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Where in the world are you?

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jlcollinsnh around the world

I don’t know too much about this whole blogging process.  Since starting last June, I’ve only barely figured out how to write the posts and put them up.  But measuring readership and other metrics is still mostly a mystery to me.  (I also just got an email from a reader asking for the addition of an RSS button to make subscribing easier.  I’ll have to look into that as a writer is nothing without readers.)

Since I began this for my own amusement, I haven’t much cared.  The original idea was to post some advice, investment counseling and a few stories for my daughter.  Stuff she might not be interested in just now, but maybe later.  Stuff I wanted to get down while I was thinking about it and before I forgot.

Still it is very cool to see that people are reading it and some even take the time to comment.  I hope you will, too.  It’s very motivating and helps keep me from thinking I’m just some old coot talking to himself.

The other day I stumbled on a feature that tells me where in the world my readership is located.  I found it wicked cool and thought maybe you’d like to know, too.

The vast majority of readers are from right here in the USA.  Makes sense.  So am I.

#1 market for jlcollinsnh

Second is our neighbor to the north, Canada.  Again, no surprise.

The UK is third.  English-speaking countries are the top audiences.  Makes sense.  I write in English.  Although I have noticed someone has translated the blog into Portuguese.  Very cool.  If you’ve found it in any other languages, please send me a link in the comments.

Europe in the coveted #2 spot

But in spot #4 is Germany and it is very close to the UK.

Australia is right behind.  You Aussies need to pick up the pace.  You blokes speak English, right?

Poland is next, slightly edging out France.

More readers hail from Northern Europe(Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway) than from the south (Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal).

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Korea & Romania are all neck and neck in the mid range.  Pakistan has more readers than any of these and India has fewer.

A step or two down in numbers Malaysia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, Jamaica & Hungary all are within a reader or two.

All around the Indian Ocean are jlcollinsnh readers

There are readers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Philippines and even one in Papua New Guinea.  But none from mainland China, which I find strange.

There are a couple from Tahiti.

Maybe this post helped:  http://jlcollinsnh.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/muk-finds-success-in-tahiti/

Israel has readers as does Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, The UAE and Jordan.  So this blog seems to give the Israelis and Arabs something to agree upon.

The Middle East comes together on jlcollinsnh

Syria and Yemen are missing but I guess they’ve got other things on their minds.  Oman is also missing and you Omanis have no excuse.

Iran is also absent.  Despite the tensions between our counties this is too bad, I think.  My friends who’ve lived there speak highly of the Iranian people. North Korea is also absent, but I’m not sure they have any choice.

Some key countries are missing jlcollinsnh here

In South America readers come from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Columbia, Peru and Paraguay, in that order.  Interestedly, and maybe disturbingly, none from Ecuador or Venezuela, the only two South American countries I’ve been to.  This summer I’ll be in Peru and Bolivia.  Hope that doesn’t dissuade my Peruvian readers.

Central American and Caribbean readers are sparse

Mexico provides my only Central American readers and the only ones from the Caribbean live in The Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

Even sparser in Africa

Nakupenda Afrika. Labda wimbo hii itasaidia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVrtrB84_AA&feature=related

In the whole of Africa only five countries are represented: Tunisia, Uganda, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco.  Readership from Tunisia equals all of the other four combined.  One of these days I’ll have to go there and thank them.

There are still others and I apologize for not getting to them all.  While there are many countries with readers I’ve not been to, there are also a few I visited and yet from where I have no readers.  That’s right.  I’m talking to you Nepal, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Venezuela and Ecuador.  Don’t make me come back there…

I have no idea what all this means, but I found it interesting and thought you might too.  I’m delighted you all showed up.  Welcome!

What I would also find interesting is a comment from those of you around the world.  Leave a note below and let me know where you’re from, how you found this blog and why you’re here.  Oh, and pass it on to your friends.

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Filed Under: Travels

Comments

    • Hi Aaron and thanks for checking in!

      I’ve been wondering how many of my readers in other countries are, in fact, US expats. My guess is quite a few.

