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Nuts of Financial Wisdom, with the FI Squirrel - E28

January 29, 202459:31
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[Music]
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tool welcome to the best interest
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podcast hosted by Jesse Kramer where we
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discuss today's best ideas in personal
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finance and investing the best interest
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is a personal podcast meant for
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entertainment purposes only it should
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not be Tak as Financial advice and is
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not prescriptive of your financial
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situation here's your host Jesse Kramer
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hey guys what's up Jesse Kramer here
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welcome to episode 28 of the best
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interest podcast now nothing against any
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of the other guests I've had on the
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podcast because they have been seriously
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amazing to talk to but today's guest
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might just be the Best Yet now there's a
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little white noise in the background at
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times during our conversation ation I
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hope it doesn't bug you too much because
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the wisdom and experience from this
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guest is simply fantastic but real quick
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before I introduce Our Guest could you
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please pause the show and then in your
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podcast app give a rating and review to
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the best interest podcast why because
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the best interest it's a growing small
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business and I want to keep making this
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content for people just like you a
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rating and a review it lets all those
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fancy algorithms know that you care
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about this podcast
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and I know I'm asking for your time I'm
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asking for your effort and I know that
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you don't owe me anything so I really
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appreciate those of you who decide to
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sacrifice that time and effort to leave
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that rating and review thank you guys so
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with that let's go meet our
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[Music]
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guest my guest today is a financial
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Independence specialist but like some
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former guests he wants to stay separate
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from his real world financial profession
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he wants to keep that separate from his
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online Persona so he runs an anonymous
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account where he discusses simple
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investing real estate investing net
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worth tracking Financial Independence
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tactics and much much more so I'm very
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excited to introduce Shan the FI
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squirrel to the best interest podcast
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Sean good evening how are you my friend
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very good letting the squirt out of the
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bag with the name thanks Jesse thanks
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for having me absolutely well we can
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start there we can start there with
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squirrel because Sean I want to hear a
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little bit about your backstory I'd love
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for you to introduce yourself to my
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audience and maybe part of that story
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can be where the FI squirrel name comes
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from sure sure that sounds good so uh I
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don't have a crazy great story about
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where the squirrel part came from but
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I've been on Twitter for about a year
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two years or so just lurking like most
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people do trying to feel out the
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community to begin with and then uh I
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was on a vacation last winter with my
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family and we went for like a six week
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Mexico getaway to kind of reconnect and
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I had a lot of spare time in my hand so
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I thought it would be a good time to
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finally open up an account and start my
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Twitter account uh so you're always
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trying to it's that pivotal moment
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trying to think of who your identity is
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going to be or what your character is
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going to be I knew I didn't want to be
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uh a non Anonymous just because my plan
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was always to share my finan my all my
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details My Money numbers I want to be
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super transparent so I knew I needed to
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be anonymous to start so squirrel was
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just one of those funny animals that you
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can't help but chuckle at and it works
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in multiple ways with squirrels stashing
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away and saving for a rainy day so it
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just kind of worked out that way and
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I've had a few pretty cringe profile
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pictures over the last year and a half
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and I think I finally classed it up at
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the bow
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tie I think my first one was a literally
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a clip art or something off of Google
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with like it had like Watermark images
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all over it from whoever I ripped it off
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of that's how bad fi squirrel started in
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the beginning well we all know the game
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of the iterations of Twitter profiles so
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so nothing wrong with that it's ever
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ever evolving um but one thing you
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mentioned there was how staying
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Anonymous for the sake of being able to
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share all your details because that is I
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feel like one of the uh one of the
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highlights of your online presence or
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what you bring to the table is that you
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share your your details so I'm just
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curious from your point of view you know
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what's the thought process behind
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sharing all those details what do you
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hope people get out of those details
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from you well when I started I wasn't
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really thinking about other people and
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inspiring because I really didn't think
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anyone would care about my account so
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when I started I really just wanted to
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have what every uh Twitter user a lot of
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us start out kind of making that mistake
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of thinking it's an online diary I I
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thought I was going to
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do put it this way I was too lazy to do
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a Blog I before Twitter I follow
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bloggers for easily five six seven years
