What up, what up!

Happy New Year! Lol…

It’s me J$ – remember that guy?? Mohawk rockin’, FIRE wielding, personal finance nerd who went rogue and forgot all about his blog?!

Sorry about that. The rumors are false though as I am still very much alive, just living more in the “real” world than the online one :) I also don’t nearly think about money as much as I used to so I don’t have as much to say about it!

But lately a few things have reminded me of the joy of finance so I’m going to furiously try to type it all out before life pulls me back in again…

The best gift money gives you is not having to think about money.

Whenever I think about money this is the part I think about the most. How when you’re IN IT you’re solely focused and grinding and just spending all your hours being scrappy and hoarding as much as you can going for “your number”, but ironically once you hit it money drops wayyyy down on the priority list. At least if you’re doing it right, in my opinion. There are certainly millionaires and billionaires and trillionaires who most definitely want MORE no matter what goals they hit, but I am not one of these people. The only thing I want more of is tacos! Mmmm…

But once you activate “not needing any more ” status, life gets exponentially easier. Yes because you can afford stuff and don’t have to work as hard, but also just in mental energy alone. Whenever something breaks down, or you’re shopping for gifts for someone, or you simply just want to order WHATEVER YOU WANT off the menu without having to worry about being able to afford it (like tacos!!) you can do it! And don’t have to ask permission! This alone is one of the best reasons to save and invest early.

The other – much bigger benefit, of course – is because you then get to choose 100% for yourself what you spend your time on. AKA Freedom. And this is the part I’m reminded of at least three times a week when someone asks me what I do “for a living” as I’m standing there giving away free clothes left and right!

I used to say I was “retired” and just doing this on the side (I tried once saying I was FIRE’D but then they felt bad for me and asked if they could help me find a job! Lol), but now that the “side” project is no longer on the side and it’s become a 40-hour week “job” just without pay,  I now say I run my Free Closet as a job. Just without pay. It doesn’t save me from still having to answer a million questions on how I can afford to do so, but it’s great for reminding me of all the hard work Past J. Money put in in order to get Present J. Money to this stage here! What a guy! So I always welcome the interrogating :)

Speaking of this “new” project, it actually turned 1 year old last month!! And we’ve since hit over 50k items of clothing and essentials given out!! Crazy!

And remember how I was looking for a van or truck of some sort to have a “mobile closet” vs running it out of my minivan (which I still have! And you were right it grew on me!) ??? Well, none other than fellow blogger Gwen from Fiery Millennials stepped in and generously donated her huge Cargo Van to me so I can continue to do more good in the world!! How awesome and beautiful is that??!

[This is Gwen – who I love to embarrass :)]

And I can tell you that just from this action alone you know she is on her path to Freedom as well, forfeiting $5,000 she could have easily made selling it. Sure she got a tax deduction from it (of course – we’re still money nerds!) but I’m sure 2006 Gwen would not have been as gracious as 2026 Gwen :) Money opens up a world of opportunities like being able to give away money when you want to!!! lol…

Which brings me to the 2nd thing I’ve been working on lately…

The Arsenal of Good

Do you remember that goal I had where I wanted to donate $20/mo to 100 local organizations? Well I made it up to around 16 or 17 organizations I want to say, but recently decided to change my giving strategy back to *direct giving* for even more impact. No doubt spurred by my latest Free Closet project.

I cancelled 12 of the automatic donations (always automatic so you never have to reconvince yourself to give every month!) and redirected these future funds ($240) right into a new “community fund”, aka savings account, where I now distribute it to *individuals* I think could best benefit from it. It’s been great because it doesn’t “cost” me any more money than I’ve already allocated to it, but now I have an Arsenal of Good I can deploy at any given point in time! Some towards people who shop my closet each week (mostly unhoused friends), but also to young entrepreneurs trying to get projects off the ground where money is the only thing holding them back.

In the few months I’ve started this I’ve given out three no-interest micro-loans totaling about $2,000 (one to a baker, one to a photographer, and another to someone to fix their car for more employment opportunities). It’s been so fun exploring and keeping my eyes and ears open!

And the cool thing with these micro-loans is that the repayments will keep funding The Arsenal so I can continue to loan out more and more over time… And if they default? Well, that’s how it goes sometimes. I have no intention of ever fighting to get it back, it’s more about the responsibility and holding yourself accountable aspect. You tend to want to succeed more when you have skin in the game!

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And lastly in the world of J. Money’s errr… money, I may or may not have invested in some pretty risky investments lately!

“You need some Sexy on the side”

Someone once told me this years ago and I’ve never forgotten it. Having some “sexy” on the side basically means that you should do the smart boring stuff at least 90% of the time, but then make sure to save a little bit for fun too to stay sane! Whether in life, or career, or finances, or whatever. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and all that…

In that line of thought (and also because it’s fun to try something new!!) I invested $10,000 into three private companies over the past year+ that I have an “edge” in. I.E. I personally know the founders who all have insane track records. Two are in the VC (venture capital) world so I’m just begging to lose money, haha, and the third is with my old friend Ethan from Digit days who retired when he sold it, and then came out of retirement exploding with energy and wanting to BUILD again! He just launched the first product a few months back – HIRO Finance – and is having fun doing all the things he once dreamed up but which technology couldn’t do yet. Now with AI a lot of it is possible!

I don’t expect all of them to take off, but if just one does it’ll definitely pay off. And it’s just fun getting off the bench for a bit and being sexy again!

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately…

Thanks for being here whoever’s still left here, and hello to all new readers giving the blog a chance!! Sorry you found me during the end of my blogging career, lol, but hey – we got an archives of 1,800 posts if you want to start from the beginning and pretend it’s 2008 all over again! I’m sure most of the stuff there is still accurate today as money is essentially the same now as it was thousands of years ago:

Spend less than you earn, bank the rest, enjoy your freedom.

The trick is just staying motivated!! So keep reading and watching financial content out there, and then start experimenting and seeing what sticks! All you need is one or two things to go right and then you can pour fuel on the FIRE (sorry – I had to…)

And I’ll be here rooting you on, virtually and in spirit

Update on that AI company I started with Nate last year… It’s been added to the Resume of Fails!

Update on our general finances… it continues to climb, due to the 90% unsexy! AKA Index funds! I barely remember to keep our net worth updated, but I’m always glad when I do so it forces me to pause and reflect and change something if something needs changing… But I’ve long stopped budgeting

Update on my three boys – they are now 7, 11, and 13!! CRAZY!! It’ll really be a logistical challenge next year when we have one in elementary school, one in middle school, and one in high school (!!!)

[This post, The best gift money gives you., was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Good morning!

You know those people who quit their jobs and jump right into retirement, only to find out it’s the worst thing in the world and now they’re stuck and freaking out and don’t know what to do with themselves?!

Don’t be like those people :)

There’s a better way! And the Wealth of Geeks just interviewed an expert on this very same topic which can help steer you into a better future: ME.

The original article has now been taken down, but it was a really well written and concise piece, and really couldn’t say more about how smart – and good looking – the interviewee seemed, lol… Sources say, however, it was only a fraction of the brilliance captured from the interview, so I had my team dig up the entire 4 page Q&A email for you because that’s the kind of thoughtful person I am.

