The Financial Independence Show

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)