friends on FIRE

In this episode, Mike and Maggie talk about the importance of tracking net worth, the single-most important tool to help guide and improve financial decisions in your life. We discuss the value in tracking your net worth, how to manage it, how to develop a net worth mindset, and how to set net worth goals.

Mike and Maggie interview Chris from the Inspire to FIRE blog. Chris shares his thoughts on what led him down the financial independence path, his humble beginnings in life, how he and his wife evolved on this journey together, and why he started the Inspire to FIRE blog. Chris offers a lot of great advice, spreadsheets, and other resources on the Inspire to FIRE blog and we recommend checking it...

Mike and Maggie discuss their college experiences. College is one of the most expensive items you’ll have related to kids, and it’s a looming financial burden for many parents. We discuss if college is even worth it, how to think through the ROI of where a child goes to school, why and how to start saving for college, and tips for saving on the cost of college.

Mike and Maggie discuss how you can save on your groceries. Grocery expenses can easily be $5,000 or even $20,000 a year. It’s a huge category you can find cost savings in. We talk through 10+ tips on how you can save money on your groceries.

In this episode we discuss the many benefits of improving your financial life, which leads us to a discuss on happiness, sex, and money. We cover the top 5 reasons we believe you should improve your finances and get financially fit. Getting financially fit will improve your sex life, Maggie guarantees it.

In this episode we discuss how to prepare for a job loss, even if you think one isn’t coming. Things have gotten pretty serious around the world in the last few weeks and this very day 3.3M people filed for unemployment. people are predicting unemployment could be as high as 30% this year. We recommend you have or start an emergency fund, start cutting costs, and prepare for the worst. We can stil...

In this episode we discuss cell phones, television, and internet bills. What you’re spending across these three categories can easily add up to a few thousand dollars a year, and finding savings in just one area can save you a ton. We also give a quick update on our $5k investment competition.

Offices are closed, schools are closed, restaurants are closed, beaches are closed, coronavirus is spreading fast, the world has stopped traveling, and... Mike and Maggie’s salaries were cut. Mike and Maggie spend some time talking about the impacts of the coronavirus around the world, and share their latest views.

In this episode we discuss the unprecedented time we’re going through in the world right now with the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19). We share our overall thoughts on the impact it’s having around the world and in our communities, and then we dive into what this means for your money. More specifically, we explain why this is having an impact on the stock market, what will happen next, and what we...

In this episode we interview Andrew Kerr, host of the House Hacking Podcast and a real estate expert. Andrew teaches us all about house hacking, which is about making slightly different choices with housing to reduce what is typically your largest expense. Often ⅓ of people’s monthly budgets goes towards housing, but there are ways to reduce it! We also do a check-in and share progress toward our...

In this episode Mike and Maggie discuss some of the crazy frugal things they do to save money, from cutting open toothpaste containers to get a few more weeks of toothpaste to waiting 6-8 weeks for a battery to arrive from Hong Kong. We hope this episode will inspire some crazy frugal things to help save your wallet, and the planet.

Mike and Maggie talk about 401ks and 403bs, which are retirement savings plans. We talk about the benefits of 401ks, the myths of 401ks, and we challenge people to, at the bare minimum, put in the amount their company is matching. And the best-case scenario you’re maxing it out to $19,500 (the max the IRS allows).

On this episode Mike and Maggie address their #1 requested topic so far: expense tracking! We talk about how what gets measured gets better. And then we break down the specifics of how we each approach expense tracking. Money doesn’t need to be a taboo topic, so we also encourage you to share your expense tracking through monthly reviews with a friend, partner, or spouse. After listening to our th...

On this episode we discuss taxes. Yay, taxes, buckle-up. We give a high-level overview of how tax brackets work, tips for filing your 2019 taxes, and also advice for minimizing your 2020 taxes. We encourage you to file your own taxes so you better understand your personal finances, as this is how you learn and improve.

On this episode we interview Adam Goldberg. Adam has a fascinating career background, and shifted from a career in counter-terrorism to corporate America as a consult to a professional photographer and instagram influencer. Adam shares his view on finances and how it gave him the freedom and cushion to make some big career changes in his life, and how he’s grown since then.

On the last episode we talked about kids and money, and our beliefs in this area. So this episode we decided it was only fair to bring on our kids, ages 3 to 11, and ask them hard-hitting questions! We get their thoughts on happiness, money, views on debt, if we should work more or play more, what the most important objects are in their lives, and who is the best podcast host.

Since we said cars are the worst, we thought we’d next focus on what’s the best: our kids! People think kids are expensive, and then can be, but they don’t have to be. Mike has 2 kids, and Maggie has 3 kids, and we share our thoughts on raising them and the costs of doing so. We share some tips on the various categories of expenses related to kids, and how we believe that talking openly with your...

If cars are the worst, then car insurance is just as bad! We follow up our cars episode with a discussion on car insurance. We share what we’re paying on car insurance and our thoughts on the true purpose of car insurance. We then dig into our top tips for deciding on how much car insurance you need, which features you do or don’t need, and more.

Cars are the worst! Aside from a house, cars might be the largest expenses you have. People can spend so much money on a car, but in reality, does anyone really care what you drive? If you’re driving a car because you love it and can afford it, then that’s great for you. But if you’re driving a car because you’re trying to impress someone else or “keep up with the Joneses”, then it might be time t...

In their first interview, Mike + Maggie interview Michelle and Jake from the Retired Toddlers. They are are a full-time traveling family that sold their home in 2016 to spend more time with their 2 young kids, and ever since then they have been traveling the world The Retired Toddlers share their priorities in life, how they travel, and their views on money.

Mike + Maggie cover an important topic for 2020: Goals and how to set them. We talk about the importance of setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Assignable, Relevant/Realistic, Time-Bound) and the importance of tracking against your goals to make progress. We then share our personal and financial goals for 2020. Listen to help get your 2020 started on the right financial foot.

The third pillar of financial independence: finding freedom. The reason we are spending less and growing our wealth is to get to financial freedom. While we’re both not yet ready to leave our jobs and take the plunge, we find immense happiness in knowing that we can if at any point we need to. It takes the pressure off work when you’re not dependent upon a paycheck.

The second pillar of financial independence: growing wealth. As you are saving more and more money, you need to put your money to work for you and grow your wealth.

The first pillar of financial independence: spending less. Mike and Maggie philosophize about being happy with less and finding level of spending that’s sustainable, laying the framework for financial independence.

We put some structure to the show and finally define FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) as we see it. This is the 1st of 4 episodes digging into the FIRE movement and then outlining the 3 pillars of financial independence: spending less, growing wealth, and finding freedom.