

The Financial Independence Show
Cody Berman and Justin Taylor
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 6, 2023 • 50min
Private Lending (How She Raised $5M+ from Social Media) | Soli Cayetano
If you want to make it big in real estate you need some sort of advantage, right?
A big social media following, experience, connections... something.
Our guest today, Soli Cayetano from Lattes and Leases, will show you how that couldn't be further from the truth.
In 2020, Soli was a senior in college trying to navigate a pandemic.
She had no family in real estate, no rich uncle, and no investment experience.
Plus, she lived in the Bay Area -- one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country.
She became obsessed with educating herself about real estate investing and surrounded herself with accomplished investors.
Fresh out of college at 22, she built up the courage to purchase an out-of-state investment property in Cincinnati, Ohio — and the rest was history.
After working her 9-5, she would continue to work 5-9 to build her real estate portfolio.
She went from having no social media or connections in real estate to using social media to raise $5M+ in private capital and buying 25+ units in less than 2 years.
This allowed her to replace her income, quit her job, and become a full-time real estate investor.
Today, she can be found traveling the world and teaching others how to reach financial independence via real estate.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don't forget to share this podcast with a friend!
Links From the Episode
Out of State Investor Academy (Free Summit)
Follow Soli on Instagram
Lattes and Leases Website
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/q3M22CunX_Y
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)

Aug 30, 2023 • 48min
How They Retired at 27 & 28 (Replay) | James and Emily Lowery
Retiring early is certainly not a race, but the guests we have today are one of the fastest we've ever seen to do it.
James and Emily retired in less than 2 years from the day they began making moves towards early retirement.
They both had frugal habits with James coming from an especially low-income background.
They met at a local community college and were both able to graduate college debt-free through a mix of financial aid and a little help from parents.
Emily would take a job starting at $60k and James was at $35k per year in Huntsville, Alabama.
Even though they were in an affordable area with $95k of income, they weren’t saving a dime.
In 2016, James was at work and someone said they came across a website that changed their life.
The website was Mr. Money Mustache.
James immediately dove into this site as well then came home adjusting water heaters and spitting out all the things they were going to cut from their lives…probably too aggressively he’ll admit.
They estimate they cut their expenses down to $35k the next year after discovering the topic.
After cutting their expenses down as low as they could they looked to accelerate their path even more through real estate investing.
They bought their first property in the Summer of 2017 and quickly scaled to 11 properties.
Most of these units were purchased for under $50k, and all of them bring in over 1% of the cost back via rent.
Example: A $50k house that brings in $500 is bringing in 1% every month
All of the homes were bought using traditional mortgages and when they retired, they had enough money cash flowing every month to cover over 2x their expenses.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don't forget to share this podcast with a friend!
Links From the Episode
James' and Emily's Website
Follow them on Instagram
Their Short-Term Rental Course
All Their Free Resources
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)

Aug 23, 2023 • 45min
Mindset, Manifestation, and Your Why of FI | Adam Coelho
You can learn the mechanics and math needed to reach financial independence in a couple of weeks.
The math is intimidating to so many people but it's not the math that keeps most people from reaching their goals.
It's their mindset.
That's where Adam Coelho's expertise comes in.
Adam Coelho is the host of The Mindful FIRE Podcast, a show about crafting a life you love and making work optional using mindfulness, envisioning, and financial independence.
Adam believes crafting a life you love starts with answering the question "What do I truly want?".
He helps people answer that question so they can start living the life they dream of right now.
He’s also a father, husband, entrepreneur, speaker and facilitator.
For the last 13 years Adam has worked in sales at Google, where in addition to his core role, he’s taught mindfulness, envisioning, and emotional intelligence to over 2,500 Googlers around the world.
We truly believe that these mentality skills are even more important than any level of comprehension to something like a tax code.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don't forget to share this podcast with a friend!
Links From the Episode
Free Envisioning Guide
Mindful FIRE Website
Adam's LinkedIn
Adam's Instagram
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/z3cO_nH9yP8
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)

Aug 16, 2023 • 43min
Bad Personal Finance Takes (Part 1)
In this episode, the hosts debunk bad personal finance takes found on social media, including the misconception that luxury expenses motivate individuals to work harder. They discuss the importance of personal finance management, the truth about 401(k)s, the value of a good credit score, the controversy of going out to eat while paying off debt, and the misconception that most successful people are dumb and lucky. They emphasize the importance of personal responsibility and taking action for achieving financial stability and success.

Aug 9, 2023 • 55min
Choosing FI | Brad Barrett
We like to think we put out some of the best financial independence content for you as a podcast listener.
But it's hard to argue that Brad Barrett has influenced more podcast listeners than just about anyone else in the financial independence space.
Brad is the host of the wildly successful podcast, ChooseFI.
ChooseFI has been downloaded over 65 million times with 4,700+ 5-star reviews.
In today's episode, we touch on some of the following with Brad:
How he discovered financial independence
His main takeaways after hundreds of interviews
How the FI space has changed over the last several years
Why the small details don't matter
Designing your dream life on your FI journey
and much more
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don't forget to share this podcast with a friend!
Links From the Episode
ChooseFI
The FI Weekly Newsletter
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/PVmZN9nkVaE
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)

