I can’t believe it but it’s already been three years since I left my full-time job! To commemorate this special anniversary and to recap the things I’ve learned during this last year of post-FI life (which happened to be the best one yet), I recorded a short podcast episode.

Personal-finance icon Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You to be Rich joins me for an episode of the Financial Independence Podcast! Ramit first published his New York Times best-selling book, I Will Teach You to be Rich, back in 2009 during the depths of the financial crisis. He just released the second version today so we discuss what’s changed in the last decade and also talk about FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) – a concept that’s taken the financial world by storm in recent...

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I’m very excited to introduce author Cal Newport! I’ve been a huge fan of Cal’s writing for many years so it was a treat to get to talk to him. We explore many important issues related to early retirement that aren’t often talked about so if you’re thinking about retiring early (or if you already have and are struggling to build the life that you envisioned before leaving work), today’s episode is a must-listen! Highlights: Why...

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, my buddy Grant from Millennial Money joins me to talk about how he went from having $2.26 in the bank to $1.25 million in just 5 years, 3 months, and 6 days! We dive into the strategies and tactics he used but we also go deeper and discuss some of the unexpected challenges of FIRE. We also explore Grant’s new book, Financial Freedom, which is out today and features parts of my own story! Highlights: Why you don’t need to hit FI or...

It’s easy to think that early retirement will be the answer to all your problems. After all, how could you not be happy when you don’t have to work anymore? I’ve written about why early retirement is not a magic bullet but what if it actually makes your life worse? On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I interview a reader named Tony who found this to be the case. He’s since decided to go back to the same career he retired from and is enjoying work (and life) more than...

I made two big mistakes when I was pursuing financial independence… The first was I put off happiness until I hit FI. The second was I also put off my health. In today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I chat to my personal trainer, Doug from Monumental Strength. Doug has spent the past two years taking me from a puny computer programmer to a strong, healthy weightlifter! It’s been a fantastic journey, with numerous unexpected benefits, so don’t wait until FI like I did....

A challenging aspect of early retirement is the loss of identity you may experience when leaving a career you’ve spent a big chunk of your life building. However, one of the most exciting parts of early retirement is that you have the time, money, and freedom to create a completely new identity! How do you do it though? Today, I had the privilege to speak to the writer who has been most helpful to me as I’ve started building my own new identity – James Clear. In this episode, we discuss...

If you’ve been reading about financial independence for a while, you’ve likely seen that the topic is getting more popular lately. Although FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early) is far bigger than it was when I created this site in 2012, it’s still nowhere near mainstream. That may change though… A full-length documentary called Playing with FIRE is currently in the works and the film has the potential to reach millions of people that blogs or podcasts never would. This is a huge...

Chad Carson from CoachCarson.com joins me again on the Financial Independence Podcast to talk about the various strategies you can use to retire early with real estate! Highlights: The best real-estate strategies to use to reach financial independence and retire early How real estate can be a good investment while also enhancing your lifestyle What is the Mad Fientist’s Peak Arbitrage™ strategy and is it a good idea Why you should buy utility but rent luxury Thoughts on internet-based real...

I can't believe it... It's already been two years since I left my full-time job! To celebrate this special anniversary, I decided to release a podcast episode containing my thoughts on my second year of freedom. Find out what a day in my life is like now, hear all the ways early retirement is different than I expected, and discover the most valuable lessons I've learned since leaving my job!

On August 1st, 2018, it will be exactly two years since I left my full-time job as a software developer. To celebrate, I've decided to release two podcast episodes that contain all the valuable lessons I learned during my first two years of freedom. Today's episode contains everything I learned during my first year and on Wednesday (August 1st), I will release everything I learned during my second year of freedom. It's been a wild ride so hope you enjoy the first of these two episodes!

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I’m joined by the president of biggerpockets.com and cohost of the BiggerPockets Money Show, Scott Trench! Scott breaks down the journey to financial independence into three stages and explains what you need to focus on at each step (and why)! Highlights: The three stages of wealth creation on the path to financial freedom Why it doesn’t make sense to worry about investing right away How to create a “financial runway” and use it to...

My good friend Marla Taner joined me on the Financial Independence Podcast to go deep into some early-retirement topics that aren’t often discussed. Marla and I met in 2014 at Camp Mustache and we’ve had a lot of fun (and sometimes heavy) conversations over the years so I thought it’d be great to record one for the podcast! Highlights: How to deal with a sudden early retirement Rethinking travel after leaving work Finding happiness from within Dealing with losing career identity and...

