I don’t think MMM is “full of crap” intentionally or that the whole thing is a scam. But I do think it is a bit misleading to claim you only need 25x your annual expenses to retire because of a 4% SWR. He does recommend those Vanguard index funds like most early retirement people but he has a free and clear rental property that covers the whole family’s expenses. And a free and clear primary residence. So a huge chunk of his portfolio is in real estate. Same goes for Financial Samurai or Frugal Woods.

The frugal path works for some personalities though. Myself, for example - I’ve lived on $1000 a month for seven years in a decent paying job. Everything went towards buying rental properties. When I quit I moved out of the US to avoid high medical premiums and high costs of living. (City center in Paris or Tokyo still cheaper than NYC.) I don’t plan on having kids or getting hitched, and I’m practically a hippie. So my opinion is that you need a combination of (1) Good salary (2) sustainably low expenses (3) major flexibility in lifestyle (4) updated skillset and social capital. I’ve lived in my car for fun. I plan to spend this summer sleeping rough on a beach, gratis. If the economy goes to shit I am not opposed to dumpster diving. Or offering my services as a live-in tutor.

I hope many people realize that early “retirement” is not just numbers - you’re still going to want to do something “productive” and you have to constantly be leveling up skills and relationships.