There are so many rules in the personal finance space. Some are helpful, others not so much.

Let's set aside the bad ones for a minute (for example, stop buying avocado toast) and discuss the helpful ones. What comes to mind? I went through this practice and wrote down a bunch in preparation for an episode with Jesse Cramer on The Best Interest.

I realized many would only be helpful for a certain group of people or at a particular time in someone's personal finance journey. One that comes to mind is to "avoid credit cards." This would be a great rule for those struggling with credit card debt. Probably not so great for everyone else.

But through this process, I did land on 5 golden rules that I think would be helpful for everyone regardless of their situation...and Jesse did the same. Of course, as two podcasters would do, we took to the mics and debated our list.

This conversation first aired on Jesse’s podcast, The Best Interest. Jesse is a good friend and has been on the show many of times. If you haven’t done so yet, go check out his podcast. He does a great job breaking down complex, financial topics and simplifying them through analogies and stories. You’ll get a taste of his style in this episode.

Key Takeaways:

• Why do you need to track your money?
• How gift cards trick you into spending more
• The best investment is in yourself
• Simple is better than complex (almost always)
• Why and how you should prepare for risk.
• Why you MUST automate your finances, as much as possible
• Think long-term, but don’t forget the present

Mentions:

The original episode on The Best Interest: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-informative-debate-the-most-important-rules/id1553180943?i=1000651974649

More of Jesse:

Blog: www.bestinterest.blog

More of The Struggle is Real:

Find show notes and more at https://www.tsirpodcast.com/

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tsirpod/

There will be a point in your FI journey when a stable salary will become less important to you. You’ve built up your savings and investments to a place where you are comfortable. The freedom and flexibility over your time are more valuable than that regular paycheck.

The thought of leaving your job has you nervous though. Even after running the numbers and knowing you have enough, there are still a lot of emotions tied up in financial insecurity. “Do I really have enough? Maybe I should work for one more year.” On top of that, maybe you enjoy your job, don’t want to leave your team down a member during a busy period of work, or unsure what life will feel like without a regular 9-to-5 job.

Setting all of that aside, deep down you know it is the right thing to do, you just can’t seem to pull the trigger. That is why I wanted to chat with my friends Tess Waresmith and Nicole Franklin. Both recently left their careers to pursue something else.

If you listened to episode 138, you know Tess is a financial educator and money coach for women. Nicole Franklin and her husband Tyler are the creators behind the blog, Not Your Ordinary Plan, where they document their journey traveling the world while coasting to FI.

In this episode, both Tess and Nicole share a ton of practical knowledge such as a checklist to prepare for your leave, how to tell your employer you’re quitting, and what to do about that pesky medical insurance. We also get into the mindset side of things such as how to feel confident this is the right decision and embrace the serendipity of a job-free life.

If quitting is something you’ve been working towards, this is the episode for you. I hope you enjoy my conversation with world travelers and early retirees…Tess Waresmith and Nicole Franklin.

Key Takeaways:

• How to know when it is time to leave your corporate job?
• Understanding money dysmorphia
• Test-driving retirement
• What to do before you tell your employer?
• How to let your employer know you’re quitting
• Embracing whitespace and serendipity of a job-free life

Mentions:

Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life

Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life

More of Tess & Nicole:

Instagram: @wealthwithtess and @notyourordinaryplan_

Tess’s Free Course: https://www.wealthwithtess.com/fi

Nicole’s blog: https://notyourordinaryplan.com/start-here/

More of The Struggle is Real:

Find show notes and more at https://www.tsirpodcast.com/

Connect with Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinleepeters/

I love FI because it allows me to break the rules and live outside the norm. Like, no one has time for 40 years of traditional employment. But little did I realize I left one set of rules only to get caught up in another - the rules of personal finance.

For example, let's look at one popular idea, “spend less than you earn and invest the difference.” My friend Jeremy Schneider says this all the time and for the most part, he’s right. This is a great principle and one of the pillars of building wealth. But where we go wrong is when we get too fixated on a rule and let it box us in. Do we have to spend less than we earn…every year? No, we realize that is a silly idea. If you want to plan a year of travel, take off time to raise a newborn, or work on launching a business, that might be a year you spend more than you make…and that’s okay.

I’m not saying Jeremy hasn’t had a year where he’s spent more than he’s earned. Knowing him, I’m guessing he’s had a couple but sometimes these general guidelines create a limited mindset. Another example is the 4% rule. This one boxed me in for years making me think I needed to reach my FIRE number before I could retire.

I’ve been rethinking that a lot recently and one person who has impacted me is Diania Merriam. Through her 20s and early 30s, Diania worked in sales. In the midst of one of her peak earning years, she decided to take a 2-month sabbatical to walk 500 miles across northern Spain. A few years later, she quit that job entirely and retired from her corporate career at 33. Diania then founded the EconoMe Conference, a party about money. The conference wasn’t profitable the first few years but Diania didn’t care because she felt like organizing this event was her calling. She is the definition of rewriting the rule book which is why I wanted to have her on the show.

I’m hoping through her story, you identify a personal finance rule that might be limiting your thinking. We get into topics like how to get your employer to say yes to a sabbatical, getting comfortable leaving a high-paying job, right-sizing work, and more.

Key Takeaways:

• How to get your employer to say yes to a sabbatical
• Getting comfortable leaving a high-paying job
• Embracing an abundance mindset
• How to right-size your work
• Finding FI-lexbility

More of Diania:

EconoMe Conference: ​​https://economeconference.com/

Optimal Finance Daily: https://oldpodcast.com/optimal-finance-daily-podcast/

More of The Struggle is Real:

Find show notes and more at https://www.tsirpodcast.com/

Connect with Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinleepeters/