The Financial Independence Show - podcast cover

The Financial Independence Show

Cody Berman and Justin Taylorthefishow.com
Cody Berman and Justin Taylor believe in the concept of “Financial Independence For All”. The Financial Independence Show focuses on REAL stories of individuals on their journey to financial independence. Each episode aims to include actionable insights and takeaways for listeners to implement into their own financial situation. The podcast covers topics like building wealth, entrepreneurship, investing, money mindset, small business, frugality, geoarbitrage, side hustles, real estate, productivity, travel, and so much more. Sit back, tune in, and join a community of like-minded people who are changing their lives through financial independence.

Episodes

The Shred Method (How to Maximize Your HELOC) | Adam Carroll

Today's episode features author, speaker, and mentor Adam Carroll. Adam shares with us his favorite finance technique that he calls "The Shred Method" which looks to utilize your HELOC (home equity line of credit) loan to its full potential. He also covers some of the powerful mindsets that he believes in which he shares with colleges and corporations across the country. It's clear why Adam has been picked up for TED talks. His passion and unique views are something everyone should take the time...

Aug 03, 202146 min

Resiliency, Networking, and Creating Your Own Path – July 2021 Roundup

In this roundup episode, the FI Show Guys talk about resiliency, creating your own unique path, and the power of networking. Our last three guests -- Allegra Paris, Jennifer Magley, and Ryan Helms -- all taught us that success doesn't happen overnight. It's through repeated hard work, embracing and learning from failure, and bringing the right people into your inner circle. Want to hear how Cody and Justin have witnessed similar experiences in their own lives? Then this episode is for you! We ho...

Jul 27, 202128 min

Building a Multi Six-Figure Marketing Agency from Scratch | Ryan Helms

Today's episode features Ryan Helms from Legacy Podcasting. Ryan actually liked his position earning 6-figures in the supply chain industry, but he knew that there was something more out there for him. He initially started a podcast to learn from and talk with a collection of people. That quickly led him into helping other content creators build their brands. Today, Ryan's marketing agency is bringing in multiple six figures and he's helped dozens of entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their...

Jul 20, 202149 min

Being Unstoppable, Forming Connections, and Competitive Edge | Jennifer Magley

Today's episode features former professional Tennis player and NCAA Div 1 head coach Jennifer Magley. Jennifer started her life as a professional athlete but was forced to reinvent herself like so many athletes often do. She had to learn to be likeable and shed her unwavering competitiveness. Since then, Jennifer has become a leader in connection and networking. Jennifer has also written two books, attends countless speaking engagements, and does amazing charitable work -- all while crushing it ...

Jul 13, 202148 min

Going Virtual, Sourcing Clients & Crushing Social Media | Allegra Paris

Today's episode features Allegra Paris from AllegraParis.com and the AP Fit program. If you look today, Allegra has created a successful and rewarding personal training business. She's helping others while also building a brand that provides her a life she loves. But things weren't always that simple. Allegra was facing massive burnout trying to make things work in New York City with her clothing brand and one-on-one training sessions. Eventually, she was forced to pivot and adapt when the world...

Jul 07, 202146 min

Money = Flexibility & Options

In this roundup episode, the FI Show Guys talk about how FI has given them flexibility and freedom. Reflecting on the 4% rule, cashflow FI, and the levels of financial independence you hit along the way. Want more confidence in negotiations? How about less stress when something goes wrong? Maybe even to feel free enough to take a chance with a career change? These are all fantastic benefits that FI brings. We hope you take this episode and either reflect on your journey or get inspired to start ...

Jun 29, 202127 min

Slow FI and Building a 10/10 Lifestyle | Jessica from The Fioneers

Today's episode features Jessica from The Fioneers. Jessica wasn't always financially savvy and started her career making just $11k per year. Then, her husband introduced the ideology of retiring early and Jessica started climbing the corporate ladder. She quickly realized that racing towards financial independence at a rapid pace was taking too heavy of a toll on herself, so she changed course. No longer would she be hyper-focused on a retirement date but instead embraced what she calls "Slow F...

Jun 22, 202149 min

How the 4% Rule is Changing | Bill Bengen

Today's episode features Bill Bengen, creator of the 4% rule. The 4% rule is arguably the most famous and influential research of the financial independence movement. The rule essentially says that you can safely withdraw 4% of your invested nest egg without ever completely depleting that nest egg. That means for every $100k you have invested, that you can spend $4k per year indefinitely. Bill has spent decades and countless hours tweaking these calculations and looking for any weakness in its l...

Jun 16, 202146 min

Fi-lexibility and The EconoMe Conference | Diania Merriam

Today's episode features the founder of EconoMe, Diania Merriam. Diania wasn't always into money. She had her time in New York where she went through a phase many of us struggle with -- blowing money and living it up in our 20s. Diania decided to revamp her lifestyle but wanted to do so without giving up the experiences. She traded going out to eat for hosting dinner parties. Instead of going out shopping, she hosted clothes swaps. Then, Diania took it a step further by relocating to Cincinnati ...

