ChooseFI

Control your Tax Rate by understanding how our marginal brackets work and eliminating consumer debt and taking advantage of tax deferred accounts Get Started on Path to FI https://www.choosefi.com/start Free Travel Course https://www.choosefi.com/travel For Net worth Tracker https://www.choosefi.com/pc Community Questions 1. Brian has a question about separation of service 2. Jason questions whether to use Vanguard vs Schwab 3. Kristen wants to know why she was denied for a premium credit card despite having 700+ credit score 4. Tyler shares how he used geoarbitrage to supercharge his path to FI Jonathan and Brad introduce a new segment with the FWOTW of the week (Frugal Win Of The Week)

013 | Our guest: Millionaire Educator shows us how to invest your money. He shows how teachers, firefighters, police officers and public employees can leverage the power of pretax savings to supercharge their retirement , and become millionaires. Take this information to learn how to invest your money and retires decades before your peers Ed's journey from a college basketball player to a Spanish teacher Graduate school led to $45,000 total debt at age 33 Taught ESL in Saudia Arabia and paid off debt Returned to the US from Saudia Arabia with a $110,000 net worth Had to figure out the concept of FIRE before it even existed Taught in public school in Georgia for the next 7 years The two retirement plans available to public sector employees: 403(b) and 457 Teachers can fully fund both of these accounts ($18,000 to each in current year) Putting away this money helps dramatically decrease your taxes In 2007 his net worth was $400,000 2009: Next phase of their retirement journey 403(b) fees are significant, so it was to their benefit to move jobs to roll their 403(b) accounts to a lower fee ('separation of service' clause) 457b is a special account as it doesn't have the 10% penalty for pre-59.5 age withdrawals Phase 3 of retirement plan: Starting in 2014 they worked for 2 years and saved $238,000 What they are living on: a) $90,000 from 457s b) 72-T withdrawals from IRAs How to control your tax bracket for big savings (potentially down to $0) Debt avoidance: debt is paid with after-tax dollars Geo-arbitrage and living abroad or even just a lower cost state 457b account is an emergency fund that is pre-tax dollars How Brad and Ed are not "perfect" with their investing Pay increases for teachers when attaining new degrees. Raises that last a lifetime Earning extra money for coaching and extended day teaching to max out retirement accounts How they saved over $100,000 in a year towards retirement accounts

The Friday Roundup acts as a way to connect the FI community bringing in your feedback questions, and corrections. https://www.choosefi.com/Start Text choosefi to 44222 for FI made simple Ebook On Todays episode Feedback on the Frugalwoods episode Email from Isaac: How have others responded to you being "openly FIRE" in your real life? Email from Evan: Has some tax hacks he wants to pass along Questions about travel rewards – do Chase points expire and how to transfer? Update on Jonathan's goal to lose 30 points by April 22nd Jonathan and Brad's Favorite networth tool FI made Simple Ebook Travel Course Personal Capital Review

012 | Living Frugal is a Powerful FI Tool Liz from Frugalwoods coaches us through the ultimate guide to frugal living The benefits of minimalism and living frugal Frugalwoods family saving 70%+ of their income Their conscious decision in March 2014 to pursue financial independence Entirely possible to pursue living frugal anywhere including large metro cities. In fact these cities may have built in advantages like transportation What is the difference between someone who saves 70%+ and everyone else? First ask 'where you want to be' Not a sacrifice but a reorientation of how you spend and your priorities The benefits of living frugal: happiness & joy How they actually moved forward in March 2014 with their newly ultra-frugal lifestyle How the Frugalwoods family saves on food & groceries Does it make sense to pay off your mortgage? How they spend nearly $0 on entertainment Bring your own food to work every day and save $20+ per day No car payments & buying used cars Buying nearly everything used No impulse buying – wait 72 hours after you want to make a purchase Embracing imperfection: why & how they cut each other's hair living frugal can simplify and streamline life The Frugalwoods homestead in Vermont Educating yourself when making a major purchase You don't need to spend money to be happy: frugal substitutions Hot Seat Questions Favorite Life Hack Hacking the soda stream

011 | In Today's Podcast we cover: Future guests and how our interviews will be different than other podcasts Introduction to the "hot seat" What's your favorite blog that you're currently reading? What is your favorite article of all time Favorite Life Hack Biggest financial mistake What advice would you give to your younger self?

