The Financial Independence Show

Seth and Tori Bolt from Bolt Farm Treehouse join us to share their story of a wedding gift that turned into a $32.5 million business. It's been truly incredible to see what they've built together, and more importantly, just how down-to-earth both of them are despite their tremendous success. Inside the episode, we discuss: Scaling a short-term rental business How hospitality is everywhere Creating a memorable experience Working with your partner Goal setting and the concept of "enough" Attracting top talent Showing up on social media Knowing when to add/cut things And so much more. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Bolt Farm Treehouse @boltfarmtreehouse (IG) @drsethbolt (IG) @toribolt (IG) Bolt Farm Workshop Retreats YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/kL5-g3yGqt0 Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Jillian Johnsrud, a friend and multiple-time guest on The FI Show, joins us to discuss her latest book, Retire Often. Specifically, we cover: Why mini-retirements are so important How mini-retirements can accelerate your FI timeline The art of negotiation Finding meaning from taking breaks Retiring with intention The math behind mini-retirements Why FIRE shouldn't be your first retirement And so much more. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Retire Often Book Jillian's Website Overcoming Adversity (Jillian's 1st Episode on The FI Show) Managing Goals and Avoiding Mediocrity (Her 2nd Episode) Fire the Haters and Create Content Online (Her 3rd Episode) YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/2fN3UOOVqBw Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Justin is back! Your very own Financial Independence Show co-host is here to give you all the financial details from his six-month journey around the world. Spoiler alert, he actually turned a profit and increased his net worth by $100k+ while abroad. The numbers might be shocking, but as always, Justin kept detailed records of expenses and walks you through exactly how he pulled off this incredible trip. Specifically, we cover: Most overrated and underrated places Where he wishes we spent more time First place on his "going back" list Where he'd be most likely to live long term Best bang for your buck experience Where he wishes he had spent more money Accomplished and unaccomplished goals Airbnb income, other income, and creative ways to save Hang around until the end to hear Justin's top 3 tips for someone looking to do something similar! This is an episode you'll want to come back to if you're looking for a blueprint for traveling the world on a budget. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Justin's Travel Blog Spreadsheet with all the expenses Some photos highlighting the European travels $46 to Travel the World (Pre-Trip Episode) $2,052 for 5 Weeks in Southeast Asia (1-Month Recap) $1,500 per Month to Travel in Southeast Asia (3-Month Recap) YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/ThTLDOj1A7A Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Tony J Robinson, co-host of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie podcast and one half of The Real Estate Robinsons, joins us to talk real estate strategy. Tony has experience with many creative financing options and buying properties all around the country. Specifically, we cover: 100% mortgage loans through small credit unions The BRRR strategy Finding equity partners to finance deals Seller financing Lines of credit against stocks How to identify a "good" investment property Systems for managing your properties Building a team anywhere in the country And so much more. This is definitely an episode you'll want to come back to if you're looking to set up a system for managing your properties. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Tony's Instagram Tony's YouTube Channel The Real Estate Robinsons BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie Podcast Finding Properties: AirDNA PriceLabs Managing Properties: PriceLabs Guesty Hostfully Breezeway Monday Turno YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/4lojE8R18Ks Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

