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The Financial Independence Show
Cody Berman and Justin Taylor
330 episodes
1 week ago
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.
Show more...
Careers
Business,
Investing,
Entrepreneurship
RSS
All content for The Financial Independence Show is the property of Cody Berman and Justin Taylor and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
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.
Show more...
Careers
Business,
Investing,
Entrepreneurship
Episodes (20/330)
The Financial Independence Show
How He Spent Only $9,400 On a 6-Month Trip (Justin’s 2025 Recap)
Justin is back!

Your very own Financial Independence Show co-host is here to give you all the financial details from his six-month journey around the world.

Spoiler alert, he actually turned a profit and increased his net worth by $100k+ while abroad.

The numbers might be shocking, but as always, Justin kept detailed records of expenses and walks you through exactly how he pulled off this incredible trip.

Specifically, we cover:

* Most overrated and underrated places
* Where he wishes we spent more time
* First place on his "going back" list
* Where he'd be most likely to live long term
* Best bang for your buck experience
* Where he wishes he had spent more money
* Accomplished and unaccomplished goals
* Airbnb income, other income, and creative ways to save

Hang around until the end to hear Justin's top 3 tips for someone looking to do something similar!

This is an episode you'll want to come back to if you're looking for a blueprint for traveling the world on a budget.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* Justin's Travel Blog
* Spreadsheet with all the expenses
* Some photos highlighting the European travels
* $46 to Travel the World (Pre-Trip Episode)
* $2,052 for 5 Weeks in Southeast Asia (1-Month Recap)
* $1,500 per Month to Travel in Southeast Asia (3-Month Recap)

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/ThTLDOj1A7A
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)
Show more...
1 day ago
42 minutes 40 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Buying Houses with No Money Down from Thousands of Miles Away | Tony J Robinson
Tony J Robinson, co-host of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie podcast and one half of The Real Estate Robinsons, joins us to talk real estate strategy.

Tony has experience with many creative financing options and buying properties all around the country.

Specifically, we cover:

* 100% mortgage loans through small credit unions
* The BRRR strategy
* Finding equity partners to finance deals
* Seller financing
* Lines of credit against stocks
* How to identify a "good" investment property
* Systems for managing your properties
* Building a team anywhere in the country

And so much more.

This is definitely an episode you'll want to come back to if you're looking to set up a system for managing your properties.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* Tony's Instagram
* Tony's YouTube Channel
* The Real Estate Robinsons
* BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie Podcast

Finding Properties:

* AirDNA
* PriceLabs

Managing Properties:

* PriceLabs
* Guesty
* Hostfully
* Breezeway
* Monday
* Turno

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/4lojE8R18Ks
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)
Show more...
1 month ago
46 minutes 1 second

The Financial Independence Show
How to Travel the World on $75 a Day | Nomadic Matt
If you've ever searched for something travel-related, you've probably stumbled onto Nomadic Matt's website at one point or another.

He started travel blogging back in 2008 and quickly became one of the biggest names in the space.

As you can imagine, after traveling and gathering information for 15+ years, he has a lot to share about travel!

In this episode, we cover:

* How to find cheap flights
* How to find cheap accommodation
* How to find a cheap phone plan
* Why slow travel can save you money
* Overrated and underrated travel destinations
* The biggest mistakes most travelers make
* Taking a sabbatical and/or quitting your job

and a whole lot more.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* NomadicMatt.com
* How to Travel the World on $75 a Day
* Matt's Instagram

Cheap flights:

* Going
* Thrifty Traveler
* Airfarewatchdog
* The Flight Deal
* Google Flights

Redeeming points:

* Seats.aero
* Point.me

Cheap stays:

* Couchsurfing
* Trusted House Sitters
* Airbnb (rooms)
* Home Exchange
* Booking.com
* Rakuten (for money back on booked stays)

Cheap phone plans:

* Airalo
* Saily
* Holafly

No-fee Banking:

* Charles Schwab Investor Checking

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/a9TrvTIlogw
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)
Show more...
2 months ago
39 minutes 3 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
The Simple Path to Wealth (Does it Still Work?) | JL Collins


Who said building wealth had to be complicated?

