FIRE: The Keys to Financial Independence Retire Early Lifestyle

[@ckg145]

The ChooseFI podcast rocks. These 2 guys, Paula Pant, The Mad Fientist, Jim Collins, Mr. Mustache, etc. are all doing an amazing job teaching about FIRE. Doesn't matter how old you are, these folks give great financial and retirement advice and steps. The secret sauce to their financial advice staying interesting... is the common theme (and celebration) of FREEDOM.

[@ProjectsToMansions]

You can have anything in this world but not everything, if you try to have everything you will end up with nothing. Focus on happiness !

[@MotleyFool]

Yes!

[@bigbaltimore]

Great quote

[@nataliehinnes5221]

Our mentality is so messed up we validate ourselves with wasteful vanities, you don’t need to buy that new Hermes or that new Aston martin yet when you can’t even guarantee yourself financial freedom, why not invest and be your own boss. my opinion

[@d.a3474]

yeah it’s so easy for you to say SUIT why don’t you go back to wall street where you belong

[@chuajunlee2347]

that’s easy for you to say Harvard. Not everyone went to trade school like you did

[@nataliehinnes5221]

@@chuajunlee2347 who says i know how to trade? i have a financial advisor who handles my investment and all my financial decisions and together we’ve made over a million dollar this year so get your facts right

[@stanleyfujiwara1394]

@@nataliehinnes5221 wow you mean you have someone that manages your money and gives you inside info on what to invest in? how do i get to your advisor please i need a 50k advice?

[@benharrop6157]

@@nataliehinnes5221 i also need one too, Thinking of going into real estate investing

[@serenewhopperman2924]

Impressive, it’s funny because I’ve always felt the key to early retirement is making sacrifices, you don’t need that new Tesla or that new vacation house in Cabo, instead why not set up an investment plan with your financial advisor. I did the same and I’m rounding up a million currently, I’m sure in the next 5 years I’d have 2 million in my portfolio🤞🏻

[@vanhall9513]

Insightful. I myself Invested in warren’s BRK-A, quite pricey but it’ll pay off soon... you mentioned an FA you use..do you by any chance do referrals?

[@serenewhopperman2924]

Van Hall certainly, I can’t leave her details here but you can look her up by her full name Lucy Maria Koss. You can reach out to her she has a website and everything. Goodluck

[@clairefrewman1456]

Serene Whopperman inspiring. I’d like to start with 30k. What’s her commission like?

[@brentshuffler1234]

Tip: The best approach to healthcare is to take care of your own health. Do not wait until you are sick to get serious about exercise, stress-management, nutrition, sleep-quality, etc. Simple daily habits can take us to 100 y.o. or more with our health, happiness, sanity, mobility, and intellect intact and working well. The most effective wellness-strategies cost a few dollars to zero per day versus giving your life-savings to preventable sickness and/or overpriced sickness-insurance, price-gouging drug-makers, overcharging hospitals, and overpaid doctors.

[@stephtraveler7378]

Four gotchas in the FIRE movement: 1) Don't retire until you get 420 months of earned income into SSA. 2) Keep your credit high as it feeds good insurance, cell phone plans, apartment leases, etc. Easy to do if you have earned income and some revolving credit. Just pay it off each month. 3) Think about divorce. Its often completely unexpected, but if it happens, will you now be screwed with no income history or job experience? 4) The silver tsunami will create a glut of available homes. Be careful with rental ownership.

[@tarad5547]

Two weeks ago, we became 100% debt free. My husband and I met 5 years and 8 days ago. We didn’t have much else but debt. With a few real estate deals, mostly renovation work we did ourselves and paid as we went, we now own out right a $200,000 house and enough land for a few animals and garden. Now we are on the saving side of things with 10 months of living expenses covered so far. Good retirement accounts. And yes, we drive older vehicles. We don’t wear designer fashion. Nor will we ever. In 4 years, we will retire to a low cost state to live. We can’t wait. The work we’ve done to get here has been worth it.

