. Thanks for the awesome blog and videos!

Absolutely love this! I'm really looking forward to the Playing with 🔥 documentary. I would love a video about your solar panels and electric car. Keep up the great work :-)

I imagine you have quite a few international readers / viewers who would be interested in some of the differences between the US and Canada and other parts of the world.

I like construction projects. I built my own tiny house and I would like to build another one. Would you consider filming some of your projects?

Do you have a seprate blog or is this it??. Ive been searching it for some time now... can you give me a hand??. One Love!!

Theme: Healthcare Question (I hope you are still going to take questions going forward): This is one topic I've not seen addressed much in the FIRE community. Chronic diseases and how they affect the path to FIRE. My wife has several chronic autoimmune diseases that sap her energy, time, and joy. Without details, she is in tremendous burdensome pain every single day. It costs a lot to deal with these health issues. We are both on the FIRE train, but it doesn't appear to be a straight, clear path to get there. I have a couple questions related to this. First, what are ways to make serious dents in medical and health related expenses? My insurance through my employer is pretty good and I max out the FSA, but I'm still looking for more. Plus these won't continue into early retirement if I choose to stop working. Second, how does expecting large potential medical expenses affect the path to FIRE and the 4% rule?

My brother turned me on to you. I'm getting close to fire after going through a divorce and losing everything financially 4.5 years ago (that's the crumbling point got a felony for a charge I didn't know was even illegal when I moved states) ... Short of the long I lost my license to do group homes and fell back into the trades and have built up well over now a little under 3 years. By next year I'll be at 500k n.w. with a "passive" income machine of 5k/mo.. So when you said free-lance carpentry... Thank you so much for bumping the trades... Right now you can get doctor money if you're a phenom and if you're worth just your salt you're gonna be pulling damn near six figgies... In places like Reno, NV it's not uncommon for even a handyman to make 200k/yr. So yeah thanks man!

In a conversation the other day with a coworker, we were arguing about renting vs. buying. I, being the FI/RE advocate I am, was arguing for the rental side and the saving associated with that. However, my coworker had a interesting point about the buy side. The coworker's family is from India and their lifestyles are different culturally, for instance it is not uncommon for multiple generations of family members to live in the same house and the younger generation doesn't typically don't move out until marriage. In this coworkers case, all the members of the household (an average sized family) have good paying full-time jobs and they all contribute financially. Could this and other differences actually make a case for buying over renting? We often preach about changing our lifestyles to reach FI but it is typically focused on the average American consumerist culture. What other areas of FI could be impacted by cultural norms that are much different from our own? Just curious about others thoughts on this.

Your son is doing a great job with the editing

Hey MMM here is a theme idea "Side Hustle", discussing effective strategies and potential ideas for a side hustle that can generate passive income to ultimately help achieve FI.

Ahaha passive entertainment like RU-vid. Guilty 🙃

Very good points here Pete!

I thought this was going to be a marriage video. Just kidding. Ok I'm a dick.

Hi! Please do an episode on Healthcare and education, these seem to be the bigger obstacles at least here in the US

Less "scattery??" Say it isn't so Mister Money Mustache!!

We are in the same position as the father who wrote in. We could stay in our current HCOL town and keep working for additional years to cover those costs, or we could move to a similar sized town with a lower cost of living and retire TODAY and enjoy life with our kindergartener. Needless to say, we're visiting cheaper places this summer and going to run the numbers. I always thought I'd want to work more when she went off to school, but it's the opposite - I've never wanted to spend more time with her than now (school-aged kids are awesome and fun and they can READ and CONVERSE with you and are so much more fun to hang out with than babies).

Mr Money Mustache great videos, thank you. Theme Please: Net worth and spending tracking. That would be amazing. We are on the start of this journey but are not 100% if we have recored this accurately. Thank you for everything you contribute!

Hey MMM, I'm super excited that you're reaching your audience in a different format. I hope this "Not Wasting Your Life" theme will come up regularly. I especially want to hear more about your thoughts on intentionally designing your pre-retirement life (6:34 to 7:27) for a smooth transition into retirement and an overall satisfied life. I sometimes hear regrets that retirement could've come sooner if somewhat more tolerance to risk is allowed. Are there any early indicators that are a clear sign that pulling the plug now is a good idea?

what equipment do you use for starting making youtube videos? I was inspired watching these and your interview with Gavin, and I don't know how to start

It would be $10,000 a year, not a month.

15:33 Anyone else notice the FIRE effect on his hand?

What about educational RU-vid ? What are your thoughts on educational videos on RU-vid. Much like the MMM show...

“Or maybe you could consider it, not wasting your life” lmao

Hi MMM, I'm trying to calculate the amount I need to retire. I spent $22,000 a year so using the 4% rule, I'd have to save $550,000 however this is not taking into consideration my teaching pension which begins at 60. I'm 31 now and am just trying to get a clear picture. Thanks.

TV is a pretty significant art form these days (some video games are starting to get there as well). We're kind of in a golden age of high quality TV. People definitely waste too much time on the couch but I think there are some shows that people should watch because they are great art. Also, we don't need to watch commercials anymore. But I get that MMM's thing is outdoorsy/construction stuff. Personally I like to write music with my brother as a hobby, but could do better on other hobbies (though after years of an office job I appreciated the satisfaction of finishing most of my basement last year).

Please cover having medical insurance after "retirement"

The third case guy could continue to work for 8-12 months while trying to cut down spending and experiencing what it feels like. Also a 5.5 year old will become 6.25-6.5 year old, and he'll still have the chance to enhance the parent-child bond.

I’m just hearing about Fire movement and want to be on board. However I’m 42 and just bought a home for $260,000. I don’t have any other debt. Household income 72,000.

Love this show! Thank you for taking the time to do it!

