Fire Drill

Could you imagine living full-time in a 16 ft box truck for 3 years?? Today's guest, Brandon from Inside the Box, is doing that very thing right now. Not many young tech workers would pass up the chance to score swanky digs with their Silicon Valley pay, but Brandon has ideas that are out of the realm of normal. He tells us what about tiny living you won’t see on Instagram, living small to save $300k, how he sees the truck as a stepping stone to FI, his super secret life hacks, and his advice on how to get hired by Silicon Valley employers. For show notes and takeaways, https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire043. Move over, Boxcar Children. There’s a new competitor for living in a Box! We also chat about... -Possession attachment issues -His Christmas money website for friends We had a blast picking his brain!

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner has been RVing for over two years with her husband and dogs. We talk to her about living the RV lifestyle. For show notes and takeaways: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire042 Michelle & her husband travel all around the United States following the weather. Today, we talk about getting started with the RV lifestyle, her best RV tips, how to find places to park, what to watch out for when purchasing an RV, and how she structures her online business Making Sense of Cents for optimal tax benefits. You might want to RV after this episode. We also chat about... Making friends on the road The costs of RV-ing Boondocking S-Corps Sailing plans Girl scouts?

Entrepreneur Kristie Wolfe talks to Gwen & J about building a unique empire of tiny houses For show notes: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire041 How would you go about building unique tiny houses for the least amount of money possible? Would you buy an existing building? Buy it turnkey from Amazon? What if it was a giant potato? Today's guest is the inspiring Kristie Wolfe. You might remember her name when we chatted briefly about her with Whitney Hansen. Kristie has an incredible story of overcoming the odds of childhood poverty into building her own tiny house empire on a shoe string budget! We also chat about... Growing up poor How to find land for super cheap What determination looks like How to build an off-grid tiny house The power of openess loads more! She was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Kristie, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

How much would you sacrifice to pay off $30,000 in less than a year? Would it be worth it? At what POINT would it be worth it? Today's guest is the amazing Whitney Hansen (from whitneyhansen.com), a personal finance coach for millennial females. She backstory is absolutely amazing and will inspire and motivate you fo. sho. We were particularly impressed by her ability to hustle (a trait she still seems to have in her day job and business) and make short-term sacrifices. You'll love that story. We also chat about... Buying a house at 19 How to support yourself in college Coming back from $30k in student loan debt The benefits of hiking :) Competing in figure and bikini competitions loads more! She was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Whitney, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Full show notes and takeaways can be found here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire040

Investing in international real estate. Sounds kind of scary, right? Today's guest is here to share his incredible story on purchasing multiple properties in Mexico, while living in the U.S. Patrick from Frugal Safari is a business owner, seasoned real estate investor (both the good parts and the not-so-good parts), a FIRE enthusiast, and a genuinely fascinating guy. He's from Rwanda, grew up in Belgium, has traveled extensively, has a roller coaster real estate investing journey, and a kinda weird but totally amazing company he runs. There's a TON of really fun stuff in this episode, including: tips (and definitely warnings) about investing internationally Patrick's entrepreneurship background How he slashed monthly expenses from $6k to $2.8k (!) How he bought 4 properties in Phoenix at the same time (then promptly lost them all in the market crash) Patrick is a really, really intriguing guy, and has a ton of wisdom to offer, especially through his stories! He has great stories. Enjoy :) For full show notes and takeaways, head to https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire039

Today's episode is a very, very special one...with AMAZING guests. Bar none. Maybe you've heard of them. Seriously the best in the business... Gwen from Fiery Millennials and J from Millennial Boss! *pats ourselves on the back Seriously though, it's just us today talking about 2017 and 2018. We take a walk down memory lane and dive into how 2017 went for us...speaking on the podcast/blogs, as well as personal goals. Overall, 2017 was awesome, but of course 2018 is lined up to be even more awesome-er. This cozy chat features... Everything that happened in 2017 What are the goals going into 2018? How can we help with the FIRE community? Upcoming life changes for Gwen How J's going to save 6 figures in 2018 An influential real estate tip given to Gwen and much more... Do enjoy the episode, and see below for a special thanks :) For the full shownotes and takeaways, head here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire038

MD from Military Dollar could literally stop contributing to her retirement accounts today. She's cruisin. (insert 60's beach theme music here). Show notes and takeaways can be found here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire037 She is an incredible dollar, and especially gifted at spread all the huge personal finance perks to serving in the armed forces (of which there are tons by the way). We were absolutely thrilled to speak with her for this episode :) We chat about: money tips for service members (and non-military folks as well) The rule of 72 What is your "cruising" number/rate? The crazy good FI perks from a career in the military There are probably way too many service members not taking advantage of some of the plans MD drops in this episode. Let's change that! If you or someone you know is serving, tell em. It could literally change their life. This talk was seriously fun. Enjoy it, and feel free to drop us a comment if you'd like :)

Today's episode is a very special one; an extended fireside chat with the legendary personal finance author and blogger Erin Lowry, from Broke Millennial. Show notes and takeaways can be found here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire036 There are VERY few people making huge, mega, ginormous dents in the personal finance space right now, but Erin might be the sole exception. The veteran blogger released her first book this year, and has been making a phenomenal name for herself as a legit personal finance expert and influencer (and not the "I just play one on TV" experts, but someone who people routinely trust and look to for guidance). Oh, and she's also just incredibly fun to hang out with. In this bonus Christmas episode, we chat about... The uphill battle of rebranding retirement Problems/issues with the FIRE community (this is legit) Why we should stop using the word "poor" so much in PF Ancestry tests How Erin will reach millionaire status by age 35 Alcohol. A lot more... Erin is a brilliant writer, and completely unafraid to step into personal finance discussions and hit us with wise (and sometimes hard) truths. Enjoy this episode, and we hope you have a lovely holiday! Come share your Christmas-related FIRE spending stories in the private Facebook group :) :)