In this episode, we're joined by JL Collins, author of The Simple Path to Wealth (recently revised).

JL was one of the pioneers of the FI space as we know it today, and has been coined "The Godfather of FI".

During this interview, we cover:

* If the Simple Path to Wealth still works in today's economy
* How to navigate a market downturn
* How to build your investment portfolio
* The power of compound interest
* Why fees can destroy your returns
* How to spend in alignment with your values
* The real reason we accumulate money

And so much more.

If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend!



Links From the Episode

*
The Simple Path to Wealth
* JLCollinsNH.com
* The One Thing That Determines Your Success in the Market (blog post)
* The Wasting Asset Retirement Model (WARM - blog post)

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/hr7_ZfbKMno
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)

Show more...
2 months ago
56 minutes 51 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
$1,500 per Month to Travel in Southeast Asia (Justin’s 3-Month Recap)
Today, we bring you our second episode covering Justin's six-month journey across Asia and Europe.

Luckily, Justin loves documenting the numbers, so you'll get the most in-depth breakdown of expenses you could hope for.

Listen in to see how he's living it up in paradise for $45/day.

That number includes accommodation, restaurants, groceries, gyms, activities, government fees, random purchases...literally everything.

Here's a high-level breakdown for Justin's half of the full Southeast Asia portion of his 6-month trip:

* Transportation: $582
* Accommodation: $1,368
* Activities: $1,543
* Restaurants: $299
* Groceries: $242
* Gov Fees: $32
* Misc: $42
* Gym: $80

Some highlight activities include:

* 4-day/3-night island hopping tour
* Mount Batur sunrise jeep excursion
* 10-hour private driver tour
* So many beaches and waterfalls
* Three separate hour-plus massages
* Three additional days of boat tours in the Philippines
* 5 separate 1hr+ massages
* 2 cooking classes
* Gili Island Snorkeling
* 8-hour private Nusa Penida tour
* Ha Long Bay yacht
* Trang An river + Ninh Binh tour
* Bai Dinh temple complex
* 4-day Ha Giang motorcycle loop (Vietnam)
* Koh Lanta Island hopping
* 2-day Elephant Nature Park stay
* 12-hour Chiang Rai temple tour
* and more...

Want all the data?

Check out Justin's detailed spreadsheet

We hope you enjoyed this in-depth check-in and look forward to periodically bringing you these over the next few months.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* Traveling the World for $46/day
* $2,052 for 5 Weeks in Southeast Asia (Justin's 1-Month Recap)
* Justin's Detailed Trip Expenses
* Justin's Substack (to follow along with his travels)

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/HPzIkEmhkTA
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)
Show more...
3 months ago
51 minutes 14 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
How to Get Rich Doing Boring Things | Nick Huber


Entrepreneurship doesn't have to be sexy.

In today's episode, Nick Huber, author of The Sweaty Startup, talks about how to get rich doing boring things.

Instead of building the next AI tool, how about a painting business? Or landscaping? Or HVAC? Or one of the hundreds of services that everyday people need?

Topics covered include:

* Finding your next business idea
* Why Shark Tank is a lie
* The easiest way to tell if an idea will work
* Getting your first customers
* When to "legitimize" your business
* Marketing strategies that actually work
* When to start scaling and branching out

and more!

This episode covers a lot, so get ready to take some notes.

If you enjoyed this episode, check out the links below for more content, and don’t forget to share this podcast with a friend!



Links From the Episode

* The Sweaty Startup (Nick's Book)
* Nick’s Twitter
* Nick’s Instagram
* Nick's last appearance on The FI Show (episode 228)

Nick's businesses:

*
Personal Brand – https://sweatystartup.com/
*
Self Storage – https://boltstorage.com/
*
Overseas Staffing – https://supportshepherd.com/
*
Cost Segregation – https://recostseg.com/
* Insurance – https://titanrisk.com/
* Business Brokerage – https://nickhuber.com/
* Recruiting – https://recruitjet.com/
* Landing Page / Web Development – https://webrun.com/
* Debt and Equity – Show more...
3 months ago
45 minutes 39 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Inner Entrepreneur (Start, Build, Buy, Scale, and Sell Your Business) | Grant Sabatier
Grant Sabatier, the bestselling author of Financial Freedom, returns to the show for the third time to talk all about entrepreneurship.

Inside the episode we cover:

* How to come up with business ideas
* What makes a successful entrepreneur
* Why 9/10 small businesses fail
* Grant's perfect business formula
* Growing, scaling, and marketing a business
* The biggest mistakes made by entrepreneurs
* Following your passion vs. following the money

and so much more.

Grant's latest book, Inner Entrepreneur, is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to advance in business.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* Inner Entrepreneur
* GrantSabatier.com
* Grant's Community
* Grant's Instagram
* Grant's First Appearance on The FI Show

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/dw5pxLC7CYQ
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)
Show more...
5 months ago
1 hour 9 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
$2,052 for 5 Weeks in Southeast Asia (Justin’s 1-Month Recap)
Today we bring you our first episode since Justin hit the road on his six-month journey across Asia and Europe.

Luckily, Justin loves documenting the numbers so you'll get the most in-depth breakdown of expenses you could hope for.

Listen in to see how he's living it up in paradise for $55/day.

That number includes accommodation, restaurants, groceries, gyms, activities, government fees, random purchases...literally everything.

Here's a high-level breakdown for Justin's half of the first 37 days expenses:

* Transportation: $305
* Accommodation: $590
* Activities: $838
* Restaurants: $134
* Groceries: $82
* Gov Fees: $32
* Misc: $20
* Gym: $51

That's only $2k for 37 days!

Some highlight activities include:

* 4 day/3 night island hopping tour
* Mount Batur sunrise jeep excursion
* 10-hour private driver tour
* So many beaches and waterfalls
* Three separate hour-plus massages
* Three additional days of boat tours in the Phillippines
* and more

Want all the data?

Check out Justin's detailed spreadsheet

We hope you enjoyed this in-depth check-in and look forward to periodically bringing you these over the next few months.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* Traveling the World for $46/day
* Justin's Detailed Trip Expenses
* Justin's Substack (to follow along with his travels)

YouTube Interview
Video coming soon...
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)
Show more...
5 months ago
51 minutes 36 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Helping 1,000,000 People Invest in Real Estate | Dustin Heiner
Dustin Heiner returns to the show after a long 5 years to share what he's been up to since his last appearance (a lot!).

We discuss

* His recent 355-unit apartment building and multiple hotel acquisitions
* How he's built a podcasting network
* His fast-growing real estate conference
* His daily and weekly routine and how he balances work and life
* What it really takes to build passive income

And so much more.

Dustin's goal is to help 1,000,000 people start investing in real estate, and he's already made huge progress.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* REWBCon (Use code "Cody" for 10% off)
* Dustin's Free Real Estate Investing Course
* Dustin's Instagram
* Dustin's YouTube
* Master Passive Income
* Dustin's First Appearance on The FI Show

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/5ok7JGOhVwE
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)
Show more...
6 months ago
41 minutes 46 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
2025 Goals and Updates (+ a Major Podcast Announcement)
Today we bring you our goals for 2025 along with some upcoming changes to the podcast.

Every year, we like to map out some of our goals and what we aim to accomplish.

We break these down into the following categories:

* Money/Finance
* Fitness
* Family/Relationship
* Other

Some examples of Cody's goals include:

* Doubling down on what works for business and finance
* Completing an Ironman
* Cutting out bad relationships and doubling down on good ones
* Completing the build for his "forever" home

Some of Justin's Goals include:

* Running a sub-22-min 5k and completing a half-marathon
* Simplifying the investment account sprawl
* Coming away from his trip with a short list of slow travel locations
* Writing more

In the episode, you'll get the full breakdown of all the goals and why some of these are the focus for 2025.