Theme: Betterment or Roboadvisors Actively managed accounts vs index funds. Focusing on low fees, TLH, and rebalancing. Is a roboadvisor worth it vs using a Vanguard index yourself, for example.

I used to live by the North Sea and have always loved the ocean. In retirement I want to sail to different places, however I realize this is a rather expensive hobby... as such I have deferred my dream these past years and avoided buying a second hand boat (to float around and fix up over the weekends) since it would slow down my 60% savings rate. I am single, no kids, keep my overhead low and still rent. In my case, would you still think about ‘starting retirement in your weekend’, and get a cheap boat? Or stick it out and sail off after retirement?

I’m on my third flip and call me crazy🤩but I was much happier with a small home and a strawberry patch. I will be taking MMM advice on the selling of my big expensive home to downsize. Now, trying to find an affordable home will be the challenge in my area as most of the homes on the west coast of Washington state have appreciated. My son is raised. A big house and a single woman is daunting.

Hey Pete, love your work. I know you touched on this sort of thing with your 4% rule post, but could you give us your personal take on different withdrawal rates, such as 3%, 3.5%, 4%, 4.5%, 5%, 6% and 7%? It would be interesting to hear your opinion on these rates.

I don't like how MMM characterizes the house as a "boat anchor". Sure, it's hardly an investment but it's far from a "boat anchor". It probably appreciated enormously in the last few years.

thanks

For part of my working life I dealt with (mostly elderly) retired people. I observed that those who retired to the couch and TV lived about 3 years and died. Those who "retired to something" typically thrived and did much better in their lives.

Do you have a Canadian information source that echoes your message? I like hearing your message but some of your suggestions don't apply to investments in Canada.

I'm 47 and still in about 36,000 in debt for school loans and car payment. Is it better to rent or try to buy a home and be further in debt but not wasting money in rent each month?

Congratulations on a great project that is getting better with every episode. I really like the music/quiet balance. Nice intro and outro with music and then no background music (quiet) during your discussion. We can almost see you two learning as you go and see the benefits in each video. Bravissimo!

GREAT show... Staying the course is HARD, but ATTAINABLE!!

New video idea for you MMM: Whats the absolute cheapest way to travel? How to get cheapest tickets, cheapest ways to book hostels., exchange rates etc.

MMM tell me how to spend winters in warm areas, but the family can't move cause the wife still works in this area. Thanks B

Can you do an episode on DIY air sealing and insulating one's own attic? My husband and I want to do this, we want to do it well, and we would like to become more efficient users of energy, especially in the summers. Side note, we are in Northern CO, if you are in need of a below-standard attic and a couple of nice DIYers to feature.

so is watching your youtube channel considered watching TV? :P

Hi MMM, just found your videos. do you have a book ?

Really nice job M Money Stash and of course Stash Junior. Well done.

Thanks for the video! Been following your writing for years, but excited to see you on YT as well!

Loving these! A possible question for you is ... I now live in China with everything covered but my dinners and weekend meals (work provides transport, housing, breakfast and lunch). If I am still in high-interest debt, how much should I be spending on these few meals that I must put together myself? (The usual recs for oats etc. don’t work as well since those are pricey here.)

You saved my financial health 🤗

Enjoying the triple M here in the UK 🇬🇧 !

Cool outro music. Was that your son’s work?

Wellll, you kind of gloss over how hard it is to design a fulfilling and happy life when you don't have to work. It's a difficult problem, and I wonder what percentage of people can successfully do it. I've been following your blog and lifestyle advice for years, and I'm a few years away from retirement. I've been struggling to design a lifestyle, and I'm failing. I've had several months off from work now that have made me confront the current lifestyle I've designed (good wife, young kid, comfortable house in a good location within my budget, blah blah), and I'm generally unhappy most days.

Here's what it's about at 04:50

Great videos, super happy you've started doing them regularly. I have a transportation question seeing as you've mentioned this as an upcoming theme! I live 13 miles from my work, I currently do that journey using the train (35 mins) with about 20 minutes of walking. During that journey I can use my computer (am a programmer), or listen to audio books (while walking). I have been considering getting an electric bike to do the journey. According to the apps I've looked at, the total time would be about the same. The trade off would then be do I want extra exercise or time do things, also cycling in a city like London there is a reasonable chance of having an accident on the bike as well. What would you do? Extra information: the reason I live so far away from work is that my parents are going to help with child care when we have kids in the next 2 years, and unfortunately we won't be FI yet I go into work twice a week, and work from home the rest of the time. This will likely change in the future though The cost of the train is £10 (~$13) per day, so about $110 per month currently

Hey Pete, Urgent question - We have a friend (female age 30) who has two toddlers (3 and 1.5), is in debt, lives in an expensive small town in TX, has no family support, and her baby-daddy just left the picture entirely (due to violence). She must now leave her apartment within 30 days and find a new place to live, job, etc. She has a vehicle that was given to her and that's about it. So if there was someone in this position you cared about, what would be your recommended plan? (Specific as possible please) Is there an ideal city or type of city for people like this? Are there specific programs you're aware of? Whatever options there are for this person, she lacks the emotional drive or ability to find them. We have helped her pay off some of her debts to help her out, but know that the current situation is not sustainable. Any help you have on the matter would be greatly appreciated! -Kevin

Couple of "Tips": First for MMM- Ditch the "fancy" shirts. Second for 2L&L- Dont overuse the Easter eggs. Thanks!

nice video quality!

Trying to stay the course right now. New-ish to FI, and in the weeds trying to get my debt paid off. RU-vid keeps me motivated. 🤗

Loving the fish in the back!

great video, keep them coming!

'Don't watch TV' yet we should watch RU-vid? ROFL

I dunno man, there are lots of great movies & works of art that enrich your life on screens.