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before that and uh I've seen a lot of
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people's kind of financial journey of
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where they've started and what they've
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grown to just by clicking on their
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monthly updates on uh on their blogs but
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I just know that I don't have the
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discipline and the uh the efforts takes
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to continue with a Blog long form
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writing just to me is too daunting and
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Twitter seemed like a really easy way to
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break into it with whatever it is 240
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characters I can give a quick update and
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I don't have to feel like I'm chained to
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this job of a Blog so that's kind of how
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it started with the Twitter account is I
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just wanted to do kind of an online
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tracking extra level of what I've
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already been doing ex with Excel and
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then uh it just kind of grown from there
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I I really do love the numbers and the
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tracking I'm a I'm a self-proclaimed
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money nerd and I love love tracking this
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kind of stuff so it seemed like a good
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place to start sharing and in the
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beginning when you're looking for some
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kind of traction and getting some
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viewers numbers sell like when you when
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you post your numbers that kind of helps
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you build an account and grow an account
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so that fortunately worked in my favor
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that I had some decent enough numbers
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that that people took notice uh and
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since then I just try and uh be
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consistent by posting each month to not
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only keep myself accountable but now
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I've got people who uh are inspired by
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it and want to start doing the same I
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can vouch that long form content can be
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daunting as someone who has written a
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lot of long form content it uh gets
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timec consuming after a while and I can
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also vouch for the fact that once I
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started posting some of my hard numbers
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Sean I found that I had more people
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reaching out to me especially people who
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had known me for a while people who had
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known know me say growing up or from
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college they knew I was doing the best
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interest as a project but when they saw
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some of the numbers and they tied those
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numbers in with the behaviors that got
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me there that's when they reached out to
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me and said whoa now I see the power of
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what you're talking about whether it's
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budgeting or index funds and now I take
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you a little bit more seriously Jesse so
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I think there is a real power in numbers
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there and I wanted to ask you Sean you
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you you mentioned tracking uh about how
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you're tracking all your numbers how VI
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ently do you track your finances what
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does that process look like for you it's
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not as much as you'd think I uh I love
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to preach the numbers to other people
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because I truly do believe it's my been
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my secret to success for a family but it
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I don't ask a lot I what I do my money
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Marathon spreadsheet that I that I
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created and I use religiously for us
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it's it's literally 15 minutes a month
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uh the first oh I should say I ideally
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it's the first of the month it usually
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happens around the seventh or the
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whenever we get around to it but me and
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my wife sit down um I include her in the
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process because I want to make sure
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she's um knowing what's going on and
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aware of our numbers so we sit down
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together I've got the Excel sheet and
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the laptop she's got her phone and our
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just our banking app and she reads me
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the numbers and I just punch in all of
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our money in all of our money out update
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our net worth with our account numbers
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and it's like I said it's about 15
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minutes most of the work has been me
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going through 300 iterations of Excel
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spreadsheets nerding out and trying to
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make it better and improve upon and add
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graphs and just getting lost in that
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having fun with it but the maintenance
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of the of what we do as far as tracking
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is is very very minimal we just uh
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update that once a month just to make
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sure that we have to course correct
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anything or if we ever have a bad month
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we're aware of it it's front of mind and
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we're going to correct the next month
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afterwards knowing that we had a slip up
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um but as far as detailed tracking I'm
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I'm not a budget guy at all I uh
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apologize to all the hardcore personal
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finance people out there that maybe will
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shame me for this but like I've never
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been a budget person I've I've believed
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in always spending less than we make
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which is what we we TR stick to but
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beyond that I would never want myself to
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have to go through itemized budgets and
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restrictions and and uh that kind of
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detail so when I help people on Twitter
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or when I work with clients I really try
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and preach to them that I'm not going to
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be that budget Guru that's going to hold
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them to hard numbers I want to make sure
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that they're making the right moves on a
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large scale and I don't want to drill
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down those details that that's where you
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lose most people I think it was a
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learning experience for me Sean I for
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what it's worth I am I would guess like
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the 98th percentile when it comes to
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zealotry for budgeting and tracking but
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I wrote an article probably a year and a
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half ago now where I asked maybe 30
