The Financial Independence Show

In today’s episode, Cody and Justin bring you back to one of our favorite episodes ever! This is the story of Jimmy Ridenhour who, unlike most of our guests, has no blog, book, or podcast. This was actually Jimmy’s first interview ever. That doesn’t mean his story isn’t remarkable. Jimmy’s story starts out with a very tragic start that involves murder and family turmoil but he amazingly finds his way to success and has an unmatched amount of positive vibes when you meet him in person. After that tragic start, Jimmy landed on his feet (literally) as a mailman at age 18. While most people his age were racking up college debt, he was bringing in upwards of $80k a year while he put in 70+ hour weeks. This allowed him to purchase his first home for $125k and have it paid off at age 23. At age 27, Jimmy had five properties which generated enough cash flow for him to live on. His expenses were only $1,300 per month so he had an extreme amount of flexibility for his future. Jimmy’s #1 tip is to just get started because you’ll learn so much from the first house. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

The goal for real estate is to generate as much cash flow as possible and/or own as many doors as possible right? What if you realized the real goal is just to generate enough income to satisfy your desired lifestyle? That may seem obvious, but too often investors fixate on a high score instead of focusing on happiness. Coach Carson has previously joined us on the very first episode of The Financial Independence Show. In that episode, we cover Chad’s background in detail but today we focus on the topic of his new book. That topic is the concept of the Small and Mighty real estate investor. The root of this concept is focusing on achieving the least number of doors needed to cover your lifestyle. Chad explains how chasing the least needed is much healthier than chasing the most possible. More properties equate to more headaches, and why have stress if you’ve already won? If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Book: Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor Chad’s Website Chad’s Instagram Chad’s Twitter Chad’s Free Tools YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/U85lcE_ibS0 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Sometimes personal finance can just sound like a bunch of jargon. Today’s episode gives you all the foundational definitions you need to navigate your FI journey. We have episodes that dive deeper into some of these topics (linked below). But today is all about explaining the lingo you might hear on the show week to week. Some of the investing terms we discuss include: ETFs vs. Index Funds Expense Ratios The 4% Rule / Rule of 25 Rule of 72 Tax-advantaged accounts IRAs / 401Ks We hope this empowers you to confidently speak to your investing journey and help others along the way. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from the Episode The deep-dive episode on Roth vs. Traditional The deep-dive episode on the 4% rule The deep-dive episode on the Mega Backdoor Roth and Solo 401K Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Can you really retire at 27? That’s what Jon Farber is here to talk us through today. He was able to achieve financial freedom at 27 and leave his tech sales job via real estate. He started with house hacking, and then eventually scaled up to include a portfolio of long-term rentals and short-term rentals. He’s also dabbled in online courses and runs a real estate software business helping people find deals. Since reaching financial freedom, Jon now splits his time between the U.S. and Columbia. He has a team of virtual assistants who currently help with the day-to-day and growing of the business. He’s basically been able to put his 7-figure business empire on autopilot. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Jon’s Instagram Jon’s Twitter Jon’s Website YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/HRkppxCstdw Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

If you want to make it big in real estate you need some sort of advantage, right? A big social media following, experience, connections… something. Our guest today, Soli Cayetano from Lattes and Leases, will show you how that couldn’t be further from the truth. In 2020, Soli was a senior in college trying to navigate a pandemic. She had no family in real estate, no rich uncle, and no investment experience. Plus, she lived in the Bay Area — one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. She became obsessed with educating herself about real estate investing and surrounded herself with accomplished investors. Fresh out of college at 22, she built up the courage to purchase an out-of-state investment property in Cincinnati, Ohio — and the rest was history. After working her 9-5, she would continue to work 5-9 to build her real estate portfolio. She went from having no social media or connections in real estate to using social media to raise $5M+ in private capital and buying 25+ units in less than 2 years. This allowed her to replace her income, quit her job, and become a full-time real estate investor. Today, she can be found traveling the world and teaching others how to reach financial independence via real estate. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Out of State Investor Academy (Free Summit) Follow Soli on Instagram Lattes and Leases Website YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/q3M22CunX_Y Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Retiring early is certainly not a race, but the guests we have today are one of the fastest we’ve ever seen to do it. James and Emily retired in less than 2 years from the day they began making moves towards early retirement. They both had frugal habits with James coming from an especially low-income background. They met at a local community college and were both able to graduate college debt-free through a mix of financial aid and a little help from parents. Emily would take a job starting at $60k and James was at $35k per year in Huntsville, Alabama. Even though they were in an affordable area with $95k of income, they weren’t saving a dime. In 2016, James was at work and someone said they came across a website that changed their life. The website was Mr. Money Mustache. James immediately dove into this site as well then came home adjusting water heaters and spitting out all the things they were going to cut from their lives…probably too aggressively he’ll admit. They estimate they cut their expenses down to $35k the next year after discovering the topic. After cutting their expenses down as low as they could they looked to accelerate their path even more through real estate investing. They bought their first property in the Summer of 2017 and quickly scaled to 11 properties. Most of these units were purchased for under $50k, and all of them bring in over 1% of the cost back via rent. Example: A $50k house that brings in $500 is bringing in 1% every month All of the homes were bought using traditional mortgages and when they retired, they had enough money cash flowing every month to cover over 2x their expenses. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode James’ and Emily’s Website Follow them on Instagram Their Short-Term Rental Course All Their Free Resources Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

