Build Wealth Canada Podcast

In this episode, I interview S&P, the creator of the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and many other popular indices used around the world by millions of investors.

On today's interview, we're going to be covering the SPIVA scorecards which are semiannual reports published by S&P that compare the performance of active funds (i.e. active investing) vs taking the passive index investing approach.

In other words, when you hear the debate of whether you should be a passive index investor, or an active investor, the SPIVA scorecards actually look at how well the active managers have done compared to if you just invested in the index.

Our guests today are Joe Nelesen from S&P, and Erin Allen from BMO ETFs. Joe is the Senior Director of Index Investment Strategy over at S&P, and Erin is the Vice President over at BMO ETFs, which is the largest Canadian provider of ETFs.

I thought we could have both Joe and Erin on the show, as that way we can learn more about the insights and discoveries learned from the SPIVA reports when it comes to the active vs passive debate. And, since Erin and her team actually create these ETFs for Canadians, we discuss how to actually practically apply these SPIVA findings and insights, when constructing or optimizing our own investments portfolio, here in Canada.

In other words, what to look for and things to watch out for when we are actually building, optimizing, and deciding which ETFs to use for our own portfolio.

1. Joe, to make this friendly to anybody new to the world of investing, can you start by telling us a bit about S&P, as well as the SPIVA reports and why they are important for us everyday investors?
2. The SPIVA analysis has over 20 years of data at this point. Can you speak to what these decades of analysis have taught you and individual investors about passive and active management around the world?
3. Erin, for those like myself who are totally on-board with what the SPIVA findings suggest and are looking to just have an easy-to-manage investment portfolio where they're just looking to buy the total market index; what are the options available to them in Canada, and can you take us through the pros and cons of these different approaches?
4. Joe, one of the reports that I've always found fascinating is the persistence scorecard that you publish. Can you speak to what it is, where can listeners find it, and what is the role of 'persistence' when measuring active outperformance?
5. Erin, when it comes to the core ETFs and asset allocation ETFs that try to mimic the index, one of the critical metrics that individual investors need to be aware of is the tracking error, especially when trying to choose a comparable ETF from one provider to another. Can you take us through:
   1. What 'tracking error' is?
   2. Why is it important?
   3. How can we check it ourselves?
6. Is some tracking error normal, and how do fees (MER) factor into the tracking error number that we see published?
7. At what point would a tracking error be considered high? And does that number vary depending on which index we're looking at? (ex. S&P TSX vs something like an MSCI emerging markets index)

8. Joe, it seems like with the thousands of investment products out there, the definition of the word "passive" can really vary quite a bit, not just amongst individual investors but amongst companies offering these products as well.

   I've even heard arguments about the S&P 500 not actually being 100% passive as there is still a committee that chooses which stocks are included in the S&P 500 index. Can you speak to that a bit and also, how do you think individual investors should define "passive" vs "active"?

9. Erin, when a DIY investor is purchasing total market index ETFs, do those literally include all publicly traded companies on any exchange that fit that region? (ex. S&P TSX for Canada), or is it more of a representative sample of that region?

10. Also, I think it would be good for investors to know about what the difference and implications are of a capped index, vs an uncapped index. Can you explain these?

11. Usually, we see the Canadian index (S&P/TSX) being capped when it comes to ETFs like with your ETF, ZCN. What about core index ETFs for other countries like the US, and beyond. Are those typically capped as well?

12. Joe, in the past, you mentioned how indexes help us manage our own human behavioral biases and overcome market hurdles that can otherwise derail our investing success. Can you elaborate on this?

13. Thank you to both of you for coming on. Erin, can you tell us where we can learn more on your end, and perhaps let everyone know about the ETF Market Insights sessions that you run every week where listeners of the show can submit their questions and have them answered live.Joe, thank you very much for coming on as well. Can you tell us more about where we can learn more from you and your team, and where we can find the SPIVA reports and any other resources that Canadian investors may find helpful.

Today we have a great case study of somebody that I really respect, and who has been able to achieve financial independence, at a really early age.