May it help you retire faster, and even happier! You’re welcome!!

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How old were you when you retired? What year was that??

J$: I don’t know if I ever made it “official”, but I mentally started pretending I was retired in January of 2023 I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be retired-retired as I’ll always be working or thinking about *some* project out there, but financially-speaking I don’t need to make any more money to survive.

What was your net worth when you retired?

J$: $2 Mil+

How old were you when you opened your first savings account?

J$: Oh wow – never been asked that question before! I’m sure my parents at some point opened one up for me when I was a kid to teach me about banking stuff, but the first one I personally remember opening was in the start of college, so probably like around 17?

Did you always plan on retiring early, or did it “just happen?”

J$: Nope – never even thought about it or KNEW it was an option really. Even when I was blogging! It wasn’t until the blogs Early Retirement Extreme and Mr. Money Mustache came onto the scene that something stirred in me. I of course knew that saving more would give me more freedom in general, but never put the two together or strategized it out until reading them. Then I was hooked!

What keeps you busy these days?

Lots of yoga! (5-7x a week)

Lots of working out (3x a week)

Lots of volunteering/helping out friends (2-3x a week)

Lots of wrangling my 3 boys (24-7!!!)

Since I stopped working an official “job” I became the defacto Parent-In-Charge as my wife still very happily works :) So lots of taking kids back and forth from school or soccer practice or doctor appointments or the pool when we’re in the heat of Summer.

I’ve also started doing the laundry every day and taken over grocery shopping as well as anything else that makes me look good to my wife for a better chance of continuing this Good Life, lol…

What is your favorite money quote?

I don’t know where I heard this or if it’s even the right words, but this mindset really hit home the first time I heard it:

Millionaires don’t become millionaires by spending money, they become millionaires by saving money.

You always assume people with fancy cars or mansions are rich, but to get those fancy things you actually have to SPEND YOUR RICHES! Lol… Becoming a millionaire is much more boring.

What are the top 3 things one should *never do* in early retirement? Did you learn these from experience or by observing other early retirees?

#1. Never go cold turkey into retirement without testing it first!

You know those horror stories of people retiring and then being bored out of their mind and either wasting away a few short years later or going back to work just because they don’t know what else to do with themselves?! Don’t let that be you!!

Test it out by taking weeks-long, or months-long, sabbaticals and pretending you’re retired. Then what do you do with your time? How does it make you feel? Are you lonely? Do you have hobbies you can get into?! Are all your friends working and can’t come play with you because they still have jobs?? (more than likely, esp if you’re retiring EARLY!).

These are all things you can test a little and figure out *before* pulling the chord as you want to KNOW what you’re getting into and not leaving it up to fate. And if you can’t take weeks or months off at a time, practice on the nights and weekends! Start joining clubs and going on adventures with friends/family/church members. Start building a life NOW that’s exciting to ease into and not a scary unknown one for later – even if you don’t think it’ll be scary.

(And btw, if you DO end up going back to work? So what! Retirement is not for everyone – a better thing to measure is whether you’re happy or not in the stage. If you enjoy working, don’t stop working! The trick is staying as true to yourself as possible, and by practicing “retirement” early you’ll get a sense of this much sooner before entering Freak Out Mode.)

I naturally started doing this the second I learned you could blog for a living ;) I started building my ideal life and then eventually over the years I started working less and less (and less) until eventually I was accidentally “retired” haha… And even then I still struggled a bit! Then I came across this quote and it got me back on the path:

When you’re stuck, just sit down with a notepad and start writing… your brain has things it wants to say even if you don’t know what they are.

#2: Don’t assume all your friends and family will be available at all times!

You’re the one retiring, not them, so more often than not you will have to figure out what to do with yourself from 9-5 each day :) And it’ll take some getting used to!

But here’s the awesome part: since everyone’s working you get all the grocery stores and other shops/places/parks/etc ALL TO YOURSELF! Which makes it a perfect time to do boring errands or housework or anything else you still need to do in life whether you have lots of money or not.

It also makes for a great time to do anything purely selfish for yourself too, like writing or fishing or yoga’ing or working out, etc. Then by the time the afternoon rolls by you’ll be freed up to play and hang out with everyone and feel equally as productive!

Another hint: people still do have to eat lunch every day, so on days you’re super lonely or just missing friends, offer to come to their work and eat with them!

One of the first things I did in retirement was to make a list of every single friend of mine I haven’t caught up with in months and drove out to have lunch with them. Some were local so I knocked those out pretty easily, and then others I had to plan ahead of time as they lived 1-3 hours out. But every single person was thrilled to meet up, and they truly appreciated that I made the effort to visit THEM vs the opposite since I’ve got all the time in the world, they don’t!

#3. Don’t over-schedule your days. Leave time for “flow”!

One of the first things I came to realize in early retirement is that even when you free up 40 hours of work you still can’t manage to get everything done you had planned to And if you ask any retiree they’ll all say the same – there’s still not enough time in the day!

So rather than scheduling out every free hour you have, build in some “flow” time that allows you to more calmly go about your day and allowing for whatever life throws at you.  Appointments running late, traffic jams holding you up, kids getting hurt or needing to be picked up from school early, etc. Even though you’re retired, LIFE still happens.

On the plus side, it also happens for the better ;) Running into an old friend on the street and having the time to grab an impromptu coffee, getting into a rhythm with a project you’re working on and not wanting to stop since you’re on a roll!, getting a phone call from someone important and being able to take it right then and there (hi mom!).

The more time you leave “open” the more opportunities you have to adapt to life’s whims. Still plan and do your best to feel fulfilled of course, but those built in times of “nothing” can end up becoming some of the best

Anything else you’d like people to know about you, your situation, or anything else?

Yes – getting into minimalism was a game changer for me/my finances! I was doing fine before it, but when I realized having less “stuff” freed up not only more time but also $$$ it was like pouring gasoline on my FIRE plans!

I ruthlessly started decluttering my entire household, and then moved to digital clutter and responsibility clutter and then even (toxic) friends clutter! You can apply minimalism to ALL areas in life! And the less and less stuff I “needed”, the less and less money I needed which meant opening up more and more freedom.

One of my favorite mantras is below which still holds true today:

Freedom > Money > Stuff

Print it out and put it on your fridge!

// END

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UPDATE: Before I hit publish on this post, I randomly got this note from a friend (hi Anthony!): “I’ve been starting to think about what retirement will look like for me in three years. I’ve started working with a coach to keep me focused and accountable. We meet once a month, and she’s a good thought partner as I explore my desires and options. I come away from each meeting with “homework” for the next meeting, so it’s not just a bunch of navel-gazing.” – YESS!! There are a ton of places and experts out there that could help direct you better if you don’t trust yourself enough to set aside the time for it!

In fact, I just caught this from Apex Money as well: How to Start a Retirement Planning Group or Club: Plan for a Happier Wealthier Future, Together via Boldin.com. Fritz from Retirement Manifesto has started one with his friends, and you can find his thoughts on it so far here: What I’ve Learned From My Retirement Mastermind Group

Lots of options! Start thinking about it today!

[Photo by Vincent Gerbouin]

[This post, Three Things You Should Never Do in Retirement, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Another spreadsheet success story!