You can learn the mechanics and math needed to reach financial independence in a couple of weeks. The math is intimidating to so many people but it’s not the math that keeps most people from reaching their goals. It’s their mindset. That’s where Adam Coelho’s expertise comes in. Adam Coelho is the host of The Mindful FIRE Podcast, a show about crafting a life you love and making work optional using mindfulness, envisioning, and financial independence. Adam believes crafting a life you love starts with answering the question “What do I truly want?”. He helps people answer that question so they can start living the life they dream of right now. He’s also a father, husband, entrepreneur, speaker and facilitator. For the last 13 years Adam has worked in sales at Google, where in addition to his core role, he’s taught mindfulness, envisioning, and emotional intelligence to over 2,500 Googlers around the world. We truly believe that these mentality skills are even more important than any level of comprehension to something like a tax code. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Free Envisioning Guide Mindful FIRE Website Adam’s LinkedIn Adam’s Instagram YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/z3cO_nH9yP8 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

The internet is a dangerous place. It’s full of amazing resources yet also some really bad advice. This is especially true in the realm of personal finance. TikTok has some of the most terrible and untrue statements about personal finance but Twitter (X) is always reliable right? Wrong. In this episode, we take you through some really terrible takes on personal finance and share our opinions. We hope you have as much fun listening to this as we did recording. The main tweets we cover include: “You can’t personal finance your way out of poverty” “If you struggle to save anything, allow yourself the opportunity to go broke” “401Ks are a scam” “The best form of leverage is to be debt free” “Most people who are successful are actually quite dumb. Most were lucky.” Making an argument that young people shouldn’t save -> “Getting a taste of the good life (going out to nice dinners, nice vacations) will make you want to work harder for those things” Defining a credit score -> “It’s an I love debt score” “If you’re working on paying off debt, the only time you should see the inside of a restaurant is if you’re working there.” “How people don’t retire early: dividends, real estate, side hustles, Biz Insider BS” If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

We like to think we put out some of the best financial independence content for you as a podcast listener. But it’s hard to argue that Brad Barrett has influenced more podcast listeners than just about anyone else in the financial independence space. Brad is the host of the wildly successful podcast, ChooseFI. ChooseFI has been downloaded over 65 million times with 4,700+ 5-star reviews. In today’s episode, we touch on some of the following with Brad: How he discovered financial independence His main takeaways after hundreds of interviews How the FI space has changed over the last several years Why the small details don’t matter Designing your dream life on your FI journey and much more If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode ChooseFI The FI Weekly Newsletter YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/PVmZN9nkVaE Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

We’re hopping in the time machine and re-airing one of our most popular episodes. In this episode, we share our opinion on some of the biggest money topics. While this episode originally aired in 2019, our views have remained largely the same. These tips have helped us grow our combined net worth to over $3.5M! So don’t sleep on the fundamentals. Some of the major topics include: Credit Card Balances We discuss why you should ALWAYS be using a credit card The need for setting up autopay to pay off the full balance Neither of us recommends carrying any balance Rent vs Buy Keep in mind closing costs, HOAs, insurance, etc It’s much more complicated than just comparing a mortgage to your rent If you can go beyond and do things like house hacking, then buying is certainly a great option New vs Used Justin recommends buying a car that’s 5 years old on a deal Then keep that car for two to three years and try to sell it before you hit 100k Good vs Bad Debt Obviously, there is some debt that’s terrible such as credit cards with 15% interest Then there is a middle ground where it’s debt that doesn’t earn revenue but allows you to invest more Going to College Going to a community college first isn’t a no-brainer It’s so important to be intentional Many trades and technical skills don’t require a college degree Filling Up Savings Accounts Inflation can be destructive Many people have avoided investing during uncertain times Buy and hold Life Insurance What kind should you get? Does whole life insurance ever make sense? What do the experts say (our episode with Sa El) Financial Advisors There’s value to using a tax specialist but most don’t need a financial advisor It may be a good idea to pay a one-time fee for an advisor to help set up a plan you’re comfortable with These advisors often charge at least 1% which can really add up You can see how much these fees are costing you by using Empower’s Fee Analyzer tool. We truly believe these fundamentals can radically change your life regardless how far you are into your journey. If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Buying a home and then flipping it or renting it isn’t the only way to be a real estate investor. What if you could just find incredible deals on homes and then line up a buyer looking for a good deal to flip or buy? That’s exactly what Mike DeHaan from the Collecting Keys podcast is doing, and it’s the core of what wholesale real estate is. Mike started in real estate by hustling to complete a few flips and using the proceeds to buy his first rental properties. Eventually, he started to feel a bit burnt out though. Instead of flipping the properties himself, Mike decided to sell the right to buy the properties to other investors (aka wholesaling) and the rest is history. As of today, Mike owns over $12 million worth of real estate and has completed 300+ transactions. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Collecting Keys Podcast Collecting Keys YouTube channel Mike’s Instagram YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/6XU7ez8udEI Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