I wanted this episode to be relevant to you no matter where you are on your financial independence journey, so I thought we could approach it from two angles:

1. If you are in the asset accumulation phase and working towards financial independence, we get into how you can get there quicker AND also enjoy the process and not get burned out as you're working your way towards it.
2. If you are already financially independent or are getting close to it, we tackle how to live a happy, fulfilling and meaningful life once you transition to the financially independent stage of your life.

1. One of my favourite things to do on the show is interview those that have achieved financial independence early, where they can retire if they choose. Then, I like to dissect and take lessons from that journey, that we can all learn from and apply to our own lives to help us get to financial independence quicker, and to actually be happy with the journey before and after achieving financial independence, where we can retire if we choose. There are lots of different paths to get there. For anybody hearing about you for the first time, can you tell us about your journey and how you got to early financial independence?
2. I've been following your work for a long time, and it's clear that you definitely don't need to be working at all anymore, and definitely don't need to be taking on any new income producing projects in your semi-retirement. Yet, it seems like you keep taking on significantly large projects, like the YouTube channel that you launched and worked a lot on to get to where it is today, and of course you have your giant book launch today that took you three years. All this takes up a good amount of time obviously, and I imagine it's really not about the money anymore for you. So what keeps you going? Why not just relax, or at least scale things back a bit?
3. How many years have you been financially independent now? What were some of the most critical lessons that you learned about financial independence? Was there anything that surprised you?
4. You've interviewed over 450 entrepreneurs on your My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast. Some were incredibly successful where they are most certainly financially independent and could just close up the business or sell it, and just live off the proceeds from their investments. Have you found commonalities in regards to what keeps them going? Why do they keep working?
5. What are your sources of fulfilment in semi-retirement? and what have you found to generate the most meaning in your life after hitting financial independence?
6. From those that you interviewed, have you noticed any patterns in terms of what tends to add the most to that feeling of fulfilment, purpose, and happiness once money is no longer the priority?

Steve's New Book: The Family First Entrepreneur

Steve is a highly recognized influencer and speaker in the e-commerce space. His blog, MyWifeQuitHerJob.com has been featured in Forbes, Inc, The New York Times, Entrepreneur and MSNBC.

His podcast, My Wife Quit Her Job, is one of the top 25 marketing shows on all of Apple Podcasts, and he and his wife run a 7 figure e-commerce store called BumblebeeLinens.com

Steve also runs one of my favourite marketing podcasts here.

One critical topic that can have a substantial financial impact on both us and our loved ones, is the subject of inheritance, and how to ensure that you and your loved ones don't end up overpaying in both taxes and fees, once the whole inheritance process starts taking place.

To help me with this subject, I'd like to welcome back Selene Soo on the show. We learned a lot from her last time in the interview on annuities, and this time, we're going to focus on some best practices, when it comes to inheritance.

Selene is the Director of Wealth Products at RBC Insurance. She has been in the wealth management industry for over two decades, so she definitely has a really large wealth of experience and knowledge when it comes to different retirement planning solutions, whether it's annuities, segregated funds, and much more.

Enjoy the episode, I hope you learn a lot from the session, thanks for tuning in, and now, let's get into the interview.

1. Why is it important to have an estate plan here in Canada?
2. Selene, I was told that you and your team did a new survey when it comes to how prepared Canadians are when it comes to inheritance. Can you take us through the insights and lessons learned from those results, that we can then apply to our own lives?
3. One component that I think is a bit of an unknown for those of us that haven't gone through the process, is the subject of probate and probate fees. Can you speak to this, and what are the options available to us for minimizing probate fees?
4. Are there any other fees or taxes that we should be aware of when thinking of inheritance and estate planning?
5. I suspect that the word "will" is often used interchangeably with "estate planning". Can you speak to what the differences are between the two, in particular, so that we can all be aware of the different components of estate planning here in Canada, and plan accordingly.
6. To tie everything together, can you give us a synopsis as well as anything else that you'd like to add in regard to best practices that we Canadians can do to ensure that we have this critical part of our financial planning taken care of?
7. When it comes to inheritance and estate planning, I suspect that I common challenge most Canadians experience, is bringing up the subject with their loved ones, and then carefully navigating some of the really sensitive and emotion triggering questions that inevitably come up. How do you think it's best to bring this subject up? and what are some good questions to ask, and "next actions" to do, to actually get the ball rolling on this project?
8. Can you tell us more about what you and your team do, and direct us to any educational resources that we may find helpful when we start working on optimizing our inheritance and estate planning?

