Today is the 55th edition of our periodic guest post series called 10 Questions and a Pizza Place. (The 1500′s are pizza fanatics.) We have a list of 17 questions we pose to fellow financial bloggers, and they are free to pick and choose 10 or answer all of them. Let us know if you would like to be featured in a future edition of 10 Questions. Note: We just changed the questions, so feel free to submit again.
Today’s guest blogger comes to you all the way from Switzerland! Very timely considering the currency bomb that the Swiss dropped on the world recently! I have no idea if Mr. Mustachian Post has anything to do with the currency fun, but if so, well played. Did you pick the color for your new Ferrari yet? I kid, I kid. Maybe.
Tell me about your blog and why it’s great.
I created mustachianpost.com after finishing to read every single blogpost of Mr. Money Mustache. I wanted to keep track of my journey towards financial independence, in order to share my mistakes and tips. Also I felt that the topic was covered a lot in the US but nothing was targeting Switzerland specifically. So the specificities of this tiny country that are treated in my blog could be what makes it great 😉
What is the worst financial mistake you made?
I bought a car on loan. But I think I had to do it once in order to realize how much of a painful experience it is to have a loan to reimburse every month. I will never get a loan anymore for anything but an apartment mortgage!
What would you do if you inherited $1,000,000 (after taxes) today?
If I assume 1$ = CHF 1.-, then I would buy an house, invest the rest and then update my “Years to retirement” graph 😉
What kind of car do you drive?
A 2006 Toyota Prius since almost one year. I simply love this car! Big enough to transport family or carry some Ikea huge wardrobe, while consuming very small amount of gas. It is funny how I switched from a 200hp car to an hybrid one, while still having fun thanks to the gamification you get out of the Prius usage: always trying to improve your gas consumption 😉
Who inspires you?
I won’t be original on this one but financially, MMM and Jesse Mecham from YNAB (You Need A Budget) are the two guys that inspired me most. On the general scale, people like Tesla CEO or other serial entrepreneurs are inspiring me. I have more ideas of product/company to build/create than every single minute I have left to live…
What is the best financial move you have made?
Reading MMM blog from A to Z and using YNAB.
After applying mustachianism:
* I lowered insurance policy coverages to the minimum
* I changed Internet provider
* I lowered my mobile plan to the minimum needed
* I changed car
* I changed the way we buy groceries to reduce drastically our bills
* I started to invest
If I had to pick one, I think that it is the car switch that I’m the most proud of! Well, also the investing one actually.
What is your favorite place to vacation?
Canada!!! Québec province. And as soon I will have visited it, I think British Columbia will become my top 1!
What’s your favorite tip for saving money?
Use YNAB while having real goal(s) in mind that drive your financial decisions! I love this stash that can’t stop to go upper and upper!!!
What is your favorite pizza place (I am a pizza nut)?
“Chez Tony” in Grandson, Switzerland! The Indian pizza is just awesome!!!
What is your fondest memory?
The day I met my wife, our wedding and our two child births.
What are your biggest goals in life?
Short-term goal: buy an apartment in 3 years
Short-term goal: work 80% in less than 3 years
Mid-term goal: world tour with wife and two children in less than 10 years
Long-term goal: financial independence
All that spending time traveling with my family as much as possible!!!
And also create or build products that are useful to some people!
If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be (don’t say ‘buy Microsoft,’ everyone says that)?
Set yourself goals and start YNAB. Because unfortunately, stash isn’t amassing alone…
What advice would you give to a 24 year old, just out of college?
Choose the company that offers a job that you really dream about. And not the one that offers more money, because on the long run, the first one and your experiences there will bring you much much more than the second one!!!
And continue to live the same frugal student life of necessity while saving a lot of money!!!
Mac or PC?
Mac! I can’t understand how one can still use a PC nowadays!
What are your favorite personal finance websites?
mrmoneymustache.com
Prosper or Lending Club? Please explain.
I still wait them to reach the Swiss market…
If you have children, how do you raise them to be financially responsible and frugal?
They are still young but we already start to explain them the value of things such as food or clothes. To not waste. I think my biggest challenge will be to make them love and stick to YNAB 😉
I also checked the “Rich dad poor dad” book summary yesterday and this gave me some inspiration on how to infuse them the craft-it-yourself and entrepreneurship spirit I wish they will have in 10-20 years.
What is the worst personal finance mistake you see people making?
Eating outside every work day at noon…
What product or service epitomizes consumerism?
Loan of less than CHF 500.- without any financial status check from the bank! This should be forbidden!!!
What is your favorite recipe?
Chocolate cake from my wife!!!!!
What was your favorite job?
A student job during a summer: some motorway toll company was doing some preventing campaign and I had to check the tires inflation. I had so much fun because of a nice colleague, funny and happy clients in holidays, and a lot of tips in addition to my salary.
Big thanks to Mr. Mustachian Post! Find him at his blog, on Twitter and facebook.
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I love that you plan on taking your children around the world. I believe that it will really change their views and make them better people. I plan on traveling with my daughter throughout Europe for the next five years and I can’t wait. Good luck with everything.
Petrish @ Debt Free Martini recently posted…Debt Progress Report – January 31, 2015
Hi Petrish,
I indeed think that this is gonna be a life change experience that will stick to them no matter what their future will be made of!