We typically focus a lot on the micro (saving, earning, and investing), but today, we’re talking all about the macro. Emmanuel Daniel is a Singapore-based entrepreneur, writer and global thought leader in finance. He was listed as a top 10 global influencer in the “Fintech Power 50” list for 2021 and 2022. In simple terms… he knows his stuff. Some of the topics we discuss include: Interest rates – how they’re set, where they’re headed The banking industry as a whole The digitization of everything Crypto and blockchain technology The world economy The Great Transition Biggest risks to our economy and various other topics. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Emmanuel’s Website The Great Transition <- Emmanuel’s Book Emmanuel’s LinkedIn Emmanuel’s Twitter YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/tRgHlPx8PQE Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Do you know deep down, what you’re doing isn’t what you’re meant to be doing? That was Pete McPherson’s situation. As Pete would put it, he used to be a boring accountant, complete with a CPA license, years of corporate experience, a fantastic salary–and pretty much the rest of the “American Dream”. But he decided to give all that up for entrepreneurship. After 50+ failed businesses, Pete found success in 2017 with his site Do You Even Blog, and the rest is history. In this episode, we cover: Mindset and motivation How to determine the “right” side hustle When to double down and when to give up Turning a side hustle into a full-time business Automating everything and various other topics. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Do You Even Blog The Do You Even Blog Podcast Pete’s YouTube Channel Twitter YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/YdC-y9Grhh4 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Many people want financial independence to do whatever they want, go wherever they want, and spend time with whomever they want. But too often in this pursuit, people run themselves into the ground trying to obtain this freedom as quickly as possible. What if you could see the world and work toward FI? Wouldn’t that take some stress off? Wouldn’t you be able to enjoy the journey so much more? There is good news. This is all very possible, and more likely today than at any other time in history. Remote work has unlocked location independence and an overall sense of freedom we’ve never seen for those still working full-time. Some highlights of this episode include: how to ask to go fully remote considerations for the remote work lifestyle managing your time as an entrepreneur how to save money as a digital nomad geohacking and house sitting … and more. Don’t make yourself miserable because you think that’s what it takes to be happy and free. Challenge what you think is possible with your life and your career. If you know someone who you think may be interested in remote work or if you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! YouTube Video https://youtu.be/Q8pJ-0ads5s Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Have you always dreamed of owning a vending machine business? Probably not but Mike Hoffmann aka Mr. Passive is here to tell you why you absolutely should. Mike’s passive income journey started at the time when he was working a 60-hour week job that paid him only $1,200/month. He then started experimenting with rental properties, Bitcoin mining, and a bunch of other income streams. One of those income streams quickly became his favorite: vending machines. Vending machines are an often overlooked but extremely powerful passive income source to fuel an early retirement. Mike walks us through the types of machines to use, the profit margins, how to stock them, how to land a deal with a location, how to hire help, and even how you can start one of these businesses with just a couple hundred dollars. He’s been able to build a vending route that includes over a dozen machines and thousands of dollars in profit each month. If you’re interested in getting your vending machine journey, Mike also offers a coaching program to help you get started with step-by-step instructions. FI Show listeners get $190 off Mike’s Vending Accelerator program with code FISHOW10 If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Mike’s Website Mike’s Twitter Vending Machine Business Accelerator (use code FISHOW10) YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/vHVQ6PtS-Ig Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

You could lose your job, your business could fail, but even if your income drops to zero, there’s one thing you won’t lose: skills. In our last episode with Grant Sabatier, he said skills are the future currency and we couldn’t agree more. With a good mix of skills, you will both increase your earning potential and decrease your income requirements. In this episode, we introduce a concept we came up with around offensive and defensive skills. With offensive skills being those used to generate income, and defensive skills being utilized to save on expenses. The reality is that many skills can be dual-purposed. Breaking it down further, you can bucket these skills into those that you’re simply good at and those that you have and are passionate about. Some examples of skills we cover in the episode. Networking Carpentry Finding deals Cooking Blogging Sales Adaptability Fitness We truly believe that obtaining skills is the ultimate hack to widening your gap between income and expenses. And that is the name of the game for early retirement. If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Links From The Episode Grant Sabatier’s Episode Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today, we’re re-airing our most downloaded episode featuring Grant Sabatier, owner of Millennial Money and author of Financial Freedom. Grant graduated with a philosophy degree and would bounce around 4 jobs after college while being laid off twice. He spent what money he had going on a big trip to Africa before he ended up back at his parents with $2.26 at age 24. It was 2010 and his parents gave him a 3-month time limit to figure things out. Grant realized that no matter what he did, he was going to be trading life for money. With that knowledge, he became focused on how he could make as much as possible and as fast as possible. A few weeks later he discovered Google Mobile Ads as well as a free certification course which allowed him to get hired on making $50k per year. The work just kept snowballing from there and he found himself working 7 days a week. He spread himself across tons of projects including Google Ads, building websites, and even flipping VW vans. A big point of emphasis from Grant is knowing where you want to go and then focusing on how much you need to make to get there. Do that instead of settling on what you think you’re worth. He also admits that he should have slowed down a little bit on his journey to financial independence. Grant believes you can be just as addicted to saving money as someone who is addicted to spending it and both are dangerous. His wish is that everyone who finds themselves in a job they didn’t love would take 6 months off to discover their passions. This episode is jam-packed with value but our top three takeaways were: Skills are future currency: Grant speculates that, in the future, our economy will operate in such a fashion that each of us represents our own little “island” of talent. Our skill sets and capabilities will determine how much we earn and succeed. Start learning some new skills and building your future currency net worth! Take a step back and breathe: After Grant set his goal of accumulating $1.25M, he turned his engine on hyperdrive. If he could turn back time, he says that he would have taken a step back to breathe and realize all of the freedom he had already created at that moment in time. Enjoy the journey! Budgets Shouldn’t Restrict You: If you feel extremely deprived on a budget like Grant did, it might not be a great option for you. Instead, get the big things right (housing, transportation, and food) and then spend your money on the things that truly bring you joy. You don’t have to cut out your Starbucks! If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You’ll Ever Need Millennial Money – Grant’s Blog Grant’s Twitter Grant’s YouTube Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

