Retirement can feel like a finish line, but when it gets close, it often feels more like a transition you’re not fully prepared for.

After years of saving, planning, and imagining what life could look like, the final year of work is when things start to get real. And that’s when a lot of people realize: dreaming about retirement is very different from actually stepping into it.

Drawing from ideas inspired by Fritz Gilbert of Retirement Manifesto, this episode breaks down six intentional steps you can take during your final year of work to make the transition smoother, more meaningful, and far less uncertain.

We talk through how to get clear on what you actually want retirement to feel like, how to stay engaged during the final stretch of work, and how to start practicing the habits and routines you’ll carry into your next chapter. This episode will help you step into retirement with confidence rather than guesswork.

Key Takeaways:

• Get clear on what you want retirement to feel like
• Stay engaged during the final stretch of work
• Practice spending and living off less income
• Separate personal life from your work
• Build a list of meaningful activities in advance
• Celebrate the transition into retirement intentionally

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

Tiny Quits That Build Toward Full FI | E194 Jess, The Fioneers

Fridays: The Best Place to Begin Practicing Financial Freedom | E192

Spending Experiments: Learn What Purchases Make You Happy | E160 Carl Jensen

Guest Summary:

Fritz Gilbert is the Founder of The Retirement Manifesto, an award-winning blog focused on “Helping People Achieve A Great Retirement.” He is the author of “Keys to a Successful Retirement - Staying Happy, Active and Productive in Your Retired Years.” Fritz retired in 2018 at age 55 after a 33-year career in Corporate America and enjoys sharing the lessons he’s learned to help others on their journey. He and his wife live with their 3 dogs in the Appalachian Mountains in Blue Ridge, GA, where they enjoy managing their 501c3 charity Freedom For Fido, building free dog fences for low-income families with dogs on chains. They also enjoy many outdoor activities, RV travel, exercise, and spending time at their second home with their granddaughter in Southern Alabama. You can follow Fritz on Twitter, Facebook, or on his blog.

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Weddings are one of the most emotionally charged financial decisions you’ll ever make.

You’re spending a large amount of money in a short period of time, making dozens of decisions — all while balancing your own priorities, your partner’s preferences, and outside expectations.

And after getting married in February, I realized something:

This wasn’t just a wedding…it was a real-life experiment in how we spend money.

In this episode, my wife Gaby joins me to break it all down — from how we decided what mattered, to exactly how much we spent, to what we’d do differently.

We share the full breakdown, the moments that were 100% worth it, and the things that, honestly, didn’t matter as much as we thought.

If you’ve ever struggled with spending money without second-guessing it, whether it’s a wedding, a house, or a big life decision, this episode will help you think about it more clearly.

Key Takeaways:

1. How to decide what actually matters before spending money
2. A real wedding cost breakdown and where the money went
3. What expenses were truly worth it (and what weren’t)
4. How social pressure can influence your spending decisions
5. The tradeoffs between saving money and reducing stress
6. Why optimization can sometimes make the experience worse
7. How to make big financial decisions with less regret

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

4 Rules That Will Help You Spend Money Without Stress & Regret | E188

Shifting Away from a “Save-Only” Mindset | E175 Matt & Yana - CoastFI Couple

When You and Your Partner See Money Differently | E162 Brian Page

Guest Summary:

Gaby is Justin’s wife and partner in building a thoughtful, FI-minded life. While Justin tends to approach money from a more analytical perspective, Gaby brings a creative and experience-driven lens — making her the perfect counterbalance when it comes to making meaningful spending decisions. Together, they navigate how to align priorities, communicate through tradeoffs, and spend money in ways that genuinely enhance their lives. When she’s not bothering Justin, she’s often traveling and taking photos. See what she is up to on her website.

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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If you’re planning to retire early, there’s something most people don’t realize:

Early retirement isn’t just “normal retirement…earlier.”

Most financial advice is built around retiring at 65 with a 25–30 year time horizon, Medicare coverage, and limited tax planning flexibility.

But if you’re aiming to retire in your 40s or 50s, the rules change.

Your retirement could last 40–50+ years. You’ll need to bridge the gap to Medicare. And you’ll have a unique window to optimize taxes in ways traditional retirees can’t.

If you follow standard retirement advice without adjusting for these differences, you can accidentally create risks that are completely avoidable.

In this episode, I’m joined by Jesse Cramer, financial advisor and host of Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors, to break down the biggest planning differences between traditional and early retirement.

We cover what changes, what stays the same, and how to build a plan that actually works for a longer, more flexible retirement.

