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060R | We roundup Monday's episode about medical tourism with a discussion on more hacks, having more power over your job and the importance of the talent stack. This episode covers: Jonathan's new morning routine The impact of medical tourism and how we can use it The talent stack Voicemails on life hacks and the power of the FI community ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

060 | Myles Wakeham shares the little-known advantages of medical tourism, how he covers his medical bills and his personal journey to FI. This episode covers: Myles' personal journey to FI How he discovered medical tourism The huge benefits of traveling abroad for medical treatment His investments in Bitcoin How he plans for adverse events ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

059R | A review of Vincent Pugliese's interview, the satisfaction of DIY projects, and voicemails about financial coaching and international teaching. On today's show we cover: Doing more ChooseFI Richmond meetups The limiting beliefs of not wanting to learn The satisfaction that comes from DIY The importance of a legacy binder A review of Monday's episode How Vincent is all about relationships How his outlook of life completely changed with two inflection points Why FI not only improves yourself but also your family What living on the other side of FI looks like Why the range of choices at FI keep you busy The Skinny Waist Fat Wallet Challenge Voicemail from Kelsa about the ChooseFi community and how she helps people with financial coaching Voicemail from Nicholas and Jack about creating a partnership to buy rental properties Voicemail from Rosemarie on her secret life hack as an international teacher Announcements Apple Podcasts review and book giveaway Links from the show ChooseFI local groups Episode 09: Travel Rewards - Sweet Redemption Fidsafe Mutual Assurance Todoist App Episode 044: Brandon Pierce - Into the Wind ChooseFI Facebook group Kelsa's podcast: The Saver and The Spender Juan from Finance Clever The Carson Podcast Coach Carson ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

059 | Vincent Pugliese shares his journey to reaching FI after changing his mindset towards life and starting a business. This episode covers: Vincent's backstory How he changed his thought process How his resilience got him opportunities The journey of starting his business The importance of patience and persistence How he reached FI Why he homeschools his kids and what he teaches them ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

058R | A review of the CampFI episode as well as a discussion on pensions and some thoughts on the value of CFPs. This episode covers: The community of CampFI Frugal wins and fails Voicemail about pensions How Grumpus communicates with his audience The value of CFPs ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

058 | A roundtable discussion with two CFPs, Kyle Mast and Danny Kenny, on what financial planning looks like in practice, the importance of talking to a CFP and managing different types of risk. On today's episode we cover: Roundtable Q&A with two Certified Financial Planners Kyle and Danny's backstory How they learned about FI Why you should use the services of a CFP How they act as an educator and therapist between spouses What financial planning looks like in practice The different CFP models Why everyone should talk to a CFP How to find a CFP Why it is important that your CFP is a fiduciary and how to make sure The changes with the new tax bill The steps between the accumulation and drawdown phase Biggest mistakes clients make How to get both spouses on the same page The importance of keeping records How to deal with people who panic Risk management outside of investments Why it's worth getting long term disability insurance When should someone consider index funds Importance of mixing US and international investments Hotseat questions Links from the show: CPF Board Napfa XY Planning Network Becoming Minimalist The Secret to Achieving your Dreams Danny's info LinkedIn SBSB Company Kyle's info Clarity Financial Letters to Randon ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

057R | A roundtable discussion at CampFI including talks on the military, the flexibility of the FI plan and reaching FI before your partner. On today's episode we cover: Everyone's at a different FI stage in the community Doug Nordman talks about the military and FI How Doug manages his time Natalie talks about the importance of keeping the FI plan flexible JD Roth's 2018 challenge and his view on the FI community The huge wealth of knowledge and feeling of being in a tribe at Camp FI The factor of a successful individual: resilience Cody explains how to we could teach FI to teens John's dilemma on reaching FI before his wife JD Roth explains how he manages being the only one in FI as a couple The power of making your own job by threatening to quit How Camp FI and the community help deal with irrational fears How the tribe inspires people to spread the message Links from the show: CampFI Doug Nordman's blog: The Military Guide Physician on FIRE Get Rich Slowly Arsenal Discs 1500 Days to Freedom For more information, visit the show notes at https://choosefi.com/057R

057 | Grumpus Maximus shares his military background, his blog about understanding pensions, and his path to FI. In this episode we cover Interview with Grumpus Maximus about pensions and the military Where the name Grumpus Maximus comes from The Golden Albatross Grumpus Maximus' backstory How he discovered the FI movement How he wanted to quit the military but would then lose all the benefits His relationship with Mrs Grumpus about money How to manage your finances as a couple What FI looks like now How Grumpus got through the mental breakdown His top resources for learning about FI How to understand the pension How the retirement system is changing for the younger generation Grumpus presented FI to his colleagues in the military Hot Seat questions Links from the show Grumpus Maximus' blog What is a Golden Albatross? The Pension Series Worth vs worth it Mr Money Mustache Jim Collins Retirement Planning: How to Calculate your Gap number Can I retire yet? Blog FIRECalc and Flexible Retirement Planner Grumpus Maximus Facebook Page and Facebook Group

056R | We review Monday's "Side Hustle Coaching Series Part 1" with some talk on the workings behind ChooseFI, as well as several voicemails on travel and career hacking. In today's episode we cover: Review of Monday's episode How these coaching calls are like Reality Internet Taking those lessons and applying them to your personal life How the ChooseFI business works The process of scaling a business Yolanda's Facebook comment on not buying stuff she doesn't need How the community has great role models that motivate others Calculating your net worth Brad's frugal hack and huge frugal win Voicemail from Peerless Money Mentor on using HSA funds to hit the minimal spend limits Travel hacking with the Southwest Companion Pass Voicemail from Hillary about getting a degree in Finance for a career path to FI Comment from Claudia about her business model for the classes she teaches Voicemail from Scott about his hack when packing a bag for travel iTunes review and book giveaway Links from the show: Monday's episode: Popup Business Part 1 Clothingshoponline.com Liberty HealthShare Peerless Money Mentor: How I failed at investing my HSA funds Episode 9: How to Travel the World for Free SouthWest Companion Pass Freshbooks ChooseFI Travel Hacks ChooseFI Card Ratings ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

056 | A slightly different episode as it consists of a coaching call between Alan Donegan from the PopUp Business school and Tallis, who wishes to grow her business and make it profitable. In this episode we cover: • First episode the year: coaching call • Call between Alan Donegan and Tallis on her new business idea • Alan will walk her through ideas to grow her business • Tallis' business: dance classes for people with Parkinson's disease • Reasons why dance classes work • Defining who are the customers • Defining who would fund the business • Planning out Tallis' business model • Alan's advice to find funding using examples • How to use reports as a pitch for funding • Alan's tips: finding social value, building an email list, scaling the system • How to show that the business idea works • The importance in adding value to people who fund the business • Where to start with PR • The branding process • The importance of having a website • How ChooseFI will check in every so often • Why and how Talis will start the business frugally • The importance of being very clear who your customer is and how you can help them • How FI helps us become entrepreneurs Alan's key questions: • Who's the customer? • Who's going to fund your business? • What proof do you have that your business works? • What makes your business different to other similar ones? • Don't sell workshops to people without money • Sell to people who have the same desire to fix the problem as you • How can you give back to the institution/company funding you? • Use a report/survey as data to support your business • What social good does your business achieve? • How could you measure whether the idea works? • Build credibility by involving other people's stories • Build a list of contacts of your possible customers • How will you brand your business? • How can you minimize the cost? • Are you clear on who your customer is and how you're helping them? Links from the show: • Episode 30: The Unspoken Lever of FI • Alan Donegan from the PopUp Business School ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

055R | A review of ChooseFI's 2017 on the great progress of the community, several voicemails on FI successes and plans for 2018 This episode covers: • How far the ChooseFI community has come • Eric's great successes on his path to FI • How everyone in the community is helping each other out • The idea of building the community offline • Colby's college hack to graduating debt free • How FI is about living a life of intention • Huge thank you to everyone __________________ Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! :) If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

055 | Live from Fincon 2017 in Dallas Texas, it's ChooseFI! Hey there everyone, We recorded a special minisode that we wanted to share with you today. For those of you that found us this year and have been following us on this journey over the last 12 months. Thank you :) We recorded this at the #Amazing FINCON in Dallas that we attended at the end of October, the conference was an epic experience and they gave us the opportunity to record a short 20 minute episode using a VW Bug (in the featured image for this episode). It was a cool experience all the way around and we thought you might get a kick out of hearing it. Important We are collecting your feedback for an end of the year episode. If you found the FI community through ChooseFI or you have been in the FI community but this year you have finally taken action. We would love to share your progress with the larger FI community. If you want to share the progress that you have made over the last 12 months leave us a voicemail by the end of monday or early tuesday morning and we will play it on the show. To leave us a voicemail go to our home page at choosefi.com and click on the voicemail button https://www.choosefi.com/voicemail. The FIRE is spreading my friends and we will see you next time as we continue to go down the road less traveled!