Retirement Investment Solutions - RBC Insurance

Facebook: @RBCInsurance

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rbcinsurance/

Check out my previous interview with Selene on Annuities - Guaranteed Income for Life

Today's guest is Jason Heath, one of Canada's best known fee-only financial planners that you've probably seen in all sorts of media here in Canada over the years. He's a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), has been providing financial planning for over 20 years, and is currently a personal finance columnist for the Financial Post, MoneySense, and is also a regular contributor to RetireHappy.ca.

I've been reading his insightful financial planning articles for years, so it's really great to have him on again, and in this episode, we get his perspectives on:

1. How much do you actually need to be financially independent here in Canada and have the option of retiring? What is the process that should be undertaken to figure this out?
2. Next, we get his take on how to live off your investment portfolio by withdrawing a sustainable amount every year, along with some alternatives to the 4% rule (which as you likely already know, has some limitations).
3. We actually go through the process and calculations that he does annually with clients to ensure that they are withdrawing a sustainable amount from their portfolio every year, and we discuss how you can do it yourself in case you're purely DIY and want to do it all yourself, and not have to meet with a financial planner every year.
4. Also, since Jason has been doing fee-only financial planning for over 20 years, we talk about the patterns that he's noticed between those that are successful financially in and in life, long term, vs those that are not. From those, we hone in specifically on the things that you and I can actually control and do in our own lives, to help get us there too.

Enjoy the episode, it's great having you here, thanks for tuning in, I hope you leave the show a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and now let's get into the interview.

Questions Asked:

1. When somebody is trying to determine how much they need to be financially independent and have the option of retiring, what is the process that should be undertaken to figure this out?
2. One strategy that has really peaked my interest and that I think can be highly relevant for those that have hit their financial independence number, is doing some sort of variable withdrawal strategy with a spending ceiling and floor. When a client comes to you and says that they don't just want to use a fixed withdrawal strategy like the traditional 4% rule, and instead would like to be able to take out more when the markets are doing well, and are okay withdrawing less when the markets are not performing well, is there a certain variable percentage withdrawal strategy that you have found to work well, along with any particular rules for a spending ceiling and floor? or is there maybe something else entirely that you prefer recommending to clients?
3. What is the process and calculations that you do annually with clients to ensure that they are withdrawing a sustainable amount from their portfolio every year? My understanding is that the ideal way to tackle this, is to work with a fee-for-service financial planner like yourself or somebody at your firm, where every year the numbers get updated in the financial planning software for that person's particular situation. Then the expertise and analysis of the Financial Planner is used to determine what the withdrawal rate should be for that year. Is that the ideal way you'd recommend that it's done?
4. For those that are more on the DIY side and do not want to meet with someone annually, what approach or process do you recommend for them? For instance, maybe they just want to meet with a Financial Planner when there are significant life changes or financial events like an inheritance, the birth of a child, getting married, etc.
5. You have been a Financial Planner for decades at this point and I'm sure with that level of experience you've noticed certain patterns when it comes to clients that are successful financially and in life, versus those that are not. Can you give us any insights in terms of the best practices or patterns that you've noticed from those that are financially successful and also appear to be happy and fulfilled in their day-to-day life?
6. On the flip side, are there any common and/or major mistakes or regrets that you have seen clients have over the years that we can all learn from so that we do not repeat those mistakes in our own lives?
7. In your practice, I'm sure you've helped clients of all different net worth sizes; from those struggling to very high net worth individuals. What have you noticed that the wealthy do that the poor or middle class do not?
8. You have been in this industry for multiple decades. Would you be able to recommend some resources online that you find to be reliable and reputable sources of information, for those that like to continue to educate themselves when it comes to financial planning, retirement planning, and investing in Canada?
9. Tell us more about where we can see your work and tell us more about your practice.

With the significant increase in interest rates over the past year, and with home buying and selling season right around the corner, I thought it would be great to have our resident mortgage expert on the show, to go over the implications of this higher interest rate environment that we're in.

Whether you're getting a new mortgage, or are considering refinancing, we tackle whether you should go with a variable rate or fixed rate mortgage in this current interest rate environment.

There could also be some new mortgage rules coming out this spring as well, so we cover what those are so that you can be better prepared.

You might have also been experiencing quite a bit of a payment shock if you hold a variable rate mortgage, with a drastic increase in your monthly mortgage payments. And, if you're a fixed rate mortgage holder, then you're not out of the woods either, as when your mortgage inevitably comes up for renewal, you might very well be forced into a much higher rate on your new mortgage than what you've been used to over the past few years. We're going to cover this new challenge that you may be facing, with these higher rates, along with some things you can do to lower your monthly mortgage payments, despite these increases in rates.

Our guest today is the show's resident mortgage expert, Sean Cooper. He's who I go to and who I send friends and family to for any mortgage related questions.

Sean is the bestselling author of the book, "Burn Your Mortgage". He bought his first house when he was only 27 in Toronto and paid off his mortgage in just 3 years by age 30.

These days, Sean's helping others burn their mortgages too, as an independent mortgage broker.

Sean has offered to answer for free, any questions that you, the Build Wealth Canada listeners have. I've set up a special page for him so all you have to do is go to buildwealthcanada.ca/sean, and there you can send him a message with your questions.

Or, if you prefer, you can even pick a time on his calendar for a phone or video call to get your questions answered with him live, for free.

Sean is a licensed mortgage broker too so I definitely also encourage you to reach out to him if you're looking to get a new mortgage or if your mortgage is coming up for renewal, as at the very least he'll be able to provide you with a short list of the best mortgages that he's been able to find across all of Canada from the 60+ lenders that he monitors.

None of this costs you anything, and there's no obligation to get your mortgage through him or use any of those suggested mortgages.

At the very least, you'll get some good education and research on the top mortgages available in Canada right now, you'll learn what to look for when choosing your next mortgage, and you can always decide later whether you'd like him to help you with the process, or if you want to do it all yourself. It doesn't cost you anything regardless.

1. In 2022, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates 8 times. The prime rate went up a whopping 4%. So far we have already seen one increase of the prime rate in 2023. As someone that's in the industry, what are you hearing and what do you think is in store for mortgage rates in 2023, 2024 and beyond?
2. With all these mortgage rate changes that we've seen in the recent past, what are some considerations when choosing between a fixed rate and a variable rate mortgage?
3. What's happening in the real estate market right now (so the first quarter of 2023 which is when we're recording this episode)? And is now a good time to buy a home?
4. I heard there could be some new mortgage rules coming out in the spring. Can you tell us about those and how they may affect buyers?
5. For anybody new to working with a mortgage broker, can you speak to how it works, and whether you have to pay for the services of a mortgage broker?
6. What are some ways to qualify for a higher home purchase price, despite the new pending mortgage rules?
7. A lot of people are facing "payment shocks" right now. If your mortgage is coming up for renewal in the next few months and you currently are locked into a low fixed rate, you can expect your payment to jump at renewal. What are some things you can do to lower your payment back down?

It's RRSP season here in Canada. Remember that March 1 is the deadline for contributing to an RRSP, and have it count towards your 2022 tax year.

Also while we're on the subject, remember that your TFSA contribution room grows every year, and for the 2023 calendar year, you now have an extra $6,500 that you and your partner can contribute each. That's $13,000 total if you both max it out.

Last year the limit was $6,000 per person so the government did increase that by $500 per person for this year.

I find that these are things that are easy to forget as life gets buys, but I always have reminders set up for these things as, especially in the case of the TFSA, it's always nice to put in the effort to max that out so that you can get that tax-free growth on that new money invested, all year long.

