I have some big news…

I am now a British citizen!

In honor of finally getting my UK passport, and therefore completing this long journey to citizenship, I am releasing my UK FIRE episode.

Barney, from The Escape Artist, joined me in my Edinburgh apartment (before the pandemic) to discuss all things related to financial independence and early retirement in the UK.

Hope you enjoy it!

Highlights

• The cultural differences between US/UK that affect pursuing FI
• How to escape from the prison we create for ourselves
• Translating US investing terminology to the UK (e.g. 401k→pension, IRA→ISA, etc.)
• Is it easier to reach FI in the US or UK
• Class structure in UK and how pursuing FI forces you to traverse all classes
• Why FIRE isn’t bigger in the UK
• Difference between the different types of ISAs
• Is tax hacking possible in the UK
• Real-estate investing in the United Kingdom and the fantastic Rent-a-Room scheme
• How to use geographic arbitrage to reach FI sooner

Last year, I published an interview with one of my favorite financial writers, Morgan Housel.

You may remember that the interview was recorded as part of a Bogleheads meeting and the interview was actually conducted by my buddy, Gouri.

Well, Gouri recently invited me to join the Bogleheads to talk about life after FIRE and today’s podcast episode is a recording of that discussion!

Big thanks to Gouri and the Bogleheads for making this happen and hope you enjoy it!

Highlights

• How your views on spending change after you retire
• Why you should treat FI as a spectrum rather than a finish line
• How to plan for all aspects of post-FI life
• The unexpected benefits and challenges of early retirement

If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I’ve released an annual update every year since I quit my job.

It’s now been five years since I stopped working so this is my fifth (and final) annual update.

Why is it my final one?

I explain in today’s short episode.

Highlights

• How the pandemic highlighted the power of having savings
• Why FI is the ultimate shock absorber and cheat code
• The reasons this annual update will be my last
• What to do when money is no longer a source of motivation
• Why “Lean FIRE” may be a bad idea
• Warren Buffet’s plan for leaving money to his kids (and why it may change your FI target)

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I finally got to interview the person who introduced me to the concept of financial independence and early retirement in the first place…

Jacob Lund Fisker from Early Retirement Extreme!

To my mind, Jacob is the founder of the modern-day “FIRE movement” so hope you enjoy the interview!

Highlights

• What Jacob has been up to since stepping away from ERE
• His experience being a financial quant and how it impacted his personal investing
• The problem with set-it-and-forget-it index investing
• The importance of staying flexible with your investing strategy
• Predictions for the next decade and the post-COVID world
• A systems approach to lifestyle design and why it’s beneficial
• Jacob’s thoughts on early retirement how they’ve changed since publishing Early Retirement Extreme
• His current projects and his plans for the future