In this episode, we discuss 401k and 403b investment options and how to pick the right ones for you. We start with a refresher on 401ks and 403bs and discuss the tax structure of these plans. We then explain the various types of funds available and the key considerations for making your personal choices about how to invest your 401k.

In this week’s episode, we bring back the original friends on FIRE to give Maggie advice and counsel as she embarks on her early retirement journey. The original friends on FIRE are Mike’s dad Jack and his long-time friend Mark, who met at work, became fast friends and retired at 42 and 55. We first interviewed them on episode 78, and now they are back to advise Maggie on this specific stage of her early retirement journey. We talk about celebrating the change, taking risks, acclimating to a new environment, directed vs. undirected lifestyles, and the process of throttling back after going 90mph for so long.

In this week’s episode, Maggie shares a glimpse into how she plans to spend her retirement, or as she describes it, what’s on her early retirement bucket list. She introduces the concept of her Freedom Five and walks through each of her top five focus areas of how she plans to spend her time in early retirement. The Freedom Five includes slowing down and being more present, focusing on health and fitness, learning new things, helping people and causes she cares about, and incorporating more adventures and travel into her life.

In this week’s episode, Maggie shares her plan for medical insurance in early retirement. The reality is insurance is expensive, and either your employer is subsidizing the cost for you, or you’re paying the higher price tag in exchange for your freedom and flexibility. First, we discuss some factors to understand about medical insurance during early retirement and the various types of insurance options you can choose from. Maggie then shares her specific approach and plan and a detailed cost breakdown of what it will cost her family with and without ACA subsidies.

In this week’s episode, Maggie shares how her family of 5 is retiring at her age of 41 and her husband at the age of 43. She shares how they financially got to the point of retiring early and how they plan to finance the next 40+ years of their lives, and her feelings as she gets closer to taking the plunge into early retirement.

In this week’s episode, Maggie shares some big news that she’s resigned at the age of 41 after 20 years working in Corporate America and is retiring early! And it’s not just Maggie, her husband Greg also quit his job, and they are taking this plunge together. Their last day will be in early May, and they have an interesting next few months ahead. Maggie shares why she’s retiring early, how she resigned, how she’s been feeling since telling her employer, and Mike shares his many reflections and thoughts on this journey that he helped inspire.

In this week’s episode, we talk about going from financially illiterate in her 20s to retiring from W2 work in her 30s with Diania Merriam. Diania is the host of the Optimal Finance Daily podcast and the creator of the EconoMe conference, which has been described as the Ted Talks of the FIRE community and a “party about money.” Diania spent her 20s living it up in New York, discovered Mr. Money Mustache, and then got out of $30K in debt in 11 months. She used her newfound financial freedom to negotiate a remote-working before that was trending and to take a two-month sabbatical to hike the Camino de Santiago in Europe. Diania is full of wisdom beyond her years and shares many meaningful insights on finances, values, consumerism, community, and charting our own unique path. Diania shares her fascinating life journey and her learnings along the way; her perspective and attitude are contagious and inspiring.

In this episode, we talk about how to save money while dating. The dating process can get really expensive, yet there are some simple and proactive steps you can take to make dating more affordable and effective. We discuss the various factors that can influence the financial etiquette of dating. Then we share general tips for how to deal with the financial aspects of the dating scene and end with tons of practical tips for how to save money during the various stages of the dating process.

In this episode, we discuss our individual goals to earn 500,000 airline, hotel, or travel points this year for a friends on FIRE total of one million points! Travel hacking is a fun and lucrative activity if you learn how to do it right. We discuss our strategies and experiences accumulating points. We also share our travel plans and real-world examples of how we’re using points.

In this episode, we share ideas for putting a dollar value on your time and using that to decide what to buy vs. make, do yourself vs. hire, or purchase new vs. keep using. Of course, everyone is different and everyone’s time has a different value, but we can all begin to evaluate the decisions within a similar framework. We share a few key myths, give real-world examples, and talk through how we value our time.