The FI School: Recent Episodes
Jared Mataitusi and Russell Flynn
A podcast dedicated to helping young achievers open their eyes to the world of possibilities and build the life of their dreams. Jared and Russell are two dudes who discuss topics centered around financial independence including investing, real estate, personal growth, tax optimization, travel hacking and more. Our goal is to inspire the younger generation to shoot for the stars and help them align their time, energy, and money with their goals. The life of your dreams is just a couple episodes away.
If the stock market is down, does that mean the bond market is up?
How do bonds work in my portfolio? Do I even want bonds?
Today, Jared and Russell discuss Part XII of JL Collins' Stock Series all about bonds. Whether you want to add bonds to your portfolio or not, it's important to at least know what they are and how they work.
Stay tuned to learn more!
And as always, if you'd like to ask us a question on the show, email us at mailbag@thefischool.com.
Resources:
JL Collins' Stock Series - Part XII Bonds
When you're lying on the edge of a lake in the Forbidden Forrest next to your godfather getting the life sucked out of you by Dementors, who is going to come save you?
The same person who is responsible for putting your finances in order and funding your retirement.
And I'll give you a hint: It's not Social Security.
Chris asks, "Should I upgrade my Chase Sapphire Preferred to a Reserve?"
Jacob says, "I have some big purchases coming up and I want to earn some Chase Ultimate Rewards points. What card(s) should I open next?"
And Jared hits some obstacles trying to upgrade his Freedom card to a Sapphire Reserve, but learns some valuable information for future reference...
If you want to ask us a question for the giant mailbag, email us at mailbag@thefischool.com. Can't wait to hear from you!
Russell is saving $1,051 on his hotel in Waikiki for his honeymoon! Instead of paying $1,250 for 5 nights at the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach, Russell is only paying $199.
Tune in to find out what credit card bonus Russell is earning and how he's spending those points!
Jared also talks about how booking some Hilton Curio Collection hotels in Greece with points is akin to lighting your money on fire.
If you have a question about Financial Independence, travel hacking, or credit card rewards, or you'd just like to say hi, send us an email at mailbag@thefischool.com.
Russell is getting married! Time to plan the honeymoon to Hawaii. Their flights are covered thanks to earning the Southwest Companion Pass, but Russell isn't sure where to start looking for hotels.
What loyalty program should he use? What credit cards should he open?
Stay tuned to learn about the pros and cons of Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott bookings in Hawaii, as well as some things to keep in mind when deciding.
To learn how Russell earned the Southwest Companion Pass, and an overview of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, checkout episodes 004, 005, and 006
If you'd like to get in touch with us, or ask us a question for a future episode, email us at mailbag@thefischool.com
What happens to your money if Vanguard blew up tomorrow?
What's the difference between investing in "The Vanguard Group" and a Vanguard Index Fund like VTSAX?
Are you as diversified as you think you are if you invest in International Funds?
Should you invest in International Funds? If so, which ones? And how much?
Join us as we discuss these topics from JL Collins' Stock Series Parts X - XI and more on today's episode!
If you'd like to ask us a question, email us at mailbag@thefischool.com and we might just discuss it on the show!
Today's Resources:
https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/
The most famous financial independence blog post in the 21st century explained this enormous finding:
Your time to reach retirement depends on only one factor -- your savings rate.
If you save 0% of your take home pay, you can never retire.
If you save 100% of your take home pay, you can retire right now.
Tune in and find out how soon you can retire.
If you'd like to ask us a question, email us at mailbag@thefischool.com and we might just discuss your question on the show!
Resources:
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
What do you know about willpower? How much of it do you have? Can you get more of it? Do you even need it?
Today, we talk about the role of willpower in our habits, routines, and money. Stay tuned to figure out how to win financially with or without any willpower at all.
If you'd like to ask us a question, email us at mailbag@thefischool.com and we might just discuss your question on the show!
References Mentioned:
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Everything you need to consider when buying a used car!
Joshua Sheets from Radical Personal Finance lays out 5 steps to buying a used car in his 5-part podcast series. Today, Russell and Jared talk about these 5 steps in depth!
- Don’t buy a car if you can avoid it
- Decide what you want and need in a car
- Decide how much to spend
- Decide on a new car vs a used car
- The single best technique to source a quality used car
Stay tuned for the BONUS discussion on Electric Cars to find out just how much it costs per year to drive an EV compared to a gas car.
If you'd like to ask us a question, email us at mailbag@thefischool.com and we might just discuss your question on the show!
Resources:
Electric CarsTop EVs
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/electric-vehicles
https://www.motortrend.com/style/electric/
Electric Prices around the US
https://www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/data/averageenergyprices_selectedareas_table.htm
Tax Credits
https://electrek.co/2023/01/03/which-electric-vehicles-still-qualify-for-us-federal-tax-credit/
Today we explore the world of Chase credit cards! Who are their partners and what can we do with our Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
Chase Offers 38 total credit cards
Personal cards + Business cards
There are business versions of most personal cards
Travel Cards
Airline Cards
Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Plus / 75k / $69 fee
- Premier / 75k / 6,000 annual pt / $99 fee
- Priority / 75k / $75 annual credit + 7,500 pt / $149 fee
- Premier Business / 60k / $99 fee
- Performance Business / 80k / $199 fee
United
- Gateway / 30k / no annual fee
- Explorer / 60k / $95
- Quest / 80k / $125 annual credit + flight credits / $250 fee
- Club Infinite / 100k / club/lounge membership + 2 chk bags / $525 fee
- United Business 75k / No annual fee
- United Club Business / 75k / same as Club Infinite / $450
Aeroplan
British Airways (Avios points)
Aer Lingus (Avios points)
Iberia (Avios points)
Hotel Cards
Marriott
- Bold / 30k / no annual fee
- Boundless / 3 free night awards / $95 fee
- Bountiful (new) / 125k / $250 fee
IHG
- Rewards Premier / 140k / $99 fee
- Rewards Traveler / 80k / No annual fee
- Rewards Premier Business / 140k / $99 fee
World of Hyatt
- 30k + free night / $95
- World of Hyatt Business / 60k / $199 fee
Rewards Cards
Instacart
Disney
Amazon
- Amazon Prime Rewards / $150 Amazon gift card + 5% at Amazon, 2% restaurants and gas stations / no annual fee
- Amazon Rewards / $60 Amazon gift card + 3% at Amazon, 2% restaurants and gas stations / no annual fee
Student Cards
- Freedom Student / $50 after first purchase + 1% everything / no annual fee
Main Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards
Personal
- Sapphire Reserve / 80k / $550 fee
- Sapphire Preferred / 60k / $95 fee
- Freedom Flex / 20k + 5x grocery / no annual fee
- Freedom Unlimited / 20k +5x grocery / no annual fee
Business
- Ink Business Unlimited / 90k / No annual fee
- Ink Business Cash / 90k / no annual fee
- Ink Business Preferred / 100k / $95 fee
- Ink Business Premier / 100k / $195 fee
Where does retirement come from? People have only started retiring in the last 100 years Most people in history worked until they died or until they were taken care of by their children. When welfare systems like Social Security we’re put into place, age 65 was arbitrarily put in place as the end of a working life. Today, the Standard Path we’ve been sold is to work from 18-65 and then you can enjoy the rest of your life
What if there was another way? What if you could retire earlier? What would you do with your life if money wasn’t a limiting factor? That is what Financial Independence is all about. Finding meaning in life, and getting your money to support your vision.
Where do your beliefs around money come from? School, your parents, tv? In today's episode, Russell and Jared talk about their own money stories. Tune in for the lessons learned from Learning how to have a successful lemonade stand Selling choir tickets in a white tie tuxedo Saving money for the future as a kid and more!
To discover your own money stories, ask yourself these questions: Did my parents ever talk about money? What did they say about money? Was I in any groups or clubs that made me sell things for fundraisers? Did I save up to buy things, or did I spend all the money I had? Did I ever see something I wanted, then figured out how to earn the money to buy it?
Imagine an XY axis: The x-axis is our money-making belief spectrum: People range from "I can only make as much as my job will pay me" to "If I'm creative and work hard, the sky is my limit to how much I can earn" The y-axis is our frugality belief spectrum: People range from "I need to save all of my money" to "I need to spend all of my money"
Where do you fall on the graph? What can you do to change your position? If we understand where our money stories come from, we can choose to develop new beliefs about money -- beliefs that push us towards our goals!
Part V: Keeping it simple Simple is good. Simple is easier. Simple is more profitable Best investors are the dead Fidelity supposedly did a customer performance review from 2003-2013 and found that those with the best returns were either dead or inactive. (There’s no proof that this review exists, but everyone agrees with it haha) https://www.morningstar.com/articles/964493/from-the-archives-in-praise-of-the-dead-investors (https://www.morningstar.com/articles/964493/from-the-archives-in-praise-of-the-dead-investors) The decision to swap one equity tends to be damaging even if well informed. Retail investors, as with professional managers, will generally do best if they lie on the couch when the urge strikes, and get up only when it leaves Gold goes up for several years, it attracts favorable headlines … so let's add some gold to the portfolio. Now is the time. See, there is that word time. The dead have their drawbacks. They make for dull company, and when the dishes need washing, they are never around. As investment mentors, however, they have their merits. Manage your own money, it’s not hard. Russell’s story about a financial advisor There are more mutual funds than total stocks. Active fund managers charge fees: Up front loading fee Expense ratio every year If they are managing your taxable accounts, they could be causing taxable events left and right as they “prove their wisdom to you” With VTSAX, VBTLX, and cash, you’re chilling (Vanguard the company is owned by the Vanguard funds, or us as shareholders. This means their interests and ours are inline) How much $$$ you have in each and in which buckets depends on your personal situation. JL Collins says: Questions to ask yourself: Are you in the wealth building or wealth preservation stage? What’s your risk tolerance? How long-/short-term are you thinking? I prefer to flip the questions around When do you want this money? (This also determines wealth building/preservation) What’s your risk tolerance?
Best Introduction to FI Book: -The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins Best Introduction to FI Podcast: -ChooseFI. Best Real Estate Podcast: -BiggerPockets. Best DIY Entrepreneurship Podcast: -The Rebel Entrepreneur. Podcasts in my daily/weekly rotation: -Afford Anything (General FI and Real Estate podcast) -All the Hacks (Travel hacks and life hacks) -Radical Personal Finance (Former financial planner that takes a slightly contrarian view towards FI which is really helpful to keep you from blindly drinking kool aid) -YNAB (The You Need A Budget software's podcast. You can get the budgeting software for free for a year if you're a student.) -Beginning Balance (YNAB business podcast) -Mad Fientist -Bigger Pockets Money Podcast -Mile High FI -Mind Your Business -Eventual Millionaire -Stacking Benjamins -Military Money Manual -The Military Millionaire Podcast Not finance related podcasts I listen to: -Jordan B. Peterson Podcast -Art of Manliness -Valuetainment -The Ed Mylett Show -The Tim Ferris Show -Impact Theory