You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff podcast. Hey, everyone. I am so excited because I have coach Ty on the line, and coach Ty is the host of the little Steps big Moves podcast, and I had met her at finkan women in money event last year,
and we just hit it off immediately. And I'm excited about what she has to talk about, which is her journey to finance, which is financial independence while actively serving in the military. So, hey, Coach Ty, how are you? Hey, Tiffany. I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. Yes, thank you so much for agreeing to come along with my shenanigans. Anytime.
So let's just hop right in for the audience. So we've talked about fire here on the podcast a few times, and different forms of fire, you know, slow fi, you know, all these different phys. But what makes active duty fi different? Yeah, I don't know if it is different. I feel like we still follow. I personally still follow the same premise from financial independence. I'm moving toward the coast Phi, but I'm starting
at the, I call it the real lean fi. Like, can you do things that are going to cover your basic expenses and how. And how you do that and then kind of move toward coast fi? I think the difference is, is that like any other nine to five, right, being in the military full time, supporting reserves, which is what I've done for the past 20 years, it creates a level of understanding of your finances where, like, one would have perhaps in a nine to five, where you have a
predictable. And so that helps you to then gauge out in terms of your budget, what you want to invest in when you get to that. And then eventually, if you choose to go towards the financial independence way, it allows you to do that. So that's kind of what I found as it relates to the military and in the fi community, it's definitely a different space. And so we can sort of get into that if you want to when I discovered it while on active duty. But, yeah, yeah.
And actually, I just want to back up just a little bit, because just in case this is people's first time listening to money talk with Tiff, and they're like, coastfi, leanfi, what are they talking about? What is Coastfi? I guess I look at Coastfi as a way that you somewhat ease into financial independence. And so you are, to me, when I wrote out coast five for me is a certain number that I would be comfortable with, meaning I wasn't
doing a minimalist approach to it. Meaning just the bare minimums in terms of ultra saving. And my normal expense is really low. And I'm not what one would call fat fire. So a larger, if you will, a larger, what would you call salary that you're giving yourself or however you're moving in that way, I kind of look at coast is I'm still financially independent, but I still have an opportunity to work. It's almost like going fast travel versus slow
travel. Fast travel is you cram everything you can into that weekend or slow travel where you're going to take a week, two weeks, a month to kind of move into it. So that's kind of how I look at it. Perhaps not the normal definition,
but that's how I have a define it for me and my journey. And I love that because I tell people all the time, like, all this stuff that you hear, you know, maybe see on social media or read on blogs, listen on podcasts, you have to make it fit you so you can take, like, the basic premise of it and then tweak it to kind of fit your situation. So with that being said, I heard you say super lean fi. So what is super lean
fi? Yes. So real lean for me was I'm doing investment wise, is it allowing me to get the basic necessities to live and so not. And I suspect one would say that's just whatever fire. But I just wanted to make sure I put real lean because if I didn't qualify it that way, then I would add numbers to it. That may not necessarily be necessary to meet the goal. Right.