Fritz from The Retirement Manifesto joins Jonathan to cover the topic of risk tolerance and capacity, Jonathan taking action to make ChooseFI happen, voicemails about college hacking, and ESI Money taking over Rockstar Finance. This episode covers: Review of Monday's episode with Fritz The financial love letter How ChooseFI is now happening in real time The different risk tolerances in the FIRE community Sam from the Facebook group: Jonathan's risk by quitting his job How the risk capacity varies from person to person Why Jonathan has a high risk capacity The more you start doing what you love, the more opportunities you get Dylan and Kimberly ask Fritz a question about the drone and prepping for emergencies Voicemail from Accidental FIRE about Fritz living in a cabin Richmond's asks for advice for college graduates Jessie's college hack on getting a graduate degree Ben asking about the power of clep testing Francis' career hack as a sales rep Monday's big event: J Money handing over the Rockstar Finance reins to ESI Money Felisa's voicemail on why not to buy and hold company stock The end of year checklist and how Christine was able to cut taxes iTunes review and book giveaway Links from the show The Retirement Manifesto Legacy Binders by J Money Episode 43: Drawdown strategy Am I a Prepper? No, just prepared by Fritz CLEP Testing Facebook Thread ESI Money Career advice, Career results and Millionaire Interviews by ESI Money Rockstar Finance Episode 18: Capital Gains, Losses and the Roth Conversion Ladder ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

054 | Jonathan has a BIG announcement. We also discuss the power dynamics behind FI and the financial transition of quitting a job. This episode covers: Jonathan announces quitting his job Why Jonathan is in a good situation to make this decision The position of power in being FI The financial steps of transitioning out of a job Why you should deal with FU money responsibly ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

053R | We discuss the importance of building trust and creating a tribe as well as how to use your talent stack for business. In today's episode we cover: Another side hustle: narrating books Review of Monday's episode with Bobby from Millennial Money Man How blogging is a way to give back to the community Why you just need true fans to be successful Having a good audience starts with adding value and building trust How the key to making money blogging is solving your audience's problem Why having a tribe is essential for success How Brad's limiting belief affected him Jonathan will write an article on Chipotle as an example to solving a problem How using your talent stack will help you online as well as offline How travel rewards are a pillar of FI Feedback from Mindy with the idea of an end of year checklist Facebook thread on ways to optimize tax payments and planning Voicemail from Chris about small life hacks for post FI people Voicemail from Lindsay about generating a second income stream J & A ask a question about distributing savings between real estate and retirement accounts and Coach Carson weighs in. iTunes review and book giveaway Links from the show: Monday's episode: Do You Want to be Rich? A Thousand True fans with Kevin Kelly Tax Caster: Income tax calculator SmartAsset: Calculating taxes in each state How to avoid Underpayment Penalties SkillShare: Online classes Facebook post on End of Year To-do List Bigger Pockets Podcast Coach Carson's Real Estate Course

053 | This episode was an interview with Bobby from Millennial Money Man on attacking debt, becoming a full-time blogger, methods to teach finance in schools and how to scale side hustles. In today's episode we cover: Bobby's story starting as a high school music director Him quitting his job to be a full-time blogger How he paid off his student loans His mentor teaching him the basics of managing money The lightbulb moment which brought him to start Millennial Money Man Bobby's rule on talking about money with friends and family How he hasn't changed even though he has more money The FI lifestyle Being a valuist Questioning the traditional narrative that everyone has to go to college At which age should kids start learning about personal finance How the world would change if everyone knew more about finance Bobby's method to get kids interested in finance Bobby's initial idea to do teaching seminars in schools How he decided to quit his job Getting started with side hustles Advice for new bloggers: using your blog as a portfolio Scaling your blog/side-hustle

052R | We review Monday's episode featuring Todd Tresidder discussing the different ways to reach FI through different asset classes, goals for 2018 and how to invest in yourself to create a happier life. What we cover: Recap of Monday's episode with Todd: our most commented podcast How Todd makes us rethink FI and the way his mind works Why things are not as simple as the FI community make it out to be What other assets there are apart from index funds The 2 ways of getting into the entrepreneur game How FI is not a lottery ticket, the work to be put in. Why starting a business does not mean reaching FI How to choose which asset class is your path to FI How Brad's bad experience in real estate makes him nervous about starting again 2018 goals: taking the next step with real estate The importance of not being dogmatic and broadening horizons Feedback from Trent on real estate, stocks and bonds How real estate can be a good plan for retirement Big Ern's thoughts on Monday's episode Active asset allocation: can it work for FI? Why investing in yourself will always make you win Christian's voicemail on his 2018 goals The 80/20 analysis: why reaching level 2 understanding doesn't have to be necessary How we're now learning more about FI with our audience, not just teaching A voicemail from Jason about his big change: FIPE (Financial Independence Partial Retirement) iTunes review and book giveaway Links from the show: Monday's episode: FIRE State of the Union Coach Carson's episode: House Hacking Guide Mr Money Mustache Millennial Money Man Coach Carson's new investing course: Real Estate Start School Sign up to our email list to send feedback Big Ern's website: Early Retirement Now The Choose FI t-shirts Subscribe on iTunes ------------------- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! :) If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

052 | Todd Tresidder from Financial Mentor comes on the show to share his perspective on the traditional way FI is taught ( FIRE State of the Union) and where it could be improved. We discuss the unique characteristics of all three asset classes and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Create a framework for your wealth plan and understand the importance of risk management. In Today's Podcast we cover: An in-depth conversation with Todd Tresidder from the Financial Mentor on the State of the FIRE Union The math behind financial independence and how traditional FI-thought is about lowering expenses and investing in low-cost passive index funds Todd believes there's more to the situation than commonly believed Todd does not want to optimize relentlessly based on price What is Todd's definition of Fat FIRE? There are multiple paths to FI such as pursuing the business and real estate asset classes to get you to FI quicker in Todd's opinion Where does Risk Management come into play? Risk management also needs to be discussed in the FI community A nuanced, dynamic, "Level 2" understanding Finding the right plan for different people and different situations The point of FI is happiness What Todd values: Experiences not stuff, and buying conveniences How Todd disconnects when he is on vacation with his family Todd has focused on all three asset classes in his life and background info on his history Todd is always focused on risk vs. reward at different points in time Todd's on the ground view of the housing bubble as an apartment owner Paper assets do not lead to a "predictable" return As an investor you always want to look for the "obvious thing nobody else is looking at." Todd's discussion of inflation Todd doesn't predict the future, but he manages risk Manage the downside and risk management. Buffett quote on not losing money What situation would it make sense for someone to invest in index funds, real estate, business, etc.? Everyone needs their own plan for wealth building The business asset class – inventing equity out of 'thin air' The downside characteristics of each of the three asset classes

051R | In this podcast we do a recap of episode 51 with Mrs Money Monster discussing the importance of getting past limiting beliefs as well as how to use the community to your benefit and take action in pursuing FI. In Today's Podcast we cover: Recap of Monday's episode with Mrs Money Monster. The importance of getting past those limiting beliefs Why we should learn to embrace the growth mindset, to always be willing to learn The value of having mentors Why FI is acknowledging that I am more than the sum of my stuff Having more control over your finances means making retirement optional Choose FI local groups are growing, making the Camp FI and FI Festival possible Voicemail from Lori about educational IRAs answered by Ed Mills from the Millionaire Educator Voicemail from Michelle about her journey to FI. All about taking action and keep working towards your goals. Matthew's post from the Facebook Choose FI group: how one person changed his life by introducing him to FI Voicemail from Haidi about her preparing for retirement. By choosing to be half retired she will always continue learning. How to work out the wonderful problem of having so much choice when it comes to financial freedom. Voicemail from Lance after attending Alan's Popup Business School and who wants to give back to the community. Teaser of Monday's episode: Challenging our beliefs iTunes review and Book Giveaway Links from the show: The Choose FI T-shirts Our Facebook Group All our Choose FI groups About the FI Festival Ed Mills from The Millionaire Educator Radical Personal Finance Episode 106: A Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Education Account House Hacking with Coach Carson Bright Future Scholarship Episode 30 with Alan: Starting a business without going into debt Contribute to our show by sending us an email

051 | In today's podcast we discuss the Roller Coaster Path to FI with Lisa from Mad Money Monster, including a new term she coined: F.I.O.R In Today's Podcast we cover: A conversation with Lisa from Mad Money Monster on the 'Roller Coaster Path to FI' Lisa grew up in a trailer, but in a great school district on the 'right side of the tracks' She only recently started telling people she grew up in a trailer as it impacted her self esteem She graduated from high school and didn't plan to go to college as she didn't think she was "smart enough" One meeting with an engineer at her first job let her to community college where she "secretly" applied The limiting beliefs and lack of a mentor behind her not even contemplating college How her friend's parents told her to not even start college as she "wasn't going to finish" Lisa's belief that she is coachable as a major life talent She graduated with a scientific degree from a four year university and had $25,000 of student loan debt Her employer paid for 100% of her master's degree She then started saving significantly into her 401k, etc., but got into a bad relationship with a big spender She was still saving into her 401k, but her significant other's bad habits rubbed off on her They spent $60,000 on a pool in their backyard and had friends over every weekend She had "cyclical credit card debt" that she paid off and then racked up again and then kept cycling What was holding her back from leaving the relationship? She didn't want to move "backwards" in her life How she left the relationship and unchained herself financially This was a defining character moment for her and let her believe she could do anything She then bought a property at the height of the real estate bubble in 2007 and moved her parents out of the trailer and into this home Though she could have lived "with her parents" at her house, she decided to move out into an apartment and stopped contributing to her retirement accounts How meeting Mr. Mad Money Monster was what put her on the path to Financial Independence They put an offer on a house they couldn't comfortably afford and after the inspection came back negatively, they actually backed out and changed course They quickly found the FI community after that inflection point They paid off all their debt and maxed out retirement accounts Their savings rate is between 50% and 70% and they are well on their way to Financial Independence Financial Independence Optional Retirement

