017R | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Friday Roundup # 6 This is our 23rd episode and providing a home for the FIRE community Thank you for our 50th review on Itunes (from Chad Carson!) – we plan to implement the voicemail feature on the website so we can use your input on the show Episode with Brandon from the Mad Fientist This podcast humanized Brandon and you got to hear his story “Early retirees are such a different breed…I’m looking at this through the very focused lens of early retirement.” ...
Apr 07, 2017•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 17
017 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Today’s guest: Brandon from MadFientist.com and the origin story of the Mad Fientist How did the Mad Fientist website come about? He first stumbled on the Early Retirement Extreme website He thought there’d be investing strategies to get him to financial independence more quickly, but he realized index funds were the best way to go about it Then he stumbled upon tax optimization and tax avoidance strategies Finding Get Rich Slowly and other personal finance blo...
Apr 03, 2017•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 17
016R | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Friday Roundup #5 Recap of house hacking episode with Chad Carson from CoachCarson.com Real estate investing is one of the pillars of Financial Independence ‘Keep it super simple and try to do the fundamentals well’ quote by Chad Chad put in the extra effort to walk neighborhoods on Saturday mornings to learn about real estate House hacking is essential knowledge for someone getting started with FI The main levers to pull to get on the path to financial indepe...
Mar 31, 2017•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 16
016 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Real estate investing and house hacking with Chad “Coach” Carson. On the path to financial independence, how much of your own budget is going towards housing? After Chad graduated college at Clemson, he got started with real estate investing in his college town. How financial independence and real estate investing have allowed Chad to move his family to Ecuador for about 1.5 years. When they moved to Ecuador they sold most of their possessions and rented out th...
Mar 27, 2017•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 16
Keeping up with the Joneses' will cost you 1. Allocation when Investing in a Bubble? Kyith points out that allocation matters as the Early Retiree approaches their FI date 2.Paul wants to know where he should put his emergency fund 3. Should Brad Pay off His Mortgage? Kevin challenges Brad & Jonathan on whether they should pay off their mortgage using the Dave Ramsey litmus test 4. Matt would like to see ChooseFI tackle Effective Altruism 7. Sharing Resources Links Mentioned in Show https://...
Mar 24, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 15
015 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Our guest: Justin from Root of Good Justin had access to 401k and the 457 retirement plans 457 plan is an extremely valuable took for early retirement as there is no 10% early withdrawal penalty Justin’s early retirement journey: Retirement at 33 Saved over 60% of his income to help retire early Justin has a wife and 3 kids and was still able to retire early What does a day in the life look like for Justin and the Root of Good family? “Optimal spouse selection”...
Mar 20, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 15
Control your Tax Rate by understanding how our marginal brackets work and eliminating consumer debt and taking advantage of tax deferred accounts Get Started on Path to FI https://www.choosefi.com/start Free Travel Course https://www.choosefi.com/travel For Net worth Tracker https://www.choosefi.com/pc Community Questions 1. Brian has a question about separation of service 2. Jason questions whether to use Vanguard vs Schwab 3. Kristen wants to know why she was denied for a premium credit card d...
Mar 17, 2017•45 min•Ep. 14
014 | The Phases of FI with 1500 days (Mr 1500) Our Guest: Carl from 1500 Days The Phases of Financial Independence Close-knit community at Fincon and FI generally, Its amazing how much you have in common with somebody when you share a philosophy about money What is your philosophy about money? It isn’t about money – it’s a tool to a better life The goal of his site 1500 Days to freedom Their real estate investing experience Buying a McMansion and selling it within 2 weeks How one bad day at wor...
Mar 13, 2017•50 min•Ep. 14
Control your Tax Rate by understanding how our marginal brackets work and eliminating consumer debt and taking advantage of tax deferred accounts Get Started on Path to FI https://www.choosefi.com/start Free Travel Course https://www.choosefi.com/travel For Net worth Tracker https://www.choosefi.com/pc Community Questions 1. Brian has a question about separation of service 2. Jason questions whether to use Vanguard vs Schwab 3. Kristen wants to know why she was denied for a premium credit card d...
Mar 10, 2017•45 min•Ep. 13
013 | Our guest: Millionaire Educator shows us how to invest your money. He shows how teachers, firefighters, police officers and public employees can leverage the power of pretax savings to supercharge their retirement , and become millionaires. Take this information to learn how to invest your money and retires decades before your peers Ed’s journey from a college basketball player to a Spanish teacher Graduate school led to $45,000 total debt at age 33 Taught ESL in Saudia Arabia and paid off...
Mar 06, 2017•50 min•Ep. 13
The Friday Roundup acts as a way to connect the FI community bringing in your feedback questions, and corrections. https://www.choosefi.com/Start Text choosefi to 44222 for FI made simple Ebook On Todays episode Feedback on the Frugalwoods episode Email from Isaac: How have others responded to you being “openly FIRE” in your real life? Email from Evan: Has some tax hacks he wants to pass along Questions about travel rewards – do Chase points expire and how to transfer? Update on Jonathan’s goal ...
