ChooseFI The Unstuck Network

In this episode: finding your why, creating space, deprivation, board games, lesson learning, and decision making.
Whether you’re years into your FI journey or just beginning, evaluating your finances and spending, you may feel like you have to make some cuts into your favorite hobbies in order to reach your goal quicker. However, deprivation and cutting out the things that bring enjoyment into your life should never be the only option. This week we are joined by friend of the podcast Chris Terell to talk frugal hobbies, new experiences, and the parallels between strategies in board games and the strategies employed while on the journey to FI. While trying to optimize your experiences may mean changing hobbies and evolving, while doing so you may find new enjoyment, new communities, and values that come with these changes. Not everyone may have the same approach to a game, just as not everyone will have the same approach to achieving FI, but as long as you remember that being open to changes will allow you to not only optimize your experiences on that journey but optimize your FI. 
Timestamps:

1:14 - Introduction 3:02 - FI And Pickleball 7:54 - Finding Your Why 12:50 - Happiness Is How You Fill Your Time 18:40 - It's Not About Deprivation 25:28 - Creating Space 35:46 - Strategy Board Games And Why They Are Great 45:54 - Strategy Boards Games, Decision Making, And Life 54:38 - The Top Four Concepts Of Strategy Board Games 72:58 - Starting Strategy Board Games 82:28 - Conclusion
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Episode:

Mr Money Mustache The Motley Fool Board Game Geek Board Game Arena Subscribe to The FI Weekly!
More Helpful Links and Resources:

Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence Keep learning or start a new side hustle with one of our educational courses Commission-Free Investing with M1 Finance

In this episode: personal investments, 401k contributions, FI is for everyone, travel rewards, task management, and taxes.
On what is considered a very personal journey, how do you handle changes that feel like setbacks? Whether its spending more when you feel you should be saving, or re-evaluating goals based on what needs immediate attention, do you feel equipped to handle it with confidence? This week we are having a weekly roundup, and are re-joined by Ginger to not only answer listener’s questions, but discuss travel rewards, retirement accounts, and breaking away from the ultra frugal caricature often depicted alongside FI. While saving is an important factor on this journey, the main purpose of FI is to learn and live your life with intention as it relates to your money, goals, and values. Remember that it’s okay if some of your goals and values will change along the way! Allowing yourself to be flexible as it relates to external factors, like market volatility and your investments, will give you more power and control to continue ahead with confidence and optimism! 
Timestamps:

1:04 - Introduction 3:31 - FI Is For Everyone 9:16 - Personal Investments 14:08 - Paying For Experiences 19:09 - An Introduction To FI 28:20 - Task Management 35:19 - Travel Rewards 47:06 - 401k Contribution Question 61:00 - Tax Season Hack 68:51 - The Content We Are Consuming 75:28 - Conclusion
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Episode:

Four Thousand Weeks | ChooseFI Book Club | ChooseFI Ep 415 "Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter" by Dr Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler "Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life" by Bill Perkins The Peter Attia Drive All The Hacks Taking Stock of Your Life | Jordan Grumet | ChooseFI Ep 390 Playing With FIRE Todoist Tim Ferriss Huberman Lab My First Million ChooseFI Travel Rewards Travel Rewards: How To Travel The World For Almost Free (The Easy Way) | ChooseFI Ep 9 A Guided Meditation for When the Stock Market Is Dropping Go Curry Cracker | Capital Gains, Losses and The Roth Conversion Ladder | ChooseFI Ep 18 "A Deadly Education" by Naomi Novik "The Premonition: A Pandemic Story" by Michael Lewis "The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story" by Michael Lewis "The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds" by Michael Lewis Subscribe to The FI Weekly!
More Helpful Links and Resources:

Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence Keep learning or start a new side hustle with one of our educational courses Commission-Free Investing with M1 Finance

In this episode: the "average" withdrawal, Karsten's strategy, Fritz's strategy, fixed withdrawal rates, the bucket strategy, and refilling.
Preparing for retirement can look different for all on the journey to FI. All of our goals differ, but we are still in the mindset of positioning ourselves for the coming years. This week we are having a face-off between returning guests Karsten and Fritz, as they discuss their own receptive drawdown strategies, their advantages, and how you can best prepare yourself mentally and financially for your retirement. While a large part of preparing for retirement means saving, that does not mean you should be afraid to spend. Even in retirement, there are strategies that can allow you to not only spend comfortably within your means, but also spend confidently! 
Fritz & Karsten:

Fritz's Website: theretirementmanifesto.com Karsten's Website: earlyretirementnow.com Timestamps:

1:35 - Introcution 2:09 - Karsten's Strategy 6:05 - Fritz's Strategy 13:28 - Fixed Withdrawal Rates 18:08 - Your Retirement Spending Mentality 23:01 - The Source Of The Bucket Strategy Debate 30:46 - Refilling The Buckets 40:40 - The Cheap Gimmick 45:13 - The Importance Of Rebalancing 51:03 - The Key Takeaways/The "Average" Withdrawal 59:06 - Conclusion

Resources Mentioned In Today’s Episode:

Our Retirement Investment Drawdown Strategy The Tail End "Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life" by Bill Perkins How to Calculate Your Safe Withdrawal Rate without using Simulations Subscribe to The FI Weekly!

