Financial independence, retire early. Financial independence is based on the 4% rule which was formulated from the Trinity study, the idea is that if you can survive comfortably at a 4% withdrawal rate from your nest egg (invested assets), provided that the assets were invested in low-cost index funds, you essentially never had to work for money ever again.

Which brings in the RE portion (retire early). If you can build up a nest egg with 25 times your annual expenses (inverse of 4%), you could essentially retire early. It just depends on how quickly you can build up those assets.

Useful related resources: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/

The hamster wheel…. This is the path that awaits most Americans. 40 years in an unfulfilling job, doing something you completely hate. This is depressing, yet this is the path most choose!

Being intentional with money. Choosing to live way below your means. Cody mentioned working in a W2 banking job, yet ONLY spending $12K a year. This is a choice Cody made to escape the hamster wheel!

Cody also talked about building side hustles that can cover his monthly expenses, like starting a blog, podcast and a disc golf company.

Related resources:

“We’re on the same path but didn’t come from the same point” – This is such a powerful idea. Everyone’s journey will look completely different, but we can all implement these simple strategies and change our lives!

Just a few years ago TJ was unemployed and in debt, now he and his wife are well on their way to financial independence.

Moral of the story, just start!

Cody has a superpower he shares with us on the podcast. And we are so excited to share this with you!

We will need some group participation, but this will be well worth your time for the gift at the end!

Thank you so much for joining us for the first episode. Here are some awesome ways to say in touch, and always have these ideas and strategies at your fingertips.

Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)

Half Life Theory (TJ’s blog)