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other bloggers what they did and I found
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out way out on the one end of the
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spectrum and a lot of people did exactly
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what you do or very similar to what you
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do which is they check in once a month
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and all they do is they see where their
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accounts stand they compare them to the
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last month they see what progress
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they've made and that's it if they've
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lost shouldn't say lost money if they
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realize that they spent too much money
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well then they change their mindset
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moving forward and say okay maybe I need
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to pull it back a little bit but they're
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not really getting lost in the details
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they're really just doing that once a
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month check-in exactly and when you say
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you're on the one of the spectrum you're
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saying you're on the details love your
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numbers and budgets hold you accountable
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kind of side exactly so how much time
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how much how much time do you spend then
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is it is it a pretty detailed process so
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I use the bud uh the budgeting app
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called you need a budget or YNAB yab and
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I spend probably um 20 minutes a weekend
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would be my guess where I sit down on
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Saturday with my cup of coffee I pull up
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my bank account I pull up my fidelity
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account I pull up wab and I just punch
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in that week's um that week's
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expenditures I could sync wab up to my
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bank directly I just choose to do it
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manually guess move I think right I
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think I just I don't really want that
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connection to be there between the two
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and I'd rather just if I'm doing it
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manually it's kind of like I an error
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check live I'm with you on that I've got
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a strong opposition to over automating
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because a lot of people have asked me or
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my favorite apps and a lot of them
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mentioned Mint or wab where you can sync
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it up and I think you lose a lot of
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value of tracking when you remove
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yourself from the process when you're
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automating those things like you're kind
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of implying not only is there errors as
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far as the tracking data a lot of times
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they they categorize things wrong but
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beyond that I think if you rely too
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heavily on that automation it becomes a
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fun gimmick and a fun tool that maybe
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you breathe and glance at every once in
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a while when something's going bad but
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if you're not spending the time to be
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conscious of your numbers and categorize
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things yourself and and even just
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inputting that hard data by hand I think
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you lose that value of
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tracking I agree it it serves as an
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excellent reminder at times when I'm
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doing my tracking and I have to punch in
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that $70 purchase from some gimmicky
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gift shop and I kind of have to sit
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there and look at myself in the
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proverbial mirror and say oh yeah I kind
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of did waste 70 bucks on some stupid
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purchase there if it was automated I
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might not ever think about that purchase
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again but I have to relive it when I'm
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doing my budgeting and uh it's just one
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of many benefits that I feel I get from
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from doing it all myself but I feel like
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we need to put that into our mix maybe
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the occasional month maybe we should do
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that quarterly because I'm thinking
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about how many times we would have to
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punch in Amazon delivery of some kind
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and that might clue us into like oh man
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Death By A Thousand Cuts this is how
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it's happening it's to each their own
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Sean I think it's to each their own
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whenever makes you comfortable and uh at
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the end of the day I've seen some of
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your financial statements I've seen what
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you write on Twitter and I think you've
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got a pretty good Financial head on your
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shoulders and you're you're all set
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whether you're doing detailed budgeting
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or just once a month
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budgeting um yeah I wouldn't say we're
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hardcore fi like we
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are that Jessica from the fioneers on
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Meg Norman had a podcast and I did a
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quote a few week a few days ago last
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week on uh one of my tweets that Jess
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get mentioned and she said something
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along the lines of reaching fi allows
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you to make suboptimal decisions once
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you reach that level of of comfort I'm
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butchering the quote but essentially
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once you reach a certain level you don't
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need to over optimize and you can loosen
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things off a little bit and that's
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that's where I feel that we're at I I
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often joke with people that I need to
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get my fi card revoked
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because I've SE these people with these
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incredible savings rates and I'm just
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thinking oh my goodness like if I could
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do what they're doing I'd be I'd be
00:15:19
retired by now but live a little bit
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looser and our savings rate is hilarious
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compared to some of these people like
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we're nowhere near like again you've
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seen my reports like I I could have a
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month income for our family of
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145,000 but our expenses are also 12 or
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13,000 so that's not a very impressive
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margin when it comes to the FI Community
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but at the same time where we're at I
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don't feel that we need to be squeezing
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every last drop out of the out of the
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orange like we're we're looking to enjoy
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things and we're on a good pace and I
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have to remind myself constantly when I