010 | In Today's Podcast we cover: Fitness and nutrition from a financial independence mindset Jonathan's quest to lose 30 pounds in the 3 months leading up to his son's birth JD Roth's talk at the Camp Mustache event to create a personal mission statement Jonathan's post-it note goals for his next 3 months of losing weight Be intentional about your goals Eating to live, not living to eat The dangers of carbs and processed sugar Frugal, ripped, lean and wealthy Set a goal and find some accountability partners Brad's goals: 15 pullups and a six-minute mile Go to sleep on an empty stomach: benefits and discussion Drink more water: ½ to 1 gallon per day How to eat a better breakfast and why to avoid sugar and carbs 24 hour fast one day per week in Jonathan's plan Bulletproof Coffee, intermittent fasting and ketosis Prepare your meals ahead of time Avoid a deprivation mindset Movement is essential Take breaks during the workday to walk Interval training: HIIT on treadmill The benefits of lifting weights Building exercise into your day Take these actionable tips and implement them

009 | In Today's Podcast we cover: Why Jonathan started with travel rewards: Wife's family in Zimbabwe: $6,000 in flights every two years https://www.choosefi.com/travel What is this travel rewards strategy all about? Minimum spending requirement defined Options to meet minimum spending requirement Return on investment: instead of 1.5% rewards, you can earn upwards of 33% Impact on credit score and Brad's personal experience Is this strategy right for you? The Chase Gauntlet and why you want to focus on Chase cards first Where to start? Chase Ultimate Rewards How to earn the Southwest Companion Pass (and the value of the pass) Business credit cards Ultimate Rewards points and three ways to redeem them Jonathan's trip to Zimbabwe: Helping him save $6k in 5 minutes How to search for flights at United's website If this strategy can take Jonathan to Zimbabwe, it can take you anywhere! Other destinations with 'sweet spot' options: Costa Rica, Hawaii, Europe If you want to take 1-2 nearly free vacations per year, this strategy is right for you ChooseFI.com/Travel Travel Credit Cards

008 | In Today's Podcast we cover: Don't piss off the accountant: Bank Fees Americans spent $32 Billion in overdraft fees in 2016 Bank accounts and credit cards should be financial tools you use for free Overdraft fees mean you have no money and the bank is loaning you money for $35 at a time If you don't have $1,000 in savings you have an emergency Jonathan had one overdraft in 2016 but his system for putting it on a credit card avoided a fee One fee leads to another. Come up with an action plan to avoid them If you get hit with a fee, call your bank to ask them to waive it If you threaten to leave your bank over a fee, they will almost always waive it Determine if you need a local branch for your bank to save more money If you're getting hit with any fees, you need to sit down with your banker to come up with a plan

007 | In Today's Podcast we cover: America's food obsession: We're fat and broke How Brad's family saves money on food Being smart with ingredients. How often does Brad's family go out to eat? Go out for lunch instead of dinner Emergency meals in extra freezer Being efficient shopping at one store. Cut down on business Plan out the 2-3 meals you want to cook for the week Index of Top 50 recipes (A++ recipes) to cook Getting five nights of dinner out of cooking two meals Jonathan's plan: cook for multiple nights and don't waste food The waistline test and the fridge test Food budget programs Making food prep psychologically easy. Simplicity is key The Ultimate Costco Meal Plan and 10 items Jonathan buys 31 loaves of bread from one 25-pound bag of flour, 18 cents per loaf Find out your price per unit on your staple foods Jonathan doesn't eat out at restaurants where he needs to leave a tip (goes to Chipotle and Panera) Health consequences – don't overeat To cut down on portions, plan for leftovers Take willpower out of decision-making Small tweaks to make your life better over years Healthy lifestyle saves money on healthcare

