
The Financial Independence Show
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.
Latest episodes

Apr 23, 2019 • 44min
Professional Tennis Player Turned Real Estate Addict | Sunitha Rao
In today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Suni. Suni lives in the Boston area and has an amazing story.
She became a professional tennis player at age 14 after coming from some very humble beginnings with immigrant parents. That career lasted nine years with some very interesting financial and personal implications. Then she found herself 23 with no real savings and way behind on the educational curve.
Don't worry this story has a happy ending and a surprise twist that lands us in the remote real estate discussion.
Now it's time to go take a listen and see what you think for yourself.
Episode Summary
Her parents came over from India in the 80s and were very poor
They started to work their way out of it over time and her parents instilled savings in her
When she was 14 she started playing tennis professionally
She was using a lot of those winnings to pay for travel, PR, training, etc.
In the sport, you're really just breaking even at that level even though it's professional
She was able to get a lot of training provided through scholarships in return for advertising
The income that she would make was extremely variable.
Some weeks she might make $20k and some she might make $100
While that could seem like a lot of money at times she also had extremely high expenses because she had to hire full-time coach along with their travel
Suni actually dropped out of school in the 6th grade and was supposed to be teaching herself but that wasn't really feasible with 8 hour training days
After 9 years of playing professionally, she retired at age 23 in 2009 to return to school
At 23 she only had a couple of thousand dollars to show for her career
She then walks us through the struggles of professional athletes being able to handle money and look out for their future
The recession actually played a part in when she retired because many businesses didn't have extra money to sponsor an athlete
After retiring she spent some time taking remedial classes to get her up to speed at a local community college
After that, she was able to attend a prestigious private school through scholarships and need-based grants
Now she's 27 and looking for a job
She landed a job in a large firm in their management training program
She stayed there 2.5 years before coming to her current job in corporate financial planning
Feeling compelled to get her finances in order she felt like going after a career that really made a difference wasn't reasonable
She then came across the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad which really changed her outlook
Then she gets into real estate as a path towards passive income
She closed her first property in April of 2018 and was up to 5 units before 2019
While she lives in the Boston area, these homes were purchased around Indianapolis and never even saw them before purchasing
She decided on Indianapolis based on a ton of technical statistics such as population growth, income growth, diversity of employment, and price to rent ratio.
Networking was the key to actually finding the team to help her manage these properties
She doesn't see herself walking away from work altogether but her goal is to replace her current income with real estate so she has the flexibility
Then we discuss finding people to surround yourself with who understand the journey to FI and some of the difficulties that come with that
We also spend a lot of time throughout the episode covering the psychological impact of growing up poor and then becoming a professional athlete and how that just impacts her outlook and drive
Her closing advice is for those looking to get into real estate which revolves around building your network and understanding the technical drivers that make or break a market and understand your cash position so you know if you're prepared for an investment
Key Takeaways
Don't envy: It would be easy to feel jealous ...

Apr 16, 2019 • 46min
How to Get Your Spouse on Board with FI | Andy Hill from Marriage, Kids, and Money
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Andy from Marriage Kids and Money. He tells us his relatable yet inspiring story of living a life with far too much spending brought on by lifestyle creep.
Lifestyle creep is when you get used to a certain way of living but then as you make more money you increase that style of living little by little until it becomes unsustainable or at least larger than you intended. Andy and his wife were spending every bit of their salaries which totaled over $100k. Reality struck when she became pregnant and they knew they needed to change their ways.
Now listen to the story and hear their remarkable turnaround and how Andy is now helping people walk in his footsteps.
Episode Summary
Andy and his wife go together in 2010 with a combined earning over $100,000 but they were carrying a good bit of debt and spending everything they earned
That debt included $50k in student debt, a nice car loan and frequent use of their Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
They had a wake-up moment when he realized they were going to be having their first child
Quickly he started pouring over podcasts, blogs, and anything to help them learn
They’re currently living around Detroit which has shown a huge turnaround
He bought a house right out of college in mid-2000s and realized he couldn’t afford the mortgage
To help with the bills he ended up bringing in several roommates who paid the mortgage for him...Another house hack win!
