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Diania Merriam is the founder of the EconoMe Conference, a financial independence conference, and the host of the Optimal Finance Daily podcast. At the age of 28, Diania climbed out of $30K of debt in 11 months to begin her journey to financial independence.  In this episode, Diania shares about what it took to reach debt freedom and how she is powering her path to retiring early. This episode is loaded with actionable insights for you to get your finances in order and start building real wealth. --- Transcript   Before we jump into the episode, here's a quick disclaimer about our content. The Remote Real Estate Investor podcast is for informational purposes only, and is not intended as investment advice. The views, opinions and strategies of both the hosts and the guests are their own and should not be considered as guidance from Roofstock. Make sure to always run your own numbers, make your own independent decisions and seek investment advice from licensed professionals.   Michael: Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of The Remote Real Estate Investor. I'm Michael Albaum. And today with me, I have Diania Merriam, who's going to be talking to us today about the economy conference that she is the founder of as well as some financial independence tips that she has learned along her life's journey. So without further ado, let's get into it.   Diana, thank you so much for taking the time to come talk personal finance with me today. I really appreciate it.   Thanks for having me.   Michael: No, my pleasure. So you are the founder of a really cool conference called economy.   Diania: Yeah.   Michael: Tell us a little bit about what that is. Because I know it's coming up here in like 30 days, right?   Diania: Yes, we are exactly a month away at the time of this recording. But essentially, economy, the easiest way to describe it is it's like the TED talks of the fire movement. And you guys can't see me. But I'm doing air quotes over here, because we're not associated with TED talks, which is like the easiest way to explain what it is. So we have amazing mainstage speakers that talk about financial independence from a lot of different angles, whether it be really tactical information, or just more inspiring stories. And then we also do a number of breakout sessions to kind of connect you with like minded people. Because as you know, money is such a taboo topic, right? And we don't often get the opportunity to surround ourselves with people that are comfortable talking about this stuff.   So one of the things I like to say about pursuing financial independence is like what's the point of being FI and retiring early if you have no one to hang out with? Right, here's your opportunity to meet your people to meet your tribe.   Michael: Your playmates yeah.   Diania: Exactly. So we've got all these breakout sessions, we do an after party, we do a lot of social activities on the last day of the event. So it's really just an amazing weekend, someone last year describes it as a party about money, which is exactly the vibe I was going for.   It's really, the point of it is inspiration and community around a topic that is so you know, influential for us all?   Michael: Oh, that's awesome. And is I know, this year, it's out in Cincinnati. Is it always in Cincinnati? Or does the location move every year?   Diania: Yes. So we're actually in our second year, because I had the brilliant idea of launching an event based business in the middle of a pandemic.   Actually, our first event was March 7 of 2020. It was one week before everything shut down due to COVID. But I had been planning the event for 20 months. This was like something I could have never anticipated that I would have to navigate. So yeah, we got really lucky on our first event. And this is actually going to be our second and yes, it's at the same venue, which is the University of Cincinnati.   Michael: Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I've got kind of a question for you. And I'm curious, why did you think you were qualified to host and found a conference talking about money? What's your story? Like?   Diania: Yeah, like who the hell do I think I am? I mean, as far as qualifications? Um, that's a great question. I think that I was just someone with a really ambitious idea. That's probably crazy. Most people told me I was crazy. When I when I first came up with this idea, but the reason why I wanted to do this is because figuring out my financial situation completely changed my life. So my background is that, you know, my 20s, I was very focused on my career, living in New York City. I got to my late 20s, about 28. I decided I should probably look at my money situation, like what's going on here, right. And I ran a credit report on myself and realize that I was 30 grand in debt for like no good reason. It was simply living outside my means.   And half of that debt was student loan debt, which doesn't sound too bad until you consider that I got a full academic scholarship to college. Like, the fact that I had any student loan debt is just ridiculous. It still blows my mind. But when you're at that age, and you're completely financially illiterate, you know, someone offers you loans, and you don't really…   Michael: Oh look free money!   Diania: I mean, you Yeah, you just, it's just what you do, right? No one like advised me that maybe that wasn't a great idea. So I found myself in this situation where I'm 30 grand in debt in my late 20s. My 30th birthday is looming. I think it's one of those really reflective birthdays for like, what am I doing with my life?   Michael: Yep, right.   So I came across this article that was sent to me by a friend from Mister Money Mustache. I'm sure you know that blog, right?   Michael: Know him very well, yeah.   Diania: Yes, one of the most popular probably the most popular blogger in the fire movement, which I keep throwing around this word fire. I want to make sure everyone's on the same page stands for financial independence retire early. Right, To me it's a it's a lifestyle movement with a goal of financial freedom. But a lot of people look at it as like a bunch of frugal weirdos and we're all in a cult.   Diania: It's not   Michael: Chanting about money.   Diania: Yeah, exactly. So I discovered Mister Money Mustache. And I like to say that I think the article was something about like, viewing your debt as an emergency. And I like to describe finding that blog as a refreshing punch in the face, because I had never heard anyone talk about money the way that he did. And I just devoured that blog with a spoon. I read like every single article, I got a little obsessive over it.   But it really inspired this very deep mindset shift within me. And I did a complete 180 I got out of that 30 grand of debt and 11 months. And from there, I started saving about 60% of my income. And it completely changed my life. It opened up so many options. That just didn't seem possible for me like that, it allowed me to dream bigger, you know. So one of the things that motivated me to even want to get out of debt is I had this goal to go walk the Camino de Santiago, which is a 500 mile trek across Spain. It just seemed like this ridiculous life adventure that felt so outside my comfort zone. But it's what I wanted to do for my 30th birthday.   So getting out that was kind of a motivator for me to get out of debt. And then when I got back from that trip, so that was in 2017.   Michael: Wait, timeout. So you did it?   Diania: I did it. Yes.   Michael: So when I got back, you just glossed over it! Oh, that's incredible.   Diania: Yeah, it took me 38 days, and it was a wild adventure. absolutely wild. Yeah, I walked with anywhere between 10 to 20 miles a day, with like, 20 pounds on my back, I met incredible people. That's actually I have an arrow tattoo on my wrist,   Michael: Okay.   Diania: And it's because the whole way is marked by arrows. They're like spray painted on trees, or like, carved into these stones. And so every time I would see an arrow, it'd be like a very comforting symbol that I like, wasn't lost.   Michael: Still on the right path.   Diania: So yeah, yeah. So um, when I got to Santiago, which for many people is the finish line, I ended up getting this tattoo. But yeah, that's something that I would have never dreamed would be possible, given my financial situation in my late 20s. And, you know, a lot of the people that I met on the trail were in their 60s or they were at traditional retirement age, they had to like wait to be able to do that. So it just getting my money in order opened up this incredible option.   And I just feel like my getting my finances in order almost allowed me to ask bigger questions like, What do I want to do with my time? What do I want to create? What kind of people do I want to surround myself with? And so getting out of debt was a big milestone in that regard. Walking the Camino was a big milestone. I negotiated a remote working arrangement with my employer. So I moved from New York City to Cincinnati, which people are like, what, why? Why would you do that?   But I will tell you that Cincinnati has everything that you would want out of a big city with like none of the downsides. And the cost of living, you just can't beat it. I mean, I really am marketing Cincinnati as the number one city to pursue financial independence. And a couple things we're doing actually at the economy conference in that regard, like our coffee vendor as a local vendor.   We're doing an urban hike on Sunday morning of the event, a three hour urban hike to show off how amazing Cincinnati is. And then with Roofstock, we are doing a chartered real estate bus tour. It's a two hour tour where we're going to drive you around the amazing neighborhoods in Cincinnati that are really good investments. And we have an expert that owns 42 doors here. He's flipped three dozen houses, and he's going to do some case studies on his best properties.   So if you are interested in low cost of living in an amazing city, you've got to come out to Cincinnati and I feel like I have the authority to say that because I came from New York City that's usually whatever where everyone wants to go.   Michael: Yes.   Diania: Now come to Cincinnati.   Michael: I love it. And I'm gonna second that call to action to get out to Cincinnati. I do a lot of investing out in Cincinnati and across the river in Covington, Kentucky, and I went out to visit a property and I happen to be there actually around this time a little bit later in October and found myself and I think the second largest Beer Fest or Oktoberfest, rather outside of Munich, Germany, and just had an absolute bombing, the food scene. I think they've got the most micro breweries like per capita of maybe any city. Tons of coffee places, Coffee Roasters popping up, it is just a very, very cool city for no one who, for people who haven't been before, so totally love it. Love it. Love it.   Diania: Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, being out here getting back from the Camino, you know, I adopted dog, I buy a house, I find myself a Midwestern gentleman, you know, life is good. Yeah. But I was still kind of asking myself these big questions like, What do I want to do with my time. And so at this point, I'm saving 60% of my income, I'm still, you know, fully employed with the same company that I had worked for nine years in New York City. And I had this idea that you know, what I was asking myself, what would I want to do with my time if I no longer had to work for money?   And I decided I wanted to create this party about money. And a big reason for that is because I had been going to different events, and exposing myself to people that were very, like, growth oriented, their life seems so expansive, and it really helped me broaden my perspective on what's possible in my own life. So for example, one of my favorite events is called World Domination Summit. I know that sounds insane, like who produces that, pinky in the brain?   Michael: Pinky and the brain, yeah, exactly.   