When it comes to building businesses, Nick Huber from The Sweaty Startup is the real deal. Back in college, Nick had some extra space in his apartment and someone was looking for storage. Seeing an opportunity, he gladly offers up his room as storage space. When that fills up, he starts collaborating with some of his roommates to use their rooms as storage for the summer. Fast forward a few years, and Nick had a 7-figure storage business on his hands. This wasn’t some radical new idea and yet it turned out to be radically profitable. Nick feels like most businesses fail because people get too fixated on creating the next revolutionary thing instead of just solving the problem in front of them. He breaks this down by listing his top 3 reasons businesses fail: New idea syndrome = huge risk, educating customers that you even exist, and competing with huge money and venture capital. Change the world = It is not realistic for an inexperienced entrepreneur without massive capital to change the world. Passion projects = people start businesses based on their own selfish desires and their own interests and not what the market wants. Many of Nick’s businesses came from scratching his own itch. He hires a company, sees glaring inefficiencies, figures out how to do it better, and then productizes the new system into a business. This has happened multiple times and he now runs a portfolio of successful businesses. We also cover how Nick is using a strategy called cost segregation to pay $0 in income tax despite making millions of dollars in net income (he even started his own cost segregation business after seeing so many inefficiencies in the market). If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode Personal Brand – https://sweatystartup.com/ Self Storage – https://boltstorage.com/ Overseas Staffing – https://supportshepherd.com/ Cost Segregation – https://recostseg.com/ Insurance – https://titanrisk.com/ Business Brokerage – https://nickhuber.com/ Nick’s Twitter Nick’s Instagram But that’s not all… he also has a hand in these companies not mentioned in the episode: Recruiting – https://recruitjet.com/ Landing Page / Web Development – https://webrun.com/ Debt and Equity – https://bluekeycapital.com/ Tax Credit – https://taxcredithunter.com/ Performance Marketing – https://adrhino.com/ Pest control – https://spidexx.com/ YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/slBB9TBGDTY Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

We (Cody and Justin) have both achieved financial independence through drastically different paths. This episode was a takeover episode for The Mad Fientist’s podcast where we break down the similarities and differences between an employee’s path (Justin) and an entrepreneur’s path (Cody) to FI! Highlights: Live-in flip vs. house hacking The sweet spot for buying used cars Why focusing on fixed expenses is important How to 5x your corporate income The unlimited upside of entrepreneurship How to get started investing if you’re scared/nervous Nest-egging vs. cash-flowing your way to financial independence The benefits of a Solo-401(k) for entrepreneurs Why the corporate world is great for certain types of people Benefits and downsides of entrepreneurship Why it’s important to not keep up with the FI Joneses either If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode The Mad Fientist’s Podcast Our Mega Backdoor Roth Episode The Mad Fientist’s Mega Backdoor Roth Article Mad Fientist’s Twitter Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today, we’re lucky enough to bring you Marko Zlatic from WhiteBoard Finance. Marko grew up in a middle-class household raised by immigrant parents and is completely self-taught when it comes to money, investing, and financial literacy. His investing journey began when he started flipping Pokemon cards and selling mixtape CDs as a kid. He then graduated to invest in stocks at 18 years old. In December 2010, Marko graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and started working full-time. After working in tech startups, commercial real estate, and publicly traded banks, he decided to start his YouTube channel, WhiteBoard Finance, in November 2017. Marko walks us through his personal portfolio allocation, tips for building your own diversified portfolio, and lots of terrible advice to watch out for online. He also gives us his take on the current state of the economy as well as his insights on how Bitcoin could factor into all of this. If you enjoyed Marko’s story then check out the links below for more content and don’t forget to share this episode with a friend! Links From the Episode Whiteboard Finance YouTube Marko’s Instagram Marko’s Twitter The Bullish Case for Bitcoin Inventing Bitcoin The Bitcoin Standard YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/lzeMhthfg9g Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Patrick McGrath, one half of the dynamic duo known as The Rental Property Couple, is a successful real estate investor, entrepreneur, and co-host of the popular podcast, The Real FI Podcast. Alongside his partner, Patrick has built an impressive rental property portfolio in just 5 years that totals over $5M. He began his portfolio with a humble single-family rental property. Dedicated to achieving financial independence, he expanded his portfolio of rental properties, adding a triplex, quadplex, 6-unit, 7-unit, and 10-unit building. Today, Patrick and his partner own 35 rental properties, each contributing to their remarkable success. With this portfolio, Patrick was able to quit his successful career as a regional sales manager two years ago, fully dedicating himself to growing his real estate business. This decision further cemented his commitment to financial freedom and allowed him to focus 100% on expanding his investment empire. From property acquisition strategies to effective management techniques, Patrick‘s insightful content has become a valuable resource for those looking to build wealth and achieve financial freedom through real estate investing. If you enjoyed this episode or maybe know someone who would be inspired by Patrick’s story, share this episode with your network! Links From the Episode The Real FI Podcast The Rental Property Couple (Instagram) The Real FI Podcast – YouTube Channel YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/VQDa5zVPdH8 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

We’ve interviewed countless people on buying real estate, but that didn’t mean we were prepared when we purchased our first properties. The reality is that people who have purchased a lot of real estate tend to skip past some of those tiny details. This episode is meant to slow down and cover all those details that a first-time home buyer needs to remember. In this episode, we cover: Understanding how much you can afford Setting your housing criteria Understanding fair market value Getting approved for a loan Building the right team Touring properties Getting an offer accepted Closing on the home Post-closing checklist We hope this is an episode you can always refer back to when you get ready for that first home purchase so you don’t get surprised like we did. If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

If you find yourself in the unfortunate reality that your marriage isn’t going to work out, do you know how to ensure you’ll exit the relationship fairly from a financial perspective? Or maybe you want some tools to help you avoid this situation in the first place. In this episode, Tracy Coenen, author of Find Me The Money, walks us through the ins and outs of financial protections you need to know involving the topic of divorce. We cover Money conversations Financial accounts Prenups Postnups Asset valuation Financial infidelity And more including some tactical tips and strategies. The topic of divorce is never fun, you’ll feel better knowing this information if that day ever comes. If you enjoyed this episode or maybe know someone who could use the expertise Tracy brought us today, share this episode with your network! Links From the Episode Tracy’s company, Fraud Coach Tracy’s new book, Find Me The Money Tracy’s LinkedIn YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/a2sQPw1VInU Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