I’ve been using your simplified early retirement spreadsheet now for the last 8 years. I have obviously tweaked it some to reflect our income and estimated expenses, but it still works great! I have also shared this with friends!

Yes!! Brilliant! Especially that last part. As a good friend of mine likes to say, “never keep knowledge to yourself – share it!”

I asked Kristy if she’d be willing to share her tweaked spreadsheet for us to gander, and she not only obliged but also gave us some juicy background on along with it :)

• You can find her spreadsheet here: Kristy’s Early Retirement Spreadsheet
• And my original one here if you want to compare: J$ FIRE Spreadsheet

SPOILER ALERT: Her and her husband’s net worth is right around $1.5 Mil (nice!!) and looks like they’ll hit FIRE at 58 (they’re in their 40’s now).

Take it away Kristy!

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I graduated college in 2000 and started working as a chemist making $36,000 per year. I had met my husband the year before, just a boyfriend at the time. We decided to quit the corporate world and move to the beach!

He worked at a liquor store and I waited tables for a few months. Then I found an apprenticeship job, as a real estate appraiser trainee. I decided to go for it and become a real estate appraiser as I hated the chemistry field and there were no jobs at the beach for chemistry at that time. My husband ended up managing the liquor store where he was just an employee and has been doing that ever since!

I got the education, experience, etc working as an appraiser for two years. Then I decided to switch and start appraising commercial properties. I continued my education and eventually received my MAI designation. This is the highest designation for real estate appraisers. This was in 2009.

I stayed with my company for 11 more years. I made pretty good money for a commercial appraiser, though it varied from $90,000 to $120,000 per year. In 2020 I quit my job and started my own real estate appraiser firm. I make about the same and work half as much… it’s awesome!

My husband went to college and obtained a finance degree. He worked at Vanguard for about a year (J$: Dream job!! :)). He started us investing in retirement at our first jobs. He taught me about finances, saving, investing, etc. over the years. Eventually we hired a financial planner. I know about the fees, but it has been worth it for us. We just don’t have the time anymore to handle our investments.

Current age: 44, my husband is 46. We have two kids, 17 F and 14 M. We will not be paying for college for both kids, but have been saving money since they were babies for college. We were able to save roughly $50,000 per kid.

We do have a house within walking distance to the beach and it’s our only debt. No car payments, no CC debt, no other debt.

I have attached the spreadsheet I have been using. Have fun with it!

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What a journey! From chemist to beach to waiting tables to apprenticeship to business owner! Not to mention a hearty mix of liquor and finances in there from her hunky husband, haha…

Always interesting what life has in store for us despite our own plans :) And of course, as they show, how much power WE have to change our own direction as well! Nothing stopping us from making big moves TODAY if we really want something. And it doesn’t even have to be something major either like a move to the beach or cross-country trip or whatever… Sometimes just taking that first step to *anything* feels good. And the flow might take you exactly where you need to go from there!

Awesome story, and awesome spreadsheet. Thanks so much for sharing with us, Kristy. And again, you can find her spreadsheet here if you want to download and tweak it yourself: Kristy’s Early Retirement Spreadsheet

To first steps!

PS: Here’s the original article if you missed it years ago –> The Early Retirement / Financial Freedom Spreadsheet. I created a *super* simple spreadsheet to tell me generally what I was looking at FIRE-wise, and then my man and fellow $$ blogger Go Curry Cracker got a hold of it and made some of his own tweaks which you can also find included there. Hope it helps!

[This post, Kristy’s Early Retirement Spreadsheet, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

I read somewhere recently that no matter what stage of life you’re in, making a little money helps fulfill you even if you’re retired or don’t even need the money.

And as we settle better into WifeFI here I’m realizing just how true this may be!

Earlier last month a good friend reached out and asked if I wanted to help him with some projects over at a new board game publishing company he just signed onto. He recently came on board as their Director of Marketing, and as usual we try to rope each other into our new endeavors to continue the fun ;) Even if we have no experience in the fields we get ourselves into! I couldn’t tell you jack about the gaming world except that of course Monopoly is the undisputed G.O.A.T of all time (don’t @ me!).

But it’s been a blast so far, and true to that tidbit above, I’ve been very much enjoying the extra income as well. It’s hard to explain it exactly, but it’s a different kind of productiveness. One that feels distinct from a 9-5 or even a part-time job, but not nearly as rewarding as volunteering or being a Stay-At-Home Daddy (which ironically neither pays and one actually COSTS money, lol). But it does add a nice varied strand of productiveness that I didn’t notice was missing and will now have to incorporate it into my “ideal lifestyle.”

In fact, this new gig is a unicorn too and hits 3 out of 3 from the Triad of Hustling! My formula for knowing whether a project is worth taking on or not, or vice versa: deciding whether to KILL one or not.

The three variables of this triad are:

1. The amount of TIME the project requires
2. The amount of MONEY the project pays
3. And then, sometimes most importantly, the amount of FUN the project is

Hit just 1 of the 3 favorably and it’s not worth pursuing at all. Hit 2 of the 3 and it’s a good possibility it’s worth it! But hit 3 of the 3 and it’s a guaranteed home run :) And, so far, this new board game gig has felt like an absolute home run. I get to work with my good friend and on *my own time*. It only requires about 5-10 hours/week. And, as we get farther and farther away from working full-time, it’s been nice dusting off my skills again and putting them back to use (I was brought on to help them build a community).

I’ll also admit I’m having a fantastic time learning about a whole other space out there that I didn’t even know existed! There’s soooooo many influencers in the gaming world just as there are in the PF space (maybe even more?), and again like the PF world they’re super inclusive and just trying to get people excited and learning *in real life*. From YouTubers to podcasters to TikTok’ers to bloggers it’s a pretty thriving community!

And then of course it’s always nice to get paid fairly for helping out. Making me feel even more secure in my decision to kinda-sorta-but-not-all-the-way retire, lol…

I plan on using this money to cover all the unexpected parts of life, like flat tires and medical bills (I just had to get another round of infusions* for my disease – ugh!) as well as the GOOD unexpected parts like shiny new “wants” or books or new places to donate to. We haven’t tapped any of our investments during this semi-retirement (my wife’s income pays the bills, thus Wife-FI!) but some months we do drain a little from our savings so this will be a nice way to stay topped off there too.

So yeah, I’m a game board nerd now – watch out! Anyone else immersed in this booming community?? Or attend any of the millions of conferences all around the world??! (That’s right – there’s even BOARD GAME CONFERENCES!)

Couldn’t have ever forecasted this one, but you never know what’ll come out of the Year of The Flow… Clear eyes, full hearts, baby! Anything can happen! :)

XOXO,

UPDATE: And now I’ve been laid off from said new board game gig!!! Lolol….  53 days into it and the universe taketh away almost as fast as it giveth Was fun while it lasted at least!

*Did I already tell you how much these infusions cost for my Pemphigus? $20,000 a piece! And I always have to do a round of TWO! Thankfully insurance pays a bulk of it (my total comes down to $1,600 out of pocket from the $40k+) but man, medications these days are no joke… Don’t ever get sick, OK? ;)

[This post, Did I Just Get Myself a New Job?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Good morning!

