FIRE at 50 by Creating “FI Paychecks” That Fund My Early Retirement! | Life After FIRE

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Investing, Education, Business

4.6 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Would you delay your early retirement for years to feel safer and secure once you FIRE? That’s what Mark Trautman did, FIRE-ing before discovering the FIRE movement was even a thing. While he could have retired in his 40s, Mark pushed his retirement date to 50, retiring with a conservative withdrawal schedule that even beats the 4% rule. But, thanks to being invested throughout his retirement, Mark has blown past even his Fat FIRE dreams, spending what he wants, when he wants, without a worry! But it wasn’t the money that made Mark thankful for FIRE. Mark was able to be right next to his wife and even his father during their last days, being fully dedicated to them and not worrying about a job or paycheck he had to go after. This is the TRUE point of FIRE, and living like Mark could have the same powerful impact on you. Speaking of paychecks, Mark’s “FI paychecks” are fueling his retirement, so much so that he barely (if ever) needs to withdraw from his retirement portfolio. How is this completely passive cash flow funding his life? Copy Mark’s strategy, and you could be Fat FIRE by 50, too! In This Episode We Cover The “FI paychecks” you should set up once you’re near early retirement Why FIRE is about MORE than money; it’s about time with the ones you love Mark’s “Fun Bucket” for worry-free spending on life-changing experiences Why delaying your early retirement could help you FIRE without money anxiety The one inflation/market downturn hedge Mark uses that provides him with passive income Early retirement healthcare and how Mark pays for health insurance without employment And So Much More! Links from the Show Mindy on BiggerPockets Scott on BiggerPockets Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Join BiggerPockets for FREE Email Mindy: [email protected] Email Scott: [email protected] BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group Follow BiggerPockets Money on Instagram “Like” BiggerPockets Money on Facebook Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money YouTube Channel! How to Plan for Early Retirement NOW! | Life After FIRE w/Justin Peters Mark’s Money Mind EconoMe Conference Get to FIRE Faster with “Set for Life” Sign Up for the BiggerPockets Money Newsletter Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area How to Plan for Early Retirement NOW! | Life After FIRE w/Justin Peters (00:00) Intro (00:53) FIRE at 50! (04:37) Scared to Withdraw for Retirement? (07:59) Super Conservative FI Strategy (12:34) The FI "Paycheck" (13:25) Spending in Early Retirement (15:14) Time Freedom to Care For His Wife (21:42) The "Fun" Bucket (25:24) Market Corrections Are GOOD! (29:41) Add Treasuries to Your FIRE Portfolio? (32:09) FIRE Healthcare (34:46) The FIRE Lifestyle (37:52) Connect with Mark! Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-624 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, hello, hello, my dear listeners, as you may or may not know, my husband Carl and I have a new
0:05.8	YouTube series on the Bigger Pockets Money YouTube channel called Life After Fire. And as a very special
0:12.1	bonus, we are going to be airing episodes here on the podcast on Wednesdays. So without further ado,
0:17.9	let's get into it. Today, I'm speaking with Mark Troutman from Mark's
0:21.7	Money Mind. Mark has been retired for 10 years and has an interesting spending concept called
0:27.8	the Fun Bucket. He also has a super interesting money story in general. We're going to talk about how
0:33.5	he reached financial independence, how he left his job, and how he spends his Tuesdays.
0:38.6	Hi there.
0:39.4	My name is Mindy Jensen, and today there's no Carl Jensen.
0:42.2	He's off playing hooky.
0:43.6	And this is the Mindy and not Carl, Life After Five podcast, where we talk about what happens
0:49.0	after you reach financial independence.
0:50.8	And we call this Life After Fire, because we're talking about and talking to people
0:55.2	who are living their best life after reaching financial independence. Mark, thank you so much
0:59.6	for joining me today. I'm so excited to talk to you. Yeah, that's great to be here. Just down the
1:04.2	street almost. Almost just down the street. Mark recently moved really, really close to me,
1:09.6	and I'm so excited to have him in town.
1:12.1	Mark, let's talk about your journey up to financial independence.
1:17.4	Really quick overview.
1:18.6	How did you reach financial independence?
1:20.5	What was your job?
1:21.7	How did you invest?
	...

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