Optimal Finance Daily - Financial Independence and Money Advice

Introducing the new host of Optimal Finance Daily, Diania Merriam. Bonus: About Diania Merriam of EconoMe Diania Merriam is the creator of EconoMe, a one-day conference aimed at showcasing a new American dream. Diania aggressively paid off $30,000, found a passion for pursing FI, walked the Camino (nearly 500 miles), and saves ~60% of her income. Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com Interested in adv...

Derick Van Ness of Big Life Financial talks about why it's best to keep your financial strategy simple. Episode 1300: Why Keeping Financial Strategy Simple Works by Derick Van Ness of Big Life Financial on Money Management Derick Van Ness is a Wealth Strategist who is passionate about helping people reach their full potential. His company, Big Life Financial is focused on removing the mystery and...

Phil Town of Rule One Investing shares a unique perspective on how to invest with meaning. Episode 1299: How to Invest: Meaning and the 3 Circles by Phil Town of Rule One Investing on Picking The Right Stocks Phil Town's portfolio has been ranked No. 1 by the American Association for Individual Investors when it produced a 50% rate of return. He has a passion for investing that is hard to beat and...

Emma Scheib of Simple Slow Lovely tells us how minimalism helped her earn $8000. Episode 1298: How I Used the Principles of Minimalism to Make $8,000 by Emma Scheib of Simple Slow Lovely on Decluttering Emma is a self-confessed introvert who craves the simple and slow things in life. She loves to run, read, and write. She is blessed to be wife to a wonderful husband, mum to two amazing and vivacio...

Kristin Wong with I Will Teach You To Be Rich offers tips on how to talk about finances with your significant other. This is part 2 of 2. Episode 1297: [Part 2] How to Talk about Money with Your Significant Other by Kristin Wong with I Will Teach You To Be Rich Ramit wants to use money to say YES. He knew there was a better way to live a rich life—if we could use psychology to focus on what actual...

Kristin Wong with I Will Teach You To Be Rich offers tips on how to talk about finances with your significant other. This is part 1 of 2. Episode 1296: [Part 1] How to Talk about Money with Your Significant Other by Kristin Wong with I Will Teach You To Be Rich Ramit wants to use money to say YES. He knew there was a better way to live a rich life—if we could use psychology to focus on what actual...

Craig Stephens of Retire Before Dad reminds us about the reality of gains in the stock market. Episode 1295: A Healthy Reminder That Stocks Don't Always Go Up by Craig Stephens of Retire Before Dad on Investment Advice Craig Stephens of Retire Before Dad is a 43-year-old IT professional, investor, and blogger based in the Washington, DC metro area. His primary financial goal is to retire at age 55...

Kalen Bruce of Freedom Sprout gives a guide to get started in real estate investing. Episode 1294: Real Money: A Complete Guide to Getting Started in Real Estate Investing by Kalen Bruce of Money Mini Blog Kalen Bruce created Freedom Sprout to fill a void. He heard too many conversations about how "they don't teach finance in schools." It took years for him to stop complaining about it and do some...

Wanderer fills us in on the unpleasant truths about investment fees and how to minimize them. Episode 1293: Investment Fees Are The Worst by Wanderer of Millennial Revolution on Buying ETFs versus Mutual Funds Wanderer retired from his engineering job at a major Silicon Valley semiconductor company at the age of 33. He now travels the world seeking out knowledge from other wealthy people, so he ca...

Jen Hayes reflects on how she and her husband paid off $127k of debt in 4 years. Episode 1292: How We Paid Off $127,000 of Debt in 4 Years by Jen Hayes on Frugality & Aggressive Debt Payoff A few years ago, Jen and her husband were buried in $117,000 of student loan debt. Now, they've paid off over $100k of debt, and they're on track to have the rest paid off by the end of this year. Join their em...

Mike Ballew of Eggstack talks about both living expenses in retirement and early retirement opportunity costs. Episode 1291: Living Expenses in Retirement AND Early Retirement Opportunity Costs by Mike Ballew of Retiring Early Mike Ballew is a 56-year-old engineer turned blogger who reached a point in life where he sees things more clearly than ever before. He faced financial challenges and overca...

Harry Stout of Financial Verse teaches us how we can fix our financial foundations. Episode 1290: Fixing Your Financial Foundation by Harry Stout of Financial Verse on Personal Finance Fundamentals Harry N. Stout is an acknowledged senior leader in the global financial services business with experience in all key business areas with particular expertise in personal finance, life insurance, annuiti...