050R | The Impact of FI, A New FI Curriculum being piloted in a university, and holiday hacks just in time for Christmas. In today's Friday Roundup we talk a bit about Thanksgiving and how to work on being thankful for all we have (yes it's about your family). We also look back on our previous episode with Mr Groovy about moving out of an expensive living area to reach FI faster and the value of a local FI community (the FIRE really is spreading). We received some really inspiring messages which we share on today's episode to show you the power FI has to transform an entire life. And of course, we finished off with some great Christmas hacks for the holidays! What we cover: 1. The Importance of Community There are ChooseFI communities all over the world now (62 and counting!) and it's an enormous network. This means more and more people have communities with similar mindsets and goals just at their doorsteps. Imagine the opportunities when visiting another city and making contact with those other FI communities? The huge amount of knowledge shared? Our goal is to have these communities in every single city, so we can all help each other out to reach FI. If you feel there isn't enough of a community in your own city, reach out to us on Facebook to become an admin of the Facebook page. There is a team in each area to help you out and we share the best practices to support the local groups 2. Circle Back to the Ongoing Buy vs Rent Debate Through the feedback voicemail from Charles we revisit the episode on buying vs renting and the fact that it doesn't cover many of the aspects of home ownership. It was a good episode, but there was no counterpoint. Whether you want to buy or rent a house really depends on your situation and takes into account many different lifestyle factors. The most important is to look at it from an objective point of view: don't just buy a house because that's what you've been told all your life, buy it because it works for your situation. Do the math and analyze the situation. In honor of this huge and important debate, we pledge to do another proper episode where we have a proper sit down, do the math and have an in depth discussion. 3. The Impact of FI Thanks to everyone for sending those inspiring and in-depth voicemails in. Wendy, our first voicemailer, explains that FI is also about removing the parts that make you unhappy, removing the alligators and working towards what will improve your life and your future. Cassandra shares her goal to pay off $260,000 in debt and reach FI! This journey has changed her outlook and perspective on finance and entrepreneurship Phil rediscovered a zest for life by grabbing hold of Financial Independence he shares his 9 year plan to reach FI and what he plans on doing after FI Laurie shares her lightbulb moment, and how this podcast lifted the mental fog that kept her from appreciating the soundness of her husband's financial plan This truly goes to show the HUGE impact reaching Financial Independence can have over your life. We need to spread this message and we need to take action now. Start small. Start this week. And in 10 years you will have reached a state of independence you did not know was possible. This episode will inspire you to keep working towards FI and to build a community of like-minded individuals. One of our stated goals is to see a FI curriculum at the K-12 and collegiate level and Zack is piloting the first ever college level course at the University of Iowa Links Episode 50: Domestic GeoArbitrage Facebook Group: ChooseFI ChooseFI: Local Groups Episode 16: House Hacking with Coach Carson Episode 48: The Happy Philosopher Episode 9: Travel Hacks

050 | In this podcast we discuss domestic geographic arbitrage with Mr. Groovy from Freedom is Groovy. In Today's Podcast we cover: A conversation with Mr. Groovy from Freedom is Groovy to discuss domestic geographic arbitrage How Brad made a similar decision to Mr. Groovy to move from Long Island to a lower cost of living area How Mr. Groovy was a "financial moron" until he was in his 40s until Mrs. Groovy found Dave Ramsey What did their financial lives look like before finding Dave Ramsey and the concept of an emergency fund How creating a budget and putting it on paper was a game changer for them What changes did they make after creating a budget? Their debt situation: They had about $30,000 in consumer debt How they created a "transition fund" to help them move off of Long Island to a lower cost of living area They managed to pay off debt and save $80,000 in cash for this transition fund by 2008 Their families were supportive of their move off of Long Island The peculiarities of living on Long Island and getting off the island How Mr. Groovy's cost of living shaped up on Long Island and how the property tax burden is significant there What other costs are smaller when moving out of a high cost of living area besides mortgage and property taxes? How the Groovy family bought a $70,000 condo in Long Beach in 1997 and sold it for $340,000 in 2006 They decided to move to North Carolina and happened upon Charlotte where they ultimately purchased They bought a condo for $88,000 in cash in Charlotte and banked nearly $250,000 from the sale of their home Their dollar cost averaging strategy to enter the stock market How Mr. Money Mustache's article The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement change their outlook on life In 2014 they were basically at the 25x expenses definition of Financial Independence Even though the housing situation helped them significantly, they still would have hit FI by moving to a lower cost of living area just because of lowered expenses Takeaways and advice from the geographic arbitrage decision How Mr. Groovy's family wound up following him to Charlotte How Brad's brother did both US and international geographic arbitrage Did Mr. Groovy and Brad have "freak out moments" after making the move?

049R | In the Friday Roundup we discuss our big takeaway from Episode 49: The Aggregation of Marginal Gains. Plus, upcoming plans for the ChooseFI website, a FI Festival and local meetups. In Today's Podcast we cover: A review of Episode 49 with Alan Donegan and Barney from The Escape Artist The growth of the FI community throughout the US and now the world Jonathan just returned from his 2 week trip to South Africa with his family How did Jonathan fare with his use of electronics on his trip? Jonathan used travel rewards points to book his flights for free and he stayed with family so his entire trip was free Brad's upcoming travel for summer 2018 to Europe where he used travel rewards points and then his trip to Santiago, Chile for 2019 The power of the Aggregation of Marginal Gains and how important it is for the FI journey How small examples can make a huge difference over time We were voted the #1 most popular Personal Finance Podcast at Rockstar Finance The benefits of fasting and why Jonathan does multi-day fasts The spreading of the FI message throughout the UK and how we've seen a significant number of people in our ChooseFI community The important of local groups and how we're going to do everything we can to facilitate local ChooseFI groups throughout the US How we can all benefit from local meetup groups of like-minded people How the FIRE really is spreading and how we want to help grow the community A future FI Festival as a large-scale FI meetup event The Hall of FI idea that Jonathan wants to see as a featured component of a FI Festival People connect with stories and that's what makes a successful blog and podcast We are looking for writers to tell their stories at the ChooseFI website as full contributors to the site Announcement: Joel from FI 180 is our first ChooseFI blogger Voicemail from Joel announcing that he left his job! Upcoming episodes on ChooseFI Itunes reviews and book giveaways Links from the show: PopUp Business School The Escape Artist The Aggregation of Marginal Gains Rockstar Finance: The Most Popular Financial Podcasts Winning Personal Finance Local ChooseFI Facebook groups Playing With FIRE documentary

049| We discuss The UK Path to FI with Barney of The Escape Artist and Alan Donegan of PopUp Business School, plus much more in the way of life optimization hacks from both Alan and Barney. In Today's Podcast we cover: An interview with Barney from The Escape Artist and Alan Donegan from PopUp Business School Voicemail from Sarah from the UK with questions about reaching FI outside the US Barney started the website after he put his notice in at work once he reached FI How Barney found the financial independence community Barney's story on what his financial upbringing was like and how his parents had financial issues because of a large mortgage payment How the 'keeping up with the Jones's' is alive and well in the UK Alan's family doesn't understand why they don't spend more money and why they don't work in the traditional sense Is there a FI community in the UK? There is a London Facebook group, but not a thriving community in the UK The different options of choosing a job you love versus one that pays a lot of money and you don't necessary enjoy Creativity and how Barney "underestimated what was possible" for him when he had the time It's a lot easier to be creative both when you have a "safety harness" but also if you "burn the boats" Debt is a form of handcuffs that keeps you in your current life The differences between the US and the UK: Starting with housing Property ownership is a significant part of the culture in the UK Barney's thoughts on what he would have done differently with real estate had he started today Seeing a business opportunity in Barney's idea to live in someone else's home Health care in the UK and how it is more favorable for those pursuing FI Investing options in the UK and how it differs from the US Discussion of taxation on retirement funds and marginal tax brackets Differences in the cultural understanding of pursuing personal freedom through financial independence The program on FI on tv in the UK that Barney appeared on and the negative reaction and press Alan and Barney's advice for those pursuing FI in the UK [skipto time=1:05:00]skip to[/skipto] Hot Seat Questions How incremental improvements can make a big difference in life, sports and financial independence Reading books as Barney's favorite life hack Focus on self-improvement and doing something different and tackling fears Links from the show: The Escape Artist PopUp Business School Alan on Twitter Monevator blog in the UK Mr. Money Mustache JL Collins NH Halifax (for your ISA in the UK) The Share Centre (ISA in the UK) James Altucher An Interview With The Man on The Escape Artist Are Diamonds Really a Girl's Best Friend on The Escape Artist The Aggregation of Marginal Gains on The Escape Artist This Coach Improved Every Tiny Thing by 1 Percent and Here's What Happened Life Changing Books List on The Escape Artist FITV: The Top 10 TV Shows of Financial Independence Financial Independence and the Zombie Apocalypse Books Mentioned in the Show: Your Money or Your Life The Millionaire Next Door Invest in Yourself Walden

