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Building a business online has never been easier than right now, but Corbett Barr was forging his path in the early 2000s when it was hard. We're diving into his origin story to learn what gave him motivation and why he believed entrepreneurship was for him. Working as a consultant in Fortune 500 companies, Corbett had the kind of job a lot of people really wanted and could build a career around. Though he wasn't aware of financial independence at the time, he didn't want to climb the ladder only to find it had been leaning up against the wrong wall. Unhappy with his career, he was nudged toward entrepreneurship but was scared to take the leap until a friend asked if he wanted to become involved in a new project, which he was able to do without risking any of his own money. In his early 20s, Corbett was furloughed from his job during the 2000-01 financial crisis. During his efforts to stay afloat, he was ashamed and learned how important it is to save as much as possible. His savings gave him enough of a cushion to last a year or so in order to find out if he had what it takes to be an entrepreneur. His picture of entrepreneurship at the time was working yourself to the bone, sleeping under your desk, and hitting a home run before earning a bunch of money and doing whatever he wanted. But he found that he still had a host people he still needed to answer to and felt even more trapped than if he were an employee. After putting in so much time, effort, and money, it was painful to realize he didn't have much to show for it. But after having a taste of entrepreneurship, it was hard to imagine going back. Rather than jump into another project, Corbett and his wife took an eight-month sabbatical in Mexico to clear his head, reset and pivot. The Mexican sabbatical allowed him to put some space between himself and the friends, family, and San Francisco venture capitalists influencing his life to see that something else was possible. It was around that time he discovered concepts of location, independence, lifestyle design, and digital nomads. He realized that perhaps what he wanted wasn't to be wealthy, but instead to have enough time and control to do the things he wanted, like working on the things he wanted or spending time with friends and family. When discussing the dark side of entrepreneurship, Corbett says we don't often see the path of destructions can leave in people's lives. However, it has become much more democratized in recent years where you don't have to take investment money or big-name advertisers. It allows you to really be in control and think about how you go about doing it. Though he originally envisioned building a product and then finding customers who wanted it, he decided to go with an audience first business where he would find customers who wanted a product he would then build for them. An audience first strategy ends up taking a lot of the risk out of things. In the beginning stages of entrepreneurship, it's all about finding your topic and what you are going o building toward. It's good to jump into something you are interested in and can become good at. It can take experimentation and doesn't necessarily come overnight. Something that Corbett teaches is "minimum viable income" where you cut back all of the fat. Though he jumped in with both feet and lived off savings, people like Brad did things on the side. And adding an extra thousand or two in income through a side project, it can change the entire trajectory in terms of FI. Some of Corbett's observations about working for yourself are: you have no one to blame but you, when you work for yourself, you don't have to worry about a new boss, you decide when you work and when you don't, no pointless, actionless meetings, no cubicles, and the coffee is amazing. When living a nomadic lifestyle, Corbett and his wife consider the total annual cost of their home base, including any rent they might receive back. Some locations are better than others, so you may need to get creative about it. In 2009, when Corbett began building his audience first business, he began with free ebooks on affiliate marketing, followed by an online course, and then another, and another. He began to realize that he wanted to layer coaching and community on it. He's been doing that through Fizzle since 2012, along with a podcast. Free consultations are a great way to understand what questions your audience has and then build it into your product. There are ways to ease into charging for the product you are creating to find out if it's viable. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Quickly and securely send money to people with PayPal Get a $75 credit to boost your job posting on Indeed.com Wondering what it would look like to make work optional? Go back through the ChooseFI archives or visit ChooseFI.com/start IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

Going back to the basics of ChooseFI being a crowdsourced show, Brad and Jonathan address what's going on in the FI community with a wild card Friday episode. Why revisit content that's already been discussed? After several years of introducing new ideas, the ChooseFI audience may be in a different place financially and ready for a refresher on some of the more advanced concepts presented earlier in the show's history. And newer listeners may not have combed through the archives and missed out on topics relevant to their situation. This episode back to basics provides an orientation of what ChooseFI hopes to deliver. Goals for the podcast are to introduce a new idea or story during the Monday episode. But not every strategy or tactic works for everyone. Friday's Roundup episode looks at that idea from different perspectives, incorporates audience feedback, and seeks to answer additional questions. The FI Weekly is the email Brad sends out every Tuesday where he provides subscribers with ideas to ponder, inspire, and motivate people on their own journey and shares what actions he is taking to make his life a little bit better. Opt in to receive Brad's email, The FI Weekly, at ChooseFI.com/start. Financial independence means different things to different people. For Jonathan, it means he has options allowing him to choose what he does during the best years of his life. For Brad, it means freedom, giving him the ability to live life on his terms, spending time with his family. Pursuing financial independence doesn't mean living a life of deprivation. It's about choice. No one should tell you how to spend your time, your freedom, or what to spend your money on. You have the freedom to spend money on an expensive car if you choose, as long as you understand the impact of that decision. It's not even about being at financial independence or not. Simply being on the path to FI gives you options. Whether you're in a toxic situation at work or want to pursue a passion project, just working toward FI gives you options those on the standard path cannot afford to take. Sharing stories from the community and discussing the decisions they have made broadens and brings to light the scope of options available to the variety of personal challenges you may have. The pursuit of financial independence is not necessarily about hitting that FI number. It's a life optimization strategy. If you are working in a low-wage job and don't see the path, you can be trained in a new industry and be making $60-80K within six months. Check out the Talent Stacker podcast. Shane recently posted in the ChooseFI Facebook Group, "I'm a recent college graduate, 23 years old. What advice would you give yourself when you were my age regarding investments, retirement/401K, and student loans? I want to invest, but I also have about $30,000 worth of student debt, but I'm only making around $41,000 a year." Brad notes that a lot of people like Shane are looking for tips or special advice that will get them to financial success, but that there's nothing complex about it. It comes down to savings rate and time. Increasing savings rate is easier when you reduce your structural expenses. If your life doesn't cost much, you can increase your savings. When first starting out, Brad and Laura weren't making high salaries, but they set themselves up for success by moving to a city with a lower cost of living, purchased a home with a reasonable mortgage, and have driven the same car since 2003. These choices allowed them to have a 50% savings rate and meant if Laura decided to stop working once they had kids, they would be fine. Brad and Laura became wealthy because they didn't care about looking wealthy. With some quick math, Jonathan calculates for Shane to have a 50% savings rate, his monthly expenses will need to be $1,700 a month. With a mortgage and expensive car payment, that may be difficult. He might do well trying something like house hacking. Shane could purchase 4 bedroom house, rent out rooms to friends and cut his housing expenses down to $300 a month. 40% of most people's expenses go to housing and transportation. Optimizing in just those two high-cost areas can make a huge difference in your savings rate. Anchoring yourself to a food budget of $2 per person per meal per day in another way to reduce a major expense category. Laura sits down once a week to plan out several meals for the week, making enough to have as leftovers on a second night. The meals she cooks average that $2 per person per meal goal which helps them save over $1,000 on eating out and picking up convenience foods at the grocery store. A rough target for housing expenses is 25% of your take home pay. For investing, Brad recommends Shane begin with low-cost index fund investing and JL Collins' book The Simple Path to Wealth. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Build your plan NewRetirement Sign up to get The FI Weekly delivered to your inbox every Tuesday! Switch to Mint

