MMM Members Share Their Thoughts

This is the last post I’ll do during this Millionaire Money Mentors (MMM) sale and I wanted it to be one that wasn’t from me, but was from members and mentors in the forums. BTW, there is a difference between being a member and a mentor, but for the purposes of this post I’ll refer to them collectively as “members”.

As you probably know, I have an MMM testimonials page on ESI Money which includes comments from members about the membership. These comments come from a few threads within the forums which regularly receive new postings.

I haven’t updated the testimonials page in quite some time, so I recently decided to do that. I went back to the threads where members talk about the forums and what it’s done for them and collected some new comments.

I thought I’d include some of those comments in this post so you get a chance to see them before they’re lost in the vastness of the testimonials page. LOL!

So I’ll list the quotes in bold and italics and then jump in with some comments of my own before I move on to the next one.

We’ll begin with one that I really enjoyed seeing:

The MMM forum has helped me become more generous. I have seen how mentors and members encourage others and give their resources to those in need. They have been excellent role models.

Two recent examples:

Two weeks ago, we were at the Dollar Tree, purchasing some treats for my kids. There was an older woman ahead of us who appeared to be doing her weekly grocery shopping. I asked her if we could purchase her groceries. She was a bit hard of hearing, so the cashier told her that I was paying for her groceries. She was so happy. Total cost was $29.73. When the cashier rang up our things, he asked how my day was going. “It’s going a lot better now,” I said.

Tonight, I was eating supper at a diner with my dad, who I am visiting in Nebraska. Two women with seven very young kids walked in and sat next to us. Similar to how I grew up, it was clear that going out to a restaurant was a BIG DEAL, and the kids were so excited to have someone else cook them food.

I have shared elsewhere how my wife, kids, and I ate at an Olive Garden when my son was one-day old, and how a random stranger paid for our meal. I wanted to pay back that favor, so I asked the cashier if I could buy their meal. The women and children never knew it was me. I saw their server say that someone had covered their bill and that he had no idea who did it. They seemed to appreciate it. Total cost: $101 + $21 tip. To me, it was a priceless experience.

Thanks, MMM, for showing me how to make a simple difference in people’s lives.

As you might imagine, I LOVE this comment and I’m so glad the forums played a part in it.

We do talk about giving in the forums quite often — in everything from leaving larger-than-average tips at restaurants to funding charitable activities each year around the holidays to making giving part of a lifestyle in retirement.

Being part of these discussions has had a big impact on me personally. It’s how I got to the point of ramping up my retirement “spending” by “giving” more. I talked about this in IGE: An Alternative to ISE if you’re interested in reading about it.

Now let’s move on to the next comment…

I have learned a ton just by following along. And reading all this wisdom has caused some of my assumptions to have really been challenged, making me re-evaluate some ideas.

But by far the best thing is the camaraderie that occurs. I feel like I could meet up with so many of you and just pick up a conversation where we left it off.

Hahahaha. The same is true for me.

My assumptions get challenged almost every day. Sometimes the challenges reinforce what I think and sometimes they make me adjust in one way or another.

I can tell you that there are certainly some very smart, wise, and experienced people in the forums so I always have an opportunity for learning.

I feel the camaraderie as well. It’s one reason our in-person meeting in April was so amazing — we felt like we already knew each other so we didn’t have the start-up time that’s needed when you meet strangers.

Of course there were people there who didn’t know others very well, but we closed those gaps pretty quickly because we had a common bond and experience. We’ll likely be doing another one of these next year, so if you’re interested in something like that you’ll certainly want to join the forums and watch for updates.

Here’s the next post…

[What I like about the forums] is that I can talk and talk and talk about retirement scenarios, concerns, planning, etc. here and not drive my wife to drinking.

Hahahahaha. I can relate.

My wife’s eyes start to roll back in her head when I begin to talk about money. LOL.

Another nice thing about the get together is that many people brought their partner and we talked about a lot of stuff other than money (in the activity times and at meals). It was a well-rounded group and conversation which included everyone.

Here’s the next one…

I have REALLY learn a great deal from the MMM Folk. Broadly my take away is this:

When I talk personal finance topics with friends, family and in the past coworkers, I was likely the smartest guy in the room. That is fine but likely more helpful for them than it was for me. When I speak with almost any of the MMM Folk, I am at best a below average participant. Heck, I may be the dumbest guy in the room given any particular topic. Having access to knowledgeable people who openly share without looking to gain anything from me, is amazing.

Lately the MMM Folk have been helping me to learn how to relax a bit about money topics. As a fresh early retiree it is very easy to be hypersensitive to money topics. MMM is helping me to execute but with a increasing calmness. Breathe in, breathe out…

I have some of the same feelings but am not 100% in agreement with this.

I do feel like I’m usually the smartest guy in the room when I talk about money with others in real life. It’s not bad but it’s also not interesting either. But I don’t mind sharing what I know with others (after all, ESI Money is all about that.)

And I do think I learn a bit by articulating what I know even if I’m covering topics I’ve been through a lot. It still helps to refine and direct my thinking which is very beneficial IMO.

I would say in the forums I’m probably average to a bit above average, but there are certainly others who are well ahead of me. That said, people often have different specialties/experiences so one guy might be the dumbest in topic X but the smartest on topic Y. There’s probably not one person who is the smartest on every topic or the dumbest on every topic.

I really enjoy the new retirees in the forums. They are often nervous (as many of us were when we first retired) so helping them through both the money and life side of things is very rewarding. So far we haven’t lost one yet! LOL!!!!

On to the next comment…

[I’ve] always believed [that] Iron Sharpens Iron – and @ESIMoneyBlog has established a “Financial Foundry” where we can engage, have solid discourse and grow wiser as a result! I’ve become much sharper as a result of MMM and those who offer their insights and thoughts based upon personal experience.

And I value the environment of respect we hold for all who choose to venture, share and sharpen themselves here at MMM.

Well said!

We do learn (and grow) with/from each other.

And we respect each other as well — even when we have disagreements (and we do disagree often — which makes things interesting to hear other POVs!)

Here’s one last comment…

Before joining I thought that I knew a bit more about PF planning than the average dude. However, the longer that I am here and the more that I read, the more I realize the less I actually need to know. This kind of has me thinking of that old early 90’s song from Ice Cube called “Check Yourself”.

Collectively we get to check yourself before you wreck yourself and help one another avoid those landmines that could derail sought after plans. You are welcome for that earworm. 😉

I’d like to thank each and everyone reading this who takes the time and commitment to one another to post and give back to the community to help one another stay checked.

What a great way to end this post! It shows that we can both learn from each other and have a lot of fun along the way (which we do for sure!)

I’ve now added all these comments to our testimonials page so we’re up-to-date with them all. Check out that post if you want to read more.