The Financial Independence Show

You never know how close you are to a great story. I (Justin) learned that on my recent trip to Africa on my way to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. Boarding my flight I met Caitlin James as she was on her way to climb the very same mountain. The more I heard from her, the more I realized I had come across a truly amazing story. Caitlin was paralyzed in a boating accident. Through surgery and rehab, she eventually regained the ability to walk. Walking was just the start though. She jokingly said if she could walk again she'd climb a mountain in a banana suit...and that's exactly what she did. That first mountain hooked her, and she has racked up an insanely impressive list of summits in just a couple of years. This story may not seem relevant to some for this show, but we thought it made perfect sense. Many people want to do something adventurous, travel, and spend their days outside instead of behind a computer. These reasons are what drive them to retire. But Caitlin isn't waiting for retirement to live out her dreams and pursue her passions. Instead, she is making her passions her career. Caitlin reinvented herself and her career. Check out her expeditions over the last couple of years: NORTH AMERICA DENALI Alaska 20,310 MT WHITNEY, California 14,505 MT RAINIER, Washington 14,411 MT HELEN, Washington 10,786 SOUTH AMERICA ACONCAGUA 22,837 (Normal route) Ojos del Salado 22,615 (Argentinian side) PERU Cordillera Blanca Range; Huascaran 22,205 Chacraraju 20,039 Salkantay 20,574 Ausangate Nevado trek; Machu Picchu 7,972 Huayna Picchu 8,835 Rainbow Mountain 17,060 Nevado Ausangate 20,945 Nevados Ojos del Salado 22,569 ECUADOR Chimborazo 20,549 EUROPE MONT BLANC 15,777 MATTERHORN 14,692 The EIGER 13,642 The ALPHUBEL 13,799 DOLOMITES 10,968 MONTE ROSA 15,203 BRITISH COLUMBIA MT LOGAN 19,551 MT FAIRWEATHER 15,325 MT ROBSON 9,281 FT AFRICA Kilimanjaro, 19,341 (3x in two years) Umbwe, Marangu, Machame Route Mt Meru 14,980 Cape Town 3,563 CHILE Torres Del Paine (Patagonia) JAPAN MT Fuji 12,388 MT Tsurugi 9,839 NEPAL EBC TREK 17,598 LOBUCHE 20,062 ISLAND PEAK 20,252 MANASLU C3 23,622 INDONESIA SUMATRA 12,484 AUSTRALIA MT KOSCIUSZKO 7,310 MT TOWNSEND 7,247 GREAT OCEAN WALK 240 Kilo/149miles We hope this inspires you to consider how you can chase your dreams now and not feel as though your life is chained up until retirement. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Caitlin on Instagram Caitlin's Website Caitlin on TikTok Caitlin on Facebook 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)

Cody shares his digital product journey on the How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy podcast with Lizzie Smiley. He covers topics such as: How to find profitable products Keyword research and SEO Strategies for making more sales Student success stories Why Etsy is the best platform for beginners And all about what's inside his E-Printables course. Hope this helps someone else start their digital product journey. If you enjoyed this, please share this episode with a friend! Links from The Episode E-Printables Course (with FI Show discount) How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy podcast YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/wm-_wRkh16g?si=S1tyaVbGjU6g8UMJ 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 love the personal finance space, chances are you've heard of FinCon. Today, we bring you Philip Taylor who created and grew FinCon into the massive pillar of the community it is today. For loooong time listeners, you may remember Cody interviewing PT at FinCon back in 2018. You'll hear the origins, the heights, the COVID-19 survival, and the future of FinCon in this episode. PT isn't stopping with one conference and is now running a second called TravelCon in addition to expanding his family's accountant business. Don't forget to snag your ticket to FinCon while you still can. This year's event will be in Atlanta, October 23-26. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode FinCon TravelCon The Creator CPA PT Money YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/hhCSECSDJag 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)