Everyone's path to FI is going to look a little bit different and there is so much we can learn from each other. Hoping to inspire and share lessons learned through conversations with community members, Brad and Jonathan speak with Julia Harder, an active duty member of the Coast Guard, is already well on her path to FI. Always a natural saver, Julia was influenced by her dad, who stressed the importance of investing, and Dave Ramsey's teachings that debt is bad. She was on a good financial path, yet she still felt something was missing. Though it sounds counterintuitive, Julia's path to financial independence began with divorce. Prioritization to her marriage, she rarely spent money on anything she didn't absolutely need. During her marriage, her husband helped her learn that some spending can be a good thing. Unfortunately, he was an irresponsible spender and there were months Julia found she couldn't pay all of the bills. Although she knew something was wrong, she failed to listen to her instincts and all of the red flags that kept popping up. she just assumed everything would be okay rather than taking a step back and thinking about it critically. Following her divorce, she was left with a $300,000 mortgage, a $20,000 car loan, no savings, and was feeling like she had hit rock bottom financially. Following Dave Ramsey's advice, Julia began to follow his steps to get back on her feet and find herself and her financial objectives again. Julia was all in on Dave Ramsey's strategies. She cut up her credit cards, began using cash for everything, and made a budget every month. It gave her discipline and solidified her habits. She found ChooseFI in May 2019 after she began teaching personal finance to other members of her Coast Guard unit. The thought of optimizing investments and taxes really caught her attention. It was exciting to begin taking action to optimize her money in these areas as well. It was more difficult to come around with respect to travel rewards credit cards, but because she had learned to be disciplined with her budget, she could spend money on a rewards credit card and begin optimizing her travel spending too. Before ChooseFI, Julia thought she was killing it with her 15% savings rate. She assumed 59 and a half was the earliest she could retire because that's the age her finical advisors had given her. She was blown away when a ChooseFI guest discussed their 70% savings rate. It was then that she realized she could control so much more than current her zone of awareness concerning savings and retirement. Julia plans on remaining in the Coast Guard until eligible for a pension at 20 years of service. While others often ask if she'll be bored, she has a list of passion projects she can't wait to pursue without having to worry about how to pay the bills. As someone who always enjoyed public speaking, last Fall, she took up book narration after reaching out to a friend with audio experience for help getting started. She's also joined Jonathon's Talent Stacker class and looking to start a podcast. Julia keeps a list of all the things she wants to accomplish and FI will give her the freedom to pursue them without being obligated to a job or other people's expectations. Between Julia's pension, TSP, Roth IRA, and a taxable brokerage account, she plans to hit Fat FI in 2027 when she becomes eligible for her pension. Calculating a FI number with a pension is a bit different than multiplying annual expenses by 25. Julia estimated her pension using the military's pension calculator. She multiplied the difference between her pension and her expenses to calculate her FI number. While she still follows the tenants of Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps and has met the minimum standards, she believes she has moved on from the standard path of working for 40 years and is more in line with ChooseFI. Jonathon stressed that like Julia, members of the military with a pension, the Roth Conversion Ladder is not going to be a good option since it requires a few years with little to no income. When exploring the idea of a talent stack, some people may have a difficult time identifying what they are really good at. It might start with identifying a pattern in what others tell you you are good at. To watch the video highlights, click on ChooseFI.com/252 RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Get "unstuck" with Jillian Johnsrud and the Everyday Courage podcast Build a better portfolio today with Fund Rise and get your first 90 days of advisory fees waived Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond by Michael A. Singer IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

Martin and Ayesha are both natural savers who have been great about living below their means but lacked a real plan. Their goals are to maximize investments for retirement and finding ways to utilize dividend funds. After stumbling across the ChooseFI podcast, they felt like their financial independence number and retirement seemed obtainable which has helped push them to commit and make even bigger changes. While Martin and Ayesha had a 20-25% savings rate before finding FI, Brad commended them on what a great job they were doing. He also stressed that FI is about living a better life and having the financial security to get you there, not what your savings rate is. Despite the inclination to save, Ayesha always resisted the thought of meticulousness and restrictive budgets. However, she found that she could get behind the idea of focusing on spending on what they truly valued, so they began using Personal Capital as a less obtrusive method of tracking their spending and gaining insight into their habits. Something that Martin and Ayesha place considerable value on are experiences, particularly travel, spending time with friends and family, and being healthy. Instead of getting together at restaurants and spending money on pricey meals out, they began hosting monthly potlucks. Ayesha has found the website Budget Bytes to be incredibly economical when it comes to low-cost recipes and efficient for discovering uses for the ingredients she already has in her refrigerator. It's helped to cut their grocery bill to around $600 per month for their family of 4. Due to quarantine restrictions, Ayesha was out of work for months, which she calls a blessing in disguise. During that free time, they were able to take a deep dive into their spending and immediately saved $500. It also allowed them to slow down and spend more time with family enjoying the outdoors, playing games, and eating all three meals together. Following the time off from work, Ayesha has realized that it does cause her some stress which made her want to buy things. It also strengthened her conviction to reduce her workload within 5 years to perhaps just one day a week so that she can find more joy in the moment. Although Martin enjoyed his two-hour daily commute, working from home during the pandemic has made him more aware of the importance of time. He now strives to make the most of his time and focus on using it in ways that bring him the most value. While their monthly expenses are not constant because life is lumpy, it runs around $3,500 but can go as high as $5,000 a month when home repairs are needed. Martin and Ayesha have a goal of reaching FI in seven years and are looking at exploring several different options to help get them there. With option one, they would withdraw money from an investment account to pay off the mortgage on their home. The money saved on the mortgage payment would then be invested for the next seven years. In option two, they would use their investment account to pay off half of the remaining mortgage and continue to make the monthly mortgage payments which result in a mortgage pay off in seven years. Their third option is to refinance their current mortgage which has 17 years left at 3.3% interest rate to a 15-year loan at 2.6%, but that refinance incurs $7,000 in fees. The payments would remain the same, but the home would be paid off two years earlier. Ayesha likes the idea of not having a mortgage but doesn't want to do it if the numbers don't make sense. However, Martin is okay with a lower net worth if it means they can get rid of their mortgage because he feels they would have more options. Brad admits this is an issue he and many others in the FI community struggle with. With such low-interest rates on mortgages, it's almost always a better option mathematically to keep the money invested, but it doesn't mean it's the right decision for everyone. The psychological aspect needs to be considered. If they would like to pay the mortgage off in seven years, the best thing they can do it to use an amortization calculator and see how much extra they will need to pay each month to have the mortgage paid off in seven years. Martin and Ayesha can then see how that payment fits into their current lifestyle. As a fourth option, Brad pointed out that they can drastically reduce their FI number if they were to pay off their mortgage. With a FI estimate of 1.25 million, using the 4% rule, they would have $4,000 per month. If the mortgage was paid off, they could reduce their monthly expenses by $1,600, and then their FI number is only $750,000. After living through the 2008 housing market crash and not having a plan, and then this most recent market downturn, Martin and Ayesha have realized they may not be as risk-tolerant as they used to believe. Brad suggested having an investor policy statement that they've written down to help them stay the course in times of uncertainty. The biggest takeaway is the being on the path to

