featured image for podcast episodeLet's Make Lemonade With A Twist

Let's Make Lemonade With A Twist
Episode 269

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Episode Guide

COVID has catalyzed personal growth for many, turning challenges into opportunities. One host reflects on overcoming fears and transforming habits during the pandemic, resulting in significant health improvements, personal agency, and professional development. The importance of intentionality and questioning limiting beliefs regarding debt and career paths emerges as a vital theme. Listeners are encouraged to challenge societal norms about financial independence and to embrace the journey of continual self-improvement, highlighted by personal successes in health and entrepreneurship. Even small, incremental changes, referred to as '1% better', can lead to substantial long-term benefits. The episode emphasizes making conscious choices towards a fulfilling life beyond just financial metrics.

Episode Timestamps

ChooseFI Podcast Episode Notes

Episode Title: Personal Growth During Challenging Times

Episode Summary:

COVID has catalyzed personal growth for many, turning challenges into opportunities. One host reflects on overcoming fears and transforming habits during the pandemic, resulting in significant health improvements, personal agency, and professional development. The importance of intentionality and questioning limiting beliefs regarding debt and career paths emerges as a vital theme. Listeners are encouraged to challenge societal norms about financial independence and embrace the journey of continual self-improvement.

Key Takeaways:

  • Personal Growth: The pandemic pushed many to strive for personal growth and resilience.
  • Challenging Limiting Beliefs: Questioning societal norms about debt and identity can lead to greater personal agency.
  • Incremental Improvements: Embrace the concept of being "1% better" every day, as small changes can accumulate to lead to significant results over time.
  • Community Support: The value of community in achieving financial independence and personal growth cannot be overstated.

Timestamps:

  • Podcast Intro:
  • Personal Reflections on 2020
  • Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
  • Embracing Change
  • Mailbag Segment
  • Related Resource

Quotes:

  • "COVID has driven growth; embrace the lessons learned."
  • "Increased fulfillment and agency can come from challenging yourself."
  • "Reframe your identity: focus on who you want to become."
  • "Small changes lead to significant progress over time."
  • "Break free from others' limitations; define your own path."

Actionable Takeaways:

  • Embrace Challenges: See challenges as opportunities for growth.
  • Identify Limiting Beliefs: Look for and challenge one limiting belief in your life.
  • Daily Improvements: Commit to making one small improvement each day to enhance your life.

Discussion Questions:

  • What limiting beliefs have you overcome in your personal journey?
  • How can small daily improvements lead to long-term success?
  • What role does community play in your pursuit of financial independence?
  • Healthy Wage: Set a weight loss challenge and earn rewards. [choosefi.com/healthywage]

Speaker Highlights:

  • Brad Barrett: Discusses personal growth and strategies for health and financial independence.
  • Jonathan Mendonsa: Shares insights on identity transformation and personal agency.

Mailbag Segment Highlights:

  • Discussion on navigating financial independence without a 401k.
  • Advice on investment strategies focusing on Roth IRAs and savings accounts.

Conclusion:

The episode emphasizes making conscious choices towards a fulfilling life that transcends just financial metrics while celebrating the importance of community and continuous self-improvement.

Podcast Extro:

"You've been listening to ChooseFI Podcast, where we help middle-class America build wealth one life hack at a time."

Embracing Growth in the Face of Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for personal growth for many individuals. It has turned challenges into opportunities for self-improvement, allowing people to confront their fears and transform their habits. This article will discuss how you can leverage the lessons learned during this tumultuous time to create a fulfilling life centered around financial independence.

Transforming Fear into Agency

Throughout the pandemic, many have reflected on their lives and realized how crucial personal agency is. This newfound perspective can motivate you to take charge of your health and personal finances. Here are steps you can take:

  • Acknowledge Your Feelings: Recognize that it's normal to feel anxious or uncertain during these challenging times. Allowing yourself to acknowledge these emotions is the first step towards overcoming them.

  • Define Your Agency: Empower yourself by focusing on what you can control. Analyze your daily routines, financial habits, and health decisions to identify areas where you can take intentional action.

  • Normalizing Change: Understand that it’s perfectly acceptable to restructure your life. Instead of viewing change as intimidating, see it as an opportunity for growth.

Questioning Limiting Beliefs

One of the most powerful themes that emerged during discussions about personal growth is the importance of questioning limiting beliefs. Many individuals carry preconceived notions about what they can or cannot achieve.

