Mr. Money Mustache joined on as a regular cohost in late 2025. This page has a (mostly) up to date index of the questions and topics for all of Pete Adeney’s appearances on The Mile High FI Podcast.
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Table of Contents
- MHFI 143: The Shockingly Simple Secret to Happiness
- MHFI 229: Simplifying Your Finances (Live CampFI)
- MHFI 241: Being Retired 19 Years & Turning 50
- MHFI 283: Define Cheap vs. Frugal (Live CampFI)
- MHFI 294: Mr. Money Mustache Reveals Major HQ News
- MHFI 296: Living a Good Life, Finding Identity & Purpose
- MHFI 305: Pop Culture Through the Lens of FIRE
- MHFI 308: “Is the FIRE Movement Dead?”
- MHFI 309: MMM on Issues With The FIRE Movement
- MHFI 310: MMM Addresses Fears of Retiring Early
- MHFI320: Mr. Money Mustache on Social Security & Gamers
- MHFI323: FIRE Planning & Investing
- MHFI329.5: Too Much Freedom in Early Retirement
- MHFI Bonus: Mailbag
- The Ultimate FI Topic Index (Organized by Theme)
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MHFI 143: Mr. Money Mustache on The Shockingly Simple Secret to Happiness
Publish Date: Jan 10, 2023
- Origin of HQ: “Can you tell us about the story of getting 712 Main Street?”
- Defining Happiness: “What is happiness to you like is there a better word for it like contentment maybe?”
- Changes Over Time: “How have you changed from the beginning of the blog to now now that you’ve studied happiness for years?”
- Work and Happiness: “Where does work fit into happiness?”
- Media Appearances: “What made you say yes to that one [Netflix documentary Get Smart with Money]?”, “What was it like being on the show [Tim Ferriss show]?”
- Removing Negatives: “Do you have any examples from the years where you identified a negative removed it and you were like wow that that worked better than I thought?”
- Voluntary Hardship: “Can you explain what that is [voluntary hardship] and why that’s so valuable to have in your life?”, “Have you caved on anything where you are taking the easier route instead of taking the harder one?”
- Systems vs. Goals: “One thing I think about now is the journey is a lot more important… what do you think about that?”
- Regrets on the Journey: “Is there anything you changed about the journey?”
- The Perfect Day: “What does your perfect day look like?”
MHFI 229: Mr. Money Mustache on Simplifying Your Finances (Live CampFI)
Publish Date: Aug 20, 2024
- Embarrassing Money Moments: “What was the most embarrassing moment on the way to FI?”
- Financial Coaching Framework: “How do you navigate a complex email… how do you look at it and how do you simplify it?”
- Common Financial Blind Spots: “What do most people get wrong or how should they think differently…?”, “Are there any other items that you see that people are missing in their kind of vision consistently or commonly?”
- Roth Conversions (w/ Guest Travis): “Is it considered earned income is it income that can be deducted for HSA?”
- Asset Allocation (w/ Guest Mark Troutman): “What about for rebalancing Buy Low sell High or 100% stocks?”
- Sleep on the Road: “How do you sleep on the road how does that go for you?”
- Real Estate vs Index Funds (w/ Guest Mindy Jensen): “We want you to compare and contrast index funds versus real estate”
- Evolution of FIRE: “How do you see it shifting with like die with zero… how do you see sort of like the new wave of fi?”
MHFI 241: Mr. Money Mustache on Being Retired 19 Years & Turning 50
Publish Date: Nov 12, 2024
- Reflections on Retiring Early: “Do you have any specific Reflections on being retired especially at such an early age where basically none of your peers were doing that…?”
- Current Expenses: “Can you tell us what your expenses are now in 2024?”
- Upgrading Lifestyle: “Is there anything where you’re like I could or I want to try to experiment to spend more money on this to see if I do like it?”
- Advice for Young Adults: “What advice would you give to a young adult today that wants to retire early?”
- HCOL Area Considerations: “What advice do you have for someone where it’s like ah like I get this I can get this good job but it’s in the Bay Area and it’s like super expensive…?”
- Empty Nester Phase: “Congratulations on becoming an empty nester what are you most looking forward to in this new phase of Life?”
- Trying New Things: “What is something new you’ve tried recently that you would recommend to others?”
- Sleep Routine: “What is your sleep routine and are you a good sleeper?”
- Coaching Experience: “You mentioned that you consulted with someone who wanted you to review their retirement plan… what have you learned from The Experience if so?”
- Walkable Towns: “Do you have any thoughts on where the quote next Longmont might be given how expensive it’s become?”
- The Culdesac Model: “What are your thoughts on the culdesac model and have you brought any ideas back to Longmont from your time down there?”
- Environmentalism and SRI: “What are your thoughts about the connection between the fire movement and environmentalism have you transitioned to socially responsible investing…?”
- Maintaining Composure: “How do you maintain your composure when it seems like everything around you is falling apart?”
MHFI 283: Mr. Money Mustache Defines Cheap vs. Frugal
(Live at CampFI Rocky Mtn)
Publish Date: Sep 2, 2025
- Cheap vs. Frugal: “Did you start thinking of like cheap versus frugal as you were spending money more recently or is that something that was kind of in the back of your head for a little bit?”
- Definition of Cheap/Frugal: “Would you say though that people have different op like is that an opinion or is that an actual like definition like if I looked it up in the dictionary?”
- Frugal Solutions: “What would a frugal solution to this [buying an overpriced greeting card] be?”
- Getting Out of a Cheap Mindset: “What are some strategies we can use [to get out of the cheap mindset]?”
- CampFI Impressions (Guest Amanda): “What made you kind of like pull the trigger to come [to CampFI] like what were you hoping to get?”
- Quitting Corporate Jobs (Guest Amanda): “Why are you doing other stuff and not just not working?”
- Hesitant Partners at FI Events (Guest Amanda): “Do you have any tips for people that want to bring their partner to an event like this where you know maybe they’re not on board?”
- Meetup Groups (Guest Tyler): “What is [your meetup group] called and what kind of events are you guys doing and how’s it going so far?”
- LeanFI and Career Pivots (Guest Roxanne): “Can you talk a little bit about how you got into FI and then sort of like not working and like the leanfi aspect of it?”, “What gave you the confidence to like stop your corporate job and do something else?”
- Pursuing Comedy (Guest Roxanne): “Can you talk a little bit about your standup and comedy work that you do? How’d you get into that?”
MHFI 294: Mr. Money Mustache Reveals Major HQ News
Publish Date: Nov 18, 2025
- The Origin Story of HQ: “How did you get the space and then how did Carl and Mindy and Bill get involved?”
- Expectations vs. Reality of HQ: “What did you envision at first… and what it shifted into?”
- Changes in Direction and Conflict: “Were you guys sensing like a need to shift to the social club idea did you guys have any like conflict any anything juicy that you could share with us?”
- Remote Membership Value: “Are there more changes on the on the way like do you know where the direction is going exactly?”, “How are you guys going to bridge the gap on [members paying]?”
- CampFI Influx: “Can you explain that situation and what we observed over the last couple years [at the July potlucks]?”
MHFI 296: Mr. Money Mustache: Living a Good Life, Finding Identity & Purpose
Publish Date: Dec 2, 2025
- Habit Tracking: “Can you explain your badassity checklist and then I’ll explain the good life algorithm and what we can learn from the two?”
- Small Talk Fatigue: “Do you have any tips for me on this [getting bored of small talk]?”
- Identity Crises: “Did you have any sort of identity crisis going from you know software engineer to stay at home dad…?”, “What would you describe your identity as now?”
- Finding a New Identity: “Do you have any tips for people that will have to figure out their identity…?”
MHFI 305: Mr. Money Mustache Explores Pop Culture Through the Lens of FIRE
Publish Date: Feb 3, 2026
- The Matrix: “When you watched it [The Matrix] were you immediately like ‘Holy shit I like this is changing the way I think’?”
- Peer Influence and Saving: “Was there a time when you were like ‘Hey what are you guys doing with your money… Did you try to convince people or anything back then’?”
- Office Space and Work Environments: “You were a classic software developer right so this was um like watching a documentary on your life right?”
- Physical Projects and Construction: “Can you just talk about why you like construction and and working on projects like that?”
- Fight Club: “Was [Fight Club] a big influence in your life Pete?”
- Reacting to FIRE Backlash: “Can you I guess like describe the thesis of that that idea [backlash against FIRE] and then we’ll do it sometime in the future?”
MHFI 308: Mr. Money Mustache Wonders… “Is the FIRE Movement Dead?”
Publish Date: Feb 24, 2026
- Hating Work: “What do you think about people hating their jobs…?”
- Checking the Portfolio: “How often do you check your portfolio?”
- Evolution of the FIRE Movement: “Do you have any thoughts about the evolution and how it started narrow with your specific story…?”
MHFI 309: Mr. Money Mustache’s Issues With The FIRE Movement
Publish Date: Mar 3, 2026
- Ultra-Frugality: “What’s your take on the this ultrarugality issue?”
- Over-Optimizing: “Can you think of examples where you’ve let go on some overoptimization?”