Key Takeaways:

1. Why early retirement requires a different strategy than traditional retirement
2. How longer time horizons impact withdrawal rates and investment strategy
3. The biggest risks early retirees face and how to manage them
4. How to plan for healthcare before Medicare kicks in
5. Why early retirement opens up powerful tax planning opportunities
6. How to access your money before age 59½ without penalties
7. Why flexibility matters more than precision in early retirement planning
8. The mindset shift required when work becomes optional

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

Why Roth Contributions Are Overrated for Financial Independence | E191 Cody Garrett

Is Saving Too Much Holding You Back? | E179 Jesse Cramer

What Happens After I Reach FIRE? Withdrawal Strategy, Spending Changes, & Finding Meaning | E158 Jeremy Schneider

Guest Summary:

Jesse Cramer is a financial advisor and the host of Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors, where he helps thoughtful investors make smarter, long-term decisions with their money. He specializes in breaking down complex financial topics, like tax strategy, withdrawal planning, and retirement, into clear, practical guidance for those looking to build and sustain wealth over time. For more of Jesse, check out Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors.

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Support FI Minded

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If you’ve been pursuing financial independence for a while, there’s a good chance you’ve built your identity around progress — earning more, saving more, optimizing everything.

That mindset is what gets you to FI.

But what happens when you get close…or even cross the finish line?

For a lot of high achievers, they don’t slow down. They keep chasing. They move the goalposts. They look for the next number to hit.

Not because they need more money, but because they don’t know what replaces the pursuit.

In this episode, I sit down with Justin David Carl from Fit Rich Life to talk about what happens when money is no longer the main constraint in your life.

After walking away from a high-paying sales career, Justin was forced to confront a deeper question: Who am I if I’m no longer making a ton of money?

We unpack what it looks like to shift from optimizing net worth to optimizing net life, how to navigate identity after FI, and why high achievers often struggle to stop playing a game they’ve already won.

Key Takeaways:

1. Why high achievers often struggle to slow down after reaching FI
2. How your identity can get tied to income, progress, and achievement
3. What it means to shift from optimizing net worth to optimizing net life
4. Why chasing “more” doesn’t always lead to a better life
5. How to redefine success when money is no longer the primary goal
6. The role competition, purpose, and structure play after FI
7. How to navigate major life transitions without losing yourself

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

Fridays: The Best Place to Begin Practicing Financial Freedom | E192

The Hardest Skill in FI: Knowing When to Stop | E190 Joel Larsgaard

How to Create a 3-Day Workweek (Before You Reach FI) | E187 Andy Hill

Guest Summary:

Justin David Carl is a fitness and money coach who helps high achievers build a “fit, rich life” — one that prioritizes health, freedom, and fulfillment alongside financial success. After leaving a high-income sales career, he now focuses on helping others shift from chasing more money to optimizing their time, energy, and overall quality of life. Check out more at Fit Rich Life.

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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Financial independence doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing leap — it’s a spectrum, and you can start practicing freedom now. In this episode, I continue the conversation with Jess from The Fioneers, exploring “tiny quits” — low-risk experiments you can take to reclaim time, protect your energy, and build confidence without derailing your FI plan.

We discuss practical ways to negotiate your work, control your calendar, and even step back from the chase for maximum income, all in service of a more balanced, intentional path toward FI.

If you’ve been feeling the pressure of burnout or stuck waiting until some future number to enjoy freedom, this conversation is full of actionable strategies to start practicing it today.

Key Takeaways:

• Tiny quits help reclaim time and energy without quitting your job
• How to negotiate responsibilities, meetings, or schedule to reduce burnout
• Ways to control your workload and say no guilt-free
• Quitting the chase for maximum income can increase freedom and peace
• Practical steps to take back your calendar and protect focus

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

The Hardest Skill in FI: Knowing When to Stop | E190 Joel Larsgaard

How to Create a 3-Day Workweek (Before You Reach FI) | E187 Andy Hill

Mini-Retirements: Retire Often, Not Just Early | E177 Jillian Johnsrud

Guest Summary:

Jess is the co-founder of The Fioneers, a platform dedicated to helping people pursue financial independence while building a life they enjoy along the way. Through their writing, courses, and YouTube channel, Jess and her partner Corey help people explore ideas like SlowFI, intentional living, and designing a flexible lifestyle before reaching full financial independence.

The Fioneers Website

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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For many people pursuing financial independence, discovering compounding interest is the moment everything clicks.

You start earning more, saving aggressively, and letting your investments grow. The math works, the plan is clear, and the finish line feels achievable.

But wealth isn’t the only thing that compounds. Burnout does too.

And if you ignore it long enough, it eventually catches up to you.