048R | In this podcast we recap Episode 48 with Jeff from The Happy Philosopher plus a life hack update from Brad and a question on how to present the FI concept to others. In Today's Podcast we cover: Recap of Episode 48 with Jeff from The Happy Philosopher Jonathan and Brad's recap of the Fincon conference How Brad and Jonathan brainstormed the future of ChooseFI at Fincon How the FI community is growing significantly at Fincon and how people were coming up to us saying they were listening How much value we can get from FI-centric events going forward, such as Camp FI How taking action is essential with the pursuit of happiness Happiness through subtraction and the process and mindset necessary Removing news and television from your life as well as sports How Jeff cultivated happiness in his life by "adding kittens" Finding the little moments that add value to your life How important gratitude is in life and how Jeff introduced that to us Decluttering and how it impacts Brad psychologically Jonathan's experiment with his three closets of clothes and how little he actually wears Karen's feedback on how to document your donations for clothing and such How essential it is keep organized and how you should do it along the way Brad's life hack using unroll.me to organize all his subscription emails Email from Paul who is facing a challenge to introduce FI to his children Jonathan's thoughts on how to present FI to someone else The information we have available in our ChooseFI Vault on how to present FI to others Email from Jennifer on a Bloomberg article that shows how even if you invested at the worst time in 2007 that your money would have doubled since then Itunes review and book giveaway Links from the show: The Happy Philosopher Fincon Conference JK Wedding Dance on Youtube How to Be The Happiest Person in the Room Camel Camel Camel Unroll.me The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement How to Go From Middle Class to Kickass Bloomberg article: You Just Doubled Your Money If You Invested at the 2007 Market Peak

048 | Jeff from The Happy Philosopher joins us on the show to discuss the pursuit of happiness including how he reached a burn out point in his job as a radiologist and how his focus on happiness helped him find a path forward. In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion with Jeff from The Happy Philosopher An introduction to Jeff's background story Jeff found himself burned out about four years into his full-time profession and he was stressed out and anxious and just not happy He reached a breaking point where he discussed with his wife his plan for five more years of work He had shortened his "prison sentence" but hadn't made his "cell any more comfortable" (we discussed suicide in the episode and Jeff asked that we include a phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) He couldn't wait five years to be happy – he had to experiment now to find that happiness Was there something about his job that led him to this breaking point or was it that he hadn't found what made him happy? Early Retirement Extreme was mind-blowing for him intellectually and led him to FI How medical professionals can feel "trapped" in their job because of sunk costs Did Jeff experience lifestyle inflation once he became a full-time physician? What did Jeff's path out of burnout look like? How Jeff's consumption of news led to much of his stress What else has Jeff cut out of his life? Happiness through subtraction Decluttering and getting rid of the negatives in your life Cutting down on commitments that aren't necessary in our jobs and lives How Jeff pursued a job sharing part-time work during his peak earning years The Marginal Utility of Money and how your spending impacts your happiness The concept of trading your time for money How does Jeff approach how to spend money in his own life? The concept of utility versus value The importance of gratitude and how happiness is a skill Make a conscious decision to place a space between stimulus and response Hot Seat Questions Jeff suggests you experiment with cutting out alcohol entirely from your life for a set period of time as an experiment (Jeff also wanted us to mention: "Anyone who is a heavy drinker should probably consult with a doctor or someone familiar with alcoholism and alcohol withdrawal before quitting cold turkey.") Links from the show: The Happy Philosopher Early Retirement Extreme Mr. Money Mustache Happiness Through Subtraction at Mad Fientist Alligators and Kittens at The Happy Philosopher The Power of No at The Happy Philosopher How Understanding the Marginal Utility of Money Will Make Your Happier at The Happy Philosopher How to Be The Happiest Person in the Room at 1500 Days 7 Ways to Be Insufferable on Facebook at Wait But Why Books Mentioned in the Show: 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo Your Money or Your Life

047R | In today's podcast we recap Episode 47 with Bryce and Kristy from Millennial Revolution including talk of home ownership and world travel, but a reader case study and voicemail. In Today's Podcast we cover: A recap of our main takeaways from Episode 47 with Kristy and Bryce from Millennial Revolution How Brad explained the concept of compound interest to his daughter Anna and it was a lightbulb moment How Brad's daughter immediately took action and invested her money in Vanguard index funds Brad's moment where he found the concept of compound interest as a 19 year old Calling for tips on how other parents have introduced financial skills to their kids How your house is not a great investment and for people in the FI community it isn't "your biggest investment" Your home may be a terrible investment but it doesn't mean it's a terrible decision Home appreciation seems "magical" to people but it actually represents well below the 8% return benchmark we use as a guide Brad's example of a $300,000 house and the expected future value How Bryce and Kristy have these amazing hacks to travel for little money Their entire lives cost $30,000 for a full year Time averaging in low and high cost of living areas A reader case study that was sent in to Bryce and Kristy on the rental property they have that's underwater and how they should move forward Voicemail from ChooseFI community member Jack on finding FI and making amazing changes up to a 58% savings rate How everyone can pursue FI and it isn't limited to certain incomes, professions, etc. Itunes review and book giveaways Links from the show: Millennial Revolution Why Your House is a Terrible Investment Friday Reader Case Study: My Mortgage is Underwater. Am I Screwed?

047 | Today we have Kristy and Bryce from Millennial Revolution on the podcast to discuss home ownership, international geographic arbitrage and much more... In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion with Kristy and Bryce from Millennial Revolution They initially were contemplating buying a house and were shocked by the process This is what led them to finding the Financial Independence community Home ownership seemed like a "cult" to them What did their financial life look like before finding financial independence and how did they save so much money previously? Who might be naturally included to FI and how everyone can be open to it FI opens up creativity that you otherwise wouldn't have the time for Voicemail from David from Canada How difficult it is societally to not purchase a house You need to do the math behind home ownership and don't succumb to the 'fear of missing out' All the other costs that are involved in home ownership that eat into your paper gains A house is not an investment, it's a place to live The power of compounding and the Rule of 72 How would someone do the math to compare renting versus buying? The 1% rule Introducing leverage into the scenario of buying a home What do they invest in? Low-cost index funds How often they rebalance their portfolio and how they came up with their 60/40 split It is less expensive for them to travel the world than live in Toronto Their annual spending their first year of travel was $40,000 but they were able to cut that to roughly $30,000 in year 2 How they believe everyone could live the same lifestyle if they were willing to break their mental block with owning a home How would they recommend people get started with international travel and geo arbitrage? Budget airlines and bus companies help them travel throughout Europe for a fraction of the expected costs What do they do with lodging when first visiting a city? The 'secret' location they've found in London to stay for a fraction of the cost How nobody else in the world worries about health costs like Americans do How much could you reasonably spend for a year of living in Thailand The little enclaves of expats that exist throughout the world where they've found to live for less Their summarized advice for David from Canada Hot Seat Questions They actually have a financial advisor, but they don't outsource their knowledge to someone else Links from the show: Millennial Revolution JL Collins NH Mr. Money Mustache Would We Be Richer if We Had Bought a House at Millennial Revolution Afford Anything Airbnb Why Your House is a Terrible Investment at JL Collins NH

046R | In today's podcast we discuss our takeaways from Episode 46 with Ms. ONL from Our Next Life plus community feedback and voicemails and a discussion of travel rewards. In Today's Podcast we cover: A recap of Episode 46 with Tanja from Our Next Life Brad and Jonathan are on their way to Fincon – the annual financial bloggers conference Jonathan's upcoming trip to South Africa with his family using travel rewards points Tanja's reveal of her identity after being anonymous for the entirety of the blog's life What do you want out of life and how are you going to approach that question in the leadup to FI? The 'internet retirement police' and people making money in early retirement 'We are some of the luckiest people in human history' as Tanja described The safety Mr. and Mrs. ONL have built into their FI plan The different stories and plans our various guests have and how there is no 'one size fits all' plan for Financial Independence How they are selectively hardcore about certain things like their heating bill Corrections and feedback from episodes 43 and 43R Updates on Mega Backdoor Roth options including feedback from William Brad's feedback on Keith from The Wealthy Accountant's thoughts on the Mega Backdoor Roth and the Roth IRA conversion ladder going away Discussion of Roth versus traditional IRA and marginal tax brackets plus info on the Earned Income Tax Credit Email from Giselle from our ChooseFI community and her question about spending now versus the future and frugality versus enjoyment Brad and Jonathan's response to Giselle about how we view the path to FI as a positive and gives us more control over our lives Giselle's question about using travel rewards points for a 2 week trip to Europe and when to get started and how to avoid issues with mileage expiration Voicemail from community member Joel listing all the incredible changes he has made since finding the ChooseFI podcast Itunes review and book giveaway Links from the show: Our Next Life Get Rich Slowly The Wealthy Accountant The Frugal Professor Frugalwoods

046 | In today's podcast we have a wide-ranging conversation with Ms. ONL from Our Next Life on her decision to stop being anonymous on the blog to what their journey looked like to FI plus what they expect life to be like after FI and much more. In Today's Podcast we cover: A financial independence discussion with Ms. ONL from Our Next Life The big reveal: Their names are Tanja and Mark What does it feel like for them to come out behind the veil of anonymity? Why have they been so strict about remaining anonymous? How do they view the concept of early retirement? How they can pursue the aspects of their jobs that they still enjoy How is early retirement different than working for yourself? One of the best parts of early retirement is that you can try so many different things Their friends and family are extremely supportive of their early retirement plans Finding their 'why' behind early retirement A discussion of how silly the notion of being "bored" in early retirement truly is The Endless Winter: Following the snow to ski for an entire winter How they try to save money on their heating costs How difficult the transition could be from working to not working and to mentally prepare yourself in advance for life after retirement How to mentally prepare yourself for future situations with "disaster drills" The value of finding progress in difficult things in life The questions you need to consider when pondering early retirement: How will you support yourself or your family without a job? They do not plan to tap their tax deferred items before 59.5 How they projected the amount they need to reach Financial Independence What is your backup plan for dealing with financial emergencies? The value of insurance and especially umbrella insurance How will you get healthcare? How your income impacts your health care subsidies and the consideration of FI strategies How will you keep your body and mind healthy? What will a day look like for them in retirement? The importance of community in maintaining a healthy balanced life

