I’ve really started to think about personal finance in 2016. That’s when I accidentally stumbled upon MMM, aka Mr. Money Mustache. I most likely found the reference to his website from some news article written about his movement. I was skeptical at first, the whole idea itself sounded odd, like the usual “advisors” pushing the products which bring the most money to them (the provision), not to you as the maker of the money. I was expecting popup windows for seminars, investing books, self-help tips with guaranteed returns of crazy percentage, secrets on how to time / beat the market etc. Boy how I was wrong.

I read a few posts and soon got hooked thanks to the writing style of the author and the strong focus on not only earning money (it is important), but also and maybe foremost stressing to curb your spending. Not adjusting (raising) your lifestyle spending, but being content with what you have and not longing for stupid things.

Or more precisely, spending on the things you value most. Having enough. Not needing fancy car(s) even if you could afford it or easily take a loan to finance it. Preventing all the “I deserve this” and “The others have it, so I want it too”. All the other personal finance sites I’ve seen usually go the way of “earn more and more, side hustle all the time, ‘out-earn’ your spending”. But that’s not the way of Pete Adeney.

I also like the reach to healthy living was nice as well – biking, eating healthy, lifting weights. I still have way to ge here, but I’m working on it. And how a reasonable consumption leads to a lower footprint each one of us has on the planet.