Frugal Friends Podcast

Financial Independence Through Frugality | The Frugal FIRE Movement

Episode Summary

Lots of people are jazzed up about financial independence and retiring early (FIRE for short) and while this seems amazing and daunting all at once, we want to take a frugal look at this concept! Join us as we explore the basics of being on FIRE and some of the pros and cons of this movement.

Episode Notes

Sponsors:

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Presence: Not the kind you get for your birthday but the kind that allows you to fully embrace right now. Experience it right now by taking a deep breath and thinking about one good thing that’s happened to you today. Stressed about tomorrow? Try being present. Worried about the unknown, being present can help with that too. For all the things in life you can’t control, forget about the what-if’s and try being present.

Notable Notes:

What the Internet has to say:
This article from Mr. Money Mustache is the blog post that literally started the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). We take a look at where this concept all began and that stats that got everyone so stoked on this idea!

What Jen+Jill have to say:

• In order to be financially independent and to retire early savings AND investing are key. Your savings rate is dependent upon how much you take home each year and how much you can live on
• The goal is to get your annual investment growth large enough for you to live on, and then...you’re financially independent!
• The most important thing to note is that cutting your spending rate is much more powerful than increasing your income. The reason is that every permanent drop in your spending has a double effect:
  1. It increases the amount of money you have left over to save each month
  2. It permanently decreases the amount you’ll need every month for the rest of your life

More from the Internet:
This article from Choose FI outlines a beginners guide to financial independence; what it entails, and how to achieve it.

What Jen+Jill have to say:

• Savings rate - FI/RE recommends 50% rather than traditional 15%
• Travel rewards *link episode
• Investment philosophy: Broad based, low cost index fund VTSAX(article compares vanguard&fidelity)
• Side Hustles *link updates
• Get 1% better - “dont need to eat the whole elephant today
• Lower living expenses *link episode
• Eliminate debt
• Employer accounts

BILL OF THE WEEK - Thanks Marin from Maryland for sharing your bill about paying down debt and only having your mortgage bill left! Congratulations!

• If you want to submit your bill of the week visit frugalfriendspodcast.com/bill to leave us a bill

Lightning Round:
To FI or not to FI, that is the question -

We look at one last article from Financial Samurai who shares his perspective on retiring early, and what he would do differently

Things to consider:

• Why am I rushing to retire early? Am I running away from something?
• Work isn't bad! Especially if you don't hate what you do!
• How will retiring early change my life for better or worse?
• Am I sacrificing too much to retire early?
• Be careful about living in the future as you may end up sacrificing the present
• What will I do after I retire early? Am I running towards something?
• Have I gained enough perspective from those who’ve already retired?
• How will you plan for the variables of life?

Frugal Friends Book Club:
This month’s frugal book club book is The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker!

• If you want a free copy, leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher, screenshot the review and send it to frugalfriendspodcast@gmail.com. We’ll select the winners at the end of the month.