We say web address but why don’t we think about sites more like physical addresses we might own in a real estate portfolio? Chelsea Clarke joins us today to show us just how powerful digital real estate can be (aka websites). Back in 2012, Chelsea was laid off from her corporate marketing job unexpectedly. This experience taught her that being an employee was too risky. So she set out to take responsibility for her own wealth and became an entrepreneur. She was determined to never have to return to working for anyone else again and launched HerPaperRoute as a way to share marketing and growth-hacking resources for other niche site investors. In 2019, she’d go on to create an online marketplace for buying/selling websites at Niche Investor. Chelsea found her niche and doubled down. She took a large but calculated risk and went all in on herself and building out this digital portfolio. If you enjoyed this episode or maybe know someone who could use guidance in building their site or a jumpstart by purchasing an established site, share this episode with your network! Links From the Episode Her Paper Route Niche Investor <- Website Marketplace Chelsea’s Instagram Chelsea’s TikTok YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/4KgowoA8It8 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

How do you map out your path to financial independence? And how can you find a persona you resonate with to mimic? Kimberly joins us today to provide answers to both of those questions. She created Beworth Finance and wrote Building Wealth on a Dime, to help empower everyone to find financial independence even if they’re starting small. Kimberly hasn’t always had her money figured out though. She moved to Washington, DC making $15/hour in 2012 and more student debt than she made in an entire year. This led to a lot of time being stressed about money. But through that process, she perfected a system that allowed her to pay off over $45,000 worth of student debt in three years, double her income in four, and buy her first home, before her 30th birthday, in five. Fast forward to today, and she’s currently on track to be work-optional by age 45. Grab the link to her book below where you can learn things like: Six million-dollar habits Money mindset Building a budget Tackling debt Investing Renting vs buying and much more If you have someone in your life who could use some help mapping out their path to financial independence, share this episode with them! Links From the Episode Beworth Finance Build Wealth on a Dime <- Her Book Kimberly’s Instagram Kimberly’s Email YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/8yV2tMnSxAM Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Spending too much on groceries each month? In this episode, Cody interviews Justin about his $107/mo grocery bill. For many years this number floated closer to $70, but with inflation and a larger focus on getting in great physical shape, that number has grown but is still insanely low. And not only do we cover meal ideas, but we also cover the basics of shopping. List or no list How often to shop What to buy Where to find deals How to navigate the store Take a look at this meal below which is a typical meal for Justin. This plate has 370 calories, 50.5 grams of protein, 30 grams of carbs, and 6 grams of fat. It’s made up of 5.3oz of grilled chicken, 4.5 oz of green beans (125gr), and 3.5oz of sweet potato (100gr). This week chicken was $1.99/lb plus sweet potatoes and green beans were only $0.67 per lb. That means this lunch only costs: Chicken: $0.87 Green Beans: $0.25 Sweet Potato: $0.19 Total Cost: $1.31 Keep in mind that if you did calculations of the weights and prices, you’d get an even cheaper number but you have to remember to factor in the weight you lost in the food from the water being cooked off. We factored that in and still arrived at a killer price point. This is one of those episodes that everyone can utilize. Groceries are often one of our largest expenses month to month and just a few small tweaks can make a huge difference. If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Roth vs Traditional is one of the oldest arguments in the financial independence space. Today we’re settling the debate! The reality is that there is no “right” answer but there is a right answer for you. Cody Garrett brings his expertise to help you decide which one fits your path. He is a fee-based financial advisor at Measure Twice Financial. Cody had already put together a great resource that breaks down Roth vs Traditional. But we’re taking it a step further by peppering Cody with all the questions you could ask on this age-old debate. Have a friend you want to help educate or maybe settle a friendly debate? This episode is for you! Links From the Episode Measure Twice Financial Planning Cody’s Roth vs Traditional Article Network of Financial Planners YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/kSD1tWokXuw Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

There’s no doubt that being efficient with your expenses is a huge part of your journey to financial independence. However, maybe we focus a little too much time there and not enough time on increasing our income. That’s exactly what Tyler Wright from Defining Wealth believes. And Tyler has some first-hand experience in doing just that. Tyler started out like a lot of us… age 22, a new college graduate, and $0 to his name. It didn’t take long for him to realize that a 40-year career in a 9-5 wasn’t for him. So he started finding ways to greatly increase his income while also investing in ways that would allow even more cash flow. By the time he was 28, he was earning $10k per month in passive income thanks to his rental properties and investment portfolio. And in just those 6 short years, he raised his net worth to $1.5M! Have you been looking for inspiration to increase your income? Or maybe you know someone who needs just that, if so, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Defining Wealth Tyler’s Instagram Tyler’s Twitter Tyler’s TikTok YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/_KYZqBEkzwE Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

We can all agree that the earlier you learn about personal finance, the better off you’ll be. That’s exactly why Clifton Corbin wrote Your Children, Their Money. He’s trying to set the next generation up for financial success. Clifton wasn’t always financially savvy though. At one point he found himself deep into debt, and it took him years to pull himself out. After finally getting on solid financial ground, Clifton made it his mission to help as many people as possible avoid his money mistakes. Clifton is now a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC®), and has combined his MBA, experience managing million-dollar budgets, and understanding of economics and personal finance into creating this content for you and your children. Tune in to learn how to set your kids up for a prosperous financial future. If you loved Clifton’s message as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Your Children, Their Money <- Clifton’s Book Clifton’s Website Clifton’s Twitter YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/BWG4yYqRKIA Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Imagine living around the globe while saving up to 90% of your income. That’s exactly what Amy Minkley has been able to accomplish. In this episode you’ll also get the following highlights: How Amy used geoarbitage to create a 90% savings rate in Asia Real numbers behind her success How to overcome the fear of change and take action now to create the freedom you desire Amy had events in her youth that led her to have an unhealthy relationship with money. It was all fear driven. You’ll hear how she turns that around and leaned into the financial independence community. Today she’s leading the first Financial Independence Retreat in Bali. That retreat sold out in days (before we could even release the episode), but be sure to connect with Amy and be on the lookout for the next event. If you loved Amy’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Financial Freedom Retreat Amy’s Facebook Amy’s video presentation with FABx YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/pRMmERM1nmA Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