When he got married they realized the roommate situation wasn’t going to work so they bought a new house with the goal of paying off the new $350k house in 5 years
He was able to get back all of his money from the first house but didn’t make anything off of it
The first material that helped Andy really turn things around was Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover
Once a month, he and his wife would sit down and review their budget until they got it under control
The biggest changes they had to make was cutting out entertainment like food and drinks
He talks about how tough it was saying no to friends in family in order to pay down their debt so aggressively
We discuss the struggles with getting your spouse on board with this new financial plan
He said his biggest mistake was focusing on the process and numbers vs the outcomes, emotions, and the “why” behind the plan
Once the subject went from percentages to a discussion of having more time with their kids, Andy’s wife became equally as fired up about the journey
A powerful exercise he discusses to help with this is to just sit down with your significant other and talk through your perfect day/life if money wasn’t an issue
Then we swap to start discussing how their life is changing now that their finances are in a good place and they’re starting to build their financial independence lifestyle
With their kids starting school, his wife has begun a home organization business which is just another great example of how you will discover your true passions when you step away from a full-time job and those passions will probably bring you unexpected income
We then shift the discussion back to their debt pay-down where Andy gave us the tangible steps to paying off their house in 4 years
The first piece was a $150k down payment after a lot of aggressive savings
That got their mortgage down to $200k
They continued their monthly expense reviews
Every bonus or additional dollar they received they put towards the house
Andy’s wife actually stepped completely away from her day job to be a stay at home mom with $80k left on the mortgage
That mortgage was completely paid off a little over a year ago
That down payment that they had been saving up for was all in cash after some shady dealing Andy had with a financial advisor
Andy admits that these were major financial mistakes but worth it due to the amount he learned throughout the process

Apr 9, 2019 • 42min
Launching Out Of Debt With a Facebook Ads Business | Monica Louie
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Monica from MonicaLouie.com. She tells us her inspiring story of tackling debt and putting family first.
Monica and her husband both came together after college with some debt and Monica wasn't a saver naturally. Her husband brought those characteristics to the household and she took to them quickly and soon started leading their debt pay down efforts. While on her way to becoming a mother of two, she decided she wanted to be able to spend as much time as possible with her children and step away from the workforce.
Unfortunately, even though they had made great strides on their spending, one income just wasn't enough. So Monica started a blog and experimenting with Facebook ads. She then started her own Facebook ad consulting business in 2016 with her as the single employee. Today she employs 13 and is on the fast track to being debt free.
But you don't want just an overview, go take a listen to today's episode and let us hear what you think.
Episode Summary
Grew up with a single mother where money was often a struggle and she knew she wanted a different life
She took the traditional college route but struggled some after graduating
Then she found herself in credit card debt
A couple of years later she had a good job, got out of debt and vowed to never get in debt again.
When she met her husband, he was frugal and she became conscious of saving for the first time
They were on a good steady path and then she had her first child and her priorities shifted
She decided she wanted to be a stay at home mom so they started saving really hard
Then she was pregnant with her second child and stepped away from her job
A couple of months into this, they noticed their savings starting to decrease a looked for something to help out
On top of this, they had over $300k in debt including their mortgage
Within two years they had paid down $120k in debt
Her husband had reservations about sharing finances because she was more of a spender and he was a saver so she made it a point to build that trust by being financially responsible
The idea of her blog came from people asking questions about how she burned down so much debt
With this first blog, she started discovering Facebook ads and noticed she had a knack for it
Then her fellow blogging friends started asking for help with Facebook ads
In 2016 she ended up selling her blog and becoming a full-time Facebook ads coach
Facebook ads are great for just broadening your reach as well as funneling people towards paid content or even a transition funnel to get a customer to free content which will then get them to paid content
Therefore often it’s best to save your Facebook ad promotions for posts with affiliate links
We also discuss the ever-changing landscape of Facebook ads with new features and algorithm tweaks
Her business has already grown from her being the single employee to a team of 13
They’re still paying down debt with the goal of being debt free by age 40
With her job being location independent, even if she’s working they can live a lifestyle very similar to one many expect when they are financially independent
The business hasn’t been making a ton of money right away because she’s been growing the company but is now transitioning to focus on the profit
We also discuss the example she gets to set for her kids as they see her make income from home doing something she really enjoys
Then we get into some more technical aspects of how to do Facebook ads
Some of the tips she recommends is testing against different groups and optimizing the ads by constantly testing and tweaking
Facebook can also help you find a look-a-like audience which is where you feed Facebook some information about the audience you already have and it finds more people like you
She recommends static images when you are looking for someone to click on a blog post

Apr 2, 2019 • 44min
The $80,000 Lifestyle Change | Joel from FI 180
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Joel from FI 180. It's so inspiring to hear someone who had real spending issues and quickly got them under control. Joel wasn't forced to in order to take on debt, he had a wake-up call in the form of a car crash involving his wife.
Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a potentially life-altering event to step back and reevaluate your life. Thankfully Joel's wife is fine and they don't miss their old spending ways.
The transition they made was remarkable. They were set for a life of working into their 70's and quickly make changes that have allowed Joel to retire at 34 and his wife the option to do so whenever she chooses.
Well, go take a listen to today's episode and let us hear what you think.
Episode Summary
Joel’s parents never made a lot of money ($35k per year)
Out of college though Joel started making ~$55k
Never having money before he just started blowing it all on crazy things like $3500 t.v.
His wife has always had more financial restraint
Joel simply didn’t know how to manage money because he had never had it but wasn’t in debt
Joel’s wife didn’t want to merge finances because of his spending habits
To combat his spending, he would just continue to work more
About 6 years ago after his wife got in a bad car wreck Joel made his “financial 180”
He states that he really doesn’t miss the spending since making his changes
That lavish spending just became normal and wasn’t fun anymore
Now with low spending, anything lavish really seems like a treat
Joel comments on how people don’t see from the outside how much strain the work it takes to live a lavish lifestyle can take on your life when you’re simply viewing a lavish lifestyle on Facebook/Instagram
In 2012 they spend $107,000
$16k shopping, $13k food, $12k travel, $12k bills, $11k cars, etc
Now they spend between $25k-30k per year
Their first big move on lowering expenses was going to a one car household
They continued their transition to lower spending by targeting one thing each month
It took them about three to four years to fully make their transition
Joel states that for them cooking for themselves was the hardest part of the transition
They cut cable, extra car insurance, water delivery, and home monitoring and other things included slowing internet speed, lowering cell phone data package
After one year they cut an additional $1,080 a month from their budget
By 2015 they lowered their spending to $34k per year
They actually went too far and got over 80% savings rate and decided that was the deprivation
Joel has stepped away from working but his wife enjoys work and continues to do so
We discuss how the retire early part of FIRE gets all the attention while the Financial Independent part is much more important
Joel is 34 and they are considering having children but aren’t sure
He talks about how not having a job doesn’t ensure you’ll be productive that it still has to be something you’re motivated to do
It took Joel a few months to build that structure that led to a proactive day
Joel even discusses feeling younger since retiring
We then talk about how Joel built up the confidence to quit his job
He came up with the quote that “His worst case scenario, is everyone else’s everyday scenario”
That means that if he needs to go back to work, so what, everyone else works, it’s not that scary
They also decided to pay their house off quicker to remove that fixed cost and make it a little less scary
We end the episode with Joel stressing finding a good work-life balance and not focusing so much on one particular number
Key Takeaways
Having money can be a problem: Joel came out of college with decent pay and no major debt worries. Sounds good right? Well, he also wasn't prepared for how to handle it. He wasn't forced to learn frugal habits early on. While we may never feel sorry for someone in Joel'...

Mar 26, 2019 • 42min
The 10-Year “Mini” Retirement | Ryan Jacob
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Ryan Jacob who has one of the more gutsy stories you'll hear. Ryan has decided to step into a mini-retirement or super lean FIRE plan in order to get away from his soul-crushing job.
He was in an extremely corporate setting with big money in his future but decided instead to take his nest egg of just over $300k and call it a day. Instead of a cubicle he now spends most of his time on the water catching some awesome fish.
It's obvious to see that Ryan is looking for more than fishing in his retirement and is itching to start his own business. Want to know what kind of business he has had and will have? Curious what life looks like when retiring on $300k?
Well, go take a listen to today's episode and let us hear what you think.
