FI Minded - Financial Independence Without the Extremes

While we still have a lot of work to do, I’m really glad we’ve made strides in closing the gender pay gap. Women's increased incomes have led to significant changes in household dynamics. More women are becoming the primary or even sole breadwinner for their family. This change is great and has led to many positives for both men and women. However, our culture is still caught up in traditional gen...

It’s one of the most hotly debated topics in personal finance…Roth or Traditional? Some argue that the national debt almost guarantees higher taxes in the future and that you should choose Roth and pay your taxes now. Others argue that flexibility and low-earning retirement years should lead you to choose traditional. And of course, some “professionals” highlight that retirement accounts are a sca...

Over the last couple of years, a key group of companies known as The Magnificent Seven has emerged. This group of high-performing and influential companies includes Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla. These companies are at the forefront of sectors such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, cloud computing, and digital services. They have also been positively impa...

Things can get complicated quickly in the world of personal finance. From investing and budgeting to estate planning and insurance, there are multiple ways to accomplish what you need to get done. Let’s take investing for example. There are different strategies including but not limited to passive index investing, value buying, the 3-fund portfolio, rental real estate, stock picking, target date f...

There are going to be differences. And these differences are what lead to disagreements. Imagine a scenario where you and your friends are booking an Airbnb for an upcoming trip. The group isn’t progressing, and you can tell by the tone people are getting frustrated. Half of the group wants a cheap option while the other half wants a nice place closer to the city center. This kind of situation hap...

Yes, your path to financial independence is going to take work and sacrifice but it shouldn’t be miserable. Financial independence is not worth it if it means being unhappy for decades of your life. There should be lots of moments of fun because life is precious both before and after you reach FI. So in today’s episode, Jackie Cummings Koski is back on the podcast to discuss five of her secrets fo...

Whether you consider yourself a writer or not, you’ve been asked to write before. This could be an essay for school, an email at work, or a caption for a post.  Sometimes when we are writing, we have a complete brain fart. No matter how hard we try, the words aren’t coming out. We write a sentence and delete it. We start writing another sentence, get halfway through it, and give up entirely....

Humans are weird whenever it comes to money. We drive five miles out of the way to save a few cents on gas. We buy things we don’t need because they’re on sale. We don’t ask for a raise although we’ve been working hard at the same place for years. We all have irrational behaviors when it comes to money and a lot of this has to do with psychology. Common biases impact our ability to make logical de...

Work optionality is the idea that you work because you want to, not because you have to. As you’re listening to this in your 20s, this concept might seem like a pipe dream. That’s truly fair. Most of us don’t have this luxury. We are building wealth, along with just paying our bills, and it takes income to do that. But this idea might not be as far away as you think. Regardless of your timeline, a...

Let’s not sugarcoat it, the path to financial independence is a grind. Even with an aggressive savings rate and an extended bull market run, you’re going to be at it for a while. Setting the hard work aside, we also have to ask ourselves, what are we racing towards? Yes, of course, financial independence and freedom, but what would you do with that newfound free time? This is where I’d like to ins...

We always hear the importance of taking advantage of our 401K and IRA accounts. The tax advantages and employer match are too good to pass up on. But is this true for early retirees? If I’m planning on retiring in my 40s, should I be locking my money away in these accounts? How do I bridge the gap between early retirement and 59.5 - the age at which I can withdraw from these accounts penalty-free?...

I love playing with compound interest calculators and one equation I’m routinely calculating is the number of years until I reach financial independence. Using the 4% rule, I multiply my living expenses by 25 to get my FIRE number. I use that, my current net worth and various contribution rates to predict when I’ll reach FI. But then I started thinking about this equation. Instead of using my curr...

As someone pursuing early financial independence, it is almost guaranteed that over time, a lot of your wealth will come from investment growth but as we all know, it takes money to make money. The first $100,000 of your net worth is a lot of hard work: you need to make income, live below your means, and aggressively save. And through all of this, your career will be the backbone of this process....

You’ve been pouring into your personal finance education and you’re starting to feel more empowered to manage your investments. You might have even played around with online calculators and realized how much that 1% advisor fee is really costing you. But years ago, when you were less confident and didn’t know better, you hired someone to help you with this. They grew into someone you call a friend...

Dating is expensive. There is no way to sugarcoat it. Between dinner, drinks, parking, entertainment, and more…the costs quickly add up. I was reading an article and they surveyed 2,000 Americans to find out the average person has spent $3,025 over the last year on dating. That’s a little more than $250 a month and it didn’t include indirect costs like new clothes, make-up, and haircuts. Even as s...

If you’re interested in early retirement, you have to consider how you will afford life when a paycheck isn’t hitting your bank account every other Friday. Of course, my favorite method is investing in the stock market. This provides dividend income and the ability to sell your stocks when you need to but there is another obvious method out there - real estate. I don’t know how we’ve gone 135 epis...

Even with an aggressive savings rate, reaching financial independence will take 10 to 15 years assuming the market plays nice with you. Stack on paying off debts and saving for large purchases like a wedding, a new car, or your first home, we can see how this is going to be an extended journey. Throughout that journey, how do we stay committed and follow through with our goals? This is not an easy...

When I say the word frugal, what comes to mind? Do you think of your penny-pitching sibling? Or your coupon-clipping aunt? Your co-worker that always brings their lunch? The reality is, frugal means something different to everyone. Frugality is a spectrum, and I believe it can be extremely beneficial to live your 20s with a healthy amount of frugality. Split rent with roommates. Shop at value-base...

You’re a top performer at work. Your manager routinely praises you and you’ve been taking on more responsibilities as your team and your company grows. With all of these positive indicators, a thought has been in the back of your mind - “I deserve a raise.” Those 2 to 3% increases you’ve received the last couple of years aren’t making a major difference to your financial situation let alone keepin...

One of the keys to building wealth is increasing your income. Most 20-somethings don’t have a savings problem, they have an income problem. You’re trying to pay off student loans, graduate from a college lifestyle, and invest for their future all while working with an entry-level salary. While I believe the fastest way to increase your income is focusing on your primary source of income, aka being...

It’s hard living a frugal life. I’m constantly questioning myself whenever I do things like taking leftovers from a free corporate lunch or doing date night at 4pm so we can get happy hour pricing. Although these frugal practices are simply a journey all 20-somethings need to live through, it’s not what I want to be doing forever. But what if I told you you could live it up now while also accompli...

For today’s episode, we are going to pause our money content to share a powerful story. With 2024 quickly approaching, I’m sure you’re giving thought to some changes you’d love to make in your life. It could be that you want to eat healthier, repair a relationship, feel more confident, tap into your true potential, or anything of the sort. But maybe those ideas come with some discouragement. If it...

I’ve noticed that New Year’s resolutions have been taking some heat lately. I get it, it is totally illogical that a single predetermined day is chosen for everyone to start a major life change and by February, most of us have given up on our grand changes and retreated back to our normal lives. But there is something about a fresh calendar year that gives me hope and naturally makes me prioritize...

I’ve always dreamt about becoming a dad. I know little moments like teaching them the ABCs, running them to soccer practice, or helping them pick out their prom outfits are going to bring me a lot of joy. I’m even ready for the challenging moments like sleepless nights, pre-teen outbursts, and difficult “growing up” conversations. One thing that I’m not sure I’m ready for is the cost of children....

We are closing up on 2023 and I thought it would make for a fun episode to recap some of the top financial news headlines from the year. Being a fellow money nerd, this year provided many interesting headlines that were fun to follow and watch play out. And looking back at it all, these stories reminded me of an important lesson that I’ll share at the end of this episode. Key Takeaways: The Federa...