      Reply

  2. You forgot New Mexico – yes we are a part of the U.S. but often folks out west and east don’t realize that we are part of the Union. We give up trying to convince the country that we are a State. Therefore, until everyone in America realizes this, I wish that you would give us the unique status of quasi-nationhood. In support of my argument for quasi nationhood, I would like to point out that we have our own spaceport, and developed the A Bomb!
    If you would be so kind as to recognize us lobos as our own entity, we might be able to claim #1 in jlcnh readership. In point of fact I believe that we have the most readers per capita on the jlcnh blog!We Nuevo Mexicanos demand the treasured status as the (quasi) country with the most jlcnh per capita readers. We need to be #1 in something! We have earned that right. Take note and beware, Mr. Collins.
    Que Viva La Revolucion!
    El Fritzo (no, not frito)
    Ranchos de Taos, Nuevo Mexico

    Reply

    • You have your work cut out for you Mr. Lobo. As much as I like New Mexico, and it is one of my favorite places, the love is not returned.

      Here in the USA, Pittsburg and Atlanta have the greatest number of jlcollinsnh fans.

      You need to get busy recruiting!

      Reply

      • Mr. Collins,
        You need to read more carefully – I said the most per capita.
        It is a ratio.
        Don’t you folks back East unnerstand that concept?
        Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges;;;
        El Fritzo

        Reply

        • Ha! I stand corrected!

          Damn you desert rats and your sophisticated financial concepts…..

          Now that you’ve embarrassed Mr. jlcollinsnh, on his blog no less, the least you can do is go out there and round up a few more coyotes to read it. (Trickster reference intended)

          Reply

  3. Representing Texas over here, Dallas area specifically.
    Texas should get it’s own category since it’s bigger than most of those countries you mentioned 🙂

    Reply

  4. Canadian checking in here; good day eh?. I’ve been enjoying your writing (particularly the recent condo saga) over the past few months and wanted to encourage you to write more tales in the future. Or maybe I just felt bad for lurking w/o commenting for so long.

    Oh and for the record, I’m not an American ex-pat 🙂

    Reply

    • glad I finally lured you out of the woodwork Dan, and thanks for the very kind words.

      hope to hear more from you. Even Canadians are allowed to comment here. 😉

      Reply

  6. South florida – it is pretty international here so it sometimes feels like South America!

    Been following the house sale posts with great interest. I may be doing the same soon

    Reply

    • given the international flavor of your blog, 101C, I have to believe you are too.

      That people from around the world have found jlcollinsnh is the most surprising and gratifying part of this experience.

      Reply

    • Hi Kari….

      my bet is you’re right. Expats probably are the majority. Still, I like the thought of some tribesman in Borneo occasionally making his way to an internet cafe and logging in to jlcollinsnh. 😉

      Reply

  9. New Zealand here. Followed your link on James Altucher’s blog.

    Condo saga very amusing, educational, and painful I can only imagine!

    Just moved to comment about China. You say you’re surprised you have no readers there. Fact is, from my recent experience all common Western blogging sites are now blocked in China. That wasn’t the case a few years back, but it is now. They can’t read you, or if they do it’ll be by VPN or proxy and report as another country.

    Reply

    • Hi Rob…

      thanks for checking in and proving non-US readers aren’t all expats. (Not that I don’t welcome you expats. I’m planning to be one myself in a couple of years….)

      My daughter has traveled to New Zealand and loved it but I’ve yet to find my way there. It’s definitely on my list. Drop dead gorgeous place based on her report and the pics I’ve seen.

      Good to hear you can only imagine the condo saga!

      Thanks for the note on China. I didn’t know that. Every few weeks I have a long conversation with an old college pal. We (actually, he) pick a topic and discuss. China is one of the next two on the list, and now I’ve got another bit of info as I prepare….

      Reply

  10. You know I’m in the US, too. 🙂 Maybe you have the solution for world peace…just keep writing! My readership is mostly American and Canadian, too, but I also have a disproportionate amount of Russian readers, which I find odd. I’d follow their blogs back, but I have no idea what they say.

    Reply

  11. I live in the US but recently spent some time in Germany and checked in here once or twice. Didn’t consider it at the time but apparently some of my neighbors there were doing the same!

    Reply

  12. India here. Found your blog through the DCA post at afford-anything, from your comment there. I have been reading through a lot of your posts now and find them quite informative and well written.

    Reply

    • Hi Mayank….

      Welcome and thanks for checking in! I appreciate your kind words.

      Where in India? I’ve traveled there a bit: Shrinigar, Delhi, Agra, Goa, Mumbai….

      Reply

  13. Another from New Mexico.
    By way of a few other places, several of which you know yourself:
    Need I mention a bog in Connemara? A haystack in Clare? An elephant in Nepal? Fighting rabid spectacle-stealing monkeys in India? Avoiding the tow police in Chicago?
    I’m sure there are others. Cheers from the Lost State.

