The Financial Independence Show

The first portion of this podcast is feedback from last week's episode: The Low-Hanging Fruits of FI. Anonymous talks about Project FI and tells us about calling to get cell phone data reports. Cody's mom asks us to clarify how WiFi works. Luke from Forming the Life talks about the power of automation. Jeremy corrects Cody about AskTrim and mentions Truebill. Mike weighs in about Sling TV for watching football. Emily tells us about saving money on groceries with Checkout 51. Camp FI South The second portion of this episode was recorded LIVE from Camp FI South! Whitney Hansen of Money Nerds, Paul Thompson of Ready Investor One, TJ and I all asked the attendees to share their #1 takeaway from Camp FI. Enjoy! Doc G – “Knowing that you have a group of people to support you at a hard time in life, who come to the world with the same worldview is really magical” “Content creators tend to shout at the world, but there a lot of people out there who are whispering and if you listen closely you can learn a lot.” Contact him at Diversefi.com! James Lowery – “You don’t need as much… it seems like it takes a long time to see any progress, but then once you notice the progress it’s already taken off at that point” Contact him at RethinkTheRatRace.com! Ruth Bresnahan – “Personal growth is the most important thing. If you’re not experiencing personal growth, then your quality of life will go down no matter where you are in the journey” Justin Taylor – “Stop being so focused on this large nest egg number…giving me that confidence to step away and make it all work out” Contact him at Saving-Sherpa.com! Captain DIY – “Remove the idea of the nest egg number and take away the money aspect. Learn to enjoy the journey… The FI journey itself is such a growth experience” Contact him at DIY2FI.com! Doug Nordman – “I did not expect the level of interest in raising a money-smart kid… I’ve learned as a blogger that when you get the same questions over and over again you probably should write about it” Contact him at The-Military-Guide.com! Stephen Baughier – “I appreciate you guys coming this weekend, and all of the other people who are listening who have come to a Camp FI previously this year, I appreciate you for being a part of this and hopefully we’ll have a successful 2019 and make more connections.” Contact him at CampFI.org! 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 FIRE Below Zero community! Join our Facebook Group Sign up for our newsletter Leave us a voicemail Links from the Episode Camp FI ______ Project FI Unreal Mobile Ask Trim Truebill Sling TV Project FI Ready Investor One Money Nerds Forming The Life Diversefi Rethink The Rat Race Saving Sherpa Diy2fi The Military Guide Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog) Half Life Theory (TJ’s blog)

In this week's episode, Cody and TJ discuss the low-hanging fruits of FI. These are the changes you can make in your life today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, and so on that can drastically improve your financial position. Tune in and get ready to pick these low-hanging fruits! Episode Summary Housing: Makes up 33% of average American household expenditure House hacking – Purchasing a primary residence and renting out units/bedrooms in order to subsidize the cost of your housing. Downsizing / Living Below Your Means – Find the most affordable housing option in your area that suits your needs. This strategy is less extreme than house hacking, but still a powerful tactic for reducing your monthly expenses. Transportation: Makes up 17% of average American household expenditure Leasing a car is one of the worst financial choices you can possibly make. You are literally throwing money out of the window. Don’t do it! Buy a car outright. Find something that is fairly cheap and if possible, pay in cash! If you need to make monthly payments, pay it off as soon as possible. Never buy a new car. The car loses more than 20% of its value the second it leaves the lot. Find a used car that’s “like new” and save yourself from giving up your hard-earned dollars. Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses... Cody and TJ bet that you can find a decent car for $10,000 or less. Food: Makes up 13% of average American household expenditure When grocery shopping, make a list and stick to it! Cody recommends the AnyList app. However, if there is a similar on-sale item to an item on your list, go for it! Do what makes sense. You don't need to spend hours clipping coupons to save $0.35 here and there. TJ highly recommends Aldi... he spends $50-70 per week for a family of three and claims that he "splurges"! If there isn't a location near you, figure out which store has the best deals and shop intentionally. Limit eating out at restaurants. Once in a while is okay, but too much eating out can substantially impact your ability to save money. Services: You have a lot more power than you think when it comes to service companies. Whether it be insurance, power, or electric -- these companies want your business! Shop around, pick up the phone and negotiate your rates. If you don't want to call the companies yourself, sign up with AskTrim and they will negotiate your rates for you! They take a 33% cut from whatever they save, but this completely eliminates the efforts on your end. Discretionary Spending: Cody and TJ are a bit more lenient in this category if and only if you have a solid financial footing. If you've done everything else right, a Starbucks coffee won't break the budget. However, if you are living paycheck to paycheck, these are things you need to cut out! Track which clothes you actually wear. Donate what you don't! Cody cleared out 75% of his closet and feels great. Phone, Internet, Cable: Cut the cord on cable! You can just have WiFi and watch your favorite shows and movies online. Use an HDMI cord to hook up your computer to the internet. Don't get suckered into the fancy bundles. C'mon... you don't need a landline. Some cheap cell phone plans include Project FI and pre-paid plans. Stop paying for crazy, unlimited data plans and switch to something cheaper! Football Season You don't need cable to watch the game! Every NFL game is available on Reddit.com/nflstreams. Or, check with your local channels to see if any games are available. 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 FIRE Below Zero community! Join our Facebook Group Sign up for our newsletter Leave us a voicemail Links from the Episode The Company Men Movie AnyList Grocery App Aldi AskTrim Project FI Unreal Mobile

