SMB vs. Mr. Money Mustache - Page 2

mikracer · 03-02-2015, 09:50 AM

Will selling your SMB allow you to retire? If not, keep SMB and continue to enjoy.

BrianW · 03-02-2015, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Try Google. I had heard of him already but always...........Google.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com

Just spent 20 minutes reading on that site... gotta get back to work, though! Oh, the irony.

BajaSportsmobile · 03-02-2015, 10:42 AM

I'm 57, soon to turn 58, and I have been self-employed most of my life - as such there is no such thing as "Retirement".

As many of you know, I am always trying to work less and enjoy more as life is very short and can be shorter than you ever though in less than a heartbeat.

While I am still adjusting to living as much as possible in Baja, I am still drawn back to responsibilities in the States - I just flew in last night for a week or two to get some work done.

What I can tell you, is that living in Baja is very relaxing and very affordable. We have a beautiful house 300 yards from the beach - we had to pay cash for it, which meant selling our primary home in Carlsbad. The weather is unbelievable most of the year, it can get hot in the summer for a few months and we plan to be in the US during that time. We have a nice smaller home in San Diego, but will sell that as soon as the Capital Gains Deduction is available to us again. We will be looking for a home out of California - over this state - something in the mountains most likely.

What has allowed us to even consider this lifestyle is having rental income and the affordability of Mexico.

Many Americans are looking for similar retirement solutions outside of the US in several different countries, Baja was the best solution for us.

Ben10281 · 03-02-2015, 02:02 PM

I think about this stuff all the time, and most of those thoughts are for another discussion. (passive income, reducing spending, etc...) I wouldn't mind hearing a non-bloggers perspective on it if you are up for it.

If you read a lot of Money Mustache you will quickly realize that his "retirement" is a far cry from what the traditional "retirement" means. He still works quite hard(rental property, Lending Club, Blogging, etc...), he just happens to be working on jobs that he enjoys instead of working a job he does not. He is not sitting on a beach somewhere doing nothing. If he was then you wouldn't know who he was at all. In that sense Bronco has the right idea, seeking traditional retirement is a losing proposal for many, because they will not be of good enough health to enjoy it. Also, for those that are in good health, living off of a nest egg and no other income for almost as many years as your working years seems unattainable.

There are a lot of jokes on this forum, any pretty much any other forum involving a hobby, about how much money is tossed into these things. I don't agree that that is always the case. I wanted a SMB, I couldn't afford a 4x4 Ford E350 7.3 with big tires, so I bought a Dodge SMB instead for much less. It's got a PH top, fridge, Porta Potti, and a sink with running water. I am not going to tackle the Rubicon trail with this van, but I am going to have a sh!t ton of fun in this thing camping and roadtripping! Someday I would like to move on to a Ford since parts/info/support are more abundant, but today is not that day. I don't see SMB'ing and FIRE as mutually exclusive. Our family has always owned 2 cars and will continue to do so. Our SMB is now our second vehicle, not only that, but it is our camper, it allows us to do more road trip vacations than we would have wanted to do in a regular car, and my 6 yr old and his buddies use it as a clubhouse while it sits in our garage unused. It is a very efficient vehicle to say the least. I know plenty of folks with a 2nd car, a pop up trailer, and a swing set in the yard that spent way more on all that stuff than my SMB cost. I would think there is probably a happy medium for you in there somewhere too.

Bottom line, if you don't want your SMB to be a money pit, then don't let it, it's a choice it's not mandatory.

larrie · 03-02-2015, 04:47 PM

I find it somewhat ironic that this thread showed up today. The light is at the end of the tunnel for me, 28 days and counting till work is a thing of the past. My director would like me to come back as a consultant. The idea is attractive in on way but oddly enough the company rules prevent it for six months. By that time I will be deeply involved in having fun and will have forgotten everything I know about my job.

For those of you who still have some time to wait just remember, it is not how much money you have when you retire it is how much your expenses are. The lower your expenses the longer your savings will last and the more fun you can have.

Quote:

Bottom line, if you don't want your SMB to be a money pit, then don't let it, it's a choice it's not mandatory.

Very true Ben. It is incredibly easy to read this and other forums and think that you need this new wiz bang device or that tool etc.

DisabledExplorers · 03-02-2015, 09:33 PM

I am 46yrs old with 2 sons (25,17) and our house will be paid off in a couple of years.
At that time my wife might stop working cut back to less than her current 4 day week.
I work as an RN who gets plenty of overtime so I can either have 6 days off in a row without using vacation or put in extra hours....time or money.

We have spent a ton of time reads blogs like Mr Money Mustache, we are looking into rental properites when our house is paid off and other ways to create more passive income.
Recently we made a family choice to really reduce spending and pump more into debt reduction.
Much of this is to help our boys understand that if they get ahead of the game while younger then they don't have to wait until 65 to enjoy life.

All that said we also believe in creating memories...we do a ton of local travel, going to Cuba in 2 weeks, Baja in April for a week, Australia in the fall....things that are worth more than stuff.

Save for the future but also make sure to enjoy life some now...not but going into debt but by making sure you don't frugal yourself out of the time you have.

Oh and all the money I spend on my rigs just part of the cost of play. As long as I spend more time traveling than building everything is good.

Aldercrest · 03-04-2015, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

Is that some sort of acronym that I've not heard of?

Jeffrey - based on your photos and what I've seen here on the forum, you may already be FIREd, and more power to you!

And if not FI, but you're making a living doing something you love, then that's kind of the whole goal, right?

Either way, I love your photos.

BogusBlake · 03-05-2015, 10:55 PM

If you haven't, this is a great read:
http://www.kenilgunas.com/p/the-book-wa ... heels.html

Only part of it is about vandwelling, but the rest of the book is great documentation of extreme frugality.

I linked it here in another thread, but here's another guy who gets it: http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_ ... s-own-code

I've heard (so I can't cite a source...) that it takes $1M invested to generate $40k a year of income. Both of those dudes would consider that extravagant, but they both have excluded themselves from a family lifestyle. I frequently consider lessons from Ken's story, but I always have to temper those thoughts with the reality of the cultural necessities required when raising a family, a choice I have made.

**BroncoHauler** · 03-06-2015, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogusBlake

...
I've heard (so I can't cite a source...) that it takes $1M invested to generate $40k a year of income.

A 4% rate of return. A reasonable number.

Herb

boywonder · 03-26-2015, 06:16 PM

Well.......since this thread I've been pretty much addicted to Mrmoneymustache....I've been spending more time over there than here....about 99% of the stuff is eerily familiar; been doing many of the ideas for about a decade+.

...Only ditched cable and the land line about 3 years ago, I should have done this sooner. Satellite radio is the next to go......