I don't want to keep moving the goalposts. And so it's just like, here's the Kim, what you're doing, the investments you have, however, whatever vehicle you're trying to get there, can you meet your basic needs. And if you can do that, then let's build out from there as opposed to, you know, some arbitrary number. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. And that makes complete sense. So let's go back because I wanna know what made you decide that fire was
something that you wanted to do. So how did you find out about it, and how did you decide? Okay, this is what I want to do, and this is how I got my number. Sure. So I learned about financial independence, I think, about seven or eight years ago. Just doing a lot of research, understanding. I've always had an idea of personal finance. I came from a family of savers. I wasn't understanding the investment side, but definitely savers, people who worked hard, and then they saved their money. And
that's kind of what I grew up around. But I also was introduced to different things within the savings space. And so I was like, okay, what's that? And so once you start going down the rabbit hole of personal finance, you either get stuck or you kind of keep going. And I like that idea because I was newer in the military, not as new on the full time side, and I was making a decent paycheck, and then I was not necessarily using that paycheck in the best
way and all the time. And so I was like, well, I need to figure something out, because as you grow, so can your living. And I definitely was growing in my living and living in my growing, and so I wanted to figure out, okay, let me see how this is gonna work. So, seven or eight years ago, I stumbled upon financial independence in its own special way, just personal finance. And then I decided to come up with a seven. Okay, eight year plan to fi. And first by establishing what was
my number. So where my number was, my financial independence number when I started this journey is different now. And then throughout that, you know, I chose different vehicles to get there, as you like, you just said, creating the path that I thought that number one, that I could sustain, because I had tried different things before
then 100% work. So then I went back to my normal spending habits, and so just, okay, this one might actually stick if I actually have a plan and then kind of put numbers out there to qualify what it is that I'm trying to do and then kind of give myself steps along
the way to get there. Awesome. Awesome. So, you said one thing about changing your fi number, and I just wanted to dial in on that because I feel like sometimes we get to a point where we hear some advice or what have you, and we're like, oh, we got to do it exactly like this, and we can't change it. This is our goal. I'm talking about myself, y'all. And so when you. When you sat down, you were like, I need to change
this. Like, what was your thought process around that one? I didn't want to live real lean forever. Let's just be honest about that. I didn't want to live real lean forever. I also identified what are the things that make me happy in my living, and this is kind of why I kind of go to coast fi is because I want to make sure that I'm coasting there, but that I'm enjoying what I'm doing. So the first couple of years, you're not 100% enjoying it all
the time. That's just the truth. But if you push that out over time, I think you can. And so that's kind of, kind of where I went with it. I was like, okay, how can I enjoy this thing that I say I'm going to continue to do? And if I'm going to do that, how am I going to do that? And then when I discover, hey, for instance, we talk pre recording, I like to travel. And so when I go to look at my finances and look and say, hey, what are the top three priorities within my spending habit
that I'm going to keep? And then I started adjust and say, well, you know what? If that's how I want my financial independence and then retire early, if that's how I want that to look, then I need to adjust my number. I also need to either do some other things to make adjustments or I need to work longer or I need to extend my plan. So that's why we've gone to seven to eight year plan, because I need to do a little bit more, if that makes sense. Gotcha. Yeah, it makes complete
sense. Now when you say do a little bit more. So what are some things that you are doing to make sure that you reach your fi number, your current fi number? Sure. Besides the budgeting and kind of keeping to those goals, I'm really tracking a lot of things lately, probably the last couple of years, doing a lot of tracking and just really understanding different places. For instance, knowing that March for the last couple years has been a high spend month and maybe
you've gotten out of your whatever. And so coming into this year saying, hey, you know, March is, for whatever reason, is a high spend month. You need to bring that in if you want to meet these goals or knowing that another month, you tend to have a lot of things not, excuse me, not a lot of things on your plate. And so therefore, meaning activities, things that you like to do, you don't do a lot during these months. And so that means you have a lot more left over for
discretionary spending and where are you going to put that? So really tracking that, I think I know rather has been probably the biggest move for me and then truly having the end in mind. I really know what it is I want to do when it's time. My time is up here. That's from in terms of the service, and then that gets refined. Right all the time. And so I think that has helped me. Yes, yes, you said a couple of gems just now. First of
all, tracking everything. And I tell people this all the time, if you want to improve something, you have to track it. It doesn't matter what it is. And even for me, it even went down to sleep. I was like, I want to improve my sleep. I started tracking my sleep. But I love that you say that because it's so important and there's no way that you can make any or see where you even need to improve if you're not tracking it. So I talk about budgeting on this podcast
all the time. People are probably sick of me. But now you're hearing it from coach Ty, too. You need to make sure that you're tracking whatever it is you're trying to improve, including money. So that way you can see where you need to improve or if you're doing great, you're not going to know either way. And then another thing you said that I really liked was working with the end in mind. So you already have an idea of where you want to go eventually.
