January 2022 – Two Sides of FI

January 31, 2022February 7, 2022

I Rebalanced My FI/RE Portfolio and I Hate It! (Part 1)

Eric reallocated his investment portfolio, sold out of his 100% equity position and he’s not happy about it. In this two-part episode, you’ll learn why and how he’s making peace with it. Ensuring that your investment portfolio can fund your lifestyle for the duration of your lifespan is essential to success in FIRE. One of the most impactful elements of that is how your portfolio is constructed, or your asset allocation. In part one, Eric discusses his desire to reduce the risk of his portfolio with Jason, and ensure he + Laura are set up for success. Topics discussed include the role of bonds + fixed income, the types of investment risk, seeking feedback from internet forums, and tax considerations.

Note: This content does not constitute investment advice and is being presented for informational and educational purposes only.

Pick up where part 1 leaves off with a bonus, behind-the-scenes look at Eric and Laura’s decision-making process (video below).

Eric + Laura Discuss Their Reallocation

Show Notes

Essential Background: If you haven’t watched our previous episodes on asset allocation (part 1 and part 2), this is highly relevant material to our discussion here.

Vanguard’s Principles of Investing Success is a really great read. It’s chock-full of information, including the chart showing average returns by asset mix (pp. 10) that Eric referenced in this episode. Whether you’re just getting started with investing or are very experienced, we suspect you’ll find something of value in this easy read.

How To Build A Retirement Paycheck: This is the first of three great Retirement Manifesto posts on author Fritz Gilbert’s implementation of the Bucket Strategy, which we have touched on several episodes to date. Here you’ll find guidance on how to determine the asset allocation you’ll want to have in place by the time you retire early. The other two articles in the series are linked here as well.

Financial Independence: How Long Will It Take? We showed visuals from this Go Curry Cracker post, which highlights the dramatic impact that your overall savings rate has on determining your FI timeline. This concept is also covered in the “Principles of Investing Success” article linked above.

You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.

January 16, 2022January 16, 2022

Retirement Is Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be

We all daydream about what retirement will be like, but will reality live up to expectations? In this episode, Eric and Jason are joined by Fritz Gilbert, who blogs at The Retirement Manifesto. Now nearly four years after retiring early, Fritz brings valuable experience + perspectives to this question. Our discussion goes well beyond the numbers, covering topics including finding your purpose, working “one more year”, determining your FIRE timing, and the keys to success in retirement.

Note: This content does not constitute investment advice and is being presented for informational and educational purposes only.

Show Notes

Retirement Is Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be – This is Fritz’ post that inspired us to make an episode of Two Sides of FI together. As you may have gathered from our earlier episodes, Jason completely agrees with Fritz that it’s impossible to really know what retirement is going to be like until you experience it. Now in his fourth year of early retirement, Fritz has a lot of experience to reflect upon and we’re grateful that he’s chosen to share it with us.

Keys to a Successful Retirement – As we discussed in this episode, Fritz recently wrote a book capturing lessons he learned on his retirement journey so far. His own description of the book is a really apt summary: “Covering topics like finances, embracing your passions, and dealing with feelings of aimlessness, grief, and depression that may crop up, this in-depth guide to retired living answers all the burning questions you want to ask—as well as those you’re afraid to. Take a complete look at your newfound freedom and explore what it really means to have a successful retirement.” We highly recommend it!

In this episode, we referenced a number of different blog posts Fritz wrote that we found useful, inspiring, and impactful. Please be sure to check them out:

Introducing The 90/10 Rule of Retirement: Be prepared for this mental shift when you retire.
The One More Year Syndrome: Why do folks continue to work after achieving Financial Independence?
The 10 Commandments Of Retirement: Fritz’ self-imposed guidelines for retirement.
How I Spend My Time In Retirement: A breakdown of Fritz’ time, and how it compares to his working years.
How To Build A Retirement Paycheck: This is the first of three great posts on Fritz’ implementation of the Bucket Strategy, which we discussed in this episode and in prior videos. The other two articles in the series are linked here too.
A Strategy For Buying Into A Bear Market: What Fritz learned from 2008 and how he’s managing today’s volatility.
Still want more? In this episode, Fritz talked about this list of all his blog posts to date, organized along a timeline. It’s a really great resource to walk through his pre- and post-retirement periods and see what he was thinking about along the way. We have found it a really useful reference guide to our own journeys.

Freedom for Fido is 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.” This project is clearly an important part of their lives and we’d recommend you check out the great and impactful work they’re doing together with their volunteer community.

You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.

January 3, 2022January 11, 2022

Financial Independence, Retire Early…Go Back to Work?

Discussing the concerns, worries, and interests occupying our thoughts right now. A temporal look from their respective sides of FI, Eric and Jason discuss a new job prospect, while Eric is a little too focused on saving to achieve FI. They probe ideas about how “vacation time” is different post-RE, as well as their current favorite podcasts and books.

Note: This content does not constitute investment advice and is being presented for informational and educational purposes only.

Show Notes

Eric’s “NOW” page @ 30X40 Design Workshop is where you’ll find links to some of the things that are inspiring Eric right now in his studio: tools, books, YouTube channels, podcasts and more. This includes links to the content he referenced in this episode.

Jason’s reading list – Here’s a list of all the books he’s read recently, is currently reading, or are up next. This is an example of a simple Notion page where you’ll find links out to learn more about these titles. Simply click on the triangles to the left of each section header to expand the respective lists.

Tenet was one of Jason’s favorite movies of 2021 and the link will take you to the film’s website. This movie can be a little challenging to wrap your brain around at times, so be forewarned. But once you get comfortable with “how the world works” in Tenet, it’s a really wild ride. It’s also visually stunning, so watch it on the largest screen you can. At the above linked you’ll find paths to digital copies and other purchase options. Depending on your region, you may also find it streaming on HBO or HBOMax, and potentially other services.

You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.