WWMMMD?
Over the years, as I have developed my own personal approach to balance my financial independence pursuit and my sanity, I have stubbornly stuck to a few strategies:
Don’t spend money on stupid stuff
Invest some current funds for the future
Ask myself, “WWMMMD?”
If you’re not familiar with the acronym WWMMMD, it stands for:
What Would Mr. Money Mustache Do?
Maybe I’ve lost my marbles, or maybe I’m putting a name to what many other Financial Independence seekers do. Searching for financial wisdom during this phase of my life has helped guide me with decision making when it feels like I’m in a grey area.
Yes; Spending, budgets, and investments can be considered black and white on the excel sheet, yet I often find myself at a crossroads with many money decisions, since I am also weighing in factors of sanity and quality of life.
So when I find myself in an internal debate between money, sanity, and questioning if I’m just looking for an excuse to do something the easy way, I may ask myself… WWMMMD?
It would be incredibly convenient if there was a miniature Mr. Money Mustache perched on my shoulder, sharing insight on my specific question. The closest I can get to that, however, is to refer to previous mrmoneymustache.com blog posts as a reference to what might be said about the circumstances to help weigh in on my money decisions.
Thankfully, Artificial Intelligence has taken over critical thinking in many fields, and for my newest “money crossroads” question, I decided to see if it could aid in helping me determine:
WWMMMD?
I did re-read a few of the classic posts and (with a biased lens) decipher how to apply it for my situation. I realized, though, I could ask ChatGPT, with all the information about MMM’s philosophy and personality at its creepy robot fingertips, to give me an all encompassing, hypothetical response, with my personal bias removed.
So here is my current conundrum:
Our house is just over 60 years old. It’s not quite old enough that it has the classic “charm” that we should restore, nor new enough that everything still works and just needs a coat of paint. It’s in that adorable, lovable, awkward spot of brown carpets and brown wall panelling, with every surface creaking or cracked, and each door getting stuck at different times of the year (depending on the weather). It’s time to make another upgrade.
More specifically, here is the question to which I seek the advice of Mr. Money Mustache:
Should my (construction competent) partner and I retrofit EVERY. SINGLE. WINDOW. in our two story “fixer upper” home ourselves? Or do we hire this out, and enjoy more of our limited free time?
I typed this question into ChatGPT, asking what advice Mr. Money Mustache would give. Curious? Come along:
Ms. FUnds:
Hey MMM, I’ve got a dilemma. I’m a single mom with a fixer-upper two-story house, and every window in the place needs retrofitting. My boyfriend is handy with a hammer, but I could just pay a contractor and be done with it. Should I save my time and hire it out?
Mr. Money Mustache:
Ahhh, Ms. FUnds… You had me at “construction-competent boyfriend.” 😏
But seriously — this is one of those moments where the Universe is giving you a gift-wrapped opportunity to crank your Badassity dial to 11.
Ms. FUnds:
Easy for you to say — you’ve got a blog and a beard and a cult following. I’ve got a full-time job, a kid, and laundry from 3 dimensions.
Mr. Money Mustache:
Trust me, I hear you — life’s full. But let’s zoom out.
When you hire out a job like this, you’re not just paying money — you’re paying in Life Energy. And in MMM World, wasting life energy on stuff you could do yourself (and even enjoy?) is the first step down the Slippery Slope to Consumer Sucka-ville.
Ms. FUnds:
But I’ve got a limited supply of that energy. And time. And sanity.
Mr. Money Mustache:
Exactly why you need to invest in skill rather than hemorrhage dollars.
Window retrofitting isn’t brain surgery. It’s mostly measuring, leveling, and the joyful sound of a cordless drill — kind of like a date night for construction nerds. 🍷🔧
Turn it into a weekend project. Teach your kid how to hold a tape measure. Put on some Beastie Boys. And boom — you’ve created a Life Upgrade without writing a check.
Ms. FUnds:
So you’re saying this isn’t just about windows, it’s about reclaiming my inner badass?
Mr. Money Mustache:
You catch on quick, Ms. FUnds. 😎
This is your "Punch in the Face of Consumerism" moment.
Let the Average Complainypants crowd pay $12,000 for someone else to hold a caulk gun. You, on the other hand, get new windows and new confidence — for maybe 1/10th the cost.
Ms. FUnds:
But what if I screw it up?
Mr. Money Mustache:
Then you learn. Maybe you fix it. Maybe your boyfriend grins and steps in. Maybe you both end up covered in sawdust and laughing with a beer in hand.
Either way, you’ve upgraded your skills, your house, and your story. That’s Mustachian Magic, baby.
Ms. FUnds:
Alright, you’ve convinced me. I’ll borrow your miter saw if you throw in one of those smug high-fives.
Mr. Money Mustache:
Deal. And hey — if your construction-competent boyfriend ever flakes, you know where to find a rugged man with a circular saw and a penchant for frugal women. 😉
Turns out, ChatGPT thinks MMM is persuasive, encouraging, and a bit of a flirt. The point made during this thought(less) experiment stands with what I was afraid to hear:
Try it yourself,
get uncomfortable,
learn something, and
see how it goes.
This advice is inconvenient, of course, but that’s the point. Good advice doesn’t mean that it’s the easiest option.
…Damn it.
Thankfully, there is some time before The Window Project.
This idea of attempting the installation with my partner and I, or trying one and seeing how it goes, is going to continue percolating in the back of my mind. No matter which way the decision goes, I look forward to the day where I can’t feel the outdoor breeze inside my house.
With a beer in hand, it doesn’t sound too bad afterall…
AI may have understood the advice I was seeking, but the image I tried to create… it didn’t quite translate.