Jun 08, 202142 min

Real Estate Roundup | Our Experiences with Real Estate Investing

Today's episode features your hosts Justin and Cody discussing Real Estate. They both had no idea how real estate was an investment because their parents lived in the same homes their entire life. It wasn't an investment, it was just home. Fast forward and Cody starts finding profitable properties in Connecticut after he extends his sights past his home state of Massachusetts. Then Justin gets into the game through REITs and a syndication. Real estate investing can be extremely powerful due to i...

Jun 01, 202136 min

Beating Broke, Leveling Up, and Real Estate | Alex Felice

Today's episode features Alex Felice from Broke is a Choice. Yes, Alex chose that name to be a little controversial. He likes to stir things up a little and get the conversations going. For him though, he found himself broke in 2010 and he did make that choice to turn things around. He poured himself into personal finance education and completely reinvented his relationship with money. In 2014, he decided real estate would be his angle towards freedom. 18 months into his journey, he made more mo...

May 25, 202146 min

Investing in Self Storage and Green Homes | Scott Krone

Today's episode features Scott Krone. Scott is the managing partner and founder of Coda Management Group. During college, Scott and his fellow architect classmates found themselves providing free labor to their professor's development business. This odd form of free labor turned out to be a launching pad for Scott's career. He took on major projects right away and realized that he was more valuable than they realized and branched off on his own. Now Scott specializes in breathing new life into d...

May 20, 202145 min

Getting 1% Better and Creating Opportunity | Scott Trench, CEO of BiggerPockets

Today's episode features Scott Trench. Author of Set for Life and CEO of Bigger Pockets. After college, Scott finds himself in a finance job he doesn't like and discovers financial independence which changes his entire philosophy. Financial independence led Scott to real estate and the rest was history. In this episode, we dig into Scott's mindset, his habits, his goal-setting routines, his thoughts on real estate, his investment strategies, and his overarching life mission. Sit back, relax, and...

May 11, 202145 min

Does House Hacking Make Sense for You? (yes) | Andrew Kerr

Today's episode features Andrew Kerr from the House Hacking Podcast. Andrew has been in the real estate field for almost 20 years and has experience with nearly every type of real estate transaction. By the end of the episode, you'll hear all about the pros, cons, and everything in between in regards to house hacking. Hint: It's one of the best ways to supercharge your path to financial independence. Ready to get creative with your living situation and lighten up those expenses? Well, sit back, ...

May 04, 202145 min

Transparency, Balance, and Telling Your Story

Today's episode features your hosts Justin and Cody discussing authenticity and work-life balance. Both Cody and Justin are very open about their finances and love sharing both their failures and successes. Why? Because real stories give real inspiration. This is a crazy journey to suggest so having real data to back it up helps give confidence. The more authentic voices out there, the higher the chances are that someone can find a story they relate with. The episode is rounded out with a discus...

Apr 27, 202124 min

Lean FIRE, Geoarbitrage, and Flexibility | Eric Richard

Today's episode features Eric Richard from Nomad on FIRE. Eric worked his way into a lucrative corporate job in supply chain management, but with that came long hours and a terrible commute. He admits that frugality didn't come naturally to him but he saw how work was destroying his happiness and health so he took the plunge towards Financial Independence. After saving over $500k, Eric had reached Lean FIRE and took off to travel the world. He'd eventually end up back in the corporate world but ...

Apr 20, 202145 min

Finding Your Work-Life Balance | J.Money

Today's episode features one of the original personal finance bloggers, J.Money! Whether it was Budgets are Sexy, Rockstar Finance, or now All Star Money, J.Money has been inspiring readers and spreading the best finance content for over a decade. You may recognize the mohawk, but for us, it's the transparency and giving spirit that stands out. Listen to how someone who wasn't naturally good at money or came from a finance background would become one of the leading voices in the personal finance...

Apr 13, 202151 min

From Homeless at 19 to Finding Success through Passion | Anthony ONeal

Today's episode features Anthony ONeal from "The Table" podcast and author of Debt Free Degree. Anthony has an incredible story of loss and triumph. He hit bottom as he lost everything and ending up homeless at age 19 while trying to figure out how to get through college. Anthony turned his life around and would go on to not only graduate but dedicate much of his life to educating other young people in hopes that they could avoid his missteps. Now, Anthony is a successful author and online perso...

Apr 06, 202132 min

Should You Follow Your Passion?

Today's episode features your hosts Justin and Cody discussing the art of following your passion. Justin still works a more typical corporate job while Cody took to entrepreneurship almost immediately. When you're faced with the decision of which way to go, what do you do? In this episode, you'll hear the hosts talk about their personal views on the situation as well as tips to help make you successful regardless of which path you choose. Don't sit and suffer a miserable job you hate, but don't ...

Mar 30, 202134 min

From Corporate America to a Food Truck CEO | Brent Gargasz

Today's episode features Brent from Farm Fired Pizza aka the "Food Truck CEO". Brent runs an amazing food trailer with a wood fire pizza oven creating some of the best-looking pizzas you'll ever see. Brent didn't go to culinary school or come from a cooking background. In fact, he was a highly successful nurse who had worked his way up into more of the corporate side. This was great for his paycheck but terrible for his fulfillment. Ultimately, Brent decided to follow his passion for delicious p...