Since it's RRSP season, and tax season is coming up, I thought it would be worthwhile to have another successful Canadian Financial Planner on the show, so that we can get a good second opinion on:

· How much do you need to be financially independent and have the option of retiring?

· What are some of the sustainable withdrawal strategies that you can use when you're ready to start living off your portfolio?

· What is the process and calculations that should be done annually to ensure that you are withdrawing a sustainable amount from your portfolio?

· And, since our guest has been in the financial planning industry for decades at this point, I ask him if he's noticed certain patterns when it comes to clients that are successful both financially and in life, versus those that are not. This way we can pick some lessons learned from others, apply them to our own lives, and hopefully avoid some completely avoidable mistakes that others endured before us.

Before we get into the interview, I wanted to invite you to a free webinar and Q&A that I'll be doing with the actual co-creator of the TFSA.

He's the former Chief of Staff for the Minister of Finance in Canada. His name is Kevin McCarthy, and if you've ever had TFSA or RRSP related questions, or would just like to ask the creator of the TFSA your questions, you can do so at this webinar.

I'll be there too obviously and so after Kevin goes through his educational presentation where he goes over the RRSP and TFSA fundamentals, as well as the tax deductions and tax credits available to us as Canadians, we'll then have a live Q&A with him and I and so you can ask him or me your questions when it comes to personal finance, investing, financial independence and retirement, living off your investments, etc.

The session is on February 23, 2023, and it will be recorded so even if you can't make it live, you can still signup to be emailed the replay once it's released.

Also, Kevin has informed me that anyone attending live will receive a downloadable version of his and his team's proprietary Income Tax and RRSP Tax Savings Calculator.

The link to sign up for free is BuildWealthCanada.ca/webinar.

I look forward to seeing and interacting with you there, and now, let's get into the interview!

In this episode, I interview one of the most experienced Canadian financial planners that I know, and who I tend to go to when I have any complex tax and financial planning questions. His name is Ed Rempel, and in this episode, we tackle:

• How to determine how much you need to be financially independent?
• What are some sustainable withdrawal strategies that you can use to not run out of money when you're living off your investments?
• How to pay less tax here in Canada
• And much, much more.

Thanks so much for tuning in, and please remember to leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoy the show.

Here are all the questions we cover in the interview:

1. When somebody is trying to determine how much they need to be financially independent and have the option of retiring, what is the process that should be undertaken to figure this out?
2. What are some of the sustainable withdrawal strategies that you recommend, for those looking to live off their portfolio?
3. Have you ever used some type of variable withdrawal strategy with your clients where the amount withdrawn every year to live off the portfolio varies depending on how the markets did that year?
4. Have you ever done any sort of variable withdrawal strategies like using a spending ceiling and floor for the year?
5. For those that don't feel comfortable going with 100% equities, what do you recommend? Do you change your recommendation depending on what is happening in the bond market? (like with the recent drops)?
6. What is the process and calculations that you do annually with clients to ensure that they are withdrawing a sustainable amount from their portfolio every year?
7. When it comes to tax planning and making sure that we're paying the least amount of tax when living off the investment portfolio, are there any strategies or approaches that you'd recommend?
8. For those that want to read or watch more of your research and insights, what's the best place for them to go?
9. You have so many resources on your website, a YouTube channel with how-to's, where people can learn all about creating a financial plan. Why is it important to also work one-on-one with a financial planner like yourself for example?
10. You have been in this industry for multiple decades. Would you be able to recommend some resources online that you find to be reliable and reputable sources of information, for those that like to continue to educate themselves when it comes to financial planning, retirement planning, and investing in Canada?

Today we have another financial independence case study to learn how a real-life couple here in Canada were able to reach their financial independence number by the age of 34.

We talk specifically about the practical tactics, strategies and mindset that you can apply in your own life, to help hit your financial independence number quicker. Or, if you're already at financial independence, these tactics can further help solidify and enhance your net worth and that extra financial cushion that's always nice to have, when you're living off your portfolio.

Our guest today is Kyle Prevost who I have run the Canadian Financial Summit with for the past 2 years. What makes Kyle unique with his financial independence story, is that he and his wife were able to get there on two teacher salaries.

