051 | Mad Money Monster | A Roller Coaster Path to FI

051 | In today's podcast we discuss the Roller Coaster Path to FI with Lisa from Mad Money Monster, including a new term she coined: F.I.O.R

In Today’s Podcast we cover: A conversation with Lisa from Mad Money Monster on the ‘Roller Coaster Path to FI’ Lisa grew up in a trailer, but in a great school district on the ‘right side of the tracks’ She only recently started telling people she grew up in a trailer as it impacted her self esteem She graduated from high school and didn’t plan to go to college as she didn’t think she was “smart enough” One meeting with an engineer at her first job let her to community college where she “secretly” applied The limiting beliefs and lack of a mentor behind her not even contemplating college

How her friend’s parents told her to not even start college as she “wasn’t going to finish” Lisa’s belief that she is coachable as a major life talent She graduated with a scientific degree from a four year university and had $25,000 of student loan debt Her employer paid for 100% of her master’s degree She then started saving significantly into her 401k, etc., but got into a bad relationship with a big spender She was still saving into her 401k, but her significant other’s bad habits rubbed off on her They spent $60,000 on a pool in their backyard and had friends over every weekend She had “cyclical credit card debt” that she paid off and then racked up again and then kept cycling What was holding her back from leaving the relationship? She didn’t want to move “backwards” in her life How she left the relationship and unchained herself financially

This was a defining character moment for her and let her believe she could do anything She then bought a property at the height of the real estate bubble in 2007 and moved her parents out of the trailer and into this home Though she could have lived “with her parents” at her house, she decided to move out into an apartment and stopped contributing to her retirement accounts How meeting Mr. Mad Money Monster was what put her on the path to Financial Independence They put an offer on a house they couldn’t comfortably afford and after the inspection came back negatively, they actually backed out and changed course They quickly found the FI community after that inflection point They paid off all their debt and maxed out retirement accounts Their savings rate is between 50% and 70% and they are well on their way to Financial Independence Financial Independence Optional Retirement