September 03, 2019

The Low Income Path to FI | Chad Methner

32 minutes

In today’s episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Chad Methner from Little Brother Life Coach.

Chad really wants to encourage people how to reach FI even if they’re nowhere near a six-figure salary.

We discuss his battles during the recession, finding himself in a job he hated, and how he came through it all. You’ll catch Chad now helping others through coaching and setting up local meetups.

It’s a unique angle so go listen and follow along with the summary below and make sure to check out the links at the bottom of the page.

Episode Summary

Chad first discovered financial importance from a Dave Ramsey book he stumbled across

The parts about debt pay off really hit Chad

He’s still $20k in debt from college

After high school, he just did some manual labor while he tried to figure out what to do for college

He got half off tuition thanks to his dad’s job at Ohio State

After college, he couldn’t land a job because it was 2009 and the recession was in full swing

He didn’t rack up any debt from college until he got his masters in 2015

While the job he had did some tuition reimbursement, it still cost him $25k in debt

That along with a car and some other loans left him with over $40k worth of debt

He continues at this job making under $11 per hour

After he got his masters he went to try and get a promotion

Unfortunately, they didn’t give him any options

After six years there he had maxed out at $13.25 an hour and decided to leave

He landed a new job and almost doubled his income to just under $50k and in a role where he was more comfortable

We asked why he staid at that first job so long unhappy and underpaid

For Chad, it was just comfortable and easy but he finally had enough

The discussion swapped to how he saves money on this lower-income

The biggest thing for him was cooking at home

It turned into a full-blown hobby instead of just a money saver

He plans to be out of debt in 3-5 years

His big goal is to retire before age 55 and hit that $1M mark

Chad is also trying to build up side hustles including coaching and writing a book

Then we discuss the “poverty-tax” and the importance of an emergency fund

Key Takeaways

Everyone can benefit from this journey: Chad began this journey on as little as $10.75 per hour and it’s changed his life. Your velocity may be different but the impact is still extremely meaningful.

We can always help: Although Chad is still working through his debt payoff, he still has a lot to teach other low-income individuals chasing FI.

Don’t settle for misery: Chad obviously stayed at his first job too long. After 6 years he was still underpaid and forced into positions he hated. Regardless of pay, working in a job you hate is never worth it.

Call to Action

Start planning some frugal activities and trips. Maybe even take a look at activities you currently do and find a frugal alternative.

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Contact Chad:

Via his blog Little Brother Life Coach

Catch him on Twitter

In our Facebook group!

Learn More About Your Hosts:

Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)

Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

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By Cody Berman and Justin Taylor

4.8

296296 ratings