If you've ever searched for something travel-related, you've probably stumbled onto Nomadic Matt's website at one point or another. He started travel blogging back in 2008 and quickly became one of the biggest names in the space. As you can imagine, after traveling and gathering information for 15+ years, he has a lot to share about travel! In this episode, we cover: How to find cheap flights How to find cheap accommodation How to find a cheap phone plan Why slow travel can save you money Overrated and underrated travel destinations The biggest mistakes most travelers make Taking a sabbatical and/or quitting your job and a whole lot more. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode NomadicMatt.com How to Travel the World on $75 a Day Matt's Instagram Cheap flights: Going Thrifty Traveler Airfarewatchdog The Flight Deal Google Flights Redeeming points: Seats.aero Point.me Cheap stays: Couchsurfing Trusted House Sitters Airbnb (rooms) Home Exchange Booking.com Rakuten (for money back on booked stays) Cheap phone plans: Airalo Saily Holafly No-fee Banking: Charles Schwab Investor Checking YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/a9TrvTIlogw Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Who said building wealth had to be complicated? In this episode, we're joined by JL Collins, author of The Simple Path to Wealth (recently revised). JL was one of the pioneers of the FI space as we know it today, and has been coined "The Godfather of FI". During this interview, we cover: If the Simple Path to Wealth still works in today's economy How to navigate a market downturn How to build your investment portfolio The power of compound interest Why fees can destroy your returns How to spend in alignment with your values The real reason we accumulate money And so much more. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode The Simple Path to Wealth JLCollinsNH.com The One Thing That Determines Your Success in the Market (blog post) The Wasting Asset Retirement Model (WARM - blog post) YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/hr7_ZfbKMno Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today, we bring you our second episode covering Justin's six-month journey across Asia and Europe. Luckily, Justin loves documenting the numbers, so you'll get the most in-depth breakdown of expenses you could hope for. Listen in to see how he's living it up in paradise for $45/day. That number includes accommodation, restaurants, groceries, gyms, activities, government fees, random purchases...literally everything. Here's a high-level breakdown for Justin's half of the full Southeast Asia portion of his 6-month trip: Transportation: $582 Accommodation: $1,368 Activities: $1,543 Restaurants: $299 Groceries: $242 Gov Fees: $32 Misc: $42 Gym: $80 Some highlight activities include: 4-day/3-night island hopping tour Mount Batur sunrise jeep excursion 10-hour private driver tour So many beaches and waterfalls Three separate hour-plus massages Three additional days of boat tours in the Philippines 5 separate 1hr+ massages 2 cooking classes Gili Island Snorkeling 8-hour private Nusa Penida tour Ha Long Bay yacht Trang An river + Ninh Binh tour Bai Dinh temple complex 4-day Ha Giang motorcycle loop (Vietnam) Koh Lanta Island hopping 2-day Elephant Nature Park stay 12-hour Chiang Rai temple tour and more... Want all the data? Check out Justin's detailed spreadsheet We hope you enjoyed this in-depth check-in and look forward to periodically bringing you these over the next few months. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Traveling the World for $46/day $2,052 for 5 Weeks in Southeast Asia (Justin's 1-Month Recap) Justin's Detailed Trip Expenses Justin's Substack (to follow along with his travels) YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/HPzIkEmhkTA Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Entrepreneurship doesn't have to be sexy. In today's episode, Nick Huber, author of The Sweaty Startup, talks about how to get rich doing boring things. Instead of building the next AI tool, how about a painting business? Or landscaping? Or HVAC? Or one of the hundreds of services that everyday people need? Topics covered include: Finding your next business idea Why Shark Tank is a lie The easiest way to tell if an idea will work Getting your first customers When to "legitimize" your business Marketing strategies that actually work When to start scaling and branching out and more! This episode covers a lot, so get ready to take some notes. If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend! Links From the Episode The Sweaty Startup (Nick's Book) Nick’s Twitter Nick’s Instagram Nick's last appearance on The FI Show (episode 228) Nick's businesses: Personal Brand – https://sweatystartup.com/ Self Storage – https://boltstorage.com/ Overseas Staffing – https://supportshepherd.com/ Cost Segregation – https://recostseg.com/ Insurance – https://titanrisk.com/ Business Brokerage – https://nickhuber.com/ Recruiting – https://recruitjet.com/ Landing Page / Web Development – https://webrun.com/ Debt and Equity – https://bluekeycapital.com/ Tax Credit – https://taxcredithunter.com/ Performance Marketing – https://adrhino.com/ Pest control – https://spidexx.com/ YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/OMffZ-Xuikk Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Grant Sabatier, the bestselling author of Financial Freedom, returns to the show for the third time to talk all about entrepreneurship. Inside the episode we cover: How to come up with business ideas What makes a successful entrepreneur Why 9/10 small businesses fail Grant's perfect business formula Growing, scaling, and marketing a business The biggest mistakes made by entrepreneurs Following your passion vs. following the money and so much more. Grant's latest book, Inner Entrepreneur, is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to advance in business. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Inner Entrepreneur GrantSabatier.com Grant's Community Grant's Instagram Grant's First Appearance on The FI Show YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/dw5pxLC7CYQ Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today we bring you our first episode since Justin hit the road on his six-month journey across Asia and Europe. Luckily, Justin loves documenting the numbers so you'll get the most in-depth breakdown of expenses you could hope for. Listen in to see how he's living it up in paradise for $55/day. That number includes accommodation, restaurants, groceries, gyms, activities, government fees, random purchases...literally everything. Here's a high-level breakdown for Justin's half of the first 37 days expenses: Transportation: $305 Accommodation: $590 Activities: $838 Restaurants: $134 Groceries: $82 Gov Fees: $32 Misc: $20 Gym: $51 That's only $2k for 37 days! Some highlight activities include: 4 day/3 night island hopping tour Mount Batur sunrise jeep excursion 10-hour private driver tour So many beaches and waterfalls Three separate hour-plus massages Three additional days of boat tours in the Phillippines and more Want all the data? Check out Justin's detailed spreadsheet We hope you enjoyed this in-depth check-in and look forward to periodically bringing you these over the next few months. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Traveling the World for $46/day Justin's Detailed Trip Expenses Justin's Substack (to follow along with his travels) YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/39w8PfTLmcg Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Dustin Heiner returns to the show after a long 5 years to share what he's been up to since his last appearance (a lot!). We discuss His recent 355-unit apartment building and multiple hotel acquisitions How he's built a podcasting network His fast-growing real estate conference His daily and weekly routine and how he balances work and life What it really takes to build passive income And so much more. Dustin's goal is to help 1,000,000 people start investing in real estate, and he's already made huge progress. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode REWBCon (Use code "Cody" for 10% off) Dustin's Free Real Estate Investing Course Dustin's Instagram Dustin's YouTube Master Passive Income Dustin's First Appearance on The FI Show YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/5ok7JGOhVwE Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today we bring you our goals for 2025 along with some upcoming changes to the podcast. Every year, we like to map out some of our goals and what we aim to accomplish. We break these down into the following categories: Money/Finance Fitness Family/Relationship Other Some examples of Cody's goals include: Doubling down on what works for business and finance Completing an Ironman Cutting out bad relationships and doubling down on good ones Completing the build for his "forever" home Some of Justin's Goals include: Running a sub-22-min 5k and completing a half-marathon Simplifying the investment account sprawl Coming away from his trip with a short list of slow travel locations Writing more In the episode, you'll get the full breakdown of all the goals and why some of these are the focus for 2025. We hope you enjoyed this goal-setting episode and are inspired to make some big moves in 2025. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Traveling the World for $46/day 2023 Recap and 2024 Goals Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Today we bring you a Christmas special of sorts. The 12 money lessons as a play on the 12 days of Christmas. These are some of the most foundational takeaways we've realized during our financial journey. We truly believe if you master these lessons, you'll have a clear path to hitting your money goals. 