Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:00 — 17.7MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS | More
Can you imagine walking away from a long-term relationship to start over from scratch?
Lisa, Mrs. Mad Money Monster, did just that. She cut her losses and walked away from an engagement and a seemingly perfect lifestyle. They had it all – nice house with beautiful furniture, pets, and even a pool in the backyard. That kind of stuff is the wrong stuff to focus on when trying to build a life with someone else, though, and Lisa figured that out.
We delve deep into her story in this episode.
We also chat about…
- How to have an awesome low cost wedding
- qualities to look for in a potential partner
- taking money from and giving money to families
Enjoy this chat with Lisa the Mad Money Monster, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!
Show notes and links from today’s episode
- Mad Money Monster – Lisa’s kickbutt blog
- Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter
- Episode 10 with Miss Mazuma
- MMM wedding post
- George Street Photography <—- Looks so nice!
- The Nordic Theory of Everything
- Mr. and Mrs. Adventure
Key takeaways from our chat with Lisa
1 – Know when to cut your losses and walk away
Lisa’s story is a prime example of the sunk cost fallacy. You figure, you’ve already invested this much in the relationship, what’s a little more? I don’t want all those years to mean nothing.
But you know what? Sometimes that is THE best thing you can do for yourself and your partner.
2 – The right partner makes all the difference
An incompatible partner will at the very least hold you back, and at the worst completely destroy your dreams. It sounds awful but these things happen. Finding a partner who supports your dreams and encourages you, even if they don’t agree with you all the way, is the best thing to happen in life. You go from muddling through to feeling like you can conquer the world.
3 – Find the WHY for your partner
Say you have a partner who isn’t on board the FI/RE lifestyle and you want them to at least understand. What do you do? Do you bombard them with Mr. Money Mustache articles and artificially restrain their spending? Probably not the best way.
Instead, think about what motivates them and approach them from that angle. Is having both parents on hand for child rearing important? Maybe they’d like to spend more time with aging relatives. Maybe their job has limited vacation time and they’re dying to travel long term.
4 – Think outside the box for weddings
Weddings can get expensive, FAST.
The average cost of a wedding in the United States was $35,329 in 2016. That is a solid chunk of change. That’s a new car or a downpayment on a house! (Or for us FI folks, 6 years of Roth IRA contributions!)
Both J and Lisa managed to have low cost but still epic weddings. How did they do it?
- Order your dress from China: There are tons of cheap designer knockoffs to be had on the Internet. Find a designer you like and see if you can find an imitation somewhere online. The dress is going be worn for one day!
- Think 3 steps removed from traditional wedding venues: Hotel? Forget about it. Fancy barn? Not that either. Think outside the box for venues. Lisa got married in a cave! How unique is that? J got married in an 18th century estate. The historical aspect added tons of ambiance and charm you can’t get at the local hotel for a fraction of the price.
- Go offseason: Weddings are usually held in the spring to summer months, starting end of April and going through September. The rest of the year is the offseason and slower, so prices are lower and competition for venues and/or wedding stuff like caterers and chairs is less.
Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment!
Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do.
Join the FIRE crew and change your life
Subscribe and get emails about new episodes of FIRE Drill Podcast.
Leave a Reply