
Financial Independence Podcast
Join the Mad Fientist as he interviews personal-finance icons like Mr. Money Mustache, Ramit Sethi, and JL Collins to discover the strategies they used to achieve financial independence and retire early! Learn about investing, tax avoidance, entrepreneurship, travel hacking, real estate, and all things related to financial independence and early retirement!
Latest episodes

14 snips
Sep 3, 2024 • 19min
Valuable Lessons from My Eighth Year of Freedom
A personal reflection unfolds as the speaker shares their unexpected journey after declaring financial independence. They reveal that true freedom goes beyond banking numbers, focusing on meaningful spending for a fulfilling life. Major changes prompted insights on wise expenditures, emphasizing happiness over mere wealth accumulation. Listen in for valuable lessons drawn from past experiences and the importance of evolving perspectives on money.

12 snips
Jul 8, 2024 • 6min
The Power of Quitting
Podcast explores the benefits of quitting a job for financial independence, sharing personal journey and highlighting unexpected opportunities. Strategic use of quitting to improve current job and pursue financial independence by negotiating better terms and enhancing happiness.

7 snips
Jun 17, 2024 • 8min
Happiness Through Subtraction
Explore how financial independence can lead to happiness by removing negative aspects instead of adding more. Hear personal experiences on the significance of relationships and experiences in achieving true contentment.

101 snips
May 2, 2024 • 1h 38min
Bill Perkins - Memory Dividends, Time Buckets, and Maximizing Net Fulfillment
Bill Perkins, author of Die with Zero, discusses maximizing net fulfillment over net worth, timing bucketing experiences, breaking financial autopilot, and fearing wasting life more than running out of money on a podcast about financial independence.

43 snips
Dec 5, 2023 • 40min
The Best Advice from JL Collins
Guest JL Collins, author of Pathfinders and The Simple Path to Wealth, discusses the power of FU Money, the superiority of index investing, and the pros and cons of owning a house as an investment. He also delves into the advantages of index funds over individual stocks and actively-managed funds, and offers valuable insights on handling market volatility and preparing for the next crash.

13 snips
Nov 6, 2023 • 23min
Parker Hewes - Your Money and Your Health
Parker Hewes, author of Lifelong Youth: The Simple Path to a Long and Youthful Life, shares the eight health behaviors that will do the most for your long-term health and wellbeing. They discuss the connection between money and health, staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, the importance of natural movement and play, and various health behaviors for a longer, healthier, and happier life.

4 snips
Aug 23, 2023 • 49min
Jillian Johnsrud & Chad Carson - Small and Mighty Real Estate Investing
Real estate investors Jillian Johnsrud and Chad Carson discuss the benefits of small real estate investing and challenge common notions of leveraging debt. They emphasize the importance of aligning real estate with desired lifestyle and share personal examples of community involvement and positive impact. The episode also includes a discussion on Chad Carson's new book on practical steps and philosophy for smaller investors.

36 snips
Feb 17, 2023 • 51min
Ramit Sethi – How to Spend (and Actually Enjoy It)
On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I welcome back Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You to Be Rich! I needed someone to come on the show to provide some tough love and Ramit was the only person for the job. As Ramit mentioned during our last interview, FIRE people are great at knowing what NOT to spend on but we’re not good at knowing what to spend on. Spending is going to be a big focus on the Mad Fientist this year and I can’t think of a better way to kick off this discussion than by getting yelled at by Ramit so hope you enjoy it! Highlights Why we doubled our annual spending (and was it worth it) What Ramit did to make me get all clammy and uncomfortable Why pay less when you can pay more How to imagine your own rich life Why you should start wasting some money at a certain point

Dec 14, 2022 • 18min
My Family - Raising Money-Smart Kids
Over the last few years, I interviewed members of my family to find out two things: How I became the Mad Fientist (i.e. where did I get my extreme ideas about money) What advice they'd give to parents hoping to raise money-smart children This is a short but sweet holiday episode to end the year and I hope you enjoy it!

Oct 1, 2022 • 37min
Podcast Takeover: The FI Show - Employee vs. Entrepreneur
Cody Berman and Justin Taylor, hosts of the FI Show, have both achieved financial independence but they've taken drastically different paths to get there. Listen to this Podcast Takeover episode to hear the similarities and differences between an employee's path to FI (Justin's) and an entrepreneur's journey to FIRE (Cody's)! Highlights Live-in flip vs. house hacking Sweet spot for buying used cars Why focusing on fixed expenses is important How to 5x your corporate income The unlimited upside of entrepreneurship How to get started investing if you're scared/nervous Nest-egging vs. cash-flowing your way to financial independence The benefits of a Solo-401(k) for entrepreneurs Why the corporate world is great for certain types of people Benefits and downsides of entrepreneurship Why it's important to not keep up with the FI Joneses either Show Links The FI Show - https://thefishow.com The FI Show's Mega Backdoor Roth Episode - https://thefishow.com/mega-backdoor-roth-solo-401k-explained/ The Mad Fientist's Mega Backdoor Roth Article - https://www.madfientist.com/after-tax-contributions/
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