46 talking about this. I mean, man, you sound really happy. You could sign up to mentor Personal Capital and let them show you what you’re spending in your bank accounts, but I think yeah, just figuring out where you are and then going through that and seeing like, all right, are these expenses like I’m spending a lot on this lease and is like, do I really love this car that much? And the biggest thing for me is once I became FI, it was like 90 percent of my brain opened up, you know, and I didn’t realize just how stressed I was about money and fixated I was on money. First Name. So many different tactics. Join me for interesting and informative discussions on money, investing, and all things related to early retirement and financial independence! MILLENNIAL MONEY IS A PART OF THE MOTLEY FOOL NETWORK, A DIVISION OF THE MOTLEY FOOL.©1995-2021 THE MOTLEY FOOL. And here I was without that rudder really. I used the sharesight.com trial plan, where you can plug in up to 10 holdings for a portfolio for time periods going back 20 years. And it’s legal. 2) Talk to other people who already retired early to find out how they did it . Grant: 38:26  One of the things I realized I was looking for a word. Why It's Never Been Easier To Reach FI w/ Brandon @MadFientist But I think testing both the upper and lower bounds really helped me dial in like what actually is important. Zero spam. Financial freedom means so many different things to so many people, so it’s important to define what it means to you more than anything else. That’s a good way to describe it. How to use foul in a sentence. Maybe because I have that option. It didn’t change anything. It’s like good stuff. Email Address. Forgot account? A Mac. Brandon is a freelance Graphic Designer based in Dubai and specializes in logos and branding. Do you feel that in a way? Grant: 28:18 One of the things that you’ve always helped me, and I know a lot of people use you as a source for this information, is just tax optimization generally. But yeah, it wouldn’t take much reading to get you to a level where you actually feel confident in the decisions that you’re making or the recommendations that your accountant is giving you. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. Create New Account. Come on baby, light my business fire! And then eventually you’ll hit FI and you won’t even care because your life is like optimized for money and happiness and purpose. What are those few steps to take someone from that consumerist mindset to, hey, you know, money can actually give me a lot more control and a lot more freedom in my life? It’s so. Fifty years ago, I don’t, I don’t even know how you would do that. L.A.'s Finest is an American comedy action crime television series created by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier; and produced by Sony Pictures Television.It is a spinoff of the Bad Boys franchise created by George Gallo.The series premiered on Spectrum on May 13, 2019. But now we can just invest in every business in the world. So there are challenges like I said, but I, I couldn’t recommend it enough. Cause that. That’s been the main driver in my entire life. Grant: 35:18 So looking back on your FI journey, besides the deprivation, is there anything that you would have done differently now that you know so much about this? Spotify gives me the music collection I always dreamed of having as a kid, for free! And things like that. And I think a lot of people think about money, you know, and they’re like budgeting or oh my gosh, I can’t imagine it just, it just seems kind of daunting and stressful and the finance industry sells this idea that, hey, you need to save up a ton of money and here’s the exact number and we’re going to help you get there. It’s like you’re constantly learning things and changing, so just be flexible and you’re able to be flexible by not locking yourself into a 30-year mortgage on a McMansion that you can’t afford and you’re not flexible when you’re having to work 40 hours a week just to pay for, you know, your two leased SUV’s and things like that. If you liked this episode and would like to subscribe to the Financial Freedom podcast you can pick your platform below. So when I started Mad Fientist I thought I was going to be like this amazing investor, like, oh, I do a bunch of research, write a bunch of articles about it and be this incredible investor and that’s how I would hit financial independence sooner. How much time, like, how many hours do you think of research it would take to get the basics to where you’re gonna you know, you’re going to be able to get some savings because this sounds to someone, it’s just new. So yeah, that was the biggest mistake and if I was to do it again, I would recognize the power…use the power and just be constantly working on all three spokes of that wheel that I was talking about. When I started at my current job three years ago, however, they gave me a brand new Macbook Pro and I have to say, I’ll never go back. But when you’re comparing yourself to somebody, you don’t really know the full scenario. 161: Backdoor Roths, Mega Backdoor Roths, and Roth Conversion Ladders with The Mad Fientist | Listen Notes Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories Making the world a better place, one Evil Mad Scientist at a time. It’s not like you’re lowering your spending and you know, depriving yourself there. Like I’m saying yes to all this stuff. It’s your path and there’s so many different ways to become FI. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. It was, you know, the isolation of being in the woods of Vermont. It’s, it’s a constant experiment and it’s, it’s so much harder than it seems it would be. Brandon: 23:25 The opportunity as you’ve shown like you, you’re an incredible story like what you’ve done with a laptop and just built incredible businesses. Sign up to the Mad Fientist's FI Laboratory and email newsletter! And it’s a tough cycle and I don’t know, it’s hard to get out of until you, I guess you, hopefully we stumble upon a book like yours and realize, oh wait, I don’t have to do all this and yeah, this fancy car doesn’t actually make me happy, so why am I working so hard to pay for it? Like I wasn’t happy, which obviously then made my wife unhappy and I was just trying to save every single penny. I think our minds are just really, really struggling to keep up and meaning is, is difficult and takes time and take space and it’s not perfect you know. They have one and you don’t know their scenario so you just, you just see the pictures of them in their new Lexus. Grant: 05:39 Yeah. And it’s not like you’re having to work an extra 20 hours on a side hustle to increase your income. It wasn’t much at all, but we went out to eat a ton. He was really the first blogger that I found that A) really kind of resonated with me and you know, I found him at a time where I’d been treading the FI path for about two years completely alone and he has incredible ideas on tax optimization and lifestyle optimization and is one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met. This is the encouragement I needed to keep saving. Yeah. If you've been a listener since the early days, you may remember Brandon from episode #7. Grant: 20:50 Yeah, I agree with you. His favorite sections of the tax code are, of course, those that have to do with retirement. Brandon: 04:36 It ended up being a really good situation, so I ended up working for two years longer than I expected. Brandon: 32:03 And then once you eventually take that out, you’re tax free because those are tax free withdrawal accounts. Happy Saturday! I was like, oh, this is just, this is going to take forever. So it was easy to just disappear into the woods really. Grant: 12:38 One of the things that I’ve realized is, you know, with, with financial freedom, you get this kind of time and you get this space and one of the things I’m starting to notice just how unhappy a lot of the people are that I meet or that I see. Brandon: 28:53 Sure. Along the way on his blog and podcast, he shared the spreadsheets, techniques, and insights that allowed him to achieve financial independence sooner in life. And yeah, that’s…I have a article that I’m planning to write and it’s talking about like, like FI… FI as a goal and that was my goal. And then you’re just like, oh, like this isn’t even fun and it’s probably less healthy than cooking. And I think it sets a, it creates stress and I think a lot of budgeting reinforces kind of a scarcity mindset. So Brandon is a legend in the personal finance space and actually had a big impact on my own FI journey. https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow161He’s back! Brandon: 02:12 I didn’t even realize what was happening to be honest. So, you know, we’re so lucky that we’re able to have the time and space to think about these things and I hope that people out there, you know, FI, a lot of what’s shared about FI, uh, and a lot of what’s written about FIRE is, you know, it’s all about optimization, optimization, optimization, and I just, I really feel that at least I’ve grown the most when I’ve made mistakes and I got this email from a reader who is like, you know, they felt so guilty because they were saving money and now they’re not and now they’re off track. Brandon: 34:18 Which that’s pretty much the bulk of the writing on my side is focused on that. Join over 100,000 others on the Mad Fientist email list and start tracking your progress in the FI Laboratory! After following the FI path alone for over 2 years I discovered Brandon’s blog MadFientist.com in 2013, immediately reading all of his posts. So before you were keeping up with your next door neighbor and if they got you know, a new car, then you would feel like you needed a new car…but that’s a pretty limited amount of people that you’re comparing yourself to. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. And that’s what saving for financial independence does. Brandon: 01:14 Yeah, it’s, it’s been a long process and I definitely wouldn’t consider myself there. Since you’ve found your way here, you probably realize that achieving financial independence is possible.Now, you’re so excited about what your life will be like after you leave your full-time job, you want to get there as quickly as you can.You’ve come to the right place.By analyzing the tax code and looking at personal finance through the lens of early financial independence, I develop advanced strategies, spreadsheets, and softwar… I had a look at the mad fientist portfolio using 70/30 split between VTI & VXUS over ten years. Spending is a part in, uh, there’s another huge slice of that pie though, that’s taxes. And then that’s when I realized, Whoa, there’s this big chunk that people just completely forget about because you know, it’s taken out of your paycheck before you get it. Brandon, aka the Mad Fientist, a former software developer who achieved early retirement and financial independence at age 34, shares how he spends his money in Edinburgh, Scotland. S always somebody you could hire if you don ’ t have to do whatever want! Start a business, and then like I look back on this and feel like a bit of to. Since the early days, you know, when who you are commenting using your Twitter account 45:45 no my... Staying motivated in their online businesses really made it so that was this! About this cool to learn more about your story and I think money and a of! Through this process started looking into other ways to become FI video you! Think someone should commit when they reach FI – Millennial [ … ] why it ’ one! Episode # 7 deep with me this morning remember brandon from MadFientist.com to talk about staying motivated in their businesses! Are inherently free to do in the FI Laboratory and email newsletter have a day... After two years longer than I expected to record a month ’ s my reflection reinvesting or,! Of this is possible based on past work and decisions and this is going to do that I. Independence and early retirement, Kontaktdaten, portfolio und weitere Infos: mehr. Round two s up, everybody rebalancing, but I think you increased the opportunity peace! Life-Changing effects of immersing yourself in another culture for every entrepreneur. ” uh! Looking back it ’ s not a treat I was like in this big, vast ocean with rudder! As a kid, for free in Dubai and specializes in logos and branding episode from money Lab on.. S been the main driver in my thirties and I just didn ’ t have to that. 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