Mystery shopping might be the new travel rewards hack. Johnny uses travel rewards and mystery shopping to go on holiday for free. Him and his wife are using rental properties to fast track their path to FI, with Johnny's goal is to be able to take summers off by the age of 35. You'll love that story. We also chat about... How to make the most of travel rewards Where to get travel reward information The value of mystery shopping Enjoy this chat with Johnny, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Johnny's blog: Financial Roadways Johnny on Twitter Jobspotter app Frequent Travel University Episode: Rethink the Rat Race Key takeaways from our chat with Johnny 1 - Mystery shopping is just as valuable Mystery shopping involves using a service for free and filling in a survey/review in return. This is usually done with restaurants, holidays and hotels. Johnny provides quality reports and literally gets paid to go on holiday or to eat a delicious meal at a restaurant. A new travel hacking technique? 2 - Travel rewards and minimum spending The problem with many travel reward credit cards is that the minimum spend is pretty high, and that can put off some people, especially since you can't pay bills with a credit card. Johnny and his family use a third party software that allows you to pay bills from your credit card, and if you don't meet the minimum spend that month, you can prepay the bills or use a gift card. This is what allows him, his family and his in-laws to go on holiday to Jamaica at a resort, all for free. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

Fire Drill

A New Travel Hack: Mystery Shopping | Financial Roadways

We Are a Strong Community and My Request For You

My name is Rachel Teodoro and I am a mom of three kids living in the greater Seattle area with my husband Mike, who is a mechanical engineer. We met while attending Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. I am a lover of all things thrifty and can be found trolling for garage sales nearly every weekend. I like to craft, create and decorate my home with my thrifty finds. I am always happy to share my tips and tricks for living well on less. From Rachel's website - https://www.rachelteodoro.com/ Popular Posts of Rachel's: No Spend Challenge overview Our No Spend Challenge rules No Spend Challenge blog posts: The Real Cost of the Impulse Buy Saving money on Utilities Surprising Library Benefits that will save you Money How to Save Money with a Pantry Challenge 20 Things Frugal People Do Every Day Rachel on Social: Twitter - https://twitter.com/msrachelteodoro Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/msrachelteodoro/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msrachelteodoro/

Parent Goals: How Rachel Teodoro Has College Tuitions and Her Mortgage Handled

We are Ali and Alison Walker, and we used to call Seattle, Washington our home. We met in 2004, married in 2006, and retired in 2018. After reaching Financial Independence we wanted a complete and total change from our career-focused lives. We decided that meant leaving our Seattle life behind and making travel our new lifestyle. By November of 2018 we had sold our home and car, let go of 99% of our belongings, and left Seattle to travel the world indefinitely. From their blog, All Options Considered https://alloptionsconsidered.com

We Early Retired in Late 2018 For World Travel | Ali and Alison Walker

An important discussion about the Baby Boomer generation and healthcare in the US with Medicare insurance expert Danielle Kunkle. Boomer Benefits

Your Aging Parents and Healthcare | US Medicare

Nancy's freebie on the decision making process Her YouTube channel: Dr Nancy Li  

Negotiation and Influence in Corporate Culture with Dr. Nancy Li

Enjoy this special live podcast episode with early retiree Dave Homyak. You can join the Facebook group here.

Mortgage Rebates, Airbnb, and Travel Deals with Dave Homyak

Today's episode is with Sasha of Your Frugal Friend blog and Etsy shop. Sasha is a thirty-something mother of two and accountant who makes incredible budgeting spreadsheets and sells them on Etsy. She has paid off over $60,000 of debt to date and is on the path to financial independence in Austin, Texas. Learn more about Sasha: Sasha's Blog Etsy Shop YouTube Channel Other links: Etsy Printables Course Podcast Facebook group for Live Episodes

Your Frugal Friend Sasha

Today's episode is sponsored by the EconoMe Conference which is a conference for the financial independence community on March 7th, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can win a free ticket to the event by commenting on this thread in our Facebook group. Fire Drill listeners receive 10% off tickets for this event using the code FIREDRILL. Learn more here: https://economeconference.com    

Walking the Camino de Santiago and the EconoMe Conference

Links from today's episode: Doug's Personal Training Website: Monumental Strength The top 5 downloaded episodes of 2019: A Purple Life Episode Mortgage Payoff Debate Grant Sabatier of Millennial Money JT Episode Tanja Hester

