I am sure we have all heard horror stories about someone being scammed by criminals hiding behind a computer screen on the Internet.   This week the issue was too close to home when my daughter was almost taken advantage of by a very sophisticated scam while looking for an apartment.  What really struck me was the effort the criminals took to appear legitimate.   We recently had several people present in our local Financial Independence meet-up about Internet Safety and one of the presenters was my friend Jason. He graciously agreed to come on today's show to explain some of the essential protections we can implement to keep our information and money secure on the Web.  Some of the key barriers he suggests implementing are below:      

BONUS EPISODE - Protecting Yourself on the Web

Welcome to House of FI!  We are glad you're here.  Our mission is to help other families on the road to financial independence.  If you dream of retiring early but are unsure how to do that AND raise your family, you are in the right place.  Our guests will share their journey to financial independence, early retirement and debt freedom.  Our guest experts will share valuable information that will help you get to your financial goals sooner. Come on in!

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There is no one way to Financial Independence. However, if you want to speed up your timeline to Financial Independence and Early Retirement - one of the best ways to do that is to increase your income via a side-hustle or a small business.  Today we share one of our favorite side-hustler extraordinaires, Julie, from the Millennial Boss blog and The Fire Drill Podcast.  Not only is Julie killing it in her regular jobs, but she blogs, podcasts and has found multiple ways to add income into her budget via other side-business, like an ETSY shop.   We have been SUPER inspired by her story and hope you are too!  AND you are listening just in time to hear that the courses she has mentioned will be opening up again soon in November.  If you would like to get on the list to be notified of when they open, follow the links below.  When you use our links, it is tracked and we get credit for a portion of the sale if you eventually decide to take one of their courses.  SIGN UP WITH OUR LINK HERE The proceeds help you support our show and we thank you in advance for showing us a little love. As a show of our gratitude, when you sign up using one of our links, we will email you a copy of our printable Financial Planner Bundle for FREE.   (You must have a confirmed purchase via the link to receive the download for free.)  If you would like to purchase our Money Foundations Financial Planner Bundle, you can do that HERE.

ENCORE Episode Creating a $45,000 a Year Side-Hustle

Patrick Aime grew up in poverty and unrest in Rwanda but he had a dream of coming to the United States to make his own destiny.  His pathway to the United States was via sports. First, he finished high school in Belgium and then came to the United States to play basketball in college. In this Encore Episode, you will hear how Patrick achieved made his way to America - achieved success, made a lot of money and then lost it all.  It was devastating, but Patrick used the grit and determination that got him to the U.S. to rebuild himself a second time.  This time he understood the value of money and what he needed to do to rebuild his future. He saved and spent well. Now Patrick has retired in his forties, he is Financially Independent and spends his time between one of his residences in Cabo San Lucas and San Diego.       

1st Generation Immigrant - the Climb from Poverty to Financial Independence

This week, we speak with Dan Shaw.  In this encore episode, we will hear how Dan engineered his retirement in just five years.  He was working 60-70 hours a week and was miserable.  He decided he had had enough and after a particularly hard day at work began executing a plan to become Financially Independent.  He and his wife buckled down on their spending, ramped up their retirement accounts, optimized their taxes and increased their income via rental properties. He and his wife hit their goal in five years! Now Dan is retired and gets to spend most days with his two daughters as manage his rental properties and projects at home.  It's a really great episode to hear some excellent tactics you can apply to your own FI/RE journey.   

Encore Episode - From 70 Hours a Week to Stay at Home Dad

In today's bonus episode, Wendy and Curtis discuss the fourth tenet of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Movement - which is to increase your savings rate.   In previous episodes we discussed the previous three tenets which are:  1. Rejecting Consumerism 2. Redefining Retirement  3. Tax Optimization  A good portion of the United States population has saved less than $200,000.00 towards their retirement.  Many will simply have Social Security as their only means of income upon retirement.  In a recent CNBC article, they state that many experts recommend people save seven times their annual income for retirement.  This is stark contrast to the minimum suggested by the FIRE community, which is at least 25 times your living expenses.  To achieve that number, it is not unusual for members of the community to save upwards of 40%, 50% or even 75%.  If you are not able to save that much, does that mean you are excluded from the FIRE community?  OF COURSE NOT.  The point is to strive to increase your savings rate as much as you are able to.  One step we have taken to increase our savings rate is to allocate all raises and extra income earned to our retirement.  This automatically increases your savings rate.  We hope this episode has been helpful to you.  If you want to help create a solid money foundation and get your financial house in order, we invite you to participate in our FREE 7-step Money Foundations Course.   

Increase Your Savings Rate the Fourth Tenet of the FIRE Movement

Eleven years ago Dawn Holley found herself single after the unexpected death of her husband.  As anyone can imagine, her world was turned upside down. In this episode, we have a candid discussion with Dawn about the challenges of parenting and picking up the pieces of her life financially unprepared.  With no safety net, Dawn had to make very quick decisions about what items she could sell in her home - just to survive.  She packed up what was left and moved herself and her son into her parents home.  As she and her son attempted to pick up the pieces, Dawn took the first job she could find, but the pay was not much and covered just enough for daycare for her son and for food.  Dawn knew that she needed to increase the income she was earning at the time, of about $20,000.00 to at least six figures.  From there she was very deliberate in deciding what type of career she wanted.  Some of the requirements Dawn decided on were:  1. They had to be within driving distance of her parents so she could continue to live for free.  2. She had to have the ability to earn six figures.  3. The program had to be free - so she would not incur any debt.  Dawn eventually found an accelerated federal program that was one year and was free. (AMAZING RIGHT?)  She then treated every clinic she worked in while she was in the program as a job interview.  Her thought was that she was building relationships that could help her after she graduated.  After several years of hard work and of strategically moving her way up - Dawn reached her goal of six figures.  She is now focusing on creating multiple streams of income as she pursues Financial Independence.  In addition to her income from wages, she is building her rental income portfolio and other business endeavors.   Where Can You Find Dawn:  Stepping Stones to FI  Dawn's Favorite Read:  The One Thing    

BONUS EPISODE - Protecting Yourself on the Web

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