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start to stress about money because even
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where I'm at I I have catched myself in
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moments where I'm thinking about how I
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could do better or how we could optimize
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more and me and my wife are always
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trying to remind ourselves that we're
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way ahead and we're young I'm 33 my
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wife's 31 we've got so much time that we
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don't need to deprive ourselves or
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squeeze any harder than we already are
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and arguably I I could lighten up the
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reain even more but I have a hard time
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like we all do
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sometimes it's such it's one of my
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favorite topics really is that that ven
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diagram intersection between spending
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saving and fulfillment I think would be
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the three things I would think about and
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how it looks a little bit different for
00:16:45
everybody uh but I definitely don't find
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myself way out on the extreme of some of
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the FI community of people you know
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making $100,000 per year and living off
00:16:57
of 20,000
00:16:59
per year and saving the other you know
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after taxes maybe they're saving you
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know 80% of their post tax income uh
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because like you said I want to live a
00:17:08
little bit it's just a matter one thing
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that the budgeting does let me do is
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really focus my money in areas that I
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know I'll get the most pleasure out of
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and sometimes try to trim the areas that
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I don't really care about as much but
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it's such an interesting idea and it's
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something that I push people to think
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about is really to try to understand
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where is your spending going to maximize
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your happiness and where is your
00:17:31
spending essentially not going to bring
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you any fulfillment whatsoever and you
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can maximize the former and minimize the
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latter yes exactly r ramit or RIT is all
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about that cutting ruthlessly on things
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that don't bring you that value and
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spending lavishly on the things that do
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because we always have to remind
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ourselves that money is a tool it's all
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it is like if you're sitting there
00:17:56
getting jazzed up because you got a big
00:17:57
number in your account that's not
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happiness that's just a digit on a
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screen like that money is meant to be
00:18:05
spent it's meant to be used and some
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people take that saying to the extreme
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but I think we need to remember what
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that really means like it's it's meant
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to be used to give you freedom and give
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you happiness so by all means don't feel
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guilty about if I spend 70 bucks on
00:18:21
whatever subscription like he used as an
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example if that's giv you value do that
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every month no no guilt ramit's that
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that phrase he just said from ramit seti
00:18:32
for any listeners unfamiliar ramit seti
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wrote he's a very well-known blogger who
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now is almost more of a personality
00:18:39
celebrity author in the personal finance
00:18:42
space he wrote a book called I will
00:18:43
teach you to be rich and just like Sean
00:18:47
said you know cut ruthlessly in some
00:18:49
areas so that you can spend in other
00:18:52
areas I wrote an article where I call
00:18:54
that bodal spending because I'm kind of
00:18:56
a math nerd and uh I'm I'm happy to say
00:18:59
I'm the first person in history to use
00:19:01
that phrase botal spending and so my
00:19:04
blog ranks number one on Google for that
00:19:06
phrase but the problem is nobody else on
00:19:09
Earth uses the term botal spending so
00:19:11
it's not like it's any traffic doesn't
00:19:14
have that marketing ring to it just not
00:19:15
quite the same no it doesn't it doesn't
00:19:18
that's okay someone in the world
00:19:19
appreciates that use of bodal but uh we
00:19:22
got to find them I I had a couple small
00:19:24
fans within the nerdy personal finance
00:19:26
Community but that's that's about it
00:19:29
um awesome Sean you mentioned at one
00:19:31
point in there you mentioned working
00:19:33
with some of your clients so I was just
00:19:35
wondering could you tell us a little bit
00:19:36
about you know who are you working with
00:19:38
or or what kind of clients those are and
00:19:41
and maybe how how that ties into the
00:19:43
advice you give on fi squirrel account
00:19:47
yeah of course so it's been kind of an
00:19:49
evolution of what I've done as far as
00:19:51
working with clients and coaching so
00:19:54
since I was 19 years old I uh I've been
00:19:58
reading every personal finance book
00:20:01
imaginable I've I I've probably read 300
00:20:03
400 500 I I've lost count I uh the first
00:20:07
one I read was The Wealthy Barber by
00:20:08
David Chilton it's a Canadian classic I
00:20:11
don't know how popular it is in the
00:20:12
States but up here it was written I
00:20:14
think it was written in 88 which was the
00:20:17
year of me so I feel like it's fitting
00:20:21
that it was my first book that really
00:20:22
lit the fire in me so after reading that
00:20:25
I just started consuming and since 19 uh
00:20:29
years old I've been
00:20:32
that money Mentor for all of my friends
00:20:35
for years that they'd come to me with
00:20:37
questions advice and then I think I was
00:20:41
I want to say I was 21 or 22 and my
00:20:44
brother got recorded by one of those
00:20:46
awful World Financial Group skey sales
00:20:50
Insurance type advisor businesses and he
00:20:53
asked if I would come help him for a
00:20:55
training session where his mentor would
00:20:58
would watch him interview me and ask me
00:21:00
questions and find give tips on how to
00:21:02
sell to the person and I sat there with
00:21:06
my brother asking me all these questions
00:21:08
and his quote unquote Mentor sales coach
00:21:10
essentially and after about 15 minutes
00:21:14
of them not being able to lead me
00:21:16
anywhere because I had the answer to
00:21:17
every little rabbit hole they tried to
00:21:20
take me down the guy shut down the
00:21:22
session and said why aren't you doing
00:21:24
this like why aren't you working as an
00:21:25
adviser and he started trying to recruit
00:21:27
me and kind of forgot about my brother I
00:21:29
F I felt bad for him and uh that was
00:21:32
like my first introduction an awful
00:21:35
introduction because again it was like a
00:21:36
salesy insurance type thing so he did
00:21:39
recruit me but I had this huge moral
00:21:43
dilemma because I knew from all of my
00:21:45
reading that it was an awful model and
00:21:48
it wasn't really what was best for the
00:21:49
client so I lasted with that group um of
00:21:53
advisers and I use that term loosely for
00:21:57
probably just under a year and I did
00:22:00
very very little sales I did a ton of
00:22:04
we'll call it pro bono coaching where I
00:22:06
made zero dollars for all of my time
00:22:08
spent but I was loving it I was really
00:22:11
really enjoying working with people and
00:22:14
then I started to get a lot of pressure
00:22:15
from this Mentor saying hey like you're
00:22:18
not producing anything you're not
00:22:19
selling anything and that was the point
00:22:22
where I decided to walk away and say you
00:22:24
know what this this business model is
00:22:27
not for me so from that point forward
00:22:29
probably for the last 10 plus years I've
00:22:32
worked as an independent Financial coach
00:22:35
and I use the term Financial coach
00:22:37
because again in the industry I don't
00:22:40
know what it's like in the States but in
00:22:41
Canada you can call yourself a thousand
00:22:43
different things and uh I don't feel
00:22:47
right calling myself a financial advisor
00:22:49
or planner because I'm not a certified
00:22:51
financial planner but what I really
00:22:54
really enjoy is sitting down with people
00:22:57
or
00:22:58
couples or whoever and really getting
00:23:01
into the nitty gree details and uh
00:23:04
anyone who's in the business knows that
00:23:06
unfortunately doing that stuff doesn't
00:23:08
really make you money it's selling
00:23:10
insurance it's getting a really big book
00:23:12
of
00:23:13
Investments um but I've done really well
00:23:16
with my my own Investments um and i' I
00:23:19
have a good regular job I work a
00:23:21
nine-to-five job for my local government
00:23:22
so this coaching that I do as a
00:23:24
financial coach is purely for my own
00:23:27
pass and my own enjoyment so I really
00:23:30
don't make much money doing it I I joke
00:23:32
with all my clients that take me for
00:23:34
dinner and and that's my that's my bill
00:23:37
or a lot of them I tell them
00:23:40
realistically what I want is I want
00:23:42
people to go on vacation with later in
00:23:44
life so let me help you let me get help