2019 Year in Review with Julie

Have you ever dreamt of pursuing a digital nomad lifestyle? Eric started his digital nomad journey by joining a work travel program called Remote Year after saving up enough of a cash buffer. His plan is to continue working remotely after Remote Year is over and living a full on digital nomad lifestyle. You'll love that story. We also chat about... Eric's background What Remote Year is like How he's planning on making an income A day in the life of a digital nomad Enjoy this chat with Eric, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Eric's blog: Nomad on FIRE Eric on Twitter and Instagram Reddit thread /buildapc New Egg ChooseFI Facebook Group Remote Year Episode: The DIY approach to building skills, becoming a millionaire, and finding your passion | Grant Sabatier of Millennial Money NomadList Mr Free at 33 The Earth Awaits NomadSummit 2020 No More Harvard Debt Episode: A New Travel Hack: Mystery Shopping | Financial Roadways Key takeaways from our chat with Eric 1 - Remote Year is a good way to transition into the digital nomad lifestyle Remote Year is a work travel program that offers accommodation and co-working passes to a group of people who live a digital nomad lifestyle together. Although a little on the pricier side, Eric argues this is a great way to try the digital nomad life along with a community. He gets to meet a lot of interesting people from diverse backgrounds and several different skills, all while travelling and working on his side hustles. 2 - Geoarbitrage as a strategy Eric is using geoarbitrage to make his money last longer - by earning in a strong currency and spending in a weaker currency in cheaper locations. Him and his girlfriend get to save more money and travel more. He also uses travel rewards, and recently started a blog to document his journey and make some extra money. 3 - How Eric saved up $30k to travel abroad Eric was working a high paying job but lacked work life balance. He was always a decent saver and made sure to max out his tax advantaged accounts and avoid lifestyle inflation. He treated his saving as a game, and made it a challenge at the end of every month to find ways to cut back and save more. The most important: finding what your why is. That's his plan for the year ahead. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

How I’m Transitioning into a Digital Nomad Lifestyle | Nomad on FIRE

One of the best ways to increase your income is to do a career transition Caitlyn changed from sales in the beer industry to working as a software engineer. After an intense 6 months completing a coding bootcamp, she was able to find a higher paying job as a software engineer with a better work life balance and pretty much everything she was looking for in a job. You'll love that story. We also chat about... Caitlyn's early career How she completed the coding bootcamp How she got her job as a software engineer Managing coding interviews How not to screw up your career transition Enjoy this chat with Caitlyn, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Caitlyn on Twitter Hackerank Key takeaways from our chat with Caitlyn 1 - The first step to a career switch Caitlyn was working in the beer industry in sales, but wanted to work in tech. Her first step was researching bootcamps online and picking a bootcamp with good reviews and that wasn't too expensive. She completed her bootcamp online since she didn't have the patience or time to go back to school, and didn't get into debt to pay for the course. 2 - How she found a job immediately after finishing the bootcamp Her bootcamp was 6 months long. She started networking for jobs at the 4 month mark, and says this is what allowed her to find a job at the perfect timing. During her job search she researched different companies, did many interviews and used the skills she acquired working in sales to set her apart from other candidates. The personal connection she got from networking meant she was more likely to be considered for a job position. 3 - Are bootcamps worth it? Caitlyn believes bootcamps are a great option. They cost a fraction of what a college degree costs, allow you to work remotely and provide you with many more opportunities. Caitlyn used Twitter to connect with other tech people and commit herself to the challenge of learning how to code - she made a lot of friends and it helped her transition career. It's important to network as well as complete the bootcamp - if that's what you do, then a coding bootcamp is very much worth it. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

How I Transitioned My Career into Tech with a Coding Bootcamp | Caitlyn

Is property part of your portfolio in order to reach FI? Maria and her husband own 9 rental properties, and have a net worth of over a million. They're aiming for a net worth of $3 million in order to reach FI, and have some pretty nifty real estate hacks to share with us. You'll love that story. We also chat about... Maria's personal finance journey Canada's maternity leave Dealing with tenants Future FI goals Enjoy this chat with Maria, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Blog: Handful of Thoughts Maria on Instagram FI after 50 Camp Mustache Key takeaways from our chat with Maria 1 - Canada's maternity leave is pretty sweet In Canada, maternity leave can be 12 months or 18 months. Maria and her husband used up their maternity and were able to split it between the two quite evenly. This allows Maria as well as her husband to go back to work fully rested and with the right energy. Julie mentions she's able to get 8 month maternity leave. 2 - How they're investing in real estate to reach FI Maria works as a teacher, and along with her husband they own 9 rental properties with a total net worth of $1.3 million. The first $1 million took them 8 years, and they're planning on the next one to take 5 years. They already have a pretty flexible lifestyle and plan in the future to homeschool their kids. 3 - A few tenant hacks As a landlady, Maria has had to deal with a few difficult cases - she had to take one tenant to court because of the state in which they left the flat when they moved out. But she was still able to get her money back thanks to one good hack: asking for an emergency contact before the tenant moves in. The mother of the tenant was then able to represent the tenant in court. Other hacks include trusting your gut, and sending a birthday card on the tenant's birthday. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