- One More Year Syndrome: “Have you observed like with some of your coaching people that are too focused on the future or maybe like people this is one thing I see like people that are already retired and they’re still saving…?”
- Using Margin Loans: “You mentioned using margin can you explain how you use it and any tips and tricks for using margin accounts correctly?”
- Crowdsourcing a Community: “Can we crowdsource a culdeac like development in Colorado?”
- Biking Hobbies: “Have you tried a gravel bike or have you done any bike packing or anything like that?”
MHFI 310: Mr. Money Mustache Addresses Fears of Retiring Early
Publish Date: Mar 10, 2026
- Overcoming the Fear of Retirement: “What insight do you have to help people move past that [fear to actually retire]?”
- Regrets on Retiring Early: “Are there any cases that people were right they should have waited?”
- The “Boredom” Myth: “What insight do you have on people that are scared about the use of their time slash boredom?”
- Making Friends in Middle Age: “How do you make friends as a middle-aged dude?”
- Introverts Making Friends: “Do you have any insight or have you observed other people and you know what you might be introverted but you do what you need to do because you do enjoy it to be social?”
- Overcoming Boredom: “Boring people are bored… Can you expand and give some tips?”
- FI Collective Updates: “Is there anything that you want to mention about [the FI Collective remote membership] just that it’s awesome now?”
- Pete’s New House Projects: “What kind of stuff are you thinking about [for the new house]?”
MHFI 320: Social Security & Gamers
Publish Date: May 19, 2026
- Move to Central Park: Pete is relocating to Denver’s Central Park neighborhood to be closer to his girlfriend and refresh his routine after 20 years in Longmont.
- Gaming Feedback: Clarified past comments on video games, noting that while they are affordable, he views them as lower priority due to their sedentary nature and lack of real-world social interaction.
- Social Security Strategy: Argues against delaying early retirement just to maximize Social Security, comparing its future value to stock market growth rather than conservative bonds.
- Annual Spending: Core expenses remain around $25,000–$30,000, with a temporary uptick from margin loan interest for his new home until he sells his previous house.
- FI Collective: Promoted the Longmont community hub and its $100/year remote membership for global FI members to connect online and visit during events.
MHFI 323: FIRE Planning & Investing
Publish Date: Jun 9, 2026
- FIRE Planning with Kids: For couples facing uncertainty around child-raising expenses, Pete emphasizes front-loading savings and tailoring budgets based on lifestyle choices (e.g., public vs. private schooling, extracurriculars), noting total costs range wildly from $40k to $300k+ per child
- Perspectives on Canada vs. US: Pete shares why he prefers living in the US over Canada, pointing to better weather [14:02], lower overall cost of living/taxes [15:40], and more timely, high-tier healthcare compared to public Canadian healthcare wait times [14:35].
- Pre-Tax vs. Post-Tax Strategy: Recommends continuing traditional 401(k) contributions while earning high incomes to capture tax savings, noting penalty-free access strategies (like 72(t) rules) make locked retirement accounts flexible before 59.5 [20:07], [21:18].
- Cash Allocation & Dividends: Argues against holding multi-year cash reserves, explaining that reliable dividend streams and long-term market growth reduce the need for large cash buffers [27:25], [28:44].
- TRT & Off-Grid Solar: Pete answers listener updates on his positive experience with Testosterone Replacement Therapy for energy [34:59] and details how he uses budget solar panels to heat his hot tub [38:15].
MHFI 329.5: Too Much Freedom in Early Retirement
Publish Date: Jul 26, 2026
- Managing Freedom & Choice in Retirement: Pete discusses how unlimited choice can create decision paralysis, recommending simple daily routines to structure days while preserving open chunks of leisure time [01:46], [03:13].
- Long-Term Care Planning: Addresses concerns about potential healthcare costs later in life ($8k–$10k/month), suggesting preventative health habits, modeling out expenses across long time horizons, and relying on self-insurance through compound growth [11:50], [14:26].
- Charitable Giving & Effective Altruism: Shares perspectives on volunteering locally vs. donating larger sums, citing Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save to advocate for impactful global health donations when possessing excess wealth [20:33], [22:03].
- FI Collective Growth: Highlights the ongoing expansion of the FI Collective in Longmont, featuring daily community events organized by member committees alongside active remote memberships [22:34], [22:45].
MHFI Bonus: Mr. Money Mustache Mailbag
Publish Date: Nov 17, 2025
- Shifting Mindsets: “What have you changed your mind on?”
- Moving to Arizona: “Is Pete still snowboarding to Arizona in the winters down to Culisac and was that an experiment or a permanent thing what’ you learn from the experience?”
- Health and Fitness at Age 50: “At age 50 plus what are you focusing on for your health and fitness besides biking and eating healthy?”
