How would your spouse feel if you retired early while they kept working? In this episode, Eric + Jason talk with our friend Erik, who recently left the workplace while his wife continues to work. How does this arrangement work for them, and why is a coastFIRE path their choice? Topics discussed include being thrown into retirement, finding purpose, talking about FIRE, and much more.
The FI journey is far from a solo one for most people, particularly those with long term partners or spouses. Particularly for the kinds of weighty decisions that we discussed in this episode, it’s essential to be on the same page regarding one’s FI path.Many seem to agree that our two-part series where we discuss our FIRE paths with our spouses, Lorri and Laura, is essential Two Sides of FI content. Check it out here: Part 1 and Part 2!
Want even more candid conversation among spouses? As a bonus, check out the conversation with Eric + his wife Laura, “FI-nancial Decisions – Transitioning to FI with Laura + Eric”, for a behind the scenes look at how they decided to revise their revised asset allocation.
Erik and Deb have termed their path as one following CoastFIRE principles. This is a term used to describe someone who isn’t yet FI but has already put in the necessary effort to mathematically achieve that goal without further contributions. Did you hear our earlier conversation on this topic in an podcast-only episode two years ago? If you missed it then, you’ll definitely want to check out A CoastFI Path to Financial Security: An Interview with Catherine.
Have you checked out the Two Sides of FI Discord server? If you’re not familiar, this is an instant messaging social network. Ours is meant to be a community for viewers of our show, as well as a space to discuss all things relation to FIRE. It’s totally open, free of charge, and is anonymous as you’d like. This makes it a safe space to talk about financial topics you might otherwise be sensitive about sharing. Come check it out and see if it fits your interests! There are both desktop and mobile apps available.
Did you know Jason resumed blogging? To be notified of his future posts, please consider subscribing here. He’s also archived his old blog, which documents the first 1.5 years after he retired from his career, and started even before Two Sides of FI began. Get more information on those archived posts here.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Can you shorten the time to achieve financial independence (FI)? In this episode, Eric talks with Jason about his journey to FI and the steps he took to reach FI faster and retire before 50. Topics discussed include risks taken + sacrifices made, how Eric’s path differed, why early retirement is so attractive, and much more.
As only touched upon in this episode, Eric’s FI journey took a different course, and one that is really exciting to many seeking FI. Are you curious how he started his own business and achieved >90% of his income from passive sources? Check out: Passive Income = A Path to Financial Independence (Part 1) and Lessons Learned in 7 Years Earning Passive Income – A Path to FI (Part 2). Here we’ve linked to the show notes, which continue both links to the episodes and a bunch of related, useful content.
Will You Run Out of Money or Time? In this popular episode, we were joined by Jordan “Doc G” Grumet, a hospice doctor, podcaster, blogger, and author. Topics discussed include the mirage of wealth, living meaningfully, and Jordan’s experiences eight years post-FI. Irrespective of your own retirement journey, you won’t want to miss our conversation.
The FI journey is far from a solo one for most people, particularly those with long term partners or spouses. As we discussed in this video, it’s essential to be on the same page regarding FI path decisions.Many seem to agree that our two-part series where we discuss our FIRE paths with our spouses, Lorri and Laura, is essential Two Sides of FI content. Check it out here: Part 1 and Part 2!
Want even more candid conversation among spouses? As a bonus, check out the conversation with Eric + his wife Laura, “FI-nancial Decisions – Transitioning to FI with Laura + Eric”, for a behind the scenes look at how they decided on their revised asset allocation last year.
We mentioned BaristaFIRE in today’s episode. In the linked post from Financial Samurai, he describes it as “being able to retire before the conventional age of 60+, but taking on a part-time job (e.g. like at a coffee shop) for supplemental income and potentially subsidized health insurance.” This article provides a good look at this path, and is an effective primer for those seeking more information. In addition to the financial calculations provided in the article, there are numerous supporting tools available online including this BaristaFIRE calculator from Walletburst.
