The Financial Independence Show

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Have you always dreamed of owning a vending machine business? Probably not but Mike Hoffmann aka Mr. Passive is here to tell you why you absolutely should. Mike's passive income journey started at the time when he was working a 60-hour week job that paid him only $1,200/month. He then started experimenting with rental properties, Bitcoin mining, and a bunch of other income streams. One of those income streams quickly became his favorite: vending machines. Vending machines are an often overlooked but extremely powerful passive income source to fuel an early retirement. Mike walks us through the types of machines to use, the profit margins, how to stock them, how to land a deal with a location, how to hire help, and even how you can start one of these businesses with just a couple hundred dollars. He's been able to build a vending route that includes over a dozen machines and thousands of dollars in profit each month. If you're interested in getting your vending machine journey, Mike also offers a coaching program to help you get started with step-by-step instructions. FI Show listeners get $190 off Mike's Vending Accelerator program with code FISHOW10 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 Mike's Website Mike's Twitter Vending Machine Business Accelerator (use code FISHOW10)  YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/vHVQ6PtS-Ig 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)

You could lose your job, your business could fail, but even if your income drops to zero, there's one thing you won't lose: skills. In our last episode with Grant Sabatier, he said skills are the future currency and we couldn't agree more. With a good mix of skills, you will both increase your earning potential and decrease your income requirements. In this episode, we introduce a concept we came up with around offensive and defensive skills. With offensive skills being those used to generate income, and defensive skills being utilized to save on expenses. The reality is that many skills can be dual-purposed. Breaking it down further, you can bucket these skills into those that you're simply good at and those that you have and are passionate about. Some examples of skills we cover in the episode. Networking Carpentry Finding deals Cooking Blogging Sales Adaptability Fitness We truly believe that obtaining skills is the ultimate hack to widening your gap between income and expenses. And that is the name of the game for early retirement. If you got value out of this episode, please share it with a friend! Links From The Episode Grant Sabatier's Episode 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)

Today, we're re-airing our most downloaded episode featuring Grant Sabatier, owner of Millennial Money and author of Financial Freedom. Grant graduated with a philosophy degree and would bounce around 4 jobs after college while being laid off twice. He spent what money he had going on a big trip to Africa before he ended up back at his parents with $2.26 at age 24. It was 2010 and his parents gave him a 3-month time limit to figure things out. Grant realized that no matter what he did,  he was going to be trading life for money. With that knowledge, he became focused on how he could make as much as possible and as fast as possible. A few weeks later he discovered Google Mobile Ads as well as a free certification course which allowed him to get hired on making $50k per year. The work just kept snowballing from there and he found himself working 7 days a week. He spread himself across tons of projects including Google Ads, building websites, and even flipping VW vans. A big point of emphasis from Grant is knowing where you want to go and then focusing on how much you need to make to get there. Do that instead of settling on what you think you’re worth. He also admits that he should have slowed down a little bit on his journey to financial independence. Grant believes you can be just as addicted to saving money as someone who is addicted to spending it and both are dangerous. His wish is that everyone who finds themselves in a job they didn’t love would take 6 months off to discover their passions. This episode is jam-packed with value but our top three takeaways were: Skills are future currency: Grant speculates that, in the future, our economy will operate in such a fashion that each of us represents our own little “island” of talent. Our skill sets and capabilities will determine how much we earn and succeed. Start learning some new skills and building your future currency net worth! Take a step back and breathe: After Grant set his goal of accumulating $1.25M, he turned his engine on hyperdrive. If he could turn back time, he says that he would have taken a step back to breathe and realize all of the freedom he had already created at that moment in time. Enjoy the journey! Budgets Shouldn’t Restrict You: If you feel extremely deprived on a budget like Grant did, it might not be a great option for you. Instead, get the big things right (housing, transportation, and food) and then spend your money on the things that truly bring you joy. You don’t have to cut out your Starbucks! 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 Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You’ll Ever Need Millennial Money – Grant’s Blog Grant's Twitter Grant's YouTube 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)

When it comes to building businesses, Nick Huber from The Sweaty Startup is the real deal. Back in college, Nick had some extra space in his apartment and someone was looking for storage. Seeing an opportunity, he gladly offers up his room as storage space. When that fills up, he starts collaborating with some of his roommates to use their rooms as storage for the summer. Fast forward a few years, and Nick had a 7-figure storage business on his hands. This wasn't some radical new idea and yet it turned out to be radically profitable. Nick feels like most businesses fail because people get too fixated on creating the next revolutionary thing instead of just solving the problem in front of them. He breaks this down by listing his top 3 reasons businesses fail: New idea syndrome = huge risk, educating customers that you even exist, and competing with huge money and venture capital. Change the world = It is not realistic for an inexperienced entrepreneur without massive capital to change the world. Passion projects = people start businesses based on their own selfish desires and their own interests and not what the market wants. Many of Nick's businesses came from scratching his own itch. He hires a company, sees glaring inefficiencies, figures out how to do it better, and then productizes the new system into a business. This has happened multiple times and he now runs a portfolio of successful businesses. We also cover how Nick is using a strategy called cost segregation to pay $0 in income tax despite making millions of dollars in net income (he even started his own cost segregation business after seeing so many inefficiencies in the market). 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 Personal Brand - https://sweatystartup.com/ Self Storage - https://boltstorage.com/ Overseas Staffing - https://supportshepherd.com/ Cost Segregation - https://recostseg.com/ Insurance - https://titanrisk.com/ Business Brokerage - https://nickhuber.com/ Nick's Twitter Nick's Instagram But that's not all... he also has a hand in these companies not mentioned in the episode: Recruiting - https://recruitjet.com/ Landing Page / Web Development - https://webrun.com/ Debt and Equity - https://bluekeycapital.com/ Tax Credit - https://taxcredithunter.com/ Performance Marketing - https://adrhino.com/ Pest control - https://spidexx.com/ YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/slBB9TBGDTY 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)