045R | In this podcast we discuss our takeaways from Episode 45 with JD Roth of Get Rich Slowly, including the big news that he just purchased GRS back, as well as our frugal wins of the week and the elegance of simplicity. In Today's Podcast we cover: A review of Episode 45 with JD Roth from Get Rich Slowly and Money Boss Jonathan's frugal win of the week on purchasing a new stove/oven What is the utility of Jonathan's new oven over a standard oven? Jonathan's insourcing to install the oven himself Brad's frugal win of the week: Laura stained the deck on the back of the house JD's big news of buying back Get Rich Slowly How JD's story helped change the world for so many people and how much impact he has had on potentially millions of people JD's impact on Brad's life with travel rewards What a unique point in time to be able to start a blog for so little money and the positive impacts you can experience The power of the blog is in the story of the blogger and that individual's personality JD's concept of the internal locus of control and how you can direct your life Don't complain about the forces that are impacting your life – take control JD's concept of having to do the work and that there are no shortcuts How strategy and cost-benefit analysis factors into your actions and goals What's not worth putting the work in for? This is as important strategy-wise as picking what you do want to spend your time on Investment strategies of VTSAX versus other options, and Brad's thoughts on the cost-benefit analysis of spending time trying to beat the market Part of the strategy is determining where to put your time and effort in life and investing It's all about taking action in investing and life and how it separates successful vs. unsuccessful people The elegance of simplicity in getting people to take action A future roundtable with people of different opinions on investing Voicemail from Melissa on how she "channeled her inner Laura" in saving time and money on cooking Laura's tips on how to cook more efficiently Jonathan's experiment with his first vegetarian meal Itunes reviews and book giveaway Links from the show: Get Rich Slowly Money Boss DIYtoFI.blog Early Retirement Now FI180 Sign up for CampFI tickets Budget Bytes recipe: Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils Books Mentioned in the Show: The One Thing Tools of Titans

045 | Today we discuss JD Roth's backstory behind his financial journey, Get Rich Slowly and Money Boss, plus JD's philosophy AND a very special announcement... In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion with JD Roth from Money Boss and Get Rich Slowly How JD impacted Brad's life and put him on the trajectory to becoming a travel rewards expert JD's backstory and how he found the personal finance community JD started Get Rich Slowly to document his process to clawing out of $35,000 worth of consumer debt and becoming financially literate and successful JD started his 'credit card habit' in college Any actionable tips the audience could take away from JD earning a scholarship to college? JD focuses on being self-directed with an 'internal locus of control' JD started a blog before the word blog even existed and started his first webpage in 1994 and his first web journal in 1997 JD's plan to get out of debt in 3 years and the article he wrote called 'Get Rich Slowly' April 2006 was when Get Rich Slowly started JD was looking for a 'magic bullet' but quickly realized he needed to put in the effort and spend less money Dave Ramsey's Debt Snowball and how it helped JD succeed psychologically JD as an 'accidental personal finance expert' and how that journey progressed The audience and community around Get Rich Slowly helped make it a great site and inclusive JD's frustration with the thought that there's a "right" way to go about things in the personal finance world Action is the number one thing that separates successful people according to JD The methodology behind financial independence according to JD: The Six Stages of Financial Freedom Your level of control increases as you progress down the path towards financial independence When JD personally progressed through the six stages How does JD spend his days and what is his philosophy? How JD sold his comic book collection and made $28,000 which funded their RV trip JD's insight on the future of the financial independence movement Hot Seat Questions JD's big announcement about

044R | Today we discuss our takeaways from Episode 44 with Brandon Pearce from Pearce on Earth plus feedback from the community and our thoughts on international travel with our families. In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion of Episode 44 with Brandon Pearce from Pearce on Earth Jonathan's frugal win of the week by having a potluck dinner and a movie in the backyard for his friends and neighbors Jonathan is on a 3-day fast and his explanation The importance of mentally anchoring when undertaking something difficult Jonathan wanted to prove to himself that he could do it and to help with his impulse control Brandon realized early that you don't have security as a 9-5 employee The power in your life shifts when you start saving money and that margin increases with each paycheck The concept of 'burn the boats' in motivating you to success Jonathan's thoughts on safety vs. burn the boats How your business can take over your life if you let it, so you need a work-life balance Where are the pain points in your life and how can you make them better? Brandon's lightbulb moment when you have that first sale They knew there was more to life that they could experience outside their 'bubble of life' by travelling the world Jonathan's story of visiting an international food store in Richmond Looking for areas of fear and discomfort in life and leaning into them Finding community both abroad and here in the United States Brad's thoughts on taking an international trip with his own family and what is potentially holding them back Brad tracking his time and will report back with his progress next week The value of telling other people about goals you intend to hit and how it keeps you motivated Also, the value of telling a 'story about yourself' and how that will keep you motivated to do what fits that story Voicemail from Vicky about getting out of their 9-5 lives and pursuing slow travel with their two kids plus how they used 120,000 miles to get 4 one-way tickets to Europe for only $20 The "one way journey" of life Feedback from Andrew on the episodes Different types of learning opportunities for your children Voicemail from Kevin how he explained FI to the HR department at his company and how motivated it made him to keep going down this path Itunes review of the week and book giveaway Links from the show: Pearce on Earth Music Teacher's Helper You Need a Budget Money Metagame Impact Theory Nomad Together Podcast Books Mentioned in the Show: Tools of Titans

044 | Today we discuss how Brandon Pearce went from a call center job to being a full time entrepreneur, traveling the world with his wife and children and how he started the Family Adventure Summit. In Today's Podcast we cover: Episode 44 with Brandon Pearce, who was recommended to us by Andrew from the ChooseFI community Discussion of geo arbitrage, starting your own business and designing your future all wrapped up in one person Brandon realizing that you have no control over your future as a regular employee and it started him thinking about getting moving with his own business His software for organizing piano lessons was what led to his business How he got his first sale and realized this could be a successful business How Brandon considered making this a full-time venture and that inflection point where he took the leap Did Brandon contemplate not going full time with his software or was this a slam dunk decision? The value of hiring from inside your own community to find someone who is passionate and knowledgeable How Brandon wouldn't be happier or more fulfilled with more 'stuff' Was the plan for this to be a 'lifestyle business' originally? They replaced a focus on stuff with a focus on growth, travel and service Their six week "test trip" to Panama as a family Looking at life through your children's eyes How difficult it was to replicate this experience in the United States Travel as one of the biggest catalysts for growth How liberating it was to not have any of their stuff on the trip to Panama Their first long-term trip was to Costa Rica and they were there for 1.5 years where their daughter was born How do you find a community when travelling abroad? Their current location in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico and how close the community is there Schooling types: Homeschooling, world schooling and un-schooling and an explanation They follow an interest-led learning approach with their children to inspire the love of learning What do you tell someone who is afraid to take the leap to family travel? Slow travel has the ability to be transformative and immersive Questions about safety and health care in foreign countries A discussion of health care in the countries Brandon has lived in and how inexpensive it is Brandon's time tracking experiment The 1st annual Family Adventure Summit Documentary: Into the Wind about families travelling the world Hot Seat Questions

043R | In this podcast we discuss our takeaways from Episode 43 with Fritz from the Retirement Manifesto plus an in-depth discussion of the Roth IRA conversion and Mega Backdoor Roth, and taxable income scenarios for retirement contributions. In Today's Podcast we cover: Our big takeaways from Episode 43 with Fritz from Retirement Manifesto Brad as a 'Mystery Reader' for his daughter's class plus their trip to Natural Bridge State Park and a FI lesson for his daughters How to tackle drawdown strategies and how that opened our eyes The concept of balance that Fritz brought up in Episode 43 How we each have a different path to Financial Independence and we have to find what we each value and how much safety we require How important the math is, but also how the personal side is an important part of the equation Jonathan's decision to pay off his student loans early and how this may not have been optimal mathematically, but was the "right" decision for him Feedback from the audience on the episode, but specific points from Danny Questions surrounding inflation on your safe withdrawal rate and early retirement Feedback from the audience about delaying social security The distinction between the Roth IRA conversion and the Mega Backdoor Roth IRA The tax issues surrounding the Roth IRA conversion Practical Application of the Mega Backdoor Roth Vishal and Brad share the nuances of trying to navigate the Mega Backdoor Roth: They need to allow for after-tax contributions and in-service distributions/withdrawals Explanation of the Mega Backdoor Roth Email from Zac about the value of using pre-tax or post-tax retirement contributions when you're already in a low tax bracket Where is the line where we'd consider putting into a pre-tax or post-tax retirement account? A scenario of someone with a $25,000 income and where they'd fall in the tax brackets and how to lower that A scenario of an individual with a $60,000 gross income and what they should consider with their retirement contributions How would Brad and Jonathan choose if they were in this situation? Itunes reviews and book giveaways The Vault is live Click Here for Access Links from the show: Retirement Manifesto FI by 40 Millionaire Educator Mega Backdoor Roth article by the Mad Fientist Post from Vishal from Everything about Education about Mega Backdoor Roth The Wealthy Accountant Books Mentioned in the Show: Hiking to Waterfalls in Virginia

