ChooseFI

094 | Mr. and Mrs. Waffles on Wednesday (WoW) talk about winning on a TV game show, starting their own business, learning the tax code to maximize 401K contributions, and volunteering internationally. How did Ray win on the Price is Right, and what did he win? What were the tax implications of his winning? How was Ray's experience at the IRS building in Los Angeles? Why did Jonathan receive a tax penalty last year, and how did he respond? How did Mr. and Mrs. Waffles on Wednesday decide to start a blog, and how did they decide on a name? Why do we have to just live for weekends? How did Ray win-over Mrs. WoW to financial independence? What decisions did Mr. & Mrs. WoW make after they chose to pursue financial independence? How did the pursuit of FI change their careers? What type of business did Mrs. WoW open, and how did she keep her overhead costs down and ultimately increase her income? What is a Solo 401K and why did Mr. WoW choose that option? What is the advantage of a Solo 401K for owner and spouse, and how does the math work? How important is it to control your tax rate? What happened to the Mr. & Mrs. WoW's retirement accounts when they opted to bring on an employee? What is a Mega Backdoor ROTH? How did Mr. WoW find a plan administrator who could help him set up his accounts? Does Mr. WoW manage his own taxes, or use an accountant? What adjustments has Mrs. WoW made in the past four years that made a positive difference in her life? How does someone volunteer for international aid organizations? Do Mr. & Mrs. WoW add some site seeing or vacation to the volunteering they do? How do they plan for these trips? For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/094

093R | Brad, Jonathan and Joe Saul-Sehy, from Stacking Benjamins, talk about what is rewarding to your soul, give feedback to a ChooseFI community member who's considering selling his business, and recap Harry, the Ride Share Guy's strategies for become the center of a niche. Hurricane Florence's path didn't go near Brad and Jonathan, but there were tornadoes. FU money is better than FI money. Meet up in Florida during the week of FinCon 2018. How did Harry (from Monday's episode) become the go-to guy for ride-share drivers? What strategies would help someone become the go-to person in a particular niche? How can you solve a problem that you, and other people, have? Find people who like and trust you. How is retail changing in 2018? How did Harry pursue unusual opportunities to make extra money? Could the "destination filter" as an Uber or Lyft driver and the potential to deduct you commute drop someone into a lower tax bracket? How did Joe from Stacking Benjamins become a financial advisor? What did the phrase "other mountains to climb" mean to Joe and how did it impact his career? What did Joe value about going back to school to be a teacher, but not actually becoming a teacher? What does it mean for something to be "rewarding for your soul"? How did Joe need to adjust his business in order to sell it? Where does financial independence stand within the personal finance world? Is financial independence about playing defense or offense? Voicemail from Jon, looking for advice about whether he should sell his business to become FI, or continue working with a few side hustles. Could Jon restructure his business to reduce stress and create a more positive working environment? What's wrong with a life well worked? Is there value in purchasing a business that is inextricably tied to a single person? Coming up soon, Stacking Benjamins is doing live shows in Orlando, Kansas City and Ferndale, Mich. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/093R ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

093 | Harry Campbell, The Rideshare Guy, talks about what it takes to be a successful Lyft and Uber driver, the strategies he used to start his blog, and how he transitioned from aerospace engineering to full-time blogging. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/093 ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

092R | Plans for ChooseFI to support education, the value of a life resume, travel rewards tips for active duty military, and hurricane preparation. For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/092R

092 | CarLotz co-founder Will Boland talks about making the leap from investment banking to entrepreneurship, the challenges and benefits of leading a growing company, and what it means to build a life resume. How did Will become an entrepreneur? What was the inspiration for CarLotz? What experience during his work in investment banking gave Will the motivation to become an owner/manager? Will is 2nd generation FI. What did his journey look like? How did Will present and convince his family that it was a good idea to pursue entrepreneurship instead of continuing with his well-paying job? Did Will accumulate significant student loans while completing his undergraduate degree and master's? What is a life resume, and does Will keep track of his? What role have mentors played in Will's career? Will has been very open and honest with mentors and co-workers about his specific goals. How does he create an environment at CarLotz to encourage the same from his employees? Why didn't Will's mentor want to see his business plan? What was the thought process when Will and his co-founders could only secure small startup investments? What is the advantage of selling a car on consignment? What hiccups did CarLotz overcome in their early days of business? "If you aren't embarrassed by the first iteration, you're launching too late." How does Will encourage employees to share good ideas? Why do pursuing FI and starting a business complement each other well? How did Will and his co-founders create space to share work-place challenges within their partnership? Has Will caught up, financially, to where he'd be if he had continued his job in investment banking? Is he happy with where he's at? Does CarLotz need to be a financial success in order to keep Will on track to reach financial independence? Why is running Will's favorite life hack? For more information, visit the show notes at https://ChooseFI.com/092

091R | An overview of how to own a house with an IRA, Jonathan attempts to optimize his recipes and shopping list, a list of the top 5 ChooseFI episodes and a travel rewards win. ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

091 | Rich Carey, officer in the U.S. Air Force, talks about learning to live frugally, buying his first townhouse, and building his real estate empire from one to 20 houses in Montgomery, AL. ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

090R | Brad gets back from vacation, Jonathan talks about bringing vegetarianism into his diet, and voicemails from the community highlighting CLEP tests and a 401k win. Brad is back from a month-long vacation in the U.K. Is this Brad's first experience with "slow travel"? Where will Brad's family go next? If you can optimize small things, they add up. Brad joined a ChooseFI meet up in London, with Barney from The Escape Artist and Ken from The Humble Penny. Is there a more efficient way to be active than slaving away on the treadmill? Are your health and exercise habits actually adding value to your life? Brad thinks maybe he'll try a vegan diet for a short time, as was recommended on Monday's episode. How has Jonathan incorporated additional spices into his family's meals? "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" – Michael Pollan How much money could Jonathan save if his family went vegetarian? What is intermittent fasting? Email from Alex, confirming the advantage and benefits of veganism. Does veganism have a PR issue? What tools will Jonathan use to increase his vegetable diet during the next few weeks. Voicemail from Ben, about using CLEP tests, which are free for members of the military, to decrease the time it takes to complete a university degree. Voicemail from Michael: strategically moving money from taxable investment accounts into non-taxable accounts will move him into a 0% tax bracket. Link to Jonathan's InstaPot: Instant Pot

090 | James and Steven pull back the curtain on veganism, talking about the health, lifestyle and financial benefits of veganism, alongside the practical details of how to actually make it work. ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"

089R | An introduction to the Family Bank and what ChooseFI's accountant-on-call thinks about it, as well as how to navigate rental car insurance, and what soft skills are crucial to a career in retail? ——————- Thank you for being a part of the ChooseFI community! 🙂 If you want to support us, here are some easy ways: 1) Leave an iTunes review: http://www.choosefi.com/itunes 2) Use our page to sign up for travel credit cards Note: We may receive a commission if you are approved for cards on this page 3) Most importantly, find your friends, coworkers, and family members who may be open to this message and tell them about the podcast! (Episode 21 is a great starting place) As Jonathan would say, "The FIRE is spreading my friends!"