So here’s something interesting – I haven’t made any real money for the past 6 months! And even wilder – I haven’t even noticed it much lately??! It’s the first time since I started working that I don’t have a “salary”, thereby officially entering me into the status of WifeFI:

“Financially Independent, enabled by my wife who still works ”

I do make some money consulting each month, as well as some extra change typing away my thoughts here (and that’s literally all it is these days, as it turns out when you nix most of your ads you don’t get paid! lol), but by and large my income is inconsequential compared to my wife’s which is currently paying all the bills right now.

It’s an interesting place to be. I’m not very motivated to chase money for some reason, but I’m also not satisfied just laying around and doing nothing either… Hence – why I’m back here at the blog! But even more surprisingly – I haven’t really missed my paychecks since the Motley Fool gave me the boot earlier this year, which was no small amount at $10,000+ mo.

How a guy can go from obsessing over money to not even noticing he hasn’t got paid in a while is beyond me…  Though to be honest it actually makes me feel kinda proud of myself! :) It means I’m no longer a slave to the green as I once was, nor am I using up the bulk of my time chasing it all the time. I’m much more focused on *life* now and just “being”, and while I still have to pay attention to money of course, it’s no longer the top priority it once was.

I think “peace” is the right word for it. Financial peace.

And it was right around the $400k mark when I first really started noticing this… Enough to feel secure and pay all the bills, but also still able to have a little extra for fun and flexibility. With each additional $100k just adding to the foundation and making money less and less important over time. (Or I should say, not as “life changing” – I still very much LIKE having money, lol, but it doesn’t drastically change my life anymore)

I should also note that this comes from a super privileged white dude who’s had fortune and luck on his side the entire time :) Sure I’ve worked my a$$ off over the years and proud of what I’ve built, but I’ve also had a leg up throughout it and need to keep reminding myself to appreciate it all which I oftentimes fail at more than I care to admit…

Still, I never saw this stage coming!

It actually marks the 6th one since starting the journey:

• 1995-2008: I was a SINK (Single Income, No Kids)
• 2008 – 2010: We were DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids)
• 2010 – 2013:  Then SINKs (Single Income, No Kids)
• 2013 – 2016: Then the hairiest – SIKs! (Single Income, Kids)
• 2016 – 2022: Then back to the good life, DIKs (Double Income, Kids)
• 2022 – present: And now WIFEFI (Wife Enabled Financial Independence)

Such drastic stages over the years. With the best ones outside of a $hit sandwich, haha… Those middle SIK years there were pretty rough for a while!! When a perfect storm of events hit, and completely sucked our savings from $94,000 down to a paltry $3,000 in three short years… It was pretty embarrassing as a money blogger, but of course we continued to share it all in the name of transparency!

Then the wife jumped back into the workforce after a 5+ year hiatus (she went back to school to get her Masters and PhD) and we were once again back to smooth sailing… Which is just one of the half dozen reasons she continues to work: she wants to use all those hard-earned degrees!, she genuinely enjoys what she does, the job is STABLE (a government one, which helps counter balance my very much non-solid one, haha…), and then of course there’s the benefits like retirement funds and pensions (remember those?) as well as a fantastic health insurance plan.

So don’t think this is just me taking advantage of her! Which I am still a little, of course – who doesn’t want a Sugar Mama?! – but in reality it’s her not wanting to join me in the dark side yet, as well as reaping the rewards after years of hustling ;)

Yet another benefit of paying attention to all this stuff!! So one day you don’t have to!

It’ll be interesting to see what happens from here (do I go back and get a “job” later after missing money??? Do I go the opposite way and cut *everything* out to free up even more time? Do I forever remain Wife-Fi’d?) but as it stands today, I’m at peace… Another new life experience under the belt!

What financial stage are you currently in? Are you content with it?

Your fiscally sexy friend,

PS: Here are some other (totally made up) financial stages I’ve hit over the years as well… Maybe you too? ;)

• BOB — “Baller On a Budget!”
• SEXPLOY — “Sexy & Unemployed”
• FIGMY$HIT— “Finally Got My $hit Together!”
• MOHO — “Money Hoarder”
• HUN — “Hustler Unleashed”
• ISNOB — “Indexer Snob”
• PX3U — “Proud Penny Picker Upper”
• FRUCLASSITY — “Frugal and Classy”
• FULLTRASH — “Full Timer Rocking a Side Hustle”
• FREEDLER — “Freedom Lover”
• MILLIONAIRING — “Millionaire In Training”
• DIVFROD — “Divorced From Debt!”
• SFL — “Spreadsheets For Life”
• CAFLOK— “Cash Flow King”
• STARFROTBONWEH — “Started From The Bottom Now We Here”

[NSFW]

[This post, WifeFI Status Activated ⚡, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

[Hey guys! Re-sharing this post from I Dream of FIRE back in the day because not only is it just damn good, but it’s also something I’ve never stopped thinking about ever since first reading it… I see these “desire paths” everywhere now and they’re so fascinating! See how many you can find in your community!]

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Near my house there are two well-worn dirt paths through the grass.

The first cuts just a dozen feet from one sidewalk to another, and the second travels down a small slope to meet up with an asphalt park trail below.

I live in a master planned community, where the roads, trails and sidewalks are meticulously designed and maintained to direct travelers along a predetermined route.

Yet the people who take those dirt paths have a different idea.

Anywhere you walk, you can almost always find these bare dirt paths leading away from the pavement. They may be a few feet long or hundreds of feet, but enough people have taken this same unofficial route that it has become an obvious option – the proverbial road less traveled.

We often just call these shortcuts – and indeed Wikipedia suggests they are often “the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination” – but they have an official name in the urban planning lexicon: Desire paths.

Desire paths are not created by design; rather, they are the natural result of people who look around and see a better way to get where they’re going. Over time, as these trailblazers prove this new route’s success, the path becomes visible even to those who wouldn’t naturally think to take it. Now they can see there is another way, and they can choose to follow it or stick with the more conventional path.

Clearing The Way

I heard about desire paths on the 99% Invisible podcast and was immediately smitten with the name and concept. The phenomenon originates in urban planning, but it also crosses into technology. Twitter’s hashtags and @ mentions were not functions created by Twitter’s developers, but rather conventions it adopted after seeing how its users were communicating with one another.

It’s also a perfect metaphor for the FIRE movement.

What we’re seeing now with the proliferation of personal finance blogs and podcasts that have a financial independence and early retirement theme is a digital desire path. Enough trailblazers have proven there’s a faster way to get where they are going – a shortcut to retirement – and we can choose whether to break from the expected path and follow their lead.

Is that the right choice for everyone, however? Of course not.

But there are some who spy that developing shortcut and think, “I’ve got better things to do with my time than take twice as long to get where we’re all going.”

The Pioneers, The Early Settlements, And The Railroad

Perhaps the most famous desire path in the U.S. is the Oregon Trail. From 1840-1880, nearly 400,000 people loaded up wagons and headed west to a brave new world.

“As the Oregon Trail evolved, thousands of wagons wore ruts into the ground that acted as an ad-hoc road for the settlers who followed. But they didn’t follow a single solid path. Rather, wagon wheels left ruts across the country as pioneers found various shortcuts and easier routes along the way.” –  Smithsonian Magazine

There were desire paths sprouting from desire paths – just as there are many paths to early financial independence! (By the way, do you know where The Oregon Trail officially began? Independence, Mo. How’s that for an FI tie-in?)