043 | In this podcast we have a far-ranging conversation with Fritz from the Retirement Manifesto about retirement drawdown strategies, his 'buckets' system, and his upcoming retirement. In Today's Podcast we cover: Retirement drawdown strategies with Fritz from Retirement Manifesto How Fritz focuses on what life is about after retirement such as how you're going to spend your time Fritz is 9 months away from retirement himself A background on his story in corporate America and his path to FI and early retirement The difference in perspectives between retirement dates and savings rates between the FI community and the population at large What would Fritz's path have looked like if he found the FI community decades earlier Fritz stayed with the same company for 32 years and has a traditional pension Where did his interest in retirement spreadsheets and the blog come from? How writing a blog helps develop and formalize your own thoughts and plans What to consider when building your own retirement drawdown strategy The Three Bucket Strategy for retirement drawdowns and how Fritz separates his own holdings by these buckets What a simplification strategy looks like and how to avoid taxation with this simplification How you can create a net neutral taxable position by specifically identifying losses and gains to sell when trying to simplify How Fritz plans to use Roth conversions while he is in a zero-income position for a 2 year period and pay $0 in tax on the conversions Explanation of the Mega Backdoor Roth and how Fritz is utilizing it The equity to bond split that Fritz uses plus how to consider asset allocation and risk Why does Fritz use a 60/40 Stock to Bon split when he has a pension and social security coming? Why Fritz believes you shouldn't take more risk than you have to Fritz's thoughts on delaying a pension and social security to get a guaranteed return A hypothetical early retiree example and how Fritz would think through this example and advise them The uncertainty of health care in early retirement How they can track their annual spending by putting money into "Bucket 1" What annual tasks do they do with a 'year in review'? The variable approach to withdrawal rates and flexibility The value of protecting your Roth accounts to let them grow as long as possible Life insurance policy discussion The flexibility to take fun seasonal jobs if you wanted an adventure Health Insurance and long-term care insurance discussion

042R | In today's Friday Roundup we discuss Episode 42 with JW from The Green Swan, plus various discussions about community and feedback from the audience. In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion of Episode 42 with JW from The Green Swan Scott Rieckens and his crew from the documentary Playing With FIRE were in Richmond this week filming our podcast, lives and a Richmond FI get together The importance of community in the Financial Independence world and the volunteers we've received to be 'community leaders' for Choose FI meetups How we're going to setup Slack for the Choose FI community and we need someone to help organize it The future Choose FI Vault that will be a digital locker for useful files for the community The decision JW made to buy a business with his brothers and how unconventional that is How you need to consider all possibilities when going into business with anyone Brad and Jonathan didn't have the discussion of all future possibilities and didn't put together an operating agreement, but are now going to do so thanks to JW's advice Feedback from Lucas on the Green Swan episode about not relating to a high dollar value acquisition A question from Lucas on how this differs from buying an individual stock and if they had an unfair advantage by being CPAs and MBAs We all have a unique path to FI You need to see how different investment and business opportunities fit into your life and with your own risk profile Calculation based on getting a return of 8% versus 16% over a 15-year period How hustle can be as or more important than any skills or certifications you have How putting skills from various areas together will help you succeed dramatically in life Different ways to improve a business from Jonathan if you're a lifelong learner Announcement of the next Camp FI in Williamsburg, Virginia in April 2018 "Collect skills not stuff" motto from Jonathan and how he wants to explore a "Maker space" for a community of learners The sharing possibilities of having pooled resources with neighbors or communities The new Mr. Money Mustache World Headquarters for people with the FI and entrepreneurial mindset Buy Nothing Project and how it relates to "the alley will provide" Travel Rewards update on changes to card opening options Itunes reviews of the week Links from the show: The Green Swan Playing With FIRE Slack ChooseFI Vault Camp FI mid-Atlantic in Williamsburg, VA from April 13-April 16 2018 Mr. Money Mustache Buy Nothing Project

042 | In Episode 42 we have a wide ranging discussion with JW from The Green Swan about his FI path, going into business with family, buying an existing business and much more. In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion with JW from The Green Swan about financial independence and busing buying and ownership How JW got involved in the FIRE community A discussion of life insurance and how much someone in the FI community really needs to think about They were already on a path to financial independence even before finding the FI community online How JW approached college with the mindset of graduating early JW's dad passed many of the tips and tricks of the FI community to him in his teens JW's relationship with his older brother made a big difference in his FI journey and they long talked about buying a business The concepts discussed in the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad and how it could help you get multiple streams of income JW and his brothers were saving for many years in anticipation of buying a business How they researched the options of buying a business How they could step in and grow the business they intended to purchase What did they do to fix the culture in the business and reassure their employees about the future of the business How did they know they could add value to this or any other company? How they structured their legal entity to optimize most efficiently They are investigating purchasing a similar business to expand their business What does the path look like for each of the four brothers and how have they navigated the sibling dynamic? They entered the business with 'eyes wide open' to the potential to damage their family relationships They built an operating agreement with all potential future possibilities so they could navigate future issues. It was important that they did this from the outset The unexpected joys and crazy things that happen when you own a small business with many employees and JW's examples How are they funding a future potential acquisition? How do these businesses impact JW's financial independence number? He is calculating his FI number without even considering the income or equity in the businesses Hot Seat Questions Favorite life hack is listening to podcasts and audio books at 2x speed He wishes he would have done 'house hacking' like his father did when he was younger

In this Friday Roundup we discuss Episode 41 with Paige and Sam on extreme frugality, radical insourcing and the high cost of living path to FI plus a voicemail from Big Ern and members of our community. In Today's Podcast we cover: The discussion of Episode 41 with Paige and Sam about reaching early retirement through extreme frugality and radical insourcing in a high cost of living city like Los Angeles Jonathan's story about visiting his childhood library and trying to find old computer games Book recommendations from the ChooseFI Facebook group The list of obstacles that could have stopped Paige from reaching financial independence, but she overcame anyway It's easy to make excuses, but your journey almost invariably will be easier than Paige's The aspects of high cost of living that would be universal to other people: Defraying the costs of housing by sharing an apartment "The alley will provide" as a perfect quote for ChooseFI and a way to think about not buying new items Making a fun game out of buying "new" items (new to you) at a garage sale The important of collecting skills instead of stuff plus a list of random skills you can pick up Don't be complacent with the knowledge and skills you have. Always look to learn. There are so many free ways to get entertainment in a big city A big takeaway was that Sam's parents cut the friction and helped him get started investing The hardest part is to take action, so helping other family members can help their lives dramatically. Jonathan thinks about this with his siblings Don't let the perceived complexity of task overwhelm you and cause you to not take action. Just break it down into steps and take action. Andrew shared how he and his wife break down the ChooseFI podcast every Monday where they discuss with their kids in a fun way How Brad setup a Vanguard investment account for his kids in 2017 Are there tax implications for investing for your children? Discussion of Paige and Sam's housing situation Paige's "mistake" that was right for her You have many levers to potentially pull and not everyone needs to make the same choices, but you need to not make excuses Cutting expenses is the low hanging fruit of the path to FI. Changing your income is not as immediate Buying used takes the mental anguish out of purchasing and perfection Jonathan's life hack for purchasing at Amazon: Camel Camel Camel Case study for how to use Camel Camel Camel Don's call that he officially reached financial independence! Call from our in-house expert Big Ern about how to mitigate sequence of returns risk Winner of the side-hustle competition: Tallis who is providing dance classes to those with Parkinson's Disease Call from Dave about the business he created Itunes review book winner Links from the show: Classic Reload video games Freecycle Frugalwoods Camel Camel Camel Early Retirement Now Case Study in Part 11 of the Safe Withdrawal Series The Stock Series at JL Collins NH PopUp Business School Books Mentioned in the Show: The Lies of Locke Lamora Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

041 | In today's podcast we discuss the High Cost of Living Path to FI with ChooseFI community members Paige and Sam who live in Los Angeles and have been pursuing FI in a HCOL with sub-$50,000 per year jobs. I n Today's Podcast we cover: Episode 41: A conversation with Paige and Sam about pursuing Financial Independence in a high cost of living area on a lower income Paige pushed back on our limiting belief that you "can't" achieve financial independence on a low income in a high cost of living area Sam introduced Paige to MMM but Paige ran with it from there Paige's back story Paige had a negative net worth in her mid-40s Since Paige has earned and lived in the $30,000 range she is used to that and now that she's making more she can save that difference Paige intends to hit early retirement in 2025 and has a 50% savings rate She uses her Roth IRA as an "emergency fund" since she can withdraw the contributions at any time tax and penalty free Sam's story behind retiring "early and often" He did not have student loans and also his parents modeled investing for him well before he was earning income himself Sam's parents always put gifts and other money into his investing account instead of giving it to him to spend Sam is technically at his FI number, but he does still continue to work Sam's history of his apartment renting in Los Angeles and sharing apartments with roommates to lower the costs (over a 20+ year period) Sam has never made more than $50,000 in a year Having to be slightly more intense to reach FI in a low cost of living area. The best way being to live with roommates and not having a car payment They don't buy new items – the "alley provides" and they can find free stuff on the street or at Goodwill, etc. They are very deliberate and intentional about saving money on food and groceries Limiting beliefs on why people like Paige and Sam couldn't retire early and pursue financial independence and why they rejected them The big three items they can control: Housing, Transportation and Food There are so many free activities in a big city, so it is easy to keep a nearly $0 entertainment budget in a city They are not minimalists at all, but they just don't buy new things. Sam is an extreme DIY-er and picks How did Sam become a DIY-er? You don't have to agonize over decisions when you aren't trying to maximize or perfect each buying decision How they approached their home buying decision differently with the mindset of people who can fix essentially anything Buy a house that is just bad enough that the flippers don't want it – per Paige What is the long-term play for their new house? Do they intend to buy other homes to fix and sell? Extreme ownership of your decisions and knowing what you want Paige's plan for early retirement and how to make it to 65 and social security where she'll get a 'big raise' Hot Seat questions

