The Financial Independence Show

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)

What kind of wild advantages do you need to retire at 33 comfortably? How extreme must the deprivation be to do this without a miracle? What if we told you that there's no inheritance needed and you can thrive while on the journey? Justin shares his full journey (including all of the numbers) and how he retired at age 33 on BiggerPockets Money. Some topics include: Low-Income to FI Searching for Time Freedom Starting to Invest Calculating Your FI Number How Much He Spends Income and Savings Rates What He's Investing In Create Your FIRE Plan!  If you enjoyed this, please share this episode with a friend! Links From the Episode Justin on BiggerPockets Money 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 & Justin have worked hard on their finances and fitness over the past few years. Through these pursuits, they've noticed many similarities in the methods it takes to be successful in both. Some of these areas include: Compounding Tracking Social norms Mentality Budgeting Unfortunately, the fitness and finance worlds have been purposely overcomplicated for financial gain. We hope we can break through all that noise for you and show you how simple it can be. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it 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)

Is it really possible to reach financial freedom in your 20s? Cody shares his full journey (including all of the numbers) and how he reached financial freedom at 25 on BiggerPockets Money. If you enjoyed this, please share this episode with a friend! Links From the Episode Cody on BiggerPockets Money 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 & Justin catch up on life events, sharing about house flips, travel adventures, and interesting finance articles. Topics include a California law mandating personal finance education, the $1 Per Use Rule, and the importance of financial literacy in high schools. They also discuss real estate flips, profit expectations, summer travel plans, and the power of compound interest for financial growth.

Cody breaks down his various income streams on the Growth House Podcast and how he used them to reach FI at age 25. If you enjoyed this, please share this episode with a friend! Links From the Episode Jesse Ray on The FI Show Growth House Podcast 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)

From an early age, Ramon knew that he wasn't cut out for corporate America. So, in his early 20s, with only $1,000 to his name, he took a chance and got his real estate license. After many hard lessons yet eventual success, he decided to open his own brokerage just two years later. The astonishing thing is that Ramon opened a brokerage when he was only 24 years old. He now runs one of the top brokerages in the entire country! In this podcast, he shares the entire journey including the ups and downs of the business, revenue and income numbers, and what continues to motivate him. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Ramon's Instagram Ramon's YouTube Ramon's Real Estate Brokerage Ramon's Real Estate Media Company YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/Fiur7fzktRc 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)