First of all, the question of retiring is somewhat problematic. Ask the typical person if they could retire right now, what would they do? Doing leisure activities, going on trips, relaxing, etc. can only take one so far. As human beings we need to be productive (no matter how that is defined) for us to lead a healthy life.

I believe the bigger issue is freedom. MMM's approach is very extreme and works for him. I do believe he lives on much more than 25K and works very hard. To him, the work he does might not classify as work. This is freedom for him. He is building a brand and knows how to market his brand.

The big difference I would suggest is that he is absolutely debt-free. American consumerism and lifestyle, to some extent, is driven by credit. Getting a credit card has become a rite of passage.

I like to follow the Dave Ramsey (http://www.daveramsey.com) philosophy (I don't agree with all his advice but most of it is pretty sound). I've just come across Dave over the past year and I find his message and life story inspiring. His message is simple:

1) Get out of debt (goal is to be entirely out of debt - including house). Only acceptable debt is mortgage debt. 2) Cut-up your credit cards (I don't. Having self-control with this is a big part of it) 3) Save 3-6 months emergency fund 4) Invest 15% every year for retirement 5) Save a percentage for Kid's college 5) Buy a house that is within 25-30% of your monthly income 6) Buy cars, boats, etc (ie. toys) that is no more than half of your total income (at most) 7) Invest your money (He's a big believer in mutual funds which I believe ETFs are now a better choice) 8) Most importantly, stay out of debt.

In this way, if you are making 100K a year or more going out for a $200 dinner or a $10K trip is fine since you are out of debt and all the major priorities are covered.

In some sense, MMM's message is the same as Dave's but the difference is that Dave is a multi-millionaire and works just as hard as he did when he wasn't. He has no qualms about going out for dinner and spending $1000 as this puts no dent in his net worth.

There are plenty of ways to stay productive, even make some money, but when the money is just a bonus and not necessary for mortgage payment it makes a big difference.

I think there is a side-effect to this, where people see what MMM is doing and take his advise to the extremes, failing to full think through their own personal situation. These sort of teachings tend to build some cult-ish/guru-type followings, but I think for the vast majority of people, the messages resonate on some level that allows them to either think about their spending choices more, or cut back.

I see what he ultimately advocates as more of a "think about how you're spending your money" rather than "don't spend money".

Personally I don't care if he judges me. He's living within a few tens of percent above the poverty line (based on his comments in this article). Of course the lifestyle of someone spending even $40k a year is going to seem wasteful to him.

Huh? If it is true and it rubs some people the wrong way, is that bad?

> He's living within a few tens of percent above the poverty line

I'm not sure what living a few tens of percents above the poverty-line really means, unless you mean tenths of percents? Still, that is not what poverty is. There are more than enough people in the US living in actual poverty but I'm pretty sure this guy has it pretty good. This is because, and that is part of his message, that how good you have it in life is only in so far dependant on how much money you have to spend. It depends on all sorts of factors of relative wealth, of which he has collected a great amount in various ways.

Do you go around telling ugly people they are ugly? Fat people they are fat? Dummies they are dumb? Why not? Is it because it rubs them the wrong way, despite it being true? Is it wrong for them to feel that way, even if you are right? IMO it is neither wrong nor right to feel that way. It is just how you feel.

> Tens of percent

I meant tens of percent. According to the numbers he posted he's something like 20-30% above the poverty line. That's a few (3ish) tens of percent.

He's judgmental about people who want to retire, wish they could save up money, have boatloads of debt, and complain incessantly about how unfair life is when they keep taking on piles of debt making luxury purchases and mismanaging their lives. That's all.

As long as you're happy with your lifestyle choices and either 1. Make enough to be able to retire comfortably when you want to or 2. Won't complain when you're broke and impoverished in the future, then good for you!

Requiring everyone to water down their opinions in order not to offend anyone (usually code for people with mainstream views) is truly offensive. In civil society we can all hold opinions and are able to express them. This is why democracies work so well -- at least better than all the alternatives!

I'm a bit older than the average reader here, so perhaps I'm biased. It seems to me that many people raised in the toxic and simplistic battles between left and right in the US media don't seem to have much of an intuitive sense of civil debate. I think the lack of good examples may be one reason.

In short: People have different opinions. If you don't agree, feel free to speak, but be civil.

Hello my friend! Care to share where?

I'd like to meet with fellow Caribbean entrepreneurs. I'm from Martinique, FWI. We do some good stuff too, yet I thought most of the scene was in T&T or Jamaica. T&C - why no!

Nice to see some people from the Caribbean here though. I'm from St. Maarten but I currently live in Canada. Do you know of any places where I can read more about the tech scene in the Caribbean?

Try linkedin - many groups are announced there. Most are "empty" (as in just full of spam), but some can provide you with links to an existing scene.

As usual, the odds are higher where you have a bigger population. From SXM I'd recommend you get in touch with groups in Guadeloupe. There's a good lug, and quite active wifi/HAM style project.

Get in touch by email (in my profile) if you want more details.