The Financial Independence Show

Cody Berman and Justin Taylor

Cody Berman and Justin Taylor believe in the concept of “Financial Independence For All”. The Financial Independence Show focuses on REAL stories of individuals on their journey to financial independence. Each episode aims to include actionable insights and takeaways for listeners to implement into their own financial situation. The podcast covers topics like building wealth, entrepreneurship, investing, money mindset, small business, frugality, geoarbitrage, side hustles, real estate, productivity, travel, and so much more. Sit back, tune in, and join a community of like-minded people who are changing their lives through financial independence.

  1. 6D AGO

    How to Crush Your 2026 Goals

    It’s a new year, and that means new goals! Cody and Justin share their top tips and tricks to help you set yourself up for success in 2026. The guys are already hitting the ground running with their 2026 goals: Cody is already testing out snowbirding down in Florida Justin is actively recruiting for his first international group trip Don’t forget to share your goals with us in the Facebook Group. To kick off the episode, the guys break down how the methods they’ve used to successfully meet their goals, which include: Tracking is Key “What gets measured, gets managed.” You need to know how you’re doing currently to improve For finance, use apps like YNAB, Monarch Money, or a spreadsheet For fitness, use apps like MFP, TrainHeroic, etc. For any goal you want to actually reach, there needs to be tracking Inputs vs. Outputs “I’m going to invest $1,000 every month” vs “I’m going to increase my net worth by $25K” “I’m going to work out 5x per week” vs “I’m going to lose 20 pounds.” Accountability Join online groups or local groups Groups that have people ahead of where you currently are are a big bonus Share milestones/goals with friends Keep talking about it to the point where you’d be embarrassed if you didn’t finish Set punishments and rewards for your actions Goal Sizing Goals shouldn’t be so big that they paralyze you They also shouldn’t be so easy that you hit them without much effort A “good” goal should require quite a bit of effort, but still be possible If you hit your goal too early in the year, you may lose steam (you can always level up your goal, too; it’s just important to know your personality) A / B Goals Many runners/athletes in competition have an A and a B goal, maybe even a C goal.  A -> The stars align perfectly, you can see a path to it, you’re putting in the work, but it’s a reach B -> Fairly confident, little room for error, still can be very proud of the outcome C-> as within your control as possible, room for error, a backstop to avoid just giving up if your more aggressive goal fails Becoming a person who ____ “I’m the type of person who saves 50% of my income.” “I’m the type of person who runs marathons.” “I’m the type of person who volunteers.” Let go of the fear of failure by playing the tape forward If you can look yourself in the mirror and be proud of your effort, what is really the biggest drawback to you trying and failing? Celebrate the wins along the way Maybe your goal is a 10k this year Celebrate your first 5-mile run Celebrate your new 5k PR Cody and Justin’s 2026 Goals! Here’s a sneak peek into the goals we shared publicly in this episode: Cody’s Goals: Fewer decisions driven by money Make decisions bc I want to do them (regardless of money) More regular fitness challenges Ironman, Hyrox, 100k steps, etc Spontaneous adventures Always discovering and exploring new places (even at home) Book launch Goal is April/May release, podcast tour, book tour, etc Gold City Ventures Nail down an ad strategy, continue to grow business Real estate Keep running existing properties, only “buying” new properties via syndication. Scaling back a bit feels good Justin’s Goals: Run a Marathon in December (CIM) A goal -> sub 3:15 B goal -> sub 3:30 C goal -> sub 4hr New PRs 5k / 10k / half marathon / Deadlift Hyrox Double with Leslie Lead a group fitness-focused trip A goal -> 12+ person international B goal -> any number domestic C goal -> any number in Austin Build Fitness Community Host 6+ in-person fitness meetups Design 12 12-week beginner Hyrox guide Post weekly fostering community This goal is in support of the fitness trip goal Hang out with at least one friend every week we’re in Austin Run the greatest number of annual miles of my life A goal -> Avg  30 miles per week post Achilles rehab B goal -> Avg  25 miles per week post Achilles rehab C goal -> Avg  20 miles per week post Achilles rehab Finish House Remodel in Mississippi A Goal – Full remodel, landscaped, short-term rental B Goal – Full remodel, long-term tenant C Goal – Liveable for personal use Complete another amazing multi-month International trip with Leslie Build out Recipes A Goal – 50+ fully documented recipes posted on Substack with social posts B Goal – 50 Recipes Designed, 25 documented and posted on Substack C Goal – 50 Recipes Designed Finish documenting the 2025 trip on Substack We hope you enjoy getting these tried and true methods for hitting your goals. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from the Episode Spain Fitness Retreat Share Your Goals With Us The Ultimate FI Spreadsheet YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/KXe07xlJzRA 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)

  2. 12/17/2025

    Justin’s 2-Year Retirement Anniversary: Reflections, Updates, and Looking Forward