Episode Summary
Grew up middle class with a stay at home mom and his dad was a self-employed contractor
His mom was a saver while his dad was a saver and his mom's habits rubbed off on him
He would always save everything even as a kid
Ryan even started investing money at age 14 after he'd saved up $2k through a custodial account with his mom
It's the late 90's during the dot com boom
His mom sets him up with an adviser and he lost everything in that dot com bubble
That experience actually pushed him to learn more about the market instead of discouraging him
In college, he studied finance and he realized the adviser who was overseeing money for the whole family was actually doing some shady investing practices
Ryan really wanted to start up his own business even at 18 but his mom pushed him to go to a traditional four-year college
We talk about the huge gap in financial education in high schools and college
He worked for 4 years after college as a consultant and an analyst at a management consulting firm making around $60-70K saving around 40%
Part of that career path required an MBA so he went off and did that and came back to a salary of $110k-$120k
Ryan talks about his path wasn't a flip of the switch that it was a very thorough and long term plan
Even though he was marching towards retiring early he didn't discover the financial independent movement until just under 2 years ago
Ryan stepped away from work after fulfilling his last commitment with his company after saving up just over $300k
He's aware that he'll probably need to work again but he's in no rush
A really interesting take was his discussion about how if he'd kept working longer and saved up so much to have a safe retirement, he wouldn't have the push to start up his own business which is a big goal of his
In college, Ryan had started up a business which was a painting service including a van that he paid $75 for
The group made $70k over that summer
From that point, we swapped into digging into Ryan's investing strategy
His first recommendation is to avoid the percentage based advisers and swap to one time fee-based advisers
He also recommends robo advisers such as M1 finance, Betterment, or Wealth-front
The number one recommendation though is Vanguard for their index funds
Vanguard even has their own advisers
We then transition into what Ryan was looking into doing in retirement
His goals are related to ocean fishing, hunting, reading, spending time with family, brewing beer, and start a financial advisor business
You can really tell how refreshing it is for Ryan to get to reconnect with his family after his profession took him away from them for so long
He rounds out the episode by pleading with people to understand that the path to financial independence isn't common and you'll have a lot of people try to stop you or second guess but to stay the course and be confident
Key Takeaways
There is a middle-ground: Notice how Ryan accepts that he may need to go back to work? That's totally ok with him. He chose to put himself first and get out of a toxic situation.

25 snips
Mar 19, 2019 • 1h 14min
The Ultimate Tax Optimization Guide | The Wealthy Accountant
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Kieth aka The Wealthy Accountant who went from a small town farmer to a multi-millionaire tax professional. Want to know how good he is? Well he's good enough to have been selected by Mr. Money Mustache to do his taxes. That's a heck of an endorsement.
Keith's story is truly amazing. The way he self educated himself is as relevant today as ever with the access to training and the changing job landscape.
Hear how he started his business and became financially independent way before that was even a common phrase.
Episode Summary
Keith grew up in a farming family in small town Wisconsin
They didn’t really have anything to spend money on so they lived frugally
The family farm ended up going into bankruptcy when he was 18
In high school he started studying the stock market crash of 1929 and became really passionate about investing and he started investing at 18
He also started doing the books on his dad’s agricultural repair business
That eventually turned into fellow employees asking him to do their taxes
Before long he had 50 clients with no overhead
We talk about how different the interest landscape was in the 80’s
He talks about how excited he was to get a 10% mortgage
In totality he’s only ever worked for someone 14 months
At about 32 he realized he had accumulated $1M and he was married at this time
This being the late 80’s he had a $540/mo house payment and they lived on less than $10k
He spent all day outside of tax season just sitting around reading books and learning
In reality he never got a college degree but didn’t need one
Even though he didn’t have a degree he spent a decade just pouring over books
He was a financial independence guru before FIRE was even a term
The first blogger he really ran across was Mr. Money Mustache
In fact he even did Mr. Money Mustache’s taxes!
