The Financial Independence Show

By Cody Berman and Justin TaylorBusiness Entrepreneurship Investing Careers

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The Financial Independence Show episodes

December 17, 2025 Justin’s 2-Year Retirement Anniversary: Reflections, Updates, and Looking Forward
Wow, how time flies! Justin has officially been retired for two full years.
Today, we'll dig into how year 2 was different, get life and financial updates, and also look forward to year 3.
You'll notice a big fitness theme, and Justin will discuss an upcoming fitness retreat he's organizing in Spain.
We'll briefly skim over Justin's 6-month international trip, but if you want a deeper dive into how traveling the world technically saved him money, check out these episodes: Asia Recap & Full Trip Recap
Justin also gives us a transparent view of his financial updates. We hope this inspires listeners to see how truly powerful compounding interest is.
His High-Level Financial Stats:
Net Worth at retirement: $1.7M
Net Worth after 1 year retired: $2.1M
Net Worth after 2 years retired: $2.7M
We also ended this episode in a similar way that we ended his year 1 review of retirement, with a quick blast overview of how he spent his time, which includes:
December 2024
Spent the month in Mississippi visiting family
January 2025
Going-away party
Departed for the Philippines
Island-hopping boat tour
Feb
Indonesia
Ubud, Uluwatu, Gili Air, Nusa Lembogan, Nusa Penida
Mar
Vietnam
Birthday on Ha Giang loop
Apr
Thailand / Amsterdam / Switzerland
Koh Lanta
Chiang Mai
Temple Tours
Elephant Sanctuary
Tulip gardens
Insane train routes
Hang gliding off mountains
May
Italy
Lake Como
Cinque Terre
Parma
Florence
Elba
Naples
Ischia
Lipari
Sicily
June
Italy
Lipari round 2
Sardinia
Rome
First half-marathon
1hr 40min 19 sec
Rufus Du Sol show
Jul
Back to America
Stops in NYC and Dallas to visit friends
Maintained fitness on the trip
Body fat 10.4 -> 11.3
Lean Tissue 155.4 -> 156.3
Audien & Telykast concert
Started Wedding prep
Started doing track workouts
Run clubs & boat days
Started dialling in Biscuit & Cinnamon roll recipes for the wedding
Aug
House sitting for friends
Visited family in Mississippi
Concert dome experience
Sept
Spent over a week in Colorado visiting friends/bachelor trip getaway
Got some solid workouts in (at time my longest run of 16 miles and PR on deadlift of 405)
Finalized recipe for biscuits and cinnamon rolls for the wedding
Fincon
Knocked out a 14-mile progressive run with Cody
Friends wedding weekend in Austin
Rooftop yoga event
Really ramped up the dessert factory for the wedding
Finalized other wedding things
Charley Crockett concert
Oct
Got married
House sat
Went to a movie screening debut “Sober”
Lots of brand activation events around ACL/F1 timeline (Patron, Bush's beans, Google)
Attended a marketing conference
Completed longest run ever of 34 miles
Nov
First time hired to make a custom birthday cake
Redid the backyard, adding pavers and gravel landscaping around firepit and pergola
Wild 1-4 am show with Elderbrook and Lane 8
Friendsgiving
Hyrox with Leslie (1:10 finish time)
Thanksgiving on the Texas Coast
Dec
5k PR: 20 min 53 sec
3 Big EDM Concerts
Mississippi for Christmas
Visit a good friend in Little Rock
Began planning first group retreat (Spain Fitness/Hyrox related)
We hope you enjoy a look behind the curtain and Justin's willingness to be open and honest about the retired life.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from the Episode
Spain Fitness Retreat
Justin’s Retirement Announcement Episode
Justin's 1 Year Since Retirement Episode
Asia Recap Episode
Full 6-month International Trip Episode
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/Kzdm3St3UkE
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
45 min
December 08, 2025 Unlearning Frugality | The Mad Fientist
Brandon Ganch, aka The Mad Fientist, joins us to share how he's trying to break some of the frugal habits that allowed him to retire at the age of 34.
He is one of the earliest analytical voices in the FI movement, known for treating FI as a systems problem.
He leverages his background in computer science, strong preference for systems thinking, experimentation, and automating FI decisions to bring unique perspectives and ways of thinking to the FI space.
Brandon retired extremely early, then realized he needed to redesign his post-FI life, not just his finances.
Most people in the world can't imagine training themselves to spend more money, but in this space, we totally get it.
Brandon walks us through all the experiments he's done around spending money to retrain how he thinks about spending decisions.
He covers specific examples of how he is reframing things as well as the increased happiness he's experiencing thanks to these purchases.
Topics covered include:
How to recalibrate your brain to determine which spending decisions are really worth your time based on net worth