    Reply

    • We have met up in quite a few places around the world over the years. Including NM. And Agra. And Goa where your acting chops kept us out of jail that night….

      Reply

      • Ah, yes. Although the hotel the police brought us to in the middle of that night certainly deserved the name we gave it, the “Wildlife Hotel”. Afraid to put my feet on the floor…
        Not sure we came out ahead on that one!

        Reply

    • Welcome Neil and thanks for adding your location here. and the kind words!

      one of the coolest things about doing this is touching folks from all corners of the planet.

      I’ve not been to New Zealand, but the pics look drop dead gorgeous.

      My daughter was there a few years back on a People-to-People trip and loved it.

      Reply

  15. Hi Jim,
    I am from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada where it can go to minus 50 with the windshield. My dh are originally from Sudbury, Ontario but moved out here 23 years ago.

    Reply

  17. In Istanbul. Discussing your posts with a few Australians under the Galata bridge, with the Bosporus in front of us. Epic.

    Reply

    • Outstanding! Wish I could be there with you.

      So, were these Aussies already familiar with jlcollinsnh or did you provide the intro?

      BTW, 147 readers from Australia so far today.

      G’day mates!

      Oh and a tip for the non-Aussies amount us:

      You can’t help but sound like one when you say: “Good eye mate.”

      Reply

  18. I very rarely comment on blogs but I found this interesting. Got here from your MMM’s guest post. I am from Malaysia ( might show up on your stat as Singapore though) but I must insist I am neither an expat nor a Borneo tribesmen. Just a city girl who happens to love the PF blogs:

    Reply

    • Hi Sue…

      Glad you chose to comment here and hope you’ll make it a habit. City girls are always welcome and I’m a city boy by origin (Chicago) myself.

      WordPress does give me separate stats. So far this week page views from:

      Singapore: 155
      Malaysia: 53

      Clearly you need to get busy recruiting more Malays for me! 🙂

      Reply

  19. Hi Jim, I live in Australia, though originally from the Philippines. I found your blog through your guest post in Mr. MM’s blog. I started off at Early Retirement Extreme sometime late last year. I love your writing, and also the things you talk about. I’ve always had FI on my mind from before I had my first real job in 2008, and discovering these blogs has made such a big difference in feeling that I’m not the only one who thinks the way I do, and has given me a whole new world of learning that I really enjoy. Thank you for what you do, and being willing to share of yourself in this way. I’m going through all your posts these days, and looking forward to reading each of them. 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Michelle….

      Welcome and thanks for checking in! and for the very kind words. Please feel free, as you read thru the other posts, to add your thoughts as the spirit moves you.

      Reply

  20. Here’s to increasing your India tally! I’m from Mumbai. Came across your blog from one of Jacob’s (ERE) fb posts…

    Reply

    • Thanks Jason!

      good to have you here.

      68 pages views from India so far today, fifth highest.

      I’ve been to India a couple of times — Shrinigar, Goa, Delhi, Agra — but I’ve only passed thru Mumbia.

      My wife is Goan, born and raised in Zanzibar.

      Reply

  21. Ha! I have a Goan wife too! 😛

    Take New York, give it an alternately unique culture, make it twice as dense, fill in a few thousand languages & you’ll have Mumbai 🙂

    Have just about finished your blog… (one day speed run)

    I’ve learnt so much! You’re one awesome teacher! Please don’t stop writing 🙂

    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

    • Cool beans!

      Seems Goans are spread all over the world. Where did you find her?

      I came by mine in Chicago where she’d settled after fleeing the revolution in Zanzibar by way of Dar es Salaam.

      The first time she took me to Goa I remember reading in the guide book: “Goans are a friendly people, happiest sitting on the beach and drinking their Feni Liquor.” 🙂
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feni_liquor

      Glad you are enjoying the blog. You are now in charge of recruitment, Mumbai Branch!

      Reply

  22. I found your blog through frugalbabe. I’m Dutch, living in Belgium, married to a guy from Mali. Pretty international!

    Reply

  23. I’m a neighbor of yours (sort of) down here in the Boston area. I found your blog from your MMM guest post and am glad I did – I’m really enjoying catching up on all of your posts. Thanks for all of the great insights!