In this episode, Cody and Justin rip apart an article detailing The Top 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Retire Early. The topics included: Expensive Healthcare Accessing nest egg early Missing out on compounding interest Living a long time Expenses going up in retirement Rising housing costs Extra income is hard to come by Too much time on your hands You’ll need to make new friends Retirement is tough on relationships We know our audience is way better than the personas used to often scare the early retirement community. Our hope is this will give you a little more peace of mind on your journey to financial independence. If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Ever wonder how someone ends up being the resident expert on something like The Today Show? That’s where today’s guest, Lauren Cobello comes in. Lauren struggled with money at first. She even had her car REPO’d at one point. It makes sense why she would later write a book titled “The Recovering Spender“. In the beginning, she was teaching coupon seminars for church groups. That then slowly started to develop into a personal brand around frugality. Then after a few years, her expertise and resumé grew to the point she was regularly featured on shows such as The TODAY SHOW, The Rachael Ray Show, ABC’s Nightline, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, and more. Lauren gives us a lot of insight into what it takes to get into big media. But even if you’re not looking for a media feature, there are so many lessons that translate to any pursuit you’re considering — like the power of preparation for example. When you become a trusted and reliable source of value, people will return to you with more frequent and exclusive opportunities. If you loved Lauren’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode LaurenCobello.com LeverageWithMedia.com The Recovering Spender Lauren’s Instagram Lauren’s YouTube Channel YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/5RdLaYOXn7c Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Ever dreamt of leaving corporate America to build your own business? That’s where today’s guest, Amy Porterfield, author of Two Weeks Notice comes in. Amy put in her 2-weeks notice in 2009 and the rest is history. She didn’t hate her job, but she just felt that there was “something else” out there. And so she decided to take the leap and start her own business. At first, she struggled. A lot. But instead of getting frustrated. She learned and improved. Just four years later, in 2013, she made almost $1M with her brand and online courses. Today, she has a multi-million dollar business, a four-day workweek, and a life she loves. Amy is now teaching millions of others how to follow in her footsteps. If you loved Amy’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Amy’s Book (Two Weeks Notice) Amy’s Website Amy’s Instagram YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/2FPK4tUXUNA Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

What if you could earn money from Airbnb without even owning a property? That’s where today’s guest, Jorge Contreras comes in. Jorge is an expert in Airbnb arbitrage, a way to earn short-term rental income without actually owning any real estate. After facing many challenges throughout his childhood (selling drugs, murder, alcoholism, smuggling), Jorge was determined to be successful against all odds. He initially found entrepreneurial success with his dance career, but after a devastating injury, Jorge search for alternate career paths and discovered real estate. And later on, after realizing how capital-intensive traditional real estate was, he started to focus on Airbnb arbitrage. Airbnb arbitrage is the idea of taking properties that are available for long-term rent, signing a lease, and then managing them as short-term rentals. This allowed him to acquire Airbnbs at a fraction of the cost since no down payments were required. Fast forward a few years, and dozens of Airbnb arbitrages later, and Jorge now runs a 7-figure business. In this episode, he explains exactly how he did it and how you can get started with this strategy as well. If you loved Jorge’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Jorge’s Website Jorge’s Instagram Jorge’s Facebook Group Jorge’s YouTube YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/RqXTNqsXjhQ Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features John Eringman a.k.a John E Finance who left his accounting job at age 25 to pursue content creation full-time. From the beginning, John was doing everything “right”. He got good grades, landed an accounting job, and was saving a decent % of his income. But John knew that something was missing. As a fun side project, he started recording short videos covering basic personal finance topics: student loan debt, credit cards, budgeting, etc. All things that he wished he was taught in school (despite having a degree in Finance). What John didn’t expect was how quickly these videos would gain traction. Within just a few months, he had amassed hundreds of thousands of followers across TikTok and Instagram. And better yet, he started to out-earn his day job through sponsorships and affiliate marketing. Today, John works as a full-time content creator and shares financial education with millions. If you loved John’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode John’s TikTok John’s Instagram John’s YouTube John’s Website YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/nOu6u3WJQds Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