And so all of your steps now are being ordered by that big goal. So that big goal that we're talking about, I assume one of them is retiring, right? That is one of them, yes. Yes. So when you're thinking about retirement, so retirement from the military, what are some things that you're doing now to kind of set yourself up for that later on? Sure. I think part of that is knowing what do you think your expenses are going to be? And so I think that's a
big one. And so I have started to work on, can I live off of if I get paid twice a month, some people choose once a month, however, can I live off of half of that? And so I've increased my savings rate and so I've looked at, okay, well, I'm gonna have to include, I'm gonna increase my savings rate and then what can I live off? And that's also goes kind of sort of back to the whole lean, real lean. And can you get through your expenses based on what you know
you're gonna have? And then, you know, then if you're, for us, you know, being entrepreneur, what other things am I going to be able to do to kind of supplement that? And so for me, I've chosen to say, hey, this is what I know at the end of the day, the possibility for retirement. And this is the average, what that may be, I've taken below the average and then allowed to say, okay, can my entrepreneur part match that? And when I've had it to match that, then I
know I'm in. I'm in the right place. So the other thing I wanted to kind of pivot back to a little bit. You asked me, what am I doing besides the tracking and those things? The tracking also goes to what vehicles I've chosen to use outside of just my normal paycheck to help me. And that has been real estate. And so I've chosen real estate as kind of the predominant one. And so I'm going into at least even tracking that. Like, here are, here is my portfolio. What is it averaging
per month, per year? And then what can I do with that in terms of my living post military? And so whatever that looks like, I've included that now almost to say, hey, that's another vehicle that I'll be able to use if I choose to continue to go down that path. And so just adding other things that I'm privy to now so that when it's time, post retirement one, I'll know, okay, what do you want to
do? Do you even want to work at all? So another thing we don't really consider, but we should, like, do I really want to work? If I am working on a plan that works for me now, then is even something I need to do because of however we grew up, however our culture is, whatever we're doing, the work is out there, and perhaps you don't need to work if your expenses and the things that you're doing have met the threshold that you want them to be and then gives you an
opportunity to think about what it is you want to do. Fortunately for me, I feel like I'm an educator, teacher, and so I'll be doing those types of things within the personal development space and other things, of course. But, yeah, hopefully it helps. Oh, yeah, definitely. And let's go ahead and dive into that real estate topic, because even in my family, my grandparents on my dad's side, they use real estate as a huge portion of their retirement income,
and it really worked out well for them. So what made you decide that real estate was going to be your thing? Yeah, good question. People had always asked me about real estate, and I think it was because I had, like, my degrees are in history, but I've always had a fascination with how people move north, south, east and west. Just kind of the geopolitical piece based on my background. And then from there, I would just, I would show levels of interest. And so people would
call me and ask me different questions about real estate. This is prior to having a real estate license. And I'd offer whatever little advice that I could offer. And then I got really into going down the research hole of, like, what else can I do to invest my money other than the normal vehicles that we are aware of, stock market and so on. And I was like, well, what about real estate? And so I just went down that research
hole and said, you know what? I think I can do this. And just started surrounding myself with people who understood what I was trying to do. I thought, oh, can I still do that while I'm doing these other things? And. And the answer was yes. And so I just started investing locally and then kind of kept on with that, kept learning, and just became fascinated
with it. So Paul was like, man, this is really doable. And so, yeah, so I've been investing since 17, got my real estate license for the state of North Carolina in 18, just to help out my investment piece, to be honest, to crack down a little bit of the commission. And then I try to help out family members if I can. And then I just stayed on the real estate journey. I didn't not, excuse me. I did not do stocks investing in all, because I had that vehicle, too. But I just went heavy into
real estate. It was something I can understand. It was tangible. It was easy to find a community that was doing it. And then I began to speak the language and so on and so forth. So, yeah, so I'm in it pretty. I'm in pretty deep with it right now and just keep learning and discovering
things about it as I go. I love that. And one thing that I keep hearing and everything that you're saying just now was surrounding yourself with people that are either where you want to be or working on the same things as you. Because like we said before we hit record, I was like, your conversations just sound different when you're surrounding yourself with people on the same wavelength as you. So
