Countdown To Fi

Today, we chat with Dennis and Katie from Chain of Wealth!  Dennis and Katie's story and how Katie paid off $175k in a year Car co-signing horror stories Differences between Americans and immigrants 10-year plan Buying equities on margin Common bad financial advice   Like to hear the four of us together? Check out our appearance on the Chain of Wealth podcast (episode 75).

Erik from the Mastermind Within comes on to challenge the CTFs on traditional FI thoughts. Difficulty making money on business Investing in yourself vs stocks Will stocks always go up? Is the stock market the best investment? How does a Mastermind allocate assets? Critical thinking and conspiracy theories Check Erik out at themastermindwithin.com Twitter: @mastermindwithi

Today we interview Ms. ZiYou from across the pond!  We hit on travel, the beauty tax, why Mr. CTF deserves a scolding, retiring on a million,  and how she ended up owning a home at 19 years old.  She's one smart cookie, so listen up!   Twitter: @ms_ziyou Blog: MsZiYou.com

Mr. CTF isn't around*, so I'm taking over.  We hit on all of the topics that have me all fired (FIREd?) up today. The fat pink luxury tax & other terrible things on Facebook College tuition Quality & sustainability versus price Striking a balance Reasons why I am striving for FI Enjoy!   *He'll be back next episode. He's not gone forever, just today.

Today we talk with Doc G from DiverseFI.com. Trading money for time Viewing tragedy Healthcare in the US Fat FIRE The many paths to FI Happiness and the "money-mind meld" Teaching kids about finances Real estate vs. stock market You can find Doc G at diversefi.com and on Twitter @DocGDiverseFI Camp FI South info can be found here.

Today we interview Raj.  If you're sitting here wondering who the hell that is, that's probably because he's just a normal guy--no blog, no podcast.  He provides interesting insight as he's lived in both India and the US.  We also chat about how he found out about FI, and his experience with learning to navigate the stock market and retirement system.  We also get into the discussion of optimizing for happiness versus optimizing for FI.  Enjoy! You can find Raj at seventypointfive@gmail.com

Did I just hear an echo? (echo?) (echo?) Have we lost the ability to be friends and disagree? The problem with being able to surround yourself with yourself The stories we tell ourselves The first amendment (yep we went there) The ridiculous pf news of the week (US credit card facts) Subprime credit And many other deep convos too early for the morning time! Despite the title, this is not a show hating on the personal finance universe. :)

This week we bring your 4 FI couples across the US (literally we hit every time zone in the contiguous states) to discuss a variety of topics. Mr. & Mrs. Groovy, My Sons Father & Mother, Mr. & Mrs. WoW join us today. We hit too many topics to actually list them here.  Just listen up and enjoy! Mr. & Mrs. Groovy can be found at: freedomisgroovy.com and @FreedomIsGroovy My Sons Father & Mother can be found at: www.mysonsfather.com and @My_Sons_Father and @my_sons_mother Mr. & Mrs. Wow can be found at: wafflesonwednesday.com and @wafflesonwed

We here at Countdown to FI aren't afraid to have tough discussions on sensitive subjects! This week we weigh in on the wage gap between men and women. Buckle up! Highlights include: Does the wage gap start in childhood with allowance? What influences what you get paid? Or if you are even hired? Mrs. CTF is the breadwinner, how does Mr. CTF feel about that? Dual income makes things so much easier Women and what they are paid against what men are paid What are women studying in college and how are earnings affected? How should women think about earnings, career and the wage gap?

Spoiler alert: yes, yes you can.  It seem like it's been awhile since just the two of us recorded a podcast.  We have so much to catch up on! Being weird and different Annual fire sale New July challenge Is a million bucks a lot of money?  Can you live on $40k a year? Why we're not pursuing fat FIRE Don't let the cryptobros get you down! 

We sat down and had a wonderful chat with Mr. Apathy Ends.  Things we talked about: Child expenses and FIREing with kids How many people actually invest in 401k? Investment strategy How FU money changes your perspective on work Is there such thing as FIREing too early? What's the bigger troublemaker: homes or cars? How much of your budget should your home take up? A new profession: FI mediator Will FI become mainstream? You can find more about Apathy Ends on their blog and twitter! blog: apathyends.com twitter: @ApathyEnds More on the 173 rule can be found here. 

