I really love Mr. Money Mustache. It’s a self-help blog about money and lifestyle, but not in the usual sense of “how to make a ton of money with the least amount effort to live a luxurious lifestyle”. It’s all about giving you tips on how to cut costs and save over time so you can retire at 30 with complete financial independence, just like Mr. Money Mustache!
“You will suddenly be able to fly freely through the world, free from having to work for a living, able to start living life as you choose, doing exotic things like spending time raising your young children, taking a 3-week vacation each month, or just enjoying understated shows of leisure like sweeping your driveway in pajamas at 11am on a sunny Thursday morning.”
Artists are usually pretty pro at cutting costs but one can always learn more tricks. Although it can get a little extreme, he has great pointers on how to spend less on groceries, save money by air drying your clothes, prepare for a newborn on the cheap, learn the pleasure of using your body to get things done, and obviously lots, and lots, and lots of pro-bike articles.
The latest post tells the story of an attorney in Houston who is doing the impossible – biking year-round to work in south Texas. Those of us that have the pleasure to drive the endless concrete freeways, know that Houston has some of the worst traffic in the US. But we keep driving because, as most of south Texas, it is a steam bath with year-round high humidity levels.
So how does a lawyer bike to work every day? He lives 4 miles away from work, starts his day early, and can use the beautiful bike trails to weave his way from the Heights to Downtown Houston. He brings a change of clothes for the day and in the afternoon gets a sweaty work-out on his ride home.
Because he primarily bikes, he can maintain his 2006 Honda CRV. “Driven lightly, the total cost of ownership of a car like this is about $2000 per year. Meanwhile, the typical attorney power couple might keep an up-to-date Mercedes SUV and a BMW 5-series. Driven at the US average level of 13,000 miles per year, this fleet would vaporize about $24,000 per year of personal wealth.”
Read more about Mr. Money Mustache’s own story and his quick list of tips towards financial independence.