In this episode, I speak with Jess from The Fioneers to talk about the hidden cost of pushing too hard on the path to FI. Jess shares her experience hitting a wall before stepping away from work, the warning signs she ignored, and what she learned from slowing down.

Together, they explore why many high achievers in the FI community overestimate the financial risks of slowing down while underestimating the emotional cost of waiting too long.

You’ll also hear why the SlowFI philosophy resonates with so many people pursuing financial independence, and how it can help you design a life that balances progress toward FI with enjoying your time today.

If you’ve been pushing hard toward your FI number but feeling the weight of burnout creeping in, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at how to recalibrate before you’re forced to.

Key Takeaways:

• Burnout compounds just like investments if you ignore it long enough
• Many FI pursuers overestimate the risks of slowing down
• Waiting for full FI can come with hidden emotional costs
• SlowFI focuses on changing your relationship with progress
• Small adjustments can relieve burnout without derailing your FI plan

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

The Hardest Skill in FI: Knowing When to Stop | E190 Joel Larsgaard

How to Create a 3-Day Workweek (Before You Reach FI) | E187 Andy Hill

3 Hidden Traps That Make FIRE Feel Empty | E182 Jordan Grumet

Guest Summary:

Jess is the co-founder of The Fioneers, a platform dedicated to helping people pursue financial independence while building a life they enjoy along the way. Through their writing, courses, and YouTube channel, Jess and her partner Corey help people explore ideas like SlowFI, intentional living, and designing a flexible lifestyle before reaching full financial independence.

The Fioneers Website

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Support FI Minded

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Like this episode? Share it with a friend pursuing financial independence.

Love the show? Say thanks by leaving a positive review.

As I got closer to financial independence, I realized something strange: I had more financial freedom than ever, but I still wasn’t using my time any differently.

It forced me to ask a bigger question: if the goal of FI is freedom with your time, why was I still waiting to start living that way?

In this solo episode, I share why Fridays might be the best place to begin practicing financial independence before you reach your FI number. After years of working full-time while also running my business, I started experimenting with taking Fridays off, and eventually Mondays too, and discovered that freedom is something you can practice in small doses.

You’ll learn why Fridays are the perfect low-risk “tiny quit,” how reclaiming just one day can help you escape the weekend crunch, and why experimenting with flexibility now can build confidence in your FI plan long before you hit your number.

Key Takeaways:

• Why financial independence is a skill, not just a number
• How taking Fridays off can help you practice freedom before reaching FI
• Why Fridays are the lowest-risk day to experiment with flexibility at work
• How reclaiming your time can prevent burnout and create more life balance
• Simple ways to ask your employer for Fridays off or more flexibility
• Why small “tiny quits” can help you build confidence and design your ideal life

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

The Hardest Skill in FI: Knowing When to Stop | E190 Joel Larsgaard

How to Create a 3-Day Workweek (Before You Reach FI) | E187 Andy Hill

What’s on Your FI Bucket List? | E186

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Support FI Minded

Want to hear more? Follow FI Minded on your favorite podcast player.

Like this episode? Share it with a friend pursuing financial independence.

Love the show? Say thanks by leaving a positive review.

For years, I assumed Roth contributions were the smarter move. Pay the taxes now, enjoy tax-free growth later, and never worry about future tax hikes. It felt simple and responsible. But during my highest-earning years, that mindset was quietly slowing down my progress toward financial independence.

Financial planner and tax expert Cody Garrett explains why Traditional contributions often outperform Roth for people pursuing FI. The key insight: during retirement, it’s not your income that drives taxes, it’s your spending. That shift changes everything about how tax planning should work for early retirees and those working toward financial independence.

In this conversation, we break down the three major reasons Traditional contributions often win, why retirees benefit from a surprisingly friendly tax code, and how locking yourself into Roth contributions too early can limit your future flexibility. You’ll also learn how strategic tax planning can help you reach your FI number faster and create more options once you stop working.

Key Takeaways:

• Lower today’s tax bill during peak earning years
• Optimize tax brackets and avoid costly phase-outs
• Retirement taxes depend on spending, not income
• Preserve flexibility to convert to Roth later
• Avoid overpaying taxes during high-income years
• Use Traditional savings to accelerate your FI timeline
• Take advantage of the retiree-friendly tax code

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

50/30/20 Budget: Does This Popular Guideline Actually Work for FI Seekers? | E184

3 Hidden Traps That Make FIRE Feel Empty | E182 Jordan Grumet

Optimal Tax Strategies for Your Early Retirement | E180 Cody Garrett & Sean Mullaney

Guest Summary:

Cody Garrett is a financial planner, tax specialist, and the founder of Measure Twice Financial. A former professional musician turned financial advisor, Cody specializes in tax planning strategies for people pursuing financial independence and early retirement. His work focuses on helping high earners optimize tax strategies during their working years while creating flexible withdrawal strategies for retirement.