Once you realize financial independence is possible for you, how do you ensure the money lessons you've learned are consistently passed down to future generations? Anne Zonca's family is well ahead of their time when it comes to financial independence. When many are focused on second-generation FI, Anne herself is third generation FI working to pass along her family's lessons to her own children. Children of the Great Depression, Anne's grandparents were deeply effected by having lived through it. Starting out in marriage with literally nothing, they worked hard and saved so that they never had to live through a financial situation like that again. Understanding that saving was not enough, they began investing in the stock market in the 1950s. With a formal education, her grandfather stayed informed with the Wall Street Journal and sharing stock tips with his brother. They invested in individual stocks, picking ones they felt were stable, like oil and gas, or utility companies. For stocks that paid dividends, they reinvested the dividends. with this strategy, they were able to build a substantial amount of wealth. Anne's mom recounted stories about how her grandfather got into stock investing, but Anne became more aware of her grandparents investing prowess around 14 when they began gifting stock to their children and grandchildren. While the value of the gifted stock wasn't necessarily a large sum, it was substantial considering they were regularly gifting to 4 children and 11 grandchildren. The gifted stocks were paying decent dividends, but rather than receive a lot of checks for small amounts, the dividends were all reinvested. Though the growth on the stocks gifted to Anne was not enough for her to reach FI, she definitely had a heart start and was learning about stocks and investing at a young age. Her grandparents gifting stock to the family was a win-win scenario as her grandparents did not have to sell the stock and pay capital gains on the appreciated value. Though the recipient bears a tax burden, children are entitled to a certain amount of capital gains each year tax-free. Currently, children can have up to $2,000 of capital gains before being subject to capital gains taxes. Following the example set by her grandparents, Anne's parents were able to achieve financial independence as well through entrepreneurship and real estate. Although preceding generations had reached financial independence, it wasn't wealth being passed on from generation to generation that got them there. It was the lessons of spending less than you make and smartly investing the extra that perpetuated generational success and wealth. Despite her grandparents' success in the stock market, there was remarkably little conversation about investing until the grandkids were older and showed an interest in having such conversations. As a result of the gifted stocks and her parents being good stewards of it for her, Anne was able to use it and graduate from college debt-free. As life is often bumpy, Anne experienced her own financial setback when she divorced her husband and the courts gave her ex-husband half of everything her grandparents had gifted to her. Luckily, the money lessons she had learned allowed her to be in a financial position to leave behind the marriage and move on with her life. Although not everything has gone fairly or smoothly since the divorce, Anne has adopted a great attitude by understanding that it's only money, she will be able to move on, and that she will still reach FI. The advice she would give to anyone else going through a divorce is to work with the things that are burdening you, follow your heart, and don't sacrifice your life, happiness, or the person you want to be over a bad decision. You can work hard and invest. There are still a lot of opportunities to save money, meet goals, and find love. Having been a stay-at-home mom and yoga teacher, Anne needed to get back into the workforce to support herself. A friend advised her to do it scared. The first year was hard, but she built up her skills and got her CPA certification renewed. Anne's grandparents lived long enough to begin gifting stock to their great-grandchildren, so her kids have been the fortunate recipients of these gifts and their associated money lessons. In addition to the stock gifts, Anne started a program of investing pocket change with her kids. Now that they are are in high school, they listen to ChooseFI with her and she's established stock accounts for them so that they can become comfortable investing in stocks and mutual funds. To impart a FI mindset in her children by being an example. Anne drives used cars. She also has them responsible for paying their own car insurance, which incentivizes them to get good grades to earn a discount. And she gives them some say in how Anne she invests money for them. Anne says financial independence means freedom. She can make decisions independent of the financial impact. Second, third

Brad is back after taking August off of work as his Red X month. Though his original vacation plans were changed because of COVID, he made the best of it. They spent three weeks in Long Island visiting family, enjoying the pool, board games, and a digital detox. While Brad was away relaxing, Jonathan used that time to work on a couple of big passion projects. During the month of August, Jonathan created a podcast course and membership group. He also started a new podcast as a way to demonstrate to the group how you start one. The Talent Stacker podcast uses the content discussed on ChooseFI but then goes even further and fills in the holes to focus on skills, certificate programs, and career paths that don't require the high cost of college. The first episode of Talent Stacker has already been released and this coming Monday's episode will feature Bradley Rice where he and Jonathan discuss a carer path you can start for free with no talent stack, no career, and no experience and after 6 months of training, you can make a minimum of 60-80K with the ability to scale for an even higher income. The Talent Stacker membership program has lifetime guaranteed access where they will work with you to as long as it takes to get you working in that new job earning $60,000. Programs such as the one discussed on next Monday's Talent Stacker episode are becoming more popular with examples like Google's new career certificate program which also takes about 6 months to complete at a fraction of the cost of traditional college. The Vice President of Global Affairs at Google, Kent Walker, stated they consider the certificate to be the equivalent of a four-year degree for related roles. The next Households of FI family featured this week is Carol, sho found FI in 2020. In her mid-50s, Carol claims she is financially illiterate and does not want to end up being a burden to her child. Her goals are to change her deprivation mindset when it comes to money, retire with financial security, and kick her lifelong issues with credit cards. Carol was introduced to financial planner, Roger Whitney, to come up with a financial plan of attack. Since finding FI, Carol has jumped right in reading and listening to as much as she can. In that time, she has cut her debt in half. She believes her first steps should be to pay off debt, start an emergency fund, and begin saving aggressively for retirement. She also knows she needs a mindset shift. Carol struggles with budgets, but she's contributing to her 401(k) for the first time and is only giving herself a small amount of spending money with everything extra going to savings after her bills have been paid. Roger suggests there are two ways to tackle the mindset issue, either toughen up and do it, or set up a system to capture her excess money. Rather than focus on the big hill Carol needs to climb, Roger wants her to focus on what little thing she needs to do next to begin to create momentum. He also suggests that having a community like ChooseFI is great for providing encouragement, assistance, and being a virtual mentor. Carol wants to know which is more important paying off her credit cards or building her emergency fund. Because she's been good about not using her credit cards and they have a high-interest rate, Roger wants her to focus on paying off her cards with every extra dollar she has. Second, Carol should set up a system for how she manages her money. It can be helpful to have income deposited into a savings account we don't see and then transfer spending money to checking accounts at another bank. After paying bills and buying groceries and gas, Carol has about $200 leftover at the end of the month before she receives her commissions from sales. With her commission checks, she would like to save 50-60% of her income. Carol's company offers both a traditional 401(k) and a Roth 401(k), but she is unsure what the differences are. Roger explains with a traditional 401(k) contributions and growth are tax-deferred until withdrawn, while Roth 401(k) contributions are made from post-tax income and grow tax-free. The next two levers Carol needs to focus on are earning as much as she can in commissions which is the most effective way to make the plan work. The next lever is to hang on to the money she is earning. Side hustles are another area Carol is looking at to increase her earnings. She's already published two books and is working on a third, as well as looking for another side hustle. Since she enjoys writing, Roger suggested that Carol could share her journey on her blog and collect readers and be an inspiration. Mentioning that seeing her M1 Finance account grow, Roger thinks it would be useful to set up a system around that kind of excitement for continued encouragement. To watch the video highlights, click on ChooseFI.com/249. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Freelance to Freedom by Vincent Pugliese Total Life Freedom Talent Stacker Podcast Google Career Certificates R

