Fire Drill

Tales from Camp Mustache: Part 1

Today's episode is part 1 of 3 from our time at Camp Mustache. We heard so many great stories that we knew we needed to share them! You'll hear stories from people about religion, privilege, kids, and what it's like to be disabled in America. 

In this episode, J and Gwen spend a bit of time at the beginning recapping Camp Mustache and going over key takeaways from the weekend. The main interview, though, is where things get interesting. 

Shawn had a very privileged upbringing. Jewish school, Jewish Day camps during the summer, an excellent education and a nice house in a nice neighborhood. However, once he made it through his education and began practicing as a lawyer, certain things about the Jewish community didn't make sense to him, especially after he discovered the financial independence community.

We delve into his experience as a Jew who wanted to save for financial independence and you will not want to miss it!

We also chat about...

philosophical lessons from Camp Mustache

practical lessons from Camp Mustache

What's next for Shawn and his FI plan

He was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Shawn, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Do you have a passion that you've anchored your life around?

Bob is a 34-year-old early retiree who left his professional job to "retire" on a farm in rural Appalachia with his family.  He started off with homesteading and then discovered a DEEP passion for charcuterie. His goals are now to make 100 different types of salami and 37 varieties of bacon. He technically "failed" at early retirement but found happiness and a new life calling.

You'll love Bob's story and he has a lot of wisdom to share on life after early retirement.

We also chat about...

Finding a passion and anchoring your life around it,

Homesteading and farm life,

When you're deep on a hobby and your partner isn't,

Physical hobbies versus digital hobbies,

Hitting the financial independence finish line (and realizing it's the starting line), &

Living life with no regrets.

For show notes and takeaways: https://firedrillpodcast.com/early-retirement-homesteading

How does earning residual passive income each month from a PDF you created one time sound?

J, Gwen and FIRE Drill listeners joined an Etsy digital downloads mastermind this Spring and created their own Etsy shops to sell printable products over the course of 6 weeks. Two mastermind members, Tamzon and Kevin, are on the podcast today to give all of the tips they learned while building profitable Etsy shops. They talk about tools for building printable products, SEO and keywords, creating their listing, and picking a niche.

If you'd like to join the next mastermind, J & Gwen are kicking one off again. In fact, they are hosting three masterminds this time (1 for digital downloads, 1 for print on demand, and 1 for blogging).

Sign up for the next mastermind here:

https://firedrillpodcast.com/newmastermind

For show notes and takeaways on this episode: https://firedrillpodcast.com/etsy-digital-products-mastermind/

Can you imagine that you can save for just four years and then take a career break?

Ashley of Kiwi & Keweenaw saved up for the past four years and is now taking a mini-retirement along with her husband who is pursuing his PHD.  She lives in the midwest, grows her own food and is awesome. 

You'll love her story. For show notes and takeaways: https://firedrillpodcast.com/ashley-kiwi-keweenaw

We also chat about...

Converting your friends to FI,

Saving & conscious consumption,

Growing your own food,

Her mini-retirement plan, and

Being too cheap.

What would life look life if you had figured out your finances at age 19?

Cody from Fly to FI doesn't have to wonder. His mom introduced him to the concept of financial independence at the tender age of 19 and he took off from there. He managed to graduate from college with minimal debt and tons of ideas.  Now, at age 22, he's the co-founder of a frisbee golf disc company. When we spoke to him, he was on the trip of a lifetime in Australia before he starts his corporate career. 

You'll be inspired by his story!

We also chat about...

how to score scholarships and internships for college

what it takes to start a business from scratch

the importance of networking

how to stand out in interviews

He was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Cody, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Diego Corzo is a dreamer, which is a term used to describe those protected under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).  Diego couldn't work, or drive a car, or take out student loans growing up since he's part of the undocumented yet he's absolutely crushing it in life now.  He worked his way through school and landed a well-paying software developer job.  He now has 8 properties across Florida and Texas and works as a realtor.  He wants to have $10,000 in passive income by 30.

For show notes and takeaways: https://firedrillpodcast.com/diego-corzo-real-estate

Have you ever wanted to get into real estate, but didn't want to deal with renters, rehabs, or rodents?