Mar 23, 202149 min

Building an 8-Figure VA Business in the Philippines | John Jonas

Today's episode features John Jonas from OnlineJobs.ph which is an impressive online marketplace that matches online workers from the Philippines with business owners from around the world. With over 1 million resumes on the platform, the website is ever-growing and constantly refining its matching capabilities. Virtual assistants, developers, video editors...the options are endless for filling a need you might have. As an employer, you get access to an amazing workforce at a low cost with no mo...

Mar 16, 202145 min

Early Lessons in Personal Finance

Today's episode features the hosts (Justin & Cody) who share their early lessons in personal finance. How did two guys from completely different backgrounds both get so inspired to retire early? Who influenced them? Stop by and listen to some quirky stories of how they came to be passionate about personal finance and some tips for how you can inspire others around you. Share this episode with those friends who just need a little boost, but for now, sit back and take a listen. Links From the Epis...

Mar 10, 202143 min

How to Adult Your Personal Finances | Jake Cousineau

Today's episode features Jake Cousineau soon to be Author of How to Adult: Personal Finance for the Real World. You might even recognize Jake from his $50k Wheel of Fortune payday! Jake is now hoping to increase the odds of winning at life for young adults across the country. We talk to Jake about why he decided to build this financial guide to life and the lessons he has learned actively teaching the next generation of the FI/RE community. Share this episode with that rising senior or new colle...

Mar 02, 202144 min

Setting Teens Up for Financial Independence | Dan Sheeks

Today's episode features Dan Sheeks from Sheeks Freaks who has created a place for teens that are "obsessed" with making smart financial decisions. Dan is a teacher in Colorado and is really changing the lives of young people and giving them a place where they can feel normal sharing their financial interests. It's obvious through all the success stories he highlights that this is working and was a needed niche. We hope you're as excited to hear how the next generation is chasing FI/RE as we are...

Feb 23, 202150 min

Mindset and Financial Independence

Today's episode is another one led by your awesome Co-hosts (Justin & Cody). The topic today is all about the mental part of our journeys to financial independence. Good and Bad. Depression, joy, grit, relaxing, purpose, people...this episode has it all. So take a moment and hear from the FI Show guys as they open up the curtain on mental hurdles they've faced and the strategies they've used to overcome them. Highlights From the Episode Realizing it's not about the money Finding your tribe Worki...

Feb 16, 202130 min

Shaping Failure and Tough Conversations | David Wood

Today's episode features David Wood from Focus.ceo who has become one of the biggest life coaches and has helped 150k+ people. David spent over 20 years building a career as a consulting actuary for Fortune 100 companies. David helps high-performing entrepreneurs, executives and teams to identify and master their tough conversations, becoming the leaders they themselves would follow. There are so many awesome techniques that David shares. So sit back and try them out yourself while you listen. L...

Feb 09, 202152 min

Using Music Therapy to Reach New Heights | Marlys Woods

Today's episode features Marlys Woods who created her own business, Get in Tune Music Therapy, where she uses music as a tool to help her clients reach new heights. Never heard of musical therapy? Neither had we but it's very interesting. She pairs what she loves about music with psychology. The most common use case for this is for developmental issues or speech rehab. But it's also possible to use music as a tool for everyday productivity and releasing stressors. Marlys focuses on addiction whi...

Feb 02, 202140 min

Geoarbitrage Case Studies | Diving into the Numbers with Cody & Justin

Today's episode rounds out our series on utilizing your location as a tool to financial independence and is led by just thew of us hosts. You may hear this idea called geo-arbitrage. We wanted to pick two locations where we would actually like to take a test run of financial independence in a foreign country. Cody picked Santiago, Chile and Justin picked Porto, Portugal. This episode covers an honest and holistic look at what it would cost for a couple to live in these countries while still real...

Jan 26, 202134 min

Selling Everything and Moving to Panama | Jim White

Today's episode features Jim White from Route to Retire. We're continuing our series on geoarbitrage which is the act of purposefully moving to a location for monetary benefits such as lower cost of living or tax treatment. Jim and his family utilized a traditional corporate job to amass a nest egg large enough to retire in his early 40s. They were conservative enough to save for a life in the U.S. but wanted to find a lower price point abroad. Jim poured over the research and took a successful ...

Dec 22, 202048 min

Living in Taiwan and Slow Traveling The World | Mr. Nomad Numbers

Today's episode features Mr. Nomad Numbers from Nomad Numbers. This begins our series on Geo-arbitrage which is the act of purposefully moving to a location for monetary benefits such as lower cost of living or tax treatment. Mr. &. Mrs. Nomad numbers were living in California and realized they could jump ship and retire. They chose to move to Taiwan where they could obtain a 3yr gold-card which would allow them to live there full time. Mr. NN also gives us the breakdown of how Taiwan has battle...

Dec 15, 202045 min