So obvious was the success of The Oregon Trail, along with other similar trails, that it became a more permanent path that future travelers would take as riders on the Transcontinental Railroad.

The history of the financial independence/early retirement movement is very similar. As Early Retirement Dude writes in his brilliant “The History of the FI/ER Movement (2.0)”:

“It hasn’t been that long since anyone who was pursuing it was operating in a near-total vacuum: one where you had to collect and assemble your plan’s components without much, if any, outside help… You’re living in a perfect storm: a moment in history when circumstances have never been more favorable for achieving financial independence and early retirement.”

He talks about the early pioneers whose footsteps today’s FI seekers walk in. People like Amy Dacyczyn, Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez, Jacob Lund Fisker, and those posting on early-retirement.org. Their contributions in the form of “The Tightwad Gazette,” “Your Money or Your Life” and Early Retirement Extreme were the original waypoints along the trail where travelers could stop to rest and commiserate. They inspired others to keep going.

There’s No Stopping an Ingenious Mind With a Deep Desire

Later travelers of The Oregon Trail created alternate routes from the original path to shorten the trail or to get around obstacles. These “cut-offs” would themselves become established options for those who came behind them.

In the FIRE community, people like The Mad Fientist guide people in tax optimization and Roth conversion ladders – laying out cut-offs for financial obstacles others just accept as part of the journey.

Many of the voices in the personal finance community are software engineers and entrepreneurs – people whose nature is to create something from nothing. Such was the constitution of the pioneer stock, who were undeterred by what was because they saw what could be.

The FIRE writers, bloggers, podcasters, and forum members are the equivalent of the Transcontinental Railroad. They offer a proven, relatively safe, way to reach an endpoint at a speed once thought impossible. Big names like Mr. Money Mustache help spread the word and get curious people thinking about what such a trip might be like. His “The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement” article is essentially a railway fare board, showing people the price of a ticket to freedom and a life they currently only dream about.

But, of course, there are many vehicles and routes to financial independence. Not every path suits every person or every situation.

Which Brings Us Back to Desire Paths

We may share many of the same predictable, paved roads along the way. But each of us has a chance to pick up our head, look around, and decide which way we’ll go. For some, that rock-solid sidewalk with its well-defined edges and overhead lighting is soothing and secure.

For others, the allure of a well-worn path and a little adventure is a chance too hard to pass up. And then there are still those who envision an entirely new way to their dream destination, whose desire to create one may someday inspire others to follow.

This passage from Robert Frost perhaps says it best:

“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

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I Dream of FIRE is written by an early 40s married father of two adult stepchildren and a 10-year-old daughter. He works in financial education and coaching, and explores the realities and challenges of seeking financial independence with a family.

[Desire path up top via Duncan Rawlinson / Others by the author and Google Maps]

[This post, Desire Paths: The Unconventional Way to Live Your life, was first published by Guest Author on Elite Edge Money]

[Hi guys! Thought we’d change it up today and drop my *personal newsletter* here so you can get an idea of what they look like… Each week I share my favorite articles and notes from around the community, updates on my projects, personal stuff, and any other interesting nuggets I think people might find helpful. They go out once a week on Fridays, and you can sign up to it here if interested.  Hope you like it! Now take it away, J. Money! ;)]

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Good morning!!

Happy Halloween Weekend!!

Y’all dressing up or hitting any wild parties??! I wish I could say I was, but unless you count chaperoning a thousand kids as they hit event after event after event all weekend as juicy, I most certainly will not be lol…

Though I did find these killer shoes a few days ago I’ll be celebrating with ;)

Aren’t they just perfect for Halloween??? Super cheap too as they were “lightly used” (I love vintage stores so much…)

As for my costume, I’ll probably just go w/the tried and true “skeleton rock star.” Which consists of basically just wearing a black shirt with skeleton bones on it and rocking my ‘hawk. Though perhaps this year with the shoes addition I’ll call myself a “killer rock star”? Hmm…

If you’re still looking for some good – and frugal – costumes, here are a few of my favorites from an old blog post of mine: 16 Last-Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas

• Static Cling – Wear normal clothes and safety pin socks and lint to it!
• Christmas Tree – My all-time favorite costume ever: Wear all green, wrap yourself in Christmas lights, and then plug yourself into the wall :)
• Chick magnet – Tape a bunch of Barbie dolls to yourself. Or use pictures of hot girls!
• Smarty Pants – Tape smarties candies to your PANTS
• The Tanning Bed – Tape glow-sticks up and down your arms. Then go around the party, entrapping people in your embrace: Instant tanning bed.
• Pinterest board! Dress in all white, then hang a cork board around your neck with pictures of cute houses, tattoos, book cases and whatever else people like to “pin”
• Random Hook-up – Drape a lot of random colored extension cords around you, haha…

Whatever you end up going as though, I want pics please :)

Or you can just stay home and binge Elite Edge Money all night long – that’s probably the best *treat* for you… Less calories and not nearly as scary! Yum!

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Posts on Budgets this week:

The Gucci Mane Guide to Greatness — A review of Gucci’s latest book on becoming better versions of ourselves… Not nearly as good as his Autobiography I devoured earlier, but still chalk full of great takeaways that I share here.

The Power of Rewards (AKA In Which I Bribe My Kids to Behave…) — It may not be at the top of the Parenting 101 handbook, but boy does bribing sure work Here are a handful of examples I’ve incorporated into our household lately.

*To get these posts automatically emailed to you on the day they come out, sign up to my blog newsletter https://eliteedgemoney.com/subscribe/.

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Favorite Articles Around The Community:

My First 6 Months of Early Retirement Sucked Shit: What They Don’t Tell You about FIRE @ Bitches Get Riches – “My body and my subconsciousness understood exactly what was happening to me. “You are very, very depressed,” they told me with crystal clear enunciation. “Sleep ten hours a day, invest 200 hours into a video game you don’t particularly like, and put cheese on EVERYTHING until this passes.””

Want to Be a Lazy Seeker of Financial Independence? Invest in Your 20s. @ We Want Guac — “Almost all of today’s most famous investors are wrinkly old fartbags. This tends to give the impression that A. it’ll take you multiple decades and unfathomable luck ‘til you can enjoy wealth, B. all the good investing opportunities dried up decades ago, or C. young people just shouldn’t try to get ahead until they’re older and wiser. Not so! It’s actually the youngest investor in the room that’s the most powerful.”

Diversify Your Friends And Financial Goals @ A Teachable Moment – “Studies prove that having friends attracts more than good times. Good friends boost the immune system and help protect you from catching a common cold.  Different types of friends provide the most significant value add.”

Waste a Few Hours, so You Don’t Waste Years @ Darius Foroux — “Being productive doesn’t mean utilizing every waking minute to do productive things.  Sometimes, spending a day doing various things around the house, maybe taking a walk or doing some reading, can actually be more useful. These moments help us examine our lives.”

Expectations and Reality @ Collab Fund — “Imagine a life where almost everything gets better but you never appreciate it because your expectations rise as fast as your circumstances. It’s terrifying, and almost as bad a world where nothing gets better.”