    Reply

  24. Regards from Finland!

    Your blog is great, I found it through MMM blog. There are some Finnish FI blogs, which link to some US FI blogs etc. etc.

    VTSAX seems to be available for us(in Finland) as an ETF, with ticker VTI. At least I think it’s the same. Quite a coincidence that I had already chosen to start buying VTI to my portfolio. I then tried to find out what is VTSAX and why my online-bank(brokerage) does not recognize it.

    I’m actually thinking of saving your investing instructions for 19-year-olds to later use for my son (currently 1 year old).

    Reply

    • Thank you, Anne…..

      and welcome! Finland is on my future travel list. Beautiful place by all accounts.

      Yep, VTI is the ETF version on VTSAX. Perfect for those outside the USA who can’t by it as the mutual fund VTSAX. How did you choose it?

      Regarding the idea of saving my investing posts for your son: That is high praise indeed! Especially as the idea behind them is/was advice for my then 19-year-old for when she was ready.

      Reply

  25. hi jlcollinsnh
    found your blog while reading FI on MMM. I like what you write about and am impressed by your story about The Lion King HAKUNA MATATA it means no worry. I am from kenya where the movie was shot and working towards FI so that i do not have to worry about not having F you money.

    Reply

  26. Hello there! Kinda late to this party but I thought I would drop by. I am from the state of Washington via ERE and Dividend Mantra. I have really enjoyed reading thru your archives! Very well written! Thanks so much for writing them and please look us up if you are ever out in the Columbia River Gorge!

    It seems like you might also blog about your world travels? Did most of this happen pre daughter or did you get to travel as a family? I would like to hear your thoughts on this topic?

    Reply

    • Welcome Chris….

      Never too late and glad you checked in.

      Columbia River Gorge, eh? Be careful what you offer. 🙂 Never been but have heard it’s drop dead gorgeous. Good fly fishing, too. Something I’ve always thought would be fun.

      Since the blog is about “Life-Business-Money” I include the occasional travel post, although I note those are not as popular as the financial ones.

      I started traveling as soon as I could scrape together the money, as did my wife before we met. Then we traveled together for ten years before our daughter came along and then with her. Now she’s traveling mostly on her own, but with us occasionally as with this last trip to Paris and Valencia.

      At the tender age of 20 she’s closing in on as many countries as I, many of which I’ve yet to visit. She’s also beat to the continent of Australia, but she’s yet to make it to South America. So I still have that one up on her.

      Soon she’ll leave me in the dust with travel. As with everything else. 🙂

      Reply

      • Yes on both counts.

        I too traveled when I was young but only in North America.I am itching to see the rest of the world.

        The Gorge is incredible. Google Image it. Your efforts here have won you a place to crash. Nothing fancy as far as our house goes. But you are surrounded by incredible nature to experience. Best I have found. My job ain’t bad either. We have a website http://whitesalmonschools.net/ecar/

        I am working towards semi-retirement where we can do more traveling. Yesterday I picked up a site on your posts on long term travel where a family with 5 kids are doing it. If they can maybe we can. We have 3 kids.

        Any tips traveling with kids that you learned ?

        chris

        Reply

        • Thanks Chris….

          …I’ll start packing now!

          Cool website! are you the metalworking teacher?

          Not sure I have any travel with kids tips. Seemed pretty straightforward but then we only had the one.

          Traveling with her this time I was reminded of the days when she was small and couldn’t keep up. Now we’re the ones who can’t keep up with her!

          Reply

          • That’s funny!! Yea I want to do it now also before I get old but this teaching job(Metals and Robotics) has got me a little tied up.

            Its fun reading your posts and dreaming. We are heading your way this summer. My daughter has always wanted to see Pennsylvania. She says she likes the name…. We are gonna take the train out and hit family in Minn and then over to Hershey Park, maybe Niagara Falls, New York City, Gettysburg and the like. We are looking for a place to make a home base if you know anyone who wants to swap houses? Ever done that?

            We are are finishing up an addition on our little place. Hope it is done by summer. Kinda messy right now.

            I have a question..with all your traveling you must know Spanish. That’s something that I am going to start learning right after I finish our addition. Any tips?

            Chris

          • Glad you’re enjoying the blog.

            A cross country train trip is something I’ve never done, but it’s on my list. Furtherest I’ve gone is Chicago-Cleveland, but I love trains and take them whenever I can.