Diania: But this event, I mean, as someone as frugal as me, you know, I got out of 30 grand of debt and 11 months, I really brought down my spending in order to do that this event is $700 A ticket. And I will tell you, it is worth every single penny. Because the people that you meet there are just incredible, and they're doing such amazing things. And every time I would leave, I would feel like my life is so full of possibility. I also had gone to events like Camp FI, or Camp Mustache, sense positive. These are kind of rooted in the financial independence community. And it's a way for people to spend a weekend together with like minded people.   Now, I saw an opportunity to create kind of a large scale event. So like Camp FI, Camp Mustache, usually around 60 people for like a weekend at a retreat center. Right? I wanted to do something more like World Domination Summit that's a little bit more grand. It's more of a production. You know, it's more of a show. It has a really strong entertainment element to it. And so I modeled my event really after World Domination Summit, but I brought that price tag way down. I'm actually doing it for $200 A ticket, but it is definitely worth $700 A ticket. I'm not charging enough.   But yeah, it's funny, because this event was supposed to be my early retirement project when I reached FI at 40 years old, but I just got so excited about it. I couldn't wait. I had to do it now. And I'm really glad that I did. Because it's been quite the adventure.   Michael: Oh my god, what a cool story. And next time someone asks, don't gloss over the fact that you hiked 500 miles. That's an amazing feat, among many others. You just mentioned that is so cool. That is so cool.   So I,   Diania: Well thanks so much.   Michael: No, of course, of course, what I'd love to do is kind of get into the meat and potatoes, if you will, of financial independence and just kind of getting your finances or so I think your story where you found yourself in your late 20s is so common for so many people, they don't realize what student loans are, how the payback works, how debt works, how finances work. So what did you do? Other than change your mindset, like brass tacks, what did you do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? And you were able to pay off 30,000 in debt in 11 months? Because that's that's something no small feat.   Diania: Yeah, I would say big lifestyle changes, right. So when I looked at where I was spending money, then I would say the first thing I did was increase my awareness around my situation, honestly, because a lot of us are just swiping the credit card, we're not paying attention of where our money is going. So I started tracking every single dollar I spent. And I saw that I was spending a ton of money eating out, you know, going out for happy hour. I mean, let's be honest, I had my 20s in New York City, you know, like I was a party animal.   And I think what I obviously like I was very social creature, I mean that's kind of another reason why I'm into these in person events. I'm a very social person, very extroverted. So I was spending so much money going out. And so what I ended up doing, and I think this is really important, when you think about decreasing your expenses, a lot of people look at that as deprivation, they look they think of it as I can't go out anymore. And I saw it as an opportunity to be resourceful and creative, and really to get to the root of what are my values and how do I align my spending with my values in a more efficient way.   So the value for me was spending time with other people, I don't need to remove that from my life, let me just do that a little bit more efficiently. So I started like hosting these elaborate dinner parties in my apartment, where I would like makeup games, I made my apartment more fun than a bar, everybody else would bring the booze, I would cook the food. And you know, I'd always have themes like, I just, I think back on that time, and it was so wild. Like I would tell people, you know, bring a photo from your awkward phase. And then we'd like all pass around these photos around and like make fun of each other or like   Michael: That's so good   Diania: The night was like, was like tonight's the evening of compliments. And it was like a game of who can give the most compliments to other people at the table. And we would like, we would like keep score. I mean, it was just silly, but it scratched my itch for human connection in a really resourceful way. Another thing I did was, you know, rather than buying clothing, I would host these clothing exchanges, all of my more fashionable friends would clean out their closets, I would do like a clothing swap, while sipping mimosas and listening to music in my apartment on a Sunday afternoon, you know, I started to see my, my frugal behaviors is actually far superior than the convenience of swiping a card because I not only got my needs met, but I also got to be creative in the process.   And so I kind of feel like if you're reducing your expenses, and it feels like deprivation, I think that you're not being creative enough about it, I think it can be a really fun thing. And I also think the other piece of it is really understanding that that hedonic treadmill, we're all on when it comes to consumerism, right? We all want, you know, the new shoes and the fancy car and the nice stuff. And I think that I had to really grow a new sense of gratitude for what I have. Now.   If you develop a deep appreciation for what you have now, you're almost combating that desire for more. Right, I think you're combating your consumerist conditioning. And I started to see things that I used to think were a burden, I would just laugh them off as a first world problem. So for example, we all know, the big three, right? And personal finance, when you're reducing your expenses, you want to reduce your housing, transportation and food, those are the things that people spend the most money on. And so I was locked into a lease, you know, or, you know, with my apartment, so I couldn't really do anything about that transportation. I didn't have a car, I was using public transportation. And I had, like, commuter benefits through my job. So I feel like I was optimized there.   But when it came to food, I could I could really have a huge effect there. So I started cooking every meal that I ate. I was bringing lunch every single day making, you know, gourmet breakfast, of like omelets with goat cheese and smoked salmon. I mean, I was eating very well, I'm not talking rice and beans. But for most people, when I would tell them I'm cooking, every meal I am eating, they look at that as such a burden.   And it's like, actually, no, I should be celebrating the fact that I have access to a grocery store that I can get any ingredient I want at any time at that grocery store, right? Like, we are so fortunate and I think if we can shift our mindset and be grateful for how fortunate we are, we're combating that desire for that consumerist convenience. Another thing that really struck me when I was reading Mister Money Mustache is he says that luxury is a weakness. And that really helped me shift my mindset because I realized if I can be happy on very minimal amount of money, that's like a superpower. Right? And I wanted to learn that skill before something externally happened.   So I think self imposed restriction, it has the opportunity to lead to a lot of personal development, when it's externally imposed by a job loss, or like a health scare. I didn't want to try to learn it under those conditions, I think it would have been a lot less fun, you know. And so I think it was really empowering for me to just learn to live on less and enjoy it. I mean, I spent a lot more time reading books from the library and working out and journaling. And I stopped wearing makeup for a long time and got comfortable with my with what my face looks like. I mean, you know, these are all things that you can look at it as deprivation or you can see it as incredible opportunity to grow.   Michael: That's incredible. Total side note. Do you know Wim Hof?   Diania: Yeah.   Michael: Are you a big Wim Hof fan?   Diania: Oh, What a weirdo. Yeah, that guy. My boyfriend does his breathing every morning. It's really obnoxious.   Michael: Oh, that's awesome.   Diania: Yeah, here I'm like huffing and puffing in the living room this morning. So my wife is a huge fan. And I've come on board to the cold plunge thing I totally buy into, but he talks about forcing yourself to be uncomfortable and putting yourself in uncomfortable situations. So when life throws something that you, you can handle it. And that totally sounded very similar to what you're talking about of, hey, do it for yourself. So that way, when life throws you a curveball, you're more than ready.   Diania: Absolutely.   Michael: No, I love that. I love that. But you also did. I mean, you also uprooted your life and move that in New York and to Cincinnati. So yeah, I mean, you said that you were locked into this lease, but it doesn't sound like you renewed that lease, or you stayed in New York much longer after having this revelation.   Diania: Yeah. And, you know, when I was in New York, for about 10 years, I had to move almost every year. I think the longest I stayed in a place was like a year and a half, maybe two years. But it's, you know, you're constantly changing roommates, because no one can afford to live alone. And then the rents will go up like $100 every year. So you're really forced, I was forced even deeper and deeper into the bowels of Brooklyn, you know, and then I ended up, I ended up getting this. The last place I lived. I did live there for two years is the first time I've ever lived alone as an adult.   It was in Sunset Park and I was paying $1,800 a month for this like cockroach infested apartment. That was just Yeah. So when I was making the decision to go walk the Camino and 2017 My I did the Camino in the fall, my lease was up in May of that year. So my landlord wasn't going to let me sublet for those two months. So I knew I was going to have to leave anyway, and find a different situation. And so it was like if I'm gonna move again. And I'm in this situation where I've got no man, no kids, no debt. Let me just go, like, put my big girl pants on and move to the Midwest and try something different, you know?   Michael: Yeah totally.   Diania: Just, I was always intimidated by the idea of like uprooting my life and starting over in a new city. But I had the benefit of I had a really close friend in Cincinnati, who I visited a few times. And so I got the sense of the area. And she was my only connection to Cincinnati isn't like I grew up here. I grew up in New Jersey. I had no other friends or family or anything besides her. And that was really helpful, though, because she was another very social person. So she just dumped me into her friend circle. Oh, and that's kind of how I got going here. Yeah, yeah.   Michael: That's great. That's great. And so now that you are kind of on the other side of the wall, or standing on top of the wall or the mountain, what advice do you have for people? I mean, in addition to the wealth of knowledge you've already shared, what do you what do you see looking forward? And what can you share with people?   Diania: Yeah, um, I would say when you're first starting out, like I'm helping a friend right now who's really deep in debt, who is just starting from scratch, trying to clean up her finances. And when I sit with her in our meetings, it's like, she's just so overcome with shame, and fear. And she's like sweating, as we're talking about this stuff. And I encourage her as well as anyone else in that situation, let your curiosity be bigger than your fear.   Because when it comes to money, it really is all figureoutable. But you have to have the mindset that it's fixable in order for you to be able to kind of face the music and like look at the reality of your situation, so that you can come up with a plan to dig out of it. It's totally possible. But it really all starts with your belief system. So there's a lot of people where I'll tell my story, and they'll say, Well, you could do that. But here are all the reasons why I can't do that.   Michael: Why I can't, right. Yeah.   