040R | In today's Friday Roundup we discuss our takeaways from Episode 40 with Noah and Becky from Money Metagame, plus voicemails from the ChooseFI community and our in-house expert Keith from the Wealthy Accountant. In Today's Podcast we cover: Discussion of Episode 40 with Noah and Becky from Money Metagame about the Gap Year Jonathan took action and followed Geoff's advice to start culling his closet and decluttering his life Jonathan is struggling with how to categorize and track his donations For tax purposes you definitely do want to track your noncash donations It's always easier to track things along the way as opposed to doing it all at the end of the year How is Jonathan mentally approaching the process of decluttering his life? How Brad would approach cleaning out closets by making a game out of it Noah and Becky found FI at a young age and incredibly have not made any major financial mistakes in their lives You have more and more power in your life as you go along your FI path and reach your Milestones of FI. It isn't an all or nothing thing. Becky realized she was getting burned out and was able to make a decision to leave her job based on a position of strength Becky and Noah have no fear moving forward and that is incredibly inspiring You don't have to maximize every dollar but can focus on what brings you happiness How a ChooseFI app would add value to the community and an ask whether this would provide people value Announcement of the two finalists for the Startup Business Competition with Alan Donegan: Rachel and Tallis Discussion of the phrase 'Side Hustle' and how Brad hasn't liked that phrase Voicemail from Alex with a question for Keith from the Wealth Accountant on retirement plans available to self-employed individuals Response voicemail from Keith from the Wealthy Accountant Life hack from Noah from Money Metagame on how to save on movie tickets Voicemail from Nicholas about the positive changes he's made in his life in the last 5+ weeks since he found ChooseFI Discussion about the value you receive from cards on an ongoing basis Itunes review for the winner of the book drawing Links from the show: Money Metagame Sell My Comic Books website ESI Money Frugal Professor PopUp Business School The Wealthy Accountant Advance Screenings for movie tickets The Points Guy: How Closing a Credit Card Impacts Your FICO Score

040 | Today we have Noah and Becky from Money Metagame on the podcast to discuss their story, their upcoming 'Gap Year' of travel plus an incredible college hack they used to get full-tuition scholarships. In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion with Noah and Becky from Money Metagame Noah and Becky's history behind their path to FI Travel Rewards was what initially got them into the world of Financial Independence How Noah introduced this idea to Becky originally Becky was originally hesitant but after seeing some stress in their lives became more open to it How the personal finance and financial independence sub-Reddits became Noah's go-to sources for information The story behind the name Money Metagame How Noah and Becky both got full-tuition scholarships to Purdue University through the Evans Scholars program How they found out about this program to get these college scholarships The background on how others can benefit from this scholarship opportunity What was the thought process behind them buying a house in Seattle upon moving there? The mortgage on their house was actually less than what they were paying in rent What was the process behind them getting rid of PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) on their home? After they found the concept of FI they started maxing out their 401ks, HSAs and Roth-IRAs, plus regular brokerage accounts Their savings rate went from 6% in 2014 to 58% in 2015 after finding FI. It has since gone up from there Becky wasn't happy in her job and that gave them the push to quit their jobs and take a 'Gap Year' to travel around the United States They are past "Half FI" on the list of FI Milestones What do they plan to do with their home in Seattle? What did the conversation look like when they told their family and friends? Could Becky dial back certain aspects of the nursing profession and only focus on the parts of the job she loves? Noah's decision to leave his particular company and job What do they have to consider when embarking on a trip like this? There is room for FI optimization since they'll have minimal income in 2018 How does the interplay work between realizing "income" through capital gains and getting subsidized health care What does their trip look like in general and what are their plans for the actual travel? They will be focusing on lower level redemption hotels through Hyatt, Starwood and IHG How will they get their mail while on the road? What scares them about this trip and experience? This was all possible because they found FI Information on their honeymoon to Fiji as their best travel rewards win Does it make sense to use miles for business class or first class? Hot Seat Question

039R | In today's podcast we discuss Episode 39 with Gwen from Fiery Millennials, plus a 'Cruise Control Path to FI' case study example and voicemails from our community members. In Today's Podcast we cover: The Friday Roundup after Episode 39 with Gwen from Fiery Millennials A whole new FI world for Brad and Laura after their youngest daughter went to kindergarten They have the opportunity to live more of a FI lifestyle and have to now figure out what that looks like Second Generation FI and examples of Brad's kids exhibiting their behaviors ChooseFI is an opportunity for Brad and Jonathan to share these stories with their kids and also document their FI paths Gwen's lightbulb moment she had during college and how that changed her trajectory How intelligent Gwen was with her college decision and pursuing a full scholarship Brad should have focused his own college search on places where he could have gotten a full merit scholarship The concept of the 'cruise control path to FI' Second Generation FI Case study example of how savings would work maxing out their 401k from 22 to 32 The value of compounding over decades The importance of starting to save early and the concept of time as a Pillar of FI The ability to put money into your kid's Roth IRAs even if they are under 18. We need to do more research on this to document what's allowed Example of putting $5,500 into a Roth IRA for a five year stretch from 13 to 18 and what it would be worth at age 60 Jonathan's example of contributing to a 401k from 32 to 60 You have to get started and take action today, even if you've made the "wrong" decisions in the past Gwen's desire to build up the FI community is incredibly impressive Announcement of the last three finalists for the PopUp Business School competition with Alan Donegan Voicemails from the three finalists Voicemail from Justin about the career path of an air traffic controller as a path to FI making significant money without a college degree Itunes book giveaways Links from the show: Fiery Millennials Go Curry Cracker The Wealthy Accountant PopUp Business School USAJobs.gov

039 | In today's podcast we have a conversation with Gwen from Fiery Millennials about her millennial path to FI plus some hacks that she used to save on college and increase her savings rate. In Today's Podcast we cover: Our guest on Episode 39 is Gwen from Fiery Millennials Was Gwen from the generation that grew up with electronics from day 1? A background on Gwen's story saving money when she was younger. She saved 50% of her income Gwen pursued dual enrollment classes and entered college with 23 college credits Gwen did the research with the college first to determine what credits would count Brad's example of programs that exist in Virginia and likely other states where you can attend a community college and transfer to a state university Gwen joined the Air Force in the Air National Guard to pay for college, but actually got a merit scholarship from her college Gwen still has 8 semesters of free college remaining for the future due to these dual scholarships How did Gwen find the concept of Financial Independence? Finding FI helped Gwen keep on the path and be conscious of her consumerism and save more Gwen's search for an internship via job hiring boards or job fairs What's the difference between searching on the job board and the job fairs? How to look professional and make a positive impression at a job fair Your FI path is dramatically easier when you do things right from the beginning Gwen was maxing out her retirement contributions How you can be on cruise control if you do the right things the first 10-15 years of your career Gwen had a roommate when she got out of college so she was only paying $450 per month in rent Gwen pursued rental real estate after attending the Chautauqua She landed on the idea of 'house hacking' for her rental property She bought a triplex and the rental from the 2 other units more than pays for her rent, so she is paying $0 out of pocket for living expenses Gwen feels she may have rushed into buying a property since she bought the second property she looked at Gwen is maxing out her 401k, HSA and Roth IRA and then additional savings go towards future down payments Gwen's savings rate should be around 80%, but extraordinary expenses on her rental home bring it down around 50% Gwen still has her car from college and she intends to hold it for years to come What are Gwen's plans for the future? Hot seat questions

038R | In today's podcast we discuss Episode 38 The Why of FI plus we announce three of the finalists for the business building competition with Alan Donegan of PopUp Business School and a voicemail from community member Geoff. In Today's Podcast we cover: Discussion of Episode 38 on the Why of FI Jonathan's Frugal Win of the Week at Costco by saving on protein bars Jonathan's nutrition goals and the underlying concepts of simplicity and removing decision fatigue How unusual it is that the FI community is outside the mainstream by saving money whereas the norm is spending every dollar you have The elevator pitch for Financial Independence Brad believes the psychology behind the Why of FI is more important than the actual numbers Numbers will always be a focus as is saving money, but the psychology is essential How has Jonathan's focus changed since the beginning of his FI journey and since the beginning of ChooseFI Jonathan has latched onto the ideas of simplicity and happiness The new concept of the FireWalker, as coined by our community member Cody Has Jonathan shifted from being a spender fundamentally? How has the journey impacted Brad? Brad's thought about community and connection matter more than he even thought The connections that are made possible due to the ChooseFI community Local community meetups and our request for community leaders throughout the country and world Everything is connected with FI as a life optimization strategy Voicemail from Geoff about sequence of return risk and working towards a minimalist lifestyle and how to optimize life What do you have control over? Focus on that Cutting expenses and getting your lifestyle creep under control The 4% rule explained Geoff's plans for different scenarios and his budgets Geographic arbitrage for moving to low cost of living area Think in advance for different situations you may face in the future Competition with Alan Donegan from PopUp Business School: We play 3 of the finalists that were picked by our panel Giveaway winner for the free Camp ticket in Florida in January Book giveaways Vote for the Plutus Awards to support the many bloggers who are active members of our community Links from the show: Impact Theory Quest Nutrition Retirement Manifesto JL Collins Stock Series The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement Dominick Quartuccio PopUp Business School FI 180 Vote for the Plutus Awards

