“If you are not aggressive, you are not going to make money, and if you are not defensive, you are not going to keep money” (Ray Dalio). In this episode, Eric and Jason talk about their personal “80/20 Rules” for retiring early. That is, the decisions they made along the journey that served as key pivot points towards ensuring their achievement of financial independence.
Show Notes
Essential Background:
We touched on quite a few topics that we explored in much greater depth in earlier episodes. For the full details, you won’t want to miss these shows which paint a fuller picture of our FI paths:
- This episode only touched upon our career journeys. For more details on that, you won’t want to miss Two Careers, Two Paths to Financial Independence and Can You Reach FI Faster? Advice From Someone Who Did.
- Eric’s path to 90% passive income is truly impressive. To learn what his approach was like and to benefit from the many lessons he learned, 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). You won’t want to miss the show notes for these given all the valuable content Eric has linked here.
- For more on Jason’s FI journey, check out these episodes centered on his retirement milestones to date: What I Learned in My First Year of “Early Retirement (1 year), My New Life: Two Years After Early Retirement (2 years), and Finding My Way in Early Retirement: A 30 Month Check-In (2.5 years), and Four Years Later: What I Wish I Knew Before Retiring Early.
- Did you see Jason’s AMA, Ask an Early Retiree Anything! Live Q&A with Jason from Two Sides of FI? There’s no better episode for an unfiltered look at Jason’s first three years after leaving his career behind.
- Don’t think that our FIRE journeys were devoid of errors! We discussed just how far from mistake-free our journeys were in Don’t Make These Financial Mistakes on the Path to FIRE! (Part 1) and (Part 2).
- 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? 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.
- Jason mentioned last year’s birthday blowout at the start of this episode. For more on this FIRE-unfriendly but really memorable example of when spending is truly “worth it”, check out Will This Get Us Kicked Out of the FIRE Movement?
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 two 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.
- Eric’s business: 30X40 Design Workshop
- Jason’s blog: the next phase is now
- Eric’s YouTube Channel
- Our podcast