12 Money Lessons We Cover: Retirement is a number, not an age 4% rule or cash flow method Your first investment should be in yourself $10K toward self-betterment will likely go a lot further than it will in the S&P or RE at the beginning of your journey Compound interest is insane  Investing $500 a month from 25 - 45 and then stopping will give you ~$1M in retirement at 65. Investing $1,000 a month from 45-65 will give you only $500,000. Start Early. The 80/20 of spending Focusing on the “big 3” (housing, transportation, food) will do way more for you than penny-pinching in other categories There’s no “right way” to reach financial independence If someone tells you the X is the only way, they’re lying or trying to sell you something. Can be done via index funds, RE, corporate job, digital products, etc. Action > Information You will learn way more by actually doing the thing, than reading books, listening to podcasts, or watching YouTube videos about it. Now is not a bad time to start Almost anytime you look back 4 years at investing you’ll wish you would have bought even more which is just a sure sign that if you feel like you need to wait to invest, you’re probably wrong Do the experience You’ll probably never regret the money spent on a memorable activity with friends and family It’s not about the money Yes, you’ll need to focus on money for a while and build up a nest egg but it the end the money is just a tool to give you the freedom to focus on the things you really care about, it’s not about lavishness or material obsession. Saving up a ton of money doesn’t make you a greedy person Don’t make a plan, make a contract Investing will have turbulence and that’s when people are most likely to make bad decisions. This happens when we let our emotions get involved. Instead of making a general plan, make some hard contractual-type promises with yourself so that when times get tough, you don’t even consider making rash decisions You’ll adjust to anything This can be an advantage or disadvantage. The advantage is that you can live a lifestyle very different to others and find that you can still reach a very high level of happiness. The disadvantage comes when we have lifestyle inflation and our spending keeps increasing but the novelty wears off and we don’t feel any different but our spending has increased dramatically You can’t know where to go,  if you don’t know where you are Getting an accurate state of your finances and spending is critical. You don’t have to fixate on creating a budget right away but definitely track your spending with extreme accuracy for a few months so you have real data to work with It’s not about how much you make, it’s about how much you keep (there are people making $200k living paycheck to paycheck, and people making $50k saving 50%) Be informed I try not to tell people what they can and can’t spend money on, just do the math to understand what the decision you’re making now means for your future self. Get comfortable with some basic spreadsheet math and project out things, compare options, just take a pause and do some calculations We hope you enjoyed this special episode and these lessons for your financial journey. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!

Jordan Grumet aka Doc G brings his brilliant insights to help listeners find answers to one of the hardest questions we battle with, what is our purpose? That gets broken down in this episode and his upcoming book, The Purpose Code. He has a history as a physician which brings amazing perspectives, especially from his time as a hospice doctor. Jordan recounts his life lessons to explain how to find purpose and shed the anxiety that normally comes with that search. He also breaks down the difference between regret and disappointment. Jordan does a phenomenal job of incorporating exercises at the end of each chapter to put what you read into practice. The book and discussion don't just stop with your life but also discuss how to leave a lasting legacy for others. There's no doubt that Jordan has some of the most thoughtful and insightful conversations anywhere in the personal finance space. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode The Purpose Code Book Jordan's Website Earn and Invest Podcast Jordan's First Episode on The FI Show YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/DunvVz_JdTc Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Someone recently asked me: "How did you reach FI?" I didn't have a great answer for them that didn't take 30+ minutes to explain. So, I recorded a podcast episode outlining my entire FI Journey - all the numbers, all the income streams, all the expenses, year over year. Below are the notes I created to guide the episode. 2016 Read the 4-Hour Workweek Started my first real business, Arsenal Discs Learned how to build a website, marketing, sales, networking, negotiations, pricing, product design… all the HARD way 2017 Discovered FI through Mr. Money Mustache Started listening to podcasts like ChooseFI and Afford Anything Read books like Simple Path to Wealth and Your Money or Your Life Learned about side hustles, taxes, the 4% rule, etc. Despite all this, didn’t really have any money since I was paying for college Locked in job for July 2018, plan was to work 7-10 years to hit FI 2018 Went to CampFI in January and FI became “real” Lived in Australia with lots of time on my hands and started side hustling after being unable to find a regular job Blog launched in April 2018 to document my journey Started working as a commercial RE lender in July 2018 once I returned to the U.S. All-in comp was $80-85k Knowing that FI existed was a blessing and a curse Launched podcast in August 2018 (nothing else like it) FinCon 2018 (CampFI on steroids) - met Grant and others By the end of that year, I had tried a dozen new side hustles (blogging, podcasting, freelance writing, building websites, editing podcasts, affiliate marketing, digital products, etc) Income: $44,000, Net worth: $75,000, Stock market: -6.24% 2019 Quit my corporate job on January 31, 2019 with $30,000+ saved Side hustles were bringing in $1,200 per month, but my expenses were the same ($450 rent, paid off car, super frugal) Financial Freedom book tour March-May of 2019 Teamed up with Julie to launch Gold City Ventures in June 2019 So many people asking for 1-on-1, wanted to teach at scale Most of my time after that was spent working on Gold City Ventures Practicing my craft to teach better Managing a community, recording & packaging content, hiring people Originally launched E-Printables, a blogging course, and a freelancing course LOTs of learning lessons from this business Income: $96,000, Net worth: $179,000, Stock market: 28.88% 2020 Went all-in on digital products (dropped blogging and freelancing from GCV) Etsy shop, Shopify store, templates, etc. Continued to live extremely frugally (spending less than $25,000/year) Bought 3-unit house hack in September 2020 $235,000, we lived in the basement, rent $2,200, expenses $1,700 Bought duplex in November 2020 $170,000, rent $2,250, expenses $1,350 Bought 3-unit house hack in December 2020 $315,000, we moved to 1BR/1BA, rent $2,600, expenses $2,100 First house hack jumped to $3,000 in rent once we moved out Income: $198,000, Net worth: $392,000, Stock market: 16.26% 2021 Started freelancing for Motley Fool (who acquired MillennialMoney.com) Extra $10K/month, SEO, “thinking big”, awesome team Bought triplex in May 2021 $245,000, rent $2,900, expenses $1,900 ~$200,000 in down payments came from digital product income Gold City Ventures continues to grow rapidly Income: $403,000, Net worth: $1,035,000, Stock market: 26.89% Financial Freedom!  Had RE making $3,000+ in cash flow, $500,000+ invested in the stock market In addition to the semi-passive $20,000+ per month I was earning with digital products Since I reached financial independence, I have continued to work on my main business, Gold City Ventures and invest 90%+ of my income into index funds and real estate. Links from the Episode CodyDBerman.com (previously FlytoFi) The FI Show (first episode)

Justin retired 1 year ago today! What did he do? How does he feel? Did the numbers work out as expected? Luckily for you, he's dropped all the answers to that in the show with the highlights below. Read on for Justin's notes: Numerical Highlights from Year 1: Averaged around $2500/mo or $30k/yr  spending Networth increased by ~400k ($1.7M -> $2.1M) Continued to save money 4% SWR + Passive Income = ~13k/mo or $156k/yr if I wanted Retirement Feelings Explained: Relaxed:  just being yourself and no corporate coating,  Awkward: Realizing every American interaction with someone starts off with work followed by me trying to explain the situation and balancing the outward perception from to Proud: as someone who is often hard on themself for not sticking to things, financial independence took real commitment for ~9 years.  Scared: that I’ll have great ideas I want to try, memories I want to make, relationships I want to strengthen, or  things I want to discuss… but discover that those I want to do it with don’t want those things at all Relieved: After a year, I find similarities to the relief I felt over telling everyone I gave up alcohol. Saying aloud that I’ve done something that 99% of people will never do felt very weird at first, but then I adjusted to that 1% weirdo being my story, and the people who truly care about me let you be that 1% weirdo. And that exchange ends with a lot of relief.  