Catching Up to FI: Financial Independence for Late Starters

Catching Up to FI: Financial Independence for Late Starters

Catching Up to FI is mindset, money, and life show for late starters of any age and for any reason, on the journey to Financial Independence (FI). The show is hosted by two late starters that have clawed their way back financially and share a passion for financial literacy and education. Bill Yount, MD is an emergency room physician that is still working and Jackie Cummings Koski, CFP®, AFC® is a financial educator that reached FI and manage to retire at the age of 49 even after getting a late start. Together they talk to experts, other late starters, and explore topics that help listeners catch up and move closer to achieving their money and life goals. Our past guests have been thought leaders in the FI community with a special lens toward late starters, such as JL Collins (Simple Path to Wealth & Pathfinders), Brad Barrett (ChooseFI), Pete Adeney (Mr. Money Mustache), Paula Pant (Afford Anything), Mindy Jensen & Scott Trench (BiggerPockets), Jeremy Schneider (Personal Finance Club & Necatrine) and more.

Episodes

September 7, 2025 61 mins

Darrow Kirkpatrick retired from a 29-year career in civil and software engineering in April 2011 at the age of 50 and started the blog 'Can I Retire Yet' that same year. The Blog was one of the first in the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) space and focuses on the personal finance needs of anyone who is thinking about retirement or early retirement. He joins us for a deeply human masterclass on retir...

Mark as Played

In this crossover episode, Jackie joins the 'Wicked Pissah Podcast’, brought to you by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) of New England. She trades in the Sunday sweatshirt for her CFP® blazer but still stays true to openly sharing her fascinating money story and spreading financial literacy. They discuss:

  • Read more
Mark as Played

Ruth Henderson is the creator of ‘The Happy Saver,’ a beloved New Zealand blog and podcast that brings personal finance down to earth. She transitioned from part-time work to full-time content creation, sharing her journey toward early retirement with honesty, humor, and heart. In this episode we swap notes with her on the financial independence journey of Americans vs. Kiwis (New Zealanders). She also shares w...

Mark as Played

Azul Terronez went from being an unknown schoolteacher to a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. He is co-founder and lead coach at “Authors Who Lead,” a platform dedicated to empowering authors to share their stories. He turns our conversation with him into a courage clinic for would-be storytellers, late starters, and anyone who suspects their "zone of genius" is dying to be unleashed. ...

Mark as Played

J.C. and Bev Webber's late-starte...

Mark as Played
In this midweek episode, Bill and Jackie join the 'The Visible Voices' podcast, hosted by Dr. Resa E Lewiss. We highlight the voice of late starters and discuss:
  • The huge gap that 'Catching Up to FI' is filling and what we mean by the 'silent majority'
  • How shock, regret, and money-trauma can become fuel
  • Unique advantages you may have when beginning your financial indep...

We ❤️ Case Studies! Nurse practitioner and mom of three, Lisa, opens up and shares what's in her wallet, and her heart. In this episode we dive into her fascinating late-starter story and financials. She was also this year's brave Case Study at the EconoMe conference and revealed all her numbers in front of a live audience to get crowd-sourced feedback in real time. What transpired afterwards was powerful...

Mark as Played

Morningstar's Christine Benz and investing-history legend Dr. William Bernstein announces the Jonathan Clements "Getting Going on Savings" Initiative. In 2024, Jonathan was diagnosed with a terminal illness and decided to use the proceeds from a final book to kick-start a new program that will directly help fund Roth IRAs for young adults (especially from low-income households) to the tune of $1,000 each. The J...

Mark as Played

Nick Maggiulli is the data-driven creator of the blog 'Of Dollars And Data', Chief Operating Officer at Ritholtz Wealth, and author of the newly released book 'The Wealth Ladder'. He joins us on the show to break down his six-level wealth ladder and openly shares some of his steps and missteps as he moved up on his own wealth-building journey. In this episode, we discuss these financial insights he shared in th...