What does it look like when you are invested in building wealth, environmentalism, and sustainability? How do you combine raising your net worth while optimizing these other areas of your life? You build a holistic approach to the different types of capital. Laura learned about the different forms of capital through her experiences with permaculture, which is a design science that looks to nature as an example of a closed-loop, no waste system. Her introduction to permaculture through her gardening interest in sustainability. The permaculture flower has seven petals, with each petal representing concepts like Land in Nature, Stewardship, and The Built Environment. In addition, 12 guiding principles can be applied to each petal, such as Catch and Store Energy. She became intrigued after learning permaculture could be applied to more than just the landscape. Not pleased with the investing options available through her employer's retirement account investment options, Laura turned to the permaculture space around money, investing, and finances. Financial permaculture got off the ground around 2010-2013 where permaculture principles were applied to finances. While much of the thinking done early on has been at the macro level, Laura has been working to bring it down the personal finance level. Socially responsible investing is something that Laura does at the local level. She looks for investment opportunities in her local community, like purchasing a share in a local permaculture farm. But she recognizes local investments are few and far between, so she casts a wider net for meaningful investments outside of the stock market, like with the American Homeowner Preservation Fund which buys distressed mortgages and works to keep people in their homes. While it may sound like a charitable contribution, Laura is investing in these opportunities through her retirement account. Though she recognizes these investments may be riskier, she believes there are far greater risks to the environment with many other investments. Anyone considering investing in this way should do their due diligence and understand the risk before investing in a non-diversified portfolio. Laura tries to mitigate this risk using multiple forms of capital as a safety net. In addition to financial capital, there are material capital, intellectual capital, experiential capital, social capital, living capital, cultural capital, and spiritual capital. Other forms of capital sometimes discussed are time, health, and attention. Within social capital, Laura discussed communities helping each other through mutual aid societies and time banks and how they have been springing up since the pandemic began. Understanding these various forms of capital has shaped how Laura thinks about retirement planning. Financial capital is how we access the other forms of capital and they are where our quality of life comes from. Laura has been thinking about how to build and develop her other forms of capital so that she will require less financial capital. Long-term care is extremely expensive as is the insurance to cover it. Building social capital is one way to defer those long-term care costs but may not be a substitute for everyone. Thinking about some of these issues as a system versus a singular item brings more joy and focuses on quality of life instead of a number on a spreadsheet. Jonathan acknowledged that when describing his investor policy statement, he was looking at his options through the various forms of capital he has not solely his net worth and that changes his investing approach. Laura believes it's not necessary to have balance across all forms of capital. It may be more effective to specialize in several and looks to our networks, friends, family, and community to find who is rich in the areas where we are deficient. Though asset mapping, some communities may be poor in financial capital, yet wealthy in other forms which, when tapped, can be converted into financial capital. These forms of capital are not limited to homeowners. They are still accessible to those living a nomadic life, who are renting or not thinking about retirement yet. Community gardens, volunteering, and online communities are several ways to build capital. To watch the video highlights, click on ChooseFI.com/248 RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital sale from Stamps.com using promo code "ChooseFI" Check out all the titles available from ChooseFI Publishing Get started on your own path to financial independence at ChooseFI.com/start IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

Continuing the financial independence case study series, Households of FI family, Zach and Marilyn are a married couple with young kids. Using Dave Ramsey's baby steps, they no longer have any debt but have wondered what to do next. Looking to explore investing in real estate, ChooseFI connected them with real estate expert, Paula Pant. Though Zach and Marilyn once lived below the poverty line, they managed to pay off their debt, including student loans, a car loan, credit cards, and medical debt. During that time, they gained a little experience with buying and selling property. Since that time, Marilyn has gone back to work and their income almost doubled. Having earned a profit on some previous homes they flipped after living in and renovating them, it's encouraged them to use the skills they've acquired on future investment properties. Where they currently live in Cedar City UT, the market is a bit inflated and are concerned about the 1% rule where monthly rent should equal 1% of the total purchase price. Paula explains that if a property rents for 1% of the purchase price, that is 12% per year at full occupancy. Since it is estimated that operating costs will be roughly 50% of the monthly rent, 6% of the purchase price is what if leftover as an unleveraged dividend on the property. Assuming no increase in the value of the property, but keeps pace with inflation, that's roughly another 3% based on historical averages, the property gives a 6% dividend and 3% inflationary increase, for a total return of 9%. It is a rough way to determine if a property is worth looking into further Exceptions for the 1% rule of thumb may be made when operating costs are expected to be less than the 50% average, such as if property taxes are extremely low or if it is a newer home. Other exceptions to the 1% rule can also be made when buying a multi-unit home where you live in one unit and rent out the others. In those cases, personal criteria for where you want to live also come into play and the 1% rule can be thrown out the window. Because property values are a little inflated where they live, Zach and Marilyn are interested in buying properties in markets where they don't live. Paula believes that it's easier being an out-of-state landlord because it forced her to treat it like a business when she couldn't just pop over and take care of issues herself. Zach and Marilyn were also interested in what criteria they should consider regarding properties that are fixer-uppers versus being move-in ready. Paula says what she teaches the students in her real estate investing course includes a graph where on the x-axis represents a spectrum with "You Find Deals" at one end and "Your Create Deals" at the other. On the ends of the Y-axis are "Move-in Ready" and "Not Even Habitable". There are tradeoffs between effort and reward, but as effort increases, generally, reward increases as well. If you don't have time to devote to the hardest quadrant of the graph, then it might be easier to find deals in the move-in ready quadrant instead. Since they are debt-free, Marilyn I feeling anxious about taking on additional mortgage debt, but Paula views the mortgage from an investment property differently from personal property. An investment property mortgage is a tool that allows you to cashflow positive. Paula doesn't have a specific price range she won't exceed but says there is a balance of equity to debt that she tries not to exceed across her entire rental property portfolio. She tries to keep a 50/50 ratio where for every $1 of debt she has, she also has $1 of equity which is conservative by most real estate investor standards. To ensure that enough funds are on hand to take care of emergency maintenance and other unexpected household repairs, Pauls advises having 3-6 months' worth of rent on hand to cover these expenses. Zach and Marilyn are wondering if they should cut back on retirement investments and divert to real estate to help them acquire property faster. Paula suggests instead look at how much from their overall budget they want to save and then decide how to divide up the savings. Considering what happened in 2008 with the real estate market, and unsure how the pandemic will impact real estate today, they are unsure when to jump in and purchase an investment property. Similar to trying to time the stock market, Paula encouraged them to look at the numbers to decide if it's a good deal right now. If in the future, the market shifts and no longer makes sense, then sell. When this is done repeatedly over a lifetime, you win. Since they have done well in the past with live-in flips, Paula cautioned them to be aware of their emotions and to be careful about separating what they want from a home they live in with what makes sense as a good investment. A 1031 Exchange allows you to avoid paying capital gains when selling an investment property and reinvest the proceeds from the sale within certain time limits in properties of like-k