Diania: And and I think if that's your initial reaction, that's your first thing that you got to tackle. I think you've got to change your belief system to recognize that it is possible and start to get curious about how it could be possible versus just immediately dismissing it. I think that's good advice for when you're first starting out. I think as you move through your financial journey, and you start hitting milestones, like for me, I hit debt freedom. Amazing. Then I had a fully funded emergency fund. Awesome. Then I started fully funding my retirement vehicles to the point where I reached Coast FI, which for those who aren't familiar Coast FI means that I have invested enough in my retirement vehicles that in 30 years because I'm 34 right now, it will grow to what I need for traditional retirement. So in essence, I don't really have to save for traditional retirement anymore. If I didn't care about early retirement and I can kind of take my foot off the gas a little bit because I've hit those certain milestones.   And then, you know, saving to a place where I got my first side hustle so I started hosting this podcast called optimal finance daily, which is a daily show, 10 minutes or less, I'm reading you articles about personal finance. So I like to say that all these amazing personal finance bloggers wrote these great songs, and I get to perform the covers, you know.   Michael: That's great.   Diania: It's, it's a show that's been around for five years, and they were looking for a new host, and I just went for it. And so this is kind of my first, you know, little side hustle income.   So, I would say though, as I've progressed through these milestones, my trajectory and goals for the future have definitely shifted. So I would say, like, be flexible about financial goals, because when I first started this, I thought, What I wanted was to just reach financial independence and retire early. And then as I've gone along through the years, and it's only been, what, six years that I've been on this journey, my desires and goals kind of keep shifting and changing, because the, it's almost like, the universe presents you with opportunities along the way.   And so if you're so laser focused on just reaching financial independence, you may miss out on these opportunities to learn about yourself and learn about what do you want to do with your time? What do you want to create in the world? And who do you want to spend that time with those three questions to me, has become kind of the focus on my path to FI. It's not like I gave up on my goal. But I just I've kind of, I'm not so laser focused on the money piece of it. Because I've realized that money is only as valuable as your clarity on how you're going to use it, and your comfort level with how much is enough.   So if you don't have clarity and comfort around your money, yeah, if you don't have those two pieces, you could be a multimillionaire and still be miserable. Right? I don't want to reach that point. I want to use my financial bandwidth to kind of explore those two things along the way. I also love this quote from Ayn Rand who wrote like The Fountainhead, and she says, money is only a tool, it will take you wherever you want to go. But it won't replace you as the driver.   And I just think for so many of us, we look at money as the goal versus as the tool to use to reach our goals. And that's something that I had to learn in in for myself, because I had always just kind of had money as the goal once I discovered the fire movement.   Michael: Yep. Yeah, no, I'm right there with you. And I always said, I'll figure it out when I get there. But then I realized, oh, there's too many other things to figure out along the way, that having money be the tool is a much better way to go.   Diania: Absolutely. If you're miserable on your path to FI you're likely going to be miserable when you reach FI   Michael: Yeah. Yeah, I think that's so well said. So well said. And so then I'm curious if you can share with everybody, what is it? What is your investment kind of portfolio look like? Is it stocks? Is it bonds is a real estate? How do you see yourself hitting that hitting the hitting FI?   Diania: Yeah, so I went for the Simple Path to Wealth model. And I would say that most of my money is in the tax advantaged accounts of what my 401k So I actually quit my job in January of this year. That's crazy. That was 10 months ago.   Michael: Congratulations that's awesome.   Diania: Yeah. So okay, so little sidebar, that's kind of a really good representation of what I mean about being flexible, because I had just thought that I was going to stay with my employer until I reached financial independence. But things changed, right, I ended up getting this new boss, the dynamic of the company, after nine years of being employed, there changed considerably. And so, you know, the, I kind of felt like the party was over, and the company didn't value me anymore.   And so I could have just put my head down and pushed through it because I have this goal of financial independence. But instead, I decided to kind of take a risk and a bet on myself to see like, Okay, I've got this, but I like to call FU money. So that that's defined as a year to have your expenses liquid. So I had a year in cash, and I had a year in after tax brokerage, which I really don't want to touch the after tax brokerage, but it's almost like my backup plan, my additional layer of a safety net. But that's something that it was almost like the universe presented me an obstacle and an opportunity at the same time. And so that could potentially slow my path down to FI.   Or something could happen. And I could, you know, find a new source of income. I'm exploring like 14 different sources of income right now. And so one of those could blow up and then it could expedite my path to FI. It's almost like I gave up the security of a regular paycheck and opened myself up to the uncertainty. You know, like I had plotted out my whole plan before because it was based on a steady paycheck. And now it's not. So who knows? Maybe I reach FI by 40? Maybe not. But to answer your question directly, um, I have my IRA. Now a traditional IRA, that was a rollover from my 401k. I've got a Roth IRA, and also my HSA   Michael: That is tough to say five times fast.   Diania: Yeah yeah So I have, I would say, the bulk of my money is invested there, and I am like, VTSAX all the way, I just, I'm 100%. In stocks, I don't have any bonds, because I have a very high risk tolerance. But also I don't want to be, I don't want to have to rebalance every year. Right? It just is simpler for me that I don't need to rebalance every year. It's all in a total market index fund, set it and forget it. I also own my home.   Now, for the first two years, I had a roommate who was paying like 95% of the mortgage. So I did a little bit of house hacking. But I did buy this house with the knowing that it would be an amazing rental one day, so I'm living in it for now. And I believe that this will I don't look at it as an investment yet. I think it's going to be once I start renting it out sometime in the future.   But yeah, I would say that my investments are very much so just simple stock portfolio with my retirement vehicles, a property that could become a rental property, I do want to get more into real estate in the future. I will be honest, that is something that has intimidated me so much I should take your course.   Michael: Come to Roofstock Academy, Yeah absolutely!   Diania: Yes, yes. And all of my friends are reaching financial independence so much quicker than me through the real estate strategy. So I'll tell you a fun story. My one of my first events that I went to five events was called Camp Mustache. It's like followers of Mister Money Mustache. And I actually ran a breakout session. That was all attendee case studies. So there were four of us, who basically opened up the books on our finances, here's our income, here's our expenses. Here's where our portfolio stands today, here are the assumptions that we're making. Here's our growth trajectory. Here are some, you know, nuances we want to point out, and we let people like poke holes in our plan, because we're in a room full of   Michael: Vulnerable that is awesome.   Diania: So yeah, it was, it was great. For me, because, you know, I'm figuring all this stuff out on my own reading about stuff. And to be able to, like be in a room of other really smart people, many of which, who have already reached financial independence. And for them to be like, No, you're good. Like, do you don't need to stress about tax loss harvesting, you're fine. You know, like that, that was really reassuring to me to have. So it was almost like, I was always a good student, you know. So it feels like I got the good star that a plus for my teacher.   But what was fascinating about that breakout session is that two of the case studies, were these two guys, that made half my income, literally half my income, but they were on this fast track to FI they were going to reach it and half of my time, because of their real estate strategy. So I really do think like real estate is the way to do it the fastest. I think it's obviously more complex, it can be more labor intensive than just, you know, buying index funds. And, you know, you don't have to plunge a toilet on an index fund in the middle of the night. You know, you don't have to deal with tenants and all that stuff. So I definitely think that index funds strategy is easier. But it I think it is faster if you go with real estate.   Michael: Yeah. And just for everyone listening, how much did we pay you for that plug for real estate?   Diania: Nothing. I mean, it's just me watching all of my friends killing it. And like trying to work up the courage to do it myself.   Michael: Yeah, come on over. We I know a great place for you, we can get you all squared away. Because I couldn't agree more I think it you hit the nail on the head that anybody can go pick a stock and just put their money into it. And they can make money, they can lose money. I think real estate is more complicated. Coach Tom and I want to do their coaches at the Academy just put out a YouTube video talking about how passive real estate investing really is?   And the answer is, it's not for most of us, it's not here to go buy property it's not. So you really need to go learn about what's involved, versus kind of just throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks in terms of stock picking. Or you get this collective, you know, collective safety when you're buying the entire market. So I love that. I love that data. This has been so awesome. Thank you so much for hanging out with me. Do you have any final parting wisdom for everybody who's listening?   Diania: Oh, man, I feel like I gave you all my gems, all of my sound bites.   Michael: So then let's go back and re listen to this episode if you're listening at home, and where can people find out more about you and the economy conference?   Diania: Yeah, so if you go to economeconference.com. And that's econome with an ME at the end, not an MY, because if you look at the spelling of my name, I really appreciate misspelled words.   Economy conference.com, you can read about all our speakers, you can see all the programming we have planned. You can buy tickets there. Again, it's happening in just a month. So it's right around the corner at the University of Cincinnati. And then you can also subscribe to Optimal Finance Daily, which is the daily podcast that I host and you can allow me to serenade you with the sweet sounds of personal finance knowledge.   Michael: Fantastic. Well, thank you again. I definitely look forward to seeing you again. And I will talk to you soon.   Diania: Awesome. Thanks so much, Michael.   Michael: Thanks and talk to you soon. All righty, everybody, that was our episode a big big, big thank you to Diana that was so much fun. One of one of the most fun episodes I think we've recorded in a long time. So a big thank you to her again. There are so many nuggets of wisdom, pearls of joy of gold, whatever the expression is, so definitely go back and give that episode another listen to again, thanks so much for listening. And as always, we look forward to seeing you on the next one. Happy investing