Mark as Played

Bill hops onto Jesse Cramer's 'Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors' (formally The Best Interest) podcast. Along with some of our favorite content creators, he shares his crazy spending screw ups-- and the life lessons that followed. Stories from: 

  • Bill Yount (Catching Up to FI)
  • Jesse Cramer (Personal Finance For Long-Term Investors)
  • Diania Merriam (EconoMe Conference & Optimal Finance Daily) 
  • Justin Peters (FI Minded, for...
Mark as Played

Bogleheads favorite Jon Luskin, CFP® drops in for part 2 of his masterclass on embracing simplicity. He specializes in providing hourly advice to do-it-yourself investors and is a long-time advocate of simple, low-cost investing. In this second part he shares with us:

 

  • Simple Investor Policy Statement (IPS)

  • All-in-One Funds: target date an...

Mark as Played

Bogleheads favorite Jon Luskin, CFP® drops in for a masterclass on keeping money moves “so dull they sparkle.” He specializes in providing hourly advice to do-it-yourself investors and is a long-time advocate of simple, low-cost investing. In this episode he shares with us:

  • Why every la...
Mark as Played

You asked and we answered! In this episode we tackle listener questions with more than just a one-sentence response… we go deeper and give you answers with our thoughtful insights, ideas and considerations important to late starters. These are the questions we cover on today’s show:

 

✅ Bill’s costly mistake with whole-life insurance; what should you do instead?

✅ How does the $19,000 annual gift tax exclusion work?

✅ Do I ha...

Mark as Played

On this mid-week episode we join the upbeat creators of 'Rebel Finance School', Alan and Katie Donegan, for a turbo-charged pep rally aimed at every late-starter who's ever whispered "it's too late for me." We kicked off the Donegans' free 10-week course that's helping thousands around the world on their journey to FI.  

 

📩 Sign up for our newsletter  NEW!

🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website 

Mark as Played

Jillian Johnsrud—mini-retirement evangelist, mother of five, and author of 'Retire Often'—returns to show us why pressing pause can be the ultimate career accelerator. In this episode she explains the three hallmarks of a bona-fide mini retirement and the three ways to snag one:

Read more

Mark as Played

On this mid-week episode, we're switching it up again. This time Bill joins the 'Finance for Physicians' podcast with host Daniel Wrenne, CFP®. In this vulnerable interview, Bill owns up to every late-starter mistake—credit-card splurges, 'free' advisors, and lifestyle creep after a twin-sized home upgrade. Then he slings real-world antidotes: pause-plan-pivot, backward budgeting, downsizing the McMansion...

Mark as Played

In this episode we are joined by Cary Carbonaro, an award-winning author, and Certified Financial Planner™ with over 25 years of experience. Her specialty is empowering women to discover their unique path to financial independence. One thing we love the most about Cary is how radically transparent she is with her clients. Just call her the "Queen of Transparency" because she shares her tax return, investm...

This mid-week episode is the recording of a session done with the smart women of the WE (Women Empowered) Wealth Collective, titled: What Every Woman Should Know About Minimizing Taxes in Retirement. ‘Catching Up to FI’ co-host and author of ‘F.I.R.E for Dummies', Jackie Cummings Koski, CFP®, AFC®, continues through an easy to follow checklist of tax considerations in retirement. She demo-drives 72(t) and RMD calculato...

Mark as Played

Mention financial independence and one of the first names that come up is JL Collins, author of the bestselling book 'The Simple Path to Wealth'. In fact, he is affectionately known as the Godfather of FI. One million copies and 10 years after its original publication, JL back with a shiny new, revised and expanded edition... and it just hit the New York Times Bestseller list!!!

We kn...

Mark as Played

Tax talk without the snooze-fest! This mid-week episode is the recording of a session done with the smart women of the WE (Women Empowered) Wealth Collective, titled: What Every Woman Should Know About Minimizing Taxes in Retirement. ‘Catching Up to FI’ co-host and author of ‘F.I.R.E for Dummies' Jackie Cummings Koski, CFP®, AFC®, turns this insightful discussion into a masterclass on trimming Uncle Sam's tab at every ...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

    Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

    New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

    Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.