What happens when someone is using your finances to prevent you from making decisions that are in your own best interest? What does financial abuse look like and can you reclaim your financial life? Rachael shares her story and how she's become passionate about economic empowerment. Although she had a successful career and what appeared to be a healthy relationship from the outside, Rachael found herself in a relationship with someone who walked all over her. Slowly over time, Rachael's boyfriend began chipping away at her confidence and inserting himself into her finances, putting his name on all of the bills, linking bank accounts, opening joint accounts, and pushing to have his name on the mortgage to the property she had purchased on her own. Your instincts and feelings are worth paying attention to. Had Rachael explored her feelings more, she believes she would have listened to them better. Not knowing what's happening with your bills or financial accounts is a red flag. Sharing accounts is only good when both people are acting in good faith. The drive to take over control finances may start as a result of insecurity in the relationship, but it can take a turn and be used against the other person as a form of punishment. Rachael describes financial abuse as a psychological assault where your trust is so broken that it can damage the relationship you have with yourself. If you aren't making decisions willingly and freely, you are giving up bits of your power and it's then a slippery slope to giving away too much. There's nothing inherently wrong about merging finances but there's needs to be a conversation it. After 10 years, the relationship ended, Rachael found herself in a legal battle over the property, was experiencing PTSD and unable to do her job. The systemic assault she experienced during the relationship and in its aftermath destroyed her trust in society. All the business, government, legal, and social systems she sought help from had failed her. The bright light in her experience is that Rachael has now become an agent of change to have new laws passed in the UK to help other victims of financial abuse. Learning to tell her story and fight for herself was incredibly difficult, but also a skill-building endeavor. She channeled her anger, found her voice, and learned how to speak clearly and with confidence. Always a fan of journaling and understanding the power of words, Rachael started a blog as an unfiltered outlet for her feelings. The positive feedback she received from family and friends also helped build her confidence. Not wanting to return to teaching, Rachael attended one of Alan Donegan's PopUp Business Schools to possibly become a personal fitness trainer. When hearing about using your experiences to build an authentic business, Rachael realized she wanted to help other victims of financial abuse. Rachael wants to become a consultant to banks, housing associations, and lawyers and tell them what they need to do to stop financial abuse from happening, protecting both themselves and their customers. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Register for The Simple StartUp Fall Challenge Order your copy of Raising Your Money Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence by Carol Pittner and Doug Nordman IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

To watch the video highlights, click on ChooseFI.com/245 Matt and Megan are a dual military family on the path to FI. Matt is serving in the UK Royal Navy and Megan is serving in the US Navy, making their tax situation unique. Currently, they plan on having Matt get a green card, allowing him to work in the US, while Megan finishes out her Navy career to earn a pension and then move abroad in about seven years. Once Matt gets his green card, he will be taxed like any other US citizen. He owns an apartment in the UK that he would like to sell. Dave McKeegan notes that since there is no wealth tax in the US, Matt will not be taxed on his assets, but once he gets a green card or meets the substantial presence test, he would potentially have to pay capital gains tax on the sale of the apartment so it would be best to sell it first. Due to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), every bank around the world is required to report US citizen account information to the US Treasury Department. US citizens are also required to report accounts on a FinCEN 114 form and assets held overseas are subject to capital gains taxes. Dave wanted Matt and Megan to be aware that mutual funds held outside of the US can often be viewed as passive foreign investment companies. Any investments overseas should be US compliant as well. Vanguard has a number of retirement funds that report correctly to both the US and UK and are exempt from taxes. Matt and Megan are interested in how the can best take advantage of the US tax system and simplify it for themselves. To reduce their taxes, Dave advises Matt to physically give up his green card once they move abroad so that they can place money in international investments under Matt's name and he won't be taxed like he is a US citizen anymore. As long as their assets are less than $2 million, leaving the US will not trigger an exit tax. Depending on income, where their assets are held, and if they have children, their US tax filing status may change to take advantage of higher exemptions, but they should sell the UK property before filing "married filing jointly" as long as he doesn't already meet the substantial presence test. Matt may qualify for a tax-free UK pension when he retires from the Royal Navy but if he has a green card, he will need to pay US taxes on his pension until they move overseas and he gives up the green card. Dave McKeegan has moved around the world and is currently living in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is one of a number of countries that only tax sources of income earned within that country. As his business is located in the US, Dave pays US taxes. If Matt and Megan were to move to a country with tax laws like Costa Rica, they would not pay income tax to that country on their UK and US pensions. Other countries have income tax rules that depend on how much time is spent in that country. So it's possible to slow travel or split the time spend in a few countries and not pay income tax to the countries visited. Countries that tax their citizens living abroad are the United States, Eritrea, and North Korea. While there may be tax advantages to living abroad and giving up US citizenship, Dave has decided that he benefits of retaining citizenship far outweigh the benefits of not paying taxes and the risk of not being let back into the country. Wyoming is an easy state to incorporate a business and there's no state income tax. If also living outside of the US for 330 days a year, you can be eligible for the foreign income exclusion and exclude $100,000 of income from taxation. Alternatively, Matt could set up an online business overseas and pay Megan a salary up the foreign income exclusion amount and also avoid self-employment taxes. Living in Costa Rica, Dave's children have been learning through a combination of the local international school, homeschooling, and the Simple StartUp entrepreneurial program he's been running for a home school group. He is able to have conversations about business and money with his kids about money and they have become interested in investing as well. Though Dave and his family primarily rented homes while moving around the world, the rental market in Costa Rica made conditions more advantageous to buy. When they travel back to the US for extended periods, they can rent their home in Costa Rica out. Diversification doesn't just apply to a stock portfolio. You can be diversified in passports, income streams, and properties from other countries. Spreading your bets around different countries can make sense. Dave discussed some of the issues expats have opening local bank accounts as US citizens. Matt and Megan have been using Revolut to more easily move money around between countries. Opening up a Roth IRA is something Dave suggested Matt and Megan could do to stash away some tax-free money and have ready access to the principal later. Health care coverage overseas was another area Dave suggested they look into, although health care is fre