            We usually travel during the summers, but if you are going to be up NH way, let me know. If we’re around, coffee’s on me.

            Never done the house swap thing, but it seems to work out for those who do.

            Funny you mention Spanish. I took it in HS back in the day and since retiring it has been one of my projects. I’m not fluent, but I’m closer than I was two years ago. It is one of the reasons I’ve been focusing recent travels on Spanish speaking countries. I’ve always wanted to be multi-ligual and figure it’s not too late to start. Been thinking about taking a French course at the local HS this Spring. Our daughter is fluent in French and we’d like to catch up a bit.

          • Yea we have done the across the country trip at least once a year. Pile the kids into the car and camp our way across stopping at a different national park each trip. Last year we went to “The” National Park….”Disneyland. Then onto Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Arches. Had lots of fun. We have also taken the train a few times to visit family back east. That’s nice cause I don’t have to drive.

            Probably won’t get up as far as NH. You’ll have to come out here to buy me coffee in trade for a bedroom and tour guide.

            I listened to your POD on Madfientist tonight. Very nice. Thanks for the tips.

            As far as language goes…its funny you mentioned French. I took French in HS and never used it. On the other hand I should have taken Spanish. About a third of my students speak Spanish and that would have been handy. But like you said its not too late. It will be fun to use it in the future.

  27. Greetings, Mr. Collins,

    I know this post is from awhile back, but thought I’d just jump in! I came to your site via Mister Money Mustache. Like MMM, I am from Colorado, and am a public school teacher (elementary reading) nearing retirement.

    I’m really enjoying your posts as I also have a college-aged daughter and a second one who is a HS junior. This empty-nest business can be difficult at times!

    Anyway, keep up the good work! It’s always a good day when I have an e-mail from you to look forward to… I save it up as a reward after a hard day at work!

    Cheers!

    Reply

    • Hi Diane…

      Glad you joined in. I like this post and am glad to see it still getting some attention. Thanks!

      And thanks for the kind words.

      As for my posts arriving in your inbox, glad it brightens your day. Tomorrow I leave for Mexico/Guatemala until April. Ordinarily the blog goes dark as to new posts when I travel. This time I have two scheduled to hit while I’m gone. Hopefully I figured it out correctly and that will happen!

      Hope you enjoy them!

      Reply

    • Welcome Natasha!

      You are the first Russian reader to check in.

      Let me ask, how well do the concepts here work for you?

      Reply

    • Welcome Mohamed!

      Very cool to have Egypt check in. Are you alone in reading this blog, or is it a topic of discussion with your friends?

      Reply

      • I have been discussing it with one of my friends from Egypt. I am currently an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University, and one of my friends here actually introduced me to the blog during a conversion. Luckily I have a U.S. bank account and a SSN, so I was able to contribute with 10% of my income in some of Vanguard’s ETFs (VTIs & VOOs).

        This blog is literally gold and I wish everyone could read it. If you’d ever like to work at Ohio State to teach college kids all about investing and personal financing, I’ll be more than happy to connect you to the right people right away. This is a program at the university that is trying to develop such model, check it out: https://swc.osu.edu/financial-education-coaching/

        Reply

      • Ah, you kinda burst my bubble there. I had visions of you, and maybe a group of friends reading it in Egypt somewhere. 🙂

        I love seeing it cross international borders.

        Thanks for the offer!

        Time was, I would have loved to teach a college level course but these days it doesn’t fit into my plans.

        We have considered moving back to OH. We spent 18 years in the Cleveland area. But that’s still a ways from Columbus.

        Maybe you can suggest they use my book as the textbook for the course. 😉

        Reply

  33. Hi Jim,

    I’ve been following you (and Mike & Lauren) now for about 2-3 months reading everything on your blog. Everything you write totally syncs with my approach. I live in Sydney, Australia so have to think about investing a little differently to you. I’ve gone with something like this:

    Australian market (VAS): 40%
    US market (VTS): 20%
    World market (VEU): 20%
    Bonds (VAF and VIF): 20%

    Your approach and discussion here has made it clearer for me to up the stocks to 90% or more. That will take a little time to move it up. I’m working and wealth building so should be able to handle it given the market always goes up in the end as you showed us. Cheers. 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Scott…

      Always nice to hear from an Aussie reader, and about how you are applying the principles here to your situation.

      Glad it resonates with you!

      Reply

  34. Hong Kong, by way of North Carolina (undergrad and master’s). A diehard FI advocate from Colombia introduced me to your Stock Series. Great read.