Tanja from Our Next Life and Kara from Bravely are the real deal. They're not only living the FIRE and entrepreneurship dreams, they are doing everything in their power to encourage others along the same paths. Full shownotes and takeaways here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire035 On one hand, they have very different stories to offer... Tanja - Retiring early this month (congratssss!) Kara - never worked in a full-time salaried job in her life. Now a startup founder. On the other hand, they BOTH have incredibly huge hearts they are utilizing to teach and help others with a financial education. Kara has an amazing debt story, and her company Bravely is dedicated to helping women learn about and take control of their money through online resources, as well as in-person events. Tanja is a widely-respected FI/FIRE blogger at ONL, and has one of the most dedicated online communities in the space. Her and her husband are officially retiring this year to travel, ski, and do charitable work full-time :) Furthermore, they are the cohosts of an AMAZING new podcast, The Fairer Cents, where they ask the difficult questions and provide an additional community for women (and men) to show up and talk about money. Real talk. AMAZING things happen on this podcast, such as: Kara literally changes one person's life (at least we heard that such a thing happened via text). practical tips for dealing with impatience for FI (Ugh it's real) Kara and Tanja's backstories (super inspiring) Enjoy the show, and be sure to connect with all of us in the Facebook Group :)

Imagine you received $100,000 in college to run your own charity. What would you do with it? Today's guest, Rylan from The Hidden Green, is an inspiration. This is a guy who managed to save $97,000 over just a few years at a young age, started a successful non-profit in college that spread to multiple cities in California, and has generally just optimized his life for financial and emotional well-being. Oh, and he also surfs, travels extensively, and blogs about financial independence, which means we liked him before we even spoke with him. For full show notes and takeaways, head here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire034 In this episode, we chat about... starting businesses in college (pros and cons, really) how Rylan house-hacked while renting, how Rylan has been so prolific and saving money, even at a young age Extensive travel, and finding the benefits of travel in your hometown and more. Rylan's story is incredible, as is this chat. Enjoy, and let us know what you think in the Facebook group!

Let's talk family, careers, and saving aggressively (but not too aggressively) for FI. We met up with Mrs. Adventure Rich (from Adventure Rich of course) at FinCon, and incredibly impressed with everything she's currently doing! She is a blogger, mother, wife, and overall insightful person. Straight up, here's what we want you to take away from this episode: Flexibility. For FI, for your role in your marriage, for your spouse's role, for your career. You'll definitely see a trend here. We also dig into... NOT rushing to FIRE... the supreme important of communication in relationships (and how it might help the journey to FI!) Which lifestyle should you choose: the bad$ business woman boss? Or the chill stay-at-home wife/mom? (hint: It's a trick question) (fellas, listen up for some awesome pointers to score bonus points with your significant other) :) We had a blast diving into Mrs. Adventure Rich's story, and it will definitely inspire you too! Enjoy. For full takeaways and show notes, head to https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire033

Today's episode melts our heart. Emotionally and financially. Justin from Saving Sherpa comes from humble beginnings in Mississippi, and has an incredible story to share with us.  Today he is a member of the Air Force saving up to 70% of his take-home pay (um impressive much?), and also has an active charitable mission sponsoring children through Ciudad de Angeles. So when we "changing lives" is part of his mission, we don't just mean through his blog (though that certainly applies as well!) We chat about: The striking similarities between getting physically and financially fit How military folks can price-shop cities and why that matters for reaching FI (or at least saving money) FOOD. How to eat well on a budget. Like seriously. Justin's story is awesome. Enjoy the show, and drop us a line in the Facebook group with your comments! Show notes and takeaways here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire032

Today we meet someone who has "done it" in the world of online business. Laura from I Heart Planners has successfully transitioned from a full-time engineer to an online business owner (who works roughly 15 hours a week by the way). Her backstory will prove especially insightful for all of us fighting the good fight towards FIRE and even full-time entrepreneurship. (spoiler: Laura and her husband carefully planned ahead for her work transition) We also chat about... digital vs physical products for side-hustlers Creating and selling printables! (Laura's bread and butter) Top-level productivity musts...and tips for hiring your first employee Laura is an incredibly impressive online entrepreneur these days, and has a lot to share/teach with us side-hustlers! Enjoy :) For full show notes and takeaways, head here: https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire031

The legendary Mad Fientist joins us today for a very special edition of the FIRE Drill podcast, recorded LIVE from FinCon 2017 in Dallax, TX! Brandon is a huge name in the FI community, as well as a thought leader in personal finance blogging. We talk about life after reaching FI and retiring, what he's been up to, applying to be a NASA astronaut, and more. Enjoy! For takeaways of today's episode, and show notes, head to https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire030

Would you continue working if you were a millionaire? If you had enough in your retirement/brokerage accounts to live comfortable in "barista FI?" Adam from Minafi.com joins us on the podcast today to dive heavily and nerdily into saving for financial independence. Adam is a developer, FIRE blogger, Dance Dance Revolution pro, and brokerage account guru (the good kind of guru). We chat about... "Millennials" vs "Gen X" vs "Generation C" How traveling around Florida playing DDR led Adam to his current career Withdrawal Rate 101 How to avoid taxes/fees! "Letting Loose" with cryptocurrency investing :) and more... Adam has a wonderful blog, and is incredibly knowledgable when it comes to FIRE. Enjoy this episode! For full show notes and takeaways, head to https://firedrillpodcast.com/fire029