038 | In today's podcast we discuss one of our most important topics: The Why of FI. Why we pursue this path, why we think it's a life 'superpower' and how it can help you escape the hamster wheel of life decades earlier than most people could ever dream. In Today's Podcast we cover: Discussion of the Why of FI as an introduction to the concept of Financial Independence and why we've chosen this path and this community Jonathan's explanation of the "hamster wheel" and what the normal 'American dream' looks like and why this will keep you chained to this treadmill for decades to come This is not a pursuit of freedom, but a pursuit of "stuff" You're working full-time to afford these things that you can't use because you're working all the time The important thing to focus on is what makes you happy Time is your most important resource This is not about liking or hating your job. This is about freedom and taking the power back in your life The concept of drifting and Jonathan's questions that can help you highlight this feeling in your life It is so hard for most people to find a way out of this life because they don't have the time, energy or resources to figure a way out. But FI is the path out! FI is a truly optimistic message where everyone can make a difference going forward in their lives Instead of buying stuff, we're looking to buy our magic 'perpetual money making machine' We try to keep our savings rate as high as possible and investing in low cost index funds This is not a get rich quick scheme. You need to learn what you don't know to get on the path to Financial Independence FI is about math and your savings rate FI is not about deprivation through frugality, but about making smart choices and optimizing things in life How Brad saves a significant amount of money by being smart about a handful of things like house, car, cell phone, cable and food Jonathan is a 'reluctant frugalist' but he has seen the value in pursuing FI FI gives you the power to choose what you do with your time and if you intend to work going forward You can start tomorrow to save money and pursue this path Now you can focus on what you actually want to do with your time in the future Most people's lives would collapse within 3 months if they lost their jobs, but pursuing FI changes that entirely and gives you power to choose what you do You also have flexibility that would have been previously impossible

037R | Today we discuss Episode 37 with Scott Rieckens, the filmmaker behind the FI documentary Playing with FIRE, plus emails and voicemails from the community and a discussion of reaching FI in a high cost of living area. The great American Eclipse and our viewing Brad's vacation and how they spent $0 on hotels for 16 nights The value of slow travel and why it makes vacation dramatically better. Vacation doesn't have to be stressful How expectations management is so crucial to life and on vacation Time is such a crucial tool Scott's slow travel with his family and the yearlong adventure they are on visiting family and friends while filming the documentary There should be creativity and excitement in your future and your decisions The list of things that made Scott's wife happy on a weekly basis and how this was an inspired decision by Scott Sell your value first and then grow your network. How Scott did a masterful job at this by creating a network and even leaning on our network How Brad connected instantly with Scott and wanted to help him This documentary can help take the concept of FI to the mainstream Email from Paige on limiting beliefs and how it isn't "impossible" to live in a high cost of living area for under $50,000 per year Paige thinks that you may need to be a "little more intense" to hit FI on a low income, but that it is certainly possible and it is all about savings rate How we all have limiting beliefs that we need to work through to "think about a problem a little bit differently" Brad's decision to leave Long Island, and how that helped the path to FI. But could they have been more intense and stayed and still reached FI? You can be on the path to FI moving forward no matter where you've been or what "bad" decisions you've made in the past There's no perfect person or situation for FI – just try to be a little better going forward to make positive changes Email from Art Vandelay and how they love the show and have made a lot of positive changes since listening. Should we stop the FIRE from spreading? We need local leaders for ChooseFI local meetups so please reach out to us Voicemail from James about his successful trip from Nashville to Europe using travel rewards points Voicemail from Rachel about how to hack your TSP to save money on your student loans

037 | In today's podcast we speak with Scott Rieckens, the creative force behind the upcoming FI documentary called 'Playing With Fire' and we learn about his FI journey and this exciting project. In Today's Podcast we cover: A discussion with Scott Rieckens, the creative force behind the upcoming FI documentary 'Playing With Fire' we've discussed on previous episodes Scott is devoting the next year of his life to create this documentary about the FI community Scott's background story and how he found FI How they were on the 'hamster wheel' just working to pay for the lifestyle they were living The importance of a side hustle or entrepreneurship Scott consumes a lot of media, including podcasts and found the Tim Ferriss show especially valuable Lifestyle creep in their living arrangements in Coronado How Scott found Mr. Money Mustache and the FI community through the Tim Ferriss podcast Living a life of happiness while pursuing Financial Independence You don't need $10 million (or a similar amount) to retire early How Scott enjoyed the positive nature of the FI community How Scott presented the FI concept to his wife and the thought of 'why isn't everyone doing this?' How Scott framed FI to his wife with the focus on happiness Looking at expenses in the framework of a 10-year timeline Scott's wife's list of the things that make her happy on a weekly basis Considering moving out of Coronado and California generally: Geographic arbitrage How your entire life costs less when you leave a high cost of living area How they approached the decision to move out of Coronado and what that process looked like How moving allowed Scott to take a year of his life to create the FI documentary Playing With Fire Scott's wife was not only on board with the decision, but she wanted to travel in a camper and go on an adventure Pursuits that matter to them that they now can pursue on the journey to FI The timeline behind Scott's FI journey and decision to create the FI documentary Scott's surprise that no FI documentary already existed and his start approaching us at ChooseFI to discuss the project How the idea of FI can be life-changing for so many people How this documentary can help spread the message of FI How he decided to call the documentary 'Playing With Fire' Hot seat questions Scott's biggest financial mistake was taking on too much student loan debt Scott would have 'house hacked' to buy property in his college town if he could do it all over again

036R | In Today's Podcast we cover: Discussion of the community aspect of Episode 36 with JL Collins There is a yearning and desire for community meetups with other members of the Financial Independence community The spread of these community meetups and longer Chautauqua and Camp events throughout the world The ever growing FI community in the Richmond, VA area where Jonathan and Brad live How much money could we all save if we had like-minded people in our communities? Discussion of Millennial Revolution's article The Five Types of People You'll Meet on Your Way to FI Spreading the concept of FI with people who may be predisposed to it who are already in your life The new MMM Headquarters in Longmont, CO that Pete just opened and the value of that community Voicemail from Chris from our community on how he has saved over $146,000 since listening to ChooseFI a few months ago just by making small changes in his life Voicemail from Aaron in San Diego on VTSAX and potentially diversifying with other index funds for small and mid-cap funds Hard L's comment on the Vanguard Wellington fund and why he thinks it compares favorably to VTSAX and Jonathan's response to this actively managed fund and why we don't necessarily recommend it Voicemail from Tinian from Life Outside the Box on using a daily journal each morning to set his intentions for the day and to express gratefulness How to support ChooseFI Travel Rewards voicemail from Marilyn on how travel rewards helped her imagine possibilities for her future Explanation of the show notes for the ChooseFI podcast Frugal Win of the Week from Gwen from Fiery Millennials Frugal win of the week from Sara Itunes Reviews of the Week and book winners Links from the show: The Five Types of People You'll Meet on Your Way to FI at Millennial Revolution Introducing the MMM World Headquarters Building Life Outside the Box.me Marilyn's episode on Radical Personal Finance Marilyn's Infant Dental Center Fiery Millennials Zenni Optical Books Mentioned in the Show: The Five Minute Journal

036 | In today's podcast with Jim Collins from The Simple Path to Wealth and JL Collins NH, we discuss the Chautauquas, in-person events plus an 'Ask Me Anything' series of questions from our ChooseFI community. In Today's Podcast we cover: Part 3 with JL Collins from JLCollinsNH, the Simple Path to Wealth and Stock Series fame Jim's discussion of Alan from PopUp Business School and how the UK Chautauqua came to be The value of in-person events like Camp Mustache and the Chautauquas Ask Me Anything segment with Jim with questions from our audience and private Facebook group Question from Amber from our Facebook group about the value of annuities, reverse mortgages and fixed income items Jim only recommends investing in stocks and bonds. The goals that Jonathan spoke of in the question can be balanced by allocating different percentages to stocks and bonds Jim believes annuities and reverse mortgages are laden with fees that make them poor investment vehicles Annuities pay a guaranteed income which appeals to many people, but since you are buying them from an insurance company you are buying this contract and you will never see your principal ever again. That is the annuity contract The insurance company is betting on your death essentially based on actuarial tables for the annuity Question from Emily on international equity allocation Jim doesn't see the need to hold international funds because VTSAX contains a significant international allocation with US multinationals, the expense ratios are higher and there is more risk because of lack of transparency in emerging economies Question from Jeff on when to move from 100% equities to holding some bonds Question from community member Brad on how to mechanically rebalance your funds Jim does his rebalancing within his IRAs so there is no taxable event He rebalances approximately once per year Question from David on being too aggressive and Japan's prior decades performance Jim believes what Japan is going through is a "Black Swan" event and this is theoretically possible this will happen to the US Questions from Felisa on Jim's thoughts on inflation Some inflation is normal and to be expected, but runaway inflation is extraordinarily scary Question from Matt on why Jim is in a different bond fund than he recommends on his site The Key to the Simple Path to Wealth is buying and holding for the long term You always need to approach your life and FI journey with an open mind and be willing to be flexible and change as the facts change Simplicity and flexibility