Fire Drill

Want a career that involves travel?

Teaching offers exactly that.

Sarah was born a traveller and knew she wanted to have a career that took her across the globe ever since she was a kid. She went into teaching and moved to China, where the low cost of living made it easy to save and travel. She then grew her side hustle of freelance writing to her full time gig and moved to the US with her husband and baby boy.

You'll love her story.

We also chat about...

Advice for others interested in teaching overseas

What it was like to give birth overseas

Teaching overseas in China

How she planned moving to the US

How she grew her freelance writing side hustle to her full time job

The importance of setting boundaries

Her current FI goals

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/my-journey-teaching-in-china-to-freelance-writing-in-the-us-sarah-li-cain

Did you know there is a large FI community over in Brazil?

Luiz reached FI after working as pilot both in Brazil and the Middle East. He discovered the FIRE world when he felt burnt out from work and was looking for smart ways to manage his money. His plans now include taking advantage of 90% discounts on airline tickets, travelling the world and moving to Bali, Indonesia.

You'll love his story.

We also chat about...

Achieving FI in Brazil vs in the US

Why Luiz went to the Middle East

What the FI movement is like in Brazil

The Brazilian FI bloggers

How he's using geoarbitrage

The toll it took on his health

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/achieving-fi-in-brazil-luiz

Ever thought of starting a side hustle selling hair lice removal services?

That's exactly what Timika came up with when she realised she wanted to make more money to retire early and take a sabbatical. She did the research, put up a bit of money and in her first year made 6 figures in sales. In 3 years she hopes to take her first sabbatical.

You'll love her story.

We also chat about...

Timika's money journey

How her divorce affected her finances

Taking sabbaticals

Her entrepreneurship journey starting a lice clinic

Having the confidence in the value of what you're providing

How you can start your own lice clinic business

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/how-my-side-hustle-with-a-lice-clinic-makes-6-figures-a-year-the-reluctant-frugalist

Sometimes you're better off focusing your energy on getting a promotion at your day job than starting a side hustle. Would you agree?

Tanja appears once again on the podcast! This time, with a new book! Tanja retired at the age of 38 and 2018 was her first year of retirement. She describes it as a year full of travel, family visiting and writing her book. She also describes her interesting after tax saving strategy that separates her pension money from her FI money.

You'll love her story.

We also chat about...

Tanja's first year of early retirement

Her after tax saving strategy

Where the bulk of her savings are

Her fitness side hustle and why dropping it was the best thing she did

Her new book Work Optional, Retire Early

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/work-optional-retire-early-a-2-phase-savings-approach-our-next-life

Ask yourself 'What kind of life do I want to live?' and then 'How much money do I need?'.

Grant reached financial independence at the age of 30. But he was working 80-90 hour work weeks and was focusing more on the spreadsheets than actually enjoy the journey of FI. He's now published his first book and is touring the US to meet other people in the FI community, spreading what he's learnt over the years. His message is that FI is about living life on your own terms, and that you don't always need a million to be there.

You'll love his story.

We also chat about...

FIRE events 2019

The good and the bad of these FIRE events

How Grant researched his book

Why he decided to write a book

Grant's book tour

His book giveaway

For show notes and takeaways https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/why-fi-is-about-living-life-on-your-own-terms-millennial-money

A Purple Life is retiring next year on a $500,000 FIRE number.

She is currently 29 years old, and living and working in Seattle. She's managed to reduce her expenses to $18,000 per year, and splits costs with her partner. She is also successfully living on a keto diet and is planning on going travelling next year once she hits her FI number.

You'll love her story.

We also chat about...

Moving from New York to Seattle

How she reduced her expenses to $18,000 per year

Why she does not combine finances with her partner

Living a keto diet

How she calculated her FIRE number

Life goals

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/how-im-retiring-next-year-on-a-500000-nest-egg-a-purple-life

Have you ever renovated a house yourself?

Garrett and Cathy have. In fact, they've renovated 6 properties! Garrett and Cathy came up with the idea of fixing up their own house when Cathy got laid off in 2009. Since then, they've been working hard buying houses, fixing them up and then renting them out to tenants. They are now stay at home parents and live off their rental income as they take care of their 3 kids. Pretty impressive.

You'll love their story.

We also chat about...

When their early retirement started

How they decide which houses to buy

Their strategies to rent and experiences with Airbnb

How they DIY the plumbing and electrical

How they became officially FIRE

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/how-we-saved-over-87000-by-diying-house-renovations-grit-and-polish

Managing your own Etsy store is a great way to get some sweet monthly passive income. We talk to Amy, who manages her Etsy shop full time and has scaled her shop to both wholesale and retail clients.

Amy fell in love with design and opened her Etsy shop the minute she graduated. From there she started off with vintage clipart, and the moved towards printables in the wanderlust and travel niche, selling to both wholesale and retail clients. She manages her Etsy shop full time and prints her designs on everything from mugs to pillows. 

You'll love her story!

We also chat about...

How she got started with Etsy

How to know when it's time to pivot

The importance of communicating with the customer

How to shop and select a printer

Using a dropship manufacturer

Good Etsy conferences to go to

Selling wholesale and retail

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/how-to-grow-your-etsy-shop-to-a-full-time-business-paper-finch-designs

New Year, New Financial Goals!

In this episode Gwen and J receive voice messages and emails from people in the community talking about their financial goals for 2019. We also hear Gwen's achievements and goals for the year coming, as well as J's exciting news about her house and her financial plans.

You'll love this little chat.

We also chat about...

2018 side hustle recap

The comfort of having a paycheck

Voicemails from other bloggers

Gwen and J's financial goals

Up and coming for 2019

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/your-2019-financial-goals

Here in the FIRE community we save a lot of money. What if one day it all disappeared because of a... security breach?

There's nothing worse than being hacked and having issues with your accounts because of a security issue - and losing all that money you need to reach FI! Today we talk with David, a security expert who used to work for NASA and who now works for a computer company. He tells us the steps we need to take to keep all of our money safe and not have to worry about security breaches.

You'll love this story.

We also chat about...

What you need to know about security

How to figure out the best passwords

SIM hacking

How to move away from phone numbers

VPNs and buying stuff online

David's personal FI journey

For show notes and takeaways: https://www.firedrillpodcast.com/how-to-keep-your-money-safe-and-secure-david