Modulo

Mr. Money Mustache

Recommended Ages

Teens–Adult

Mr. Money Mustache is a popular personal finance blog that advocates for financial independence through frugality, low-cost investing, and intentional living. Written by engineer Peter Adeney, the blog combines math-heavy analyses with candid stories about cutting expenses, biking instead of driving, and rethinking consumer culture. Many adults and families have used its ideas to pay off debt, reduce work hours, or retire early. Parents appreciate the clear explanations of compounding, index funds, and opportunity cost, even if they don’t adopt every extreme suggestion. It’s best suited for adults and older teens interested in personal finance, economics, or environmental impact. The tone can be blunt and occasionally sweary, which may not fit all households, but the core concepts are powerful. For practical use, read a few key posts together and run your own “mustachian” experiments—like tracking spending or trying a no-drive week.

Older teens and parents interested in FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) who enjoy candid, numbers‑driven writing and want to explore how money choices connect to lifestyle and values.

Pros

Highly influential financial‑independence blog that uses humor, math, and real‑life stories to show how frugality, low‑cost living, and investing can buy freedom; many FI‑minded parents adapt posts for teens as a real‑world money case study.

Cons

Written for adults and occasionally includes strong language and blunt takes; it’s not a structured curriculum, and assumptions about work, income, and risk tolerance may not match every family’s reality.

The blog is free to read and supported by advertising and affiliate links; there is no cost or mechanism for ESA or charter reimbursement.

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Mr. Money Mustache
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Skills

What kids will learn
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Financial Literacy
Financial Literacy
Economics
Economics
Life Skills
Life Skills

Mr. Money Mustache Mission

Mr. Money Mustache exists to show regular families that financial independence and a lower-stress life are possible through frugality, intentional spending, and simple investing. The blog encourages readers to rethink consumer culture, cut unnecessary expenses, and use low-cost index funds and lifestyle changes—like biking instead of driving—to build wealth and freedom while shrinking their environmental footprint.

Mr. Money Mustache Story

Mr. Money Mustache is the alter ego of Peter Adeney, a Canadian-born software engineer who retired at age 30 after he and his wife saved a large portion of their income throughout their twenties. In 2011, several years into early retirement and raising their son in Colorado, he started the blog to answer friends’ questions about how they had achieved financial freedom on a middle-class salary. His blunt, humorous posts about “badassity,” biking, and breaking free from paycheck-to-paycheck living struck a chord, growing into a large online community, in-person events, and even a co-working space that continues to inspire many people pursuing FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early).

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about Mr. Money Mustache

You might print “The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement” and read it aloud with your teen over snacks, pausing to run the sample numbers together on a calculator and then challenging them to design a “mustachian” monthly budget for an imaginary family on a whiteboard.

Mr. Money Mustache is a personal‑finance and financial‑independence blog written by Peter Adeney that teaches frugality, intentional spending, and heavy saving to reach early retirement. Homeschooling families often use key blog posts as readings in a teen personal‑finance or economics course, pairing them with simple spreadsheets or simulations of savings rates and retirement timelines.

Because the blog is written for adults, parents typically curate specific articles, translate concepts into age‑appropriate terms, and act as a sounding board as teens react to unconventional ideas about cars, housing, and lifestyle.

Best for high‑school students and adults who can handle sarcasm, strong opinions, and detailed examples, and who have enough math comfort to work with percentages and compounding.

Mr. Money Mustache is a blog aimed at adults but can be a thought‑provoking resource for math‑savvy, gifted, or older autistic/ADHD teens interested in frugality and life design. Because tone can be blunt and occasionally judgmental, it’s best used selectively and discussed critically, especially with anxious or perfectionistic learners.

Mr. Money Mustache is primarily a personal finance blog for adults and older teens, not a children’s math curriculum. It can be interesting for numerically-challenged teens (including those with dyscalculia) to discuss big-picture ideas like frugality and financial independence, but it assumes basic arithmetic skills. I would not use it as a primary tool for remediating dyscalculia, just as conversation fodder around money choices.

Mr. Money Mustache is primarily a personal finance blog for adults and older teens, not a children’s math curriculum. It can be interesting for numerically-challenged teens (including those with dyscalculia) to discuss big-picture ideas like frugality and financial independence, but it assumes basic arithmetic skills. I would not use it as a primary tool for remediating dyscalculia, just as conversation fodder around money choices.

All content is freely accessible, so no refund policy applies.

Not suitable for younger kids, families who prefer gentle or explicitly religious discussions of money, or learners who need bite‑sized, workbook‑style lessons rather than long blog posts.

Alternatives and complements include Next Gen Personal Finance, Khan Academy’s personal‑finance units, Dave Ramsey’s teen materials (for families aligned with his approach), and books like “The Simple Path to Wealth.”

The core archive of posts remains available and highly influential, with new posts appearing less frequently but still occasionally adding fresh commentary on the FIRE movement, investing, or life after early retirement.

Choose a few classic posts, read them together, and then have your teen model different savings and investment scenarios in a spreadsheet to see how small choices compound over time.

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Meet Peter

Peter Adeney, better known as Mr. Money Mustache, is a former software engineer who emigrated from Canada and built financial independence by living well below his means and investing the surplus. After retiring in his early thirties, he turned his attention to writing about personal finance, simple living, and climate-conscious choices, using his blog as both a teaching tool and a creative outlet. A fun fact for kids: he’s famous for preferring bikes and tools over fancy cars, often doing his own home projects and advocating for hands-on skills as part of a rich, low-cost life.