Catching Up to FI

Bill & Becky continue their chat with THE JL Collins, author of THE Simple Path to Wealth and the acclaimed "Godfather of FI".  We began the last episode with JL Collins playing John Goodman in the "Why you need F-You Money" clip.  We start this episode with "A Guided Meditation for When the Stock Market is Dropping" .  JL helps us answer many questions.  What do we do when the stock market drops?...

THE JL Collins is the author of THE Simple Path to Wealth and aptly named the "Godfather of FI".  For over 600,000 readers, his first book has become a sort of "Bible of FI".  He is a humble spokesperson for those on their own personal journey to financial independence.  In Part 1 of our conversation, we talk with him about his own journey and his thoughts on real estate and index fund investing....

Jordan Grumet, aka Doc G, is an accomplished doctor, blogger, public speaker, podcaster, and author.  He is the host of the incredibly popular and award-winning podcast Earn & Invest.  Bill thinks of him as a time-money philosopher.  Today we discuss his book Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life.  Bill would consider this...

Brad Barrett is the co-founder and host of the ChooseFI Podcast and Platform.  We talk about his personal story, travel hacking, and the genesis of ChooseFI.  Since 2016, ChooseFI has literally changed the world in which we live.  It is the "ultimate crowdsourced personal finance podcast" with over 60M downloads.  It is a standard-bearer of hope that Bill has no doubt the majority of FI enthusiast...

Amberly Grant is a community leader, financial educator, real estate investor, and was recently featured on CNBC's Make It Series.  She currently owns seven doors between Canada and the US, comprised of STRs and LTRs.  She creates financial educational content on Instagram, hosts a Tuesday FinTalks (where 30-50 people from all walks of life talk weekly about different financial topics), runs a men...

Fritz Gilbert is the author of the popular blog The Retirement Manifesto with over 13,000 subscribers.  He takes us on his journey to retirement in his fifties and discusses the hard (monetary) and soft (non-monetary) sides of retirement.  He emphasizes the importance of both and that the numbers are the easy part making up only really 20% of the journey to time freedom.  We discuss the "what are...

Amy Coroso is a passionate advocate for women's financial literacy and retirement equality.  She is a divorced single mother of two boys with a middle income who woke up in her mid-forties to face her own financial illiteracy and poor planning.  She is now on track to reach financial freedom at 59.  She is also a brand new author and financial coach.  She has turned her financial weaknesses into t...

Vincent Pugliese was a self-proclaimed thief, taker, and failure in his formative years.  He later evolved into an award-winning professional photographer.  In his most recent life, he is an author, motivational speaker, professional coach, a time freedom fighter, an eternal optimist, and a giver. He is a contrarian philosopher and does not believe in FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) or...

Rumba and JOMO are "characters" in the story of Olivia who is the heroine of Sarah Catherine Gutierrez's book: But First, Save 10: The One Simple Money Move That Will Change Your Life.  Olivia is an 18-30-year-old woman at the beginning of her financial journey, but her path is applicable to all of us late starters of any age.  SC is a friend, a certified financial planner, and sucked at math.  Sh...

Bill & Becky chit-chat about what is going on in their lives this week. This week we had birthdays, funerals, and car trauma.  Life throws us curve balls.  It surprises us with joy, sorrow, and challenges.  Time is fragile and not guaranteed.  As humans and late starters, we are incredibly resilient, adaptive, and resourceful.  We are here not just to survive, but to thrive together. 🔗  Connect w...

Naseema McElroy is a force of nature and an inspiration in the financial literacy space, especially for late starters.  She comes from very humble beginnings, raised by a low-income single dad. She is a strong black woman, a single mom of 2.5 kids, a labor and delivery nurse, and a "financially intentional" wiz!  Her debt paydown story is incredible, yet still applicable to anyone with debt to pay...

Sean Mullaney is the FI Tax Guy.  Like budgets, the B word, taxes, or the T word can be intimidating and generate stress and avoidance.  Sean makes tax planning and retirement accounts fun and engaging.  We must all play the tax game by the rules and work to pay the least tax allowable under the law.  Taxes are one of our biggest costs in life and always remember that what you don't spend, you get...

Mark Trautman is a community member, he was a caddy, a valet, and a mutual fund manager for 25 years and retired early at 50. He lives off his portfolio and in Crested Butte, CO. Mark lost his lovely wife to cancer two years ago. He is a financial whiz and takes us on his personal and money journey dropping knowledge bombs the entire show. From Tigger backpacks to Coca-Cola compounding to 529s you...