006 | In Today's Podcast we cover: The Power of Partnerships How Brad and Jonathan met Our decision to partner up on Choose FI The importance of taking action The value of personal relationships in an online world What to look for in a partner Complementary skills and how it can help beat the learning curve How to find a partner in your niche Find people you connect with and meet in person if possible Split up the duties in the partnership to create an effective partnership Partnerships likely aren't going to be 50%/50% in time spent, but you can still add value Have an understanding from the outset what the partnership will entail to avoid problems down the road

005 | In Today's Podcast we cover: Dave Ramsey and Jonathan's history following him Dave's unyielding stance on debt: don't do it Review and evaluate Dave's teaching philosophies Baby Step 1: Get an emergency fund of $1,000 Baby Step 2: Pay off all your debt except for your mortgage Explanation of the Debt Snowball Our hybrid approach to the Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche Advice isn't "one size fits all." You need to figure out what works for you! The 4% rule explained and the impact on financial independence Dave Ramsey says to not take advantage of 401k match if you're paying off debt The math of personal finance vs. the psychology of personal finance Baby Step 3: Get 3-6 months of expenses in savings Our personal emergency fund strategies Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement funds Baby Step 5: College funding for children Baby Step 6: Pay off your home mortgage early Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give Please leave us a written review on Itunes to help the podcast grow Corrections from the show Roth's do not require any seasoning period. You can withdraw your initial contributions tax free at any time for any reason. It does not have to season for five years. Practically this makes the Roth even more powerful as a possible savings vehicle during your teens and college years when your tax rate is very low

004 | In Today's Podcast we cover: Interviewing Jonathan to hear his story August 2013 Jonathan graduated from Pharmacy School with $168,000 student loan debt How did he get to that point? 'Followed the rules' to get his pharmacy degree but came out owing $1,000 per month in interest You don't have as much money as you think: the impact of taxes How many years of work he gave up to pursue advanced degree and then pay down the debt just to get back to $0 net worth Would there have been a more efficient way to earn a $100k+ income? How Brad saved 90% of his income the first 2 years living at home and how it set him up for life Jonathan paid off his $168k of student loan debt in 3.5 years (!) What it takes: Incredible focus & intensity Create metrics to track to make paying down debt a fun game He looked at every single monthly expense to see if they could save money They were able to cut their cost of living from $60k per year to $38k per year Is there a need for an emergency fund? Differences in financial personality types When loans are paid off where does he go from here? Plans for 2017: emergency fund, create blog and podcast, create new streams of income

Do understand how expensive your investments are?Jonathan and Brad explore how Expense Ratios and Assets Under Management Fees Erode your Returns and Portfolio over time. And why avoiding them is the difference of millions of dollars. Resources Mentioned Investment Calculator https://apps.choosefi.com/calculators/ https://apps.choosefi.com/start Check out our Book https://apps.choosefi.com/book

Brad shares how he iterated out of failure to a online business success and how you can too! The skills learned, even from 'failures': ability to create websites, The value of personal relationships, even in an online world. The value of being a "real" person and how people relate to that Aligning your incentives with your audience to create a successful site and a win-win Turning an online website into a "real" business Resources mentioned in show https://www.choosefi.com/blog https://www.choosefi.com/disney https://www.choosefi.com/travel

What if you could get to the point where working is optional not just in your golden years but in your best years and have fun doing it. Welcome to the Financial Independence Community In the Original First Episode of the ChooseFI Podcast Brad and Jonathan share their objectives for the show and what they want you to get out of it. Welcome to the Show! Jonathan & Brad are not gurus. They are 2 average guys who are figuring out the rules of Financial Independence and sharing what they find with millions of other like minded people.