I'm Getting Back Into That, One Step at a Time, Piece by Piece

CNN.com's John Sutter looks back at his life over the past few years and reflects on how he got to where he is now. He finds himself in a position of needing to revamp some things, including spending habits that have led him away from what made him happy. The show will air Sunday night at 10 p.m. ET/PT; see CNN.com for more information.

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Transcript

Episode notes

What is a millionaire? By definition, someone who has a million dollars or more in net worth. But what do you think of when we say “millionaire”? Are you picturing sports cars, expensive vacations, big houses? The reality is that most millionaires are people just like you and me, living in regular homes, still attending their jobs, and trying their hardest to budget. Being a millionaire doesn’t mean you’ve “made it,” but it does mean you’re on the fast track to building wealth.

Gracie is a millionaire, but she doesn’t feel like it. When she discovered financial freedom, she set an impressive goal to hit millionaire status by the time she and her husband hit their mid-30s. They worked hard, were diligent savers, and ended up hitting that goal right on time, but it came with a lot less flexibility than they had hoped. While Gracie was able to quit her job, her husband wasn’t able to, and even as he brings in a great salary, the family still is close to breaking even every month on their budget.

But Gracie isn’t doing anything wrong. She’s got a tame budget, regularly reviews her spending, and knows that something has to change if she wants to reach the life of financial freedom she had been promised. So what should she do, change her assets, completely revamp her budget, or move to a lower cost of living area to increase her monthly cash flow? Scott and Mindy give Gracie some good advice that will most likely apply to you, even if you’re not a millionaire yet.

In This Episode We Cover

Coast FI and using it as an alternative to traditional financial independence

Budgeting, expense tracking, and knowing where your monthly income is going

Pivoting to part-time when trying to slowly leave a job you don’t love

Increasing your “financial flexibility” without sacrificing a ton of time

Budgeting red flags and where most families fail in saving money

Whether or not being heavy in retirement funds is a wise move in early retirement

And So Much More!

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