Over the last few years, I interviewed members of my family to find out two things:

<ol>
<li>How I became the Mad Fientist (i.e. where did I get my extreme ideas about money)</li>
<li>What advice they'd give to parents hoping to raise money-smart children</li>
</ol>

This is a short but sweet holiday episode to end the year and I hope you enjoy it!

Cody Berman and Justin Taylor, hosts of the FI Show, have both achieved financial independence but they've taken drastically different paths to get there.

Listen to this Podcast Takeover episode to hear the similarities and differences between an employee's path to FI (Justin's) and an entrepreneur's journey to FIRE (Cody's)!

Highlights

• Live-in flip vs. house hacking
• Sweet spot for buying used cars
• Why focusing on fixed expenses is important
• How to 5x your corporate income
• The unlimited upside of entrepreneurship
• How to get started investing if you're scared/nervous
• Nest-egging vs. cash-flowing your way to financial independence
• The benefits of a Solo-401(k) for entrepreneurs
• Why the corporate world is great for certain types of people
• Benefits and downsides of entrepreneurship
• Why it's important to not keep up with the FI Joneses either

Show Links

• The FI Show - https://thefishow.com
• The FI Show's Mega Backdoor Roth Episode - https://thefishow.com/mega-backdoor-roth-solo-401k-explained/
• The Mad Fientist's Mega Backdoor Roth Article - https://www.madfientist.com/after-tax-contributions/

Life has completely changed.

And because of this major change, I'm even more grateful for the freedom, flexibility, and time that financial independence and early retirement provide.

In this short episode, I fill you in on what's been happening and I discuss the reasons for my newfound appreciation of FI.

Welcome to another podcast-takeover episode of the Financial Independence podcast!

This time, Mathias from the Financial Independence Europe podcast takes over the show to talk to Luke Freeman (from Giving What We Can) and Rebecca Herbst (from Yield and Spread) about Effective Altruism!

Highlights

• What is Effective Altruism
• How to give efficiently and effectively
• Benefits of joining the effective altruism community
• How giving is evolving
• Differences between the US and Europe with regards to philanthropy
• How to give to charity while pursuing FI

Show Links

• Financial Independence Europe - https://financial-independence.eu/
• Yield and Spread - http://yieldandspread.com
• Give What We Can - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org
• Give Well - https://www.givewell.org
• Original Show Link - https://financial-independence.eu/uncategorized/episode-147-how-to-give-effectively-luke-freeman-and-rebecca-herbst/

Exactly 10 years ago, I released the first episode of the Financial Independence Podcast!

To celebrate this big birthday, I’ve collected all the best advice from my interviews with my very first podcast guest – Mr. Money Mustache!

Highlights

• Mr. Money Mustache’s investing strategy
• Thoughts on real-estate investing vs. stock-market investing
• How to invest in a raging bull market
• The benefits of hitting FI before having kids
• Why you’ll likely make money after retiring early
• Mr. Money Mustache’s biggest splurge
• How to decide whether to pay off your mortgage early
• The best part of financial independence
• How to find meaning after early retirement
• Most challenging part of post-FI life
• The impact of financial independence on personal relationships

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I speak to Patrick Aime from Aime to Invest!

Patrick’s journey to FI is an incredible one. He…

• Moved from his home in Rwanda to attend high school in Europe and college in America
• Stayed in America after college and started working in the feast-or-famine world of sales
• Started his own company and grew it to $5 million in revenue in four years
• Used his success in business to invest in rental properties and live a lavish lifestyle
• Lost everything during the 2008 global financial crisis and had to declare bankruptcy
• Found FIRE and drastically reduced his expenses and started saving for the long term
• Rebuilt a smaller business and started investing in short-term rental properties in Mexico
• Utilized geographic arbitrage to lower his expenses even further
• Hit FI 8 years after declaring bankruptcy and became a millionaire 2 years after FI

Patrick shares everything he learned during his rollercoaster financial journey so hope you enjoy the interview!

I'm excited to share with you the first Podcast Takeover episode of the Financial Independence Podcast!

Carl and Doug from the Mile High FI podcast take over the Financial Independence Podcast to talk about their early retirement successes and failures.

Enjoy!

Highlights

• Test drive early retirement by going part-time or taking a sabbatical
• Why finding a community is even more important for early retirees
• How to give yourself permission to slow down and be inefficient/unoptimized
• Why you can (and should!) reinvent yourself after you leave your job
• How to stop worrying about running out of money
• Why meaningful work is still the key to happiness after FI

Show Links

• Mile High FI - https://milehighfi.com
• My interview on the Mile High FI podcast - https://milehighfi.com/podcast/048-mad-fientist/