    Reply

  36. I’m dutch. Lived in the Caribbean for the largest part of my youth before returning to Holland for studies and now my regular job.
    Stumbled on your website through a forum on http://www.tweakers.net

    Love your stock series and learning loads, recommended it to my younger brothers and father. If only I’d known this site existed sooner. No biggy, I’m only 29 years old and preparing to transition into accumulation phase with my girldfriend.

    Thank you so much for this website!

    Magic Bean

    Reply

  37. Mr. Collins,

    Your entire blog is a plethora of knowledge. Thank you for making a difference and spreading the wisdom on FI.

    I came across your blog reading an article on GCC’s blog. Either way, keep up the excellent work and teach us more!

    By the way, I’m in the US but I was born in Macedonia.

    Reply

    • Hi Ata…

      Glad you found your way here.

      As it happens, I just had dinner this evening with GCC here in Taipei. Great guy and a fine blog.

      Reply

  38. Tiny country Estonia here (southern neighbor to Finland). Hi!
    Just found your blog when i was googling VTSAX index fund investing for Europeans.
    Finance and investing is my new love 🙂

    Reply

  39. I’m rather surprised that I seem to be the first South African checking in, since we mostly speak English (more or less, in some cases) and there is a great deal of interest in international investing due to our govts apparent wish to reduce us to junk status through pig headedness and internecine political feuds.

    I read your book first (which I found via the White coat investor, iirc) and found the blog looking for info on how to access some of these low cost international funds from SA.

    There is sadly a lack of good local investing info (I probably know more about 401(k)s and Roth IRAs than I do about how my own RA works) and what there is seems to come from the people selling the funds (for the low, low TER of only 3.3% excl broker fees!).

    Thanks for all the info – I do think it’s beneficial to international readers, even if it isn’t necessarily directly applicable, and thanks for fostering a diverse community here on your blog.

    Reply

    • Hi Alexis…

      Glad you found your way here.

      Every time I hear stories, like yours, about how difficult and expensive investing is in many places around the world I am reminded of how fortunate we here in the US are in this regard.

      Unfortunately, my expertise stops at the US border. At least in terms of the details. 😉

      The basic principles are universal, if harder to implement.

      Anyway, I love the idea that this blog has an international following and always enjoy hearing from my readers scattered around the globe.

      Reply

  40. Another Aussie saying hello and thanking you for your blog.

    I particularly enjoyed the section on DCA – we will be in a position next year of having quite a large lump of cash after selling some farm land. I found the discussion on DCA very reassuring, as I had been tying myself up in knots about how to DCA, whilst having the uncomfortable feeling that this would also mean a load of cash sitting there underutilised and throwing out my allocations ( currently VAS – Aussie, VTS – US, VEU – World).

    We use ETF’s outside of our retirement funds (which we can’t access until age 60), and an indexed option within our retirement fund, along with some individual holdings also in our retirement fund.

    Thank you again, very much enjoy reading your material!

    Reply

    • Welcome Cate!

      And thanks for the kind words.

      Glad to hear the DCA post was helpful and that you are enjoying the rest.

      Reply

    • Very cool, Jason…

      …thanks for checking in and for letting me know this blog has helped.

      Enjoy your journeys!

      Reply

    • Hi Nena. I from Slovenia too. I have been reading about FIRE for half a year now. Last month I finally figured out how and where to buy index funds in our country (optimtrader). I came here while searching the web for mustachians in Slovenia 🙂

      Reply

  43. I’m in Mount Vernon, WA.

    Found your book by browsing my Amazon.com recommended list. Was surprised by how much your book confirmed many of my gut-level suspicions about personal financial planning.

    Reply

  44. Live in Norwich, United Kingdom. But originally from Malaysia.

    I stumbled across the FI movement this January. Got here via millennial revolution and have since 1) bought your book 2) got the other half – who was cherry picking stocks – on board in a matter of days! 3) read millennialR/MMM/JLCs’s blogposts daily 4) signed up to vanguard’s total world index 5) started investing when stocks are now heading down (don’t matter we’re playing the long game 🙂 )

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • Welcome littleone…

      Thanks for checking in!

      Glad you found your way here, and to MR and MMM. Both those are great resources in my judgement.

