Financial Independence Podcast

The Best Advice from JL Collins

To celebrate the release of JL Collins' new book, Pathfinders, I collected all the best advice from his Financial Independence Podcast interviews!   Jim has been on the show three times:   First, back in 2012 (he was my second guest ever!) Second, when his hit book, The Simple Path to Wealth, was released Third, during the depths of the Coronavirus crash   That last interview may be my proudest moment as the Mad Fientist (I explain why during the show).   Hope you enjoy thi...

Parker Hewes - Your Money and Your Health

Health is similar to finances in that there are many overly-complex things people say you need to do, but there are just a few simple things that actually matter. What is the "spend less than you earn, invest in a diversified/low-fee portfolio, and leave it to grow/compound" of the health world? That's what today's episode is about! Parker Hewes wrote a book called Lifelong Youth: The Simple Path to a Long and Youthful Life, and today he shares the eight health behaviors that will do t...

Jillian Johnsrud & Chad Carson - Small and Mighty Real Estate Investing

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I welcome back Chad Carson from CoachCarson.com! Chad just released a new book, The Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor, and I wanted to get him back on the show to talk about it. I’m not a real-estate investor myself though. So rather than interview him myself, my real-estate-investor friend, Jillian Johnsrud, did the interview for me! You may know Jillian from Montana Money Adventures, or her new podcast – Retire Often. Sh...

Ramit Sethi – How to Spend (and Actually Enjoy It)

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I welcome back Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You to Be Rich! I needed someone to come on the show to provide some tough love and Ramit was the only person for the job. As Ramit mentioned during our last interview, FIRE people are great at knowing what NOT to spend on but we’re not good at knowing what to spend on. Spending is going to be a big focus on the Mad Fientist this year and I can’t think of a better way to kick off this...

My Family - Raising Money-Smart Kids

Over the last few years, I interviewed members of my family to find out two things: How I became the Mad Fientist (i.e. where did I get my extreme ideas about money) What advice they'd give to parents hoping to raise money-smart children This is a short but sweet holiday episode to end the year and I hope you enjoy it!

Podcast Takeover: The FI Show - Employee vs. Entrepreneur

Cody Berman and Justin Taylor, hosts of the FI Show, have both achieved financial independence but they've taken drastically different paths to get there. Listen to this Podcast Takeover episode to hear the similarities and differences between an employee's path to FI (Justin's) and an entrepreneur's journey to FIRE (Cody's)! Highlights Live-in flip vs. house hacking Sweet spot for buying used cars Why focusing on fixed expenses is important How to 5x your corporate income The u...

Mad Fientist Jr. - Why I’m Appreciating FI More Than Ever Now

Life has completely changed. And because of this major change, I'm even more grateful for the freedom, flexibility, and time that financial independence and early retirement provide. In this short episode, I fill you in on what's been happening and I discuss the reasons for my newfound appreciation of FI.

Podcast Takeover: Financial Independence Europe - Effective Altruism

Welcome to another podcast-takeover episode of the Financial Independence podcast! This time, Mathias from the Financial Independence Europe podcast takes over the show to talk to Luke Freeman (from Giving What We Can) and Rebecca Herbst (from Yield and Spread) about Effective Altruism! Highlights What is Effective Altruism How to give efficiently and effectively Benefits of joining the effective altruism community How giving is evolving Differences between the US and Europe wit...

The Best Advice from Mr. Money Mustache

Exactly 10 years ago, I released the first episode of the Financial Independence Podcast! To celebrate this big birthday, I’ve collected all the best advice from my interviews with my very first podcast guest – Mr. Money Mustache! Highlights Mr. Money Mustache’s investing strategy Thoughts on real-estate investing vs. stock-market investing How to invest in a raging bull market The benefits of hitting FI before having kids Why you’ll likely make money after retiring early Mr. ...

Aime to Invest – From Bankruptcy to FI in 8 Years

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I speak to Patrick Aime from Aime to Invest! Patrick’s journey to FI is an incredible one. He… Moved from his home in Rwanda to attend high school in Europe and college in America Stayed in America after college and started working in the feast-or-famine world of sales Started his own company and grew it to $5 million in revenue in four years Used his success in business to invest in rental properties and live a lavish lifest...