Who do young people look up to today? The lifestyles marketed on MTV and social media not exactly something to aspire to, but where can the next generation go to find something different? Inspired by the work of her father, Don Wettrick, and feeling like she needed to take charge of the issue, Ava Wettrick created MentorZ, a platform designed to introduce great people to Generation Z. As a young child, Ava thought her dad was the smartest guy in the world. It wasn't until she got older that she realized he wasn't necessarily smart, he just read a lot. She's witnessed his transition from teacher to owning a non-profit and embrace the experience. Being a voracious reader, it didn't take much pushing from her dad to begin consuming content from the likes of Tom Bilyeu, Simon Sinek, and Victor Franco and having an influence over her peers. Since getting to know several entrepreneurs, Ava questioned whether or not college is worth the time and expense. She was surrounded by highly successful people telling not to go to college, but she is attending college and has found it helpful to have the financial support of her parents and scholarships while growing, learning and choosing the information she wants to consume. Don acknowledges that for some majors, college is still relevant, and for those who have the money should go, but have a plan. He thinks the best thing students can do is to start doing the thing they might love and begin to shadow people to determine if it is a good fit. Majoring in entrepreneurship at Ball State, Ava is learning about accounting, marketing, running a business, and being a CEO which has only accelerated her drive to make the podcast a success and provides quality content and great messages. Interviewing guests for her podcast has been a significant personal learning experience and changed her perspective on the power of an interview. She waited a year to release the episode recorded with Tom Bilyeu because she feared it wasn't good enough and yet people think it was one of her best. And following her interview with Dov Baron, she received feedback that he believed in her and wanted to mentor her. While there are ways of doing things to make them appear more important than they are, "fake it til you make it" can have its drawbacks. Don believes humility can be key when it comes to Imposter Syndrome. When it comes to second generation FI, Don says it happens by osmosis. His kids have been raised under a frugal lifestyle. Since his last appearance on the podcast, Don left his teaching job to take the non-profit to the next level, growing both the team starting chapters in co-working spaces and tech hubs. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION The StartEDUP Foundation The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success by Napoleon Hill Learn to be a better writer with Grammarly Premium Register for The Simple StartUp Fall Challenge ChooseFI Episode 013 The Unfair (FI) Advantage of Teachers 457b Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Impact Theory Podcast ChooseFI Episode 087 Education Through Innovation Sign up for ChooseFI's FREE FI101 Course! IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

Progress Coach, Jillian Johnsrud, meets with Households of FI member, Corinne, to review the two exercises designed to help her understand how she can prioritize her life to focus on the things that matter the most. After taking a quiz to reveal which of the Four Tendencies she is, Corinne discovered that she is an Upholder. She has many things that she would like to do but struggles with feeling guilty about doing non-work related things that are important too. Corinne would like to find more time for meditation and develop better awareness and confidence with her finances. Though Corinne always felt like she was decent with money, beyond investing in a 401k, she would like a better understanding of what her baseline expenses should be and where she can make improvements with a budget and investments. When it comes to learning, Corinne feels that she learns best by practice, repetition, and talking through things, but would love to make her processes as automated as possible. Jillian suggested that Corinne may learn about investing best through a book club, class, or mastermind group. Her goals for mediation are to be more in tune with her body, realize when she needs to step away from work and take a break plus try and have mediation become a part of a daily routine. Jillian divides priorities into two categories, the things we want to make progress on and the action steps to take. There is a huge return on the investment when taking those actions, but things that help with progress are foundational and make life easier. As habits develop in stages, Jillian suggests Corinne first try to find a place in her life for a two-minute meditation habit, before getting started and trying to optimize it. This will help test out when mediation might be appropriate and get through the learning curve. Then focus on any hesitation resistance to doing those two minutes. Creating habits can be more successful when added to an existing routine or by creating a prompt. Corinne would also like to make progress in her career. She needs to stay focused better during working hours to make the most out of them and make progress with communication and executive presence. Exercise, eating healthy, and socializing with friends are other areas where Corinne would like to reduce friction and make doing them easier. Since starting a new habit is so difficult, Jillian likes to divide the year up into six-week chunks and focus on one of the new habits in each of the six weeks. The synergy between the habits begins to build momentum. For the exercise "Challenges and Motivations", Corinne felt making partner at work was her biggest motivation because she values being part of a team or community and having a sense of belongingness. Other motivations she has are security and autonomy. To increase Corinne's sense of her top three motivations, she feels that she hasn't done well lately with maintaining relationships and connections with people. Jillian likes to use her understanding of the five love languages as a framework to strengthen relationships with others. The biggest challenge to meeting the goal of becoming partner is balancing the expectations of her time at work with her personal life which is why she would like to be more focused at work. Additionally, she would like to stop comparing herself to others at work and concentrate on what works for her. Options for tackling challenges include self-correction, finding a more helpful perspective, and problem solve it. In Corinne's case, Jillian thought she would benefit by actively looking for leaders who were more like her rather than the hard-charging partners in her workplace. Regarding Corinne's challenge with setting boundaries at work with her time, people who work for her sometimes find it difficult to connect with her. Jillian suggested creating a specific time or better communicating what times she is available. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION JillianJohnsrud.com ChooseFI Episode 162 The Four Tendencies and FI With Gretchen Rubin Everyday Courage Episode 32 Four Tendencies, The Obliger Save on shipping costs with a free four-week trial with Stamps.com when using code "ChooseFI" Earn $1,000 or more with ChooseFI's 3 card cash back strategy The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

For those on the path to financial independence, finance, fitness, and life optimization all intersect. During her career in the banking industry, Shannon McLay found it didn't work for the people she wanted to help. She set out to use her skill set and training to change the coaching industry and founded Financial Gym. Even for those who not physically fit, they know what it looks like and there are many resources available for achieving it. The path the financial independence is similar in that it is a long journey. You have to work up to it, will experience setbacks, and take breaks. Much like diets, budgets don't work long-term. Making lifestyle changes is the key to success. At the Financial Gym, clients hit 90% of the goals set for themselves by examining their money behaviors and constantly working to figure out what's will work for them. The two largest emotions people have regarding money are fear and shame. Once people drop these highly charged emotions and understand the financial numbers don't define them, they can break through and embrace moving forward. After turning 30, Shannon realized she didn't want the life she was leading. Her life's trajectory changed when she came to understand that to have long-term sustainable happiness is to help other people and not expect anything in return. During her work as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch, she discovered she enjoyed helping out her pro bono clients far more than the wealthy ones. It allowed her to see there was a need for a service where it didn't matter what you looked like financially, you just needed to get financially healthy. Much like going to the gym to get healthy, her concept of a financial gym was a place to meet with financial trainers for a monthly membership fee. Following the model of H&R Block, Shannon believed people wanted to meet with a financial advisor face-to-face. She was advised to prove the model would work before looking to raise money. Experimenting with different plans and prices, she had great success with her first clients increasing their net worth. Clients wanted to keep working with her, but she was running out of money to continue investing in her business. When a former boss invested $100,000 in her concept, she rebranded using the gym concept. The physical environment of the Financial Gym created a community where clients had a shared goal and a safe space to talk about money. Shannon was able to scale her business by developing a training program and teaching compassionate and empathetic people what she knew. Those contemplating becoming an entrepreneur should ask themselves, "Am I a good problem solver?" because running a business is like solving a lot of word problems. No one's financial situation is so bad that it can't be fixed. The trainers at the Financial Gym have seen and fixed it all. On average, clients pay $70-80 a month for membership, but they offer a six-month money-back guarantee which they've never needed to pay out on. The average client increases their net worth by $2,500, increases their credit score by 60 points, and negotiates a $5,000 a year salary increase within the first 3 months of membership. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Compare quotes from top insurers with Policy Genius Earn $1000 or more with ChooseFI's 3 card cash back strategy! Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