PT Money is the founder of FinCon and a personal finance blogger at PTMoney.com. In today’s episode, I get a chance to interview him LIVE at FinCon to share his financial journey. Episode Summary Around age 24, PT realized that he was “not moving forward financially”. He describes how he “had debt” and “wasn’t saving at all”. After discovering Dave Ramsey, PT used the debt snowball approach to pay down his loans. Diving deeper into the rabbit hole, PT started reading personal finance websites and learning that he should max out his 401K, IRA, and HSA accounts. PT’s savvy investing was mainly driven by his “anti-government, anti-establishment” mindset and the notion of “reducing taxes as much as possible”. In order to further advance his financial position, PT started to automate his contributions and invest in a taxable account (after maxing out his pre-tax accounts). Around this same time, PT started his blog PT Money in order to document his financial journey. He soon discovered that this “hobby” could earn him some real money. He went from earning his mortgage payment, to 1/3 of his W2 income, to ½ of his W2 income before quitting his day job in 2010. Running PTMoney.com soon became his day job, so naturally, he needed a new side hustle! In 2011, FinCon was born! PT was not satisfied with the other personal finance conferences he attended, so he decided to start his own. He created a map outlining the location of all of his personal finance blogger friends. After careful deliberation, he decided that Chicago was the best location to host his first event. In order to make the event successful, PT diligently studied other conferences and leaned on his network for their expertise. He says “I tend to lean on people I trust”. The first FinCon had nearly 250 attendees (compared to the 30 expected from PT). At this LIVE FinCon 2018 interview, there were OVER 2,000 people at the event! Key Takeaways Just get started! – PT says that he had no idea what he was doing when he first launched his blog in 2007. He just “leaned into the passion and put down the distractions”. Fortunately, he quickly realized that this hobby of his could bring in some real money. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is “don’t feel like you need to jump into it… don’t be afraid to do it on the side”. It took PT three years after starting his blog to quit his day job, you don’t have to take a crazy entrepreneurial leap if you don’t want to.   Leverage Your Network – Having a strong network is so powerful for an entrepreneur. PT leaned on the expertise of his friends and colleagues to make FinCon successful. His first three employees were all friends from college! He warns “don’t feel like whatever you've created needs to be solely under your control or in your name.” Open-source entrepreneurship allows you to play to your strengths and to let others complement your weaknesses. Don’t be afraid to leverage your network! 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 FIRE Below Zero community! Join our Facebook Group Sign up for our newsletter Leave us a voicemail Links from the Episode PT Money | Twitter FinCon 2019 Dave Ramsey Consumerism Commentary Bargaineering.com Automatic Contributions WordCamps Blog World Expo Affiliate Summits Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)

In today's episode, we get a chance to talk to Lily from The Frugal Gene about her accelerated path to financial independence. By choosing to avoid lifestyle inflation, Lily and her husband are able to save 90% of their income. The crazy part is that she thinks this is "normal"! Tune in to hear her incredible story about intentionality, happiness, and frugality. 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 FIRE Below Zero community! Join our Facebook Group Sign up for our newsletter Leave us a voicemail Key Takeaways You can never be too careful - Lily highlights the insane returns that investors have enjoyed during this bull market. She advises that you should build some kind of side income streams, or wait until the next recession hits before you pull the trigger on early retirement. Even though Lily and her husband are at FI by most standards, she suspects that they will continue to work for 10+ years in order to build a colossal safety net. Live the life you want to live TODAY - You don't need permission to pursue your dream lifestyle. Create a plan and take action! You don't have to take the "normal" route and suffer for countless years at a job you don't enjoy. If you don't like something... don't do it! The benefits of a high-cost-of-living area - If you are intentional with your money and with your savings, you can thrive in a HCOL area. Here are some of the benefits that Lily explains: Ability to charge higher rent, tons of free activities, access to public transportation, and more! Links from the Episode The Frugal Gene (Lily's Blog) | Twitter Airbnb Mr. Money Mustache Financial Samurai Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog) Half Life Theory (TJ’s blog)