“Real estate investing is a wonderful tool. But the key to financial independence or any other worthwhile financial goal has nothing to do with real estate.” So says Chad “Coach” Carson in a July 2020 blog post on Bigger Pockets, a real estate investing platform which offers content, tools, and a community of over 2,000,000 members to help people avoid mistakes; learn valuable tips; find partners, deals, and financing and make the best investing decisions possible. Chad goes on to say: Instead, the basics of building wealth—whether that’s with real estate, stock investing, or starting a business—has three basic steps: 1.    Save money 2.    Invest the money wisely and 3.    Harvest your wealth so that you can live off your investments While it’s fun to talk about investing, and occasionally you’ll see content on harvesting and living off your investments, learning How to save money (which isn’t that sexy) is the first step and the key to achieving success with real estate or any other wealth-building path that you take. Search any financial independence forum, blog, or podcast, however, and you’ll see that Real Estate is a hot topic that garners quite a bit of attention. But should it? This year, at Camp Mustache, a yearly retreat dedicated to the teachings of Pete Adeney aka Mr. Money Mustache I was privileged to lead a panel discussion involving a group of real estate rock stars and tease out the role it plays in their financial independence journeys. Kavell Taylor is a commercial and residential real estate investor with a portfolio currently valued at almost $10M. She also manages commercial and medical office buildings for a New Jersey-based developer.  Santana Perez is a real estate investor in her early 30s, pivoting from a career in energy trading and corporate finance.  After growing up in the foster care system and spending 21 years in poverty, Santana discovered FIRE in 2018.  Since then, she has single-handedly built a $1M real estate portfolio of 10 doors while raising her son as a single parent.   And Ming Mercer began real estate investing in 2014 in her early 20s, then quit her W2 job in 2020 when her real estate income surpassed her family's expenses. With a portfolio of $2M at age 29. I present to you the Real Estate Rockstar Panel recorded live from Camp Mustache on Sunday April 18th 2021.