ESI of ESI Money offers different definitions of financial independence. Episode 1289: What is the Definition of Financial Independence by ESI of ESI Money on Personal Finance Freedom ESI Money is written by "ESI", a 50-something retiree. The site is basically a list of what's allowed him to become financially independent and how you can implement those successes in your life. His philosophy is si...

Robert Farrington of The College Investor discusses the pros and cons of investing in gold. Episode 1288: The Positives and Negatives of Investing Your Money in Gold by Robert Farrington of The College Investor Robert Farrington is a personal finance expert that focuses on helping millennials get out of student loan debt and start investing for their future. He also helps parents make smart choice...

Kumiko of The Budget Mom helps us insure we're prepared for the next financial crisis. Episode 1287: How to Prepare for the Next Financial Crisis by Kumiko of The Budget Mom on Emergency Funds & Preparedness Kumiko went from having a pile of credit card debt to becoming a successful budgeter and Accredited Financial Counselor. The Budget Mom exists to empower women to build a life they love on a b...

Margo Aaron of That Seems Important educates us on why we buy things that we don't need. Episode 1286: Why We Buy Things We Don't Need by Margo Aaron of That Seems Important on Psychology of Buying & Spending Money Margo Aaron is a proud graduate of Emory University, Columbia University and altMBA where she won the prestigious Walker Award. In 2017 she founded The Arena, the first virtual coworkin...

Steve Pavlina talks about the value of pushing oneself the right way. Episode 1285: Pushing Yourself by Steve Pavlina on How to Get Past Mental Boudaries & Push Your Limits Steve Pavlina is widely recognized as one of the most successful personal development bloggers on the Internet, with his work attracting more than 100 million visits to his website, StevePavlina.com. He has written more than 13...

Joel of 5AM Joel talks about the financially independent people who are miserable. Episode 1284: Financially Independent and Miserable by 5AM Joel on The Relationship Between Financial Freedom & Happiness Joel is a 35-year old living in Los Angeles with his wife and their dog. He was born and raised in Australia and moved to the US when he was 22. About 4 years ago he started getting up every morn...

Chris Mamula of Can I Retire Yet shares three bad financial decisions he made that somehow managed to help him retire sooner. This is part 2 of 2. Episode 1283: [Part 2] 3 Bad Financial Decisions That Helped Me Retire Sooner by Chris Mamula of Can I Retire Yet Darrow Kirkpatrick is the founder of CanIRetireYet.com. He began serious investing in his mid-30s and retired at age 50. He's not a dot com...

Chris Mamula of Can I Retire Yet shares three bad financial decisions he made that somehow managed to help him retire sooner. This is part 1 of 2. Episode 1282: [Part 1] 3 Bad Financial Decisions That Helped Me Retire Sooner by Chris Mamula of Can I Retire Yet Darrow Kirkpatrick is the founder of CanIRetireYet.com. He began serious investing in his mid-30s and retired at age 50. He's not a dot com...

Chris Reining tells us what everyone seems to forget about money. Episode 1281: What Everyone Forgets About Money by Chris Reining on The Value of Trading Time for Money Chris Reining is an investor, writer, and avid student of life. He shares how to build wealth and reach financial freedom on his website ChrisReining.com. The original post is located here: https://chrisreining.com/time/ Visit Me...

Emily Guy Birken with PT Money shares an unexpected truth about how a gas guzzling car could be a good money saver. Episode 1280: That Gas Guzzler Might Actually Save You Money by Emily Guy Birken with PT Money on Car Buying Decisions PTMoney.com is about helping you make extra money, save more money, and spend your money wisely--all in an effort to help you fix your finances so you can build the...

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of Making Sense of Cents reminds of what we need to know about emergency funds. Episode 1279: Everything You Need To Know About Emergency Funds by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of Making Sense of Cents Michelle Schroeder-Gardner created Making Sense of Cents in order to help improve her own finances. With diligence, she was able to pay off $38,000 in student debt in 7 month...

J.D. Roth with Get Rich Slowly talks about the realities of frugal shaming. Episode 1278: Frugal Shaming and Financial One-Upmanship by J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly on Mustachianism & Frugality J.D. Roth has been reading and writing about personal finance for a decade. Today he’s financially independent, but ten years ago, his money life was a disaster, with over $35,000 in consumer debt. He start...

J. Money of Budgets Are Sexy reflects on the beauty of simplicity. Episode 1277: The Beauty of Simplicity by J. Money of Budgets Are Sexy on Minimalism as a Personal Finance Tool J. Money is a 6’1, hyperactive, rock a ‘hawk who loves drinking beer, blaring hip-hop, talking about money, and now playing with his two adorable baby boys. He tracked his expenses for 3 months, made a budget, read some b...