I'm on MMM Blog!!! woohoo!

**Blessed** · 02-25-2014, 01:25 PM

I read that yesterday

**Like2Plan** · 02-25-2014, 02:03 PM

Neat! That is an interesting analysis.

**KTP** · 02-25-2014, 02:23 PM

Very cool. Come to Seattle...we are better than Portland...you can see the jealousy Portland has for us in the tv show Portlandia.

Rain is ok, right?

**kork13** · 02-25-2014, 02:43 PM

Originally posted by KTP View Post

Very cool. Come to Seattle...we are better than Portland...you can see the jealousy Portland has for us in the tv show Portlandia.

Rain is ok, right?

No way. Portland all the way. I've got a lot of family there, have visited multiple times, and just love the city. Besides, Portland has Voodoo Doughnuts (KTP, your argument is invalid.

)

Cool writeup!

**KTP** · 02-25-2014, 04:24 PM

Originally posted by kork13 View Post

No way. Portland all the way. I've got a lot of family there, have visited multiple times, and just love the city. Besides, Portland has Voodoo Doughnuts (KTP, your argument is invalid.

)

Cool writeup!

Superbowl >> Doughnuts

**kyoko** · 02-25-2014, 07:15 PM

Very nice!!! Thanks to the Seahawks' glorious Super Bowl victory, Seattle is even more thriving!

**momknowsbest** · 02-25-2014, 07:18 PM

CONGRATULATIONS......

red it... good work

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 02-26-2014, 06:34 AM

So I talked with my DH after he read the article and discussed our moving. He said he wasn't ready to retire. He didn't want to stay at home with the kids. He wasn't sure his self-esteem could handle it. He didn't know what he would do with his free time. He was worried about money. He didn't want to work at anything other than what he does. He likes what he does. He ties a lot of his self-worth to his job. He wasn't sure he was ready to give it up.

I don't know what to say or do. He said he never imagined retiring before age 65 if that. He thought he'd keep working and affording everything and we'd just roll in a ridiculous amount of money. I don't know what to say.

I mean honestly if we stayed put and he keeps working 10 more years we'd really be set financially. Completely. But for what?

**jpham540** · 02-26-2014, 07:38 AM

Congratulation on your article.

Yeah it�s tough when your partner does not feel the same way. Hopefully over time he can realize it and accept moving to another location.

**EarlyRetirementJoy** · 02-26-2014, 07:59 AM

Very cool that that was you! I read it the day it was posted on MMM's site. It actually inspired me to think about all the other wonderful places we might wish to live someday!

Sounds like you and DH have tons going for you, but may simply not have had the opportunity to really sit down and verbalize where you see yourselves in two years, five years, ten years. 'm sure there is middle ground somewhere that will allow you each to achieve a portion of what you are individually seeking. From experience, I'll offer that a nice bottle of wine helps much with these type of talks, as does having them away from the stresses of work and home.

**BuckyBadger** · 02-26-2014, 09:14 AM

Maybe there needs to be less "convincing" and more "compromising."

Your husband is a part of this, too, and you can't just decide that your plans are the correct ones and his thoughts and feelings are irrelevant and wrong.

I think if you change the way you're approaching it (away from "husband is wrong and we can retire right now and how to I convince him" and more toward "I'm not happy and we need to try and make some changes that would improve life for both of us") you might have more luck finding a solution that both of you are happy with.

**HappySaver** · 02-27-2014, 03:53 AM

I think you have fundamental differences in opinion on how to live your lives, and you seem very unhappy with your current situation. You may want to consider counseling. The issues you are raising, and your lack of agreement with your husband, seem to extend far beyond a personal finance/savings issue, and may be better addressed in a different space.

From the outside looking in, your husband seems quite rational and makes a lot of sense with his choices. I agree that you may need to do more compromising, and more introspection, and less convincing.

**HappySaver** · 02-27-2014, 04:35 AM

Regarding the MMM blog, which I've never heard of until now, I took his "calculations" with a grain of salt. Seems overly optimistic and utterly unrealistic in projecting future expenses.

Examples off the top of my head - I'm sure there are many more:

- When selling your house, I did not see realtor fees/selling costs included. In Massachusetts, for example, you're looking at around $40,000.
- Moving costs - they will exist.
- No car expenses are budgeted other than gas. You're never going to buy another car? Change the oil? Make a repair?
- VERY optimistic price for finding a home on the west coast. Considering how depressing you find your current home, you may not be happy with what you can find for $250k. It's not that cheap out there.
- Very optimistic food, utilities, gas, taxes, insurance, etc. Cost of living just keeps going up.
- Even with the optimistic projections there is a shortage, and that's without including clothes, toiletries, cleaning supplies, household maintenance or repairs, appliances...
- No college savings (and your kids may want to go to a different university - they're funny like that)
- What if your pet needs a vet visit? Or somebody has a major medical issue?
- You're never going to take a vacation, buy furniture, anything? The mental toll of never having enough money?

Oh, I could go on... I'm not not even addressing the fact that this "plan" relies entirely on poaching your retirement funds at least 20 years too soon.

**MonkeyMama** · 02-27-2014, 09:40 AM

How exciting that he took the time to do your case study LAL!

That said, that was a really weak MMM post. MMM dropped the ball, big time!

You said you needed help convincing your husband, but then he laid out a crazy extreme plan that was not very convincing to anyone. ??? If you are a regular MMM blog reader or follower, you can maybe fill in a lot of the blanks with what he usually preaches. I have no idea why he is encouraging you to draw down retirement assets. IS not generally what he talks about. It's probably presumed that you can easily find enough work to cover your expenses. But no idea why he didn't say that in the slightest.

HE could have easily done a nice, "Look how comfortable you will be if you move and take a 80% pay cut" kind of post. Something that would be convincing.

Of course, one reason I have liked the MMM blog is because MMM usually seems to respect that some people like to work. & I think he could have considered that possibility more in his reply.

Unfortunately, absolutely nothing what I *like* about the MMM blog was touched on in LAL's case study.

I think he also does himself a disservice. I always roll my eyes when people actually believe he only has $25k per year to live on. That is not *at all* what his blog is about. But I can't roll my eyes when he comes up with posts like this (where it looks like that is what his blog is about)!

I'm on MMM Blog!!! woohoo!