My Favorite Nomad Travel Tools! @ A Purple Life — “Somehow I’m going into the 3rd year of my retirement and my nomad travel life. During that time, I’ve amassed an arsenal of tools to help me on the road. Previously, I discussed general tools I love to use in my day-to-day life that help it seem like I have my shit together , but today I want to focus on things that help me be a more effective traveler.”

Ultimate Detailed Price Battle!!! Is Shopping At A Warehouse Club Really Saving Anything? @ Chief Mom Officer — “When I remove all the items I couldn’t buy at Aldi’s because they didn’t have an equivalent or where I wouldn’t want the alternative option for my family, it’s clear that shopping at BJ’s is the winner for us. Those items would cost $285 at BJ’s compared with $333 at Aldi’s. The cost savings is over $100 when compared with Target, and almost $200 when compared with Price Chopper!”

(Hat Tip to Lazy Man and Money who came out with a different conclusion when he analyzed the costs for his family… How about you?)

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News & Nuggets Around The Community:

Interesting news and clips that caught my eye this week…

• Ali from All Options Considered celebrates 4 years of being FI– woo!
• “It’s as hard to start and run a small business as it is to start a big one. You will suffer the same toll financially and psychologically as you bludgeon it into existence… So if you’re going to dedicate your life to a business, which is the only way it will ever work, you should choose one with the potential to be huge.” – Stephen Schwarzman via Darius Foroux
• “When you buy a home to live in with a plan to later rent it out, you’re doing two things at once. You have to consider the property more from an investment perspective and less from an emotional “I love this house” perspective. This isn’t always possible (or advisable), but, if you live in a hot rental market and have aspirations of building a passive income stream, buying a home that can be turned into a rental can be a great option.” – Frugalwoods
• “I was at a gas station filling up when a man came up to me, excited to see the car I was driving. He gushed over how cool he thought the car was and asked how I could afford it. Embarrassed by the attention and eager to shift the focus to something else, I truthfully explained that I had eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for an entire year to pay for the car. Upon hearing that, his smile waned and I could tell that he doubted the sacrifice was worth it.” – Humble Dollar
• “Decades ago, when I was in Sales, the top contact at my largest customer made a comment to me that I’ll never forget. I was moving on to a new job, and Fred gave me what turned out to be one of the biggest compliments of my life. “You’ve always looked me in the eyes,” he said. “If someone doesn’t make eye contact with me, my experience has taught me to not trust them. You make excellent eye contact, and you’ve been one of the people I’ve trusted most in my career.” When you’re talking with someone who matters in your life, look into their eyes.” – The Retirement Manifesto

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New Job Opp on The Scene!

(From my friends over at the FIRE app, Topia)

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Get paid to think about FI!

We’re on the lookout for an ultra-passionate person from the FI community who wants to join Topia to lead and manage the Topia community. If you love FI and want to get paid to spend your days, thinking, talking and breathing FI then look no further! This could be a full-time or part-time role (min. 15 hours a week).

What this role entails:

• Regular chats with Logan & Grant to talk through the monthly community plan and give updates on how the community is doing
• Drive daily FI conversations, engagement and discussions within the Topia community
• Plan, schedule and manage virtual events within the community
• Find and post FI content into the relevant areas of the Topia community

If you think this could be a good fit please reach out to logan@topia-app.com

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And that’s a wrap!

Hope you get more treats than tricks this weekend!

// For previous newsletters: Archives
// To connect further: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | @LinkedIn

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Liked this? You can sign up to get this newsletter in your inbox every Friday here!

Hope you found it helpful :)

[This post, Tricks and Treats 💰, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning!

A TON of new projects and courses have just dropped on the scene, so I thought I’d cobble them all together here in case anything looks interesting to ya :)

I haven’t tested any of them out, but they do come from people I trust and respect in the community so I don’t have any hesitation sharing them here… Only a little jealous of their hustle!

If you end up trying any of them out let me know what you think! And if you become a millionaire from it, I want a six pack of beer please… Or whiskey – I don’t discriminate.

Here are 4 new projects in the community:

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“Topia”
The Financial Independence App

This bad boy comes from Grant Sabatier of Millennial Money (and “Financial Freedom” book fame), and Logan Leckie, an entrepreneur and FI fanatic. I think it may have been out for a while, but I only just recently came across it.

Topia is basically a free app that helps you track your progress to FIRE, and pinpoints areas slowing you down. It comes with a community of users and mentors sharing tips, and also allows you to tinker with your numbers to understand how you can better reach your “utopia.”

If you’re tired of tracking everything in spreadsheets (*gasp*) or using a million calculators, maybe this is a possible replacement to have everything in *one* spot?

You can learn more/download the (FREE) app here: topia-app.com

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The “FI/Accelerator” Course
A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving Financial Independence

This new course comes from my friend, and business partner, Steve Adcock of Think. Save. Retire. fame (since acquired), who retired at the crazy young age of 35 and now spends his time helping others do the same. (When he’s not galavanting around the world or at his secluded paradise, that is!).

This one does cost money ($97-$197), and here’s what it covers:

• How to get paid more at work
• How to cut back on stupid expenses
• How to harness automation using the power of systems
• The trick wealthy people use to build wealth without lifting a finger
• A simple change that can add hundreds of thousands to your net worth
• The quick and easy way to invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum safely and securely
• The exact 6-step wealth-building process
• How to achieve financial freedom as quickly as possible
• And more…

He’s a little extreme for some, but if you’re stuck and need a little motivation along your journey you’ll probably find it here :) I love his message at the end too, haha…

“This course isn’t for everyone. You’re not getting band-aid fixes to your money problems. “Magic pills” are not included. If you’re not prepared to dive in and take action, then don’t bother. This course is ONLY for those willing to implement what they learn. If you’re unwilling, save your money.”

Lol….

Here’s how much FI/Accelerator costs

• $97.00 — Lifetime access to FI/Accelerator and all modules and extras
• $197.00 — FI/Accelerator course + priority email access for one year (you get direct access to Steve for a year to ask questions, bounce ideas off of, etc…)

(He also offers a 100% money back guarantee, no questions asked, within 30 days…)

Learn more/purchase: steveadcock.gumroad.com/l/fi-accelerator

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“Proofreading Launchpad”
A Self-Paced Online Course to Land Proofreading Clients

Do you like reading? Do you enjoy correcting other people’s mistakes? Are you well-versed in English grammar? Do you dream of semicolons and ellipses chasing you in your nightmares?

Well, if three of those four questions sound like you, then you might be good at proofreading/editing online content as a side hustle!

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Those words above come from my friend, and personal proofreader, Lenny Bron, who shared the ins and outs of this hustle a few years back here for us: Side Hustle #77: Online Proofreading/Editing ($1,600/mo)

He shared some great tips and resources on how to up your game with it, but this course here by Bobby Hoyt aka Millennial Money Man shows you how to *land clients*. A perfect companion if proofreading has always been on your list to try one day! And of course the best part is that you can do it anytime, any place ;)

Click here to get their FREE 25-page e-book that reveals “how to start earning money as a proofreader — even if you’ve never earned a dollar online before and have no clue where to start” (you’ll get a chance to purchase the course afterwards if you’d like (it’s around $600 I wanna say?), but you don’t have to! The e-book is completely free!):

Proofreading Clarity:
Your Quick and Transparent Guide to Launching a Successful Proofreading Business From home

[This section was updated on 11/16/22 to showcase the new book. Beforehand it was just the course they were offering!]