00:23:47
you get some money and get your house in
00:23:48
order and then when I go some warm
00:23:50
climate in the winters you can come join
00:23:52
me for a week or a month at a time so
00:23:54
that's my sell to them as far as what I
00:23:56
get paid is just helping them and
00:23:58
knowing that they're going to be better
00:24:00
off uh so I work with my clients uh
00:24:03
again going through essentially what I
00:24:05
do on fi squirrel I'm giving them
00:24:07
general advice I'm giving them help with
00:24:10
buying a car or getting set up with a
00:24:13
proper mortgage broker or buying the
00:24:15
right insurance and not getting ripped
00:24:17
off by one of those salesmen so I just
00:24:19
like to sit down and kind of comb
00:24:22
through their numbers trim up their
00:24:24
budgets I make them do a budget in the
00:24:26
beginning only once just so we can get
00:24:29
an idea of expenses and where things sit
00:24:33
um but I kind of go through those fine
00:24:34
details that I think most
00:24:36
advisors the good ones do but I don't
00:24:39
think many of them enjoy doing that's
00:24:41
kind of my niche of what I do working
00:24:43
with clients so right now it's just an
00:24:46
inperson business of what I do with
00:24:48
family friends referrals here where I
00:24:50
live um I reached have a few people
00:24:54
reach out to me on Twitter I try and
00:24:55
help but uh so far I haven't really
00:24:57
branched up much as far as online
00:24:59
coaching because I really only have so
00:25:00
much time to donate and I don't know if
00:25:03
I'll ever scale up or not I'm sure one
00:25:05
day if I ever fall on fire from my job
00:25:07
and stop working I'll spend a lot more
00:25:09
time coaching but where I'm at right now
00:25:11
I'm just kind of taking it slow I love
00:25:14
that story Sean it reminded me of some
00:25:17
good friends I have here in Rochester
00:25:19
who found themselves working at a large
00:25:24
advisory company where they had a lot of
00:25:26
pressure from their level management to
00:25:29
sell bloated Insurance products to
00:25:32
unknowing unsuspecting clients and it
00:25:35
really was no pun intended not in the
00:25:38
best interest of those clients there we
00:25:41
go there we go and uh and yeah they
00:25:45
ended up quitting they ended up uh six
00:25:47
of them got together and quit that
00:25:49
insurance company for lack of a better
00:25:50
term I'm calling them an insurance
00:25:52
company and they started their own
00:25:54
advisory where they had the freedom to
00:25:57
really think about what was best for
00:25:59
their clients and uh and they're loving
00:26:01
it and and they're it's still a smaller
00:26:03
company and kind of not quite a startup
00:26:06
but they're doing really well for
00:26:07
themselves they're much happier doing it
00:26:10
and uh and they're doing better for
00:26:12
their clients which is really ultimately
00:26:14
what's most important there yeah I love
00:26:17
hearing that I love hearing when people
00:26:19
have that strong moral compass and
00:26:21
unfortunately if you really need the
00:26:23
money some people they they they have to
00:26:27
go against their Compass because they
00:26:28
maybe need to make a living doing it
00:26:30
thankfully I still had my regular job
00:26:32
and I've done well with Investments and
00:26:34
I've been Frugal since I was a teenager
00:26:36
so I never had that pressure where I
00:26:38
felt I needed to make a sale um I'd much
00:26:42
rather see again people succeed it's
00:26:45
it's a thing born deep into me is that I
00:26:48
just I like seeing people succeed and
00:26:51
sometimes to me seeing a friend a family
00:26:53
member or a client win and do well and
00:26:56
be set up is worth way more than
00:26:58
whatever fee I could ever collect for
00:27:00
them doing some other business model
00:27:02
that is excellent to hear one thing I
00:27:05
like that you you you make those clients
00:27:07
especially if they're a new client or
00:27:09
maybe a beginner in money you actually
00:27:10
do make them sit down and do a budget
00:27:12
and just going back to the budgeting
00:27:14
topic we were talking about earlier
00:27:16
that's something that I push people
00:27:17
towards as well where I found that a lot
00:27:19
of more experienced people I've spoken
00:27:21
to have said yeah I I ran a budget for a
00:27:23
few years and then once I got used to it
00:27:25
I don't do all the details anymore
00:27:28
but for beginners who really have never
00:27:30
had any understanding of where their
00:27:31
money is going I think they get a lot of
00:27:34
benefit out of really going through the
00:27:36
details of that
00:27:37
budget yes I couldn't agree more the
00:27:40
getting an inventory of the numbers is a
00:27:43
necessity because how how can you plan
00:27:46
or how can you make any kind of
00:27:47
strategic adjustments if you don't know
00:27:50
where things are sitting at the current
00:27:52
state so you you need to take that
00:27:53
inventory and I've sat down with people
00:27:56
I kid you not as a couple that not only
00:27:59
don't know where their money goes as far
00:28:00
as spending I've had people that don't
00:28:02
know how much money they make in a month
00:28:05
they literally the bank account is like
00:28:07
the Iron Curtain they never look behind
00:28:09
and all they know is money gets dumped
00:28:11
in there and then money comes out of
00:28:13
there but they don't ever look they just
00:28:15
have this kind of like out of sight out
00:28:16
of mind approach to things so figuring
00:28:19
out how much is coming in each month and
00:28:21
how much goes out like the big reason
00:28:23
why I do it is everybody's everybody's
00:28:26
excited to invest it seems like when
00:28:28
they sit down with me they think I'm
00:28:30
gonna invest I'm G to get rich in the
00:28:31
market and to me there's so many
00:28:33
foundational things we need to go
00:28:35
through before we get there and a lot of
00:28:37
times when they want to invest I say
00:28:38
okay well before we get started what do
00:28:41
you what are your goals or what do you
00:28:42
have in mind and they start they jump
00:28:44
right into I'm gonna do two $200 a month
00:28:47
$200 a month and we're gonna I'm gonna
00:28:48
do that and I've seen a calculator I'm
00:28:50
gonna get rich and I say okay so how did
00:28:52
you get to $2,000 a month like where
00:28:54
does that number come from did you just
00:28:56
pull it out of the sky and then they
00:28:57
kind of give me a puzzled look I'm like
00:28:59
well do you know how much disposable
00:29:01
income you have and for some people $200
00:29:04
might be a ton it might be a stretch it
00:29:06
might be perfect or I have other clients
00:29:09
where for example I have one client he's
00:29:12
uh does oil field sales and he makes a
00:29:15
ridiculous amount of money and he his
00:29:19
company he works for pays for his truck
00:29:21
his insurance his cell phone his gas
00:29:24
like like he has got the ultimate job so
00:29:27
we sat down and we went through his
00:29:29
numbers and he was bringing in like
00:29:31
seven or 8,000 a month and his
00:29:34
expenses were like one or two so I said
00:29:38
DJ you're clearing cash flow $6,000 a
00:29:43
month and you want to invest 200 I think
00:29:46
we can do better and sometimes they need
00:29:49
a push because if you just pull out an
00:29:51
arbitrary number they probably are
00:29:53
really happy they're getting started
00:29:54
which is great but if you again if you
00:29:56
don't have that inventory of what goes
00:29:58
in what comes out you're really just
00:30:01
taking a wild yes and you could be doing
00:30:03
way better or you need to scale back one
00:30:05
of you don't want to obviously overspend
00:30:07
and leave yourself with nothing but I
00:30:09
find more often than not people really
00:30:11
underestimate what they're capable of
00:30:14
and I always try and drive home that
00:30:16
point of if you don't account for where
00:30:20
things are going as far as that excess
00:30:22
money you have the Gap as we call it in
00:30:24
personal finance if you don't account
00:30:26
for the gap it will just fall through
00:30:28
your fingers it will just dissipate
00:30:31
because if you don't give it a job or
00:30:33
give it an assignment or put it
00:30:35
somewhere you will find a way to
00:30:37
mindlessly spend it and often when we go
00:30:40
through that very first budget or cash
00:30:43
flow exercise they're usually in shock
00:30:46
that I make x amount of dollars and I
00:30:49
spend x amount and I should have one to
00:30:53
two to three or a couple hundred they
00:30:55
should have so much money excess but
00:30:58
they have no um recollection of where
00:31:01
it's been going or how they don't have
00:31:03
more of it because they've never given
00:31:05
it a job or giving it a
00:31:07
thought uh routine listeners of the
00:31:09
podcast are going to roll their eyes as
00:31:11
I say for the 38th time in 27 episodes
00:31:15
that you can't manage what you don't
00:31:18
measure it's a famous quote from Peter
00:31:20
Drucker and it's something I write about
00:31:22
on the blog all the time it's something
00:31:23
that I apply to budgeting just like you
00:31:25
just did there Sean you can't manage
00:31:28
your finances unless you are doing some
00:31:30
sort of measurement of those finances
00:31:33
something just as simple as money coming
00:31:34
in money going out and therefore how
00:31:36
much disposable income do I have you
00:31:39
have to be measuring that if you want to
00:31:40
manage and improve your finances I don't
00:31:43
know if you noticed when you when you
00:31:45
emailed my business account but that's
00:31:47
in my signature under my name it's what
00:31:50
what how I put it as what but gets
00:31:52
measured gets managed it's the exact
00:31:53
same idea people need to have a Baseline
00:31:56
and they need to have some form of
00:31:59
measurement or tracking because what's
00:32:01
out of mind what's out of sight it's
00:32:04
never going to work for you but you
00:32:06
heard it here first folks or maybe you
00:32:08
didn't but at least you heard it here
00:32:09
twice so let's go back to these net
00:32:11
worth statements that you that you share
00:32:13
with us on Twitter and that people kind
00:32:15
of can keep track of on a regular basis
00:32:17
can you talk us through a little bit
00:32:18
about what the constituents of your net
00:32:21
worth are and which Investments you
00:32:23
choose to invest in those that you've
00:32:25
ignored over time and and give us the
00:32:27
reason why sure so back when I started I
00:32:31
was a mutual fund guy when I was 19 and
00:32:34
I got into some individual stocks and
00:32:36
I've mainly been in the market um but
00:32:38
probably for the first three four years
00:32:41
from 19 to 22 is I built up a good NES
00:32:45
TIG and I used that money to buy my
00:32:47
first property I moved out finally when
00:32:51
I was 24 I was in my last year of
00:32:54
University and uh it was finally time
00:32:56
for me to kind kind of leave the coupe
00:32:58
so I I bought a condo I was a new build
00:33:01
condo moved in and I noticed it was a
00:33:03
brand new building and there was no one
00:33:05
beside me and I was coming home one day