    Wow, how time flies! Justin has officially been retired for two full years. Today, we’ll dig into how year 2 was different, get life and financial updates, and also look forward to year 3. You’ll notice a big fitness theme, and Justin will discuss an upcoming fitness retreat he’s organizing in Spain. We’ll briefly skim over Justin’s 6-month international trip, but if you want a deeper dive into how traveling the world technically saved him money, check out these episodes: Asia Recap & Full Trip Recap Justin also gives us a transparent view of his financial updates. We hope this inspires listeners to see how truly powerful compounding interest is. His High-Level Financial Stats: Net Worth at retirement: $1.7M Net Worth after 1 year retired: $2.1M Net Worth after 2 years retired: $2.7M We also ended this episode in a similar way that we ended his year 1 review of retirement, with a quick blast overview of how he spent his time, which includes: December 2024 Spent the month in Mississippi visiting family January 2025 Going-away party Departed for the Philippines Island-hopping boat tour Feb Indonesia Ubud, Uluwatu, Gili Air, Nusa Lembogan, Nusa Penida Mar Vietnam Birthday on Ha Giang loop Apr Thailand / Amsterdam / Switzerland Koh Lanta Chiang Mai Temple Tours Elephant Sanctuary Tulip gardens Insane train routes Hang gliding off mountains May Italy Lake Como Cinque Terre Parma Florence Elba Naples Ischia Lipari Sicily June Italy Lipari round 2 Sardinia Rome First half-marathon 1hr 40min 19 sec Rufus Du Sol show Jul Back to America Stops in NYC and Dallas to visit friends Maintained fitness on the trip Body fat 10.4 -> 11.3 Lean Tissue 155.4 -> 156.3 Audien & Telykast concert Started Wedding prep Started doing track workouts Run clubs & boat days Started dialling in Biscuit & Cinnamon roll recipes for the wedding Aug House sitting for friends Visited family in Mississippi Concert dome experience Sept Spent over a week in Colorado visiting friends/bachelor trip getaway Got some solid workouts in (at time my longest run of 16 miles and PR on deadlift of 405) Finalized recipe for biscuits and cinnamon rolls for the wedding Fincon Knocked out a 14-mile progressive run with Cody Friends wedding weekend in Austin Rooftop yoga event Really ramped up the dessert factory for the wedding Finalized other wedding things Charley Crockett concert Oct Got married House sat Went to a movie screening debut “Sober” Lots of brand activation events around ACL/F1 timeline (Patron, Bush’s beans, Google) Attended a marketing conference Completed longest run ever of 34 miles Nov First time hired to make a custom birthday cake Redid the backyard, adding pavers and gravel landscaping around firepit and pergola Wild 1-4 am show with Elderbrook and Lane 8 Friendsgiving Hyrox with Leslie (1:10 finish time) Thanksgiving on the Texas Coast Dec 5k PR: 20 min 53 sec 3 Big EDM Concerts Mississippi for Christmas Visit a good friend in Little Rock Began planning first group retreat (Spain Fitness/Hyrox related) We hope you enjoy a look behind the curtain and Justin’s willingness to be open and honest about the retired life. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from the Episode Spain Fitness Retreat Justin’s Retirement Announcement Episode Justin’s 1 Year Since Retirement Episode Asia Recap Episode Full 6-month International Trip Episode YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/Kzdm3St3UkE 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)

    45 min
  3. 12/08/2025

    Unlearning Frugality | The Mad Fientist

    Brandon Ganch, aka The Mad Fientist, joins us to share how he’s trying to break some of the frugal habits that allowed him to retire at the age of 34. He is one of the earliest analytical voices in the FI movement, known for treating FI as a systems problem. He leverages his background in computer science, strong preference for systems thinking, experimentation, and automating FI decisions to bring unique perspectives and ways of thinking to the FI space. Brandon retired extremely early, then realized he needed to redesign his post-FI life, not just his finances. Most people in the world can’t imagine training themselves to spend more money, but in this space, we totally get it. Brandon walks us through all the experiments he’s done around spending money to retrain how he thinks about spending decisions. He covers specific examples of how he is reframing things as well as the increased happiness he’s experiencing thanks to these purchases. Topics covered include: How to recalibrate your brain to determine which spending decisions are really worth your time based on net worth Setting aside “Cash Machines” for future purchases Running spending experiments and setting spending rules Breaking old psychological traps to overcome frugality And so much more. If you found the episode valuable, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode Wealth Machines (https://wealthmachines.co) – Join as a beta tester before December 12th Mad Fientist Website (https://madfientist.com) Financial Independence Podcast (https://www.madfientist.com/podcast/) YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/mrWl40q_K64 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)

    47 min
  4. 11/04/2025

    The Magic of Compounding | Sathish Gajula

    Sathish Gajula from the Compounding Project joins us to talk about compounding your health, wealth, and mindset. He shares some mindblowing stats, along with plenty of tactical advice. Topics covered include: Why investing early matters so much How to cut back on the “big 3” expenses The most important part of the compound interest equation How compounding affects health and fitness Curating the right information diet Hacks for maintaining motivation and discipline And so much more. If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend! Links from The Episode The Compounding Project (Instagram) The Compounding Project (YouTube) The Compounding Project Podcast Compound Interest Equation: Sathish’s Favorite Books: Outlive – Peter Attia The Simple Path to Wealth – JL Collins Sapiens – Yuval Noah Harari The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy I Will Teach You to Be Rich – Ramit Sethi Atomic Habits – James Clear Sathish’s Favorite Podcasts: Diary of a CEO The Tim Ferriss Show Colin & Samir Sathish’s Favorite Apps: Fantastical Calendar Chat GPT Todoist YouTube Interview https://youtu.be/yCded1Kz61I 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)

    41 min
4.8
out of 5
297 Ratings

About

Cody Berman and Justin Taylor believe in the concept of “Financial Independence For All”. The Financial Independence Show focuses on REAL stories of individuals on their journey to financial independence. Each episode aims to include actionable insights and takeaways for listeners to implement into their own financial situation. The podcast covers topics like building wealth, entrepreneurship, investing, money mindset, small business, frugality, geoarbitrage, side hustles, real estate, productivity, travel, and so much more. Sit back, tune in, and join a community of like-minded people who are changing their lives through financial independence.

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