Have you ever heard of Camp Mustache? If not, you're in for a treat today. Joe Goldberg and Kristin Hoeflin are co creators of this life changing get together. We discuss the impact of Mr. Money Mustache and how he has changed our views of early retirement. 

Today on the FI Garage The Mechanic and The Accountant speak with Peter Gallant, from ProfessorFIRE.com. We met Peter at Camp Mustache last year and enjoyed his presentation about having a risk plan for FIRE. Today we dig deeper into that discussion and hear what Peter has to say about...

The Accountant and the Money Mechanic we lucky enough to ‘win’ the lottery and get a couple tickets to Camp Mustache Toronto 2019. This episode is a short wrap up of their trip to Ontario and their experience at camp. #CMTO2019

Is healthcare the great financial independence retire early killer?  We discuss this tough topic with Lynn Frair, Rosemary Fotheringham, and Jackie Cummings Koski.  Plus a short segment with Dan Huffman about leaving the armed forces.  

Today on the FI Garage The Mechanic and The Accountant speak with Peter Gallant, from ProfessorFIRE.com. We met Peter at Camp Mustache last year and enjoyed his presentation about having...

The Accountant and the Money Mechanic we lucky enough to ‘win’ the lottery and get a couple tickets to Camp Mustache Toronto 2019. This episode is a short wrap up...

Most early retirees will tell you that you'll most likely still make money even after retire. That's why JT decided he didn't need to reach the full 25 times his annual expense in order to quit his job and enjoy being with his family. Instead he has a runway for several years and is working on land investing to produce his main income. You'll love his story. We also chat about... Reaching FI with 4 kids The runway approach to FI JT's current assets How paternity leave gave him a taste of FI Land investing as an income His healthcare strategy Enjoy this chat with JT, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Youtube video: Land Flipping 101 for Beginners Episode: How to Create Passive Income from Etsy Digital Products | Mastermind Update Camp Mustache Chautauqua UK FIREDrill Facebook group Key takeaways from our chat with JT 1 - You don't need 25 times your annual expenses to quit your job JT tells us that when attending a Camp Mustache, most early retirees told him that he'd still make money even after he was retired. After hearing this he decided to take the runway approach to FI; saving up for several years, quitting his job but still working 10-15 hours a week on a different project that will produce revenue. He is nowhere near meeting the 4% rule, but that's absolutely fine with him because he's still making money and has several years saved up in case the projects don't work. 2 - How JT quit his job 2 weeks ago JT started talking to his boss about quitting in December of 2018, giving his company a good amount of time to find a replacement. Gwen explains that many people fall into two camps when quitting a job; either telling their boss well in advance and helping them find a replacement, or letting them know 2 weeks before quitting. This is really because it depends on the relationship with the manager and boss. JT tells us that he was lucky to have a good boss and his excellent relationship with his managers is what allowed him to make a large amount of money from the start. 3 - Land investing as an income JT's current project is real estate investing with a twist. He sources land below market price and then sells it to the market at a discount. He explains that it's an easy model since it mostly uses all cash and the transactions are fast and easy. The hard part is finding the land at below market place. So far he's done deals on 16 properties and it takes him 3 months or so to sell them off. This is a great model since he explains that he gets cashback and residual income, and can expect at least a 100% return. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

