9 to FI - Financial Independence Conversations

Tanzania Safari Highlights, Passive Income on Autopilot, and AI Disruption TalkJosh and Elliot discuss Josh’s recent first international trip: a two-week Tanzania safari organized by Kristen Knapp’s FI Friends Travel and “Safari Lauri,” which exceeded expectations and felt more like an adventure than a vacation. Josh shares a favorite memory of deciding via paper-rock-scissors with Swahili-speakin...

Does Time Slow Down After You Retire? (Plus: One More Year Decisions & FI Doubts)Josh and Elliot open by talking about Josh’s upcoming first international trip to Tanzania and a geography-trivia Instagram account. Josh shares that since retiring 17 months ago after a 25-year corporate career, time feels like it has slowed down. They discuss Josh’s informal “research” on time dilation, novelty,...

Credit Card Hacking Mistakes, Annual Fee Cleanup, and Early Retirement Doubts Josh introduces a conversation with Elliot focused on credit card hacking and, later, Elliot’s thoughts about possibly extending his early retirement timeline. They discuss a St. Louis heat wave, their current FIRE stages (Elliot nearing retirement; Josh 1.5 years into early retirement after leaving work in April 2025),...

Spending on Convenience, Rental Deadlines, and a New Weekly Planning System Josh and Elliott catch up after a short break and note that releasing episodes every other week has coincided with a spike in views, listens, and listener feedback. They revisit their “spending on convenience” challenge: Elliott tried Aldi curbside grocery pickup and found it saved weekend time, while Josh sought quotes to...

Elliot’s Pre-Retirement Fears: Boredom, the Big Shovel, and Trusting the FI Math Josh and Elliot decide to continue the podcast after receiving encouraging listener feedback and invite more comments via email and Spotify. They focus on Elliot’s approaching planned exit from his W-2 job after March 1, 2027, timed to a mid-February bonus and RSUs vesting March 1, while noting he may pivot if circums...

Where Do We Go From Here? Rethinking the Podcast Cadence Josh and Elliot open by discussing 311 announcing a St. Louis show at The Factory in Chesterfield on November 11 (recorded August 11) and then shift to the future of their podcast after missing their first Monday release in a year. They compare it to pointless corporate reporting that no one noticed when stopped, noting they’ve received no l...

Convenience Spending Experiments: Lawn Care, Cleaning, Food, and Outsourcing for FI Josh and Elliot discuss “convenience spending” and how it fits into financial independence, comparing DIY habits with paying for services that save time or improve life. Josh shares success with professional lawn fertilization but struggles to outsource more, while Elliot happily pays for lawn mowing and considers...

Camp FI Rocky Mountain Week 1.5 Takeaways: Community, Drawdown Strategies, and Life After FI Elliot and Josh recap their trip to Camp FI Rocky Mountain Week 1.5, comparing travel routes and sharing takeaways. Josh prepared by researching communication strategies to manage introversion and anxiety in groups, practiced meeting people, and noted how uniquely receptive the FI community is versus every...

Camp FI Road Trip Plans, FI Book Takeaways, and Staying Positive in the Heat Josh and Elliot record a grab-bag episode before leaving for Camp FI Rocky Mountain 1.5, discussing midweek camps and travel logistics. Josh is extending the trip with a solo road trip to Colorado and on toward Montana near Glacier National Park to visit his son. They discuss Cody Berman’s book Retire by 30, including “ca...

Estimating ACA Health Insurance Costs for Early Retirement: Subsidies, MAGI, and Plan Choices Elliot and Josh discuss healthcare as a major early-retirement cost and review a BiggerPockets Money episode featuring free tools for estimating ACA premiums. They compare the BiggerPockets calculator with healthcare.gov, noting discrepancies but agreeing both help illustrate key variables such as zip cod...

Episode 50 Recap: Revisiting Our Biggest FIRE Decisions, Community, and Plans Josh and Elliot celebrate reaching 50 podcast episodes and recap prior discussions to see what changed. Josh’s high-mileage Chevy Colorado is still running and he plans a long road trip. Elliot revisits his housing case study and currently chooses to “do nothing” and stay put. Josh updates that his wife Lori remains full...

The Hardest Part of Early Retirement: Mental Health, Rumination, and Finding HappinessJosh and Elliot discuss common challenges of early retirement—shifting from saving to spending, boredom, healthcare uncertainty (ACA subsidies and planning), loss of identity and guilt when saying you’re retired, social isolation, and fear of running out of money (Monte Carlo simulations, one-more-year syndrome,...