[@brentshuffler1234]

Kudos to the ex-C.P.A. at minute 32.50 onward: I can share my own proofs of these tips, [1] CARS: I gave up driving a luxury-car and switched to walking [= FREE exercise and a boost to health, to energy, and to productivity] and, where necessary, public transportation (which costs only U.S.$1.00 to $1.50 each way in the countries where I choose to live). Since a car costs around $1,000 to $2,000 per month in total average long-term costs, this one decision is worth MILLIONS of dollars of future lifetime value. [2] HOUSING: I moved from owning 3 properties to getting rid of all of them to eliminate the related debts and expenses and then moved to a lower-cost country and rented a spacious, furnished 1-bedroom apartment for less than U.S.$400 including all utilities.

[@tinyearthcreations2754]

Brent Shuffler That’s amazing! Out of curiosity, where did you move?

[@mikealden704]

"Several weeks ago, I came across an episode of the Motley Fool Answers podcast that turned my entire financial planning perspective upside down. I mentioned in the introduction to this series that the Motley Fool was my first real exposure to the world of personal finance nearly a decade ago, and in a full-circle sort of way, the same outlet is now responsible for my exposure to a radical new way of thinking about personal finance and retirement." - A little excerpt from my blog series.

[@yakamoz84]

In FIRE the RE stands for Recreational Employment. This can also be a non-job like I have...building your own path.

[@martyc8067]

Financial independence Recreational entrepreneur 👍🏼

[@ezra420420]

Retire that giant shirt!

[@priceandpride]

It's snappy

[@BukkaLevy]

I’m super distracted by that shirt!

[@IamaNewCreature]

Nope, gotta live that frugal lifestyle!

[@brentshuffler1234]

Some queries for the guest: e.g., Jonathan mentioned that he was saving up to 70% to 80% of his income and that he had a six-figure income. [1] What was the gross income? [2] What was the take-home pay? [3] Was the savings-rate based on gross income or take-home pay? [4] To pay off $168,000 in student-loans over 4 years is approximately $3,500 per month . . . plus interest of how much? [5] What were your main ways of saving that amount of your income?

[@MotleyFool]

Hey Brent, lot of good Q's here. Jonathan and Brad have documented their path to Fi over at their site ChooseFi. You can catch their articles and podcasts over there: www.choosefi.com

[@Human-NPC]

It makes me wonder why this idea needs to be sold to people in the first place.

[@ckg145]

ChooseFI is an awesome podcast. They do a GREAT job.

[@MotleyFool]

We think so too! Anyone else you'd like to see us have on the show?

[@ckg145]

YES..... Paula Pant, Mr Money Mustache, and Jim Collins.....

[@ckg145]

I think folks should think of FIRE similar to all the diets out there. Think of FIRE like the Paleo diet. Instead of another way to think about food...., it's another way to think about personal finance. Instead of eliminating carbs.... it's about eliminating debt, start as young as possible, invest in VTSAX (or VTI) at Vanguard.

[@ckg145]

One more thought/conversation is... what would be the global impact if every year in high school (freshman to senior), students were taught what a Roth IRA/401k/Index fund were and how to use a compound interest calculator to figure out how much a difference it makes to start investing at 18 versus 25 versus 35 versus 45. It's insane that this is not taught and drilled in to kids by the time they graduate. If just 30% of kids "got it", and were taught to fear debt and invest young, what would be the global impact in 20 years? If millions of kids knew one day they'd be in their 40s and "hate Monday's/live for Fridays", and concepts like compound interest calculators were drilled into their head at a young age, the debt situation in the world/US in 20 years would probably be significantly less. Instead, we dont teach this simple concept, and they can sign paperwork to go into student debt till their 30/40 y/o. This is a simple fix that is insane not to teach every year in high school.

[@sherylchapman7809]

Domain Admin thank you, subscribed today.

