ChooseFI
ChooseFI
How would your life change if you reached Financial Independence and got to the point where working is optional? What actions can you take today to make that not just possible but probable. Jonathan & Brad explore the tactics that the FI community uses to reclaim decades of their lives. They discuss reducing expenses, crushing debt, tax optimization, building passive income streams through online businesses and real estate and how to travel the world for free. Every episode is packed with actionable tips and no topic is too big or small as long as it speeds up the process of reaching financial independence.
Episodes
Mentioned books
35 snips
Mar 30, 2026 • 51min
The Value Matrix | Where's The Joy In That ? | Ep 592
They introduce the Value Matrix, a tool that maps spending by joy and cost. They walk through four spending profiles and a detailed leaky budget case study. They highlight big-ticket drivers like housing, transport, and food. They point out easy optimization targets such as subscriptions, phone plans, and bank fees. Community growth and local groups are also discussed.
8 snips
Mar 23, 2026 • 50min
Parent Like a Millionaire Without Being One | Ep 591
Kristy Shen, a personal finance author focused on family FI, and Bryce Leung, a lifestyle-design writer, share contrarian takes on parenting costs. They challenge the $315k myth. They discuss buying used premium gear, creative childcare like co-ops and coworking daycares, housing choices, reselling tactics, travel hacks, and small ‘money tree’ goals to fund kid expenses.
20 snips
Mar 16, 2026 • 1h 14min
Building An Extraordinary Life Through FI | Ep 590
Katie Donegan, lifestyle designer and parenting speaker, and Alan Donegan, entrepreneur and Rebel Finance School co-creator, explore designing an extraordinary life. They talk about health basics over fads. They imagine spreading financial literacy and community FI education. They discuss acting despite fear, parenting with financial freedom, slow travel, and testing second income ideas.
28 snips
Mar 9, 2026 • 50min
Identify Financial Leaks: And How to Build and Use A Value Matrix
They walk through a simple expense audit to uncover hidden monthly leaks. A value matrix is used to sort spending by joy and cost to decide what to keep, trim, or cut. Practical tools like YNAB and Monarch and tactics such as meal planning and quarterly checks get highlighted. Community benchmarks and real examples show how small leaks add up.
37 snips
Mar 2, 2026 • 59min
Navigating Health Insurance | With Cody Garrett | Ep 588
Cody Garrett, tax and financial-planning expert focused on early retirement and tax strategies, breaks down how ACA rules and premium tax credits shape healthcare costs. He explores why zip code and the 400% federal poverty level cliff matter. Short bursts cover COBRA math, health-sharing tradeoffs, HSA tactics, county price swings, and practical Marketplace planning.
62 snips
Feb 23, 2026 • 48min
We're Becoming Millionaires… Now How Do We Talk About It?
Andy Hill, personal finance educator and author of Own Your Time, shares his Coast FI journey with short, practical habits for families. He describes monthly budget parties that turn money talks into connection. He explains choosing Coast FI to trade full-time work for family time and experimenting with part-time weeks while letting investments compound.
47 snips
Feb 16, 2026 • 1h 10min
The Expense Audit | Ep 586
A practical four-step approach to auditing your spending and spotting money leaks. Tips for tracking subscriptions, variable costs, and prorating yearly expenses. Advice on categorizing required versus discretionary items and using a value matrix to decide what to keep or cut. Suggestions for tools, per-person comparisons, and making annual audits a habit to reveal true living costs.
76 snips
Feb 9, 2026 • 1h 3min
Unpacking the Path to the Boring Middle | Ep 585
They explore the so-called boring middle of the journey and reframe it as a time for experimentation. They discuss automating finances, conducting a 30-day expense audit, and creating income statements to gain control. They cover low-cost index investing, fee awareness, and where to prioritize savings. They also highlight local community meetups and practical steps to reduce spending and debt.
34 snips
Feb 2, 2026 • 59min
Goal Setting for 2026 | Ep 584
Listeners share ambitious financial goals for 2026 and practical tactics to reach them. The conversation spotlights local meetups as momentum builders and actionable frugal habits like meal planning. Specific tools and strategies for big purchases, savings challenges, tax moves, and part-time work options are highlighted. Community connections and focused goal-setting take center stage.
40 snips
Jan 26, 2026 • 1h 1min
The Detour is the Journey | Ep 583
They unpack small, tactical decisions that compound toward financial independence. Core FI math and expense audits get practical attention. Retirement account rules, 401(k) matching, and pre-tax vs Roth tradeoffs are covered. Tax strategy including marginal vs effective rates, 0% long-term capital gains, and tax-gain harvesting get highlighted. Optionality, stealth wealth, and learning detours round out the conversation.