How to Get a Full Ride to College Noah and Becky worked as Caddies all throughout high school, making a good amount of money during the summer, but most importantly earned a full-ride scholarship (The Chick Evans Scholarship) to Purdue University (tuition and housing). This set them up to graduate college without debt. Because of the intentionality of both Noah and Becky and their parents they started their career at a zero net worth vs a negative six-figure net worth like most couples today. One too Many Promotions After graduating and finding the concept of FIRE, Noah and Becky saved diligently, because they wanted to be responsible with their money. Their saving and investing really found purpose when work became so stressful. Becky had risen up the rungs of the corporate ladder, and found herself feeling very stressed. This is when FIRE became a logical alternative. Build up enough cash reserves to walk away or take a Gap year, which they are doing at this point. The Gap Year FI After coming up with the plan to take some time off, Noah and Becky begin to take action toward realizing that goal. They liquidated everything in their house and began renting it. They got a storage unit to shelter some of those important keepsakes, and then they hit the road in their Mazda 3 Hatchback. Noah and Becky are traveling the country together, with a very modest amount of items, but most importantly they are having the adventure of their lives together, seeing these amazing sites all through the country, but also stopping to spend time with friends and family along the way. Funding the Gap Year Noah and Becky made the plan to fund this trip without drawing down on any investments. So in the months leading up to taking their gap year, they saved cash outside of retirement accounts, specifically to fund this trip. They racked up a ton of travel rewards, which has helped them supplement their trip. Back in Seattle Noah and Becky were spending somewhere around that $60,000/year threshold, now they are traveling the country full time, having the trip of a lifetime, and only spending $40,000/year! 75 Credit Cards to Free Travel Noah and Becky discovered travel hacking on Reddit. They quickly implemented the strategy, churning credit cards (opening new credit cards for the sole purpose of banking introductory signup offer). With each card having a $500-$1000 value introductory offer, they have earned approximately $50,000-$100,000 in travel credit to make travel more affordable and enjoyable. Anybody can repeat this strategy! You can get started with your first card today by applying through our travel rewards partner. What could you do with $50,000 for travel? We know this is an awful lot of money, but this strategy is not so difficult to implement. It’s about making the intentional choice. What about your Credit Score? Most would assume that Noah and Becky would have taken huge hits to their credit score by applying for 70+ plus credit cards….. But the opposite has actually happened. Their credit scores continue to go up as they have more accounts, all having on-time payments. They have found their scores in the 800’s now because of it. The Ultimate Redemption For their honeymoon, Noah and Becky traveled to Fiji and New Zealand. Spending about a week in New Zealand and 2 weeks in Fiji, having an absolutely amazing time, but only spent about $500 total for the trip. The actual retail value for the 3-week trip that they took, would have cost about $14,000, yet they managed to do it for only $500. This is the power of travel rewards! As incredible as this sounds we all can implement these strategies, simply by starting to take action today. Fitness and FIRE Noah and Becky are very interested in physical fitness, as money is not the most important thing on this journey, it is important to stay on top of health and fitness. Noah has competed in the World’s Toughest Mudder,