Book: Tax Planning To and Through Early Retirement

Website

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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The FI community is incredibly good at effort, optimization, and doing hard things for a long time. But somewhere along the way, many of us forget how to stop. Even after gaining more control over our time, we fill it back up with projects, commitments, and expectations, leaving us busy, tired, and quietly stretched thin.

Joel Larsgaard shares what it looked like to recognize that “doing it all” was no longer sustainable, even when the work was meaningful. After front-loading years of effort through saving, investing, and building How to Money, Joel began intentionally pulling back: working fewer hours, prioritizing family and health, and even taking a six-week sabbatical. This conversation explores why doing less isn’t laziness, but a necessary evolution after years of striving.

You’ll hear how financial independence can be used as a tool for time, not just wealth, along with practical ways to say no, resist constant expansion, and create space without losing ambition. If you’ve reached a point where more effort isn’t improving your life the way it used to, this episode offers a healthier path forward - one built on balance, presence, and intentional choices.

Key Takeaways:

• Doing more eventually stops improving your quality of life
• Financial independence is a tool to reclaim time, not fill it
• Burnout can exist even when work is meaningful
• Saying no protects energy for what matters most
• Over-committing quietly erodes family and personal time
• Small boundaries can create disproportionate freedom
• Doing less doesn’t kill ambition—it refines it
• Success should feel sustainable, not exhausting

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

4 Rules That Will Help You Spend Money Without Stress & Regret | E188

How to Create a 3-Day Workweek (Before You Reach FI) | E187 Andy Hill

3 Hidden Traps That Make FIRE Feel Empty | E182 Jordan Grumet

Guest Summary:

Joel Larsgaard is the co-host of How to Money, one of the most popular personal finance podcasts, where he helps listeners build wealth while living well. Through his own FI journey, Joel has shifted from relentless optimization toward a more intentional, balanced life—focusing on family, health, and long-term sustainability without abandoning ambition.

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Support FI Minded

Want to hear more? Follow FI Minded on your favorite podcast player.

Like this episode? Share it with a friend pursuing financial independence.

Love the show? Say thanks by leaving a positive review.

Most people enter marriage with optimism and good intentions, but very few understand what actually causes relationships to fall apart over time. After spending 15 years inside divorce courtrooms and watching more than a thousand marriages unravel, today’s guest reached a blunt conclusion that challenges everything we’re taught about marriage and money.

Aaron Thomas, divorce lawyer, Harvard Law graduate, and founder of Prenups.com, shares what he learned from seeing marriages fail up close, and how those lessons completely reshaped how he approached his own relationship. Instead of ignoring the risks, Aaron reverse-engineered the most common emotional and financial breakdowns couples face and built systems to prevent them before they ever show up.

This conversation explores practical tools couples can use to strengthen trust, reduce money-related conflict, and stay aligned on big goals like financial independence, early retirement, and lifestyle design. You’ll learn how to run a marriage check-in that actually works, why prenups can be healthy (not hostile), and how clear financial agreements can protect both your relationship and your FI journey.

Key Takeaways:

• Identify repeating conflict patterns before they escalate
• Schedule an annual relationship check-in on your calendar
• Set a shared spending limit to prevent daily money tension
• Create financial guardrails for helping family and friends
• Align on FI timelines before resentment builds
• Talk through risk tolerance differences, not past each other
• Use a prenup to clarify values and expectations early
• Learn your state’s default divorce rules before you marry

Other Episodes You’ll Love:

How to Have End-of-Life Conversations with the People You Love | E185 Tess Waresmith

When You and Your Partner See Money Differently | E162 Brian Page

When Your Spouse Makes More Than You | E151 Ed Coambs

Guest Summary:

Aaron Thomas is a divorce lawyer, Harvard Law graduate, and founder of Prenups.com. After representing hundreds of couples through emotionally and financially costly divorces, Aaron became passionate about helping couples proactively design healthier relationships. His work focuses on clear communication, financial transparency, and practical systems that reduce conflict and support long-term partnerships, especially for high-achieving couples pursuing financial independence.

Aaron’s website: https://prenups.com/

Connect With Justin

Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Support FI Minded

Want to hear more? Follow FI Minded on your favorite podcast player.

Like this episode? Share it with a friend pursuing financial independence.

Love the show? Say thanks by leaving a positive review.