Meet Mr. Money Mustache.

Hundreds of thousands of readers follow his bold advice on his self-

titled blog and for good reason. He has cracked the retirement code while many of us were
struggling with student loans. At 23 years old he began working and savingand saving some
more. y age 3!" he#d amassed some $%!!"!!! in cash and investments" and then entered
early retirement.
How" e&actly' ( flew to his home in )ongmont" *olorado" where the now 3%-year-old lives with
Mrs. Money Mustache and Mustache +unior" for the scoo,.
The Rule of 70%
-hile a ,o,ular rule of thumb is to try to save .!/ of your income every month" in the race to
retirement Mr. Money Mustache saved and invested close to 0!/ of each ,aycheck until he had
about $%!!"!!! racked u,. At that ,oint he felt comfortable 1uitting his 2ob" as the dividends
from his stock ,ortfolio and income from a rental ,ro,erty were finally enough to su,,ort his
family#s lifestyle. 3( 2ust figured based on a 4/ withdrawal rate of your savings" if you have
$%!!"!!! saved" you could draw an income of $32"!!! a year from that. 5ur needs are less
than that" so we actually don#t need $%!!"!!! in savings.6
Also see7 8aily Habits of the -ealthy
Live Simply
ut wait. How does the family live on less than $3!"!!! a year with a child' 3(t#s by cutting out
stuff" the invisible stuff" that#s most e&,ensive. ( ke,t the headline items" like a house" tri, to
Australia and good friends and good food" but ( cut out stuff like s,ending $9! on coffee a week
or having a brand new car every few years"6 he says. 3-e do a lot of stuff ourselves. -e go to
,arks. -e do music together. -e ride our bikes" go to the library. :ids love it. *osts almost
nothing to do.6
Also see7 3! 8ays to ;inancial Health
Treat Debt Like Your Hair Is on Fire
-e should mention that Mr. Money Mustache graduated without any student loans. He never
really had any credit card debt and advises his readers" who aim to retire early like him" to treat
debt like a scary emergency" as if their hair is literally on fire. 3(f you have credit card debt" you
don#t make little ,ayments on it. <ou don#t go to the movies and ,ut $.! on the credit card. <ou
stay home" you earn as much money as ,ossible" you eat the chea,est food ,ossible and get
that emergency solved"6 he says.
Also see7 How -e =ot 5ut of $9!"!!! -orth of 8ebt
Loation !atters
>he Mustaches intentionally live in a town with a relatively low cost of living. >heir ,ro,erty
ta&es in )ongmont are only $2!! ,er month" and the home#s solar design and insulation kee,
energy bills to under $4! ,er month.
Also see7 est ?eward *redit *ards in +uly 2!.3
"ho #ee$s a %ar&
)ongmont is also a bike-friendly town" which encourages even more saving. y biking to most
,laces" Mr. Money Mustache figures it hel,s the family save roughly $.!"!!! a year on
trans,ortation costs. 3( kind of have a rule7 <ou do not drive the car for tri,s within the city"
because you don#t need to. >he bike will do it 2ust as fast" and it#ll be better for you"6 he says.
7 Gas-Saving Secrets
By Farnoosh Torabi | Yahoo! Finance Thu, May 23, 2013 9:16 AM ET
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Memorial Day weekend kicks off summertime road trips, but escalating gas prices can leave us
feeling stranded. So before you hit the open road, consider these gas-saving tips.
Drive With Windows Down
Pop ui!" Should you roll down the windows or turn on the air conditioning to save gas# $t%s a
hot debate, but according to &asbuddy.com, driving on the highway at '' mph or more with the
windows down can lower fuel efficiency by at least ()* due to the drag created by the open
window. +onsumer ,eports found using the -+ only drops fuel efficiency by about .)*. /ut if
you%re traveling at slower speeds in stop-and-go traffic, windows down is most fuel-efficient.
0orty miles per hour is a good benchmark when choosing between windows down and air
conditioning.
Special Thanks To Shell for making this video possible.
Fill Tires to Recommended Pressure
1our tires can also impact mileage and the uickest and easiest way to increase fuel efficiency is
to inflate them to the recommended pressure.
-lso See" ' Signs 1ou May /e /roke in .) 1ears
23e did a test here at Edmunds a couple years ago with our own employees and found that we
were probably losing about 4..( a year in fuel economy because of driving on under inflated
tires,5 says +arroll 6achnit, features editor at Edmunds.com.
Unleaded Will Ruin Car if anual Re!uires Premium
7ere%s another uestion" if your car%s manual calls for premium gas but you fill it with regular,
which is often cheaper, will regular ruin the engine# Edmunds.com says if your manual calls for
2premium reuired,5 you%ll need to shell out the e8tra cash. /ut if the manual says, 2premium
recommended,5 then regular unleaded is a safe bet from time to time.
Rewards Programs Reduce Gas Costs
Don%t forget to get rewarded while filling up, too. ,ewards programs like Shell%s free 0uel
,ewards 9etwork gives drivers up to.) cents off per gallon for every 4') spent at ualifying
stores and restaurants. Some supermarkets with affiliated gas stations offer fuel perks when you
spend, as well. -nd one easy way to rack up points is buying gift cards for places your freuently
shop.
-lso See" E8treme :ravel Savings
Don"t Worr# $%out &'cess Weight
3hile we often hear that the e8tra cargo in the trunk uses up gas, lightening your load isn%t the
best way always to ma8imi!e fuel efficiency. 2;nless you%re carrying around concrete blocks or
bags of cement, your car%s not that much heavier,5 6achnit says. 21ou carry passengers, don%t
you# -re you going to, like, refuse to carry people in your car in the name of saving gasoline#
:hat doesn%t make sense.5
Drive Calm( )oost Fuel-&fficienc# )# *+,
- better tip# Drive calmly, resist the temptation to change lanes erratically and don%t break
suddenly. -ccording to the ;.S. Department of Energy, every ' mph driven over ') mph, costs
about (' cents more per gallon.
-lso See" /est Days, Months and 7ours to Spend Money
-#%rids $ren"t $lwa#s Chea.er
0inally, don%t be uick to assume that a hybrid will necessarily save you money. Edmunds.com
has an online gas-gu!!ler calculator that%ll compare the true cost and savings of upgrading your
vehicle.
2$f $ traded in my relatively new car, which gets (( mpg combined, meaning on city and
highway, for a super-fuel-efficient hybrid car like the +hevrolet <olt, $ would save 4.==>month
in gasoline,5 6achnit estimates. 2/ut it would take me (= years to pay back, ?ust with my
gasoline savings, the cost of buying that new car.5