We hope you enjoyed this goal-setting episode and are inspired to make some big moves in 2025.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* Traveling the World for $46/day
* 2023 Recap and 2024 Goals

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)
Show more...
7 months ago

The Financial Independence Show
12 Money Lessons (Christmas Special)
Today we bring you a Christmas special of sorts.

The 12 money lessons as a play on the 12 days of Christmas.

These are some of the most foundational takeaways we've realized during our financial journey.

We truly believe if you master these lessons, you'll have a clear path to hitting your money goals.
12 Money Lessons We Cover:

Retirement is a number, not an age

4% rule or cash flow method




Your first investment should be in yourself

$10K toward self-betterment will likely go a lot further than it will in the S&P or RE at the beginning of your journey




Compound interest is insane 

Investing $500 a month from 25 - 45 and then stopping will give you ~$1M in retirement at 65. Investing $1,000 a month from 45-65 will give you only $500,000. Start Early.




The 80/20 of spending

Focusing on the “big 3” (housing, transportation, food) will do way more for you than penny-pinching in other categories




There’s no “right way” to reach financial independence

If someone tells you the X is the only way, they’re lying or trying to sell you something. Can be done via index funds, RE, corporate job, digital products, etc.




Action > Information

You will learn way more by actually doing the thing, than reading books, listening to podcasts, or watching YouTube videos about it.
Now is not a bad time to start

Almost anytime you look back 4 years at investing you’ll wish you would have bought even more which is just a sure sign that if you feel like you need to wait to invest, you’re probably wrong






Do the experience

You’ll probably never regret the money spent on a memorable activity with friends and family




It’s not about the money

Yes, you’ll need to focus on money for a while and build up a nest egg but it the end the money is just a tool to give you the freedom to focus on the things you really care about, it’s not about lavishness or material obsession. Saving up a ton of money doesn’t make you a greedy person




Don’t make a plan, make a contract

Investing will have turbulence and that’s when people are most likely to make bad decisions. This happens when we let our emotions get involved. Instead of making a general plan, make some hard contractual-type promises with yourself so that when times get tough, you don’t even consider making rash decisions




You’ll adjust to anything

This can be an advantage or disadvantage. The advantage is that you can live a lifestyle very different to others and find that you can still reach a very high level of happiness. The disadvantage comes when we have lifestyle inflation and our spending keeps increasing but the novelty wears off and we don’t feel any different but our spending has increased dramatically




You can’t know where to go,  if you don’t know where you are

Getting an accurate state of your finances and spending is critical. You don’t have to fixate on creating a budget right away but definitely track your spending with extreme accuracy for a few months so you have real data to work with
It’s not about how much you make, it’s about how much you keep (there are people making $200k living paycheck to paycheck, and people making $50k saving 50%)




Be informed

I try not to tell people what they can and can’t spend money on,
Show more...
7 months ago
34 minutes 52 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Finding Purpose and Meaning | Doc G
Jordan Grumet aka Doc G brings his brilliant insights to help listeners find answers to one of the hardest questions we battle with, what is our purpose?

That gets broken down in this episode and his upcoming book, The Purpose Code.

He has a history as a physician which brings amazing perspectives, especially from his time as a hospice doctor.

Jordan recounts his life lessons to explain how to find purpose and shed the anxiety that normally comes with that search.

He also breaks down the difference between regret and disappointment.

Jordan does a phenomenal job of incorporating exercises at the end of each chapter to put what you read into practice.

The book and discussion don't just stop with your life but also discuss how to leave a lasting legacy for others.

There's no doubt that Jordan has some of the most thoughtful and insightful conversations anywhere in the personal finance space.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* The Purpose Code Book
* Jordan's Website
* Earn and Invest Podcast
* Jordan's First Episode on The FI Show

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/DunvVz_JdTc
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)
Show more...
7 months ago
53 minutes 8 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Financial Freedom in 3 Years (Cody’s FI Journey Explained)
Someone recently asked me: "How did you reach FI?"

I didn't have a great answer for them that didn't take 30+ minutes to explain.

So, I recorded a podcast episode outlining my entire FI Journey - all the numbers, all the income streams, all the expenses, year over year.

Below are the notes I created to guide the episode.

2016

Read the 4-Hour Workweek
Started my first real business, Arsenal Discs
Learned how to build a website, marketing, sales, networking, negotiations, pricing, product design… all the HARD way

2017

Discovered FI through Mr. Money Mustache
Started listening to podcasts like ChooseFI and Afford Anything
Read books like Simple Path to Wealth and Your Money or Your Life
Learned about side hustles, taxes, the 4% rule, etc.
Despite all this, didn’t really have any money since I was paying for college
Locked in job for July 2018, plan was to work 7-10 years to hit FI

2018

Went to CampFI in January and FI became “real”
Lived in Australia with lots of time on my hands and started side hustling after being unable to find a regular job
Blog launched in April 2018 to document my journey
Started working as a commercial RE lender in July 2018 once I returned to the U.S.

All-in comp was $80-85k
Knowing that FI existed was a blessing and a curse


Launched podcast in August 2018 (nothing else like it)
FinCon 2018 (CampFI on steroids) - met Grant and others
By the end of that year, I had tried a dozen new side hustles (blogging, podcasting, freelance writing, building websites, editing podcasts, affiliate marketing, digital products, etc)
Income: $44,000, Net worth: $75,000, Stock market: -6.24%

2019

Quit my corporate job on January 31, 2019 with $30,000+ saved
Side hustles were bringing in $1,200 per month, but my expenses were the same ($450 rent, paid off car, super frugal)
Financial Freedom book tour March-May of 2019
Teamed up with Julie to launch Gold City Ventures in June 2019

So many people asking for 1-on-1, wanted to teach at scale
Most of my time after that was spent working on Gold City Ventures
Practicing my craft to teach better
Managing a community, recording & packaging content, hiring people
Originally launched E-Printables, a blogging course, and a freelancing course
LOTs of learning lessons from this business


Income: $96,000, Net worth: $179,000, Stock market: 28.88%

2020

Went all-in on digital products (dropped blogging and freelancing from GCV)

Etsy shop, Shopify store, templates, etc.


Continued to live extremely frugally (spending less than $25,000/year)
Bought 3-unit house hack in September 2020

$235,000, we lived in the basement, rent $2,200, expenses $1,700


Bought duplex in November 2020

$170,000, rent $2,250, expenses $1,350


Bought 3-unit house hack in December 2020

$315,000, we moved to 1BR/1BA, rent $2,600, expenses $2,100
First house hack jumped to $3,000 in rent once we moved out


Income: $198,000, Net worth: $392,000, Stock market: 16.26%

2021

Started freelancing for Motley Fool (who acquired MillennialMoney.com)

Extra $10K/month, SEO, “thinking big”, awesome team


Bought triplex in May 2021

$245,000, rent $2,900, expenses $1,900


~$200,000 in down payments came from digital product income
Show more...
8 months ago
22 minutes 46 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
1 Year Since Retirement
Justin retired 1 year ago today!

What did he do? How does he feel? Did the numbers work out as expected?

Luckily for you, he's dropped all the answers to that in the show with the highlights below.

Read on for Justin's notes:
Numerical Highlights from Year 1:

* Averaged around $2500/mo or $30k/yr  spending
* Networth increased by ~400k ($1.7M -> $2.1M)
* Continued to save money
* 4% SWR + Passive Income = ~13k/mo or $156k/yr if I wanted

Retirement Feelings Explained:

