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Interesting how so many of the top comments thus far fall into a few categories: "He did this at a time when the market was going up"... therefore it's impossi

Interesting how so many of the top comments thus far fall into a few categories: "He did this at a time when the market was going up"... therefore it's impossible and I don't need to try doing this and it's OK to just keep doing what I'm doing. "He could only do this by living in poverty"... which would totally suck, so I'm better off not doing this and just continuing the way I am. "He can only pull this off because he's renting his house, which is totally still work and therefore he's not really retired"... so this is all made up and therefore not something I need to think about or potentially emulate. How about instead, we look at some of the things he talks about: Live as cheap as you're comfortable with, save as much as you can, build a stack early on and get to a point where you don't need to have a full-time job just to pay the bills. That's all very doable, and it will pay off very much like the author describes. I followed the same path (a few years ahead of the author), and ended up in a similar place in my 30s. Rather than dismissing this as impossible, the critics here might all be better served by taking a bit of it on board.

Swizec 14y ago
As a counterexample, here is a list of things you should do before you turn 30: http://www.policymic.com/articles/7704/29-amazing-things-you-must-do-before-you-turn-30 http://www.policymic.com/articles/7704/29-amazing-things-you... While many of the examples are silly, I agree very much with all the advice to travel a lot. That takes money. Actually most of the things on that list go way beyond "live cheaply", and I agree with that. Anyway, as my economics professor said in college. There are those people who plan out how much they must save for an early retirement, and there are those who live.
- jasonkester 14y ago
  > travel a lot. That takes money. Not at all. If you talk to a few dozen people who "traveled a lot" before they turned 30 (including me, the person to whom you're replying), the single most common thread in all those stories will be how cheaply they did it. Life on the road costs ~$500/month. Life in an apartment costs ~$2000/month. One of the simplest ways to save money when you're not working is to ditch all your possessions at home and go find a nice cheap tropical beach to park it on. Having "retired at 30", using the author's definition and a similar methodology, you'd be surprised at how much living I did along the way and have done since.
  - Swizec 14y ago
    $500/month? But a simple train ticket that takes you 600km away will set you back $100. Here in Europe at least. And I probably spend $500/month just on food and caffeine. Hell, the basic government fees (insurance, pension etc.) to keep my sole proprietorship running costs me 300 euro/month. I really don't see how you could live on the road on $500/month, you're making stuff up.
    - mike_esspe 14y ago
      When you travel on budget, you usually don't take trains, but hitchhike. And you can always get a bed with couchsurfing.org
      - newbie12 14y ago
        Hitchhiking is pretty dangerous. Better to use a car-sharing board. I once took a long-distance Greyhound bus to Florida at Christmas, which was filled with homeless wanderers who had splurged for the bus ticket because they said hitchhiking was too dangerous. It isn't an option at all for women and most of the men had stories about being robbed, aggressively solicited for sex, or even having been shot at while walking roadside.
        FrojoS 14y ago
        Not my experience at all, having hitchhiked quite a bit in Europe and the US. Same with my friends, some of them female. This is pure speculation, but maybe these "homeless wanderers" we're too easily spotted as potential victims? If you are young, fit, smart and confident the risk of hitchhiking is totally, OK in my opinion. What I also like about hitchhiking these days, is that there a few hitchhikers but many car drivers who hitchhiked when they were young. People like to give back :-) The main reason I prefer car-boards, trains or planes these days, is that its faster and much easier to predict when you will arrive. I have more money and less time. But if it was hitching or not travelling at all, I would choose the former.
        driverdan 14y ago
- mediascreen 14y ago
  What takes money is to travel while paying for the things you're not using back home. If you get rid of your apartment, car, gym membership etc, it's normally cheaper to travel - et least if you are from high cost places like USA, Canada and northern Europe. I traveled in relative luxury for more than two years in Italy, Asia and Argentina for less then my previous monthly cost. Depending on your profession it might be harder to earn money while traveling though.
- robocat 14y ago
  > there are those who live And he is one of those that optimises for enjoying his life - I think you have _completely_ twisted what he says. They travelled enjoyably without wasting dosh: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/01/15/a-tale-of-two-vacations/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/01/15/a-tale-of-two-vaca... E.g. travel: "As twentysomethings, my wife and I saw a bit of the world including Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Hawaii, Mexico, and of course Canada and a great amount of the US. Now that we’re parents to a six-year-old, we keep things a bit more tame by staying mostly within North America. But that doesn’t mean sitting at home at all times. Even at this age, our son has been to four countries and about 20 US states. We spend about 3 months traveling each year and plan to do more as he gets older."
- kablamo 14y ago
  You could get a job in a foreign country. Depends on your situation but for many programmers this is not a difficult option these days. Then you could make money while traveling instead of spending money.
- hkmurakami 14y ago
  Thanks for the link; I'm actually living #9 (re-read books from your high-school reading list) right now and am loving it!
ChuckMcM 14y ago
Do you have children?

