Financial Independence Podcast

Hear how two teachers used tax-avoidance and geographical-arbitrage strategies to save nearly a million dollars in only 16 years! Highlights: Using international and domestic geographic arbitrage to increase income How to save $250,000 in 3 years on teachers’ salaries Setting up SEPP 72(t) distributions to access retirement account funds before standard retirement age Going from $0 net worth to nearly $1 million in just 16 years Living off 457(b) funds while fully funding other tax-deductible accounts To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/millionaire-educator-interview/

Justin Cooke from EmpireFlippers.com joined me for an episode of the Financial Independence Podcast to discuss website investing! Highlights: Hear how Justin went from building an outsourcing company in the Philippines to building, buying, and selling niche websites The difference between online and offline businesses and investments Six different buyer profiles When to sell your website The future of online business investing Justin’s recommendation for someone just starting out Longterm prospects of website investing Why better looking doesn’t always mean better To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/empire-flippers-interview/

J.D. Roth, creator of GetRichSlowly.org, joined me for the Financial Independence Podcast to talk about finding personal and financial freedom! In less than ten years, J.D. went from having $35,000 of consumer debt to becoming a self-made millionaire.  Since selling his incredibly popular blog, getrichslowly.org, he now spends most of his time writing about life and money at his personal site, jdroth.com. On today’s show, J.D. shares what he’s learned over the past decade of writing about money and personal finance and describes how you too can find personal and financial freedom. To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/jd-roth-interview/

Billy Murphy from ForeverJobless.com joined me for an episode of the Financial Independence Podcast to talk about investing in online businesses! What if I told you you could create $2,000 of monthly recurring income from a single $25,000 investment? Thanks to the low multiples some online companies are selling for, you could potentially fund your early retirement with a very small initial investment. Billy takes us through how he went from being a professional poker player to creating a very successful poker training site. He then describes how he started buying e-commerce stores (his first investment was a site making $900 profit per month that he bought for $4,000) and shares what he learned buying, improving, and selling sites. Hear why Expected Value (EV) is as important in everyday decision-making as it is in poker and find out what Billy would do to create a consistent $2,000 per month income stream if he was starting from scratch today. To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/forever-jobless-interview/

Jeremy and Winnie retired a few years ago, in their thirties, and have been traveling around Central America ever since. They were kind enough to join me from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to talk about their journey to financial independence and early retirement. Discover how they were able to achieve financial independence and hear why moving to a cheaper locale can be a great way to smooth the transition into early retirement! To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/go-curry-cracker-interview/

In part two of the podcast, the Mad Fientist explores some very powerful tax-avoidance strategies for early retirees. It’s possible to achieve financial independence earlier in life, without having to decrease your spending, increase your income, or assume any additional risk, simply by using tax-advantaged retirement accounts in an intelligent way.  Today’s episode explores the various retirement accounts available and explains the most optimal uses of those accounts for people on the path to financial independence and early retirement. To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/radical-personal-finance-part-two/

Listen to part one of my Radical Personal Finance podcast interview where I discuss frugality, travel hacking, and financial independence! A couple of months ago, a guy named Joshua emailed me to ask if I’d be a guest on his new show – the Radical Personal Finance podcast. I agreed and we ended up having a very interesting two-hour conversation. Since then, however, Joshua has been forced to take down his podcast (for undisclosed reasons) and since he’s not sure when he’ll be able to put it back up again, he has agreed to let me publish our interview here (thanks!). I couldn’t bear to hear myself talk for a full two hours though so I decided to edit the interview down into two smaller parts and today, I am publishing part one. It was great being on the other side of the interview for once so hopefully you enjoy hearing a bit about my personal journey to financial independence. Highlights: Different Paths to FI Frugality and Sacrifice How to Have an Expensive Hobby Travel Hacking Slow Travel To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/radical-personal-finance-part-one/

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli from RetireEarlyLifestyle.com joined me to talk about 20+ years of travel and early retirement! In 1991, Billy and Akaisha quit their jobs, moved to an island in the Caribbean, and have been traveling the world ever since. Their initial retirement savings of $500,000 has survived the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis, and over two decades of early retirement. Discover how they did it, find out their recommendations for the best places in the world to retire, and hear what it’s like to be perpetual travelers! To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/retire-early-lifestyle-interview/

Mike from LackingAmbition.com joined me for an episode of the Financial Independence Podcast to discuss how he achieved FI in just over 3 years! After working for just over three years, Mike was able to amass enough savings to purchase (with cash) three single-family houses. By living in one of the houses and renting out the other two, he now has enough rental income to completely cover his living expenses. During the interview, Mike discusses how he was able to buy three properties, each for under $25,000, in a region that is typically considered to be an expensive market (New England). In addition to real estate investing, I also talk to him about his time living in a tent in the New Mexico desert, discuss how he too was able to obtain a free Ivy League degree while working full time, and find out what life is like three months after achieving financial independence. To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/lacking-ambition-interview/

Paula from AffordAnything.com joined me to discuss how she’s using real estate investing to achieve early financial independence! Highlights: Frugality vs. wealth building Mental energy is limited so use it wisely Think like a creator, not like a consumer Scarcity mindset vs. abundance mindset How to start investing in real estate Real estate niches and strategies Becoming a real estate agent To read the full article, visit http://www.madfientist.com/afford-anything-interview/