Aug 2, 2023 • 43min
10 Money Tips for 2023 (Replay)
We're hopping in the time machine and re-airing one of our most popular episodes.
In this episode, we share our opinion on some of the biggest money topics.
While this episode originally aired in 2019, our views have remained largely the same.
These tips have helped us grow our combined net worth to over $3.5M! So don't sleep on the fundamentals.
Some of the major topics include:
Credit Card Balances
We discuss why you should ALWAYS be using a credit card
The need for setting up autopay to pay off the full balance
Neither of us recommends carrying any balance
Rent vs Buy
Keep in mind closing costs, HOAs, insurance, etc
It’s much more complicated than just comparing a mortgage to your rent
If you can go beyond and do things like house hacking, then buying is certainly a great option
New vs Used
Justin recommends buying a car that’s 5 years old on a deal
Then keep that car for two to three years and try to sell it before you hit 100k
Good vs Bad Debt
Obviously, there is some debt that’s terrible such as credit cards with 15% interest
Then there is a middle ground where it’s debt that doesn’t earn revenue but allows you to invest more
Going to College
Going to a community college first isn’t a no-brainer
It's so important to be intentional
Many trades and technical skills don’t require a college degree
Filling Up Savings Accounts
Inflation can be destructive
Many people have avoided investing during uncertain times
Buy and hold
Life Insurance
What kind should you get?
Does whole life insurance ever make sense?
What do the experts say (our episode with Sa El)
Financial Advisors
There's value to using a tax specialist but most don't need a financial advisor
It may be a good idea to pay a one-time fee for an advisor to help set up a plan you’re comfortable with
These advisors often charge at least 1% which can really add up
You can see how much these fees are costing you by using Empower’s Fee Analyzer tool.
We truly believe these fundamentals can radically change your life regardless how far you are into your journey.
If you got value out of 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)

Jul 26, 2023 • 53min
Millionaire in 9 Months through Wholesaling Real Estate | Mike DeHaan
Buying a home and then flipping it or renting it isn't the only way to be a real estate investor.
What if you could just find incredible deals on homes and then line up a buyer looking for a good deal to flip or buy?
That's exactly what Mike DeHaan from the Collecting Keys podcast is doing, and it's the core of what wholesale real estate is.
Mike started in real estate by hustling to complete a few flips and using the proceeds to buy his first rental properties.
Eventually, he started to feel a bit burnt out though.
Instead of flipping the properties himself, Mike decided to sell the right to buy the properties to other investors (aka wholesaling) and the rest is history.
As of today, Mike owns over $12 million worth of real estate and has completed 300+ transactions.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don't forget to share this podcast with a friend!
Links From the Episode
Collecting Keys Podcast
Collecting Keys YouTube channel
Mike's Instagram
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/6XU7ez8udEI
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)

Jul 19, 2023 • 51min
Digitization, Banking, and the World Economy | Emmanuel Daniel
We typically focus a lot on the micro (saving, earning, and investing), but today, we're talking all about the macro.
Emmanuel Daniel is a Singapore-based entrepreneur, writer and global thought leader in finance.
He was listed as a top 10 global influencer in the “Fintech Power 50” list for 2021 and 2022.
In simple terms... he knows his stuff.
Some of the topics we discuss include:
Interest rates - how they're set, where they're headed
The banking industry as a whole
The digitization of everything
Crypto and blockchain technology
The world economy
The Great Transition
Biggest risks to our economy
and various other topics.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don't forget to share this podcast with a friend!
Links From the Episode
Emmanuel's Website
The Great Transition > You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Jul 12, 2023 • 52min
50+ Failed Business and The Art of Dabbling | Pete McPherson
Do you know deep down, what you're doing isn't what you're meant to be doing?
That was Pete McPherson's situation.
As Pete would put it, he used to be a boring accountant, complete with a CPA license, years of corporate experience, a fantastic salary–and pretty much the rest of the “American Dream”.
But he decided to give all that up for entrepreneurship.
After 50+ failed businesses, Pete found success in 2017 with his site Do You Even Blog, and the rest is history.
In this episode, we cover:
Mindset and motivation
How to determine the "right" side hustle
When to double down and when to give up
Turning a side hustle into a full-time business
Automating everything
and various other topics.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don't forget to share this podcast with a friend!
Links From the Episode
Do You Even Blog
The Do You Even Blog Podcast
Pete's YouTube Channel
Twitter
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/YdC-y9Grhh4
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)

Jul 5, 2023 • 32min
Remote Work Strategies (for W2s and Entrepreneurs)
Many people want financial independence to do whatever they want, go wherever they want, and spend time with whomever they want.
But too often in this pursuit, people run themselves into the ground trying to obtain this freedom as quickly as possible.
What if you could see the world and work toward FI?
Wouldn't that take some stress off? Wouldn't you be able to enjoy the journey so much more?
There is good news.
This is all very possible, and more likely today than at any other time in history.
Remote work has unlocked location independence and an overall sense of freedom we've never seen for those still working full-time.
Some highlights of this episode include:
how to ask to go fully remote
considerations for the remote work lifestyle
managing your time as an entrepreneur
how to save money as a digital nomad
geohacking and house sitting
... and more.
Don't make yourself miserable because you think that's what it takes to be happy and free. Challenge what you think is possible with your life and your career.
If you know someone who you think may be interested in remote work or if you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend!
YouTube Video
https://youtu.be/Q8pJ-0ads5s
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)