Mo runs the Live Daily Mo blog and Mini Retiree Ramblings podcast. Mo joins us today all the way from the Philippines to discuss various topics: How Mo ended up in a mini-retirement and when/if/how he will leave Philippines. Cultural differences around money and life in the UK, US, and Philippines. Benefits of a mini-retirement Why FIRE isn't mainstream How FI plans change with marriage/kids Twitter: @livedailymo Blog: livedailymo.com

If you're feeling down about a terrible decision that you've made in the past, take a listen to this.  Mr. and Mrs. CTF have done egregious things with cars.  We also have the ridiculous personal finance news of the week with the $1 million student loan guy.  Check out the blog for more details on all of the cars. *drops head in shame*

Today we interview the awesomely named blog, The Wealth Hound.  We were able to steal him away for a bit just before his baby was born to talk with him on a variety of topics including: Reading after college Avoiding debt Difference between knowledge and action Social security Planning for a kid (check out his Babies and Money series with advice from peeps within the FI community) The benefit of having financial savvy parents Outsourcing services   Congrats to the new father!  Check out his blog and twitter feed. Blog: thewealthhound.com Twitter: @TheWealthHound

Ooof!  We hit some heavy topics this week.  I promise it's not all depressing. Our true selves are coming out Tesla Long term care and America's culture with death/illness Healthcare in early retirement New ways we're trimming form our budget Life insurance Why we're not saving for our kids college Plenty of side convos and falling down rabbit holes

Today we interview Jim from Route to Retire. He's about 18 months away from retiring, so we had lots of questions!   Thoughts when retirement is so near The bucket system & ROTH conversion ladder & other methods for getting money out of retirement accounts Rental properties Schooling & decisions of those dang millennials Kids with FIRE  Plans for Panama Cruise talk He knows more about social media than Mr. and Mrs. CTF combined.  Check him out! blog: routetoretire.com twitter: @RouteToRetire

Y'all are gonna love this show...no really, you are!  Here are the juicy nuggets you can look forward to: New segment-ridiculous personal finance news of the week! This week we talk about gas prices rising...OMG! Travel hack update Why we may not be going to Hawaii and why you shouldn't build your house in the shadow of an active volcano Why should should be measuring shit Weight Calories Waist circumference Spending Income Net worth

Today we interview Mr. and Mrs. WoW.  It's a very conversational episode with a wide variety of topics and lots of tangents.  An attempt at a summary: Shitty rap music Sacred cows (ice cream and travel) Things we hate spending money on (TV and healthcare) Moving outside the US Middle class America Wear your damn bike helmet! FIRE-ing: problems average people have with it and the WoWs new plans A plug for FinCon and Camp FI...or maybe not In case you're curious, the "interesting" count ended at 12. Twitter: @wafflesonwed Blog: wafflesonwednesday.com

Every parent worries about if they are raising their kids right.  We discuss how we are raising our kids and what we are teaching them about finances.  You'll hear on this episode: Our kids make their Podcast debut and talk about the Bank of Mom and Dad Are we spoiling our kids? Dealing with grandparents  Spending on vacations instead of toys Buying teens cars (!) Are kids really that expensive? How kids impact our FI plans

The Pay Off Debt Vs. Invest debate is finally settled.  We discuss the new plan for 2018 and the reasoning for selling the Leaf. Just about any job is better than telemarketing/fast food Mr. CTF runs through some of the trouble he got into with his high school jobs Crappy jobs give perspective Your crappy job is someone else's dream job Why your kid should get a crappy  Hard work is rare in the workplace Learning customer service The Bank of Mom & Dad/Allowance Go Fund Me rant Apologies for the cat this episode. Our go fund me account: gofundyourself @my_sons_father and @financialpanthe are both great bloggers, which is why Mrs. CTF couldn't remember which one wrote this post (or it was the cold meds).