I appreciate you saying that as well, because it's super important. And that was one of the lessons that I learned very early on in my career, is, you know, make sure that you have some people in your circle that are where you want to be. So that way you can have those conversations and open up your mind to the different things that are out there that you could possibly do. So I'm so glad that you mentioned
that, because it. Yeah, it's definitely changing. Go ahead. No, I was just gonna say some friends and I were talking about community, and, dare I say, how your friends become different. And I'm in a different phase of life, but I've been thinking differently for a
while. I just found a community that was thinking the same way our conversations are different, which then puts you in masterminds, which then allows you to open the aperture of what else is possible beyond what it is that, you know, being able to stay with that or being able to be given grace when, like, hey, I'm gonna pivot in a different way and then realize there's a community over
there, too. Right? And so, yeah, that's, to me, the key takeaway for me in the last year is community, where I was a solopreneur, doing a lot of things on my own with the backing and support of my family, like, go, girl, you can do it, which everyone needs, in my opinion. But then getting with folks who, like you
said, were on my level or were above my level. The other thing is understanding that you are further than you think you are, and then me being the teacher and coach, then I want to help those that want to get where I am, but not at the sacrifice of where I'm trying to go. And so that's where I am in 2024, right? Like, ooh, I want to help you, but I'm still reaching for a goal that may not even have been a goal in 23, but I want to help you, but I can't help you at the sake of where I'm
going, because once I get there, then I can really help you. You know what I mean? It's been great, but like anything else, it's been work. So, yeah, relationships matter, and that's a big thing for me from 23 and beyond. Yes, yes. I completely agree with you there. And speaking of how you help people, let's talk a little bit about your podcast, because I love it. I love the premise of it. And that was one of the first things we talked about when we met was, you know, our podcasts and stuff.
And I just love the premise. So let's just tell the audience, what is your podcast and what is it about? Yes, thank you. My podcast is called the tiny Steps big moves podcast. And what I do is I have discussions with women as they have career pivoted, and so many of them have, all of them have had some type of pivot within their career, stayed on the same wavelength, moved to entrepreneurship, moved to something
else, and I just wanted to talk about their stories. I met a lot of people, women in particular, rather, that had stories to tell, but I didn't hear them being told. And so I really wanted to talk and say, hey, let me give you an opportunity to tell your story and to get it out there. And so, yeah, what motivates them to make the change? I really actively listen to understand and discover what it is that they have their stories that need to
get out, and I want to get them out. And we've been doing pretty good with that. And then we finished one season, start a second season, and you're part of second season where we talk the money story because I think that's something that women need to start talking more about and say, hey, this is what it took for
me to get here. I've had some steps, missteps and, but look, I'm still here and I'm still doing whatever it is I want to do, or I'm thinking about changing and just giving themselves a level of grace because I certainly extend grace to say it's okay, but I want these stories to get out. So, yeah, then I think I would be having a blast with it. But I absolutely am having a blast with it. And so thanks for asking. Yeah, absolutely. And y'all, if you want to hear my episode,
definitely check it out. Tiny steps big move podcast. And I talked about all of the challenges and pivots and all types of things. So if you want to listen to that, definitely check it out. Thank you so much, coach Ty, for coming on the show today. And if people were interested in learning more about you or getting in contact with you, how would they find you? So we have a podcast called, excuse me, we have the podcast the Tiny Steps Big Moves podcast. You can reach out there.
Also, we have coachtiinspires.com dot. That's my website. It has pretty much everything you need to know about what we're about in terms of the vision and vision and mission on there. Also, we launched a blog in February and so it's called live your best life 2.0. And so that gives you an insight of kind of how I'm thinking going forward and how I hope to help people that may think that way. And then also you can reach [email protected] dot
awesome. Awesome. And I'll make sure I have all of that information in the show notes. So thank you so much again for coming on the Money Talk with TIFF podcast. It was a pleasure having you. Bye. Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF podcast this weekend. You can check TiFf out every Thursday for a new Money talk podcast. But if you just cant wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast
[email protected]. Or follow TIFf on all social media platforms at moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise by spending less than you make. A word to the money wise is always sufficient.