Oftentimes when we hear these stories of couples who have achieved financial independence early, they are often engineers, programmers, or other high paying professions which makes achieving that early retirement number easier. In Kyle's case, they were able to do it on two teacher salaries instead, so we're definitely getting a nice unique perspective here.

This interview and presentation that Kyle prepared was actually one of the bonuses that we offered to Canadian Financial Summit attendees who bought the All-Access-Pass so you'll hear him reference his slides at a few points during this talk, but don't worry, all the lessons and advice still make total sense without the slides.

Enjoy the interview and presentation!

Resources from the episode:

The live Retirement Planning Workshop on November 29th at 1pm EST is over at BuildWealthCanada.ca/workshop

The Canadian Financial Summit mentioned on the episode is over at BuildWealthCanada.ca/summit

You can see more of Kyle's writing over at milliondollarjourney.com

Questions from the episode:

1) Kyle, for those not familiar with you, let's just start with the usual first question in a job interview - "Tell us a little about yourself".

2) You recently reached financial independence - tell us about what that term means to you, and what your plans are in terms of work going forward.

3) Tell us what you think your keys to financial success were.

4) How did you and your wife Molly earn money after leaving university?

5) Let's peak inside your portfolio, and tell us how you invest.

6) To wrap up, just to give folks a broad overview on what the financial independence by 34 road map has looked like for you and Molly, can you sum up how you two were able to do it?

Many Canadians tend to dabble in at least a bit of active investing, picking individual stocks, even if they consider themselves primarily total market index investors. As long-time listeners of the show know, I personally only do total market index investing through ETFs, but I think it's important to stay educated and hear the other perspective of how and why active investors choose to invest the way that they do.

This episode is going to be a bit of a hybrid because our guest today, Braden Dennis, is an active stock investor who owns an investment research platform called Stratosphere.io. He's also the host of the Canadian Investor podcast, and with these two companies, it appears that he's already hit financial independence at a really young age.

So, in addition to asking him about how one should research companies if they want to buy individual stocks, we also get into one of the ways of reaching financial independence and early retirement quickly, which is by starting your own business.

Interview Questions:

1. What would you say is your investing style and what made you pick that over total market index investing?
2. When I speak to a passive vs an active investor, one of the main things that they seem to think differently about is the efficient market hypothesis. Can you explain what that is for anybody not familiar, and what is your take on it?
3. Bonds have really taken a hit lately, making many investors wonder whether they should instead do GICs, stay the course, put more into equities (despite those falling recently as well), using a high interest savings account, or using some other investment vehicles. What are your thoughts on bonds and fixed income, and what do you personally do in your own investment portfolio? If you were 5 years away from retirement, would your answer be different?
4. As someone that is very active in the investing and personal finance field, I imagine you have things pretty planned out and optimized when it comes to the most efficient way to get to your financial independence number. What are you personally doing in your investment portfolio, personal finances, and life to get to that financial independence number as quickly and efficiently as possible?
5. What keeps you going since it sounds like you can technically just fully retire now and never work again?
6. One of the ways that I've seen you move to your financial independence number quicker is by starting your own businesses, which I see are there to help you and other active investors like yourself. Can you tell us more about the tools and businesses you've developed?
7. I noticed that you're able to search for index ETFs in Stratosphere too. Does your tool do anything for ETF investors or is it primarily for those that want to research individual stocks?
8. If somebody wants to do some stock picking, even if it's just for a small portion of their portfolio, where do you suggest they go and learn? Where did you learn?
9. Which investment account would you recommend Canadians use if they are going to do any stock picking?

Today we have a case study of someone that was able to pull off an early retirement (we get to learn how he did it, and apply those lessons to our own life). He also wrote a book that I personally consider life-changing, in particular when it comes to financial independence, early retirement, and achieving happiness.

His name is Jordan Grumet, and his book is called Taking Stock, A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life.

I highly recommend you check out the book. I wish I had it when I first set out on my financial independence journey, and I've also found it helpful in designing the lifestyle that we want, in this semi-retired life stage that we're in right now.