[@billyc4365]

these 2! always making fun podcasts!! expect a postcard from me soon! lol

[@BukkaLevy]

“I don’t think it’s in my best interest to stay” - priceless

[@khizarabid8414]

Cheers for the Video clip! Apologies for butting in, I am interested in your initial thoughts. Have you heard the talk about - Renannah Tiyily Release (search on google)? It is a good one off guide for learning how to get the ultimate millionaire mind minus the normal expense. Ive heard some interesting things about it and my m8 at last got excellent results with it.

[@oceangirl6239]

Eagerly waiting for that moment when I can say it.

[@jcool2hot]

The best quote of the show 🔥🔥🔥. When your financial ground game is strong, you can talk like that...

[@tomwashington4182]

Major Key to financial independence should be trading forex or stocks , the market is volatile, Trading should be transparent, I’ll rather leverage on services offered by Experts in trading , I invest and earn profits with a financial advisor to achieve the best.

[@nikkigleed233]

Good observation Tom , Quite true you can gain financial independence from Trading stocks and Forex , Nevertheless it’s also tedious getting an Expert Trader to work with .

[@tawandaanderson5403]

Investing in the Stocks and Forex market is quite risky and there’s possibility of you losing your capital as it is a very high risk investment avenue especially when you limited knowledge about the market, it’s advisable you don’t go into the market as a novice, you need tutorials, support and guidance from an Expert Trader if you must succeed .

[@andrewdsouza6524]

An even larger risk for beginners/Novice is over-diversifying by trading too many positions at one time , by doing this you leave yourself open to market risk , making it much harder to spot which positions and trades work .

[@kurtlang4675]

I believe most of us do not have the time on our hands to give in learning the pros and cons of trading and that’s why we use EA’s and involve Expert traders to trade on our behalves .

[@danielajuanmartin5557]

I’m in need of a trade expert , I have been using a demo accounts to to trade , but I still need some assistance with technical analysis and risk management, but who am I deceiving? We all need some assistance .

[@AnaxofRhodes]

Robert's about to implode into that blue shirt he's wearing.

[@studio22lusakazambia66]

F.I.R.E is not about money. It is a capability statement. Since the industrial evolution, economic progress results in shedding of unnecessary jobs. The people that will survive going forward and as COVID-19 is showing are those that are capable of reinventing themselves. Everyone must be educated on developing the capability to acquire diverse skills and capitalize on opportunities to generate money for sustenance.

[@jeannewagner8133]

Go Johnathan and Brad!

[@freedomlife3623]

American are really interesting. People. They are willing to support the government to spend Billions on weapon, but not support the government to have a universal health care. They rather to deal with insurance company as an individual. Can’t imaging to worry about the cost when you or your loved one are sick. Glad I choose Canada to immigrate even though I am still healthy. You can never predict when you might get sick.

[@jordansmith9756]

I’m currently in the market for a duplex I plan on house hacking. This has the potential to save me a decent chunk in living costs. Would highly recommend looking into this.

[@thelmaespinel8558]

Great interview , love the explanation about FI. Thank you for sharing

[@MotleyFool]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Asstronauts93]

Start at 32:00

[@icawn]

How do you pay your mortgage with your card? Mine wont do it, so it would need to be via some kind of 3rd party service.

[@InfiniteQuest86]

Agreed. I've heard this advice before but never have seen a way to do it.

[@bmxgram3919]

Good info. Thanks! Student loans suck big time. Like a dark cloud.

[@gwarlow]

BMXGRAM It's like a penalty for trying to improve yourself. Seems a little counter intuitive that a nation (government?) should prefer a less intelligent population with zero critical thinking skills. Hmmmmmmm. Wait a minute.

[@user-dv4rh2my1x]

If you kiss your boss, its the surest way into the FIRED community.

[@chrissh0485]

how much was the set up and the equipment?