Swizec 14y ago

As a counterexample, here is a list of things you should do before you turn 30: http://www.policymic.com/articles/7704/29-amazing-things-you-must-do-before-you-turn-30 http://www.policymic.com/articles/7704/29-amazing-things-you... While many of the examples are silly, I agree very much with all the advice to travel a lot. That takes money. Actually most of the things on that list go way beyond "live cheaply", and I agree with that. Anyway, as my economics professor said in college. There are those people who plan out how much they must save for an early retirement, and there are those who live.

jasonkester 14y ago
> travel a lot. That takes money. Not at all. If you talk to a few dozen people who "traveled a lot" before they turned 30 (including me, the person to whom you're replying), the single most common thread in all those stories will be how cheaply they did it. Life on the road costs ~$500/month. Life in an apartment costs ~$2000/month. One of the simplest ways to save money when you're not working is to ditch all your possessions at home and go find a nice cheap tropical beach to park it on. Having "retired at 30", using the author's definition and a similar methodology, you'd be surprised at how much living I did along the way and have done since.
- Swizec 14y ago
  $500/month? But a simple train ticket that takes you 600km away will set you back $100. Here in Europe at least. And I probably spend $500/month just on food and caffeine. Hell, the basic government fees (insurance, pension etc.) to keep my sole proprietorship running costs me 300 euro/month. I really don't see how you could live on the road on $500/month, you're making stuff up.
  - mike_esspe 14y ago
    When you travel on budget, you usually don't take trains, but hitchhike. And you can always get a bed with couchsurfing.org
    - newbie12 14y ago
      Hitchhiking is pretty dangerous. Better to use a car-sharing board. I once took a long-distance Greyhound bus to Florida at Christmas, which was filled with homeless wanderers who had splurged for the bus ticket because they said hitchhiking was too dangerous. It isn't an option at all for women and most of the men had stories about being robbed, aggressively solicited for sex, or even having been shot at while walking roadside.
      - FrojoS 14y ago
        Not my experience at all, having hitchhiked quite a bit in Europe and the US. Same with my friends, some of them female. This is pure speculation, but maybe these "homeless wanderers" we're too easily spotted as potential victims? If you are young, fit, smart and confident the risk of hitchhiking is totally, OK in my opinion. What I also like about hitchhiking these days, is that there a few hitchhikers but many car drivers who hitchhiked when they were young. People like to give back :-) The main reason I prefer car-boards, trains or planes these days, is that its faster and much easier to predict when you will arrive. I have more money and less time. But if it was hitching or not travelling at all, I would choose the former.
      - driverdan 14y ago
mediascreen 14y ago
What takes money is to travel while paying for the things you're not using back home. If you get rid of your apartment, car, gym membership etc, it's normally cheaper to travel - et least if you are from high cost places like USA, Canada and northern Europe. I traveled in relative luxury for more than two years in Italy, Asia and Argentina for less then my previous monthly cost. Depending on your profession it might be harder to earn money while traveling though.
robocat 14y ago
> there are those who live And he is one of those that optimises for enjoying his life - I think you have _completely_ twisted what he says. They travelled enjoyably without wasting dosh: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/01/15/a-tale-of-two-vacations/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/01/15/a-tale-of-two-vaca... E.g. travel: "As twentysomethings, my wife and I saw a bit of the world including Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Hawaii, Mexico, and of course Canada and a great amount of the US. Now that we’re parents to a six-year-old, we keep things a bit more tame by staying mostly within North America. But that doesn’t mean sitting at home at all times. Even at this age, our son has been to four countries and about 20 US states. We spend about 3 months traveling each year and plan to do more as he gets older."
kablamo 14y ago
You could get a job in a foreign country. Depends on your situation but for many programmers this is not a difficult option these days. Then you could make money while traveling instead of spending money.
hkmurakami 14y ago
Thanks for the link; I'm actually living #9 (re-read books from your high-school reading list) right now and am loving it!

ChuckMcM 14y ago

Do you have children?