The Troy and Lindsay are new on their journey, finding FI several months ago after making a budget and realizing they had no money left over at the end of the month. Compared to other systematic approaches to becoming debt-free, they felt FI was creative and adaptable to a variety of lifestyles. The first step Troy and Lindsay took was to determine where all their money was going using a budget tracker, which enabled them to cut monthly expenses and continue to do the things they enjoyed doing, like going to happy hours. Except for their mortgage, the Troy and Lindsay have paid off all of their debt, contribute to a 401k, and have an $80,000 net worth, including a $15,000 emergency fund. Though they both enjoy their jobs now, Lindsay is a teacher, so Brad suggests considering her pension's "worth vs worth it" as Grumpus Maximus has discussed on the podcast and in his book, The Golden Albatross. Use the 4% rule of thumb to determine what your net worth should be to reach FI. Using the 4% rule, you can withdraw 4% of the balance each year to live off of and reasonably expect it to last for the rest of your life. To calculate your FI number, multiply your annual expenses by 25. For every $100 cut from your monthly expenses, is $30,000 less you need to save to reach FI. Troy and Lindsay recently refinanced their mortgage from 4.75% to 3.25% and are investing the $500 a monthly savings into 401ks and Roth IRAs. When wondering about paying off their mortgage, Brad acknowledges that there is a real psychological satisfaction the goes along with it, but he looks at it in this way. The interest portion the payment is the true expense, while the principal payment is a reallocation of net worth going from your checking account into home equity. Brad suggests taking the time to document a year's worth of expenses and look at different scenarios for what life may be like in retirement to come up with a range of possible annual expenses. When calculating their FI number, Troy realized the number was double if he included a mortgage payment. Brad suggests looking at the mortgage amortization schedule for prepayment options. Food expenses have been cut with a goal of $500 a month. Lindsay checks to see what's in the pantry before shopping and meal preps one day a week to avoid eating out, but she isn't penny-pinching when it comes to quality. Removing mortgage and childcare from their expenses, Troy and Lindsay's monthly expenses are about $3,500 per month, which puts their FI number at just around 1 million dollars. They are currently saving roughly $50,000 per year to add to the $80,000 net worth but are wondering where they go from here. Brad acknowledges there can be a lot of initial excitement upon finding FI and making changes, but then there can be a lull. He challenges Troy and Lindsay to figure out what they want their lives to look like rather than compare their FI journey to anyone else's. It's important to understand that life is fluid and wants may change over time. Test small before making big decisions or changes. Flexibility and communication with your partner are critically important pieces of the process. The next steps Troy and Lindsay will be taking are to build a spreadsheet with different retirement expenses scenarios and talk about what they really want their lives to look like. Anyone interested in FI should understand that you don't need to be perfect, but you do need to get started. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION ChooseFI Episode 227 The Golden Albatross with Grumpus Maximus The Golden Albatross by Grumpus Maximus Protect your online activities with an Express VPN Earn $1000 or more with ChooseFI's 3 card cash back strategy! NewRetirement Retirement Calculator ChooseFI Episode 013 The Unfair(FI) Advantage of Teachers with The Millionaire Educator ChooseFI Episode 238 How to Test Out of College While You're Still in High School with The Millionaire Educator Get started on your journey at ChooseFI.com/start Get a group of friends to join you on the journey with ChooseFI's free FI101 course! IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

For video highlights from the episode, check out choosefi.com/240. Tiffany Alice was raised by a financially savvy father who taught her how to save and handle her money, but a few poor choices in her 20s destroyed her finances. Since overcoming her mistakes, she's made it her mission to help others fix their finances. After falling victim to a con man, Tiffany found herself more than $35,000 in credit card debt. Though her pre-school teacher salary wasn't a high income, she was saving aggressively by living simply and transferring her credit card debt to 0% interest cards. During the 2008/2009 recession, she was $300,000 in the hole between credit card, student loan, and mortgage debt when she was laid off from her job. Seeing that she was struggling less with financial hardship because of the lesson's Tiffany had learned from her father, friends began to ask for help with their finances. She liked teaching and turned teaching financial education into a business. Through her business, she can make good money, help people, and still have happiness and time. She feels that she is living her life in complete alignment. Even with a high net worth, she and her husband continue to live frugally and without debt. One of the lessons her mistakes taught her was to get straight to a solution sooner rather than allow shame or ego to delay it. It's important to acknowledge your role in mistakes, take full responsibility, and then get over it. Teaching financial education was the easy part. Tiffany found that her own financial struggles allowed her to relate to people. She doesn't consider herself to be a guru but an educator helping her girlfriends along. Tiffany built her business from one-on-one financial coaching to a following of over half of a million people in her Dreamcatcher community. Volunteering in her community and utilizing her network, in addition to social media helped get her business off the ground. When followers from outside her local area began to request her course, Tiffany scaled the business to reach anyone, no matter where they lived, with her Live Richer Challenge. When it launched, 10,000 people had signed up. To date more, than 900,000 have taken one or more of her Live Richer challenges. Along the way, Tiffany learned about blogging, video editing, affiliates, monetization, and self-publishing. A good teacher has to be constantly learning, listening, and reading, but what made Tiffany a really good teacher comes from being a pre-school teacher, she honestly cares about her students. She's taken her skills in leading and caring about students as a teacher and applied them to her business, making it an amazing place to work where her employees feel looked after and cared for. Tiffany has authored a pre-financial education book, Happy Birthday Mali More, aimed at teaching pre-school age children a lesson about the things that matter most. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Free 4 week trial with Stamps.com! Click on the microphone and enter code "ChooseFI". Earn $1000 or more with ChooseFI's 3-card cashback strategy Live Richer Challenge Live Richer Academy Happy Birthday Mali More by Tiffany Aliche IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT CHOOSEFI: Share FI by sending a friend "ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence".

