ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

Jonathan & Brad explore the world of Financial Independence. They discuss reducing expenses, crushing debt, building passive income streams through online businesses and real estate. How to pay off debt, Crush your grocery bill and travel the world for free. No topic is too big or small as long as it speeds up the process of reaching financial independence.

Episodes

August 24, 2026 63 mins
Most Americans never truly disconnect from work—even on vacation. After decades of tying your identity, daily rhythm, and sense of worth to a paycheck, stepping away feels less like freedom and more like freefall. Oz Chen spent years financially independent before he could accept it, wrestling with the psychological gap between having enough money and being okay with not working. Key Topics Discussed Oz's Background and FI Jo...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Every expert sounds convincing until you realize you've collected ten different "right" answers to the same retirement question. Brad Barrett recently found himself overwhelmed by competing FI strategies—from Cody Garrett's bond ladders to Aubrey Williams' risk-based guardrails—and came to a liberating conclusion: sometimes you just need to pick one and move on. Key Topics Discussed Navigating Conflicting Expert Advice ...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Starting with negative net worth at 47 in Los Angeles on $58,000 a year sounds impossible. Yet Paige reached financial independence by 56, retired early, and now lives exactly the life she designed. This isn't theory — this is what happened nine years after her first ChooseFI appearance. Key Topics Discussed 00:00:00 Introduction and The Alley Will Provide Brad welcomes Paige back nine years later and revisits the famous "all...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Paige started her journey to financial independence at 45 with student loans, negative net worth, and an average income in Los Angeles—yet she'll reach FI by 2025. Sam lives on $12,000 per year in the same expensive city and champions "retiring often" instead of early retirement. Together, they prove that every excuse about FI being impossible is just a limiting belief waiting to be shattered. Key Topics Discussed Introductio...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
A 40-year-old physician associate and his wife walked away from their jobs with $50,000 earmarked for a year of world travel. They returned having spent just $30,000—and visited 15+ countries across four continents. This isn't a story about deprivation or cutting corners. It's about strategic geography, intentional choices, and the freedom that comes from knowing exactly what you value. Key Topics Discussed Introduction and B...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Your spouse shoots down every FI conversation with "we can't afford it" or "retirement at 35 sounds crazy." You respond with better spreadsheets, tighter logic, more compelling numbers—and somehow make things worse. The problem isn't your math. It's that you're bringing a calculator to an emotional fight. Why FI Conversations Trigger Defensiveness 00:05:30 — When we talk about money, we're not really talking about money...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
July 20, 2026 73 mins
Brad Barrett's daughter just graduated high school. She's heading to college in a few months. The number of times he'll see her for the rest of his life? Already countable. This realization—visceral and unavoidable—brought him back to a conversation that changed both his and Chris Hutchins' lives nearly four years ago: their interview with Bill Perkins about Die with Zero. Key Topics Introduction and Episode Impact 00:0...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Reaching financial independence is supposed to be the goal—but what if you get there and realize the real skill isn't earning or saving, but learning to spend? And what if the metric for business success has nothing to do with revenue growth and everything to do with protecting your nervous system? Key Topics Discussed Introduction and the Hidden Curriculum 00:00:00 Brad introduces the concept of life's hidden curriculum&mdas...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Most investors think they're buying the same thing when they choose a target date fund—but two people who bought 2025 target date funds 15 years ago could have 40% different returns today. Same target year, wildly different outcomes. The culprit? Fund families structure these "simple" investments in dramatically different ways, and most investors never look under the hood. Key Topics Discussed Passive Investing vs Active Fina...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
June 29, 2026 67 mins
At 21, Cody Berman appeared on ChooseFI as a college student discovering financial independence. Three years later, he retired at 26. Now 30 with a $5 million net worth, he's back to reveal exactly how he compressed a decades-long journey into a three-year sprint—and why the same principles work whether you're 25 or 55. The Journey from 22 to FI at 26 00:05:30 Cody's path to financial independence was methodical and aggressiv...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Bill Yount reached financial independence at 60—then froze. His financial advisor confirmed 100% security, yet instead of relief, he felt disoriented fog. The emergency medicine physician who transformed from YOLO spender to 40% saver now struggles with a question that haunts many late starters: if I'm financially free, why can't I leave? Key Topics Discussed 00:05:30 The Wake-Up Call: From YOLO to Financial Awareness Bill's ...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
The stock market crashes about once every three years—at least a 20% drop. Most investors panic and sell. But if you understood why markets always recover, you'd do the opposite. Brian Feroldi reveals three mechanical forces that guarantee long-term market resilience, transforming market crashes from terrifying events into predictable opportunities. Key Topics Discussed Introduction to Market Resilience (00:00:00) Brad Barret...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Most investors lose to the market because they're trying to pick winners in a game where only 4% of stocks have created 100% of market wealth over the past century. The math isn't in your favor—but there's a simpler path that is. Key Topics Discussed Introduction to FI 201 (00:00:00) Jonathan introduces the concept of Financial Independence 201, explaining how it builds on FI 101 to help individuals progress from control to o...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Devon Gimbel just booked over $250,000 in travel last year using credit card points—but she's the first to tell you award travel isn't "free." It's a strategy for 10x-ing your existing travel budget by strategically matching your routine spending to the right credit cards. Since ChooseFI's original Travel Rewards 101 in 2017, the landscape has matured: annual fees are higher, issuer rules are stricter, and new players like Bi...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
A dead local meetup group attracted just 5 people to its first gathering at a brewery. Two years later, that same group draws 70+ attendees to structured educational sessions, with newcomers driving across multiple states to participate. The transformation reveals something most personal finance education gets fundamentally wrong. Introduction and St. Louis Group Overview [00:00:00] Jonathan and Brad welcome Kristen Knapp and Allen...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Brynne Conroy joins to discuss 529A ABLE accounts and massive new changes that nearly double eligibility for these accounts for those with disabilities.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Ginger asks Brad a series of hard hitting questions on life and FI.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Adam Coelho stood on stage presenting to Google's CEO at a leadership conference, the culmination of his 14-year career training thousands of Googlers in mindfulness and emotional intelligence. One week later, he was placed on a performance improvement plan—the corporate equivalent of being told your time is up. His story reveals a fundamental truth about financial independence that most people miss until it's too late: havin...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 27, 2026 68 mins
Even financially independent people have lost fortunes to bad investments, high-fee funds, and speculation. Brad Barrett, Alan Donegan, and Katie Donegan lay bare their most expensive mistakes—from Alan's 90% dot-com crash loss to Katie's near-£1 million fee trap to Brad's decade-long real estate nightmare—proving that catastrophic errors don't prevent you from reaching FI if you learn the right lessons. Key Topics Disc...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Most people trying to slash their budget hunt for obvious waste—daily lattes, unused subscriptions, impulse purchases. But what happens when you've already cut the fat and your highest expenses are the ones you can't seem to touch: the mortgage, the car payment, the daycare bill? That's required bloat, and it's quietly inflating your FI number by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Key Topics Discussed Introduction to Value Mat...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Bobby Bones Show

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

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

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

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices