Ep. 582 — A Table of Contents for FI: Part 1

I'm hoping to see more structured episodes in the future that focus on a single topic or a set of connected ideas.

Haven't played minecraft but considering introducing it to my child as well. Games are too easy these days so I agree with the lack of challenge and feeling of accomplishment when you succeed. I mean you at least used to have to put in cheat codes. Haha. And the original zelda you were just dropped in an open world map with very little to go on and your only help were kids on the playground and the Nintendo hotline.

Also fellow homeschooling parent here. That with a combination of working from home really has me excited with how much additional time I'll be getting with the kids.

This was such a great episode, and incremental gains are so important. Couple of thoughts...

Red X Month... can be a month. Doesn't have to be. Could be a Red X Week. Or a Red X Long Weekend. Heck, a Red X Day. The intention of blocking off that time is key.

Saving and investing small amounts is still better than nothing. We had years where we could only to minimal saving and investing, even $5 or $10 a month. That still adds up, and keeps that growth mindset in the back of the mind, ready to crank up when circumstances change.

Great episode - I am hoping this may springboard a searchable database of 'best tips' where we can locate shared tips by topic (and hopefully more episodes like it n the future.) It's one thing to hear it...and another to remember it without having to hunt through the podcasts--may also be a way for the community to contribute to the tips ?

I learned more on ROTH contributions where money can be used for more than just a 1st home down payment or at 59 ½ years old, which will be a huge win to share with my 20-something kids who are scrapping to pay rent and have a hard time affording to put back money. We are working on the "pay yourself first" mentality.

Thanks, Brad and Jonathan! I love hearing your lives sprinkled in - keeps it real. I love framing FI about choices to live life, though all stages of financial growth, not just to save save ,save and sit on a pile of money afraid to live.

This is an awesome episode. I just want to add two quick suggestions for phone service. I was a mint mobile user, but since I travel a lot, I’m a heavy data user, and T-Mobile is usually not the greatest everywhere. Back then, at least so I found, a company called US Mobile that has similar pricing. I pay annually $ 270 for 70 GB and 1 gb of international data and call and text international included. The best part is that you can choose which provider to use: Verizon , they call it warp AT&T; they call a dark star, and T-Mobile, they call light speed. If anybody’s interested, it’s really a good deal. Also, for traveling, I use a website called GigSky, which always has good deals for travel packages all around the world.

I really enjoyed the episode and liked the format of lots of topics on deck and getting your best 2-3 thoughts on them. Definitely complete the ~3 episode series to get through the list.

That was a fun one! I definitely love that the guys are back together! I also love the episodes with Ginger. What I loved about this one was the little practical tips. I know many of us probably do a lot of them but they are a good reminder just in case and even when the episode confirms that you are doing something right (e.e.g, auditing your phone company and switching if necessary), that's still a fun boost!

On the subject of fee free banking, Fidelity's CMA rises to the top. Free checks, free ATM withdrawals anywhere in the world, no foreign transaction fees on the debit card, free incoming and outgoing wire transfers, and your cash earns interest in a money market fund (SPAXX, 3.34% yield as of today) or FDIC insured deposit sweep (1.84% yield as of today) without any hoops to jump through. We switched to Fidelity as our primary "checking" account a couple years ago now and have not had any issues whatsoever. I cannot recommend it enough.

I haven't yet listened to this one. Just wanted to say thank you for this week's email that gave a link to the episodes section! This is EXACTLY what I have wanted. Love the after-episode discussion forum here! Thanks!

Visible, a non contract cell phone plan that uses Verizon towers should get more attention. Unlimited data for $25/month, and it may work better for people that live in rural areas where Verizon is the only connection.

Hey, enjoyed the show and looking forward to hearing more in future episodes. I had one mention about phone plans and international travel. I used to use Google Fi full time but stopped for a cheaper plan like Visible, so I was looking for alternative international plans and found Saily. Saily has been super useful, it is cheap, super simple to setup, and has flexible duration. It uses esim and is my go-to for travel now! There are other options out there, but I've found that this one has been the best for me.

I love that Jonathan is getting back into the gym, and that many in the Fi community are taking the opportunity to get serious about building muscle and improving their health. Let’s shift the image of Fi people from brown bananas to huge biceps and living your healthiest life! The beautiful thing about the gym from a Fi perspective is that the compounding works in reverse; most of your gains are made early on with diminishing returns as time goes on. If you start training seriously, a beginner can gain 10-15 pounds in the first year. It takes years to get jacked, but incremental progress over time and being consistent will completely change your physique.

I always enjoy hearing you guys chat about your kids, your trips, your families, your video games, your personal lives, etc., But even more so, I want to get more tips/hacks/ideas to help ME in my own FI journey! I do care about your lives! But I was under the impression this episode would be chock-full of 100+ ideas/hacks/tips. As always, I sooo appreciate how you so generously share your wisdom, ideas, and knowledge. I totally dig you guys, but I tune in to LEARN. Maybe try to reign in your personal conversation a bit? I mean, we CAN learn from life stories, but I'm looking for specifics! I'm not wording it right, as I read back what I wrote it sounds horribly bitchy. I like all the chatting, but I'm looking for more actionable stuff. Also I love the discussion about how helpful it is to deal with challenges. I think developing one's problem-solving ability is SUCH a valuable life skill. I know some people who have had everything handed to them. When you're a spoiled kid with everything handed to you, I think there's a like 95% chance you're going to be a miserable adult. When you learn things, achieve things, grow skills, you're just a more fulfilled person. It's so important. A HUGE component of happiness is growth. When you improve at a skill, talent, or knowledge base, there's not much that feels better than that.

Something else to make sure people know is the concept of the Spousal IRA. Even if one spouse doesn't earn any income, he or she can use the income of the other spouse to count towards IRA contributions. This is a powerful way to financially protect the non working spouse in case of divorce.

Just to note there isn't an account called a Spousal IRA. Just open a normal Traditional or Roth IRA.

This episode made me think of my life mantra: The Incremental becomes Monumental.

Or, as Gabriel Selassie put it, you must go ‘slowly by slowly’.

I enjoyed this one, looking forward to the next instalment…