Podcast Takeover: Mile High FI - Early Retirement Failures & Successes

I'm excited to share with you the first Podcast Takeover episode of the Financial Independence Podcast! Carl and Doug from the Mile High FI podcast take over the Financial Independence Podcast to talk about their early retirement successes and failures. Enjoy! Highlights Test drive early retirement by going part-time or taking a sabbatical Why finding a community is even more important for early retirees How to give yourself permission to slow down and be inefficient/unoptimized ...

The Escape Artist - FIRE in the UK

I have some big news… I am now a British citizen! In honor of finally getting my UK passport, and therefore completing this long journey to citizenship, I am releasing my UK FIRE episode. Barney, from The Escape Artist, joined me in my Edinburgh apartment (before the pandemic) to discuss all things related to financial independence and early retirement in the UK. Hope you enjoy it! Highlights The cultural differences between US/UK that affect pursuing FI How to escape from the p...

Bogleheads - Life After FIRE

Last year, I published an interview with one of my favorite financial writers, Morgan Housel. You may remember that the interview was recorded as part of a Bogleheads meeting and the interview was actually conducted by my buddy, Gouri. Well, Gouri recently invited me to join the Bogleheads to talk about life after FIRE and today’s podcast episode is a recording of that discussion! Big thanks to Gouri and the Bogleheads for making this happen and hope you enjoy it! Highlights How you...

Fifth (and Final) Annual Update

If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I’ve released an annual update every year since I quit my job. It’s now been five years since I stopped working so this is my fifth (and final) annual update. Why is it my final one? I explain in today’s short episode. Highlights How the pandemic highlighted the power of having savings Why FI is the ultimate shock absorber and cheat code The reasons this annual update will be my last What to do when money is no longer a sourc...

Early Retirement Extreme - A Systems Approach to Lifestyle Design

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I finally got to interview the person who introduced me to the concept of financial independence and early retirement in the first place… Jacob Lund Fisker from Early Retirement Extreme! To my mind, Jacob is the founder of the modern-day “FIRE movement” so hope you enjoy the interview! Highlights What Jacob has been up to since stepping away from ERE His experience being a financial quant and how it impacted his personal inve...

8 Key Lessons from the Ultralearning Experiment

Last year, I conducted an experiment in Ultralearning that I hoped would help me achieve a lifelong dream of mine of writing and releasing an album. I’m happy to say it was far more successful than I ever imagined it would be! As I mentioned in the initial Ultralearning podcast episode, the hope for the 3-month experiment was that it would accelerate my progress towards my goal and make the process more enjoyable. Well, it did all that and more… I ended up finishing a song during tha...

Morgan Housel - The Psychology of Money

One of my favorite financial writers, Morgan Housel, is on the Financial Independence Podcast today! I’m not the one conducting the interview this time though (all is explained in the episode). Morgan’s insight into how to handle uncertainty, market crashes, and this weird stock boom that we now find ourselves in is invaluable so hope you enjoy it! Big thanks to Gouri, Morgan, and the Bogleheads for making this happen!

Valuable Lessons from My Fourth Year of Freedom

It’s been four years since I left my full-time job and what a crazy year it’s been! To celebrate this anniversary and to recap the things I’ve learned during this last year of post-FI life (and the COVID market crash), I recorded a short podcast episode.

Coronavirus Market Crash - Is This Time Different?

Bear markets are a normal part of investing but is this time different? As the coronavirus COVID-19 spreads around the world, governments are struggling to limit the economic impact of the disease. In today’s unplanned episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, JL Collins (author of The Simple Path to Wealth) joins me to talk about this stock-market crash, how it differs from previous crashes, and what you should do about it. Note: Apologies for the audio quality of this episode. S...