Long-time listeners may remember Nick's episode from Episode 56 way back in 2019. We felt like this classic episode and fundamental topic needed to be brought out of the archives and revisited. Nick Loper is the side hustle king from Side Hustle Nation. Nick got an eye-opening opportunity in college and knew he had to be his own boss. He would eventually work for three years in the corporate world. During that time he was building his side hustle. It was quickly covering his expenses and he never looked back. We really help you focus on how to choose the right side hustle for you. Nick recommends finding two areas you’re in the top 50% in Then find a way for those two things to intersect He also suggests trying out things to experiment You’ll often find your true golden idea once you get started on a project If you begin to dread the work, it may be time to stop working on that side hustle Listen and learn all about side hustles and let us know what you think. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Side Hustle Nation List of Side Hustle Ideas Nick's YouTube Channel Follow Nick on X 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 discuss Justin's recent summit of Kilimanjaro. You'll learn all the details, pricing, and considerations if you're interested in this major summit, as well as the mental growth and lessons learned from pushing your body to the extreme and living without your normal luxuries. Some topics include: What to pack Cost of the trip A typical day on the hike Overcoming mental hurdles Embracing simplicity Even though he battled sickness every day of the hike, Justin would highly recommend trying this summit. And even if you don't, hopefully this episode inspires you to try something that challenges you. Please subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend! Links from The Episode Company Justin Used for the Kilimanjaro Summit Recommended rinse-free bathing wipes YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/ALrPVFNOUDc 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)

Cody shares his impressive journey of generating over $75,000 in monthly passive income. He breaks down his top four income streams: digital products, real estate, affiliate marketing, and stock market investments. Listeners will discover practical strategies for beginners, the importance of persistence, and innovative ideas like running an anonymous Etsy shop. The discussion also emphasizes personal growth and the emotional rewards of mentoring others on their financial independence journey.

What would you be willing to do to hit financial independence early? Michael Alberse lived differently for 2+ years to save over 90% of his income as a Google employee. In this episode, we talk about: Living in a van Managing finances with a significant other Landing a 6-figure job (with insane perks) Starting an agency Small business investing Finding your "why" And so much more. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Michael's Instagram YouTube Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoR3Ae1oYtQ 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 discuss one of the most heated investing arguments. Should you hand-select the "best" companies, or invest in the total stock market? Some topics include: Individual stocks are often investors' first exposure to the stock market The mental drag of stress from volatility How individual stocks can scratch the itch Setting non-negotiable limits More certain path to FI vs the potential for a home run Bad bets we've made on individual stocks As part of this discussion, we compared several individual stocks against VTSAX. VTSAX is an index fund Vanguard offers and tracks the total stock market. List of stocks including present-day value and annualized return if you invested $1,000 on Aug 9, 2004, and reinvested dividends: VTSAX $5,807 9.19% average annual return Intel $1,623 2.45% average annual return 7th Market Cap Abercrombie and Fitch $4,679 8.02% average annual return Couple of years after Hollister's launch Apple $396,562 34.85% average annual return Released iPod Mini If you bought on July 6, 1994 (Forrest Gump release date) -> $1.1M (26%) Coca Cola $6,007 9.37% average annual return Released C2 General Electric $1,243 1.09% average annual return 5th Market Cap Wells Fargo $2,627 4.95% 15th largest market cap TI $11,496 12.98% average annual return Year TI-89 was released Sony $2,691 5.07% average annual return PSP release date Nokia $730 -1.56% average annual return 9 phone releases We cover all of this and more. We hope you found value in the episode, if you did, subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend! Links from The Episode Stoculator YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/0N4IlLBrYV0 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 talk about something we thankfully haven't had to deal with for the majority of the last 10 years. We’re talking Bear Markets and Recessions. We originally aired this episode back in 2022. This goes to show that there will always be cycles. Should your investment strategy change? Is there anything you can do to lessen the blow? How do inflation and mortgage rates factor in? Can you spin a recession into a positive thing for you? We’re going to cover all this and more. We hope you found value in the episode, if you did, subscribe, leave a review, and share 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)

Long-time listeners may remember Brooke from her feature in Episode 134 way back in 2021. Brooke had already begun to build some impressive businesses but was still spending her days as a teacher. Since then, she's gone all in on her career as a real estate agent. But Brooke didn't simply become an agent, she quickly rose to the top 1% in MA, CT, and RI. To put some numbers on that, Brooke has sold over $100M in real estate! Now she's helping to show other realtors how to copy her success and grow their business. She's doing that through her book and community, She Closes Deals. Even if you're not looking to enter the real estate space, Brooke's mindset and general frameworks can help anyone. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode She Closes Deals Brooke's Instagram Brooke's Previous Episode YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/WexdmhwIfHg 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)