How We Manage Our 9 Rental Properties | Handful of Thoughts

Do you include your house and car in your overall net worth? Rachel and her family are aiming for a FIRE number of $2 million. Her and her husband focus on a high savings rate, prioritising their budget and building a side income to speed up their journey. You'll love that story. We also chat about... Budgeting categories How they manage big expenses Their total net worth How Rachel is participating in GCV's blogging and Etsy course Enjoy this chat with Rachel, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Blog: Money Hacking Mama Rachel on Instagram Gold City Ventures Article: The Shockingly Simple Math to Early Retirement Net Worthify Calculator Redfin YNAB Key takeaways from our chat with Rachel 1 - How Rachel keeps a high savings rate Rachel uses YNAB to do all her budgeting, keep track of her net worth and manage all her expenses. She looks at the big picture of her yearly expenses and compares it to her income. From there she can easily prioritise her values, and figure out what she needs to cut down to keep a high savings rate. This means she's more careful when buying gifts at Christmas, for example. 2 - Why her house and car are not part of her net worth Her household's net worth is currently $650k, and her and her husband are aiming for $2 million. This does not include their house and car since she says that those two, although assets, won't pay them any money. Having said this, both assets will be paid off by the time they're retired. 3 - Her experience with blogging and Etsy Rachel joined Gold City Ventures because she always wanted to manage a blog and make some side income online. She knew she needed someone to help her with the technical side, and the course has helped her through every milestone. The community is very powerful and this keeps her posting regularly. She's also started with Etsy and has completed over 60 sales! Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

Why We Don’t Include Our House in Our Net Worth | Money Hacking Mama

Do you dream of retiring before your 40s? Amon and Christina retired at age 39 and moved to Portugal with their two daughters. Thanks to their government jobs, they were able to achieve a very high savings rate of 70% and build a nest egg of 25 times their annual expenses in just 8 years. They've now been retired for 3 months and enjoy their time relaxing and spending more time with their girls. You'll love that story. We also chat about... How they got started on their journey Their FIRE numbers Why they got government jobs Their asset allocation Dealing with health insurance abroad Enjoy this chat with Amon and Christina, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it! Show notes and links from today's episode Blog: Our Rich Journey Our Rich Journey on Youtube and Instagram Video: Top 5 Companies Always Hiring Key takeaways from our chat with Amon and Christina 1 - The journey starts with the right mindset Christina and Amon explain that the FIRE movement is a unique world where many people outside believe that reaching FI is not possible. But they argue that it is possible if you have the right mindset and keep a positive attitude. Their journey started by working on their mindset, and then they started saving money, investing in real estate and educating themselves about money management. 2 - How they were able to save 70% of their income They attribute their high savings rate to having government jobs that paid for all their living expenses abroad. They worked in Japan and in Spain, and were able to live for 10 years mortgage and rent free. They also saved on insurance and transportation, and would travel for free with credit card hacks. They had the purpose of FI and kept putting that money into the stock market to be able to retire early. The good news: there are a lot of opportunities to work with the federal government and it's not hard to get a job with them overseas. 3 - Their lifestyle in Portugal The couple describe their life as an extended European dream. Their days are extremely flexible and they have a 'semi-structured' life with their girls going to school everyday. They're in Portugal on a retirement visa and have decided to focus on building their children and spending as much as time as they can with them. Questions? Like or dislike? Leave us a comment! Want to support the podcast? Here are three things you can do. 1. Start tracking your net worth with Personal Capital using our link. It's free. 2. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get one extra LIVE episode from us per week. 3. Join our Facebook group and connect with other members of the FI community.

How Our Government Jobs Helped Us Reach FI | Our Rich Journey

Join host Julie Berninger on FIRE Drill podcast where she interviews guests with epic side hustles, real estate investors, early retirees, online business owners, and other inspiring people rocking financial independence. All things Early Retirement are broken down into simple, actionable steps for the average person. Step up your money game and renew your money philosophy with Fire Drill podcast.

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A New Travel Hack: Mystery Shopping | Financial Roadways

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