To celebrate the release of JL Collins’ new book, Pathfinders, I collected all the best advice from his Financial Independence Podcast interviews! Jim has been on the show three times: First, back in 2012 (he was my second guest ever!) Second, when his hit book, The Simple Path to Wealth, was released Third, during the depths of the Coronavirus crash That last interview may be my proudest moment as the Mad Fientist (I explain why during the show). Hope you enjoy this jam-packed episode! Listen Now https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/madfientist/jl-collins-highlights.mp3 Listen on Spotify or A ..read more

Health is similar to finances in that there are many overly-complex things people say you need to do, but there are just a few simple things that actually matter. What is the “spend less than you earn, invest in a diversified/low-fee portfolio, and leave it to grow/compound” of the health world? That’s what today’s post is about! Parker Hewes wrote a book called Lifelong Youth: The Simple Path to a Long & Youthful Life, and today he shares the eight health behaviors that will do the most for your longterm health and wellbeing. If you’d prefer to listen to a podcast instead of read the ..read more

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I welcome back Chad Carson from CoachCarson.com! Chad just released a new book called The Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor, and I wanted to get him back on the show to talk about it. I’m not a real-estate investor though. So rather than interview him myself, my real-estate-investor friend, Jillian Johnsrud, did the interview for me! You may know Jillian from Montana Money Adventures, or her new podcast – Retire Often. She did a fantastic job, so I hope you enjoy their conversation as much as I did! Listen Now https://traffic.libsyn ..read more

This post is a collaboration with Nick Maggiulli from Of Dollars and Data. I read Nick’s book, Just Keep Buying, and the thing I loved most was how he backed up all his arguments with data. I was chatting to him on Twitter about why I enjoyed his book, and he said, “If you ever want to collaborate on something (or want me to run a simulation of something for you), let me know.” I had a topic I thought would be perfect to collaborate on, and this article is the result. I’ve always had a problem with the 4% rule for early retirement. It’s not because it’s bad or wrong. It’s because it’s not for ..read more

I love beautifully-designed software.   I love powerful/flexible financial software. It’s been a while since I’ve found an application that’s both, but that’s exactly what I have for you today… ProjectionLab is the most beautiful financial planning tool I’ve ever seen.   And, it was created specifically for people pursuing FIRE, so it’s also the most-useful planning tool I’ve found for FI! The indie developer who built it is here today to tell you all about it. Take it away, Kyle!     Hey everyone, I’m Kyle. When I finished undergrad back in 2015, I never thought ..read more

On today’s episode of the Financial Independence Podcast, I welcome back Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You to Be Rich! I needed someone to come on the show to provide some tough love and Ramit was the only person for the job. As Ramit mentioned during our last interview, FIRE people are great at knowing what NOT to spend on but we’re not good at knowing what to spend on. Spending is going to be a big focus on the Mad Fientist this year and I can’t think of a better way to kick off this discussion than by getting yelled at by Ramit so hope you enjoy it! Listen Now https://traffic.libsyn.com/sec ..read more

Over the last few years, I interviewed members of my family to find out two things: How I became the Mad Fientist (i.e. where did I get my extreme ideas about money) What advice they’d give to parents hoping to raise money-smart children This is a short but sweet holiday episode to end the year and I hope you enjoy it! Listen Now https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/madfientist/my-family-interview.mp3 Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Download MP3 by right-clicking here Full Transcript Coming soon Related Post My Brother - Using the Power of Money to Pursue Your Passion Join me for an int ..read more

I didn’t think I’d ever want kids. There was so much I wanted to do/see during my life and I felt like having kids would get in the way. Two things changed when I got to my late 30s though. First, my wife’s sisters started having kids and I got to see how fun/crazy they are. Second, I started accomplishing a lot of the things I had wanted to do… I went back to school and got a graduate degree We got to travel the world and visit 50+ countries I built a successful business I achieved financial independence and was able to stop working I finally fulfilled my childhood dream of writing and relea ..read more

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! Listen Now https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/madfientist/mr-money-mustache-highlights.mp3 Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Download MP3 by right-clicking here 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 ..read more

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 drastic ..read more