Relaxed:  just being yourself and no corporate coating, 
Awkward: Realizing every American interaction with someone starts off with work followed by me trying to explain the situation and balancing the outward perception from <oh poor thing is jobless> to <this prick trying to flaunt how good he has it>
Proud: as someone who is often hard on themself for not sticking to things, financial independence took real commitment for ~9 years. 
Scared: that I’ll have great ideas I want to try, memories I want to make, relationships I want to strengthen, or  things I want to discuss… but discover that those I want to do it with don’t want those things at all
Relieved: After a year, I find similarities to the relief I felt over telling everyone I gave up alcohol. Saying aloud that I’ve done something that 99% of people will never do felt very weird at first, but then I adjusted to that 1% weirdo being my story, and the people who truly care about me let you be that 1% weirdo. And that exchange ends with a lot of relief. 
Responsible: I feel a responsibility to push the people I love the most to take ownership of their financial lives 
Satisfied: Not from a mentality that everything that needs to be accomplished is accomplished. My sense of satisfaction comes from knowing that the first year of retirement was worth every decision and delayed gratification even if it’s the only year of financial freedom I ever get.

Detailed Breakdown of Year 1 Activities:
December 2023

Hosted my niece for a week in Austin
Made custom laser engraved gifts for my mom and good friend
Tried Franklins BBQ and Interstellar BBQ for the first time
Planned and purchased everything for a kitchen remodel
Saw several movies
Redesigned ripped dip packaging
Attended consumer product goods meetups
Went to the trail of lights
Did a baby kangaroo feeding experience
Redesigned my Dad’s upstairs to be a sudo apartment in Mississippi
Ripped up old flooring and prepped concrete for staining 
Replaced all the windows in the flip
Spent two weeks in Mississippi
Enjoyed Christmas with my family
Tons of workouts

January 2024

Two weeks in Mississippi
Someone hit and totaled my Tesla
Redid Kitchen in Leslie’s family beach house

Lots of other projects there like replacing all the hardware for the doors


Spent a week on the Texas coast
Saw several movies
Lots of cooking
Lots of workouts
Dove into Ninja Creamis

February 2024

Spent two weeks on the Texas coast
More beach house remodeling
Went to the Austin Symphony
Took the train to Dallas
Completed the purchase of my New (to me) Tesla Model Y
Spent a couple of days with my best friend in Dallas
Spent a week in Mississippi
Lots of remodeling on the flip house
Attended a Rodeo
Took my niece to a concert in Nashville

March 2024

Spent two weeks in Mississippi
Played golf
Replaced doors and painted the exterior of the flip house
...
Show more...
8 months ago
38 minutes 21 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Election Aftermath, Controlling Your Controllables, and Giving Thanks
In this episode, Cody and Justin discuss what they're thankful for and the importance of focusing on what you can control.

We recorded this episode shortly after Election Day.

Elections leave a lot of people feeling defeated and a lot of people feeling like they've won.

The reality is that neither is true.

You are the most critical variable in your financial independence journey, regardless of who's sitting in the Oval Office.

The key is to focus on what you can control and to appreciate the privilege that you have.

Even if things don't seem rosy, the hardest experiences often shape us the most and transform us into better versions of ourselves.

We hope this inspires you to evaluate your life, appreciate your advantages, spend some time in gratitude, and get inspired for your next chapter in life.

If you found value in the episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from the Episode

* The Purpose Code

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)
Show more...
8 months ago
24 minutes 54 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Healthcare on the FI Journey | Lynn & Jackie (Replay)
It's open enrollment season, meaning making healthcare choices for the upcoming year.

So for today’s episode, we're featuring FI healthcare experts Lynn Frair and Jackie Cummings Koski.

We cover:

* HSAs
* Healthshare Ministries
* Subsidized Care
* Deductible and Out-ot-Pocket Maximums
* Open Enrollment
* State Healthcare Exchanges
* End-of-life Care
* Emergency Funds

and more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
Links and Resources

* Lynn's Instagram
* Jackie's Instagram
* Heatlhcare.gov
* WexInc HSA vs Traditional Calculator
* Mad Fientist article on HSAs

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)
Show more...
8 months ago
57 minutes 47 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
This Side Hustle Will Blow Your Mind


Cody joins Amy Porterfield on the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast to talk all about digital products.

He covers topics such as:

* The best platforms to sell digital products
* How to find digital products you might already own
* How to get more subscribers using printables
* How to make more money with digital products
* How to add digital products to your existing business

And all about what’s inside his E-Printables course.