Responsible: I feel a responsibility to push the people I love the most to take ownership of their financial lives  Satisfied: Not from a mentality that everything that needs to be accomplished is accomplished. My sense of satisfaction comes from knowing that the first year of retirement was worth every decision and delayed gratification even if it’s the only year of financial freedom I ever get. Detailed Breakdown of Year 1 Activities: December 2023 Hosted my niece for a week in Austin Made custom laser engraved gifts for my mom and good friend Tried Franklins BBQ and Interstellar BBQ for the first time Planned and purchased everything for a kitchen remodel Saw several movies Redesigned ripped dip packaging Attended consumer product goods meetups Went to the trail of lights Did a baby kangaroo feeding experience Redesigned my Dad’s upstairs to be a sudo apartment in Mississippi Ripped up old flooring and prepped concrete for staining  Replaced all the windows in the flip Spent two weeks in Mississippi Enjoyed Christmas with my family Tons of workouts January 2024 Two weeks in Mississippi Someone hit and totaled my Tesla Redid Kitchen in Leslie’s family beach house Lots of other projects there like replacing all the hardware for the doors Spent a week on the Texas coast Saw several movies Lots of cooking Lots of workouts Dove into Ninja Creamis February 2024 Spent two weeks on the Texas coast More beach house remodeling Went to the Austin Symphony Took the train to Dallas Completed the purchase of my New (to me) Tesla Model Y Spent a couple of days with my best friend in Dallas Spent a week in Mississippi Lots of remodeling on the flip house Attended a Rodeo Took my niece to a concert in Nashville March 2024 Spent two weeks in Mississippi Played golf Replaced doors and painted the exterior of the flip house Drove back to Austin Tried a new boxing class Did my first Dexa scan (10.1% body fat) Spent a week in Miami Attended Ultra music festival Went to two additional concerts Drove back to Texas Coast April 2024 More remodeling on Texas beach house Found outfits for our engagement (surprise to Leslie) Made pies/desserts for Leslie’s Brother’s 50th birthday Spent two weeks in Portugal Got engaged A quick trip to Paris

In this episode, Cody and Justin discuss what they're thankful for and the importance of focusing on what you can control. We recorded this episode shortly after Election Day. Elections leave a lot of people feeling defeated and a lot of people feeling like they've won. The reality is that neither is true. You are the most critical variable in your financial independence journey, regardless of who's sitting in the Oval Office. The key is to focus on what you can control and to appreciate the privilege that you have. Even if things don't seem rosy, the hardest experiences often shape us the most and transform us into better versions of ourselves. We hope this inspires you to evaluate your life, appreciate your advantages, spend some time in gratitude, and get inspired for your next chapter in life. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from the Episode The Purpose Code Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

It's open enrollment season, meaning making healthcare choices for the upcoming year. So for today’s episode, we're featuring FI healthcare experts Lynn Frair and Jackie Cummings Koski. We cover: HSAs Healthshare Ministries Subsidized Care Deductible and Out-ot-Pocket Maximums Open Enrollment State Healthcare Exchanges End-of-life Care Emergency Funds and more! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links and Resources Lynn's Instagram Jackie's Instagram Heatlhcare.gov WexInc HSA vs Traditional Calculator Mad Fientist article on HSAs Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Cody joins Amy Porterfield on the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast to talk all about digital products. He covers topics such as: The best platforms to sell digital products How to find digital products you might already own How to get more subscribers using printables How to make more money with digital products How to add digital products to your existing business And all about what’s inside his E-Printables course. Hope this helps someone else start their digital product journey. If you enjoyed this, please share this episode with a friend! Links from The Episode E-Printables Course (with FI Show discount) Original episode on Online Marketing Made Easy YouTube Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ELCryyjEM Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFiShow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)

Our friend Sunitha Rao came from humble beginnings. Her parents spent most of their lives in one of the poorest regions in India. Despite all odds, Suni became a professional tennis player and traveled the globe playing in different tournaments. Years later, she turned her competitive nature toward real estate. Her real estate career quickly started to explode, and she's been addicted ever since. This episode originally aired in 2019, but it was so good, we decided to replay it. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Suni's Original Episode from 2019 Suni's LinkedIn Suni's Instagram Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Grab the Ultimate FI Spreadsheet Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave a rating/review! >> You can do that by clicking here << Learn More About Your Hosts CodyDBerman.com (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)