Brad and Jonathan are joined by Brian Feroldi and Karsten from Early Retirement Now. With the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of dividend investing, Brad and Jonathan ask the hard questions. As the devil's advocate, they uncover more information about dividend stocks from passionate investors. If you are ready to learn more about dividend investing, then let's dive in. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/122R...
Apr 12, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 122
Dividend investing has been a hotly debated topic in the FI community. Brad and Jonathan dive into the details of dividend investing with Craig from Retire Before Dad. For more information, visit the show notes at https://choosefi.com/122
Apr 08, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 122
Brad and Jonathan sleep habits, energy efficiency, and the best ways to land a job with Chris Hutchins from Grove. For details, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/121R
Apr 05, 2019•55 min•Ep. 121
Angela from Tread Lightly Retire Early has been an active member of the ChooseFI community for around two years. She has built a life that combines FIRE with sustainability. Additionally, she is a leader that recognizes the women in the FIRE movement. Brad and Jonathan learn about Angela's journey and practical sustainability advice that could help the FI community. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/121
Apr 01, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 121
Jonathan and Brad discuss wielding the flexibility of money, how to move to the upper end of your salary range, and hunting with eagles in Mongolia. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/120R
Mar 29, 2019•54 min•Ep. 120
Jean Chatzky is a well-respected figure in the personal finance community. The financial editor of the NBC Today Show and author of several books is recognized for a specialized understanding of the relationship between women and their money. However, both men and women can learn something for Chatzky's insights. On today's episode, Brad and Johnathan will delve into the relationships that each of us has with money. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/120...
Mar 25, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 120
Jonathan and Brad discuss their favorite books from 2018, negotiating from a position of power, career hacking, and what they would do differently if they were recording episode 1 today. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/119R
Mar 22, 2019•54 min•Ep. 119
Mr. Refined from Refined by Fire has overcome a staggering amount of debt that accumulated from student loans and medical bills. After finding the FI community, he was able to triple his net worth! Mr. Refined talks openly about his debt, how he negotiated his way out of debt, and why he is pursuing FI. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/119
Mar 18, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 119
Talent stacking, becoming a renaissance man, and financial infidelity: We recap Monday's show and highlight some listener comments. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/118R
Mar 15, 2019•50 min•Ep. 118
118 | Talaat McNeely from His and Her Money talks about how his money mistakes led to financial infidelity. Most importantly, he shares how he was able to rebuild trust with his wife Tai and successfully work towards common financial goals together. Through Talaat and Tai’s story, you will learn practical ways to build the financial trust that many couples hope to achieve. For more information, visit the show notes at https://choosefi.com/118...
Mar 11, 2019•54 min•Ep. 118
Brad and Jonathan discuss "the Kleenex" of low-cost mutual funds, Bradley Rice's story about choosing to move towards part-time work, and make an announcement about a new voice on the podcast. For more information, visit the show notes at https://choosefi.com/117R
Mar 08, 2019•55 min•Ep. 117
Bradley Rice has successfully reclaimed the hours in his day by transitioning to part-time work. He made this unconventional choice to take back his time when his daughter was born to spend more time with her. Bradley works 20 hours a week, while still earning a high salary. Bradley openly talks about the path that allowed him to reclaim his time and how you can recreate a similar journey. We All Have Choices Along The Way Each of us makes different choices throughout our lives. We do so hoping ...
Mar 04, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 117
Karen Hoxmeier joins the show to share how and why she built a coupon-sharing website, Brad and Jonathan talk about optimizing food, taxes and home insurance, and a review of Monday’s episode with Wendy Mays. Brad and Jonathan are excited about a chicken shawarma recipe they hope Laura will add to the ChooseFI Vault soon. Wendy, from Monday’s episode, tackled her family’s grocery bill when she started pursuing financial independence. Food shouldn’t just be cheap; it should also be good. What is ...
Mar 01, 2019•59 min•Ep. 116
116 | Wendy Mays, from House of FI, tells the story of growing her family from 4 to 8 through adoption all while moving states and changing careers, and ultimately kickstarting her family’s pursuit of financial independence. Wendy and her family first learned about financial independence about 4 years ago. Wendy was commuting from Phoenix, Az., to San Diego, Ca., as her husband was living in California in pursuit of a new teaching job. Wendy now has a family of six children, four of whom are ado...
Feb 25, 2019•54 min•Ep. 116
115R | A how-to conversation about strategies for tackling consumer debt, a review of Monday’s episode with Bonnie Traux, and a few updates about the ChooseFI community. Brad’s wife no longer working as a CPA – although she was technically laid off, she’s excited for the extra time in her schedule. Being at FI gave Laura the ability to be happy for her previous employer and move on with a smile. Bonnie Traux, from Monday’s episode, is an ultimate side hustler. If you’re stuck, you’ll have to do ...
Feb 22, 2019•55 min•Ep. 115
115 | Bonnie Truax, a blogger and early retiree, shares her story of growing up below the poverty line, scraping her way out of inherited debt, reaching financial independence without knowing what it was, and understanding how to talk about money with your spouse. Bonnie grew up with family income that was technically half of the poverty level, but always debt free. In a town of only 35 people, W2 jobs were hard to come by, so Bonnie worked any odd job that she could find – mowing lawns, decorat...