We want to open their mind and show them the maximum of the world before they fly by themselves!
What about you and your daughter? Which countries do you plan to visit? For how long?
Best of luck for your Martini challenge 😉
Greetings from Switzerland!
MP
Just be careful with lowering your insurance policies too much if you have a sizable nest egg, may be good to have an umbrella policy to cover it. Unless Switzerland is different than the US and not everyone is so “sue happy.” Cheers.
Fervent Finance recently posted…$23,500 of New Debt!
The US is definitely more “sue happy” than any European country. You people are weird in that sense…
I can’t stand it. I was working out at the gym yesterday and there are a bank of TVs in front of the machines. Every once in a while, I glance up at them. I’d estimate that about 1/4 or the commercials are for personal injury attorneys. Now I know why I never watch TV.
Gosh! 1/4?!? Seriously?!?
So don’t worry for us, I was actually talking about care and car insurances.
Even with these lowered at max, we are definitely protected enough to survive any family crisis. Not to mention the cash cushion we built at first before doing that!
But indeed, in the one hand US is attractive for many things, but on the other hand, there are crazy stuff like this or school and care fees that are really repulsive!
Cheers from Switzerland.
MP
Canada is pretty great! Glad you enjoy it too!
I like that you say you want to travel with your family before FI because we’re thinking about doing the same thing..
Emily @ Simple Cheap Mom recently posted…You Have to be Pretty Cheap to Cut Your Own Hair
I simply love this country! I’m trying to transmit that to my children with the secret hope that one of them will love it too and move there for his studies 😉
Like this we will be “forced” to visit the place way more often!!! Although we visit it quite a lot anyway!
For the world tour part, I think the world itself would go way better if all children would have the chance to live this eye and mindset -opening once in their life. Like to understand our differences, accept them, and actually love them.
Greets from CH!
MP
Ah and by the way, your “engagement cat” idea is simply great!!!
Definitely less casual than a ring, and clearly way more engaging 😉
So what are some of the places you plan to hit on your world tour with your family? Besides Canada 🙂
Will be bookmarking your site to follow your journey to financial independence.
Cheers!
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…Financial Stats for Gross Income and Net Worth Now Have a Dedicated Page
Hi GYFG!
Thanks for the comment (weirdo to write that on a blog whoch isn’t mine ^^).
For the world tour, so far, we plan to start from north Amercia (north like Alaska!), then Canada, US, South America, and probably switch to Asian continent via New-Zealand. Afterwards it still has to be defined which countries we will step by to go back to Switzerland.
Looking forward to exchanging with you in future posts!
Yours,
MP
Also Mr. Mustachion Post, What actually comes on an Indian Pizza?
And whats the chatter in your neck of the woods about removing the fixed exchange rate between the Franc and the Euro?
Its not often you get 30% moves in currency. But in the end the currency markets should find equilibrium by natural market forces, which we witnessed once the cap of 1.20 was removed. Would love to hear you take on this.
Cheers!
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…January 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #1
Officially, their Indian pizza is normally chicken+curry+pineapple+cheese. I’m not a big fan of sugar-salt mix meal so I always ask them to remove the pineapples. I don’t know how they prepare it but it so so tasty!!! Love it!!!
Regarding the EUR/CHF, Switzerland introduced this floor rate years ago because Euro zone was so not going well (after the crisis), and CH was going better with a strong currency which was dangerous for our export trades (watches, cheese, chocolate, etc etc).
It seems the SNB thought it was the right time to remove the floor because Euro zone seems to get better (like, really???) and that it would less impact our businesses.
Be sure that the SNB keeps the right to reintroduce the floor in case of emergency.
Some say that this was useless as we started and ended at the same point with 1 EUR = 1 CHF.
Who is right, who is wrong? I honestly don’t know but what I’m sure of is that Switzerland has many resources to keep up with economic issues. Definitely more than the Europe!
What was also clear is that we know don’t care only about EUR but we see it global and take into consideration the USD.
Not to mention the smart move with the trade agreement with China: http://rt.com/business/224759-china-switzerland-offshore-deal/
In the end, from my personal FI/ER perspective, I simply enjoy the new rate and get 20% discount on holidays and many other things 😉
Yours,
MP
Great interview. You should definitely come check out BC. There’s reason why our license plates say “Beautiful British Columbia.” 😉
Tawcan recently posted…How we got started with dividend investing
Hi Tawcan,
The trip is planned for this summer!
And you don’t have to sell BC to me as I think that’s the region of the world I love the most – even without having visited it yet!
I checked your blog and we have a similar profile – except for the country we live in 😉
I will definitely keep you in my reading list!
From which part of BC are you exactly? Vancouver?!?
Yours,
MP
Glad to see you featured here, MP! Maybe that’ll drive some more Europeans towards financial independence (and our blogs covering it from a European perspective!).
Also, how can you not love PCs? They’re so versatile and you can literally do anything you want with them.
Cheers,
NMW
No More Waffles recently posted…Dividend Income for January 2015
@NMW: indeed, hopefully the bloggers and readers in Europe grow more and more day after day!
Regarding Mac, I won’t start a flamewar, moreover not on my blog!
Ping me privately if you wanna know the Truth 😉
Cheers,
MP