Another common FI path is called CoastFIRE. This is a term used to describe someone who isn’t yet FI but has already put in the necessary effort to mathematically achieve that goal without further contributions. Did you know we talked with someone on this topic in an podcast-only episode two years ago? If you missed it then, you’ll definitely want to check out A CoastFI Path to Financial Security: An Interview with Catherine.
Have you checked out the Two Sides of FI Discord server? If you’re not familiar, this is an instant messaging social network. Ours is meant to be a community for viewers of our show, as well as a space to discuss all things relation to FIRE. It’s totally open, free of charge, and is anonymous as you’d like. This makes it a safe space to talk about financial topics you might otherwise be sensitive about sharing. Come check it out and see if it fits your interests! There are both desktop and mobile apps available.
Did you know Jason resumed blogging? To be notified of his future posts, please consider subscribing here. He’s also archived his old blog, which documents the first 1.5 years after he retired from his career, and started even before Two Sides of FI began. Get more information on those archived posts here.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
How can you accelerate the boring middle on the path to reaching your financial independence goals? Online FIRE communities are full of posts talking about the challenges of “the messy middle” and, “the long boring middle.” Eric and Jason discuss the topic from their pre- and post-FI viewpoints, sharing their own experiences.
We referenced several Reddit posts in this episode. For more on that, check out these links – and don’t forget to see the comments, where you’ll often find good value in the many different viewpoints in our community:
If you DO like tracking FI milestones, free resources like Empower (formerly Personal Capital) can make that a lot easier. We both use and really like this free tool for tracking investment accounts, understanding asset allocation + rebalancing opportunities, and monitoring net worth. Empower employs a simple account linking process to make it a more automated experience. Give it a try risk-free! (affiliate link; free program )
The Tail End is the great Wait But Why post that we discussed in this episode. We wholeheartedly recommend it as a must-read for anyone – but be prepared for some thought provoking stuff!
Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins – which Jason did end up reading! – is discussed often in the FIRE community, so no surprise it came up in this episode. It’s intended as a “practical guide on how to get the most out of your money—and out of your life”. If you like the aim of prioritizing memorable experiences far ahead of simply accumulating money for later in life, you’ll definitely want to check it out.
Have you checked out the Two Sides of FI Discord server? If you’re not familiar, this is an instant messaging social network. Ours is meant to be a community for viewers of our show, as well as a space to discuss all things relation to FIRE. It’s totally open, free of charge, and is anonymous as you’d like. This makes it a safe space to talk about financial topics you might otherwise be sensitive about sharing. Come check it out and see if it fits your interests! There are both desktop and mobile apps available.
Did you know Jason resumed blogging? To be notified of his future posts, please consider subscribing here. He’s also archived his old blog, which documents the first 1.5 years after he retired from his career, and started even before Two Sides of FI began. Get more information on those archived posts here.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Are you on the FIRE path or interested in learning more about early retirement? Three years ago I retired from my career at age 47 after reaching financial independence the prior year. This video is from a livestream where community members had the opportunity to ask me questions about what my experience has been like. Thanks to all who joined!
Don’t miss the extensive show notes below, which list all the episodes and resources discussed in the episode.
Show notes may be found below the video
Show Notes
Essential Background:
Here are links to the episodes Jason talked about in the show. In many cases these point to show notes, which contain not only the episode video itself, but also a variety of associated content meant to help support the content. Check them out!
It was no surprise that withdrawal strategies came up several times in the chat today. For one-stop shopping on all things relating to Karsten Jeske, the SWR Toolbox, Fritz Gilbert, bucket strategies, and more – you simply have to see What’s Wrong With This Popular Retirement Strategy? It’s a comprehensive landing page!
For practical help with modeling your own safe withdrawal rate plan, don’t miss our very popular three-part tutorial series on the SWR Toolbox. You can find them all here.
Relating to asset allocation, rebalancing, and several other topics we hit on in this episode, Jason and Eric talked about the former’s Investment Policy Statement (IPS) in Is This a Part of Your FIRE Plan?
Many seem to agree that our two-part series where we discuss our FIRE paths with our spouses, Lorri and Laura, is essential content. Check it out here: Part 1 and Part 2.