Mar 03, 2017•45 min•Ep. 12
012 | Living Frugal is a Powerful FI Tool Liz from Frugalwoods coaches us through the ultimate guide to frugal living The benefits of minimalism and living frugal Frugalwoods family saving 70%+ of their income Their conscious decision in March 2014 to pursue financial independence Entirely possible to pursue living frugal anywhere including large metro cities. In fact these cities may have built in advantages like transportation What is the difference between someone who saves 70%+ and everyone ...
Feb 27, 2017•58 min•Ep. 12
011 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Future guests and how our interviews will be different than other podcasts Introduction to the “hot seat” What’s your favorite blog that you’re currently reading? What is your favorite article of all time Favorite Life Hack Biggest financial mistake What advice would you give to your younger self?
Feb 20, 2017•32 min•Ep. 11
010 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Fitness and nutrition from a financial independence mindset Jonathan’s quest to lose 30 pounds in the 3 months leading up to his son’s birth JD Roth’s talk at the Camp Mustache event to create a personal mission statement Jonathan’s post-it note goals for his next 3 months of losing weight Be intentional about your goals Eating to live, not living to eat The dangers of carbs and processed sugar Frugal, ripped, lean and wealthy Set a goal and find some accountab...
Feb 13, 2017•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 10
009 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Why Jonathan started with travel rewards: Wife’s family in Zimbabwe: $6,000 in flights every two years https://www.choosefi.com/travel What is this travel rewards strategy all about? Minimum spending requirement defined Options to meet minimum spending requirement Return on investment: instead of 1.5% rewards, you can earn upwards of 33% Impact on credit score and Brad’s personal experience Is this strategy right for you? The Chase Gauntlet and why you want to ...
Feb 06, 2017•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 9
008 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Don’t piss off the accountant: Bank Fees Americans spent $32 Billion in overdraft fees in 2016 Bank accounts and credit cards should be financial tools you use for free Overdraft fees mean you have no money and the bank is loaning you money for $35 at a time If you don’t have $1,000 in savings you have an emergency Jonathan had one overdraft in 2016 but his system for putting it on a credit card avoided a fee One fee leads to another. Come up with an action pla...
Jan 30, 2017•16 min•Ep. 8
007 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: America’s food obsession: We’re fat and broke How Brad’s family saves money on food Being smart with ingredients. How often does Brad’s family go out to eat? Go out for lunch instead of dinner Emergency meals in extra freezer Being efficient shopping at one store. Cut down on business Plan out the 2-3 meals you want to cook for the week Index of Top 50 recipes (A++ recipes) to cook Getting five nights of dinner out of cooking two meals Jonathan’s plan: cook for...
Jan 23, 2017•48 min•Ep. 7
006 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: The Power of Partnerships How Brad and Jonathan met Our decision to partner up on Choose FI The importance of taking action The value of personal relationships in an online world What to look for in a partner Complementary skills and how it can help beat the learning curve How to find a partner in your niche Find people you connect with and meet in person if possible Split up the duties in the partnership to create an effective partnership Partnerships likely a...
Jan 16, 2017•24 min•Ep. 6
005 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Dave Ramsey and Jonathan’s history following him Dave’s unyielding stance on debt: don’t do it Review and evaluate Dave’s teaching philosophies Baby Step 1: Get an emergency fund of $1,000 Baby Step 2: Pay off all your debt except for your mortgage Explanation of the Debt Snowball Our hybrid approach to the Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche Advice isn’t “one size fits all.” You need to figure out what works for you! The 4% rule explained and the impact on financ...
Jan 09, 2017•59 min•Ep. 5
004 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Interviewing Jonathan to hear his story August 2013 Jonathan graduated from Pharmacy School with $168,000 student loan debt How did he get to that point? ‘Followed the rules’ to get his pharmacy degree but came out owing $1,000 per month in interest You don’t have as much money as you think: the impact of taxes How many years of work he gave up to pursue advanced degree and then pay down the debt just to get back to $0 net worth Would there have been a more eff...
Dec 27, 2016•28 min•Ep. 4
Do understand how expensive your investments are?Jonathan and Brad explore how Expense Ratios and Assets Under Management Fees Erode your Returns and Portfolio over time. And why avoiding them is the difference of millions of dollars. Resources Mentioned Investment Calculator https://apps.choosefi.com/calculators/ https://apps.choosefi.com/start Check out our Book https://apps.choosefi.com/book...
Dec 23, 2016•18 min•Ep. 3
Brad shares how he iterated out of failure to a online business success and how you can too! The skills learned, even from ‘failures’: ability to create websites, The value of personal relationships, even in an online world. The value of being a “real” person and how people relate to that Aligning your incentives with your audience to create a successful site and a win-win Turning an online website into a “real” business Resources mentioned in show https://www.choosefi.com/blog https://www.choos...
Dec 20, 2016•33 min•Ep. 2
What if you could get to the point where working is optional not just in your golden years but in your best years and have fun doing it. Welcome to the Financial Independence Community In the Original First Episode of the ChooseFI Podcast Brad and Jonathan share their objectives for the show and what they want you to get out of it. Welcome to the Show! Jonathan & Brad are not gurus. They are 2 average guys who are figuring out the rules of Financial Independence and sharing what they find wi...
Dec 18, 2016•22 min•Ep. 1