In addition to the book, in this interview, we also cover:

• How Jordan was able to achieve financial independence at such an early age
• How he figured out whether he had enough to retire
• How he ensures that he's withdrawing a sustainable amount from his investment portfolio and not depleting it prematurely
• Tips on how you can reach your financial independence number quicker, and much more.

Questions Covered:

1. For anybody that is hearing you speak for the first time, can you take us through your financial independence story, the path you took to get there, how things actually changed for you once you hit your financial independence number, and what you're doing now?
2. When you were on your way to financial Independence, what is the process that you did to figure out whether you had enough to retire?
3. Now that you have hit your financial independence number, what is the process that you do or the calculations that you do to ensure that you are withdrawing a sustainable amount from your portfolio every year? (ex. variable percentage withdrawal, 4% rule, spending floor and ceiling, etc.)
4. Are there any online tools or calculators that you like to use or that you found helpful when it comes to figuring out your financial independence number and your sustainable withdrawal rate from your portfolio?
5. For those that are still working towards reaching their financial independence number, are there any specific tips that you can give them that had a substantial impact on your own life, that helped you get to your financial independence number quicker?
6. Once you hit your financial independence number, what were some of the mistakes you made that you think could have been avoided knowing what you know now?
7. One of the fascinating things that I recall hearing from you when you were being interviewed by Paula Pant, is that you actually went through depression once you hit financial independence. I think this sounds very surprising to most as the underlying assumption that I think most people have of financial independence is that once you reach it, you quit your job, and you have all the time and money you need to focus on being consistently happy. What triggered that depression in your case, and what can we all learn from that experience so that we don't fall into that same trap?
8. For me, as somebody that is not in the medical profession, being a doctor seems like one of the most meaningful and fulfilling careers that one could have as you are literally saving lives, or at the very least, vastly improving the lives of others in a significant way when conducting your craft. Yet, you decided to move from that to the field of communication via your book, podcasting, speaking and writing about matters relating to personal finance. Did you ever feel like you were helping less, or not achieving your maximum amount of positive contribution to society by focusing on personal finance instead of saving lives and healing others as a doctor? (i.e. If we achieve fulfilment and happiness by serving others, wouldn't the medical field be the way where we can have the biggest positive societal impact?)
9. In your book, you talk about focusing on enjoying the journey instead of the destination by focusing on "the climb" (striving toward our own unique purpose, identity, and connection). Can you explain what "the climb" is, and how can it be applied by those on their way towards financial independence, and those that are already there?
10. Speaking of your book, can you tell us more about it, and what listeners can expect to get out of it?
11. After achieving financial independence, we have all this time to do what we want and on the one hand, we want to enjoy what we worked so hard to achieve. However, if we just live a life of pure relaxation and hedonism, that ends up being very unfulfilling, and it's easy to start to feel anxiety and potentially depression because we are not achieving our potential, and not living a life where we are working towards something that we find meaningful and fulfilling.Have you figured out a way to achieve balance in this regard where you still get to enjoy the fruits of your labour from achieving financial independence (pure fun and relaxation), while also filling your time with challenging activities that bring you joy, fulfilment, and meaning?
12. How do you deal with any anxiety that comes from opportunity cost while financially independent? For example, the internal dialogue of: "I deserve to relax as I just finished doing meaningful thing X and I should strive for work/life balance, but that means that I'm not working on Y which is a great opportunity, which could be lucrative and would help a lot of people."(i.e. If you take on too much, you end up getting burnt out. At least that's what happened with me post-FI).
13. In terms of maximizing happiness and fulfilment, is there a routine that you follow during any part of your day that works well for you? Or, do you take a more fluid, go-with-the-flow approach, where things are more spontaneous? (i.e. Morning routine, and how structured to you keep the rest of your day?)
14. What have you found to give you the most fulfilment, whether it's pre-financial independence or post financial independence?
15. As someone that used to be a full-time doctor, I imagine you have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to maximizing one's longevity. Can you give us some advice on that?
16. Tell us again where we can find your book, as well as all the other educational content that you produce.