In this episode, Cody and Justin share their goals and strategies for 2023. The goals were loosely broken into a few groups. Finance Justin: Hitting $2k/month from covered calls, eliminating car payment, covering half of the mortgage via Airbnb & Turo Cody: Solo 401K, tax optimization through real estate, syndications, angel investing, spending more on time-saving services Business Cody: Doubling down on Gold City Ventures, podcast growth, rental properties Justin: Upskilling his direct reports and finding them leadership opportunities Travel Cody: Slow travel & workations Justin: Take his dad on his first international trip, more trips w/ close friends, establish a Trusted House Sitter profile Fitness Cody: Gym 5-7 days per week, less screen time before bed, daily walks, limited alcohol Justin: Maintaining low body fat % and increasing muscle, a full year without getting drunk Other: Justin: Building up skills in 3d printing/laser engraving Cody: Always putting people before business/money We think 2023 will be a great year for The Financial Independence Show and for all of you as well. Make sure you pop over to our Facebook group and share your 2023 goals! We’d love to cheer you on and keep you accountable. Links From the Episode Covered Calls with Daniel Alonzo Trusted House sitting with Britt Solo 401ks The Topia App with Logan Leckie Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab our FREE Budget Planner Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Graham Cochrane from GrahamCochrane.com and Recording Revolution. Graham can now proudly say he’s running some incredibly profitable businesses… but it hasn’t always been that way. After moving to Florida in 2009 with his wife to help a friend start a church, he got laid off from his new job. Trying to find decent-paying work during a global recession proved to be difficult. So Graham started doing freelance music work again. Although he was making some money, he was also on food stamps to help make ends meet. Graham stuck with it though and over the next decade went from $500/month to $5,000/month to $50,000/month and beyond. All from his online business. In today’s episode, we cover topics like: How to generate business ideas How to validate business ideas Finding your ideal avatar The best ways to scale a business What it takes to create a successful business and a whole lot more. If you loved Graham’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Graham’s Personal Site Recording Revolution Graham’s YouTube YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/2SvsZ5thOeY Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Larry Ludwig who created and sold Investor Junkie for $6M back in 2018. Larry has had a long, successful business and entrepreneurial career. He has always been at the forefront of technology, digital marketing, and online business since he started working on the internet in 1994. Since then, he’s created websites for Fortune 500 companies, built his own web hosting service, and consulted some of the top online brands. In this episode, we get to pick Larry’s brain on how the internet really works. We cover topics like SEO, affiliate marketing, keyword research, creating content, customer journey, website monetization, ranking on Google, and a whole lot more. If you loved Larry’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode LarryLudwig.com Larry’s Twitter Larry’s LinkedIn YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/oRc0jIrqtzQ Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents. Jeff began his adult life as a Veteran who transitioned into civilian life as a Certified Financial Planner. He began working for a firm but found himself questioning the ethics of his compensation. This ultimately nudged him toward entrepreneurship where he started creating personal finance content through his blog and later his YouTube channel. Even though his original goal was just to impact a few hundred people, he’s now reached millions and has built himself a multi 7-figure business. If you loved Jeff’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Goof Financial Sense His Book Soldier of Finance Jeff Rose on Twitter Jeff’s Wealth Hacker YouTube YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/3MRAx9AA4uw Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Tom Brickman aka The Frugal Gay. Tom actually bought his first property at age 21 while working at The Gap making only $8.50/hr. He would go on to buy 20 additional properties. Did he get some huge pay increase? Not really. Tom worked at a movie theater where he started off making $32k and eventually maxed out in the $70k range. He also did this all at a reasonable pace, taking 18 years in total to acquire all of his doors. That’s what’s so powerful about Tom’s story. He never made a ton of money, he didn’t buy 10 houses in a year, he didn’t take out some crazy loan, and he never got some crazy inheritance. Now he’s retired at 39 and is earning double his day job income through real estate and side hustles. If you loved Tom’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode The Frugal Gay Tom’s Instagram Tom’s Twitter Tom’s LinkedIn YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/xtB8mffYrY0 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

In this episode, Cody and Justin reflect on 2022 and all of the changes that have happened. Cody utilized a vision board going into the year… and Justin was a bit less planned, but both guys came away with some amazing updates and insights. Some topics included: Justin found a lot more purpose and happiness with work Cody more than tripled revenue in his main business, Gold City Ventures Justin increased his salary by 23.5% Cody launched 2 Airbnbs and is flipping his first property Both guys did a ton of traveling Both guys put a lot of time and energy into their relationships and friendships Justin started focusing a lot on physical health (working out, dieting, and mostly eliminating alcohol). Cody found a great charity program called Givewell and now donates $1k per month to various causes There’s a ton the guys go over in this episode and also a proposition at the end of the episode. They’d love to highlight listeners who want their opinion or advice on their current situation. Just a few small tweaks could reduce your time to retirement by several years. We just actually published a poll in the Facebook Group if you’d like to participate. And as always, thank you for listening. The show wouldn’t exist without you. 2022 was a great year for The Financial Independence Show and we can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store. If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab our FREE Budget Planner Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Hassan Thomas, founder of FYI FLI which stands for — “For Your Information, Financial Literacy & Investing”. FYI FLI is a brand that aims to promote financial literacy while eliminating financial illiteracy and teaches millennials how to manage and grow their money through its financial literacy app, website, and other financial literacy resources. In this episode, Hassan covers: Life as a student-athlete Becoming a content creator Why learning needs action Inputs vs. Outputs The right time to quit your W-2 and so much more. It’s clear that Hassan is trying to fill a massive gap in financial education for college athletes and he’s already making huge ripples in the space. If you loved Hassan’s story as much as we did, please share it with a friend! Links From the Episode FYI FLI Podcast Hassan’s LinkedIn Hassan’s Instagram FYI FLI Facebook Page Hassan’s YouTube YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/Gv37CzXns04 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Brian Luebben, founder of The Action Academy Podcast. Brian’s entrepreneurial resume starts back in college where he built his first company, GreekBeats DJ/Entertainment, that allowed him to graduate debt-free. Shortly after graduating – he made it to the top of a Fortune 500 Company in a sales role earning multiple six figures per year, only to realize quickly that “retirement at 65” and corporate life simply was not for him. Through a combination of real estate and entrepreneurship, he was able to retire from that corporate job at age 27. He now runs a successful podcast “The Action Academy” where he talks to seven, eight, and nine-figure entrepreneurs on how to earn freedom in life and business. His goal is to build a $10M business with The Action Academy and to impact as many entrepreneurs as possible along the way. If you loved Brian’s story as much as we did, share it with a friend! Links From the Episode Action Academy (tell them we sent you) Brian’s Podcast Brian’s Instagram From W2 to World Travel – Free Ebook YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/RXDXBDq7tRs Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Chloé Daniels, founder of Clo Bare Money Coach. Chloé is a money coach and focuses her time on helping people learn how to invest and build wealth the lazy way. Her ultimate goal is to provide education in a fun, easy-to-understand, and accessible way and is known for her Reels and TikToks that showcase her hilarious dance moves while also providing finance tips. Despite her current success, Chloé didn’t start out with so much confidence and knowledge about money. There was a time (back in 2017) when she struggled to see a path toward paying off her student loans. In 2018, things started to change as she began budgeting and getting deeper into the financial space. Things took off quickly and in 2021 she quit the workforce to pursue financial coaching full-time and is on track to retire in her 40s! Chloé does this all in such a relatable way that comes across as fun and non-intimidating. If you’ve been looking for someone to make personal finance fun for you, Chloé might be just the person for you (seriously, her dances are hilarious). If you liked this episode as much as we did, please share and subscribe! Links From the Episode Chloe’s TikTok Chloe’s Instagram Chloe’s Free Money Guide Chloe’s Website The Lazy Investor’s Course YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/zdg3G4IAfHY Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Melissa Neacato from Traveling Wallet. Twelve years ago, Melissa was a 21-year-old university student who got pregnant while completing her degree. She finished the degree but also graduated with $46,000 in debt. Then she went on to buy a new car, which added another $18,000 to her debt. She eventually discovered minimalism and the personal finance community and pays off over $100K of debt in just 3 and 1/2 years. In this episode we cover: Minimalism Mini-Retirements Finding Your “Why” Saving in a HCOL area and so many more actionable topics. If you liked this episode as much as we did, please share and subscribe! Links From the Episode Traveling Wallet (Melissa’s Website) Learn about clothing capsules Melissa’s Instagram Melissa’s Twitter YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/MvcdD869OGU Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