00:33:07
and I heard a bunch of little yippy dogs
00:33:10
just going to town downstairs on the
00:33:11
main floor and I just thought oh I would
00:33:14
hate to have someone like that move in
00:33:16
next door to me and then for some reason
00:33:18
it clicked that hey maybe I can buy next
00:33:21
door to me and control who lives there
00:33:24
so I uh I did some homework that night
00:33:26
and ran some numbers called the broker
00:33:28
and it it turned out I don't know how I
00:33:30
qualified as a part-time working
00:33:32
University student to buy my second
00:33:34
property next door shows you how strict
00:33:36
the mortgage rules were before before it
00:33:39
should hit the fan but anyway I uh I
00:33:41
bought uh the place next to me so that
00:33:43
was my first rental property uh was next
00:33:45
door uh fast forward a few years I uh
00:33:49
started got married started a family we
00:33:51
bought a house and uh the market wasn't
00:33:55
great so like most people I think half
00:33:58
the real estate people we became
00:33:59
accidental landlords again and we just
00:34:01
kept our other place so I have two
00:34:03
condos side by side that I rent so
00:34:05
that's part of my net worth as far as
00:34:07
the hard assets go is I have my house
00:34:10
that I live in and then my two condos
00:34:13
that I rent out otherwise um all the
00:34:15
rest of my net worth numbers are made up
00:34:18
of various registered and non-registered
00:34:21
accounts between me and my wife uh I
00:34:23
combine all our finances together
00:34:25
everything we do is as a group as a
00:34:27
couple our bank accounts all the same
00:34:29
that was a glorious day when we finally
00:34:32
merged our bank accounts I hated the
00:34:34
idea of you pay the utilities I pay the
00:34:37
rent or trying to keep tabs now the joke
00:34:40
is always who's getting dinner tonight
00:34:42
because it all comes out of the same
00:34:43
account so it's much much easier that
00:34:45
way I know everybody has a preference
00:34:47
that's our preference is to combine
00:34:48
everything so that's what our net worth
00:34:50
numbers are made up of but over the
00:34:52
years uh to be honest when it comes to
00:34:55
that real estate side I've been very
00:34:57
fortunate I've had great tenants um to
00:35:01
me it still work after realizing how
00:35:04
hands off and passive and easy and
00:35:07
liquid uh Market Investments can be
00:35:11
that's really opened my eyes to real
00:35:12
estate I know there's a lot of real
00:35:13
estate Bulls out there that that love
00:35:15
the game and props to them but to me
00:35:18
there's the few of those drawbacks of
00:35:21
liquidity being the biggest one for me
00:35:23
if I want to sell it could take weeks
00:35:27
months uh depends on the market and I'm
00:35:30
paying realtor fees I'm paying legal
00:35:32
fees to close and transfer title there's
00:35:34
all these factors where with an index
00:35:37
fund if I want out I'm out I'm out
00:35:40
within a minute it's it's it's almost
00:35:42
instantaneous and uh just having that
00:35:45
freedom to be nimble if I had to or to
00:35:49
adjust anything and again there's no bad
00:35:53
tenants in my index fund there's no one
00:35:55
potentially that's going to trash my
00:35:56
play place or again I've been very
00:35:58
fortunate and lucky but uh I take very
00:36:01
good care of my place uh both my rentals
00:36:04
so when someone moves out I'm going in
00:36:06
there and taking a day off work to patch
00:36:08
all the walls put a Fresh coat on
00:36:10
everything I'm crazy type a clean freak
00:36:14
that's how I deal with stress so I'm
00:36:15
going in there and scrubbing Gro lines
00:36:17
and I when people move in it's it's as
00:36:20
good as a brand new condo every time so
00:36:22
when I have turnover it's always a big
00:36:25
pain in the butt I just got actually
00:36:27
were this last week that one of my
00:36:28
places is going to be turning over in
00:36:30
September and I'm already dreading the
00:36:33
two-day process of me going in and
00:36:35
making it brand new again so I might
00:36:37
need to assess soon about exiting the
00:36:40
real estate game but where I am in uh in
00:36:42
Alberta here in Canada it's oil country
00:36:45
and oil hasn't been kind to Alberta the
00:36:48
last few years and real estate in turn
00:36:50
hasn't been strong so I'm kind of in
00:36:53
that tough spot of do I just rip off the
00:36:55
Band-Aid and sell and recoup whatever I
00:36:58
can or do I fill it with a new tenant
00:37:01
and start the dance all over again so
00:37:04
given uh given real estate's work I I
00:37:07
think ideally over the next few years
00:37:09
I'm going to start to exit and then go
00:37:11
purely to Market where it's a lot more
00:37:13
passive and hands-off I know uh 5 AM
00:37:16
Joel I'm not sure if you know who 5 AM
00:37:18
Joel is but I do I do so so he was on
00:37:21
episode seven of this podcast and he had
00:37:24
mentioned how he and his wife recently
00:37:27
got out of I think one or two of their
00:37:29
real estate Investments and might be
00:37:31
moving further and further in that
00:37:33
direction for exactly the reasons you
00:37:35
just stated Sean uh the stress that can
00:37:38
come with whether it's someone moving
00:37:40
out whether it's someone calling in the
00:37:42
night or even if it's a great tenant
00:37:44
who's never given you a problem just
00:37:46
that little voice in the back of your
00:37:47
head that always is on alert and is
00:37:50
always adding a little bit stress to
00:37:52
your life is that worth it maybe as
00:37:54
you're coming up through the net worth
00:37:56
ranks it is worth it but eventually you
00:37:58
hit some point where maybe you're at
00:38:00
that point Sean where the reward isn't
00:38:02
really worth the risk anymore I think
00:38:05
what people fall in love with real
00:38:07
estate with is the leverage I I struggle
00:38:10
with this with with Market investing
00:38:12
investing you can leverage your
00:38:14
portfolio just the same as real estate
00:38:16
and it's borrowing to buy an asset that
00:38:19
you're speculating is going to go up
00:38:21
it's the exact same as real estate but
00:38:23
people have a lot more faith in real
00:38:24
estate because it's a lot less volatile
00:38:26
it's hard asset it's can seen as it's
00:38:29
seen as much safer and don't get me
00:38:31
wrong I'm not uh vouching for leveraging
00:38:34
your Market portfolio at all but I think
00:38:37
people fall in love with that leverage
00:38:39
of real estate because when you are
00:38:40
moving up the net worth ranks it it
00:38:43
helps you to really juice your returns
00:38:46
when you're at the lower end of that and
00:38:47
you want to start getting faster growth
00:38:50
you can put in those low down payments
00:38:53
and get that get the high loan value and
00:38:56
really get a strong return on your money
00:38:59
uh and it can really help you grow that
00:39:00
net worth quickly um I think that's part
00:39:02
of why again where I'm at now I don't
00:39:05
really need that extra leverage and I'd
00:39:07
rather not have that risk of tenants and
00:39:11
to be honest if I could go do it all
00:39:13
over again I just wouldn't do condos
00:39:16
because I have two condos side by side
00:39:18
and everybody knows someone who has a
00:39:20
horr story about a special assessment of
00:39:23
some kind and if anything happened
00:39:25
heaven forbid and my building I'm
00:39:27
getting a double Bill and uh my wife is
00:39:30
more the emotional side of our money
00:39:33
relationship and she's never been a fan
00:39:35
of our rental property she's always
00:39:37
begging every time someone moves out
00:39:39
please please please let's sell it and
00:39:41
I'm the one running the num saying ah
00:39:43
it's cash flow positive it's an asset
00:39:46
it's paying down I'm giving logic logic
00:39:48
logic and she's more on the side of like
00:39:50
you know what I just it stresses me out
00:39:52
I don't like it so I think that's why
00:39:54
ultimately we are going to go towards uh
00:39:57
divesting from them just because again
00:40:00
with a condo you get condo fees that go
00:40:03
up almost it's inevitable I was
00:40:05
president of my condo board for six
00:40:07
years and I did everything within my
00:40:09
power to keep those fees low but you
00:40:12
can't fight insurance premiums you can't
00:40:15
fight damages and maintenance and
00:40:17
routine things and it just it just goes
00:40:19
up whereas I feel like people that do
00:40:21
single family housing or something
00:40:22
that's Standalone that's an asset in
00:40:26
land that's yours forever and I think no
00:40:28
matter what those ones will do a lot
00:40:30
better as opposed to being at the mercy
00:40:32
of multiple people in a condo type
00:40:36
situation that is very interesting risk
00:40:39
reward calculations that that you're
00:40:41
taking on uh my brother and I have
00:40:44
frequently talked about if we want to go
00:40:46
into something similar it might not be a
00:40:48
condo but it might be a rental house say
00:40:50
here in Rochester New York and and
00:40:53
that's one of the cons what you just
00:40:56
that story you laid out is something
00:40:57
that we have in our con column which is
00:41:01
penants or uh things that are completely
00:41:04
out of your control is maybe the best
00:41:06
umbrella that covers all of those
00:41:08
potential risks tax assessments natural
00:41:12
disasters bad tenants that is the
00:41:15
landlord's worst nightmare and if we're
00:41:17
just coming into it as amateurs and it's
00:41:19
kind of something we're doing on the
00:41:20
side is that something that we're really
00:41:22
prepared for so it's a question we're
00:41:24
asking ourselves and probably question
00:41:26
that any potential real estate investor
00:41:28
out there needs to ask
00:41:30
themselves yeah it's definitely not for
00:41:32
everyone but it has its place as you're
00:41:35
talking about you and your brother doing
00:41:36
an investment I think about the day that
00:41:39
my kids uh get to University or
00:41:43
somewhere along those lines where I
00:41:45
think I want to help them thinking back
00:41:48
if I could have done a house hack
00:41:49
earlier in my life oh man I would be all
00:41:51
over it if I knew about that I I
00:41:53
probably didn't start really getting
00:41:55
deep into that kind of stuff until later
00:41:56
in my 20s uh when I was already into a
00:41:59
deep relationship with my now wife who's
00:42:01
very much would never do tennis she
00:42:03
would never be down for it but I think
00:42:05
about my bachelor days and oh like house
00:42:08
hacking is it's it's a hack it's a life
00:42:10
hack I think it's such a genius thing
00:42:12
and seeing as um housing costs and
00:42:16
living expenses are everyone's biggest
00:42:18
number I think as a bachelor if you're
00:42:21
able to find a good tenant or friends
00:42:24
it's crazy not to consider something
00:42:26
like a house hack it's a lot of people
00:42:28
when I sit down and go through their
00:42:30
numbers they either have I have a few
00:42:33
single friends that own big houses like
00:42:35
three four bedroom houses and it's just
00:42:38
them and I'm always suggesting have you
00:42:39
ever considered maybe having a tenant or
00:42:42