Don't believe that you need anyone's permission for access anymore. The gatekeepers are gone and the ability to access knowledge on-demand and create a business model around it has never been easier. The realization that you have autonomy gives you control over your life is transformational. You can control your expenses and reach FI. You can choose to pursue interest-led learning and follow a passion. There is no more "they" you need to seek permission from. MK didn't need the permission of traditional publishing's gatekeepers, instead, she learned how to self-publish. Employers are beginning to value skills over degrees. Google recently announced they are offering 3 new online certificate programs in skill areas critically important to the tech industry. Google is even offering 100,000 need-based scholarships for individuals enrolled in the certificate programs. Start building a talent stack around what interests you. Bradley Rice from episode 117 is building BradForce Academy, a course designed for people in a Salesforce career looking for more freedom and flexibility. Working just 20 hours a week as a Salesforce Freelance Administrator in 2019, Bradley Rice made $225,000 using skills he had picked up during his lunch hour. From the community, Chris shared a big win on the ChooseFI Facebook page. He and his wife maxed out her Employee Stock Purchasing Plan and used to it help pay off her student loans once it reached its maturity to qualify as long-term capital gains. For the first time in 20 years, they feel like they are winning the game. Josh challenged Brad to share what his Todoist organized life looks like. In it, Brad has everything scheduled, from chasing his home air filters every 2 months to passport renewal reminders to subscription cancelation dates. Brad's taking his Red X month off from work, but ChooseFI episodes will continue with amazing pre-recorded shows, including an episode with The Budgetnista, Tiffany Aliche, and deep dives with the Households of FI. Jonathan issues a challenge to start on the path to FI. Gather a small group of friends and go through a 6-8 week transformation together starting September 1. Resources Mentioned In Today's Conversation Google Announces 100,000 Scholarships for Online Certificates Earn $1000 or more with ChooseFI's 3 Card Cashback Strategy M1 Finance ChooseFI Episode 117 Making the Case for Part Time with Bradley Rice Salesforce Freelance Consulting Course Preview BradForce Academy BradForce YouTube Channel ChooseFI Episode 024R The Friday Roundup | How to Hack Your ESPP Todoist ChooseFI Episode 221 Introducing Our Households of FI!! Part 1 ChooseFI Episode 224 Introducing Our Households of FI!! Part 2 ChooseFI's FREE FI101 Course

Gerry Born, the Millionaire Educator, joins the show to talk about strategizing college via online classes, dual enrollment, and CLEP Testing. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/238

Today we talk about asset allocation versus information allocation. What are you doing with all the information you are taking in? Are you making intentional steps to build your talent stack? Tune in to today's Friday Roundup! For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/237

The guys talk about their journey toward financial independence and fitness and how closely the two correlated to one another. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/236

Jacques Hopkins shares how he built an online course and some of the skills he had to learn along the way. If you have been sitting on an business idea you definitely want to listen to this episode! For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/235

Brad's children learn a valuable lesson on running a business and some of the associated difficulties. As Tesla becomes a potential candidate for the S&P500, the guys take the opportunity to touch a bit on questions you might have about this aforementioned index. And the pronunciation of our Brand: ChooseF.I. or ChooseFI? Or is there even a potential dark horse in this race as a third alternative? Find out on today's Friday Roundup! For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/234

Jordan Harbinger shares his tips and techiques for managing and expanding your network For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/233

Doug Nordman and Carol Pittner Join the show to talk about how to raise your children to think about the potential of money in a positive way For more information on the show and for shownotes visit https://www.choosefi.com/232

Jonathan makes a bet, the secret to wealth lies in the Casserole, and the guys share their thoughts on college planning For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/231

Jonathan, Brad, and MK have collected tips, comments, hacks, and feedback from the community for crushing college debt free. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/230

Corey and Jess from The Fioneers join the show to tell share their story of getting on the same page financially. They talk about incremental freedom, habitual spending triggers, and stress management. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/229

The guys talk about their strategies for public speaking, and Brad shares how podcasting has played a key role in learning to play into his strengths in order to overcome his fear of public speaking. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/228

Grumpus Maximus has partnered with ChooseFI Publishing to release his book The Golden Albatross. While pensions can seem like a dry topic, Grumpus has created an in-depth guide to the subject while simultaneously making it enjoyable to read. Today Grumpus is on the show to talk with us a bit about his story. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/227

Lauren and Steven Keys from Trip of a Lifestyle join the show to share their story of frugalality to live a life doing the things they love. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/226

Today we're talking about staycations, traveling the world ~$1,200/month, and community wins! For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/225

Today we are introducing the second 4 households in our on-going case study project where we follow 8 households on their journey towards FI. Each household is just starting their journey to FI, and each of which ultimately have the same goal: achieving FI. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/224

The Nomads join the show to talk about their system for perpetual travel, and all the nuances that go into a nomadic lifestlye. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/223

A lot of people think FI is about having as much money as possible, but that is a fundamentally flawed supposition. Jonathan and Brad saw plenty of "successful" people in the workforce who were miserable. Today we talk about the Oh-so-dreaded mid life crisis, and what FI is really about. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/222

Today we are introducing the first 4 households in our on-going case study project where we follow 8 households on their journey towards FI. Each household is just starting their journey to FI, and each of which ultimately have the same goal: achieving FI. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/221

Nancy Bachety worked as a school teacher for and was deeply dissatisfied with the 403b retirement fund that was being offered to teachers. On this episode Nancy shares her story and how she fixed her 403b account. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/220

Today we talk about using skills to pivot when laid off using MK as a fantastic case study of this concept. Additionally we have some announcements and awesome community wins in the mailbag today. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/219

Brandi joins us and shares her story on another case study episode. After sharing her finances, Brandi sees the big difference that small changes can make for retirement. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/218

David from Greenback Expat Tax Services explores the basics of taxes for expats. Learn about the rules surrounding expats taxes and strategies to consider.

Chris Browning joins the ChooseFI podcast to have a vital conversation about systemic racism in America and what we in the FI community can be doing to help. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/216

Audrey Bellis, joins us for a Wednesday case study. Audrey shares with a us a story of empowerment and self-motivation. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/215

Today Ashley Barnett from the ChooseFI team joins the show to share her story and teach us how to make a blog that stands out!

Jonathan makes one the Barrett Top 50 for some "FI-ne Dining", the guys detail this little known tax credit, got some community Feedback, Brad was on Jillian's latest episode of Everyday Courage, and ChooseFI case Studies will be coming regularly to a podcast player near you. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/213

Today Jonathan and Brad are doing a case study with Kashia Palmer. Kashia shares her story about getting out debt and has the guys look through her budget to find out her time frame for financial independence.

Jessica, The Financial Mechanic, shares how she created a ten-year path to financial independence through a career shift and salary negotiations. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/211

Today on our mailbag episode we have exciting news from MK, information on 401K's to Roth IRA's, news from Choosefi Publishing, an alternative summer camp possibility, and more from our community

Fritz from Retirement Manifesto is back to dig a bitter deeper into the minutiae of the numbers behind retirement, and the use of the bucket strategy.

Bianca, a flight attendant, reached Financial Independence in her late 30's after many bumps in the road. She shares her story of financial resiliency.

Today we have a bonus episode featuring an episode from Everyday Courage with Jillian Johnsrud and JL Collins. Figuring out how to invest is a challenge for many, including Jillian. By the time she and her husband started investing, they had paid off all their debt and saved up a lot of cash. Like many people, Jillian waited far too long to start investing. She was scared, intimidated and didn't really understand it. JL Collins says this is all too common, and he is here to make investing simple.

Today is community mailbag, and we are taking a look into some corrections, criticism, and feedback from previous episodes . Next we have a Frugal Win of the Week from Will for his brother Matt. Before all that though, Jonathan talks about his 2020 health challenge, and the power of incremental progress.

Fritz from Retirement Manifesto joins the show to talk about the mentality you should have when entering retirement.