Setting aside "Cash Machines" for future purchases
Running spending experiments and setting spending rules
Breaking old psychological traps to overcome frugality
And so much more.
If you found the episode valuable, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
Wealth Machines (https://wealthmachines.co) - Join as a beta tester before December 12th
Mad Fientist Website (https://madfientist.com)
Financial Independence Podcast (https://www.madfientist.com/podcast/)
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/mrWl40q_K64
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
48 min
November 26, 2025 We Live Better Than Kings Did (Thanksgiving Special Episode)
Cody & Justin are here to flood your ears with thanks!
Your very own Financial Independence Show co-hosts are here with a special Thanksgiving episode.
It's hard to believe we're rounding out yet another year, and there's so much to be thankful for as always.
Fitness improving, relationships strengthening, comfort level with retirement steadily increasing, and so much more.
Some general categories include:
Health
Relationships
Finances
Lifestyle
Gratefulness
Hang around until the end to hear Cody's big announcement, and Justin's not-so-standard Thanksgiving dish that you can wow your friends and family with.
You might be shocked at just how little money comes up, and we think that's the clearest sign we're living our best lives.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/dz_ThEE_YYU
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
39 min
November 19, 2025 From $111,000 in Debt to Freedom through Budgeting | Allison Baggerly
Allison Baggerly from Inspired Budget joins us to share her journey from $111,000 in debt to creating a life of freedom through budgeting.
Topics covered include:
How to change your spending habits
Paying down debt as quickly as possible
Different types of budgets and how to implement
The power of increasing your income
Knowing your "enough"
How kids can actually reduce your expenses
Planning for early retirement
Routines, time blocking, and managing your schedule
And so much more.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
Inspired Budget (Allison's Website)
Inspired Budget Podcast
Allison's YouTube
Allison's Instagram
Money Made Easy (Allison's Book)
Allison's Budgeting Spreadsheet
Allison's Daily Budgeting Video
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/59scOklc9jc
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
46 min
November 12, 2025 Building a $700,000+ Glamping Business | Garrett Brown
Garrett Brown, author of The Glamping Investor, joins us to talk all about building a glamping business.
He shares his own journey from $0 to $700,000+ in revenue, and his best tips on how you can get started yourself.
Topics covered include:
Finding the right plot of land
Understanding "landhacking" and why it's so powerful
Setting up utilities and amenities
Zoning and building laws
Different types of glamping structures and their cost
Financing and how to buy these types of structures
Scaling and improving your glamping business
And so much more.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
The Glamping Investor (Garrett's Book)
Garrett's Instagram
Garrett's YouTube
BiggerStays YouTube
Pacific Domes (mention The FI Show for best pricing)
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/1oCuixGBYsw
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
48 min
November 04, 2025 The Magic of Compounding | Sathish Gajula
Sathish Gajula from the Compounding Project joins us to talk about compounding your health, wealth, and mindset.
He shares some mindblowing stats, along with plenty of tactical advice.
Topics covered include:
Why investing early matters so much
How to cut back on the "big 3" expenses
The most important part of the compound interest equation
How compounding affects health and fitness
Curating the right information diet
Hacks for maintaining motivation and discipline
And so much more.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
The Compounding Project (Instagram)
The Compounding Project (YouTube)
The Compounding Project Podcast
Compound Interest Equation:
Sathish's Favorite Books:
Outlive - Peter Attia
The Simple Path to Wealth - JL Collins
Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
The Compound Effect - Darren Hardy
I Will Teach You to Be Rich - Ramit Sethi
Atomic Habits - James Clear
Sathish's Favorite Podcasts:
Diary of a CEO
The Tim Ferriss Show
Colin & Samir
Sathish's Favorite Apps:
Fantastical Calendar
Chat GPT
Todoist
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/yCded1Kz61I
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
41 min
September 30, 2025 Building a $32.5 Million Treehouse Empire | Seth & Tori Bolt
Seth and Tori Bolt from Bolt Farm Treehouse join us to share their story of a wedding gift that turned into a $32.5 million business.