We previously released a (non-live) Q&A episode to celebrate our 50th episode milestone. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out You Asked, We Answered. FIRE Q&A.
Resources Mentioned:
Still haven’t subscribed to our YouTube channel or want to share an easy link with people you know? Here it is! Click it, say yes, and you’re in! Easy, peasy.
In this episode we talked about the new Two Sides of FI Discord server. If you’re not familiar, this is an instant messaging social network. It’s totally open, free of charge, and is anonymous as you’d like. This makes it a safe space to talk about financial topics you might otherwise be sensitive about sharing. Come check it out and see if it fits your interests!
Did you know Jason resumed blogging? To be notified of his future posts, please consider subscribing here. He’s also archived his old blog, which documents the first 1.5 years after he retired from his career, and started even before Two Sides of FI began. Get more information on those archived posts here.
In this episode, Jason mentioned Empower (formerly Personal Capital) for summarizing his portfolio performance as a part of rebalancing. Both him and Eric really like this free tool for tracking investment accounts, understanding asset allocation + rebalancing opportunities, and monitoring net worth. Empower employs a simple account linking process to make it a more automated experience. Give it a try risk-free! (affiliate link; free program )
Do you have a copy of our free Rebalancing Calculator? This simple tool can help you make your own decisions about buying and selling in order to rebalance your portfolio. If you’d like something more DIY, this is a calculator you should consider.
In case you missed the link above, our popular three-part tutorial series on the Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) Toolbox can be found here.
The Retirement Income Style Awareness (RISA) is a tool by Wade Pfau (mentioned today) and the team at Retirement Researcher. It came from research performed on individual styles, risk tolerance, and other factors, and is aimed at deriving a personal retirement income strategy. Fritz Gilbert at Retirement Manifesto posted a nice write up on this last year, which we’d recommend. If you’re interested in learning more about this assessment, check out Wade’s book: “Retirement Planning Guidebook: Navigating the Important Decisions for Retirement Success”.
Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins, is discussed often in the FIRE community – so no surprise it came up in this episode. It’s intended as a “practical guide on how to get the most out of your money—and out of your life”. If you like the aim of prioritizing memorable experiences far ahead of simply accumulating money for later in life, you’ll definitely want to check it out.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Questioning their roles, priorities, and the uncertain future of Two Sides of FI, Jason and Eric unveil hidden tensions arising from the pursuit and realization of financial independence. Will they find common ground and keep the project alive?
To date we haven’t talked much “inside baseball” about how the show comes together. One exception is this outtake footage which we released two years ago: How Do We Feel About Making Two Sides of FI? Find out how much (or little) has changed since this video!
Lastly, we think our two-part series where we discuss our FIRE paths with our spouses is essential content: Part 1 and Part 2.
In this episode we talked about the new Two Sides of FI Discord server. If you’re not familiar, this is an instant messaging social network. Ours is meant to be a community for viewers of our show, as well as a space to discuss all things relation to FIRE. It’s totally open, free of charge, and is anonymous as you’d like. This makes it a safe space to talk about financial topics you might otherwise be sensitive about sharing. Come check it out and see if it fits your interests! There are both desktop and mobile apps available.
Did you know Jason resumed blogging? One recent post came after filming this episode. For more on this thoughts about this conversation and related topics, don’t miss The Flipside of Time Freedom. To be notified of future posts, please consider subscribing here.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Do you have a process for regular financial reviews? If not, you aren’t alone – many people are unsure about how to calculate their net worth and keep their personal finances on track. In this episode, Eric and Jason share their simple pre- and post-FI review processes for net worth tracking, portfolio review, setting savings and budget goals, and more. Check the show notes for all the details.
Show notes may be found below the video
Show Notes
Essential Background:
Did you know we previously released a free downloadable rebalancing calculator that’s both powerful and easy to use? In this video, we walk through the features of the tool, demonstrate several examples of how to use it, and describe how you can download your own free copy.