[@goodnfit1]

Plenty of FI people have kids. If you want FI, prioritize spending. It can be done. No excuses.

[@johnford5568]

what's really sick is the 2003 civic is not only ten times cheaper but could be more reliable than the bmw over the next 5 years, wtf?? Let's see, spend time with family or drive a 2018 BMW? Invest in your appreciating family asset or send your money to Germany at unfavorable trade terms weakening your own country in the process and have them dump an over engineered , high maintenance, premium gas guzzling depreciating asset on you now made of even cheaper plastic than that civic? Let's see.....

[@zcharg0]

my '97 civic was more reliable than both my much newer BMWs and Mercs I got since I sold it. Best car ever.

[@ariefraiser140]

BMW is an international car company with plants all over the world including the USA. In fact most BMWs sold here are built in the US to avoid import costs.

[@succulentqueen7737]

Yes. I drive a 1993 beater that has saved me so much money over the years. Mechanics have told me that my vehicle is cheaper to maintain than the newer cars. I keep mine maintained with oil changes, brakes, battery, tires, the basics. It's the same kind of maintenance that I would have to do on a newer car anyway. The most expensive repair has been clutch repairs for $600. That's not bad for 230,000 miles.

[@samanthajwright4839]

Hope Scholarship is in Georgia.

[@dianapelagio2134]

Am I the only one offended by the lack of visibility of the lady? Why he doesn’t let her ask questions? She didn’t even talk. I am passed.

[@nevbinsf749]

Not sure if kids would want parents there all the time- I know I didn’t! Haha

[@mucha9196]

The only reason I keep watching is this guy keeps saying my wife is from Zimbabwe 😂 I’m Zimbabwean can you tell 😜

[@pepperthepep]

Why should the average growth of the stock market go down?

[@ariefraiser140]

We've been on an almost 10 year bull market which is not normal. Historically the market has returned about 9% and during this bull run its averaged closer to 15%.

[@pepperthepep]

@@ariefraiser140 I agree. However Ive understood the general average i.e. over 30 years

[@joehobbs490]

That 2% prediction still hasn’t happened yet

[@jonathonquintero2560]

Opening different credit cards for miles and points ... that’s ridiculous ... trouble for most people

[@MotleyFool]

Hey Jonathon -- one of the key elements of the FIRE movement is that you're not taking on debt, you're only putting bills on a credit card that you'll be able to pay off at the end of the month. So we're on the same page -- people who aren't in a position to do that should focus on getting to that point first with an emergency fund, paying down debt, and establishing good credit before trying to game credit card rewards.

[@brentshuffler1234]

Credit-scores become meaningless and irrelevant (e.g. when you follow Dave Ramsey's programme): avoid any new debt; simply plan, save, and invest towards your goals; hence, you can STOP BORROWING for the rest of your life, while paying off all existing debt as quickly as practicable.

[@gilltan4280]

You going to buy a house in cash?

[@brentshuffler1234]

@@gilltan4280Yes, what a wonderful idea! However, you have a range of options along the continuum from foolishness to complete wisdom: e.g., [1] save and invest until you can buy or build for cash; [2] save and invest until you can pay cash for at least 20% of the overall cost, thereby minimising the amount of financing required, and avoiding some of the costs and risks of low-deposit and no-deposit options; [3] downsize from a large home that has debt to a smaller home that has little or no debt; [4] share with others to make either renting or owning a fraction of the cost per person; [5] move to a lower cost option [a] of the same city/State/Province/country; [b] of another city/State/Province of the same country; or [c] of another country. Many countries in the world offer high standard of living for a fraction of what things cost in big cities/metropoles and in North America and Western Europe. Notice how many places in Canada cost much less than in Vancouver or Toronto, for instance; notice how many places in the U.S.A. are a fraction of the cost in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Minimising the cost of housing is the biggest area of saving in any person's budget and represents one of the three key categories (i.e., housing, transportation, and food) to accelerate progress towards debt-freedom and/or financial freedom and lifetime peace.

