Getting Personal with Personal Finance: Ginger & TJ | Episode 519

ChooseFI

Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media

Financialindependence, Investing, Firemovement, Passiveincome, Frugalliving, Personalfinancepodcast, Daveramsey, Careers, Business, Earlyretirement, Habits

4.8 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

TJ shares his financial journey and experience reaching financial independence, focusing on intentional savings and the joy of family life. Early influences and educational backgrounds shaped his approach to finance, leading to a strategic path that included tracking net worth and undertaking regular financial meetings with his wife. The episode dives into the challenges they faced, especially when dealing with unexpected medical circumstances and highlights the delicate balance between enjoying life and making prudent financial decisions, ultimately aligning with their core values.

Key Takeaways:

Intentional Savings: Be proactive in saving and planning for financial independence.
Tracking Net Worth: Regularly evaluate your financial progress.
Community Support: Rely on your community during tough times.
Flexibility in Planning: Adapt financial strategies as life changes occur.
Maintain a Positive Mindset: Approach challenges with optimism and agency.

Actionable Takeaways:

Implement regular financial meetings with your partner to track and discuss financial health.
Consider unexpected medical costs when planning for financial independence.
Maintain a positive and adaptable mindset when facing life challenges.

Action Items:

Start tracking your net worth regularly to understand your financial progress.
Set aside time for financial discussions with your partner every few months.
Plan for unforeseen medical costs in your financial independence calculations.

Related Resources:

Discussion Questions:

What aspects of financial planning do you think are most important?
How can community support impact your personal finance journey?
What strategies can you adopt to maintain a positive mindset during challenges?
How can tracking net worth change your financial perspective?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, everyone. It's Ginger again. I'm here today with TJ to have another personal conversation about personal finance.
0:07.0	I've talked to TJ exactly one time, and in that short conversation found him to be an extraordinary person.
0:14.2	It's rare to meet someone so successful, so warm, so generous, who is also so very young.
0:24.0	We're here today to learn his secrets. And with that little teaser, welcome to choose FI. Thanks, Ginger. I'm so excited to be here and happy to
0:36.9	share my experience that might be helpful for others.
0:39.8	Yeah, absolutely. So let's go ahead and give people a little bit of an image here. So give us some demographic information. How old are you? What does your family look like?
0:50.4	So I am 37 years old. I am married. My wife and I had our first son recently. He's 20 months old and a joy to be around. And we've been saving for a few years. We found FI, realized that there was a purpose to the savings. And we've gotten to the point now where as far as essential expenses go, we've
1:11.9	hit our fine number and are starting at least a many retirements, which may turn into a
1:17.2	permanent retirement and really excited about that. I love it. We're just jumping right in.
1:21.7	So, T.J. is retired slash sort of retired slash maybe retired. So we definitely want to hear the details. But let's kind of
1:30.7	start with, you said, suddenly we realized our savings had a purpose. Can you kind of talk us through
1:37.3	what was that experience and when did that happen? Yeah. So my wife and I have both been natural savers. We grew up in families that could make ends meet, but not a lot beyond that.
1:50.5	So when we followed what our interests were, we each ended up going to college for engineering.
1:58.0	I mean, in particular, I got a bachelor's in mechanical engineering and a
2:01.1	master's in nuclear engineering. It's all excited about the opportunities for a challenging
2:05.8	career. But the other thing that comes with that is also the opportunities to earn a lot more
2:10.7	than I'd ever seen in my family's past. So once I had enough money to buy things, I realized that the life that I had been living
2:21.2	that I had through my whole childhood was an enjoyable life to me. And I didn't feel a need to
2:25.8	change much of that. And so had a lot of extra money available. And that ended up being money
2:32.7	that instead of spending on other things that I already knew I didn't need,
2:35.9	I just wanted to save and have available for whatever the future might bring.
2:40.5	And so we started saving the money.
	...

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