Identify and Challenge Your Beliefs

  • Reflect on Identity Statements: Regularly revisit what you believe about your abilities. Instead of accepting societal norms about debt (like student loans being a lifetime burden), challenge these expectations.

  • Create New Beliefs: As you identify limiting beliefs, work on reframing them into positive identity statements. For example, instead of saying, "I always struggle with saving money," shift your mindset to, "I am learning to build my savings strategically."

The Power of Incremental Improvement

The concept of "1% better" is a transformative mindset. Small, incremental changes made consistently over time can lead to significant improvements in your life.

Apply the 1% Better Principle

  • Set Achievable Goals: Rather than attempting to overhaul your life in a day, focus on making small, manageable changes. This could mean saving an extra dollar a day or taking a 15-minute walk instead of scrolling through your phone.

  • Track Your Progress: Document your small wins. By keeping a record, you can visualize your progress, which can be incredibly motivating.

  • Celebrate Achievements: Don't wait for the big milestones to celebrate. Acknowledge the small victories and the effort you put into becoming better.

Intentional Living: Designing Your Life

Intentional living is about making conscious choices that align with your values and goals. When you embrace this approach, you allow yourself to actively shape your life rather than react passively to circumstances.

Cultivate Your Intentional Living Practice

  • Define Your Values: Take time to articulate what matters most to you—whether it’s financial independence, health, practical learning, or community support.

  • Create an Action Plan: Once you've identified your values, outline actionable steps you can take. This may involve setting up a budget, enrolling in courses, or networking within your community.

  • Engage with Your Community: Find support among like-minded individuals. Being part of a community can provide motivation and encouragement as you pursue your goals.

Importance of Community Support

Having a network of supportive individuals can significantly enhance your journey towards financial independence and self-improvement. Community support provides encouragement, shared resources, and knowledge.

Building Your Community

  • Join Online Groups: Look for forums or social media groups focused on financial independence, personal growth, or even specific interests like cooking or fitness.

  • Attend Workshops or Meetups: Whether virtual or in-person, participating in workshops can connect you with others pursuing similar goals, creating a sense of camaraderie.

  • Share Your Journey: Be open about your experiences and challenges. Sharing your wins and struggles can foster deeper connections and create a support system.

Conclusion: Charting Your Path Forward

In these uncertain times, embracing personal growth, intentionality, and the support of a community can lead to significant lifestyle changes. By questioning limiting beliefs, committing to small, incremental improvements, and fostering community support, you can create a fulfilling life that goes beyond mere financial metrics.

As you navigate through this journey, remember the lessons learned from the challenges faced during the pandemic. Let them guide you toward a more intentional, empowered, and fulfilling life. Your journey to financial independence starts with the choices you make each day. Embrace the power you hold to define your path and pursue the life you desire.

What You'll Get Out Of Today's Show

  • ChooseFI Facebook Community Manager, Jennifer, recently posted a meme that hit home with Brad. It said, "Plot twist: 2020 has actually been the best year of your life. You faced challenge after challenge, you've adapted, and you've overcome. 2020 has forced you to grow exponentially. Don't take that for granted."

  • 2020 had been Jonathan's best year ever. Instead of giving in to fear, doubt, and insecurity, he decided to lean in. By being more intentional with the things that were important to him, like his health, Jonathan has lost 20 to 30 pounds and is in the best shape of his life.

  • Jonathan also sought to build his personal talent stack and built two new businesses. He is feeling more agency and is more fulfilled than at any other point in his life.

  • Previously, Jonathan's beliefs about himself were all based on external validation. But as he began to get more freedom and autonomy in his life, he began to question those beliefs and reclaim his identity statement.

  • Learning that things such as student loan debt is good debt and you'll have to work until retirement age, just aren't true allowed him the space to challenge the status quo in other areas of his life.

  • Initially, he even questioned whether the success of ChooseFI was the result of a random lightning strike of luck. However, he's taken his interest-led learning and skills he's learned, applied them to two new business models, and achieved success with them.

  • The interest-led learning Brad and Jonathan frequently discuss on the show helped Jonathan lean in March, and it also lead Brad's eight-year-old daughter, Molly, to learn how to cook a perfect pan-seared chicken breast just like Gordon Ramsay.

  • The things you believe about yourself become part of your identity statement. But you can turn the limiting beliefs around and say that you're the type of person who can learn anything. It may be just a Google or YouTube search away.

  • You can reframe your identity by asking yourself what you want it to be.

  • Though she isn't running now at nine months pregnant, part of MK's identity is that she is a runner. However, in high school, she was the slowest person on the team. She thought she couldn't do what the other's on the team were doing, but her coach didn't have the word "can't" in his vocabulary. His mindset is something she has carried through to other areas of her life.

  • MK challenges you to take the word "can't" out of your vocabulary too because once you aren't allowed to use it, your mindset will shift and you can begin to redefine who you are.

  • A case in point for the power of working to get 1% better was in the news last weekend when Chris Nikic became the first person with Down Syndrome to complete a grueling Ironman triathlon. Emblazoned across his shirt was his training mantra, "1% Better".

  • You can make a choice every day to live your life a little bit better and when your finances are in orders, everything else gets a little bit easier. You make the choice not to deprive yourself by saving money, to empower yourself, and put yourself in a position where you have the freedom to think about all the other things that truly matter, like health, relationships, and spending time how you see fit.

  • While it's about making a choice, if you don't get up off the couch and take action, nothing is going to get better.

  • If you have a question you'd like to have answered on the show, submit them by going to ChooseFI.com/voicemail. Or reply to Brad's weekly email, The FI Weekly. Get on the list by going to ChooseFI.com/start.

  • The first mailbag question this week comes from Sara who wants to know how to master financial independence when you don't have a 401K. Sara has been working through the podcasts and read, ChooseFI: Your Blueprint for Financial Independence, but her husband is a bartender and doesn't have a 401K.

  • W-2 employees without access to a 401K could consider being an advocate and talking with their employer about getting a 401K like Waffles on Wednesday talked about when they were on the show. Just giving employees access to a 401K does not have to be cost-prohibitive and can be a win for both owners and employees of small businesses.

  • It's important to remember there are no rules to FI. Just because others are talking about maxing out their 401K and then doing a Roth conversion ladder, doesn't mean that's what you have to do. Brad admits it wasn't until the last two years at his job before he maxed out his 401K contributions.

  • The path to financial independence does not depend on a 401K. It's predicated on savings rate. The goal is to save that in the most-advantaged way possible. Between marginal tax brackets and child tax credits, it may be fie just putting money into a Roth IRA, which has a $6,000 limit this year.

  • If you have your own side hustle, you have options for retirement accounts, like a SEP IRA or solo 401K. A SEP IRA is easy to set up through any major online brokerage firm and put in roughly 20% of your income. There are potentially even higher thresholds for solo 401Ks when contributing as the employee and employer.

  • The next question is from Conner who wants to know how best to allocate his 25% savings rate between a 410K, Roth, IRA, and savings account.

  • The purpose of saving money isn't only for retirement. Save for life and having options.

  • Brad thinks Conner is doing a fantastic job saving and while it would be easy to say "put it in the 401K", having all of his net worth in tax-deferred vehicles may not be the best physiologically. Rather than stick it in a savings account, he could invest in the stock market with a brokerage outside of a retirement account.

  • As much as Jonathan loves Vanguard, it's not the easiest brokerage to open an account with. In comparison, Fidelity is much easier and still provides access to low-cost broad-based index funds.

  • An upcoming episode will feature Sean Mullaney to review in-depth 401Ks and Roth IRAs. One of the major differences between the two is that contributions to a Roth IRA may be withdrawn tax and penalty-free, which can act like an emergency fund.

  • Join us and share your wins! This year ChooseFI will be holding a LIVE year-end wins episode on December 8th at 7:30 pm Eastern simulcast on Facebook and YouTube. It will be replayed as the final podcast episode of the year. Subscribe to get a reminder at ChooseFI.com/2020wins.

  • For a chance to win a book from ChooseFI Publishing, share your wins by replying to Brad's weekly newsletter. This week's first winner is Cory, who as of last week caught up on all episodes of the podcast after two and a half years of listening. After implementing many of the actionable tips and set Cory is set up for financial success and went from a negative net worth to hitting over $100,000 at the beginning of October.

  • The second winner this week is Jo. Jo and her husband found ChooseFI while she was on maternity leave earlier this year. During that time they refinanced their mortgage, getting a better rate and eliminating PMI, canceled subscriptions, lowered their cell phone and car insurance bills, enrolled in Sofia.org course for Jo's remaining college electives, was promoted at work and negotiated a substantial raise, will max out 403bs, and opened a non-retirement brokerage account. Also, while focusing on their health, Jo lost 70 pounds and her husband lost 40.

  • Jonathan won his weight loss challenge with Healthywage.com and received a check for $2,419.67! Set a bet for yourself by going to ChooseFI.com/healthywage.

Resources Mentioned In Today's Conversation

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