Starting from a 3rd world Country TJ shares his story and what life was like growing up in Nigeria. Born in a middle-class family, his father instilled basic money ideas that have stuck with him even as he pursues financial independence. He learned from his father to be frugal, and intentional with money. Only focusing money on things that bring true value to his life. Always Capitalize on Opportunity TJ shares how there are only so many opportunities growing up in a third world country. However, being in the US, or other first world countries, we have so many more opportunities available to us. And it is so important that we take full advantage of them. “a lot of times our world gets so small” This quote is so powerful and true. We forget that all over the world there are millions of people who do not have access to the opportunities we have. We should always recognize that privilege and always capitalize on these opportunities. Believing in the Midst of Adversity After earning his Masters in Mechanical Engineering TJ struggled finding work. It was the lowest point in his life, and it forces him to grow as a person. In those days, TJ and his wife had a combined household income of $24K/year. He credits The Alchemist, as the spark for finding hope in the midst of a hopeless situation. This was what broke the chains and made him start making changes. Finding Personal Finance After picking up reading, TJ found Dave Ramsey, who first introduced him to personal finance and other money concepts. At this point, their income had significantly increased, as well as their savings rate. The first couple years focused on paying off debt as Dave suggests. After the debt was gone, it was time to move on to bigger and better things! Starting a FIRE Naturally after graduating from the Dave Ramsey mindset, TJ dove deep into the personal finance world, and found the concept of FIRE. Following other bloggers, and learning from them, TJ and his wife started to implement these strategies that have essentially changed their life! “The people that are doing this are no better than you”, we can’t stress this point enough. You only need to make an intentional choice with your money to crush the FI game. Think Differently Our message is to be more open-minded. VTSAX is an awesome investment lever, but it is not the ONLY way. We want to encourage people to be more open-minded, and learn all these different strategies that exist out there, like possibly investing a small portion of your net worth in single stocks. Or using leveraged real estate to build wealth vs buying 100% cash down. We want to be open-minded enough to explore all these strategies. Focus on Growing Income Don’t settle for a $20K a year income. Let that be your starting point. Each one of us has the capacity to make more income, we just need to pick up more skills to command more income in the marketplace. It is not about putting anyone down; it is about encouraging people to reach their full potential. Random Fun Facts: TJ had his first McChicken at age 17!!! Join the Community Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of the FIRE Below Zero Podcast. Here are some awesome ways to say in touch, and always have these ideas and strategies at your fingertips Join our Facebook Group Sign up for our newsletter Leave us a voicemail Resources Tools of Titans The Alchemist Personal Capital Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog) Half Life Theory (TJ’s blog)

How to Find FIRE Being naturally frugal, Brad kind of stumbled his way into FIRE. After starting the 9-5, Brad anticipated working like the typical employee and retiring at age 59 ½ with millions of dollars. Before long on this path, Brad came to the realization that he didn’t find a lot of joy in spending a lot of money. That is when the FIRE was sparked and Brad dove in headfirst into learning more about escaping the hamster wheel. Getting Your Spouse on Board Brad and his wife Ashley have always been on the same page with money. They both realized that spending money on frivolous things was not a priority. Rather saving and focusing on happiness outside of material things was their top priority. Brad’s Tip on Marriage: Make sure you are looking for a spouse that has a similar mindset as you about money. Otherwise, you will have a lot bigger issues than money down the line! The Limiting Belief of the Cost of Having Children There is a popular misconception in the FIRE community, that kids cost too much money, and that they can be a drain on finances. The truth is, it doesn’t have to be that way. Yes, diapers and baby food, and toys cost money, but if you are intentional about finances, having children shouldn’t drastically affect your budget. Another mistake we make is ripping the things that bring our kids joy, out of their hands BECAUSE it costs money. And that is just no way to live, they are the reason we pursue FIRE, we shouldn’t make their lives miserable to save money. Traveling with a kid isn’t easy, Brad and his wife are constantly tiptoeing around the RV at certain hours because their daughter is asleep, but it’s all worth it for them. Actionable Quote: “You just lean into that discomfort and go with it!” Making the Jump from Banking Brad started his career in banking as a financial advisor after studying economics in college. He quickly realized 6 months into his career, that this wasn’t the life for him, and he started plotting his way out of this “lucrative career”, literally willing to accept any job that came his way. Next, he landed a tech job using Salesforce as a junior administrator. He leaned into the career and gave it 100% effort. Within 6 months he was stacking certifications which ultimately led to him making more money. He went from $36,000 a year to $110,000 within 2 years! Designing a Life Worth Living When Brad found out he and his wife were expecting, he decided to transition to part-time work as a sales force consultant. He could have continued along the trajectory he was already going, but he decided to spend more time with his wife and daughter were much more important. He messaged local companies via LinkedIn looking for part-time work. One gave him a shot by means of a 2-week contract, and he absolutely knocked it out of the park. Starting Your Own Company With all the freed up mind space from going from working 60-80-hour work weeks to only working 20 hours a week, Brad decided to step outside of his comfort zone and start his own business. Again, as we see consistently in Brad’s story, he jumped in head first, started his company over a weekend and started taking on new clients. Now he is only working 25 hours a week and making over $150,000 a year Brad’s Actionable Tip: Google “your state” + “how to start an LLC” I know it sounds funny, but it is really that simple, yet most people won’t do it! Traveling the Country Brad and his wife are traveling the country in an RV. This isn’t something that has been a lifelong passion for them. They literally heard a friend talking about it one day, and in 6 weeks they had rented out their house bought a truck and RV and hit the road. Brad and Ashley hardly stay places longer than a week. They are constantly exploring new spots ad locations. Trips are planned not much more than 2-3 weeks in advance. They just dive in and explore! Quote of the Episode: “Back yourself into a corner and figure out ...