It's been truly incredible to see what they've built together, and more importantly, just how down-to-earth both of them are despite their tremendous success.
Inside the episode, we discuss:
Scaling a short-term rental business
How hospitality is everywhere
Creating a memorable experience
Working with your partner
Goal setting and the concept of "enough"
Attracting top talent
Showing up on social media
Knowing when to add/cut things
And so much more.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
Bolt Farm Treehouse
@boltfarmtreehouse (IG)
@drsethbolt (IG)
@toribolt (IG)
Bolt Farm Workshop Retreats
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/kL5-g3yGqt0
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
53 min
September 09, 2025 How to Retire Often | Jillian Johnsrud
Jillian Johnsrud, a friend and multiple-time guest on The FI Show, joins us to discuss her latest book, Retire Often.
Specifically, we cover:
Why mini-retirements are so important
How mini-retirements can accelerate your FI timeline
The art of negotiation
Finding meaning from taking breaks
Retiring with intention
The math behind mini-retirements
Why FIRE shouldn't be your first retirement
And so much more.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
Retire Often Book
Jillian's Website
Overcoming Adversity (Jillian's 1st Episode on The FI Show)
Managing Goals and Avoiding Mediocrity (Her 2nd Episode)
Fire the Haters and Create Content Online (Her 3rd Episode)
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/2fN3UOOVqBw
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
56 min
August 11, 2025 How He Spent Only $9,400 On a 6-Month Trip (Justin’s 2025 Recap)
Justin is back!
Your very own Financial Independence Show co-host is here to give you all the financial details from his six-month journey around the world.
Spoiler alert, he actually turned a profit and increased his net worth by $100k+ while abroad.
The numbers might be shocking, but as always, Justin kept detailed records of expenses and walks you through exactly how he pulled off this incredible trip.
Specifically, we cover:
Most overrated and underrated places
Where he wishes we spent more time
First place on his "going back" list
Where he'd be most likely to live long term
Best bang for your buck experience
Where he wishes he had spent more money
Accomplished and unaccomplished goals
Airbnb income, other income, and creative ways to save
Hang around until the end to hear Justin's top 3 tips for someone looking to do something similar!
This is an episode you'll want to come back to if you're looking for a blueprint for traveling the world on a budget.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
Justin's Travel Blog
Spreadsheet with all the expenses
Some photos highlighting the European travels
$46 to Travel the World (Pre-Trip Episode)
$2,052 for 5 Weeks in Southeast Asia (1-Month Recap)
$1,500 per Month to Travel in Southeast Asia (3-Month Recap)
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/ThTLDOj1A7A
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
43 min
July 02, 2025 Buying Houses with No Money Down from Thousands of Miles Away | Tony J Robinson
Tony J Robinson, co-host of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie podcast and one half of The Real Estate Robinsons, joins us to talk real estate strategy.
Tony has experience with many creative financing options and buying properties all around the country.
Specifically, we cover:
100% mortgage loans through small credit unions
The BRRR strategy
Finding equity partners to finance deals
Seller financing
Lines of credit against stocks
How to identify a "good" investment property
Systems for managing your properties
Building a team anywhere in the country
And so much more.
This is definitely an episode you'll want to come back to if you're looking to set up a system for managing your properties.
If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode
Tony's Instagram
Tony's YouTube Channel
The Real Estate Robinsons
BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie Podcast
Finding Properties:
AirDNA
PriceLabs
Managing Properties:
PriceLabs
Guesty
Hostfully
Breezeway
Monday
Turno
YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/4lojE8R18Ks
Join the Community
We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!
Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com
If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review!
>> You can do that by clicking here <<
Learn More About Your Hosts
CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog)
Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)
47 min

About The Financial Independence Show

From the publisher's feed

Cody Berman and Justin Taylor believe in the concept of “Financial Independence For All”. The Financial Independence Show focuses on REAL stories of individuals on their journey to financial…