Up until my late 20’s many of you know that I had a negative net worth. Spending all my income on useless things such as over eating, over drinking, over travelling, and over housing. I was buying the best of everything and too much of it. Mainly because I thought this was the path to living the good life.

All my mates were doing it and I just wanted to keep up. In fact, I more than wanted to keep up. I wanted the best. However, there was always someone that had more than me. I was trying to keep up with the Joneses, but there was always a Jones ahead of me.

Thankfully in my mid 30’s I discovered financial independence and made some radical changes. But early on, I found a new problem.

Keeping up with the Mustachians

Enter a new realm of comparisons. It was no longer who could spend the most, but now who could spend the least, earn the most from side hustles, and be the most productive.

I see people in this space always trying to outdo each other. “You get up at 5am and have cold showers? Well I get up at 4am and write blogs while brushing my teeth in a cold shower”.

I only joke. Kind of. It tends to be only the men, like it is some kind of pissing contest and it is the one part of the FI crowd that I don’t like.

I should know. I found myself in that space when I first begun with my financial transformation. I was impressed with the changes I had made only to find out someone else was saving much more than me.

All of a sudden my pride had been taken away thanks to comparison. I was no longer proud of my achievements. I wanted more even before I knew I wanted more.

So I started cutting even more to try and catch up to the “best mustachians”.

This proved to be one or two budget cuts too many and my satisfaction levels went from happy to miserable. All because I was trying to keep up again.

No more. Comparison truly is the thief of joy. There will always be someone stronger, smarter, richer, and more frugal than you. The key thing is you are progressing in the right direction.

If you are getting better every year, heading in the right direction, and are happy then that is all that matters.

I have found my ideal savings rate. Any more and I will be miserable. Any less and there will be too much wastage. I no longer care if someone is saving more. Good for them.

I’m going to be me. I may not be the best or most frugal mustachian, but I am still doing great.

So you do you. Be your best version of yourself you can be. Don’t be someone else’s best or it will be a very long and miserable journey.

If you need help with optimising your lifestyle, then get in touch today.

The information contained on this site is the opinion of the individual author(s) based on their personal opinions, observation, research, and years of experience. The information offered by this website is general education only and is not meant to be taken as individualised financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other kind of advice. You can read more of my disclaimer here