or people that again pay an outrageous
00:42:45
uh rent somewhere and realistically
00:42:47
they'd be far better off if they were
00:42:48
able to swallow having a tenant it's all
00:42:51
about finding the right fit obviously
00:42:53
and I'm not one to speak because again
00:42:56
logically I say I would love it but
00:42:58
being as type a clean freak as I am I
00:43:00
probably could never coexist with like
00:43:03
98% of the population I think back of
00:43:05
all my days of Lacrosse and sharing
00:43:08
hotel rooms with teams on trips and just
00:43:10
having my half of the room Perfection
00:43:12
and the other half an absolute disaster
00:43:14
and I just think oh I could never live
00:43:16
with these guys so house hacking well
00:43:19
one solution for you sea might be like a
00:43:21
a duplex or a Triplex or it would have
00:43:22
been the solution potentially for a
00:43:24
bachelor Shan but house hacking for
00:43:27
those who don't know and fill in the
00:43:29
holes here for me Sean is is that you
00:43:31
act as the landlord in some way and the
00:43:35
tenants that you have their rent covers
00:43:38
the entire expense of the house so you
00:43:42
as a landlord essentially get to live
00:43:43
there for free so it might be two two
00:43:46
sides of a duplex it might be a
00:43:48
four-bedroom house where you rent out
00:43:50
three of the bedrooms but either way
00:43:52
your tenants are paying the vast
00:43:54
majority if not the entire mortgage on
00:43:57
your behalf y exactly you've nailed it
00:44:00
you're able to subsidize that largest
00:44:02
cost of living by having a mutual
00:44:05
benefit of taking on friends or people
00:44:07
you don't mind living with and helping
00:44:09
them subsidize your living expenses it's
00:44:12
it's a beautiful thing yeah yeah
00:44:14
especially as as a young person looking
00:44:15
to grow that net worth it really does
00:44:17
work and I think we have mutual friends
00:44:19
on on Twitter and other places who are
00:44:22
who are doing that as either young
00:44:24
Bachelors bachelorettes or young coupl
00:44:27
and uh it's a way to really really
00:44:29
catapult your your net worth growth in
00:44:31
your 20s and
00:44:32
30s uh all right Sean let's go into the
00:44:35
famous rapid fire questions and the
00:44:38
first one is what's the last material
00:44:41
object or personal luxury that you spent
00:44:43
$100 or more on it's a great question uh
00:44:49
I am trying to think I don't spend a lot
00:44:51
of money on myself typically but
00:44:54
something that's coming to mind uh
00:44:56
we bought this summer so lucky my wife
00:45:00
made a unilateral decision she bought
00:45:02
one of those inflatable pools for a
00:45:04
backyard and it could not have worked
00:45:07
out better I at the time I was very
00:45:10
skeptical and nowhere could I have seen
00:45:13
the heat Dome that Canada has been
00:45:15
dealing with I'm sure some of the States
00:45:17
has been seeing as well but we've had
00:45:18
temperatures that are just absurd like
00:45:21
38 degrees 40 degrees celus which I no
00:45:26
Fahrenheit 100 over 100 for sure and
00:45:29
that's not typical for where we live so
00:45:31
having that pool out on our deck in the
00:45:33
backyard has been incredible and it was
00:45:36
like 120 bucks from Walmart and I was
00:45:39
really skeptical on the quality of his
00:45:41
thing but I can tell you it has been the
00:45:44
best 120 bucks we have spent in a couple
00:45:47
of years I'd say I love that and for any
00:45:50
listeners curious uh 38 Celsius is about
00:45:53
100 Fahrenheit exactly 40 cius is about
00:45:56
104 and that is Toasty next question
00:46:00
Sean what's one good habit you're trying
00:46:02
to form or a bad habit that you were
00:46:04
trying to break as far as good habits go
00:46:08
uh I'm always looking to read so last
00:46:12
year I'm a big spreadsheet nerd and last
00:46:14
year in 2020 uh again I didn't even see
00:46:17
covid coming but it just worked out
00:46:19
perfectly that I made this impressive
00:46:22
spreadsheet of habits and I had what was
00:46:25
called my weekly rhythms where each week
00:46:27
I had I think I had like seven or eight
00:46:29
different habits of things I actually
00:46:31
checked off on Excel on my phone each
00:46:34
day as like a confirmation I completed
00:46:37
and reading 30 pages a day was my big
00:46:40
thing for
00:46:41
2020 and I didn't just stop at 30 pages
00:46:44
I would read Way Beyond 30 was the
00:46:47
minimum but once you get going you can't
00:46:48
stop yourself so I probably read 40
00:46:52
books last year and it was just the year
00:46:54
of self-improvement it was was wonderful
00:46:57
uh and then this year of course like
00:46:59
most Sprints when you're tracking
00:47:01
something unfortunately when you hit the
00:47:02
Finish Line sometimes you stop in
00:47:05
2021 I have not been reading so that's
00:47:08
something I think I definitely need to
00:47:09
get back into just get back into that 30
00:47:12
pages a day type thing to get me to get
00:47:14
the ball rolling to build some momentum
00:47:16
because yeah I really enjoy reading and
00:47:20
self-improvement and uh I think it's
00:47:22
something that's going to help me a lot
00:47:24
and uh you and me both in terms of
00:47:26
trying to reform the reading habit I
00:47:28
used to be a voracious reader I still
00:47:30
love reading I still buy books as if I
00:47:32
were a voracious reader which means my
00:47:35
my two read pile is higher than ever and
00:47:38
I just need to get back into it I need
00:47:40
to get back into it see we need to
00:47:42
revoke your fi card get the library app
00:47:44
Libby is where it's at those ebooks oh
00:47:47
just Chef kiss I just download a book
00:47:49
and if I happen to not finish it and it
00:47:51
gets returned I just take it back out
00:47:52
again I actually maybe I should look
00:47:55
into that because my little hack that
00:47:57
I've been using recently is a it's a
00:48:00
website called Better World Books where
00:48:02
I've been able to get used books
00:48:04
delivered to my house on average for
00:48:07
about $4 do a book and then uh at least
00:48:11
I get to keep the hard copy I get to
00:48:12
take notes in the hard copy and it's
00:48:14
mine forever if I if I so choose so
00:48:17
that's been working out pretty well for
00:48:19
me but still at the same time you know
00:48:20
it's easy for me to spend 50 bucks on uh
00:48:23
on 10 used books and then some of them I
00:48:26
read some of them I don't but I'll look
00:48:27
into the Libby app you're not the first
00:48:29
person to have mentioned it to me and it
00:48:30
sounds really cool it's a lifesaver I
00:48:33
feel like if I bought books I would do
00:48:35
it more for the aesthetic of having just
00:48:37
a beautiful bookshelf I think of uh Owen
00:48:41
on Twitter what's his hand what's his
00:48:43
hand he's got unleash unleash the not
00:48:46
and he's just got these book pictures
00:48:48
it's like book porn and I look at it I'm
00:48:49
like oh this is amazing just the colors
00:48:52
so yeah I feel like I would probably
00:48:54
fall into that I have a hard rle rule
00:48:56
that I will only buy a hard cover book
00:48:59
if it's something worthy of reading
00:49:00
again that I want to keep so I the books
00:49:02
that I do have are things that I know I
00:49:06
will go back I have a couple books that
00:49:07
I I read once a year just because I I
00:49:10
really enjoy going back they're that
00:49:12
good to me that I need a hard copy but
00:49:14
for the most part the ebook one and done
00:49:17
when you've read as many personal
00:49:19
finance and self-development books after
00:49:21
a while some of them don't stand out as
00:49:23
much as others so it it makes it a
00:49:24
little bit easier to have that hard rule
00:49:26
of only buying the best uh what's your
00:49:29
favorite Financial tool or app or
00:49:31
service and why is it is it unfair to
00:49:35
say my own money Marathon spreadsheet no
00:49:39
no it's not unfair at all that is by by
00:49:42
far I guess I've I've tried other stuff
00:49:45
but like I mentioned before if it gets
00:49:47
too fancy and too automated I find it
00:49:50
loses value and to me putting in that 15
00:49:54
minutes a month of punching in my
00:49:55
numbers and going through that practice
00:49:58
keeps everything front and center and it
00:50:00
makes sure that I'm in align with
00:50:02
exactly what I'm aiming to achieve so I
00:50:06
find a lot of tools just remove that
00:50:08
that value for me or I've gotten
00:50:11
frustrated when they don't track things
00:50:14
correctly again being type A having to
00:50:16
go back and correct like 47 entries
00:50:18
because they put down something as
00:50:20
insurance or property when it's
00:50:21
something else that always drives me a
00:50:22
little bit nuts as far as apps go so
00:50:25
yeah my money Marathon spreadsheet and
00:50:27
again I just try and keep it as simple
00:50:29
as possible I don't know if you've ever
00:50:31
taken a look at it but it's it's as
00:50:32
simple as all the money that came in
00:50:35
that month one column all the money that
00:50:37
went out that month toal up spits out a
00:50:41
redder agreed are you cash flow positive
00:50:43
or you cash flow negative and that's as
00:50:45
simple as it is that's it's almost too
00:50:48
simple where people maybe don't see
00:50:50
value because they're thinking where's
00:50:51
the bells and whistles but to me it I
00:50:54
don't want to distract from the most
00:50:56
important thing and to me it's that cash
00:50:57
flow so even as my net worth numbers
00:51:00
have climbed and my accounts have grown
00:51:03
I'm always trying to keep myself
00:51:05
grounded in the cash flow because those
00:51:08
net worth numbers are by and large
00:51:11
Beyond My Control it's the market is
00:51:13
going to do what it's going to do this
00:51:15
last month has been vicious for a lot of
00:51:18
people and accounts have dropped and
00:51:22
maybe it would really rattle a person to
00:51:24
me doesn't bother me at all because
00:51:26
that's all future Sean future family of
00:51:30
ours money and it's not really a concern
00:51:33
of mine to me I need to make sure that
00:51:35
this month I'm bringing in more money
00:51:37
than I'm spending and I'm controlling
00:51:39
the controllables and taking care of
00:51:41
what I can I haven't taken a look at the
00:51:44
money Marathon spreadsheet but I will
00:51:47
after we're done here Sean and in case
00:51:48
any listeners want to is that something
00:51:51
that that they can get their hands on y
00:51:53
it's just on my uh my Twitter bio I'm
00:51:57
Fiore squirrel and it's just a gumroad
00:52:01
link and it's a free download and I have
00:52:05
no intention if anyone's concerned of
00:52:08
monetizing my Twitter or creating a big
00:52:10
email spam list I literally just put it
00:52:12
on there so whoever wants it can just
00:52:14
click on it and take what they want from
00:52:17
it excellent well we'll put a link to
00:52:19
that in the show notes all right Sean we
00:52:22
actually did have one question coming
00:52:23
from Twitter our mutual friend Adam sha
00:52:26
who was here last week on the best
00:52:28
interest podcast Adam asked what did fi
00:52:31
squirrel want to be when he was younger
00:52:34