In this episode, Eric mentioned Empower (formerly Personal Capital) for summarizing his portfolio performance as a part of rebalancing. We both use and really like this free tool for tracking investment accounts, understanding asset allocation + rebalancing opportunities, and monitoring net worth. Empower employs a simple account linking process to make it a more automated experience. Give it a try risk-free! (affiliate link; free program )
In this episode, Jason mentioned that he uses the software called YNAB to budget. What is YNAB? You Need a Budget is a popular budgeting tool for many in the FIRE community. If manual spreadsheets aren’t your thing or you’ve struggled with budgeting in the past, this may be a good solution. YNAB has a generous, free 34-day trialso you can see how well it works to help you understand and control spending. (affiliate link; no credit card needed for trial )
Are you interested in tracking net worth, income, FIRE progress, and your budget all in one convenient tool? This popular Reddit post by Redditor u/BloomingFinances outlines a free and powerful way that you can do just that.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Love it or hate it, budgeting is an essential part of financial success. In this episode, Eric and Jason share their own financial details using a simple, model budget and offer tips for making budgeting a less daunting task. See the show notes below, which include the full details of our budgets.
Show notes may be found below the video
Show Notes
Eric + Laura’s Budget (click to enlarge)
Jason + Lorri’s Budget (click to enlarge)
Essential Background:
Even if you put good effort into creating your FIRE budget, it’s easy to miss some very important items. In “My FIRE Budget Didn’t Account for This“, we discuss these commonly forgotten or underestimated expenses, including healthcare costs, taxes, dealing with inflation, and more.
Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins, is discussed often in the FIRE community. As Eric shared in this episode, it’s intended as a “practical guide on how to get the most out of your money—and out of your life”. If you like the aim of prioritizing memorable experiences far ahead of simply accumulating money for later in life, you’ll definitely want to check it out.
Lumpy spending in retirement is another commonly discussed budget issue. Sinking funds are only one way to think about these occasional – and sometimes very large expenses. In the Reddit post “Budgeting for ‘one time expenses’ in retirement” and the comments, you’ll find some thoughts on this topic.
Eric mentioned Empower (formerly Personal Capital ) for summarizing his portfolio performance. We both use and really like this free tool for tracking investment accounts, understanding asset allocation + rebalancing opportunities, and monitoring net worth. Empower employs a simple account linking process to make it a more automated experience. Give it a try risk-free! (affiliate link; free program )
In this episode, Jason mentioned that he uses the software called YNAB to budget. What is YNAB? You Need a Budget is a popular budgeting tool for many in the FIRE community. If manual spreadsheets aren’t your thing or you’ve struggled with budgeting in the past, this may be a good solution. YNAB has a generous, free 34-day trialso you can see how well it works to help you understand and control spending. (affiliate link; no credit card needed )
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Has your shrinking retirement portfolio left you considering part-time work to ease your anxiety? Inspired by a blog post from Go Curry Cracker, we discuss BaristaFIRE, time freedom, what it means to be “unemployable”, and what work we might consider post-retirement. Be sure to see the links below for the show notes and to the blog post referenced in the video.
Show notes may be found below the video
Show Notes
Essential Background:
Never heard of BaristaFIRE before? Check out one of our earlier episodes, “So What’s Your Financial Independence (FI) Number?”. In this video, we talk about the different flavors of FIRE, decode the math used to calculate our FI numbers, and discuss where our FI numbers fall on the FIRE spectrum.
This isn’t the first time we’ve tackled the idea of working post-RE on the show. In “Financial Independence, Retire Early…Go Back to Work?”, we talked about an enticing job prospect that provided a lot of temptation for Jason. One of our temporal check-in episodes, we also discussed Eric’s strong focus on saving to achieve FI, how “vacation time” is different post-RE, as well as some recommended podcasts and books.
Failing at Early Retirement, a Go Curry Cracker blog post, was the inspiration for this episode. As we discussed in the video, in the article you’ll learn how author Jeremy took on some seasonal part-time work as a UPS driver, and what he learned from the experience.