Most early retirees will tell you that you'll most likely still make money even after retire. That's why JT decided he didn't need to reach the full 25 times his annual expense in order to quit his job and enjoy being with his family. Instead he has a runway for several years and is working on land investing to produce his main income. You'll love his story. We also chat about... Reaching FI with 4 kids The runway approach to FI JT's current assets How paternity leave gave him a taste of FI Land investing as an income His healthcare strategy Enjoy this chat with JT, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Youtube video: Land Flipping 101 for Beginners Episode: How to Create Passive Income from Etsy Digital Products | Mastermind Update Camp Mustache Chautauqua UK FIREDrill Facebook group Key takeaways from our chat with JT 1 - You don't need 25 times your annual expenses to quit your job JT tells us that when attending a Camp Mustache, most early retirees told him that he'd still make money even after he was retired. After hearing this he decided to take the runway approach to FI; saving up for several years, quitting his job but still working 10-15 hours a week on a different project that will produce revenue. He is nowhere near meeting the 4% rule, but that's absolutely fine with him because he's still making money and has several years saved up in case the projects don't work. 2 - How JT quit his job 2 weeks ago JT started talking to his boss about quitting in December of 2018, giving his company a good amount of time to find a replacement. Gwen explains that many people fall into two camps when quitting a job; either telling their boss well in advance and helping them find a replacement, or letting them know 2 weeks before quitting. This is really because it depends on the relationship with the manager and boss. JT tells us that he was lucky to have a good boss and his excellent relationship with his managers is what allowed him to make a large amount of money from the start. 3 - Land investing as an income JT's current project is real estate investing with a twist. He sources land below market price and then sells it to the market at a discount. He explains that it's an easy model since it mostly uses all cash and the transactions are fast and easy. The hard part is finding the land at below market place. So far he's done deals on 16 properties and it takes him 3 months or so to sell them off. This is a great model since he explains that he gets cashback and residual income, and can expect at least a 100% return. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

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 Enjoy this chat with Grant, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Fyre Festival Documentary Chautauqua FI Above the Clouds Retreat Jim Collins Vicki Robins Afford Anything Our Next Life Millennial Revolution Alan Donegan Mr 1500 Montana Money Adventures ChooseFI Local Camp Mustache Camp FI Fincon Millennial Money Grant's book: Financial Freedom Book: Your Money or Your Life Mad Fientist Root of Good JD Roth Financial Samurai Fly to FI Financial Freedom website Key takeaways from our chat with Grant 1 - The good and the bad of FI events At the beginning of the episode Gwen and J discuss the different FI events coming up in the year 2019 and their personal experiences in previous ones. All events include meeting very interesting and nice people. Chautauqua includes travelling abroad and getting to know 25 people for one entire week. The ChooseFI local groups are great to meet people in your own area. Camp Mustache is more superficial but you get to meet a lot of new people. Camp FI is an event with 40-50 people and is a great place to meet FI people in your region/state. Gwen and J recommend starting off with events in your local area before spending money on overseas events. 2 - Why it's worth writing a book Grant has both a blog and a book. He tells us he wrote the book because he needed accountability, and wanted to fully reflect on what happen. He's also been to a lot of money events that are complete scams, so he wanted to create something that had credible true information. His book is a physical product that covers money from end to end, and the amazing part is that he is able to get the books translated and send them to schools, to libraries and all over the world. For him it was simply an easier way to spread the message of FI. 3 - Beware of the addiction One highlight of Grant's FI journey is that he was working 80-90 hour work weeks in order to reach his goal. In 5 years he went from having an empty bank account to having over a million. This cost him a lot of work, which in the end he admits he might not have needed. He didn't need a million dollars, he argues that a 6 month emergency fund would have been enough. He says that FI can be a money addiction in itself - you're constantly focusing on the spreadsheet and hitting those numbers, but then never get to enjoy the money you're bringing in. This is why Grant says that FI for him is about living life on your own terms. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

Can you really afford anything? Paula Pant quit her 9-to-5 job in 2008, long before she'd heard of financial independence. She just couldn't stand the cubicle life anymore. Her starting salary was $21,000 per year in 2005, and her highest salary was $31,000 per year in 2008. Despite her lower income, she managed to save $25,000 during her short career. She lived on these savings after she quit her 9-to-5 job, and spent two years backpacking across the world. When she returned to the U.S. in 2010, she started a self-employed career as a freelance writer. She and her partner scraped together enough money to buy a triplex as their first home. They lived in one unit, with roommates, and rented out the other two units. The rental income they received allowed them to live "for free," with no out-of-pocket housing costs. This was their first taste of passive income. Today they own 7 rental units. Last year, their rental properties grossed $125,000 and netted $43,000 in passive income, after expenses. They are financially independent through the income from their rentals. Paula's weekly podcast, Afford Anything, has been downloaded more than 3 million times. Her website, AffordAnything.com, gets 250,000 views a month and her email newsletter has more than 50,000 subscribers. She speaks at FIRE meet-ups such as the Ecuador Chautauqua, Camp Mustache and Camp FI, as well as gatherings such as FinCon and the World Domination Summit. On today's episode, we discuss a ton with Paula, including: • what “financial independence” really means • how to move beyond fear • mistakes to avoid when analyzing deals • the 1% rule • how to afford anything • why our brains work against us and to overcome these thoughts • And much more! Resources/Books mentioned in the show: • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey Learn more about Paula Pant and her highly popular blog and podcast at www.affordanything.com/viplist InvestHER Community Join us on our mission to support and empower as many women as we can to live a financially free and balanced life. We invite you to join the InvestHER Community Facebook group along with other new and experienced women real estate investors! Follow us on: Facebook: @therealestateinvesther Instagram: @therealestateinvesther   Please leave a comment below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can you really afford anything? Paula Pant quit her 9-to-5 job in 2008, long before she'd heard of financial independence. She just couldn't stand the cubicle life anymore. Her starting salary was $21,000 per year in 2005, and her highest salary was $31,000 per year in 2008. Despite her lower income, she managed to save $25,000 during her short career. She lived on these savings after she quit her 9-to-5 job, and spent two years backpacking across the world. When she returned to the U.S. in 2010, she started a self-employed career as a freelance writer. She and her partner scraped together enough money to buy a triplex as their first home. They lived in one unit, with roommates, and rented out the other two units. The rental income they received allowed them to live "for free," with no out-of-pocket housing costs. This was their first taste of passive income. Today they own 7 rental units. Last year, their rental properties grossed $125,000 and netted $43,000 in passive income, after expenses. They are financially independent through the income from their rentals. Paula's weekly podcast, Afford Anything, has been downloaded more than 3 million times. Her website, AffordAnything.com, gets 250,000 views a month and her email newsletter has more than 50,000 subscribers. She speaks at FIRE meet-ups such as the Ecuador Chautauqua, Camp Mustache and Camp FI, as well as gatherings such as FinCon and the World Domination Summit. On today's episode, we discuss a ton with Paula, including: • what “financial independence” really means • how to move beyond fear • mistakes to avoid when analyzing deals • the 1% rule • how to afford anything • why our brains work against us and to overcome these thoughts • And much more! Resources/Books mentioned in the show: • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey Learn more about Paula Pant and her highly popular blog and podcast at www.affordanything.com/viplist InvestHER Community Join us on our mission to support and empower as many women as we can to live a financially free and balanced life. We invite you to join the InvestHER Community Facebook group along with other new and experienced women real estate investors! Follow us on: Facebook: @therealestateinvesther Instagram: @therealestateinvesther   Please leave a comment below!