Enter Mark Podolsky, the Land Geek. He's been involved in real estate since 2001 and hasn't dealt with a single tenant. He scrolls through the tax records of counties, finds the properties with outstanding taxes due, makes an offer to the current owners for less than it's worth but more than the taxes they owe, and then turns around and sells the property for a 300% return. He could sell the raw land to the neighbors.... or anyone that's interested online.

The potential to make crazy income is totally there! Mark has a fantastic story and you'll be dying to get into the raw land business when the episode is over.

This is one you'll want to listen to multiple times.

We also chat about...

solo economic dependency

the true goal of financial independence

He was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Mark, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Lily and her husband, Jared, saved six figures last year and regularly save over 90% of their income.  They live in Seattle with their dog and have already hit their financial independence number but they never want to stop working.  Jared has a high-stress but well-paying corporate job and Lily manages their Airbnbs and their rental property.  Lily made over $40,000 last year on Airbnb!  Lily blogs about her life and path to financial independence at The Frugal Gene.

For show notes and takeaways: https://firedrillpodcast.com/lily-frugal-gene

Have you ever been in debt? Do you know how you got into that debt?

Some people aren't exactly sure where all their money went. One day they wake up and they have a ton of credit card debt with some stuff to show for it. Other people, like Marcus, know precisely how they got into that debt. A 72 hour spending spree later and BOOM! $30k into debt, just like that.

He chronicled his 7 year debt free journey first on his blog (and podcast) and then turned all the lessons he learned along the way into a book, Debt Free or Die Trying. Marcus has a ton of wisdom to share with us on this episode so we are super psyched we got him on the show!

You'll love his story and learn valuable lessons along the way!

We also chat about...

Americans and their confidence levels

the hierarchy of email domains

Gwen’s secret identity

J’s obsession with her neighbors

Natural spenders vs. Natural Savers

Favorite conspiracy theories

He was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Marcus, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Marcus' AWESOME BOOK: Debt Free or Die Trying

Marcus on Twitter (only 1 T!)

Marcus' debt-free video

Nerdwallet      <-- Excellent finance resource!

Paychecks and Balances Retirement advice 

Key takeaways from our chat with Marcus Garrett

1- Generations are made up

On a base level, everything in the world is made up. The world is obsessed with categorizing people, so we've created this system to organize people.

The Silent Generation.

The Greatest Generation.

The Baby Boomers.

Gen X

Millennials.

Is it a solely American trait or is it universal around the world? Can anyone comment on who the heck Xennials are?!?

2 - $29k in debt in 72 hours

Marcus paid off almost $30k in debt over a period of 7 years. But what is unique to his story of how he got into that debt.

It only took him 72 hours! He got a credit consolidation loan but (spoilers!) he didn't consolidate his debt. Instead, he balled out with his then girlfriend. Drinks, new TV.... the ways to spend this money were endless.

3 - Friends and money are the first to show up…

….and the quickest to leave.

People love to help come up with ways to spend your money. Marcus came into some cash and his friends were super ready to help him spend it, but they weren’t there when he tried to pay it off. Your true friends are the ones that will be there no matter what your bank account balances.

Find people that are supportive of your endeavors. A solid support system will help you when you are having trouble helping yourself.

4 - Reading books is a fantastic way to learn

Learning shouldn’t stop after school. Continuous learning is a great way to grow as a person through your entire lifetime.

There's a saying: "The best way to hide information is to put it in a book." We as a culture don't celebrate learning or reading but it can literally change your world!

You don't know what you don't know until you don't know it. Minimize what you don't know and your life will vastly improve!

P.S.: They've got an awesome new FREE 15 Minute Money Plan Tool. Check it out, it looks pretty cool 

What job gives you the ability to earn $200,000 per year at a young age without an advanced or technical degree?

Dandan is an immigrant who was motivated to achieve early retirement at a young age.  She got into sales and absolutely kicked butt to the point that she could walk away from her employer and start her own business in her late twenties.  She bought 5 properties and hit her retirement point at age 28.

We absolutely love her story.

We also chat about...

Headhunting as a career path,

Real estate,

Personal line of credit,

Changing your voice to talk to executives, &

Women at work real talk.

For show notes and takeaways: https://firedrillpodcast.com/dandan-global