In this episode, we recollect the past four years and 200 episodes since starting The Financial Independence Show and what we’ve learned along the way. It’s been an amazing journey so far and we can’t thank you enough. Some of the main topics include: Mindset Increasing income Creative ways to lower expenses There’s no “right” way Networking Taking imperfect action It’s truly a humbling experience looking back at how much has changed for the better since this show began and how we’re so thankful to have you as a listener. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab our FREE Budget Planner Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Kyle Nolan, creator of Projection Lab. Kyle already had the skills to develop web-based applications when he discovered the world of financial independence. What he didn’t have and couldn’t find was a financial planning tool that felt modern, flexible, and engaging. So he just decided to build his own! Projection Lab allows you to create beautiful and nuanced financial plans that truly represent you, your loved ones, and the paths you choose. You get to run Monte Carlo simulations, backtest on historical data, and figure out how to live your best life and reduce anxiety around your finances. I can’t over-emphasize the word robust here. Back door Roths, multiple drawdown strategies, SEPP distributions, loan forgiveness, cash flow priorities…the list goes on and on and on. Kyle has built this beautiful web app all by himself and kept data protection at the forefront. And you can utilize this tool for free! The premium mode adds persistent data, tax estimation, advanced tax options, Sankey cash flow, visualizations, and Developer support for $8/month (20% off with code “FISHOW”). If you liked this episode as much as we did, please share and subscribe! Links From the Episode Projection Lab (Use code FISHOW for 20% off a Premium Account) Kyle’s Twitter Kyle’s LinkedIn YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/OUaFOqMGOKs Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Irvin Aguilar who took AGR Landscaping from a small-time company making $5k per month to a money-making machine hitting $250k in recent months. Irvin saw his dad struggling and found himself struggling with college as well. It turned out to be the perfect opportunity to inject some small but powerful changes into his dad’s business. He saw how a language gap, poor marketing, and unfair contracts were holding his dad back. In very little time, it went from a business that helped the family scrape by to a thriving business. Irvin didn’t stop there though. He’s now flipped 6 houses in just a few months and is also getting into short-term rentals. If you liked this episode as much as we did, please share and subscribe! Links From the Episode AGR Landscaping Irvin’s Instagram YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/nZLQxZ4rCDU Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Alex Fasulo, author of Freelance Your Way to Freedom. Long-time listeners may remember Alex from episode 48. At the time, she was making over $350k per year on Fiverr. But Alex was also working insane hours. It eventually became clear that she needed to build a team around her to make this sustainable. Today, she’s built a mostly hands-off business that doesn’t require her to work 12+ hours per day. But of course, Alex didn’t stop there, she decided she needed to build a blueprint that anyone could follow to follow in her footsteps. And she covers it all in her new book, Freelance Your Way to Freedom. Whether you’re looking to start freelancing or scale your existing business to new heights, Alex has you covered. If you liked this episode as much as we did, please share and subscribe! Links From the Episode Her New Book: Freelance Your Way to Freedom Alex’s Instagram Alex’s TikTok Alex’s Website YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/umBAOwrX14M Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today’s episode features Ryan and Cory from The Weekly Juice Podcast. Have you ever wanted to pick the brain of a thriving investor or entrepreneur, but didn’t know how? Maybe you wanted to ask them about their successes, failures, systems, motivations, or experiences they’ve had? Perhaps you wanted to invite them out for a coffee or beer to ask them how they reached their level of success, but couldn’t find the time? Don’t worry, that’s where The Weekly Juice Podcast comes in. Ryan and Cory source actionable advice from investors, entrepreneurs, real estate professionals, and other successful individuals who are actively pursuing financial independence. Today, they also share with us the history of how the show got started and how they became business partners in real estate and other ventures. You’re also going to hear about some unique passive income ideas you’ve probably never heard of before (like automated YouTube channels and Amazon stores). Whether it’s learning how to capitalize on the skills you’ve gained from your W-2 to create additional income streams or just getting to know another great podcast, this episode is for you. And as always, if you liked this episode as much as we did, please share and subscribe! Links From the Episode The Weekly Juice Podcast Weekly Juice Instagram Weekly Juice Twitter Weekly Juice YouTube Channel YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/c1CmQsu5MVA Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)