oh good question digging deep into the
00:52:37
history of fi
00:52:38
squirrel well depending on what age you
00:52:41
asked me I I probably would have ranged
00:52:43
from anywhere from a professional
00:52:44
lacrosse player who probably would have
00:52:46
made next to no money as a professional
00:52:49
athlete or um your classic firefighter
00:52:54
probably I uh that was kind of a dream
00:52:56
of mine back before I met my wife and I
00:52:59
I was going through my business degree
00:53:00
in University and I met her right at the
00:53:03
end of my degree and she was just
00:53:05
starting her Nursing degree and she
00:53:06
convinced me not to do fire because as a
00:53:10
shift working firan and a shiftworking
00:53:12
nurse she was scared what the family
00:53:14
Dynamic would look like so she convinced
00:53:16
me to stay at my uh my government job
00:53:18
which I've been dying a slow death at
00:53:21
right now and uh recently we actually
00:53:23
recently uh rekindled my dream of
00:53:26
becoming a firefighter I think I'm uh
00:53:28
considering a career change now and
00:53:30
looking to apply and kind of make that
00:53:33
jump I don't know if I'm too old 33 is
00:53:35
not that old but as far as firefighter
00:53:37
years I maybe have skipped my prime of
00:53:39
my days but that might be in the cards
00:53:41
for uh for me in the next few years here
00:53:44
wow that is very interesting and uh you
00:53:47
made me think of something I'm GNA send
00:53:49
you a little gift after this not sure if
00:53:51
you'll like it or not but but we'll see
00:53:53
I'll send you a little gift
00:53:56
oh the suspense is gonna kill
00:53:58
me love it and the last question for you
00:54:02
Sean what message would you put on a
00:54:05
billboard to share with the world and
00:54:09
why okay so my billboard uh I'm gonna
00:54:13
try and keep it not too platitude is uh
00:54:19
but my account typically focuses on
00:54:21
money or being positive and just being a
00:54:24
good person and and as important as I
00:54:25
think money is I'd rather keep my
00:54:27
message about being a good person so my
00:54:31
billboard would say something along the
00:54:33
lines
00:54:35
of be the person that you needed in your
00:54:39
deepest darkest
00:54:40
moment so I just think that a lot of us
00:54:44
at different points in our life have
00:54:46
really needed help we've needed a mentor
00:54:50
or a support or someone that's there to
00:54:53
to lift Lift us up
00:54:55
and I think if you can take all of those
00:54:58
characteristics of what you really
00:54:59
needed and apply it to being that person
00:55:02
for someone
00:55:03
else uh I believe in a world of Karma
00:55:06
and I think just being that support for
00:55:09
someone you will have that given back to
00:55:13
you one day when you truly need it and
00:55:15
even if you never get that given back I
00:55:17
think just giving that gift to someone
00:55:19
of serving and being there for them is
00:55:23
what the world really needs we just need
00:55:25
more of people who
00:55:28
are what's the term when you're giving
00:55:31
with no expectation of getting anything
00:55:33
back altruistic altruism I studied in
00:55:36
University in one of my philosophy 101
00:55:38
or 102 classes and it really really
00:55:41
stuck with me that philosophy of giving
00:55:44
without any expectation of reciprocity I
00:55:46
think if more people took that approach
00:55:49
and lived a life of service and helping
00:55:52
other people it would truly trans form
00:55:55
everything I think of uh Ty Romper how
00:55:58
do you say his last name tot or Todd yep
00:56:00
he is just my one of my favorite I I
00:56:03
rant about him probably bi-weekly I'll
00:56:05
say something about him on Twitter but I
00:56:07
truly think if the world was full of
00:56:10
ties my goodness like this would be just
00:56:13
an amazing place it is an amazing place
00:56:15
to live but I look at a guy like that
00:56:18
and he is I kid you not probably my
00:56:20
number one follow because he just
00:56:22
inspires me every day to breathe energy
00:56:26
into people to be positive to help
00:56:29
others to be a good dad like I just I
00:56:31
can't say enough about people like that
00:56:33
and I think more people need to follow
00:56:36
Tai and start trying to be their best
00:56:39
version of that kind of person follow Ty
00:56:42
follow Shawn because sea I think you
00:56:44
have that same energy so Sean you
00:56:47
mentioned it before but how can people
00:56:49
reach out to you anywhere on Twitter DMS
00:56:53
is probably the best place uh you can
00:56:55
reach out for any kind of uh advice or
00:56:58
coaching questions or anything I've
00:57:00
talked about here I'm I'm glad to expand
00:57:02
upon H now that I've had my first
00:57:04
podcast with you thank you so much for
00:57:06
having me on on now that I've done this
00:57:08
I feel like it's a little less
00:57:10
intimidating and uh I just got to say
00:57:13
what you do on your spaces what you do
00:57:16
with your group your panel is just I'm
00:57:19
so jealous of what you guys got going
00:57:22
and if if uh if I could ever find the
00:57:24
time to commit I would just love to do
00:57:27
what you guys do Talking Shop Talking
00:57:29
Money personal finances Is My Jam you
00:57:32
guys are my people so I'm sure if I'm
00:57:35
ever able to catch the see my time
00:57:36
Zone's tricky because where I am a lot
00:57:38
of times when you guys are running it
00:57:39
it's right during dinner time I got two
00:57:42
crazy kids and my house is just it's
00:57:44
just not conducive to chatting over
00:57:47
spaces regularly but if I can ever jump
00:57:49
on I'm going to request that mic and I'm
00:57:51
going to throw in whatever piece I can
00:57:53
to contribute to the Mass Masterpiece
00:57:55
what you guys run every week I just love
00:57:56
what you guys do thank you so much I'm
00:57:59
sure the other guys will hear this but
00:58:01
if not I'll be sure to tell them and I
00:58:03
think we'd love to see you there we'd
00:58:04
love to have you on thank you Sean fi
00:58:07
squirrel huge Fanboy huge
00:58:09
[Music]
00:58:15
Fanboy another huge shout out to fi
00:58:19
squirrel thank you for coming on the
00:58:21
best interest podcast squirrel that was
00:58:22
an awesome conversation I'm excited to
00:58:24
have have you back and if you want to
00:58:26
connect with FIS squirrel I've included
00:58:28
his links his Twitter profile in the
00:58:31
show notes if you want to reach out to
00:58:33
me you can email me Jesse bestin
00:58:36
interest. blog or follow me on Twitter
00:58:38
where my username is bestest uncore JC
00:58:42
if you find this valuable and you want
00:58:44
to give back there are three easy free
00:58:46
options for you always free absolutely
00:58:49
free you can subscribe to the best
00:58:51
interest podcast from the app you're
00:58:52
listening to right now or you can leave
00:58:55
a rating or a review of the podcast let
00:58:57
me know what you think I love love
00:58:59
hearing back from you guys we can
00:59:02
continue to invest in one another
00:59:03
because as Ben Franklin said an
00:59:06
investment in knowledge pays the best
00:59:07
interest sharing with others that is
00:59:10
investing in their knowledge so thank
00:59:13
you guys thank you for listening to
00:59:14
episode 28 of the best interest
00:59:23
podcast

Podspun Insights

In this episode of The Best Interest Podcast, Jesse Kramer welcomes the enigmatic Shan, known as the FI Squirrel, to dive deep into the world of personal finance. The conversation kicks off with Shan sharing his unique journey into financial independence, including the whimsical origin of his squirrel moniker, which symbolizes saving and preparation for the future. As they explore the nuances of tracking finances, Shan reveals his minimalist approach to budgeting, emphasizing the importance of simplicity over complexity. He and Jesse discuss the emotional weight of financial tracking, the balance between saving and enjoying life, and the often-overlooked power of sharing personal financial details online.

Listeners are treated to a blend of humor and insight as Shan recounts his experiences with real estate investments, the challenges of being a landlord, and the allure of passive income through market investments. The duo also touches on the philosophy of spending money wisely to maximize happiness, and the importance of being transparent about one’s financial journey. As the episode wraps up, Shan shares his thoughts on altruism and the impact of being a supportive figure in others' lives, leaving listeners inspired to take charge of their financial futures while also uplifting those around them.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most satisfying
  • 85
    Most heartwarming
  • 85
    Best overall
  • 80
    Most inspiring

Episode Highlights

  • The Best Interest Podcast
    Hosted by Jesse Kramer, this podcast discusses today's best ideas in personal finance and investing.
    @ 01m 15s
    January 29, 2024
  • Meet the FI Squirrel
    Introducing Sean, a financial independence specialist who shares his journey anonymously on Twitter.
    @ 03m 19s
    January 29, 2024
  • The Power of Numbers
    Sharing financial details can inspire others and help build accountability.
    “I really do love the numbers and the tracking; I'm a self-proclaimed money nerd.”
    @ 07m 05s
    January 29, 2024
  • The Journey of a Financial Coach
    Sean shares his evolution from reading personal finance books to becoming a financial coach.
    “I've been reading every personal finance book imaginable since I was 19.”
    @ 19m 54s
    January 29, 2024
  • The Importance of Budgeting
    Budgeting is essential for understanding your finances and planning for the future.
    “Getting an inventory of the numbers is a necessity.”
    @ 27m 40s
    January 29, 2024
  • The Real Estate Dilemma
    Sean discusses the challenges of being a landlord and the stress of managing properties.
    “Do I just rip off the Band-Aid and sell?”
    @ 36m 50s
    January 29, 2024
  • The Risks of Condos
    Condos come with inevitable fees and risks that can be stressful for owners.
    “I just wouldn’t do condos.”
    @ 39m 13s
    January 29, 2024
  • House Hacking Explained
    House hacking allows you to live for free by having tenants cover your mortgage.
    “House hacking is a life hack!”
    @ 42m 08s
    January 29, 2024
  • A Message for the World
    Sean shares a powerful message about being supportive and altruistic to others.
    “Be the person that you needed in your deepest, darkest moment.”
    @ 54m 33s
    January 29, 2024
  • Best Interest Podcast Episode 28
    A heartfelt conversation with Fi, sharing insights and connections.
    “Thank you for coming on the best interest podcast!”
    @ 58m 19s
    January 29, 2024
  • Engage with the Podcast
    Listeners can subscribe, rate, and review to support the show.
    “There are three easy free options for you!”
    @ 58m 44s
    January 29, 2024

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Podcast Introduction01:15
  • Financial Evolution19:54
  • Budgeting Basics27:40
  • Real Estate Reflections39:13
  • Altruism54:33
  • Fanboy Excitement58:07
  • Awesome Conversation58:22
  • Listener Engagement58:42

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown