Welcome to another rousing game of Wallet Crashing! Where we snag as-close-as-celebrities as my nerdy clout allows, and then showcase the contents of their sexy little wallets ;) And this time we actually *have* a wallet to show too! Woohoo! No more money clips or tote bags for a hot minute.
And today we hear (see?) from none other than the extreme retirement/blogger extraordinaire himself, Mr. Money (freakin’) Mustache – woot, woot. This guy’s a beast in the “living life on your own terms” department, and has been featured everywhere from NPR, to The Washington Post, CNN, Yahoo!, Huffington Post, The Economist and more… Never one to turn down the opportunity to share his secrets of retiring early so OTHERS can do so too. Love it.
For all those interested in these “secrets,” start your journey with MMM here:
It’s a mighty fine read – as are most of his articles. Who’s better to learn from than someone who actually puts his money where his mouth is? Mr. Money Mustache has been “retired” at the ripe age of 30, and he wants you to wake up and join him too. SO WAKE UP PEOPLES!
And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…
The Secrets of Mr. Money Mustache’s Wallet:
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All right, here’s Mr. Money Mustache’s wallet and what is inside it.
The wallet is one of those nylon/velcro foldy deals. Decidedly non-prestigious, but really useful because it holds lots of stuff, has a zipper area for coins and other valuables, and folds flat.
Cards:
My Golden Library Card is the most valuable one, of course, but then you’ve also got
- Costco membership card – this saves a load on groceries
- Safeway card, because Safeway shafts you on prices if you shop there without one.
- Travelocity Amex, because it gives me 2% back on purchases and 10% on travel – (although rewards are redeemable only in more travel).
- An Amazon.com Visa, for those few places that only take Visa (1% back, 3% at Amazon)
- Chase Ink card for my business expenses (it had a $400 signing bonus and 1% back)
- Capital one 360 ATM/debit card
- King Sooper’s grocery store gift card (cycling all groceries through this gives 5% back to my neighborhood school)
Other stuff:
- Driver’s license (that clean shaven boy in the picture is me waaay back in 1999)
- Some receipts from home improvement stores since I’m currently rebuilding a house.
I buy everything with credit cards, and just have them automatically pay themselves in full at the end of each month from the bank account. Because of this, the cash supply is usually pretty low:
- 22 bucks of US currency
- 10 bucks Canadian
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The contents of your wallet can tell a lot about who you are as a person. And what this stuff tells us about Mr. Mustache is that he’s one financial bad ass. He maxes his cards out for optimum success, takes advantage of his memberships and groceries, frequents the good ol’ (FREE) library to save on $hit, and rocks a bike instead of a car everywhere he goes (okay, I didn’t get that from his wallet, but it’s still sexy. I mean true.).
AHe also apparently loves the 80’s too with that nifty velcro contraption, haha.. But I ain’t hatin’!
So thank you kindly for playing, Mr. Mustache. You are both a gentleman, and a scholar, and it’s always fun to peer into the lives of those we admire and respect. Keep on keeping it real, brotha.
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To see all the wallet crashings we’ve done, click here.
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Inside my wallet are two Identification cards, three ATM cards, some cash, some card warranty and reward card. I always bring that with me whenever I go, I don’t have a credit card and a driver’s license. :)
No credit card or license? That’s pretty impressive.
I know that MMM drives so why doesn’t he have a current driver’s license with an updated picture? Don’t American licenses expire?
My license expires and a new photo and payment is required every 5 years. I would love to have an old license with a very young photo of myself but I am Canadian so that just doesn’t happen.
Ha! They’re different state by state. Arizona licenses are good until you’re 65. But you do have to get a new picture and card every 12 years. Washington licenses are good for 5 years but they did just make it so that you can do one online renewal with the same picture making the picture good for a total of 10 years (yay! because my last picture was pretty good). If you figure a 10 year span is okay for a passport photo, why not for a driver’s license.
In Colorado you can renew online and use the same picture once you are past age 21 and before 65.
I’m actually kind of surprised by how much MMM has in his wallet.
…and the velcro aspect is quite nostalgic.
The Warrior
NetWorthWarrior.com
MMM has a wallet? I would have expected a rubber band. :)
You should check out this post – makes me consider a rubber band too :)
http://lifehacker.com/5993929/why-the-band-wallet-is-the-best-wallet-ever
A rubber band, ha! I thought those were strictly for Sicilians (search “rubber band”): http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-fbi-wiseguy-fooled-the-mob/
Oh man, that was the exact wallet my fiancé had when we met (four years ago). I upgraded his wallet-style to at least this decade – that probably goes against the MMM philosophy a bit, huh…
Good stuff! I’ve been thinking about doing Capital One 360. I just haven’t spent enough time researching it.
It seems appropriate that MMM didn’t have a ‘stache in 1999, when he didn’t have his cash stash!
Are all Canadians required to carry a minimum amount of their own currency at all times? Why the Canadian cash? He’s a loooong way from the border!
Have you considered fidelity AMEX? It gives 2% cash back and the funds are transferred to a fidelity taxable fund (or retirement account for those of us not retired)?
Haha, very funny analysis, fellow bloggers.
Since Jane was curious: Colorado licenses were good for 10 years when I last renewed mine in 2004, and you can re-use the picture once. So I got the pic taken when I moved here in 1999, renewed once after 5 years, and here we are – 25 years old forever :-)
As for the velcro wallet – are you joking? This wallet is not retro, it is FUTURISTIC!! Plus it was a gift from Mrs. MM only 4 or 5 years ago, so it is brand new.
Financial tip: If you’re keeping track of “fashion” by the decade and buying new stuff based on that, you need to go back to Wealth School and take some more lessons ;-)
Canadian Cash: The MMM family spends every summer there, and I happened to have ten bucks left over when I last departed. I like the funny looking guy on the purple bill, so I keep him around for the good memories, until summer arrives and we hit the road again!
thanks for your review,
Mr. Money Mustache
MMM Why do you have a canadian bill? I can’t imagine they will accept it anywhere in the US haha
No wallet for me. Female wallets are so bulky and big. Don’t get why. So I have a couple of them, but don’t use them.
Sounds like an idea for a future side hustle ;)
I was just thinking of the wallet crashing posts this morning as I stuffed a roll of duct tape, an apple, a utility knife, and a Leatherman into my purse on top of this week’s grocery circulars, among other things. Certainly not the slick minimalism of many of the wallet crashes. I do realize now that today’s additions to my bag sound a little Dexter-y. It’s so I can cut down a faucet cover to fit under a deck and then tape it together again at our rental.
Hahahaha…. that is AWESOME.
Wow, I feel like a spendthrift with my name brand leather wallet that someone gave me 5-10 years ago as a gift. It is full of credit cards that give 2% cash back or better in travel rewards (Starwood Preferred Guest Amex I’m talking of you, sweet love).
My wallet contents look like his, plus a medical insurance card (don’t leave home without it if you have 3 young kids…).
Badass, sir.
Very cool:P Haha I love velcro! It never fails to work!
All I can say is it’s fun to find out people from my hometown that have made it successfully. Makes the world wide web seem a little smaller.
No health insurance card? I have two, actually, because my dental is separate. I still have my college ID plus my ID card for a members-only coop but similar banking/credit and costco card contents for the rest.
You bring health insurance cards with you everywhere? Do you use a purse?
I only bring it when I need it, like or an appointment or picking up prescriptions etc since I have limited room in my money clip. I feel like even in emergencies you can always give them the info later and get everything cleared up/etc if need be.
I didnt expect all those credit cards from Mr. Stash, but I knew he didnt run a debt balance on them immediately after seeing the picture. That picture is good and fun, but I believe as we get older we get better, just like wine. Take a new picture and show off that handle bar.