By Paula Pant
Earlier this year, Cody and Justin from The FI Show interviewed me and asked some excellent questions about my journey to financial independence, entrepreneurship and passion, and minding the gap between your income and expenses.
We talk about the importance of side hustling and how to create a well-paying job from your skills.
We touch on real estate and why I chose this strategy to reach FI.
We also discuss the bone I have to pick with the financial independence movement.
Written By Paula Pant
In June, I flew to Atlanta and toured a few of my rental units. This was the second visit I’ve made to these properties in four years.
During that visit, I met with my property manager and a few of my tenants, and I had lunch with my contractor. He and I met at a suburban Atlanta strip mall.
We ordered a basket of spicy chicken wings and fries, then took out a water-logged spiral notebook and planned a $20,000 renovation.
Here’s what the early brainstormed edition of those plans looked like:
By Paula Pant
It’s September! If you’ve been listening to the show for the past few months, then you know that I’m on what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, in which I’m traveling the globe and taking a break from podcast production.
In light of that, we’re digging through the archives and airing some of my favorite interviews on the show, in between airing interviews I’ve done on other podcasts.
Welcome to another episode from our archives! This one was recorded in March 2018, and Dr. Wade Pfau had a ton of insight into the four percent rule that so many of us are concerned with.
First, here’s a brief history of how the four percent rule came to be.
In 1994, William Bengen decided to look at 30-year timespans throughout U.S. History, beginning with the year 1926.
He worked under the assumption that a retiree held 50 percent stocks (in the form of S&P 500 Index), and 50 percent bonds (intermediate-term government bonds).
By Paula Pant
We are really digging into the archives with today’s episode. This originally aired back in 2016!
Besides being another fun and fascinating interview, this is one of our most popular episodes. Which isn’t surprising, given the topic we’re exploring. 🙂
Financial independence means many things to many different people, which might be why we find it challenging to settle on a definition that everyone can agree on.
Regardless of what your personal definition is, Joshua Sheats, a financial planner and host of the well-known Radical Personal Finance podcast, says that financial independence can be separated into seven stages.
By Paula Pant
It’s September! If you’ve been listening to the show for the past few months, then you know that I’m on what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, in which I’m taking a break from podcast production and traveling the globe.
In light of that, we’re digging through the archives and airing some of my favorite interviews on the show, in between airing interviews I’ve done on other podcasts.
I’m super excited to share an interview I did with Brad and Jonathan of ChooseFI back in December 2018. It was fun to have the tables turned, and Brad and Jonathan left no stone unturned in their interview with me.
If you ever wanted to know my origin story, including where my love for travel comes from, where my desire for freedom came from, and how I combined both, then give this interview a listen.
By Paula Pant
Hey there!
I’m writing this from Croatia, where I’m beginning five weeks of travel that I’m calling my September Sabbatical. From now through September 23rd, I’ll be exploring the globe and enjoying a one-month break.
Today, I’m kicking things off with a community-based episode. Here’s the backstory behind today’s show:
There’s an event called CampFI, which is a 3-4 day gathering for people who are interested in financial independence. CampFI holds around half a dozen events per year in various locations; I spoke at one in Colorado Springs this past July.
Written By Paula Pant
Today’s article is extra-nerdy. Pull on your Coke-bottle reading glasses and let’s run through a little bit of math.
Ready? Let’s go.
If you’re retiring on index funds, you might plan your retirement on the 4 percent withdrawal rule.
But if you’re retiring on rental properties, you could use the equivalent to a 6 percent withdrawal rule.
This holds true even if total returns on the two investments are the same.
By Paula Pant
Mike and Lauren reached financial independence at age 30 and 29, respectively.
But their story begins a dozen years earlier.
Mike and Lauren started dating high school. Mike worked as a restaurant server in high school, earning $19,000 per year. He built his first net worth tracking spreadsheet in December 2005 as a high school student. He had a net worth of $416.
In 2007, Mike dropped out of college to start a commercial cleaning company. He made $76,000 that year. As history would have it, that was the couple’s second-highest-earning year ever.
Written By Paula Pant
A few months ago, I got an invitation to speak at Google.
“Cool,” I thought. “That’s, like, grown-up stuff!”
The invitation came from one of my podcast listeners, David Moltz, who works at the company’s Los Angeles office and who hosted the hour-long Q&A.
“Could you talk about financial independence,” he asked me, “but maybe leave out the part about everyone quitting their job?”
“Haha! Sure thing,” I replied.
By Paula Pant
Tanja Hester retired at age 38.
She had a negative net worth until her late 20’s, thanks to a combination of student loans, buying expensive cocktails and clothes, living far beyond her means, and not paying attention to her money. If you were to have met the 27-year-old version of Tanja, you wouldn’t guess that she’d be a likely candidate for retiring early.
Yet a decade later, she’s saved 40x of her annual cost of living.
How? Tanja worked as a political consultant in Los Angeles, and during her career, ascended to important high-ranking roles. Every promotion came with more grueling hours, accompanied by a raise.
Tanja maintained her same standard of living, banking every raise. This simple strategy allowed her to rapidly grow her net worth.
