Exploration 5: Why Should I Be Frugal, When I'm so Rich? by Miguel Radilla

Why should I be frugal, When I’m so rich? This is the dynamic that Mr. Money Mustache tackles in which he ostensibly gives his opinion of his sense of frugality. Mr. Money Mustache is presented with a letter from one of his readers and in this letter this particular individual is inquiring of what made Mr. Money Mustache want to retire, and with this question, the reader compliments him on his youth, as well with being well educated. Mr. Money Mustache is definitely flattered on how this going, but then the letter takes a turn for the worse when the reader started to talk about Mr. Money Mustache passing on 100k a year plus the benefits that would be included with this potential income. The reader also assumes that MMM (Just going to start to put Mr. Money Mustache as MMM) okay, where were we? Oh yeah! The reader assumes that MMM was happy at work, and inquires why would he choose to live a frugal lifestyle when you can easily spend without thinking about money and work?  MMM responds by saying that work would transport him back to his cubicle, as with a thick layer of tinted glass between him and the expansive view of the Rocky Mountains and the accompanying fresh air that used to taunt him at work. He also states that without him going back to work, he is free to do whatever he wants. The most important reason MMM does not want to get back to work is because of seven-year-old son that he considers his pride and joy, and that no job in the world can come between him and his boy.

As you can see, MMM has valid points of why he chooses not to work, but the most interesting curveball that MMM throws at us is when he presents us with another letter with an intriguing counterpoint to the first letter. In the second letter, it’s about an individual who made over $1 million pre-tax, and this person states him and his wife live quite a modest lifestyle, but even then, they spend exorbitant amounts of money on absurd things. Their problem on which this individual acknowledges is that they don’t have any incentive to make smart decisions on a day-to-day basis, which causes them to live far within their means. Examples that he gives on living far within their means are shopping at overpriced neighborhood gourmet grocery store because this store happens to be the closest, buying organic meat because why the hell not, taking expensive cab rides because the subway can be an inconvenience at times. What surprised me the most was when this individual says that he finds that living that way is actually somewhat depressing and stressful. This individual resonated with me because although he is financially stable, he says that trying to find the cheapest/best way to navigate life used to be invigorating and emotionally rewarding for him. He stopped trying to find the cheapest/best way to navigate life because for him it started to seem irrational to put thought in to saving 20 bucks when it takes him just 3 minutes to earn it.

Woah, I definitely agree with MMM message here. Sometimes when you have anything in excessive amounts, and in this case money, for majority of individuals we want to blow it on nice luxurious things. Whether it be on fancy clothes, sports cars, cool gadgets, etc. There’s a sense of being able to obtain something with ease, and this sort of ease becomes sort of limboish to certain individuals, which leads some to crave being able to go through life working through obstacles on getting certain things that have become so easy for some to obtain.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/04/25/why-should-i-be-frugal-when-im-so-rich/

A website that I find intriguing and fascinating is called 'The Mind Unleashed'  One of my favorite videos from this site is when they did a recreation of our solar system in the middle of the desert. Here's a link to the video, and I'm sure some of you will find this really cool. I love science and anything that makes the mind wonder, and this site has some really neat stuff that definitely makes the mind ponder and wonder.

https://www.facebook.com/TheMindUnleashed/videos/vb.432632306793920/1034843293239482/?type=2&theater (Link to the Video)

Here's a link to the website- http://themindunleashed.org

Here's the link of the girls taking selfies during a baseball game-https://youtu.be/g6rB3OhqjNk