- Sleep Optimization: “You both said that you wear earplugs to bed she wants some recommendations on brands and… feels vulnerable that she can’t hear… what do you think?”
- Enjoyable Projects: “What things are you working on these days that light you up?”
- Buying a Tesla: “How would you approach buying a Model Y in 2025 and are there any other electric cars that are worth considering?”
- Past Frugality: “Do you wish you lived less frugally when you were younger?”
- Charitable Giving: “What’s your current stance and practice on charitable giving?”
- Avoiding Sedentary Leisure: “One of the messages I get from Pete’s writing is to do hard things and life becomes easy how do you avoid slipping into a life of sedentary leisure?”
- Biggest Projects: “What’s the biggest project that you’ve taken yourself and how did that go and any advice for people that want to do more repairs and improvement projects on their own?”
The Ultimate FI Topic Index (Organized by Theme)
The Philosophy of FIRE & Early Retirement
- “What insight do you have to help people move past that [fear to actually retire]?” (MHFI 310)
- “What insight do you have on people that are scared about the use of their time slash boredom?” (MHFI 310)
- “Have you observed like with some of your coaching people that are too focused on the future or… people that are already retired and they’re still saving…?” (MHFI 309)
- “Did you have any sort of identity crisis going from you know software engineer to stay at home dad…?” (MHFI 296)
- “Do you have any thoughts about the evolution and how it started narrow with your specific story…?” (MHFI 308)
- “Did you start thinking of like cheap versus frugal as you were spending money more recently or is that something that was kind of in the back of your head…?” (MHFI 283)
- “What’s your take on the this ultrarugality issue?” (MHFI 309)
- “What advice would you give to a young adult today that wants to retire early?” (MHFI 241)
- “How do you maintain your composure when it seems like everything around you is falling apart?” (MHFI 241)
Health, Happiness & Daily Habits
- “What is happiness to you like is there a better word for it like contentment maybe?” (MHFI 143)
- “Can you explain your badassity checklist and then I’ll explain the good life algorithm and what we can learn from the two?” (MHFI 296)
- “At age 50 plus what are you focusing on for your health and fitness besides biking and eating healthy?” (MHFI Bonus)
- “Can you explain what that is [voluntary hardship] and why that’s so valuable to have in your life?” (MHFI 143)
- “What is your sleep routine and are you a good sleeper?” (MHFI 241)
- “One thing I think about now is the journey is a lot more important… what do you think about that [systems vs. goals]?” (MHFI 143)
- “What does your perfect day look like?” (MHFI 143)
Community, Friendships & Social Life
- “How do you make friends as a middle-aged dude?” (MHFI 310)
- “Do you have any insight or have you observed other people and you know what you might be introverted but you do what you need to do because you do enjoy it to be social?” (MHFI 310)
- “Do you have any tips for me on this [getting bored of small talk]?” (MHFI 296)
- “Can you tell us about the story of getting 712 Main Street [The HQ]?” (MHFI 143)
- “What are your thoughts on the culdesac model and have you brought any ideas back to Longmont from your time down there?” (MHFI 241)
- “Do you have any tips for people that want to bring their partner to an event like this where you know maybe they’re not on board?” (MHFI 283)
Tactical Finance & Investing
- “Can you tell us what your expenses are now in 2024?” (MHFI 241)
- “What do most people get wrong or how should they think differently [about complex finances]…?” (MHFI 229)
- “Is it [Roth Conversions] considered earned income is it income that can be deducted for HSA?” (MHFI 229)
- “We want you to compare and contrast index funds versus real estate” (MHFI 229)
- “You mentioned using margin can you explain how you use it and any tips and tricks for using margin accounts correctly?” (MHFI 309)
- “What’s your current stance and practice on charitable giving?” (MHFI Bonus)
- “What are your thoughts about the connection between the fire movement and environmentalism have you transitioned to socially responsible investing…?” (MHFI 241)
Projects, Cars, Pop Culture & Hobbies
- “Can you just talk about why you like construction and and working on projects like that?” (MHFI 305)
- “Any big upgrades from your current house to the new one including a big project that you might do?” (MHFI 310)
- “How would you approach buying a Model Y in 2025 and are there any other electric cars that are worth considering?” (MHFI Bonus)
- “When you watched it [The Matrix] were you immediately like ‘Holy shit I like this is changing the way I think’?” (MHFI 305)
- “You were a classic software developer right so this was um like watching a documentary on your life right [Office Space]?” (MHFI 305)
- “Was [Fight Club] a big influence in your life Pete?” (MHFI 305)
- “What things are you working on these days that light you up?” (MHFI Bonus)