Hope this helps someone else start their digital product journey.

If you enjoyed this, please share this episode with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* E-Printables Course (with FI Show discount)
* Original episode on Online Marketing Made Easy



YouTube Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ELCryyjEM
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)

Show more...
9 months ago
32 minutes 41 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
Tennis Olympian Turned Real Estate Pro | Sunitha Rao (Replay)
Our friend Sunitha Rao came from humble beginnings.

Her parents spent most of their lives in one of the poorest regions in India.

Despite all odds, Suni became a professional tennis player and traveled the globe playing in different tournaments.

Years later, she turned her competitive nature toward real estate.

Her real estate career quickly started to explode, and she's been addicted ever since.

This episode originally aired in 2019, but it was so good, we decided to replay it.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode



* Suni's Original Episode from 2019
* Suni's LinkedIn
* Suni's Instagram



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)
Show more...
9 months ago
35 minutes 45 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
$5,000,000 Net Worth & 2,000,000 Downloads
2,000,000 downloads!

And it's all thanks to listeners, viewers, and readers like yourself.

In today's episode, we reflect on everything that has changed and everything that hasn't.

Cody & Justin have increased their net worths by a combined $5,000,000!

Justin retired 10 years sooner than he ever imagined.

Cody created a multi-seven-figure business around an idea he never even considered.

Those are just a couple of big highlights with other highlights including:

New Investment Strategies

Flips
AirBnB - ownership and management
Covered Calls
Syndications
Hard Money Loans


* Lifestyle Changes

* Girlfriends have become Wife/Fiance
* Justin stopped drinking
* Cody and Justin are in even better physical shape than 6 years ago
* They both focus more on value than purely price
* Justin listens to EDM and drinks coffee....never saw that coming


* What Hasn't Changed

* Keeping the "big 3" expenses low
* The majority of our investments are still total stock market funds
* Experiences are still the priority over material objects



We continue to do this show because of you all.

Every time we hear a story of how we inspired someone or introduced them to a concept that is now helping them live the life they dreamed of, it pushes us to keep going.

We hope you found value in the episode, if you did, subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* 2018 Reflection, 2019 Goals episode
* 2019 Valentine's Day episode

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)
Show more...
9 months ago

The Financial Independence Show
Freedom, Resilience, Everest | Jane Kanizay
Jane Kanizay went from financial freedom to divorce to financial freedom again while achieving amazing physical feats along the way.
Jane is an adventurer, educator, activist, speaker, artist, and ​mother of four who successfully climbed Mt. Everest ​with her 19-year-old daughter on May 14th, 2022.
Jane climbs with the message of Teach Us Consent to campaign for ​holistic consent education in the school curriculum and to ​advocate for the prevention of violence against women. This mission helps push her to her physical and mental limits.
High-altitude mountaineering is one of the deadliest sports in the ​world.
It's also very expensive and hard to imagine being possible for most teachers.

That's where Jane's background in real estate shines.

She built a portfolio that is now funding her amazing adventures.

She also gives us an in-depth breakdown of the financial abuse she tries to educate on and advocate against.

Some signs of this abuse from a partner might include:

* Controls access to finances, won’t let you access bank accounts or credit cards
* Expects you to pay for bills, groceries, and other basic necessities but gives you little or no money to cover those costs
* Forbids you from working or deliberately sabotages your ability to get or hold down a job
* Refuses to work or contribute to family expenses
* Takes out loans or accrues debt in your name
* Doesn’t include you in significant investment or banking decisions
* Refuses to pay or evades child support
* Hides assets
* Incurs fines or infringements in your name then expects you to pay them

Jane's story is so inspirational and we hope that she helps you get out of your comfort zone and achieve the seemingly impossible.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
Links from The Episode

* Jane's Instagram
* Jane's Website
* Teach Us Consent
* Caitlin James' Episode

YouTube Interview
https://youtu.be/JUHxxcX8AKY
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)
Show more...
9 months ago
45 minutes 44 seconds

The Financial Independence Show
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.