      Reply

  45. Hi! I´m one of your readers from Germany (Rhineland), and I´m not a US expat! Found your blog a few days ago via the Frugalwoods (and found them via MMM…). Just started checking out your blog. Thank you for the good work you are doing in helping your readers achieve FI!

    Reply

  46. Hello,
    I’m checking in from Nigeria! found this blog as a link on Quora.
    spent the better part of the last 1hr going through your previous posts.
    and i just bookmarked the page.

    Thanks for your posts and cheers.

    Reply

  47. London… But I’m from Nigeria 🙂 🙂
    I’m new to the F.I. world and loving it. My boyfriend is a huge fan of yours and told me about your blog. I am currently catching up on your stock series (so amazing)
    I can’t believe based on the math and all the strategies, I can actually feasibly retire in 10 years!!!
    Thank you so so much!

    Reply

  48. From Croatia!

    Found your blog by a link from a Croatian forum, so you can be sure there’s more of us reading your blog 😉 Anyhow, I’m just about to start investing and your blog is of great use to me, so I thank you. Also, I just started reading A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel and found that the recommended portfolio composition differs somewhat from your, so I’m curious for your thoughts.

    Cheers!

    Reply

  49. Hello from Slovakia! I know i am not the only one as I recently had a discussion about this blog.
    I got here through the Mad Fientist Podcast. This blog (along with others) shaped my/our family investment strategy. Dakujem -Thank you!

    Reply

  50. Somehow I just discovered this post. I’m in Northern Virginia (suburbs of Washington DC). However, I’m getting ready to relocate to Raleigh, NC to telecommute from there (all in that, find a way to reduce expenses while making more money methodology you have me now following).

    How I discovered this place: Several years back now (I’m guessing about six), the Washington Post ran a Feature article about Mr. Money Mustache. I’m not sure how it caught my eye but it did. I wasn’t into personal finance really (I had a 401k, managed by my company, put a little bit into here and there) and never really gave much thought to it all probably like a lot of Americans. But for some reason it caught my eye. I read it. I liked it. In it, he mentioned you and your site. I came here, started your Stock Series. The rest is history. Completely changed the way I thought about money, my finances, how I manage debt, savings, investing, everything. I’m now MUCH better off financially than I ever would have been. 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Tammy…

      Thanks for checking in and for sharing how you found your way here. I am always interested in such stories.

      I wasn’t aware of the piece in the Post about Mr. MM or that he had mentioned my blog.

      Anyway, glad you have found it useful! 🙂

      Reply

  52. We’re from the UK but we’re now touring Europe (…and later- the world) in our motorhome!
    Thanks so much for all your wisdom over the years- without your help we would never have achieved FI enough to change our lives and be able to have these adventures. If Norway starts popping up over the summer, that’ll be us! Take care, Kat 🙂

    Reply

  54. Hello Jim,

    I´m a young engineer from Spain living in Germany right now, till FI status is achieved :D.

    Currently saving nearly to 70% of my salary and monthly investing 50% in ETFs (mainly S&P, also some MSCI, DAX and Eurostoxx).

    As described in some of your posts investing directly in Index Funds is not so easy here, so the easiest way for me to go is to invest in EU based funds like Lyxor, Amundi or iShares (from Blackrock). Their fees are higher than Vanguard Funds, but many brokers here offer zero fee transactions for these ETFs (at least for now).

    I plan to run some MMM/jcollinsnh/MADFientist kind of badass blog/podcast in spanish as I think financial education is so so important, and definetly way too relevant not to be taught at school. Just so many people lack of it which cause them so many financial troubles douring their lives.

    Thank you very much for your blog and so much useful information and experience!!

    Saludos & Grüße,

    Miguel

    Reply

  55. Mr. Collins, I am from India. I found you at Google Talks, so I came here to read. Your blog is very informative and not complex for a person to understand who has very limited understanding of finance. The content is mostly universal. Please move this comments block up below your article. One has to go through all the comments before reaching here, moving it up will help reader.

    I am trying to spread word around about your blog, I hope you have more readers in India. Please add your views on bond market.

    Reply

  57. Hello Jim,
    I reside in Eau Claire, WI. Originally from the north central part of the state. (Currently in Saudi Arabia for work)
    I’m late to the party here, but I’ve worked my way through all of MMM and Millennial Revolution’s writings, and have since caught up on every one of your posts.
    I thoroughly enjoy your PF and travel posts.
    Thanks for everything, you’ve helped me lay the foundation towards FI, now it’s only a matter of time.
    I just so happen to have some family near you in the Sheboygan area, gotta love the lakeshore!
    I hope to attend a Chautauqua in the near future.