More Helpful Links and Resources:

Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence Keep learning or start a new side hustle with one of our educational courses Commission-Free Investing with M1 Finance

In this episode: the 2.5 million dollar inversion, looking at the incentives, interest rates, your biggest asset, and potshots.
When you begin your FI journey, you may feel like you must follow a certain path or plan in order to achieve your desired outcome. However, the longer you are this journey the more you realize that it is a personal one that requires adaptability when so many factors can affect your bottom line. This week we are back with Scott Trench from BiggerPockets as he shares his insights on investing and looking at your portfolio from an “outset” perspective, as well as touch on the shape of the real estate market. It is important to remember that there is a lot of push and pull on this journey, and it is not meant to be perfect. While you may have expectations for your portfolio and your long term plans, there will be times where you will have to make tradeoffs. Just as the markets change and may signal uncertainties to come, remember that flexibility while maintaining your long term goals will allow you to feel more equipped to move through these times. 
Scott Trench:

Website: BiggerPockets Podcast: The BiggerPockets Money Podcast Instagram: @scott_trench
Timestamps:

0:57 - Introduction 2:05 - The 2.5 Million Dollar Inversion 8:52 - Always Look At The Incentives 12:49 - The Traditional Path To FI And PotShots 17:45 - Your Biggest Asset/Should You Be Inefficient? 25:52 - Executing The Concept 31:12 - The Impact Of Interest Rates Today 42:21 - The Commercial Impact 52:10 - Buying Properties With Cash 56:21 - Conclusion
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Episode:

Scott Trench | Set For Life | ChooseFI Ep 63 First-Time Home Buyer | BiggerPockets | ChooseFI Ep 312 "Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!" by Robert Kiyosaki Mr. Money Mustache on Life After FI: The Truth About Retiring Early in Your 30s BiggerPockets Rental Property Calculator Subscribe to The FI Weekly!
More Helpful Links and Resources:

Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence Keep learning or start a new side hustle with one of our educational courses Commission-Free Investing with M1 Finance

In this episode: the value of time, what are you optimizing for, bold moves, increasing your kid's odds for success, and balancing deprivation.
Because we have put so many leaders, members, and experts in our community on the hot seat here at ChooseFI, we figured it was finally time we played fair and put Brad on the hot seat himself! With the assistance of Aaron Lee, a longtime listener, friend, and host of "The Next Generation Leader Podcast," we ask Brad all the burning questions related to his FI journey. If you've ever been curious how Brad discovered FI, what led Brad to begin his FI journey, or what lessons Brad learned along the way, listen along as we re-live the path that helped form this amazing community!
Aaron Lee:

Website: newgenerationleader.com Podcast: The New Generation Leader Podcast
Timestamps:

1:10 - Introduction 3:12 - The Value of Time 8:18 - Balancing Deprivation And The Burden Of FI 11:31 - Brad's Snowball Starter 16:13 - Brad's Childhood FI Vision 22:31 - What Are You Optimizing For? 28:45 - Helping Your Kids Increase Their Odds For Success 40:27 - All Of Us Are Working On Something 46:08 - Brads Bold Move Update 54:40 - What Else Fascinates Brad? 59:29 - Conclusion
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Episode:

Year End Wins 2022 | ChooseFI Ep 417 "Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life" by Bill Perkins The Peter Attia Drive, Episode #237 ‒ Optimizing life for maximum fulfillment | Bill Perkins All The Hacks | Die With Zero: Net Fulfillment Over Net Worth The Tail End "David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants" by Malcolm Gladwell Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letters Your Bold Move for 2023 | Dominick Quartuccio | Ep 419 Limitless Peter Attia & Beth Lewis on Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) Subscribe to The FI Weekly!
More Helpful Links and Resources:

Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence Keep learning or start a new side hustle with one of our educational courses Commission-Free Investing with M1 Finance

In this episode: budgeting, the power of FI, different funds, living in the present, and the power to make your choices.
No matter your background or the hardships you’ve endured, you should never rule yourself out for success! Ruminating over your past mistakes can make you feel undeserving of the life you want, but those same mistakes can actually serve as motivation to propel you further on your journey! This week we are joined by returning guest Deanna to discuss how her FI journey has progressed in the last 4 years, the freedom and power she gained from budgeting, and an update on her journey of overcoming adversity. Just because you feel you’ve hit a rock bottom doesn’t mean this journey isn’t for you. A large part of FI is making mistakes, learning, and changing. An even larger part of this journey is learning to forgive yourself and others and continue on! For those who do not think they are capable of achieving FI because of their past, let Deanna and this episode serve as an example of what this journey can look like when you act with forgiveness and intentionality! 
Timestamps:

1:35 - Introduction 2:16  - Deanna's Backstory 6:26 - Dave Ramsey and Budgeting 14:16 - The Emergency Fund 17:30 - Different Funds For Different Things 23:35 - The Power of FI 27:12 - It's Not All Unicorns And Rainbows 30:28 - Broken Vessels Made Whole 34:42 - Chronic Stress and Living In The Present 43:36 - Deanna Today 48:10 - The Freedom To Make Your Own Decisions 51:54 - Conclusion
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Episode:

From Addiction To FI | Ms. Fiology | ChooseFI Ep. 106 "The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life" by J.L. Collins and Mr. Money Mustache The Emergency Fund…Is it a Bad Idea? | Big ERN The Reveal | ChooseFI Ep. 66 "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. "Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School" by John Medina "Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness" by Frederic Luskin The Art of Forgiveness Todoist Subscribe to The FI Weekly! More Helpful Links and Resources:

Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence Keep learning or start a new side hustle with one of our educational courses Commission-Free Investing with M1 Finance