Over the past few weeks, a long-running thread has been building on the Mr. Money Mustache forums at https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/what

Over the past few weeks, a long-running thread has been building on the Mr. Money Mustache forums at https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/what's-up-with-the-frugalwoods/ https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/what'... (Mr. Money Mustache isn't too different from the FrugalWoods. They never made quite so much money, but they did have good careers. Still, there's a similar message to be heard.) I get that the high income and extravagant Vermont estate are a turn off for median-and-below earners, but that doesn't mean you have to have their income to benefit from their frugality. After all, MMM and FW have the time to write about frugality because of their financial independence. But they are able to live the lives they want due to the choices they made with their money. It isn't hard to find counter-examples. How often do you hear of people that make $300k/year, yet fail to accumulate wealth and achieve financial independence? How often do they continue to be held to wage slavery to support their chosen lifestyle? Anyway, while you can't save money by not painting your kitchen, you can improve upon your self-sufficiency, and you can certainly become more mindful of your values and the choices you make with your money. It takes education (self or otherwise), and financial bloggers can serve as source of education. But you still have to learn how to filter and apply knowledge to your own situation. You can't pluck fruit from an orchard in your 600 sq. ft. apartment, but you can track your spending, and figure out where money is being spent on things that don't line up with your values and long-term goals. The important thing is to figure out what you can do to improve your situation. Complaining about people being more successful than you doesn't improve your situation. (I do get that income inequality is a whole other issue to address, but I think that muddies this specific message.) Remember that you can probably find ways to be more frugal and mindful, and know that doing so alone will not get you a 66-acre homestead at the age of 30, but it can improve your life and get you to your goals faster.