    Thanks again for imparting your wisdom,
    Cheers!

    Patrick

    Reply

  58. Just to shout a big hello across the North Atlantic from London.

    Found my way here thanks You Tube, and as far as I can tell your journey to this point has been similar in some ways to my own. I ceased being a wage slave towards the end of 1998 and have never looked back since. OK! I’ll be the first to admit that back then having no longer (i) a wife … (ii) dependent children … (iii) any debt … (iv) an early retirement package on offer from my then employer … did make things a lot easier for me. Nevertheless, at the time – and somewhat like you – I was very much on my own with no online help around as there is today.

    However, living as I do in a city the size of London on a relatively small island has had its cost advantages for me from day one. If one is no longer required to commute to and from one’s place of work or to act as a glorified taxi service at the beck-and-call of others then why does one need to own a car? Over the course of what is now 20 years I’ve saved myself a veritable small fortune using various forms of pay-as-you-go public transport rather than fork out ever increasing annual costs associated with motor vehicle ownership. As a result, I’ve been able to travel from one end of Spain to the other by air, land and sea as I ate the food, drank the wine, learnt the language and customs and saw the sights as I went. While I still take myself to Spain twice a year, I’m getting older so don’t travel as much as I did.

    In terms of investing, as a means of achieving a state financial independence, my journey began in 1988 with the introduction here in the UK of Personal Equity Plans (PEPs), the forerunner of the current Individual Saving Accounts (ISAs) that were introduced as a replacement in 1999. See …

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Savings_Account

    In essence, an ISA is a tax-shelter free of any UK taxes payable on withdrawn amounts of capital and / or income. As a result, upfront annual contributions into an account are deemed tax paid and cannot be offset in part against income tax payable. The tax benefits come when funds are withdrawn from the account rather than when they are paid in, which is the general practice with pension-like saving products.

    Unlike you, my timing proved fortuitous back in 1988. I missed Black Monday of October 1987 and its aftermath, as a result I was able to take full advantage of the bull market that followed. Also, I didn’t get caught up in the US-led tech bubble of the late 90s. At the time, I was otherwise focused on establishing sources of income from government and corporate bonds and above average yielding stocks of traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ companies that actually made and sold products to consumers.

    I now find such actions taken are reaping their hoped for long-time rewards, because ever since I began drawing a defined benefit deferred company pension in 2007, followed in 2011 by a State Pension (Social Security in the US), I’ve been increasingly able to direct more and more of the tax-free natural income generated by holdings, held within my Individual Saving Account, to a designated ‘revenue reserve’ account for future use. Also, I’ve been aided in this task by the inflation-proofing afforded by annual rises of the two pension payments I receive, and to a lesser extent, increases in generated tax-free investment income.

    Word to the wise – DON’T EVER IGNORE THE LONG TERM ACCUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF INFLATION ON SPENDING POWER, no matter how benign it appears to be. It needs to be built into any long-term cash flow projection. In a supposedly era of low inflation, here in the UK – and, according to the Government funded Office of National Statistics who are charged with making such calculations – one British Pound Sterling buys 55.8% less than it did 20 years ago, and 27.6% less than it did 10 years ago.

    While I unreservedly endorse the use on low-cost index funds for those beginning to work their way along the road to financial independence. Back when I started the likes of Vanguard didn’t have a presence in the UK, indexing has only begun taking root on this island in the past 15 years. However, unlike the US, investor awareness has been slow however; the UK is gradually coming round to the idea.

    If I was trying to sell indexing as a collective vehicle best suited for long-term investing then the sales pitch I’d use would go as follows:
    • Keeps costs down compared to active funds.
    • Avoids the need for time consuming analysis company by company, and avoids getting individual company decisions wrong.
    • Sells or removes poor performing companies and substitutes better performing companies with a ruthless discipline.
    • Runs its successes, so will accumulate gains in winning companies, and less in losers. When an active manager is tempted to take profits, an index holds on regardless. Research shows that much of the extra value holding shares overtime comes from a handful of big winners.
    • If you can find an active fund manager who can do all of the above then you’ve found the proverbial needle in a haystack. Though, to quote Vanguard’s founder Jack Bogle, why take the chance of finding that rarest of needles when you can just as easily buy the haystack.

    Reply

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