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“The CFT School”
Become a Certified Financial Trainer®

Lastly, we have the CFT School which trains people to become Certified Financial Trainers®. This course comes from long-time blogger, and owner of The Financial Gym, Shannon McLay who just released her Manifesto calling for a change to the financial planning/advisory business.

It’s a bit on the pricey side, but if you’ve always wanted to help people with money this might be the course for you. Here’s a little more on it from Shannon:

“I think this course is perfect for someone who’s never had a class in personal finance. It’s perfect for someone who’s thinking about getting into the industry, someone who wants to help people for a side hustle or someone who just wants to be their own financial planner. We have a number of people in it now, they’re all doing it as a side hustle and making an average of $1K per month.”

And here’s what it costs:

• $2,500 —  The no-fluff, no-BS personal finance knowledge you weren’t taught in school
• $10,000 — Everything you need to start your coaching business – including the clients

You can learn more/sign up here: TheCFTSchool.com
(If you do sign up, use my promo code 20JMONEY to get 20% off!)

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And there you have it! A FIRE app, a FIRE course, a Proofreading course, and a Certified Financial Trainer® course – all ready to help up your game ;) And maybe even my own…

Thinking I need to come up with some sort of course next? Perhaps “How to Reach Financial Freedom Slowly and Methodically?” Or “I’ve Got 99 Problems But a Budget Ain’t One?” Oh I got it, I got it –“How to Become a Sexy Beast!!”

Lol… or maybe I’ll just stick to blogging

PS: I’m an affiliate of the three courses up there, meaning I’ll get some $$$ if you sign up to any…

PPS: If you haven’t already entered and want to, make sure to get your essays in for the 401(k) $1,000 contest! The deadline for entries is tonight at midnight and they’re awarding THREE people $1,000 – so you have good odds!

[This post, 4 New Courses/Apps in The Community 🔥🔥🔥, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

One of my favorite things about collecting coins is that they all have their very own personal history.

First, in regard to their original minting and place in our country’s story, but also in the different places they’ve traveled and hands they’ve passed through over the years – all coming together to eventually land in my very own collection in my very own home!

So in effect, my collection of coins is really a collection of *everyone else’s* coins, that I just so happened to put together and now claim as *my own* collection.

I find that so cool :)

And like a true nerd, I document where each of these coins have come from too (the “provenance”) to always pay tribute to their origins. I just counted, and almost 54% of my coins came from other collections! With the rest coming from dealers or shops or places like Ebay where the provenance is long lost (they rarely note it unless it comes from a famous collector, so all that lineage up to that point gets erased with history :( )

This “Collection of collections” can be found in a multitude of other areas as well.

The things in your home, the books on your shelf, even your circle of friends! They come from all different places and walks of life, which you’ve collected and formed into your very own group of friends :)

This is the same with knowledge too. Take, financial knowledge for example. Did everything you learn come from one central person or place or book in your life? Of course not. It was accumulated over the years by different people at different stages in your life. “A collection of advice,” if you will!

Here’s a breakdown of my own financial roots and the people responsible for them:

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Frugality — My mother! Having raised a family of 5 on a meager military paycheck, it was not only a necessity to stretch her dollars as far as she could, but she also found immense joy from finding deals and shopping second hand. Something also very much passed down to me through her genes :) Here’s an interview I once did with her that captures a bulk of her philosophy on money: Interview w/ My Mom Who Just Found Out She Can Retire Anytime She Wants.

Retirement investing — My dad. Another person who’s been hugely influential in my life, outside of literally creating me! From day 1 of starting my first job he preached signing up to the company 401(k), and while it took a few years for me to finally listen to good ol’ Pops, I finally did and the momentum only grew from there. And since retirement accounts are hidden behind a bunch of rules and fees, they’re much harder to pull from and thus the only route for them to go is UP over time! No touchy, more growy!!

Debt — Mom and Dad. Whose favorite line was, “don’t put anything on your card you can’t pay off!” Which most times I listened to pretty well, but there were certainly others where my eyes were bigger than my wallet :) Still, without their early persistence it wouldn’t have become such a strong compass in my life which I’m forever grateful for.

Net Worth Tracking — Jonathan from My Money Blog – the very first blog I read! Many of you know my story of buying a home on a whim with no money down or no real financial knowledge back in 2007, so when I Googled “how to budget” I was surprised to find so many places sharing their financial journeys and how they saved, invested, paid off debt, etc. One of these places I ended up getting hooked on was My Money Blog who did something I’d never seen done in the history of my life – share a real life net worth!! I was GLUED!!!! Sure we talk about money with our peers and family, but never do we *really* talk about money. And no way would we ever share our actual numbers.

Seeing this from Jonathan was an epiphany for me, not only for my own finances (I started tracking my own net worth from that point forward – going on 15 years in a row now!), but eventually leading me to start this blog and completely changing my life/friends/career and best of all – my mindset. All because one person decided to share their most intimate financial details with the world. So thanks dude!! And his blog is still around too, btw, if you’re interested in checking it out – he covers a lot of immediate news going on which is super helpful, esp since people like me don’t :) –> MyMoneyBlog.com

(And btw – your net worth is a “collection of collections” too! A collection of savings, a collection of investments, a collection of debts – all combined to give you your collective financial snapshot! Heyoooo!)

Early Retirement / FIRE — ERE Jacob and Mr. Money Mustache. The first people who a) taught me FIRE was even “a thing”, but more importantly b) SHOWED us how it can be done by sharing their own journeys with the community. I had already been blogging for a number of years before they even came on the scene, but as soon as they did it opened up a whole new world for me (and challenge!) and I’ve been soaking it up ever since. No more was I just chasing money so I can one day call myself a millionaire because “it’s cool,” but there was actually a *point* to it all! And a number I could work towards! Plus it’s always fun to just use the fire emojis.

Minimalism — Leo Babauta. One of the original minimalist bloggers on the scene, whose book, “The Power of Less” hit me at the exact right time in my life (when I started making more money and tempted to use it for more and bigger and better things!). Then mix in Joshua Becker and The Minimalists, and countless hours of free time, energy, money!, and of course *freedom* opened up. One of the best things I’ve ever focused on to this day, and something I *still* work hard towards daily as Lord knows I still have a ways to go in some departments… Namely, around my kids

(Though I did have an epiphany this week while decluttering – if you can get rid of areas where things naturally want to accumulate – like baskets or ledges or shelves, etc – then they magically won’t! My wife keeps bringing home more and more storage units, but I keep telling her that only encourages MORE STORING!! If you get rid of the storage, you get rid of the STUFF that tries to go into it! You still need to find *a place* for that stuff, but at least you keep the areas around you clean and tidy.)

Index Investing — JL Collins and The Dough Roller Podcast. I credit the Dough Roller podcast first because it was on that show that it struck me I should finally do something about my haphazard investing strategies… Rob had asked me how I invest and why, and like a stuttering fool I had to admit that I really didn’t know. My investing up to that point was more like a hodgepodge of ideas from “investing in what I love and use” to “copying Warren Buffett” and a half dozen other strategies I had read about and thought sounded smart over the years.

