Financial Independence Podcast

Over the last few years, I interviewed members of my family to find out two things:

1. How I became the Mad Fientist (i.e. where did I get my extreme ideas about money)
2. What advice they'd give to parents hoping to raise money-smart children

This is a short but sweet holiday episode to end the year and I hope you enjoy it!

Cody Berman and Justin Taylor, hosts of the FI Show, have both achieved financial independence but they've taken drastically different paths to get there.

Listen to this Podcast Takeover episode to hear the similarities and differences between an employee's path to FI (Justin's) and an entrepreneur's journey to FIRE (Cody's)!

Highlights

• Live-in flip vs. house hacking
• Sweet spot for buying used cars
• Why focusing on fixed expenses is important
• How to 5x your corporate income
• The unlimited upside of entrepreneurship
• How to get started investing if you're scared/nervous
• Nest-egging vs. cash-flowing your way to financial independence
• The benefits of a Solo-401(k) for entrepreneurs
• Why the corporate world is great for certain types of people
• Benefits and downsides of entrepreneurship
• Why it's important to not keep up with the FI Joneses either

Show Links

• The FI Show - https://thefishow.com
• The FI Show's Mega Backdoor Roth Episode - https://thefishow.com/mega-backdoor-roth-solo-401k-explained/
• The Mad Fientist's Mega Backdoor Roth Article - https://www.madfientist.com/after-tax-contributions/

Life has completely changed.

And because of this major change, I'm even more grateful for the freedom, flexibility, and time that financial independence and early retirement provide.

In this short episode, I fill you in on what's been happening and I discuss the reasons for my newfound appreciation of FI.

Welcome to another podcast-takeover episode of the Financial Independence podcast!

This time, Mathias from the Financial Independence Europe podcast takes over the show to talk to Luke Freeman (from Giving What We Can) and Rebecca Herbst (from Yield and Spread) about Effective Altruism!

Highlights

• What is Effective Altruism
• How to give efficiently and effectively
• Benefits of joining the effective altruism community
• How giving is evolving
• Differences between the US and Europe with regards to philanthropy
• How to give to charity while pursuing FI

Show Links

• Financial Independence Europe - https://financial-independence.eu/
• Yield and Spread - http://yieldandspread.com
• Give What We Can - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org
• Give Well - https://www.givewell.org
• Original Show Link - https://financial-independence.eu/uncategorized/episode-147-how-to-give-effectively-luke-freeman-and-rebecca-herbst/

Exactly 10 years ago, I released the first episode of the Financial Independence Podcast!

To celebrate this big birthday, I've collected all the best advice from my interviews with my very first podcast guest – Mr. Money Mustache!

Highlights

• Mr. Money Mustache's investing strategy
• Thoughts on real-estate investing vs. stock-market investing
• How to invest in a raging bull market
• The benefits of hitting FI before having kids
• Why you'll likely make money after retiring early
• Mr. Money Mustache's biggest splurge
• How to decide whether to pay off your mortgage early
• The best part of financial independence
• How to find meaning after early retirement
• Most challenging part of post-FI life
• The impact of financial independence on personal relationships

On today's episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I speak to Patrick Aime from Aime to Invest!

Patrick's journey to FI is an incredible one. He…

• Moved from his home in Rwanda to attend high school in Europe and college in America
• Stayed in America after college and started working in the feast-or-famine world of sales
• Started his own company and grew it to $5 million in revenue in four years
• Used his success in business to invest in rental properties and live a lavish lifestyle
• Lost everything during the 2008 global financial crisis and had to declare bankruptcy
• Found FIRE and drastically reduced his expenses and started saving for the long term
• Rebuilt a smaller business and started investing in short-term rental properties in Mexico
• Utilized geographic arbitrage to lower his expenses even further
• Hit FI 8 years after declaring bankruptcy and became a millionaire 2 years after FI

Patrick shares everything he learned during his rollercoaster financial journey so hope you enjoy the interview!

I'm excited to share with you the first Podcast Takeover episode of the Financial Independence Podcast!

Carl and Doug from the Mile High FI podcast take over the Financial Independence Podcast to talk about their early retirement successes and failures.

Enjoy!

Highlights

• Test drive early retirement by going part-time or taking a sabbatical
• Why finding a community is even more important for early retirees
• How to give yourself permission to slow down and be inefficient/unoptimized
• Why you can (and should!) reinvent yourself after you leave your job
• How to stop worrying about running out of money
• Why meaningful work is still the key to happiness after FI

Show Links

• Mile High FI - https://milehighfi.com
• My interview on the Mile High FI podcast - https://milehighfi.com/podcast/048-mad-fientist/

I have some big news…

I am now a British citizen!

In honor of finally getting my UK passport, and therefore completing this long journey to citizenship, I am releasing my UK FIRE episode.

Barney, from The Escape Artist, joined me in my Edinburgh apartment (before the pandemic) to discuss all things related to financial independence and early retirement in the UK.

Hope you enjoy it!

Highlights

• The cultural differences between US/UK that affect pursuing FI
• How to escape from the prison we create for ourselves
• Translating US investing terminology to the UK (e.g. 401k→pension, IRA→ISA, etc.)
• Is it easier to reach FI in the US or UK
• Class structure in UK and how pursuing FI forces you to traverse all classes
• Why FIRE isn't bigger in the UK
• Difference between the different types of ISAs
• Is tax hacking possible in the UK
• Real-estate investing in the United Kingdom and the fantastic Rent-a-Room scheme
• How to use geographic arbitrage to reach FI sooner

Last year, I published an interview with one of my favorite financial writers, Morgan Housel.

You may remember that the interview was recorded as part of a Bogleheads meeting and the interview was actually conducted by my buddy, Gouri.

Well, Gouri recently invited me to join the Bogleheads to talk about life after FIRE and today's podcast episode is a recording of that discussion!

Big thanks to Gouri and the Bogleheads for making this happen and hope you enjoy it!

Highlights

• How your views on spending change after you retire
• Why you should treat FI as a spectrum rather than a finish line
• How to plan for all aspects of post-FI life
• The unexpected benefits and challenges of early retirement

If you've followed me for a while, you'll know that I've released an annual update every year since I quit my job.

It's now been five years since I stopped working so this is my fifth (and final) annual update.

Why is it my final one?

I explain in today's short episode.

Highlights

• How the pandemic highlighted the power of having savings
• Why FI is the ultimate shock absorber and cheat code
• The reasons this annual update will be my last
• What to do when money is no longer a source of motivation
• Why "Lean FIRE" may be a bad idea
• Warren Buffet's plan for leaving money to his kids (and why it may change your FI target)