Today's guest is Joe Goldberg, a 40 something year old guy in Seattle on the path to FIRE. You might know him as one of the OG members of the MMM forums, or as one of the founders of Camp Mustache. Yes, that very same Camp Mustache that Gwen & J recently attended. As it turns out, there is far more to Joe than just being on the MMM forums or founding Camp Mustache. We dive deep into his story and you will love it! We also chat about... including FIRE on your linkedin profile if FIRE is a solo journey how to get into political activism where to find fellow local FIRE people He was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Joe, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Simple Dollar Get Rich Slowly MMM Clown Car article

My good friend Marla Taner joined me on the Financial Independence Podcast to go deep into some early-retirement topics that aren’t often discussed. Marla and I met in 2014 at Camp Mustache and we’ve had a lot of fun (and sometimes heavy) conversations over the years so I thought it’d be great to record one for the podcast! Highlights: How to deal with a sudden early retirement Rethinking travel after leaving work Finding happiness from within Dealing with losing career identity and external validation How to care less about “success” The effort of happiness Focusing on progress rather than the end goal Doing the work to figure yourself out Justifying the decision to retire early

036 | In today's podcast with Jim Collins from The Simple Path to Wealth and JL Collins NH, we discuss the Chautauquas, in-person events plus an 'Ask Me Anything' series of questions from our ChooseFI community. In Today’s Podcast we cover: Part 3 with JL Collins from JLCollinsNH, the Simple Path to Wealth and Stock Series fame Jim’s discussion of Alan from PopUp Business School and how the UK Chautauqua came to be The value of in-person events like Camp Mustache and the Chautauquas Ask Me Anything segment with Jim with questions from our audience and private Facebook group Question from Amber from our Facebook group about the value of annuities, reverse mortgages and fixed income items Jim only recommends investing in stocks and bonds. The goals that Jonathan spoke of in the question can be balanced by allocating different percentages to stocks and bonds Jim believes annuities and reverse mortgages are laden with fees that make them poor investment vehicles Annuities pay a guaranteed income which appeals to many people, but since you are buying them from an insurance company you are buying this contract and you will never see your principal ever again. That is the annuity contract The insurance company is betting on your death essentially based on actuarial tables for the annuity Question from Emily on international equity allocation Jim doesn’t see the need to hold international funds because VTSAX contains a significant international allocation with US multinationals, the expense ratios are higher and there is more risk because of lack of transparency in emerging economies Question from Jeff on when to move from 100% equities to holding some bonds Question from community member Brad on how to mechanically rebalance your funds Jim does his rebalancing within his IRAs so there is no taxable event He rebalances approximately once per year Question from David on being too aggressive and Japan’s prior decades performance Jim believes what Japan is going through is a “Black Swan” event and this is theoretically possible this will happen to the US Questions from Felisa on Jim’s thoughts on inflation Some inflation is normal and to be expected, but runaway inflation is extraordinarily scary Question from Matt on why Jim is in a different bond fund than he recommends on his site The Key to the Simple Path to Wealth is buying and holding for the long term You always need to approach your life and FI journey with an open mind and be willing to be flexible and change as the facts change Simplicity and flexibility 

026R | In today's podcast we discuss our takeaways from Episode 26 with Physician on FIRE plus some exciting developments in the Financial Independence world as well as feedback, questions and comments from the ChooseFI community. In Today’s Podcast we cover: The Friday Roundup after the Physician on FIRE interview from Episode 26 Information for the high income professionals and how it’s important to give details for that aspect of our audience Does the perfect answer exist for high income professionals pursuing FI? It might not be possible to defer enough money to get them out of that high marginal tax rate “A dollar saved is two dollars earned in the 50% tax bracket.” A brilliant quote from Physician on FIRE Everything comes down to living a frugal lifestyle “Doesn’t your spouse deserve a really great lifestyle?” asked the White Coat Investor. “Well yes, and she’ll have one, but she deserves my time.” Responds PoF. The fundamental flaw in the ‘retirement calculators’ that are published online for “normal people.” Your current income is not relevant when considering your retirement number. It is all about your expenses. For new physicians, you need to avoid the blowup in spending on cars and expensive homes when you get that first big paycheck You need to keep your fixed expenses down to a manageable level and you can splurge at the margins on other things Don’t fall into peer pressure to live an expensive lifestyle. Maybe move to a smaller town and practice geographic arbitrage in the US Brad’s own geographic arbitrage in his life moving from Long Island to Richmond, VA Optimized charitable giving with a ‘donor advised fund’ Discussion of the ‘backdoor Roth’ that Physician on Fire mentioned on the episode and the applicability for high income earners A new Camp Mustache event was announced for January 2018 and the tickets are available The ChooseFI private Facebook group is running and extremely vibrant and we’d love for you to join us Scott Rieckens contacted us about a documentary on the FI community that he is embarking on The FI community is on the verge of a breakthrough in the US Brad’s mom is listening to the podcast and had a frugal win of the week Feedback from PastorFI: College hack for student housing Discussing the call from Mark from Student Loan Freedom from Episode 25R about permanent life insurance Feedback from about Ken’s prior call about the ESPP from Olaf. He clarified the tax treatment on the purchase through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan Don’t let paying taxes get in the way of making a smart financial decision Noah from Money Metagame’s call about how to remove escrow to potentially save hundreds of dollars per year Part 5 of the case study with Paul including Paul’s feedback on his daughter’s college plans plus Paul’s summary of the case study Frugal Wins of the Week from the ChooseFI Community Itunes Reviews of the Week and Book Winners Links from the show: Physician on Fire Frugalwoods article on Donor Advised Funds Camp Mustache tickets Join our private Facebook group Scott Rieckens website Mr. Money Mustache on the Tim Ferriss podcast Student Loan Freedom KeepThrifty.com Money Metagame Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia ToDoIst Early Retirement Now Google Docs from Big Ern at Early Retirement Now: Google Doc master file for Safe Withdrawal Rates Big Ern's explanation on how to use this file Doc with Paul's case study numbers with Social Security Doc with Paul's case study numbers without Social Security Fiery Millennials

025 | In today's podcast we have Keith from The Wealthy Accountant on the show to discuss tax optimization for individuals and small businesses with plenty of tax tips for your FI tool chest. In Today’s Podcast we cover: Keith from the Wealthy Accountant presents his tax optimization strategies for individuals and small business owners Keith is the most knowledgeable accountant we have ever met. We met him in Florida at Camp Mustache and his exuberance for tax optimization was infectious Keith became the official accountant of Mr. Money Mustache after a presentation at Camp Mustache in Seattle A discussion of how to save FICA taxes by being taxed as an S-Corporation instead of as a pass through entity such as an LLC Keith’s discussion of potential tax law change based on the President’s proposal For people starting a business, where would Keith start? Business structure, getting kids and spouses involved, etc. Keith believes when you have business income over $50,000 that you should be an LLC taxed as an S-Corp Is there value for someone over the FICA cap in their ‘day job’ for their business to be treated as an S-Corp? Home office deductions vs. renting part of your home to your business entity and how to make it official with a formal contract What Keith recommends for retirement savings and the rules you need to understand whether you are an employee or if you own a business Keith’s recommendation to speak with your HR department to max out your 401k if they only seemingly offer a certain percentage of your income Tax optimization strategies for real estate investors including the tangible property rules and how to benefit from expensing items that would have otherwise needed to be depreciated Cost segregation studies and how that can save you money on depreciations Healthcare for small business owners and the lack of options Discussion of Keith’s writing at The Wealthy Accountant. The goal was for people to “think like an accountant” and to live your life ‘right.’ He believes in saving half your income and investing in broad-based index funds. If you do those 2 things you’ll be successful 