So the next few weeks after recording the show I started paying more attention to what all my blogger friends where doing (i.e. my “circle of trust!”) and it was immediately clear how a majority of them invest: through index funds. And in particular, total market funds with Vanguard. Then after devouring JL Collins’ stock series and peppering him with a million questions, I knew it was the right move for me too so I cashed out of alllll my random baskets of funds (many with insane admin fees!) and went “all in” with VTSAX.

You can read more how it all went down here:

• Say Hello to Vanguard’s Newest Member!
• My New [Lazy] One-Fund Investing Strategy

Lifestyle Design — I can’t really pinpoint *one* person who started me down this path, it was more a collective of different bloggers out there, but I can say Derek Sivers and David Cain of Raptitude are the ones influencing me these days. Always getting me to think – and challenge! – what I’m doing and why, and if it all aligns with what I say I want out of life. Highly recommend both of them, as well as a little Tim Ferriss too if you’re just starting out in your journey (he’s a bit “much” for some, but I think he can be a good jolt for those who really need one!). His book, “The 4-Hour Work Week” really opened my eyes years ago and helped me realize there is more than one path to live out there! We just gotta be brave enough to go after it!

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So basically the first half of my financial foundation was shaped mainly by my parents (how to save, stay away from debt, start investing), and the second half was influenced by the blogging community (tracking net worth, FIRE, minimalism, mindset).

Pretty cool… My collection of knowledge!

A fun exercise to go down too if you’ve never thought about where your own roots came from… We may think of our beliefs as *our own* now, but they all originated somewhere! And we should be so thankful for them!!

So thanks everyone listed above, as well as those reading this right now. Without this blog I’d be half as interesting or successful with things, and I certainly wouldn’t be as good looking ;) Y’all are constantly pushing me to be better and I appreciate it!

Here’s to more collecting

*Links to books above are Amazon affiliate links

[This post, Collections of Collections, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

[Good morning! Today we welcome back Monica, Pie Lady FI, to the blog to share an update on her personal and financial journey over the past three years. Last we heard she had crossed a net worth of $900k and was battling a few mental demons. Let’s see where she’s at now!]

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Back in February 2019, I wrote a guest post here about how I was sabotaging my own financial independence journey, which boiled down to three main reasons:

1. fear of success
2. feeling undeserving
3. unlimited time

My journey to financial independence truly started when I divorced, with two kids and $257,000 of debt.

Today, not only have I reached my definition of financial independence, to be able to pay my bills and take a vacation or two, but I have surpassed it with a net worth of over $2 million dollars, a paid off home and three of five rental properties paid in full.

So many commented on my post about how relatable those feelings are which made me feel less alone. It showed me that there is power in a life story. That we are, in many ways, more alike than different!

It’s been just over three years and so much has changed, mostly on my own outlook about success and what any of us are truly capable of.

Fear of Success

One would think after getting out of debt, building a rental property portfolio and cash investment portfolio that give me passive income streams, it would squash that fear of success. Logically, I look at all I have achieved to this point and clearly, I have been successful. I achieved all my goals to become financially independent.

Yet, I didn’t (and still don’t) feel successful. I am still just me.

After all that, I began to wonder that maybe this was not the right definition of success. That all these years I was laying the foundation for something else. What if I hadn’t scratched the surface of what I am capable of? What if success was still ahead of me? That realization was truly scary.

Feeling Undeserving

Every morning I review my goals and make updates as needed, checking off completed things and updating other goals as the year unfolds and things becomes clearer. Sometimes I add new goals or move other things to the next year.

But before I get to that exercise, I have at the top of the page an excerpt from the poem, Our Deepest Fear, by Marianne Williamson. I still read it almost every morning and reflect on what that means in my life. The line that strikes me (and I pause every time to really let it sink in) is:

“We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”

It reminds me that it’s not about feeling deserving of all that I have built, but that what I built was just step one – a foundation. That all these years spent inching closer to my definition of FI was not the goal, but was about showing myself what I am truly capable of with grit, perseverance, and determination. That if I was able to achieve FI in ten years then what else am I capable of?

This blew my mind.

Unlimited Time

In July 2018, my mom passed of liver cancer. It was one of the most stressful times in my life. She was diagnosed in 2017, had the surgery which was declared a success and spent 12 months in remission. Then in January, it came back. From January to July, the months flew by like days.

Even knowing the end was near, I was not prepared for losing her. The last 5+ years of her life, our relationship improved, and we were the closest we had ever been. Even so, I never got the chance to tell her that I was going to be alright. That I had built a solid financial foundation. It is a regret that I carry. Losing her was a reminder that time is not unlimited and none of us know when our time is up.

Fast forward to 2022. I quit my 9 to 5 to focus full-time on my next chapter without a paycheck. In those ten years leading up to financial independence, I learned a lot about myself and what is possible. It was time to answer, what’s next?

This year I wrote my first book, Grab Your Slice of Financial Independence, to be released September 6th, 2022. In it I share all my mistakes and setbacks as well as showing that with grit and perseverance, I was still able to achieve FI. But more importantly, I outline the steps for you to take to grab your own slice of FI.

When I am asked why I wrote the book, my answer is simple: I didn’t get through all of that for nothing. I knew I had to share that journey to help others.

What I have come to understand is it’s not about me or if I am deserving. It’s about living up to my full potential. I still have a fear of success, but it’s tempered with what I am looking to achieve.

Timeline continued:

2018 was an emotional roller coaster year. Mom’s cancer came out of remission and took her life in July. I got engaged. Attended FinCon which changed the trajectory of my career.

2019 was a catch-my-breath year. Switched to a new, less stressful, role. Major rental property repairs were completed. Taught myself WordPress and the mechanics of blogging (thank you YouTube!). Started planning my exit from paycheck living.

2020-2021 – pandemic lock down. What’s the saying, “We make plans, God laughs.” I stayed put in my role putting my plans on hold. Paid off my mortgage, for purely personal reasons – it felt really good.

2022 – quit my 9 to 5 to focus on building my small business, Grab Your Slice, LLC, as a financial coach, author, and blogger, by building tools that help others grab their big fat juicy slice of FI.

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My new definition of success is leaving a legacy of building something that will give back for years to come. Am I still afraid? Sometimes. But I am more curious to find the answer of what I am truly capable of.

So far, I haven’t hit the ceiling.

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Monica, Pie Lady FI, is an author and FIRE blogger committed to educating women and solo parents on how to go from financial couch potato to superstar, by leveraging 10 years of her own personal experience and inspiring others to Grab Their Slice too. She can be found at GrabYourSlice.com.

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To read Part I of Monica’s story, which includes a breakdown of her net worth, click here: How I Stopped Sabotaging My Own Financial Independence

Actually, the breakdown was pretty cool so I’ll just paste it again down below : ) She went from $246k to $900k in 9 years! Mainly from rental properties and some extra investing (And then in the past 3 years managed to DOUBLE IT and hit $2MM it looks like – even more impressive! And more proof that once you get the ball rolling, time does everything else for you – and much faster.)

[This post, How I Stopped Sabotaging My Own Financial Independence [Part Deux], was first published by Guest Author on Elite Edge Money]