Feb 18, 2019•56 min•Ep. 115
114R | Brian Eufinger returns to fill the gaps and address questions from the community about PSATs and National Merit Scholars, Brad and Jonathan discuss the benefits of creating a college-hacking strategy early, and the ChooseFI community responds to Monday’s episode. Financial independence is generally about knowing the rules and making decisions according to what you value in life. Many colleges use an equation to award merit aid --> a specific GPA + a specific test scores = a certain amo...
Feb 15, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 114
114 | Brian Eufinger, co-founder of Edison Prep, dives deep into the college admissions process and explains how a student should approach grades and test scores to give themselves the best college options, and how to pay for college without collecting a huge student loan debt. Most merit aid that students earn comes directly from the university. Brian attended Washington University in St. Louis, earning about 2/3 merit scholarship and pieced together other scholarships and on-campus jobs to pay...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 114
113R | Tanja Hester retired early 15 months ago and joins the show to share her experience of being work optional, Brad makes a decision about solar panels, and a review of Monday’s episode with Grant Sabatier. Brad shares some updates with his car malfunctions and follows up about his solar panel cost analysis. Brad anticipates a 9.6% return on his solar panel investment, compared to Brian’s 12.5% return in Rhode Island. Solar panels are expected to last for about 25 years. Message from Dan, wh...
Feb 08, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 113
113 | Grant Sabatier from Millennial Money and author of Financial Freedom , shares his story of unemployment and entrepreneurship, and his strategies for increasing your income and optimizing your finances. In 2010, with a college degree in philosophy Grant had been laid off twice and found himself living at home as 24-year-old. Grant sent out more than 200 resumes without a single callback before he found the information he needed to start learning Google Ad campaigns. The certification proces...
Feb 04, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 113
112R | An evaluation of the long-term savings that result from driving old cars, a review of how Naseema McElroy has optimized her finances and reversed lifestyle creep, and a series of voicemails and messages from the ChooseFI community. For more information, visit the show notes at https://choosefi.com/112R
Feb 01, 2019•55 min•Ep. 112
112 | Naseema McElroy, a registered and practicing nurse and blogger at Financially Intentional, explains how to accumulate $1 million in debt, and how she earned her freedom through financial independence. How does someone accumulate $1 million of debt? Naseema is from West Oakland, Ca., where she was taught to either join the military or go to college. She attended the University of Southern California for both her undergraduate and graduate degree, then later completed an accelerated nursing ...
Jan 28, 2019•49 min•Ep. 112
111R | Jillian from Montana Money Adventures gives advice for laying out roadmap in your life, right after and Brad and Jonathan review Monday’s episode and highlight activities from several local groups around the globe. Brad and Jonathan reflect on last week’s episode with Billy Banholzer. A video inspires Brad to learn swimming from his daughter. Your current behavior or mistake doesn’t have to define you for the rest of your life. One of the first steps to Billy’s success was setting goals. ...
Jan 25, 2019•58 min•Ep. 111
111 | Billy B., a writer, entrepreneur and blogger at Wealth Well Done, shares his story of finding freedom in prison, starting over in his 30s and pursuing financial independence despite the setbacks. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/111
Jan 21, 2019•48 min•Ep. 111
110R | Voicemails from the ChooseFI community about saving on grocery bills, making life changes to optimize your circumstances, and a travel suggestion, as well as a review of Monday’s episode and updates from Brad and Jonathan about bills, travel, solar panels and more. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/110R
Jan 18, 2019•58 min•Ep. 110
110 | Rocky Lalvani, blogger at Richer Soul, shares his story of growing up as an immigrant’s child, learning how to save money in his early years, and how he’s teaching his own children about finances now. Rocky’s parents came to the U.S. in 1968, when Rocky was 2 years old. Among Rocky’s parents’ friends and their community, money was an open topic, and in pursuit of the “American Dream” his family consistently climbed the financial ladder. When Rocky was 7 his father became a single dad, and ...
Jan 14, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 110
109R | Big ERN from Early Retirement Now joins the show to talk about the current market climate: How is it impacting investors, who could benefit, and what markers he uses to evaluate its actual condition? We also share a voicemail from Abby, who provides a few more helpful hints for teaching abroad. Highlights from the show: Brad maxed out his HSA for 2019, and talks about how he’s prioritizing fitness. Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life. Preview of who will be at the coming Camp...
Jan 11, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 109
109 | Scott, a math teacher in Santiago, Chile, and Rob, a blogger at Getting Canned, share their experiences teaching abroad, including the financial and lifestyle benefits, and the how-to for making it happen. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/109
Jan 07, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 109
108R | Brad and Jonathan talk through the various methods of calculating a yearly savings rate and the numbers necessary to do so, and review Monday’s episode about setting up special needs accounts. Jonathan is back from 20 days with family in Zimbabwe, and Brad recaps his Christmas vacation. Brad and his family added 12 board games to their collection. William, from Monday’s episode, set out a road map for people who want or need to safe guard finances for special needs children or other depen...
Jan 04, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 108
108 | William McVey, ChooseFI’s Chief Technology Officer, walks through investment options available to meet the financial demands of special needs children, and the strategies he’s used to prepare for his children’s future. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/108
Dec 31, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 108