Last August, I was down in England with Vicki Robin (author of Your Money or Your Life) for the FI Chautauqua. We were chatting about the new version of the book she was working on (which is out now!) and she mentioned that she created a game called “Money Talks” to go along with the new edition. The card game consists of 52 different cards, each containing a different money question or topic. The idea is, you can use the cards to initiate conversations about money with family, friends,...

Today on the Financial Independence Podcast, I welcome back Liz Thames (a.k.a. Mrs. Frugalwoods)! Liz was last on the show over two years ago and a lot has changed. Since then, she’s made her dream of retiring to a homestead in Vermont a reality, she’s had two babies, and she’s just published a book! It was great to catch up with her to hear about everything that’s happened over the last couple of years and to find out whether her early retirement dream is actually as good as she hoped it...

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I interview my little brother while drinking wine next to a canal in Venice! Brian, who is three years younger than me, isn’t actively pursuing financial independence but he’s done some really impressive things with his money and has used the power that money provides to fully pursue his passions. In fact, he’s currently in the middle of a ~6-month mini-retirement and is using the time off to travel and hopefully take his music...

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I interview a serial entrepreneur who has achieved financial independence three different ways! You’d think that selling a company to Google or buying San Francisco real estate before prices went crazy would be the best way to reach financial independence but that’s not been the case for today’s guest, Chris Hutchins from Grove. Although he’s done all of those things, Chris shares how consistent saving actually impacted his net worth...

It’s been a while since I posted a new Financial Independence Podcast episode but I’m excited to share one with you today! Mr. and Mrs. 1500 from 1500Days.com joined me live at FinCon in Dallas to interview the Physician on FIRE! We sadly only had 25 minutes to record so it’s a short interview but it’s a fun one. If you ever wanted to hear Mrs. 1500 rap, this episode is definitely for you :) And if you ever wanted to hear what a podcast sounds like when two out of the three hosts are...

One of the internet’s most-respected retirement researchers and financial planners, Michael Kitces, joins me for an episode of the Financial Independence Podcast! You may remember that my Safe Withdrawal Rate post drew heavily from the incredible research Kitces has done on the topic so it was great to talk to him directly to dive even deeper into important topics related to early retirement. During the interview, we discuss… Safe Withdrawal Rates and whether the 4% rule is still safe in...

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, Jeff from The Happy Philosopher joins me to discuss the unique challenges that doctors and other professionals face on the journey to early retirement. When you invest so much time, money, and energy into your career, it’s no wonder that walking away from your job is much more difficult. We discuss alternatives to early retirement, which provide a lot of the same benefits but limit the downsides, and we also dive into ways you can...

To celebrate the 5-year anniversary of launching the Financial Independence Podcast, I've republished the very first interview I recorded back in 2012 with Mr. Money Mustache. In addition to the original interview, this episode also contains an updated introduction that tells the story behind the interview! Highlights: How Mr. Money Mustache and his wife retired in their early 30s Why he decided to start writing about financial independence The benefits of raising children after you’ve...

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Steve from ThinkSaveRetire.com! Steve initially planned to retire at the age of 40 but after making some drastic lifestyle changes, he ended up walking away from his job at 35. One of the biggest factors that reduced his time to FI was his and his wife’s decision to sell nearly everything they owned and move into an Airstream. If you have dreams of spending your early retirement traveling around...

I can’t believe it… One of the founders of the financial independence movement, Vicki Robin, joined me for an episode of the Financial Independence Podcast! Vicki and her partner Joe Dominguez wrote the book, Your Money or Your Life – a New York Times Best Seller that many people consider to be the bible of financial independence (the FI-ble?). Your Money or Your Life is actually what inspired me to create the FI Laboratory many years ago. Vicki has been a driving force in the FI...

Later this year, at the ages of 38 and 41, the couple behind OurNextLife.com will be quitting the stressful, time-consuming jobs that they’ve held for most of their adult lives and will be retiring to a life in the mountains. This is particularly interesting to me because one of my dreams is to live on the side of the mountain and get a part-time ski patrol job. Because really, what could be better than waking up early after a big snowfall, grabbing a cup of coffee with your buddies, then...