024R | In today's Friday Roundup we discuss Episode 24 with Joel and Alexis from FI180 as well as some expert voicemails from Chad Carson about real estate plus Ken talking about ESPP options. In Today’s Podcast we cover: Friday Roundup after Episode 24 with Joel and Alexis from FI 180 Camp Mustache tickets for January 2018 are available for sale, so come and join us! The letter Joel wrote to his younger self and the emotional value of it The sacrifice for living an opulent lifestyle is too great in our opinion as you have finite resources and have to make the best choices Joel and Alexis had a true choice and inflection point where they chose Financial Independence They looked at FI as a game and had fun trying to gain a quicker path to FI. It made them happier and brought them closer together The 72 hour no buying rule that Liz from Frugalwoods informed us about Brad’s new favorite card game: Monopoly Deal Feedback from the audience: Austin’s email about his path to FI with a career that didn’t require a Bachelor’s Degree. He is now earning 6-figures at 25 years of age Itunes review from Derek who is teaching his 5th grade students how to look at money, index fund investing and much more. Geri’s question about reinvesting dividends when you invest in mutual funds. You generally want to reinvest the dividends Question from John about investing in VTSAX in a “taxable” investment and what bucket to put it in? Our advice is to open a standard brokerage account and invest in VTSAX Index fund investing is the most tax efficient investing since there is low turnover and thus lower capital gains that would be taxed in the current year Email from Matt describing how he’s thinking more deeply by listening to our show and reading FI blogs ChooseFI mentions on other blogs FI hack from Ken on ESPPs and Jonathan’s response since he can benefit from it at his job and purchase his company stock at a 10% discount Follow up from our in-house expert on real estate: Chad Carson who gives us a background on how to evaluate the financials behind a rental real estate purchase Travel rewards question about how to review flight and alliance award options. Our  thought is to look at traveling differently and build in flexibility and find saver award availability Travel rewards question about combining Chase Ultimate Rewards points Hot Seat intro music update Itunes reviews and The Simple Path to Wealth book giveaway Links from the show: FI 180 Monopoly Deal card game Winning Williams The Green Swan article: Never Pay Taxes Again Done by Forty article:  Spending is Arbitrary Ken’s blog: TheOptionToSell.com Chad Carson’s articles: How to Run the Numbers for Rental Properties How to Travel & Invest in Real Estate - 10 Essential Tools of the Trade Award Hacker

010 | In Today’s Podcast we cover: Fitness and nutrition from a financial independence mindset Jonathan’s quest to lose 30 pounds in the 3 months leading up to his son’s birth JD Roth’s talk at the Camp Mustache event to create a personal mission statement Jonathan’s post-it note goals for his next 3 months of losing weight Be intentional about your goals Eating to live, not living to eat The dangers of carbs and processed sugar Frugal, ripped, lean and wealthy Set a goal and find some accountability partners Brad’s goals: 15 pullups and a six-minute mile Go to sleep on an empty stomach: benefits and discussion Drink more water: ½ to 1 gallon per day How to eat a better breakfast and why to avoid sugar and carbs 24 hour fast one day per week in Jonathan’s plan Bulletproof Coffee, intermittent fasting and ketosis Prepare your meals ahead of time Avoid a deprivation mindset Movement is essential Take breaks during the workday to walk Interval training: HIIT on treadmill The benefits of lifting weights Building exercise into your day Take these actionable tips and implement them 

Today, I bring you an interview with the #1 most requested guest! Mr. Money Mustache himself. I connected with him while up in Gainesville for Camp Mustache a couple of weeks ago. This interview isn't about the nuts and bolts of Mustachian philosophy or on how to become financially independent in a few short years; those topics have been well covered elsewhere. This interview is about his current life, current projects, and things he's excited about at the moment. Enjoy! Joshua Try Hello Fresh! Get $35 off your first order at www.HelloFresh.com with promo code RPF. Support RPF on Patreon! www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

This past weekend I had the privilege of addressing the very fun crowd of hardcore Mustachians gathered in Gainesville, FL for Camp Mustache SE 2017. (Mustachian = acolyte of the Mr. Money Mustache blog and personal lifestyle and financial philosophy.) I was invited to give a presentation and I chose for my topic, "Why Wait Until You're F.I. to Live Like You're F.I.?" This addresses a theme I often see among the hardcore early retirement crowd. The idea is this: "My life stinks right now but it'll all be great after F.I." But, is that the best way to approach it? Why not recognize that life can be great now and after F.I.? Enjoy! Joshua Please take my 20-second demographic survey! www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/survey Refinance your loans with SoFi and save money! www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/sofi Personal Capital is the world's best financial dashboard. And it's free! www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/personalcapital Support RPF on Patreon! www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patreon  

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, Gwen from Fiery Millennials and Julie from Millennial Boss join me to talk about millennial finances and what young people should do to reach financial independence as quickly as possible! Highlights: Thoughts on Chautauqua and Camp Mustache (including the awful financial advice Julie received in Ecuador) How Gwen landed her dream job and how Julie increased her income by 600% in 5 years The benefits of starting your own blog Why Gwen is the real-life Guinea Pig How to get a college degree for free (or as cheaply as possible) Why everyone should have a side hustle How to negotiate a higher salary (including Julie’s story of how she earned an additional $80,000 by negotiating!) What to do if you already have an inflated lifestyle

Today on the Financial Independence Podcast, I’m excited to share a live Q&A session with Mr. Money Mustache, Paula Pant from Afford Anything, and Doug Nordman from The Military Guide! This panel discussion took place back in May at Camp Mustache — an annual retreat in the Pacific Northwest organized by Mr. Money Mustache readers. In this episode, you’ll not only hear about… Mr. Money Mustache’s biggest splurges The investing mistakes I still can’t seem to avoid Paula’s favorite thing about financial independence Doug’s suggestion for discovering the meaning of life …, but you’ll also get varied and diverse perspectives on some of the most important questions facing those on the path to financial independence and early retirement! Highlights: Top recommendations for people who are close to achieving financial independence How to stay motivated when pursuing FI What is the meaning of life How to foster a good online culture and community Tips and tricks to stop you from trying to time the market The biggest challenges of reaching FI and how to overcome them What we splurge on and why Mr. Money Mustache’s thoughts on being featured in the New Yorker How to handle changes in your relationships after reaching FI