Scott Young - Ultralearning

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I’m excited to introduce Scott Young! I first heard about Scott when he decided to complete MIT's entire computer science curriculum in a year. Scott has taken on a lot of these types of impressive learning projects and he just wrote a great book about it – Ultralearning. As you know, I’m attempting to tackle a very intimidating project myself so what better way to kick off that effort than with my own 3-month ultralearning proj...

Third Year of Freedom

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.

Ramit Sethi - I Will Teach You to be Rich

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...

Cal Newport – Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, and the Key to a Happy Retirement

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...

Millennial Money - From Broke to Millionaire in 5 Years

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...

Tony - Going Back to Work After Early Retirement

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...

Monumental Strength – How to Get Fit (and Actually Enjoy It)

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 ...

James Clear - Atomic Habits and Building a New Identity After Retirement

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 disc...

Travis Shakespeare - Playing with FIRE

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 h...

Chad Carson - Retire Early with Real Estate

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-b...

Second Year of Freedom

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!

First Year of Freedom

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!

Scott Trench - Set for Life

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...

Marla Taner – Striving for Happiness After Early Retirement

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 a...

Money Talks – Live from the UK Chautauqua with Vicki Robin

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, ...

Elizabeth Willard Thames – Meet the Frugalwoods

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...

My Brother – Using the Power of Money to Pursue Your Passion

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 ca...

Chris Hutchins – Why You Should “Retire” Before You Hit Your Number

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 wo...

Physician on FIRE – Geographic Arbitrage, Sunk Costs, and Gangsta Rap

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...

Michael Kitces – The 4% Rule and Financial Planning for Early Retirement

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 i...

The Happy Philosopher - Semiretirement and Finding Happiness

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...

Mr. Money Mustache – Early Retirement Made Easy (Rebroadcast)

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...

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Think Save Retire - Selling Everything and Retiring to an RV

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 arou...

Your Money or Your Life – An Interview with Author Vicki Robin

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 com...

Our Next Life - Retiring to a Life in the Mountains

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 ...

Coach Carson - The Simple Way to Retire Early with Real Estate

After delivering an epic guest post on the tax advantages of investing in real estate, I asked Chad Carson from CoachCarson.com to join me on the podcast to hear more about his own experiences with real estate investing. Chad started with only $1,000 in the bank and was able to build up a real estate empire that now consists of over 90 units! It’s an incredible story of hard work, intelligent money management, and perseverance so listen to find out how he did it. And if you’ve ever wante...

Fiery Millennials and Millennial Boss – A Millennial’s Guide to FI

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, Gwen from Fiery Millennials and Julie from Millennial Boss join me to talk about millennial finances and what young people should do to reach financial independence as quickly as possible! Highlights: Thoughts on Chautauqua and Camp Mustache (including the awful financial advice Julie received in Ecuador) How Gwen landed her dream job and how Julie increased her income by 600% in 5 years The benefits of starting your own blog ...

Sane Fientist - My Wife's Thoughts on Financial Independence

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I interview my wife, Jill! It took a lot of persuading to get her on the show but I’m glad she agreed because her perspective is very different from mine so it was interesting to hear her thoughts on financial independence, early retirement, and this unconventional life we lead! Highlights: When my wife found out I was a weirdo with money My lowest point as a cheapskate Why Jill and I kept our finances separate The importan...

Millennial Revolution – Denouncing the Cult of Homeownership

Joining me on today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast are FIRECracker (Kristy) and Wanderer (Bryce) from Millennial Revolution! Kristy and Bryce exploded onto the scene after a video clip of them attacking the religion of homeownership went viral (it is now the most-viewed and most-shared video on CBC.ca, Canada’s largest news website). During our interview, we dive into the viral video, explore why they believe buying a home is usually a terrible idea, and find out what th...

PopUp Business School - The Right Way to Start a Business

I just returned from a fantastic week at the annual Chautauqua event in Ecuador. This was my second Chautauqua and just like last year, it exceeded all expectations.  It’s amazing what can happen when you put a bunch of interesting, intelligent people in a gorgeous 17th century hacienda (located at the foot of an extinct volcano) for a week. At this year's event, an attendee named Alan gave an impromptu presentation about why and how you should start a business and since it fit perfect...