Top all-time · #85
Mr. Money Mustache
Personal blog · mrmoneymustache.comeconomicsproductivity
Mr. Money Mustache's personal blog at mrmoneymustache.com covers economics and productivity. Since 2011, 392 different Hacker News readers have linked it 754 times, most often “The Simple Math Behind Early Retirement”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-09-25, and you can follow it by feed.
Sometimes recommended · 15 of 40 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Mr. Money Mustache as a starting point for personal finance and early retirement, especially the savings-rate post. Commenters call it a hilarious blog and easy to start with.
- Recommended for · 15 comments
- Called a good place to start and a worthwhile intro to early retirement; a hilarious blogger; told to read.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Early Retirement through Badassity
Most-linked posts?
- /58 people · 64 mentions · first linked 2012-05-26
- The Simple Math Behind Early Retirement47 people · 78 mentions · first linked 2012-10-15
- /39 people · 44 mentions · first linked 2017-07-20
- /2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/31 people · 53 mentions · first linked 2018-03-06
- The True Cost of Commuting15 people · 24 mentions · first linked 2011-10-10
- /15 people · 15 mentions · first linked 2012-04-22
- Getting Rich: From Zero to Hero in One Blog Post12 people · 22 mentions · first linked 2013-08-16
- Bicycling: The Safest Form of Transportation10 people · 11 mentions · first linked 2013-06-14
- /2012/05/29/how-much-do-i-need-for-retirement/10 people · 10 mentions · first linked 2012-09-12
- What Is Stoicism and How Can It Turn Your Life to Solid Gold?10 people · 10 mentions · first linked 2013-04-27
What Hacker News says?
Tools can be put in either the cab or the bed, and presumably both can be locked. I can see where some people might not like the high side-walls on the bed where you can only really get stuff in and out through the back. I suppose Tesla could possibly add a tool storage frunk in the front if they thought it was worthwhile and they can spare the room in their design. Pickup trucks in general are sometimes criticized…
Comment linking /2015/04/28/what-does-your-work-truck-say-about-you/
on “Tesla Cybertruck”Submitted MMM Receives Legal Threats as a story · 309 points
HN discussionGo say hi to Mr Money Mustache, a fellow Longmontian (and hilarious blogger): https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
Comment linking /
on “Colorado Town Offers 1 Gbps for $60 After Years of Battling Comcast”Submitted How I retired in 9 years on a corporate programmer salary as a story · 294 points
HN discussionHere's the Mr. Money Mustache article I referenced: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2021/01/29/margin-loan-ibkr-... Another very rational reason for such a margin loan for a home down payment is if the stock you wanted to sell hadn't been held for a year and therefore its sale would not yet qualify for long-term capital gains rates. You might choose to pay margin interest for up to a year so that the stock sales bec…
Comment linking /2021/01/29/margin-loan-ibkr-review/
on “Harvard's response to federal government letter demanding changes”Submitted I Just Gave Up $4000 Per Month to Keep My Freedom of Speech as a story · 271 points
HN discussionIts different for everyone but I'd say 10% minimum which is still more that the US average. This is a bit oversimplified but savings rate is the one factor to how long it takes to become financially independent. Most people will want to enjoy life a bit but a high paying thrifty SWE could theoretically save 80% of their income and retire (or be financially independent and work on whatever they want) in about 6 years…
Comment linking /2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
on “I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35”Submitted The True Cost of Commuting as a story · 231 points
HN discussionMr Money Mustache was a programmer and retired in something near 10 yrs of work. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-sim...
Comment linking /2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
on “My Biggest Regret as a Programmer”Submitted Driving for Uber and Lyft as a story · 205 points
HN discussionImprove your skills, increase income, invest and save, live with roommates, learn that consumerism is programmed into people through TV ads and thus is completely unnecessary. Mr. Money Mustache[1] has been blogging about this for years, and it's a great place to start for people who don't understand personal finance. Also check out the personal finance[2] and financial independence[3] subreddits. [1]: https://www.m…
Comment linking /
on “Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You”Submitted What I’m Teaching my Son about Money as a story · 203 points
HN discussionIgnorance can be bliss. Didn't change my life, but has definitely helped me in a lot of cases, especially recent times. Generally speaking, I can't affect what is currently happening in the news, despite how upsetting it might be, and it won't even affect me in a lot of cases. I try to consume little information for things I don't care about or will have a negative effect on me as a way to spare myself from anxiety.…
Comment linking /2013/10/01/the-low-information-diet/
on “Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life”Submitted The Simple Math Behind Early Retirement as a story · 196 points
HN discussionMost people just don't know any better. And when the social norm is spending all your money (and then some) on things you don't need, most people don't even realize there's another option. I myself didn't realize until I stumbled upon Mr. Money Mustache two years ago ( http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ ), and it kind of woke me up. Now I buy way less, save at least half my income every month, and am overall much happi…
Comment linking /
on “That awkward moment when Apple mocked good hardware and poor people”Submitted First Retire... Then Get Rich as a story · 90 points
HN discussionCars, or more specifically the way "we"* tend to (mis)use them (single occupancy mode) are an exponential major world problem. * Full disclosure: I ride bicycles and only plan to ever live in localities where I won't need to purchase an entire car. More cars, or even car-friendly tech will never be the solution for the issue of too many cars. See also "induced demand": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand ht…
Comment linking /2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/
on “Former Tesla Firmware Engineer Discusses the System”Submitted Bicycling: The Safest Form of Transportation as a story · 66 points
HN discussionGood resources already posted, but this is also worth reading as an intro to thinking about income + costs of living as it pertains to early retirement: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-sim...
Comment linking /2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
on “Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee”Submitted Retire in your Mind even if you Love your Job as a story · 46 points
HN discussionOn these notes, you might take a look at the following: https://www.robinhood.com/ Robin hood is a free stockbroker. They make money from loaning money and collecting interest on leftover funds. https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ Mr. Money Mustache is a blog about saving. He mirrors many of the above points and has a lot to share about how he reached an early retirement at 30.
Comment linking /
on “Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee”Submitted “So I Bought an Electric Car” as a story · 29 points
HN discussionRelevant for USA: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2023/04/07/car-free-cities/ Do you want to live here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-TuGAHR78w
Comment linking /2023/04/07/car-free-cities/
on “Pontevedra, Spain declares its entire urban area a "reduced traffic zone"”Submitted Rent vs. Buy: If You Have to Ask, You Should Probably Rent as a story · 27 points
HN discussionhttp://mrmoneymustache.com
Comment linking /
on “Ask HN: Favorite Blogs by Individuals?”Submitted An Interview with Matt Cutts: Can the Government Grow a Money Mustache? as a story · 22 points
HN discussionIt depends on how long you have until retirement, which is influenced by your saving rate as a percentage of income. If you can save 99% of your income, you can retire real fast and your investment choices don't impact your pre-retirement earnings very much. (That's pretty much the gist of this post: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-sim... ) That said, you need to be invested somewhat just to…
Comment linking /2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
on “Investing for Geeks”Submitted The Happy City and Our $20 Trillion Opportunity as a story · 19 points
HN discussionAs some others in this thread have said (and Patrick discusses in the post), there are lots of things you can do to much more directly impact your change of becoming rich and retiring well/early than optimizing your investments: get a really good salary and don't spend a lot of money. One blog which I have read is Mr Money Mustache [1], which focuses on those same concepts. Many of the posts are good reads. [1]: htt…
Comment linking /all-the-posts-since-the-beginning-of-time/
on “Investing for Geeks”Submitted The Cheap Ticket into the Elite Class as a story · 17 points
HN discussion