We talked a lot about BaristaFIRE in today’s episode. The linked post from Financial Samurai is a comprehensive look at this path, and is a good primer for those seeking more information. In addition to the financial calculations provided in the article, there are numerous supporting tools available online including this BaristaFIRE calculator from Walletburst.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is a great IRS program for US taxpayers who qualify for free federal tax preparation. If you’d like information on VITA including how you can volunteer like Jason is doing, be sure to see the IRS Tax Volunteers page.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Do you want to avoid the biggest retirement risk? This simple to use tool will let you model your safe withdrawal rate and help ensure you don’t run out of money. In this walkthrough video, we teach you how to use this powerful, flexible, and FREE tool created by Karsten Jeske. Using the SWR Toolbox, you can ensure that you have a personalized plan that works with your own financial situation.
Part 2: Eric + Jason discuss how they’re using the SWR Toolbox and how Jason is struggling to spendas much as he can safely doin early retirement
How much money can you safely spend in retirement? In part two of this series on safe withdrawal rates, we discuss the #1 tool we’ve found to help you answer that question. Topics covered include the SWR Toolbox, our thoughts on Social Security, the challenges of spending in retirement, and how to get comfortable with increasing your withdrawal rate.
Part 3: Walkthrough of the CAPE-Based Rule tab in the SWR Toolbox
Do you like the idea of a portfolio withdrawal strategy that can’t run out of money? This walkthrough video is the third part in our Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) series, and teaches you how to model a variable withdrawal strategy based on the CAPE ratio. Using this powerful and FREE tool created by Karsten Jeske, you can design a personalized plan that works with your own financial situation.
Show Notes
Download the Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) Toolbox
The Safe Withdrawal Rate Toolbox is available via Karsten Jeske’s Early Retirement Now blog. The current version can be downloaded via Part 28 of the SWR series. This is also the post where the revisions to the calculator are described. To see the history of this tool, you’ll need to go back to Part 7. We found reading both posts to be essential to really understand how the tool works. Please ensure you follow the directions in the video to make your own copy of the tool. There’s no need to email Karsten to request edit rights!
Essential Blog Posts
Safe Withdrawal Rate series: This is the landing page for the 57-partSWR series (it will surely continue to grow) for which Karsten is best known. Be sure to start with the guidance he provides on how to navigate this great but expansive content. Many essential topics are covered in the series and not all of them involve deep dives into math! While we think all of his posts are interesting, you’ll find guidance below about the specific articles we think are most important to the topic of this video – in addition to Parts 28 and 7 listed above.
Sequence Risk is more important than your average return rate. Surprised? Be sure to check out Part 15: More Thoughts on Sequence of Return Risk. As mentioned in the video, SWR is overwhelmingly determined by the first 10-15 years of portfolio drawdown.
Are you the kind of person who wants all the gory details about the math underlying the SWR Toolbox? If so, you won’t want to miss Part 8: Technical Appendix. It’s got all the information you need to fully understand how Karsten’s approach works. There are also some good references at the bottom of the post on related material found elsewhere.
Did you know we’ve spoken to Karsten twice before?“What the FIRE Community Gets Wrong” was the first time he came on Two Sides of FI. We covered a lot of ground in this episode about safe withdrawal strategies – so much so that we also released a follow-up video called “Karsten Spoke, We Listened. Here’s What We Learned”. These two episodes are popular with our audience for a good reason and are definitely worth viewing for anyone interested in SWR strategies.
Our second conversation with Karsten also featured Fritz Gilbert (from The Retirement Manifesto), in a continuation of their debate about the merits of bucket strategies. In “What’s Wrong with This Popular Retirement Strategy?” we covered a lot of ground that you won’t want to miss!
Other Show Notes
cFIREsim (or Crowdsourced Financial Independence and Retire Early Simulator) is a very popular and powerful FIRE calculator created by Lauren. We found a lot of value in this tool throughout our FIRE journey, and clearly many others do as well. In the developer’s words, “What can cFIREsim do? At its core, you can enter information in the a few simple inputs and return the basic simulation. At its most complicated, it can determine your portfolio success based on 80 individual portfolio adjustments, multiple types of inflation, multiple types of market returns, and graphically show you the results. There are many options to choose from outside of the ‘Basic Inputs’ “, including a number of variable withdrawal strategies under “Spending Plan”.
Variable Percentage Withdrawal (VPW) is another method besides CAPE-adjusted WR for allowing market conditions to influence the amount you take out of your portfolio in drawdown. As mentioned in part 2, VPW is popular among some adherents the Bogleheads approach to investing. As you’ll read at this link, this method “adapts adjustments to portfolio withdrawal amounts to the retiree’s retirement horizon, asset allocation, and portfolio returns during retirement… to allow the retiree to spend most of the portfolio using return-adjusted withdrawals. By adapting withdrawals to market returns, VPW will never prematurely deplete the portfolio.”
stickK is the app Eric mentioned in Part 2 to help track adherence to a goal – like keeping to spending your planned withdrawal rate. Created from a behavioral economics framework, stickK allows you to create “Commitment Contracts, [which are] a binding agreement you sign with yourself to ensure that you follow through with your intentions—and it does this by utilizing the psychological power of loss aversion and accountability to drive behavior change.” We’ve not tried this yet but this is a pretty appealing (an a little scary) idea!
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
Do you worry about running out of money in retirement? How do you draw down your assets without tanking your portfolio? Eric + Jason talk with FIRE bloggers Karsten Jeske and Fritz Gilbert about the bucket strategy. Is it a reasonable withdrawal plan or nothing more than a gimmick? They discuss alternative approaches, how to generate a retirement paycheck, and the role of cash. Whether you’re interested in FIRE or on a traditional retirement path, you can’t afford to miss this episode!
How To Build A Retirement Paycheck is the first of (currently) four great posts on Fritz’ implementation of the bucket strategy, which we discussed at length in this episode and also in prior videos. The other articles in the series are linked here too, including one he mentioned in this episode, “How to Build a Bond Ladder”.
A Strategy For Buying Into A Bear Market is a post which shares what Fritz learned from the 2008 financial crisis and how he’s managing today’s market volatility.
In this episode, Fritz mentioned his post “A Step-By-Step Guide for Your Annual Financial Update”. Within you’ll find his guide to an annual review, including a checklist he developed along with links to spreadsheets to help you implement your own process.
In 2021, Fritz recently wrote a book called “Keys to a Successful Retirement” which captures the many lessons he has learned on his retirement journey so far. This is a great read for all current and future retirees. It goes far beyond the financial, and leans heavily into the social and emotional aspects of retirement, just like his blog. Highly recommended!
Freedom for Fidois the charity that the Gilberts started, whose stated purpose is to: “Free the dogs who live on chains in the North Georgia Mountains. We are a charity which provides free fencing and dog houses for low-income residents of the Blue Ridge area.” To learn more about this passion project, be sure to check out this link,
Karsten Jeske’s Content
Safe Withdrawal Rate series: This is the landing page for the 56-partSWR series (now; it will surely continue to grow) for which Karsten is best known. Be sure to start with the guidance he provides on how to navigate this great but expansive content. Many essential topics are covered and not all of them involve deep dives into math!
Portfolio rebalancing is an essential part of both strategies discussed in today’s video. This key topic is addressed in Part 39 of the SWR series. Rebalancing isn’t a panacea for sequence risk, but it’s certainly an important element to consider. As we’ve discussed previously, being consistent + avoiding market timing is essential.
A topic we didn’t hit on today but have talked about extensively in the past is Karsten’s Safe Withdrawal Rate Toolbox. We will be talking more about this powerful, free downloadable tool very soon. In the meantime, Part 28 is the post where the revisions to the original calculator are described and the latest tool is linked. To see the history of this tool, you’ll need to go back to Part 7 of the series.
Unsurprisingly, the always active Bogleheads forum got in on the action with this lengthy comment thread about the bucket strategy debate. If you want a broad range of opinions from many different viewpoints, look no further than this post, Just be prepared to deep dive for hours if you do!
Popular YouTuber and author Rob Berger also weighed in back in 2021 with this video on the bucket strategy. In it, you’ll learn why he thinks this plan is flawed and advocates you should take a different path.