What FIRE Means to Us Cody and TJ share their biggest reasons for pursuing financial independence. On their path, they’ve learned that money is just a tool, and it should not control your life. This concept simply allows you to buy your time back. It allows you take back control of your future, and focus all of your waking hours on things you are absolutely passionate about. This what makes FIRE so important! Highlighted Idea: Cody says he is “not getting the best use of his life hours” by crunching numbers behind a desk or working on projects that mean nothing to him. A Backwards System TJ highlights how we have been conditioned from a young age to pursue things that don’t matter…. Like getting a good degree, so you can find a good job, to make the most money. What’s sad is, these things are never enough. So we double down, in hopes of getting a promotion, or a 10% raise. These things mean nothing! FIRE frees you from that hamster wheel mentality. Instead of going down a path that leaves you stuck for 40 years, spend the next 5-10 years designing a life you can’t wait to live! The Trappings of the Hamster Wheel Stop spending your money and all of your paycheck trying to keep up with the jones. When all you do is focus on buying new stuff, you literally trap yourself I the 9-5, with no possible means of escaping. “They cannot leave their job no matter how miserable they get, no matter how much they hate their job, they cannot leave…” Does this sound familiar? This is the sad reality many Americans are living today! Make a change. Choose a different future! It Takes Introspection These days we are constantly bombarded with ads about how inadequate we are. And about how we need all these external items to make us happy. So we spend 40 years doing the same thing every single day, in hopes of catching that ever elusive leprechaun…. Happiness! It takes introspection to realize that all you really want is your time back. Time to spend with family, and loved ones. FIRE will set you free! It is Simple Math Cody highlights an actual example, take the example of a person spending, $2,000 a month to rent a house, and $400 a month to lease a car. Just by being intentional and finding a way to cut those expenses I half, they can save close to $15,000 a year! Just choose value over keeping up with the Joneses. By making these types of choice in multiple other aspects of your life like this, it is easy to understand how one can quickly save tons and tons of money. Life After Retirement Both Cody and TJ are on the fast lane on the path to FI. TJ is realizing that he may want to pull the retirement trigger even long before officially hitting FI. When you find your passions, those are the things you want to spend most of your time doing. FIRE allows you to find yourself Cody’s post-retirement life involves not only podcasting but teaching kids in high school and college about money and finances, traveling the world with his girlfriend, and helping others who might be less fortunate. Join the Community Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of the FIRE Below Zero Podcast. Here are some awesome ways to say in touch, and always have these ideas and strategies at your fingertips Join our Facebook Group Sign up for our newsletter Resources Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog) Half Life Theory (TJ’s blog) Personal Capital

What exactly is FIRE? Financial independence, retire early. Financial independence is based on the 4% rule which was formulated from the Trinity study, the idea is that if you can survive comfortably at a 4% withdrawal rate from your nest egg (invested assets), provided that the assets were invested in low-cost index funds, you essentially never had to work for money ever again. Which brings in the RE portion (retire early). If you can build up a nest egg with 25 times your annual expenses (inverse of 4%), you could essentially retire early. It just depends on how quickly you can build up those assets. Useful related resources: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/ What’s the Alternative? The hamster wheel…. This is the path that awaits most Americans. 40 years in an unfulfilling job, doing something you completely hate. This is depressing, yet this is the path most choose! The Solution? Being intentional with money. Choosing to live way below your means. Cody mentioned working in a W2 banking job, yet ONLY spending $12K a year. This is a choice Cody made to escape the hamster wheel! Cody also talked about building side hustles that can cover his monthly expenses, like starting a blog, podcast and a disc golf company. Related resources: The 4-Hour Workweek SiteGround (website hosting service) “We’re on the same path but didn’t come from the same point” – This is such a powerful idea. Everyone’s journey will look completely different, but we can all implement these simple strategies and change our lives! Just a few years ago TJ was unemployed and in debt, now he and his wife are well on their way to financial independence. Moral of the story, just start! Our Gift to You Cody has a superpower he shares with us on the podcast. And we are so excited to share this with you! We will need some group participation, but this will be well worth your time for the gift at the end! Join the Community Thank you so much for joining us for the first episode. Here are some awesome ways to say in touch, and always have these ideas and strategies at your fingertips. Join our Facebook Group Sign up for our newsletter Resources Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog) Half Life Theory (TJ’s blog)