College Planning, 529 Tradeoffs, and Flexible Ways to Support KidsElliot and Josh chat about summer heat, an upcoming Colorado trip for Camp FI, and how long emails get ignored, then segue into college expenses and planning. Elliot references an Inside Out Money episode contrasting underfunding vs. heavy 529 saving (including a $600,000 example) and discusses 529 flexibility alongside concerns abo...

Net Worth vs. Investable (Liquid) Assets: What Really Funds Financial IndependenceJosh and Elliot discuss the difference between net worth and investable assets (liquid net worth) and why confusing them can mislead financial independence planning. Net worth is assets minus liabilities and can include a primary residence, cars, and real estate equity, but those assets may not be easily tapped to fu...

Finding Your "Why" for Financial Independence: Security, Time, Health, and Giving BackJosh and Elliot open with a humorous aside about “newspapers,” then discuss a Choose FI podcast episode featuring Allen Hansen and Kristen Knapp that raised the question of why people pursue financial independence beyond the math. They share how early experiences shaped their motivations: Josh describes...

Asset Allocation vs. Asset Location: Building Flexibility and Tax EfficiencyElliot and Josh discuss the concepts of asset allocation and asset location, noting that financial terminology can be unclear and that fee-only fiduciary advice may be useful, while the AUM model is discouraged. They review common asset types (stocks, bonds, cash equivalents/treasuries, real estate, alternatives like gold,...

Is Financial Independence Still Repeatable? Talking “Beating the System,” Time, and Modern OptionsJosh asks Elliott about co-presenting an FI 201 session, which Elliott says went well with positive feedback and a turnout in the mid-60s to 70s, and they discuss continuing educational events to complement the group’s social focus. Josh then shares a comment from his 25-year-old son Caleb after Josh’...

Previewing FI 201: Investing, Risk, Accounts, and SpeculationJosh and Elliot discuss Elliot’s upcoming FI 201 presentation for their local Choose FI group, co-presented with Alan Hansen, after their well-attended FI 101 session drew about 75 people and was later shared within the Choose FI community. Elliot outlines FI 201 topics including saving vs investing vs speculating, investment risk and ri...

Should We Tap a 401(k) Early for Home Upgrades? A Middle-Class Trap Liquidity DebateJosh and Elliot discuss the “middle class trap” idea—having most wealth tied up in 401(k)s and home equity—and how it affects liquidity and flexibility. Josh is retired with nearly $2.9M net worth, outlines cash ($65K), taxable brokerage (~$95K), $1.4M tax-deferred 401(k)s, paid-off home with a $135K HELOC at 7.75%...

Morning Routines After FI: Slow Mornings, Habits, and StructureJosh and Elliot discuss the value of routines—especially morning routines—after retirement and in working life, sparked by Sarah sharing an Inside Out Money episode about compounding habits. Josh recounts the host’s early-retirement lack of structure and how adopting morning habits (sunlight, water, exercise) improved her feelings of l...

The Power of Saying No: Boundaries at Work, with Family, and with YourselfJosh and Elliot discuss how to say no to bosses, coworkers, friends, family, and oneself, reflecting on their shared people-pleasing tendencies. They open with accountability updates (Josh scheduling a colonoscopy; Elliot struggling to restart workouts after illness and foot pain), then share examples of difficulty setting b...

One Year Retired: Finding Pace, Purpose, and Permission to Spend Elliot and Josh discuss Josh passing one year since retiring after a 25-year career. Josh reflects on celebrating the milestone with a commemorative bike ride, says retirement has been overwhelmingly positive, and describes learning to slow down, avoid overloading projects, and use the power of saying no. He wants more small-group so...

Health Updates, Market Dip Investing, Rental Property Drag, and the Decision to Stay in the U.S. Josh and Elliot discuss several updates: both are working on fitness routines and comparing heavier-weight/low-rep training with lighter-weight/higher-rep approaches focused on avoiding injury, while Josh admits he still hasn’t scheduled a colonoscopy after his physical. They talk investing during a ma...

Exploring a Move to France: Small-Town Life, Schools, Housing, and the Travel Reality Check Elliot returns to the podcast and briefly recaps how Lori filled in as a guest, then he shares details from a 10-day exploratory trip to France with Dawn focused on potentially relocating. They flew from St. Louis to Atlanta, Amsterdam, and Bordeaux, rented a car, and spent most of their time in the small v...

Why We Paid Off a 3.75% Mortgage Early (and What My First Year of Retirement Looks Like) | Josh & Lori Why would Josh and Lori pay off a low-interest 3.75% mortgage years early—before Josh retired? On 9 to FI, Josh hosts the show solo while co-host Elliot travels in France, and welcomes first-time guest Lori for a candid conversation recorded in a Columbia, Missouri hotel before a Nick Hexum c...