He points out that before you get to stressed out over tax loop holes and maximizing everything, to stop and realize you’re probably always going to make some kind of income and if you’re serious about this path you’ll likely end up with more money than you’ll ever need
We then swap this discussion to the tax specific tips
He talks through standard 401ks, backdoor roth 401ks and mega backdoor roths
We also get into things like Cash Balance accounts available to self-employed members
Keith also mentions that standard brokerage accounts get a bad rap and shouldn’t be overlooked but still recommends filling up your 401k and IRA
When coming up with a tax strategy for someone he talks about how important it is to look at a person’s scenario on a long term view and not just year to year
You won’t want to miss the deep dives into the mechanisms behind the different IRA contributions, cash balances, and profit sharing which can take you to many times the $19k 401k and $6k IRA limits
Then we get into the discussion of tax moves you can make with non-qualified accounts like your standard stock market account that’s not a 401k or a IRA
One thing Keith points out is that these non-qualified accounts are tax advantage in a way because when you die, you’re beneficiaries won’t have to pay capital gains tax on all those earnings. Your kids get to take over those shares at the price listed on date of death and all those gains are forgiven from any tax burden
From Keith’s standpoint most tax loss harvesting is ok but not worth paying for
On the flipside, he’s a huge fan of harvesting gains
Harvesting gains is when you’re in the 0% tax bracket and have some room to give so you purposefully sell some shares for a profit and capture those gains without paying taxes on the gains
(STOP AND READ THAT LAST BULLET AGAIN…SO POWERFUL)
Keith also urges you to consider what your retired minimum distributions can climb up to be if you just let them sit in the traditional accounts until 70
Stay out of debt, invest,

Mar 12, 2019 • 39min
From Full-Time Anesthesiologist to Charitable Entrepreneur | Physician on FIRE
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Leif from Physician On Fire. Leif didn't even discover the idea of financial independence until he was 40 but has truly hit the ground running. In just three years he has created a massive online following where he helps reach high-income earners to educate them on finances as well as spread the message of giving.
He donates 50% of all blog-related income and has donated up to $100k in a given year. Stay tuned to get Leif's background and take on topics such as backdoor Roth IRAs, discovering financial independence at a later age, travel hacking, and his donor fund.
Go give it a listen and let us know what you think!
Episode Summary
Leif was born in 1975 and began understanding money even as a 5-year-old
He came from a family of physicians and knew that’s what he wanted to do as well
At age 30 he was completely finished with schooling and residency and became an anesthesiologist
He was able to keep student loans low by sticking with in-state schools, earning scholarships, and a college fund his grandfather had left him
At age 30 he had a slightly negative net worth and didn’t discover the idea of financial independence until he was almost 40
Even before discovering financial independence, he was saving about 50% of his take-home pay but it was intentional
The discussion then transitions to the topic of financial advisers targeting high-income members like physicians and possibly taking advantage of them
He reaches other high-income earners to help them learn how to invest for themselves and even find a local financial adviser through his blog and Facebook groups
One of his Facebook groups is for anyone in the “Fat FIRE” community which he describes as anyone looking to be able to spend $100k or more per year in retirement
He then starts breaking down tax advantage strategies especially as they pertain to high-income earners including the backdoor Roth IRA and Mega backdoor Roth
Then he describes how he got into blogging and making money through this other source
It wasn’t actually until a little over 3 years ago that he discovered financial independence for himself and saw The White Coat investor as a role model in the space
His hope was to provide advice similar to White Coat Investor with a voice more similar to Mr. Money Mustache
When he first discovered financial independence he had a five-year plan which would have been around 2021 but instead, due to the success of the blog and the realization of his financial situation, he went part-time almost right away
We then dive into how he keeps his spending reasonable because so many high-income earners aren’t able to maintain a high savings rate even though they have so much money to work with which he credits to living in reasonable homes, driving cars for 8-10 years, and only eating out a couple of times per month
They were spending between $60k-$70k per year for total expenses with a paid off home
One area where his family has found efficiencies with spending is through travel hacking
Travel hacking just means finding creative ways to use points and miles from things like credit cards and promotions to travel for cheap or even free
He has done this for trips with his family to places like Hawaii and Honduras.
His family spends around $5k per year on travel but estimates that number could be closer to $25k if he didn’t take advantage of travel hacking
We then dive into his goal to spread a message of giving back and his own experiences with doing medical mission work with his family
Then we discuss the mechanics behind a donor fund which allows him to donate money now and disperse it in the future where he’s given up to $100k in a given year
One advantage of these donor funds is that it allows you to donate investments as well as cash so he was able to donate assets that had greatly appreciated to the fund so he was able to avoid capital gains tax...

Mar 5, 2019 • 1h 4min
How to Live a “Save Money” Lifestyle and Enjoy It | Joel & Matt from How to Money
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by the dynamic duo of Joel & Matt from HowToMoney.com and the How to Money Podcast.
The guys met the How to Money crew at FinCon and the rest is history. This fantastic conversation unwraps their backstory and tons of tangible tips. From groceries to real estate, to building a community for their young families, this episode is great for all audiences.
Go give it a listen and let us know what you think!
Episode Summary
Joel discussion starts out describing growing up around financial stress in the household and how that led to a desire to be financially stable
Matt had a better education of finances growing up and had the seed of financial independence placed in his mind
We then discuss the dynamics of teaching our own parents about money which can be touchy and awkward
Even when discussions are natural you have to respect and understand that your views and beliefs may just be too different to agree on, but that doesn’t mean you can’t support each other
The online communities are so powerful because they give us a venue to find people who view finances the same way and help spur on growth and knowledge
The guys discuss the danger of getting hyper-focused on the numbers of financial independence and not enough on the lifestyle you want to have
They also discuss a shift in prioritizing time vs prioritizing money the further they get into their journey
Matt and Joel also call out several things that just simply won’t show up on a spreadsheet such as proximity to friends, stress, and convenience
Matt’s financial journey really took off after finding Dave Ramsey and while he doesn’t agree with everything, it gave him a lot of fundamentals
Matt also credits budgeting which gives you a lot of clarity on where your money is going and highlighting where you can improve your spending
Joel was always cheap and willing to do things for less
His financial journey really took off when he got heavier into real estate where he would live in a house for 2 years, do renovations and move onto the next one.
We then shift gears and unwrap Matt’s grocery budget for a family of 5 which they keep to $450 per month
His main three tips are avoiding processed or prepackaged foods, cheaper cuts of meat such as bone-in chicken thighs that also have more flavor, and watching the overall quantity of food you’re eating since most Americans overeat
Joel mentions another tip which is splitting entrees when eating out since the portions tend to be way bigger than you’d eat at home by yourself
The next tangible money saving we get into is biking
Biking gives you a workout, takes care of your commute, and saves you a ton of money
Joel recommends looking into an electric bicycle for people who maybe have a commute that’s over 10 miles. While they’re more expensive you still can get a workout with the pedal assist and still save money
Joel recommends ElectricBikeReview.com for helping you pick the perfect electric bike
Matt is down to a one car family and Joel is getting close as well
Joel and Matt discuss how they keep the costs of raising children low through creating a community which allows the parents and children to get together and have activities without the costs like registration fees
We then jump deeper into Matt and Joel’s real estate investing
They talk about renting out an extension on one of their houses and Air BnB in the other
Even beyond real estate investing, they both agree that it’s crucial to avoid the urge to keep looking for a bigger house for yourself as your family grows
We finish off the episode with Matt urging people to focus on the big areas of your life like rent or mortgage before worrying about things like cutting coupons
Joel explains how frugality gives us options
Key Takeaways
Look beyond the numbers: We loved the takes both guys had on all of the aspects that are so important to financ...

Feb 26, 2019 • 34min
Achieving FI Through The Trades | Captan DIY
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Captain DIY as he breaks down his journey to becoming a professional electrician and how that intersects with his journey to financial independence.
Cody and Justin have had a chance to hang out with the good Captain a couple of times including down at a Camp FI event.
Go give it a listen and let us know what you think!
Episode Summary
Started money journey 8 years ago when his first child was born
Their goal was to save $20k before their son was born
He found himself spending a lot of his excess money on musical equipment
His biggest change though was bringing his lunch to work and also his toughest
He grew up learning how to build things with his dad but didn't see it as a passion and he went to school for graphic design
He ended up spending 6 years taking community classes
But his leap to being an electrician came from working at a sign shop and realized he might be worth more to them if he was a licensed electrician to wire up the lighting
He recommends starting with small projects to get into the DIY spirit such as changing out handles or painting
He talks about the triple benefit of DIY which is saving money, getting a workout, and a lot of self-satisfaction
Then he jumps into the potential of vocational high schools and apprenticeships vs traditional college and the debt that typically comes with it
He also breaks downs the rates of pay for trades work that you do on your own vs working for another company which is about 4 times
He recommends shopping around and talking with multiple tradesmen before hiring one to protect yourself from getting taken advantage of
Key Takeaways
Understand Value: He saw an opportunity to bring more value to his employer at the sign shop by diversifying his skill. It's always important to know what your boss is looking for and how to make yourself more valuable.
Benefits in bunches: It seems like most skills and routines that we do for some benefit also bring 2nd and 3rd order impacts. As he said, DIY skills help in much broader strokes than just finances.
Pride in your product: It was clear that the reason he has no trouble finding work is that the product he delivers is top-notch. Whatever work or service you do, be honest, upfront, and deliver what you promise. Just think of how much even one bad review poisons your outlook on a product or service you're considering. If you want to build your brand, it has to be a brand people trust.
Call to Action
Make or fix something with your hands. There's just something therapeutic and rewarding to creating something or returning value to something that was previously useless.
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Links from the Episode
Electroboom Exploding Guitar Video
Contact Captain DIY:
His Blog: DIY2FI.com
Twitter: @DIYCaptain
Instagram: @DIYCaptain
Learn More About Your Hosts:
Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Feb 19, 2019 • 50min
Catching the Entrepreneurial Bug | Timika Downes
On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Timika Downes from The House of FI podcast to share her amazing journey. Her story involves marriage, divorce, children, military service, career changes, and six-figure side hustles.
Her constant urge to better herself is truly remarkable and we think no matter what your journey is or where you are on it, this episode has something to offer for you.
Time to go listen, comment and show us some love with those ratings. Enjoy!
Episode Summary
Born to immigrant parents growing up in projects of Boston
In the 5th grade, she was a part of a program where she began attending school in a much more affluent neighborhood
When she got in high school, they moved to a two family home and began house-hacking
Her parents instilled saving money but no deeper financial discussions
She racked up about $94k in debt over the course of her three degrees
Timika ended up with a Master’s in Accounting and a Nursing degree
She talks about how she plans on handling her children’s education based on what she learned from her experience
There was a discussion about a situation she was aware of where the parent’s had different payouts they would support their kid with based on how profitable the degree was they went after.
She got married earlier on and they both made good money and bought a house but they never really managed their money or really worked their way out of debt or built wealth
That marriage ended in divorce at age 30 and was a wake-up moment for her financially
She also joined the military which greatly helped with her college debt
She talks about the great experience the military was and her commitment was 1 weekend per month and a two or three week period every summer and she got a $50k bonus plus pay on those duty weekends.
After being remarried and having a child, she realized she wasn’t going to stick around for 20 years and get retirement so she stepped away from the military.
Once she got debt handled she started looking at side hustles and entrepreneurship
Her first effort was for a breastfeeding product to help women feed at work
Unfortunately, in the end, she realized the profit margins just weren’t good enough
It did, however, teach her how to handle websites and social media campaigns
Her recommendation is to spend your time before you spend your money when looking at a new business idea
Then she found a very successful business venture in a head lice clinic
She got the idea after going through a lice outbreak in a school she was working at as a school nurse
Her clinic utilizes a machine that is leased through a University program that dehydrates the eggs of the lice
You purchase rights to a region for the clinics and now the business is moving to a franchise model
Lice Clinics of America is the organization she utilized to get started
She also mentioned that there is a mobile version of the business people can get involved in now
In her first year, the business made over $100k of revenue
She continues her personal growth by starting a blog, podcast, and even taking coding classes
Her tangible tip is to always look at a problem creatively and deliberately and realize that your journey to financial independence is a marathon and not a sprint
Key Takeaways
Paths aren't always marked: She ended up with three degrees which led to debt but it was part of the process for her to find her path. Some people are lucky enough to have a calling from the time they can talk and others need a little more exploration. Don't compare yourself to others, just focus on finding your path.
Failure is our best teacher: This is one of the most reoccurring lessons I've ever seen with entrepreneurship. Timika didn't strike gold on the breastfeeding business in terms of revenue but the lessons she learned were priceless.
Invest in yourself: I absolutely love her commitment to self-improvement.