[@alexandertang6068]

They stopped uploading Answers to youtube?

[@rolandwalker327]

I tune out when these people (here and other media) say that they start out with six figure incomes in their 20's or 30's. Yeah, they had it rough smh..

[@NathanHedglin]

Also six figures in debt and having spend 8 years in college. Contrast that to a plumber with no debt and spending 8 years getting PAID while receiving pay increases. They'll likely reach FI at the same time; the plumber often sooner.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

Studies have shown that an electrician with good money skills will make more over a lifetime than a doctor. The electrician starts 8 yrs earlier, has no college debt and has the power of compounding on their side. Good money skills are the real problem.

[@fabinfrancis007]

Excuses excuses.

[@AvgJane19]

When did they say they had it rough...n

[@mplslawnguy3389]

Take a drink of that water man

[@Juan_Hernandez_Jr.]

This man lost me when he said to wait till 70 to retire. He really is a fool.

[@AvgJane19]

As long as you have financial independence... who cares

[@Globaltravel32]

harold who???

[@jacquelinej1508]

Percy Seabi Harold Evensky

[@ra6378]

Nice cartoon microphone

[@nancyclassen642]

I want to cancel motley fool. Motley fool SURE makes it hard Why? Seems to be on autopilot

[@Jimmy-ph8xn]

I’m sorry, but this is not reality. “Left my job as a CPA,” and “was a pharmacist” lol. Becoming a CPA/pharmacist requires years training and expensive education. FI is not as easily achieved by even a standard college grad.

[@cr2lives]

Achieving FIRE is definitely a challenge not to be taken lightly. The high cost of living in the U.S. - and, indeed, most first world nations - coupled with low-and-loathe-to-increase wages make the transition difficult. It takes an incredible amount of discipline and perseverance. But it is doable.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

It’s is doable. However, “As a Man Thinks,”

[@SD-co9xe]

CPA doesn’t require more than 4 year degree.

[@Jimmy-ph8xn]

S Jones requires 2 additional years of accounting experience to qualify for the license. So it takes 4 years of college plus 2 years of entry level accounting work with entry level pay. Part of this guy’s success was the pharmacy pay and becoming a pharmacist takes 8 years of college.

[@hieroglyph321]

Damn ... need to turn the treble down on her voice. No disrespect but ... ouch. Thanks.

[@rothschildianum]

Snappy dresser?

[@Nujjj]

Jesus first episode and had to stop listening because of that voice...

[@johanviskar5781]

good luck being a welder and dream of this. These people here are out of touch with reality that 90% of people have to deal with. ALMOST everyone does not have more than few 100 free moneys available towards saving. that will NEVER EVER amount up to anything meaningful as far as retirements go. Look at this talk and understand why trump won.

[@NathanHedglin]

Why do you think that is? Do you have a smartphone? I bet you pay $100+ / month , I pay $ 23.60. Do you have cable ? $ 150 / month, I Pay $ 15 / month for Hulu. Do you go out to eat for $ 8 / meal, I spend $ 1.50 by cooking at home. Do you have a car payment of $ 350 / month? I pay $0 on my paid off 2001 Monte Carlo with 225,000 miles. It isn't all about the income but expenses. A LOT of it is choice. Some of course won't ever make $ 100,000 year or even $50,000 but it is about doing the best with what you got. Hope that helps!

[@KayFabe87]

Nathan nailed it here. It's not what you make, it's what you save. Keeping up with the Jones' is a self-defeating endeavor. Incidentally; certified welders can make a six-figure income if they are willing to move with the demand. Johan took the scenic route with his comment in a tremendous effort just to get in an anti-Trump snipe. Pathetic. Look at Johan's comment and mindset and understand why most people don't have any or very little money set aside for retirement.

[@williammorgan6217]

i wish americans would learn to talk more quietly