#95: The biggest concern many would-be retirees have, at least in the US, is the cost of healthcare.Not only is healthcare more expensive in the US than in every other industrialized country. There’s also no national health insurance system to

Real estate investing in short-term rentals and hotels

Apr 4th, 2023 56m 12s

#94: Real estate investing changed a lot the last couple years, but one asset class consistently punched above its weight: short-term rentals, a.k.a., STRs, e.g., Airbnbs.In 2020, when people couldn’t go on vacation by hopping on a plane to Eur

Health insurance for traveling early retirees

Nov 22nd, 2022 53m 49s

#93: Early retirees often fill their early years in retirement with lots of travel. There is even a vibrant community of nomadic early retirees who travel long-term.But what do you do about health insurance, especially if you’re American? Unlik

How a female MBA early retired at 39 (+ her advice for women pursuing FIRE)

Oct 18th, 2022 1h 5m

#92: Most FIRE stories are of men. A lot seem to be of ex-software engineers (on blogs anyway). It’s rare to see profiles of early retired women, especially single women who retired early from ambitious careers.Also, most FIRE stories focus on

Financial independence in healthcare: how a dentist built a $7M nest egg

Sep 20th, 2022 54m 40s

#91: It’s no secret that many healthcare professionals earn lots of money. So, you might think it’s relatively easy for them to achieve financial independence and retire early (or at least step back from demanding clinical hours).Aaaand….you’d

How to pay for college

Aug 23rd, 2022 1h 15m

#90: It’s back to school season, and that means it’s also the time of year for high school seniors to start agonizing over college applications.Applying to college is an anxiety-filled rite of passage for high school seniors, but it’s often jus

How to do real estate due diligence when buying a home

May 3rd, 2022 1h 23m

#89: Summer is fast approaching, and that’s traditionally when home-buying season ramps up.This week, I share insights on how to conduct due diligence when you’re looking to buy a home. Whether you’re buying a primary residence or investing in

Mega Backdoor Roth

Apr 5th, 2022 37m 23s

#88: Have you maxed out your backdoor + mega backdoor Roth conversions yet?For high earners, direct contributions to a Roth IRA, and tax-deductible contributions to a traditional IRA, are limited by income thresholds.But ALL taxpayers – even hi

How the future of (remote) work is changing

Mar 8th, 2022 59m 39s

#87: Remote work and digital nomadism have always been of particular interest to folks in the FIRE community.After the pandemic, remote work was suddenly thrust upon the entire knowledge workforce. And after two long pandemic years, the possibi

Why the 4% rule doesn’t work anymore

Feb 8th, 2022 1h 6m

#86: Pretty much everyone in the FIRE community has heard of the 4% rule.It is the starting safe withdrawal rate number for a 30-year retirement horizon that was proposed a few decades ago by retirement researchers.And it has attained near pop

How current economic changes impact retirement safe withdrawal rates

Jan 11th, 2022 1h 49m

#85: Recently I’ve really started to notice the impact of inflation on daily spending. Have you?At first, it was just 1-2 things. Then it was a handful. Now it seems like everything is noticeably more expensive. (Assuming it’s even in stock in

REPLAY: How to set and rebalance your asset allocation efficiently

Dec 27th, 2021 36m 29s

#84: Today's episode is about an important end-of-year planning topic: asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing.Many otherwise smart investors set their portfolio once, but then fail to rigorously monitor their asset allocation and rebalance

Retirement withdrawal strategies: tax-efficient portfolio drawdowns

Nov 2nd, 2021 52m 24s

#83: You’ve worked hard all your life. At retirement, it’s time to kick back and relax, right?Not so fast.You still have to get THROUGH retirement.That means knowing how to draw down your portfolio to:meet all your monthly cash flow needscushio

Annuities explained: are annuities a good investment for retirement?

Oct 19th, 2021 1h 1m

#82: Are annuities a good investment for retirement?With $250 billion in sales each year, and $2.5 trillion in retirement annuity assets under contract, annuities comprise a huge slice of US retirement assets.Understanding annuities – whether a

Taxes on stock gains: how to avoid capital gains tax on stocks

Oct 5th, 2021 40m 44s

#81: With the market rallying like crazy this past year, you might have significant capital gains on stocks right now.Now might be a good time for some of you investors to harvest some capital gains. Maybe you’re looking to buy a house. Or mayb

Teaching your kids about money and financial independence

Sep 21st, 2021 1h 24m

#80: Teaching kids about money isn’t easy, but it’s crucial if you want to boot them off your payroll after they graduate from school.But while financial literacy is good, helping your kids build the mindset and momentum to achieve financial in

College student financial aid changes coming to the FAFSA application

Sep 7th, 2021 55m 17s

#79: This one’s for you parents who have kids in college or soon going to college…In the COVID relief stimulus bill that passed at the end of 2020, there was a big chunk about federal student financial aid.New rules are bringing significant cha

Money lessons for kids: Tips from other personal finance influencers

Aug 24th, 2021 11m

#78: For this episode, I polled other influencers in the personal finance community to ask for their best tip on teaching money lessons to kids.I had four different personal finance influencers weigh in – a range of bloggers, podcasters, author

Financial literacy for kids: how to teach your kids about money

Aug 10th, 2021 1h

#77: Teaching financial literacy for kids may seem like a tall order…when considering that financial literacy even for adults is a national deficiency.But teaching kids about money is crucial if you want your kids to grow up financially respons

Language learning through travel immersion courses in early retirement

Jul 27th, 2021 1h 11m

#76: Retiring early to travel the world is a common goal for FIRE aspirants.But full-time travel can lose appeal quickly. Churches and temples quickly start to look the same. Gardens and palaces quickly look the same.When you’re responsible for

How this middle income couple built a real estate portfolio of 25 doors (in expensive California!)

Jul 13th, 2021 1h 8m

#75: Real estate investing might seem like something only wealthy people can do.It’s expensive, down payments can be high, and you may feel you don’t have enough income to afford it.Maybe you think: “I can’t even afford a house to LIVE in…how w

How to early retire (FIRE) if your spouse isn’t on board

Jun 29th, 2021 55m 8s

#74: This week, I chat with Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career coach now early retired, whose own spouse wasn’t on board with early retirement for many years before she finally convinced him to get on the FIRE train.We talk about tips and advice

Stock option and RSU tax planning

Jun 15th, 2021 1h 7m

#73: One big reason the tech industry attracts a lot of talent: you get partly compensated in stock, and if you’re early enough at a company that IPOs, your stock options or RSUs can make you a millionaire multiple times over when the company g

1031 exchanges: what real estate investors need to know

Jun 1st, 2021 1h 10m

#72: This week, I invited Bill Exeter to teach us about 1031 exchanges. He is the CEO of Exeter 1031 Exchange Services and has been doing 1031s for nearly four decades.You might know at a high level that a 1031 exchange means deferring real est

Buying tax deeds to invest in real estate at a deep discount

May 18th, 2021 1h 16m

#71: Tax deed auctions provide an opportunity to buy tax-delinquent properties at a discount, wipe away existing liens and mortgages, and earn sizable profits in the process.This week, I invited my friend Phil Kessler back to the podcast to tea