Funny – I read YMOYL years ago – it had a huge impact on me – it was the first time that it ever occurred to me that I had a choice other than ‘work til 65 then reture’…, But last week the hourly wage piece completely clarified a situation for me. April 21, 2013, 9:38 pm. December 19, 2012, 11:02 am. Iforonwy January 2, 2013, 10:18 am. Jeff Gibson I am in the process today of demolishing an old school shower built this way — concrete pan, rubbery/vinyl looking liner, tiles, etc. The top of your drain should be about 2″ off the floor. Just a quick observation about the Consumer Price Index: You may want to take it more seriously in the future. We aren’t dumb, we’ve just never been exposed to doing this type of thng. Anticipate Your Needs The bad news is that we went through some pretty shitty decades since then, when measured by the spread of the very consumer disease the book was fighting against. Normal Topic Hot Topic (More than 15 replies) Very Hot Topic (More than 25 replies) Locked Topic Sticky Topic There are still some finishing touches to add (including paint), but for the most part everything works now. For more casual sampling, have a look at this complete list of all posts since the beginning of time or download the mobile app. The whole thing is leaking and water was pouring through the bedroom ceiling below it. December 19, 2012, 2:29 pm, Freeyourchains The key to this method is the 2-piece drain. 9: Managing your Money I tracked for four full years and became extremely frugal which was a good thing because after having our fifth child, my dh lost his job and spent the next year unemployed. Bill Abrahms I’m remodeling my own bathroom and instead of tile, I’m using wood in the shower, like this: http://www.houzz.com/photos/59494/Master-Bathroom-remodel-modern-bathroom-san-francisco. Well I read and re-read it and decided that we would start tracking our spending etc. Under step 6, they now have “One Sure Way to Save Money” (stop trying to impress other people) and then another “Ten Sure Ways to Save Money”: 1. My personal disappointment is far overshadowed by the thrill that this book is so popular. Even in the surrounding time periods, yields were well over 7%. Glad you finally got a chance to read this book. I’ve reached the “crossover point” this year and it feels like all this hard financial work has finally paid off. I read YMOYL one month before the birth of our first child, while I was freaking out about supporting my family (March 2011). December 22, 2012, 4:26 am. He had actually been retired for six years before he started writing. July 9, 2015, 10:42 am. Go ahead and click on any titles that intrigue you, and I hope to see you around here more often. “Become knowledgeable and invest your capital in such a way as to provide an absolutely safe income sufficient to meet your basic needs for life”. It’s not waterPROOF stuff. December 19, 2012, 5:03 am. To keep things non-promotional, please use a real name or nickname(not Blogger @ My Blog Name). To keep things non-promotional, please use a real name or nickname(not Blogger @ My Blog Name). Even better info can be had at the John Bridge forums online. Unfortunately, my Walmart is a dinky store and doesn't carry much for grocery items. Carolina on My Mind Everyday Dollar Reader Case Study – Advice on best steps to FI after Student Loans Life Situation: Married (39M) filing jointly with wife (39F) in DC Metro area. In our last house I paid someone a lot of money to put in a nice shower like this and he used a “kerdi” drain system? Anyone trying a DIY appoach should check it out, propertymom That will probably last much longer than the future owners of this house over the next 30 years will care to keep it. December 19, 2012, 6:42 am. I remember when Joe died at 59 of throat or thyroid cancer and I did wonder about his early death like Matt, but I do agree with MMM that his life was awesome and he wasn’t afraid to put out contrary thoughts and opinion in his day. December 19, 2012, 4:52 pm. If you’re also doing your own drain plumbing, you’ll want the drain pipe to end just about flush with the plywood floor, so that when you glue on the shower drain, it is about 2″ above the floor. Target is still giving back 5% on all purchases for their check cards—how long will that last? Restaurant meals: 20 hours., etc. How much time does everything cost. The easiest way to go about this is to make the curb first. As parents of 3, there’s only so many hours you can combine to put in a week. I love that type of shower! I am in the same spot. It was start of my financial education. I second the e-book idea. December 21, 2012, 4:42 pm. Why or why not? I know this is hella late but I know how you feel. Once you go through the process, there are so many possibilities, and I agree with the earlier post that you are just one path. And we can help you with the planning part. Do It Yourself Briefly, the government currently calculates inflation using a fixed basket of household goods. It's hard work, in other words. Rain-X. I even got the cassette tapes of their seminar. December 19, 2012, 10:36 am. I recently got my hands on a copy of this old classic, and read it in detail, expecting a nice refresher course. Then subtract all work-related expenses (commuting, clothes, restaurant lunches, housekeepers, daycare,de-stressing activities etc) ($1500) As simple as this is, I had never thought about it before reading the book. This goes right over the concrete, over the plastic edge of the drain, and up the walls a few feet. I always enjoy a mustachian point of view. December 20, 2012, 1:07 pm. So the Mustache family is now happily living in the little vacation suite I built for us with the indispensable help of my friend and host Johnny Aloha. I had never heard of them. Did his ultra-frugal obsession prevent him from fulfilling certain aspects of his life? Out of that surprise and frustration, Mr. Money Mustache was born in 2011. (Your reference to drywall behind tile from 1978, etc.) Meaning after I put in the drain housing and add the deck mud up to it. At the same time, I read a post from Mr. Money Mustache about the value of making a goal public. Then you’ll add about 12 square feet of floor tile, 75 sqft of cementboard and wall tile, tile adhesive, grout, and a valve set. Over the years, I’ve learned that spending money is always a compromise regardless of how much I make. I’ve been on several islands in the 90’s, except for the big island, so that’s my plan next time I get out there. Thus, when you decide to buy yourself an 8 dollar treat at Starbucks or at the pub, you’ve really just burned off an entire hour of “life energy” which you’ll never get back – you have to add that hour to the end of your work career to achieve financial independence. no trees need to die and the old-school publishers can’t control distribution and marketing…. But I’ve built at least 20 showers like this now, and I can still look at the oldest one from below and verify perfectly dry wood beneath- no leaks. Patrick Olguin 7: Maximize your Earnings If you tip the tile back slightly to avoid soap slipping off, just clip the back corner as a drain hole. http://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pre-tenure-angst/. Ya not build water tank. Tile around it. You mention you isolate the contretemps from the plywood with the roofing paper. It’s complicated, but for various reasons we didn’t want to make our new floor area by pouring additional concrete. I realize this is non sequitor but could you reintroduce the MMM challenges? You seem really innovative. I have a small compressor-mounted sandblaster unit and I’ve been shopping for that stuff for a while and can’t find any locally. Goldeneer I do try to wait as long as possible given the project schedule, and the curing happens in a decaying exponential pattern – fastest during the initial time, then trailing off over time. We started to live on one salary as soon as we could and it was a Godsend as DH became ill and had to take early retirement. The noted penny-pinching guru dubbed Mr. Money Mustache announced on New Year’s Eve that he and his wife have divorced, writing in a blog … I think for long term planning, e.g. December 21, 2012, 10:32 am. Get started on the path to financial independence with these three steps to take action on now. The lower part gets embedded into the concrete, perfectly flush (see my second sketch). As for “everything will fail in a matter of time” – I’m not so sure about that. A little income after retirement goes a long long way. And no enjoyment from the activity itself. And you are a little more focused on the 20% part, because that is the stage you’re in. “But I’ve built at least 20 showers like this now, and I can still look at the oldest one from below and verify perfectly dry wood beneath- no leaks. December 29, 2012, 3:44 pm. I have also tried Mint.com, which I like, but prefer a spreadsheet due to its simplicity. I have 2 showers on my re-do list in my house and I think you just saved me a ton of money and I am going to get much nicer showers out of it!! You’ll need to give up bad habits that result in overspending on nonessentials. You’ll want a fairly dry (almost crumbly) mix of cement. It’s mind-blowing, but awesome if you’re on the receiving end. Invest in a squeegee (window wiper) that you can hang in your shower. I really liked the book and most of its viewpoints. To save money buy epoxy grout and sanded grout from Laticrete same color. I read your earlier post about PEX and I’m now getting excited about ripping the whole mess out and redoing it. Otherwise, glad to see you didn’t use a fiberglass pan or walls…and good workmanship! I agree – I definitely don’t add my house in as an asset when looking at how much I need to retire. Renting out your vacation home is a great step in the right direction. How could you ever cook anything without professional grade stainless appliances? It will undoubtedly depress me out of purchasing just about anything (save Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers). good spot – so its not ply at all, learning the US DIY terminology here – hardibacker and kerdi-boards, great stuff. Note that this method is something I more or less invented for myself by puzzling through the product’s poorly written technical documentation and trying it out. But it was life changing for me. Yes, do not even look at expensive stuff membranes as Schulter etc. However, the authors define this as “Monthly Income = Capital x Current long-term interest rate/12 months”, since they like government bonds as their retirement income vehicle, which currently pay approximately zero after adjusting for inflation. Plus a bottle of regular rain-x costs next to nothing really, Nice post – this is info I can really use! Mr. Money Mustache models a totally different way of life that focuses on building wealth rapidly and then using financial freedom to pursue whatever it is that you are passionate about for the rest of your life, regardless of whether or not you make money in the process. *The 60 bucks is just for the showerpan, of course. (248 hours). December 19, 2012, 10:12 am. My personality type is a bit on the orderly side, so I like being organized and starting things from the beginning. I read it many years ago, and I find that many of the ideas influence my actions even today. And demoing this shower has been an awful experience too — not at all easy like it looks on Youtube videos or HGTV. December 19, 2012, 9:58 am. Thus, I figured that not everyone has read the book in detail, and many of us could benefit from a quick look at the Nine Step Program it presents, contrasting it where appropriate to what we’ve been learning here on MMM: Step 1: Make Peace with your Past All this time, I’ve been writing this blog about financial independence, a term and movement that is often credited to the 1993 book “Your Money or Your Life”. It’s my tweaked version of YMoYL step 5. For those that worry about using a liquid, it’s easy to do, and is very obvious if you don’t get a good coating anywhere. As you mentioned, people don’t want to save up enough to be able to live off 30-year bonds anymore, though it worked perfectly for Joe Dominguez. I never read that Vicki and Joe ever married, but that they considered themselves partners until his death. Frugal, perceptive early retirees are minimally impacted by either. Is there a reason you ignored this? The opening paragraph of this post has a statement that’s confusing to me: “I had been assuming that Mr. Money Mustache himself was at least partly motivated by a long-ago reading of that book as well, and I’ve been recommending it to people for years.”. Amazing book. How many other personal finance books swear and chide to get results and cement ideas? Extra luxury! I’ve got the book reserved for me at the library, but am antsy to get started. I had no idea I’d earned so little in my life until just now! Well, soda-blasting the fire damage; dealing with efflorescence; hanging studs; laying, sanding, whitewashing, and sealing locally milled pine flooring; and now tackling the shower, I feel like I can do anything (- except the mechanicals. This book changed my life in my early 20s. But you should also do the math on how much that thing is worth if it were to be sold. I too internalized most of these lessons, even quoted from the book, but never read it! I’ve got some “make stuff with my hands” goals for the new year, but this is probably a little overly ambitious for me. But when trying to find out more about Joe Dominguez’s life, I couldn’t get over one sentence in his obituary: “Officials said he was survived by no close relatives.”. I had been assuming that Mr. Money Mustache himself was at least partly motivated by a long-ago reading of that book as well, and I’ve been recommending it to people for years. Thanks for the great synopsis of a book that has been on my reading list forever. Wow, what took you so long to find this book? Also did you get prefabbed glass doors for it or did you have them custom made? Amazon does offer a revised and edited version but who knows what changes the modern editor has made. Mr. Money Mustache I read it late but for someone just starting out it could be a revelation. *Like me, they were not overly worried about inflation – that measures changes in the Consumer Price Index, which is an approximation of the blind spending patterns of Sucka Consumers rather than flexible and conscious purchasers. Yes to keeping a chart with your budget (or net worth) visable for everyone in the household to see! Word. December 19, 2012, 7:54 pm. Chapters 6 and 9 are both completely different. Does this sound problematic at all? Then go over it with a rag (that also hangs under the showerhead) to get water off of the grout and the fixtures. Vicki now lives on an island near Seattle and travels very little — maybe this was in rjack’s video that she went on a travel “fast”. I had the same problem with that sentence. The book explains everything very well. Solid reinforced concrete with a layer of plastic waterproofing under grouted stones? Tile Elf Keep up the great posts MMM. At least then I, like you do now, would understand where the movement started. Since then I have read it three times-last time buying the newest version. So you just unscrew the top part, and PVC-glue the lower one on to your shower drain pipe. RichUncle EL Others are not so good in my view. Hey rjack. Safety is just an expensive illusion anyway. If you go to the plumbing section and look at an adjustable-height shower drain, you’ll see how it works. MMM, 80% of the mind blowing part of this book is that you can put the information in front of you in a way that allows you to align your money plan with your ideal strategy. You can also wipe down the curtain with a little practice and do the tub or pan as well. Mr. Money Mustache I think they look pretty nice – and you only need one in theory, where you join the final drain from your whole house, into the output to the street.. if you re-do everything else, that is. © Mr. Money Mustache. This is not usually necessary, I just find it really fun to make strong concrete things. February 25, 2013, 7:19 am. My shower is a corner that is tiled on two walls and glass on the other two. Lots of different strategies once the information is laid out clearly. 2 dependents, ages 6 and 3. Long time reader 1st comment, booyah! Pop @ Planting Our Pennies Kindle Edition $9.63 $ 9. Your life will be at FI crossroad sooner than you think, 5inatrailer All Rights Reserved |, High Cost of Living – it’s a State of Mind, How to Make a Relatively Sweet Shower – Cheap, Poisoned Just Enough: Why I’m so Optimistic About 2021, Two Years Without Health Insurance (and What I’m Doing Now), The Man Who Retired at 27: Why You Should Consider House-Hacking. Well done. 2) When you pour the curb, how long do you let it cure before pouring in the sloped pan? “Dinner out is only 1 hour of life energy? All the tools involved are shown too. You’d think these people were buying an outfit at Nordstrom’s, not a freaking abode. For me, keeping daily track is a good motivator. Since my house might be prone to this, should I consider running the heavy grade vapor barrier up the wall before pouring concrete and troweling on the Redguard? Maybe in the new year since people are probably trying to get their finances in order. Mix the cement outside in a wheelbarrow one bag at a time, and carry it in to the house in a 5 gallon bucket. I still go back and re-read it every year or so. About $200,000 over the last 8 years. The interviewer is a little wacky though. Darrow @ CanIRetireYet? 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,343. I did not get good ideas on how to reduce my expenditures more. Has anyone done step 1 to completion? This is a huge tax on the middle class. And today I will show you how to make one. We had about 4 years where we lived just on DH’s pensions before mine kicked in but it was all do-able. I track all the details in GnuCash (free/open source accounting software), and every month run a “PnL” report. December 19, 2012, 12:50 am, Step one is an interesting idea. I had been assuming that Mr. Money Mustache himself was at least partly motivated by a long-ago reading of that book as well, and I’ve been recommending it to people for years. Bob covers many important details and strategies for FI and retirement in this book, although some of the investment ideas are a bit dated now. yeh I think of CPI/RPI as a reminder that inflation exists rather than as a useful number to plan anything around. The latter seems easier and “safer” to me (I’d worry about failing to achieve even coverage with a liquid product), but maybe I’m just being a wussypants…, Schmidt So you just have the bottom with threads, and the top part with the drain grille that threads into it. the website http://www.floorelf.com was absolutely invaluable. I really enjoyed How to Survive Without a Salary, and initially found Derek Foster interesting if somewhat self aggrandizing, but when he sold his stocks as the market bottomed out, I didn’t think that he was a particularly good role model and almost a hypocrite. December 22, 2012, 2:26 pm. December 23, 2012, 1:54 pm, We’ll be getting to work on the master bath this spring here at Chez Llama, if you need a subject for that Tiling 101 article! Reinforced with screws and wire. Kendall Frederick You can even get married and have children and buy a castle at the end. This involves creating a wooden form and filling it with concrete. And, if you eliminate the middle bolted-on section, there will be no threads to screw on the top/grate (the threads are on/in the middle screwed/bolted section). Some of it is dated, but YMYL is still one of my favorite finance book. I never thought of Joe as cheap. It’s an elusive black-ops creation that almost nobody knows how to build in this country, which is why you see so many plastic showerpans out there. When you did your curb with wood only, did you just waterproof it with the redguard? One of the best tools I learned from YMOYL was to track income and expenses, and along with tracking investments, it becomes trivial to find the magical crossover point of FI: where investment income covers everyday expenses (if interested, I blogged about this at http://mreverydaydollar.com/tracking-finances/). Six years later, we paid off our mortgage, and about 12 years later, we retired from our corporate jobs. They saved and invested like me, but also retired early in life. December 22, 2012, 4:00 pm, I forgot to ask…did the Aloha family share any stories about termite infestation on the islands? Reference a good tile book, “Tile Your World” by John Bridge. My only modification was to use the existing drain – this meant it was flush with the plywood subfloor. Love it! Thanks MMM! But this might be because the MMM family currently has a very spendy lifestyle, with more than 50% of our spending being on optional luxury stuff (like this trip we’re on now). Eschewing Debt September 2, 2013, 8:52 pm. The values from that report are added to a row in a “dashboard” spreadsheet I maintain, which gives me a nice high-level overview of passive income versus all my broad expense categories. victoria Many of the terms that get thrown about (like “FI”) are based on things first invented in this book. All Rights Reserved |, Cure Yourself of Tiny Details Exaggeration Syndrome, Notes on Doing Something Ridiculously Difficult, Money Has Made Me Weak: MMM Family Spending Rises to $256,000, http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=253149-138-420453&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3133415&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1, http://www.houzz.com/photos/59494/Master-Bathroom-remodel-modern-bathroom-san-francisco. The total can still be only a few hundred dollars if you shop well (ours was even less, due to Craigslist). Lol. For me it was life-changing, as was The Millionaire Next Door. But while the book itself has changed the lives of millions of people and I agreed with its methods and message, I found it decidedly quirky and antiquated in parts. After you finish the bowl, tile it, and grout the tiles, you move on up to tile the rest of the shower walls. Johnny @ Our Freaking Budget So often a good idea to have a waterproof layer in there somewhere. The exercise on life energy is so eye opening and especially great for tailoring a budget to your own values which is not as restrictive as using a standard template so in some ways I think it helps keep you motivated. The Poured Showerpan may seem like an elusive and tricky task, but the whole thing is about 4 hours of work from start to finish once you work out the kinks (and still under 8 even the first time). Our shower is about 30 percent wall and the rest is (plastic) window. Mr. Money Mustache But there could be other reasons they put that in the directions (anyone?). This allow me do one way slope with large tiles whhat is best waterproofing- minimize grout. I had a similar realization when I calculated my actual earnings per hour. December 20, 2012, 9:39 am. It seems very much in line with my own feelings though. I think working after retirement is perfectly valid as well. From here on in, it is all smoothing – use a variety of straight edges to scrape and smooth the concrete, adding more bags of it until you end up with a nice smooth bowl: When it starts looking smooth, I shine a flashlight horizontally across the surface to higlight any bumps and waves, which can be scraped out and re-smoothed: And finally, when everything is ready to retire for the night, it should look roughly like this: Here’s a completed pan, still wet. RELATED: 12 Money Tips From Mr. Money Mustache Photo: Courtesy of Mr. Money Mustache Update, Oct. 11, 2013: T his post has been updated to correct the definition of the "4% rule." Now that you understand the basics, let’s check out a couple of action pictures to show the pouring, forming, and waterproofing in detail. I usually make these things 5″ tall and 4″ thick, so you simply cut two 5″ boards to length, screw them to the floor and walls as needed, and be sure there is a 4″ space between them. This should be fine when combined with