Jennifer Allen, a Catching Up to FI Facebook community member, joins us for her first podcast!  We talk about her journey to FI in her early 50s from a health scare wake-up call at 40.  We touch on topics like spousal buy-in, geo-arbitrage, FI healthcare prior to Medicare, tax and income optimization in retirement, and IRMAA, among many others.   🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffee Record a mes...

Bill and Becky take off the gloves and go to war.  To budget or not to budget...that is the question.  Bill is a "nerd light" tracker.  Becky is an all-in spreadsheet nerd budgeter.  This is a smackdown on what type of budget is best, styles, pros, cons, and apps.  Listen to the end and find out how Bill budgeted for skydiving and Becky for race car driving. 🔗 Connect with us!   Buy CUtFI a coffe...

This is Part 2 of a conversation with Paul Merriman about his book We're Talking Millions! Part 1 is Episode 8.  Here we talk about Dollar Cost Averaging, managing taxes, Target-date funds, Small Cap Value, rebalancing, and more.  Paul is an expert on index funds and asset allocation. He is a passionate educator focused on helping individual and DIY investors. 🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffe...

Paul Merriman is a retired financial advisory firm founder with over a billion dollars of assets under management when he sold his company in 2012.  He is a passionate financial educator who aims to help the individual investor.  Today we are fortunate to have him spend time with us talking about 12 simple ways to supercharge your retirement.  This is Part 1 of a 2-part episode full of nuggets of...

Jackie Cummings Koski , CFP, has been featured on CNBC, The Rachel Ray Show, Marketwatch, Forbes, and People Magazine. She is a single mother and a force in financial education who grew up in poverty, started late on her path to FI, and "finished early" with a net worth of $1.4M at 49 years old.  Her story is incredible.  Her wisdom is vast.  Her dream of a financially literate society is a palpab...

Becky and Bill are interviewed by Jordan Grummet, aka Doc G, on the Earn & Invest Podcast. We attempt to answer the question is it ever too late to start among other topics for late starters.  We are out of town at the Econome Conference and will return with a new guest next week. 🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffee Record a message for CUtFI Thank you to our sponsors: Personal Finance Club (Us...

Deanna Hutchison of www.brokenvesselsmadewhole.life had an alcohol and drug addiction that left her devastated personally and financially in mid-life.  She talks with us about her journey from despair to redemption, recovery, and forgiveness on her late start in life and financial independence.  Her story, message, and mission are powerful.  This is a must-listen inspirational episode. 🔗  Connect...

Bill & Becky are joined by their first guest, Late Starter FIRE, hails from Down Under in Melbourne Australia.  She woke up to financial independence at 47 and is on track to retire at 55!  She takes us through her action plan for late starters available on her website www.latestarterfire.com . 🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffee Record a message for CUtFI Thank you to our sponsors: Personal Fi...

Bill and Becky talk cash flow planning and sinking funds.  We try and make them sexy and help you see why they are an invaluable way to take care of occasional expected expenses and unexpected financial surprises. 🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffee Record a message for CUtFI Thank you to our sponsors: Personal Finance Club (Use code CUTOFI to get $30 OFF any course or PFC investing course only...

Bill interviews his co-host Becky and takes you on a behind-the-scenes look at how she and her husband started with a net worth of zero at fifty and retired "earlier than never" at 63! 🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffee Record a message for CUtFI Thank you to our sponsors: Personal Finance Club (Use code CUTOFI to get $30 OFF any course or PFC investing course only !) Measure Twice Money  ( $1...

Becky interviews her co-host Bill regarding his conflicted relationship with money on the way to financial recovery after a late start on the journey to financial independence. 🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffee Record a message for CUtFI Thank you to our sponsors: Personal Finance Club (Use code CUTOFI to get $30 OFF any course or PFC investing course only !) Measure Twice Money  ( $100 OFF "...

Bill & Becky are late starters on the journey to financial independence.  They introduce the show and give a glimpse of what to expect. 🔗  Connect with us Buy CUtFI a coffee Record a message for CUtFI Thank you to our sponsors: Personal Finance Club (Use code CUTOFI to get $30 OFF any course or PFC investing course only !) Measure Twice Money  ( $100 OFF "Create Your Own Financial Plan" Comprehen...