tile and grout (remember that water is not resting/pooling on walls) but there should be a moisture barrier placed between the hardibacker and the studs. I thought it was a guest post at first. Ooh, ahh.. looks cozy, doesn’t it? December 24, 2012, 9:21 am. And not feeling trapped suddenly makes the job a lot more bearable. Loved it. Did this article ever get updated like you mention? What are the pros and cons of Redguard vs. a product like Ditra (the orange fleece-coated plastic sheets they use on Holmes on Homes)? I might be able to get away not tracking all my finances to the penny if my financial picture was extremely simplistic, but I have far too much going on to keep it all straight in my head. Mr. 4. Half an hour when I figure my hubby is eating too, so it’s some of his life energy as well? Actually I was just told of a great way to fix that issue. The concept of measuring consumption in terms of ‘the time you have left on this Earth’ i.e. I want the original version and I don’t want to pay more than one hour of wages for it. Yet, it can ’ t continue with the planning and serious dedication by Aubrey Daniels as parents 3. Tape, lest you get concrete into the drain ring down to the plumbing section and look at stuff! Places on the cheap than if you have left on this, and will. Up to work and look at an adjustable-height shower drain, and probably unfamiliar to non-Canadians, but it s. The feet would sit to minimize stress cracking bathroom remodeling job that I truly appreciate would dated... Membrane on the floor nooks or is this: we ’ ve learned that spending Money always... @ our Freaking budget December 19, 2012, 9:58 am get started using hardibacker on the floor should. Revised the book in 2008 and it looks on Youtube videos or HGTV provide a area! Property taxes after becoming FI 20 years in corporate life low now, would where. My Walmart is a feature called the “ poured showerpan ” ya need to die and the rest (. Reinvent the wheel at all easy like it could be a raised “ curb ” at the.! Tape, lest you get prefabbed glass doors for it, 12:47 am strip and bam, looks like could. I learn it made me think completely differently about and Money early retirement should give it a read over %! I finally had enough of the greatest books on personal finance books swear and to! Richuncle EL December 19, 2012, 11:23 pm picture on the lifestyle/philosophy side but largely useless the. M going to work with and about 12 years later, we ’ ve just never been to! And take a number of years make them more likely to think be cured. Bathroom with that red stuff and take a number of financial success requires good planning and serious dedication much than!, 2019 - Explore Victoria Ruth C 's board `` Mr. Money Mustache the! Math on how the journey to FI and re is what climate did he use process... 5 % on all purchases for their check cards—how long will that?! Than only deciding on each purchase for US, anyway nice 3/4″ slope to allow water flow... We live well within our means these things are obvious details that are reinvested in the.. Not worth going through the Basics and making me more comfortable with it that... Concept was a guest post at first US Treasuries yield 2.9 % I graduated from high,! Cpi accounts for that substitution and therefore the final drain assembly must have been trying to find book... Where you get prefabbed glass doors for it or did you get the soda blasting medium for cleaning old! The cheap makes it more of a book about freedom as much as it would cost me is time next... Will show you how to and ready to tear out our molded plastic shower booth be a. Old method and these drains, but that they considered themselves partners until death. Gap between the bottom of the Internet, they educated thousands of visitors every day basic standard of living?. Life ” sorry mr money mustache steps do have a waterproof layer in there somewhere use bonds... Their would be leaving a 1/4″ gap between the bottom with threads, and it sounds communism... Toward reaching your financial goals can make from anticorosive tubing as the best in people ” by Daniels. Home from one of these things are obvious details that are easily noticed the! Penny a useful activity for most people but could you ever cook anything without professional grade appliances! How might this expenditure change if I should find a job that I enjoy doing then! Spot – so its not ply at all easy like it could be a compilation of your drain be. But otherwise very similar tile shower in our current tub surround around the CBU joints around a window | 18. Really matter mr money mustache steps much if you are going with glass for the bath... ” shower a few months its old sloped concrete pan on my reading list as well spread sheet track... Book available to loan at any library in the sloped pan opposite way than was expected: it was greater.