Don’t Make These Financial Mistakes on the Path to FIRE! (Part 1)

We all make mistakes on the path to financial independence. Learn from ours as we chronicle the poor choices, bad habits and missteps we’ve made on the road to FI. In this episode, we share our own experiences from our teens through our 30s, reflecting on what we've learned in hopes of helping our children avoid repeating them. Join us as we explore these topics and more in this first episode in a series documenting our financial mistakes and missteps on the path to FIRE.
Timestamps:
00:00 Your whole financial life seems like a good idea at the time!
00:58 Financial mistakes can accumulate and build upon each other
02:21 Spending like many habits, starts in your teenage years
07:46 The college years and our 20s
12:33 We didn't take full advantage of the best savings years of our lives
17:16 Divorce can hugely impact the path to financial independence
19:30 Surviving or thriving in our 30s
26:50 Saving for our kids' college education
30:21 How can we help our kids to avoid our financial mistakes?
**Tools, resources + information: twosidesoffi.com
**Our podcast: twosidesoffi.com/podcast/
**Jason’s FI Blog: thenextphaseisnow.com/
**Eric’s business: 30X40 Design Workshop: thirtybyforty.com
**Eric’s KZread Channel: thirtybyforty.com/youtube
#twosidesoffi #financialindependence #firemovement

Пікірлер: 34

  • @TwoSidesOfFI
    @TwoSidesOfFI3 жыл бұрын

    We made so many financial missteps and mistakes on the road to FIRE that we need multiple episodes to cover them all! What has been your biggest financial mistake so far? More importantly, what did you learn from it? We'd love to hear from you in the comments, so please share!

  • @ccw39
    @ccw39 Жыл бұрын

    Fellow bass-player here! Love the realness of this conversation and consumer culture!

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @htsyami
    @htsyami2 жыл бұрын

    Something people (especially men) don’t discuss is the cost of a divorce. It is one of the reasons I’ve held off on marriage (besides the finding a partner thing) because it’s just seems so much more difficult to climb back up after that huge of a hit.

  • @MarkNokesGuitar
    @MarkNokesGuitar2 жыл бұрын

    Haha, the comments about amps cracked me up. I’ve spent a stupid amount of money on musical equipment, but I was a professional musician. I guess my biggest financial mistake was getting a music degree and working as a professional guitarist for a decade. That was 10 years wasted, being really poor and “following my dreams.” Don’t do it, kids!!!!

  • @mikewallin6049

    @mikewallin6049

    2 жыл бұрын

    I gave $$$$ to friends who went on to become commercially successful musicians and if I knew at the time to ask for and properly document the transactions I would be obscenely wealthy today.

  • @MarkNokesGuitar

    @MarkNokesGuitar

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mikewallin6049 bummer! Maybe they will remember your help and hook you up some day. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! I passed on an opportunity for a record deal in my late teens because I was doing a lot of drugs and I knew I’d end up dead if I took it. Who knows?! I’m clean now, but working in IT. So boring.

  • @aknorth1053
    @aknorth10532 жыл бұрын

    with high inflation owning a house has huge advantages. If coupled with low interest rates your effectively getting the house for zero interest. For example if your mortage is 2.625 and inflation is 4 to 5 % your getting ahead. Where as if you were renting you can almost guarantee the landlord will add that inflation to your rent each time you renew your rent

  • @htsyami

    @htsyami

    2 жыл бұрын

    If you’re able to hold into perpetuity then it can be a solid investment. But that’s not the reality for most people.

  • @patienceisalpha
    @patienceisalpha2 жыл бұрын

    21:41 You're 100% right. I don't plan to ever consider my house an investment.

  • @htsyami

    @htsyami

    2 жыл бұрын

    Agreed. A primary residence is a liability not an asset.

  • @robertswinburne3973
    @robertswinburne39732 жыл бұрын

    I'm enjoying these videos/podcasts. I've worked full tie since I was 13 but I'm a bit behind. I put my last year of architecture school on credit cards (while working a ton of hours) Then spent 10 years working low paid jobs with no benefits. So I was clueless. But I didn't know I was clueless. I didn't realize that I could have earned more at that time.

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the feedback, Robert! We're so glad to learn you're enjoying the content. Best wishes to you.

  • @mattjaco81

    @mattjaco81

    2 жыл бұрын

    Keep grinding!

  • @ShowItBetter
    @ShowItBetter3 жыл бұрын

    Really loved this episode! I'm 29 so it's a bit optimistic about what's ahead and what I can do better. Would love to know eventually more about couples finance management, when to buy the house (or build it) and all of that schpiel haha, thanks!

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! We're really glad you liked it. Those are great topics ideas, so thank you for sharing them. We'll surely touch on those down before long! We suspect you've heard the old adage that the best time to start something is yesterday, and the second best time is today - definitely applies to good financial habits and to avoiding mistakes!

  • @30by40

    @30by40

    3 жыл бұрын

    Cheers Steven, we've managed to convince our spouses to join us for a few episodes (stay tuned for those). As you rightly point out, this is an important, shared decision when you're in a relationship! Building the house for me was never a question, affording it was and, as with university, the money flows fast and free when you're building. From a mathematical standpoint, the calculations regarding purchasing (or building) a home are straightforward (rent vs. mortgage payment, tax benefits, all the costs of ownership). I think the emotional choices: where, what, investment philosophy (do you consider it an investment?) and how long you think you'll stay are the more difficult ones to parse. Knowing what I know of your work ethic + hustle, FI is well within your grasp! Thanks for watching, .

  • @stuarthoffman1668
    @stuarthoffman16682 жыл бұрын

    Here's the trick on Real Estate. If you have enough money to afford the house and comfortably loose all that value then its an investment. If you cannot afford it and losing that money will ruin you then it's not.

  • @htsyami

    @htsyami

    2 жыл бұрын

    And the vast majority of people can’t afford it in reality

  • @laurareinholdt8819
    @laurareinholdt88193 жыл бұрын

    A friend of mine who studies impulsivity and addiction reminded me about the inverse relationship between income, age and delay discounting. It is definitely something that makes it difficult for many people to save when their income is low, stress is high. By the way -- we were 28!!!!

  • @30by40

    @30by40

    3 жыл бұрын

    ...28? Are you sure...?

  • @laurareinholdt8819

    @laurareinholdt8819

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@30by40 Er. No!

  • @nelsonang
    @nelsonang3 жыл бұрын

    wow! uncanny parallels again and i’m on the other side of the world in singapore! i think we are about the same age so then 20s of not saving and 30s of just keeping the growing family going then finally realising in the 40s! thank you for this great episode 😊

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    3 жыл бұрын

    You are welcome! Thanks for sharing, Nelson. We look forward to hearing what you think about Part 2 of our mistakes series - coming in just a few days!

  • @21manacho
    @21manacho2 жыл бұрын

    Loved the honest discussions both of you had and thank you for the insights!

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks, Mabel!

  • @johnericsharpe9933
    @johnericsharpe99332 жыл бұрын

    Roth IRAs didn't exist until 1998, since you're wondering why you didn't know about them when you were young.

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    2 жыл бұрын

    Quite right! We looked it up after the show and felt slightly better about our delayed start. Thanks, John!

  • @nichethought6106
    @nichethought61062 жыл бұрын

    Roth started in 1998

  • @sirajmohammed9555
    @sirajmohammed95552 жыл бұрын

    Pls add into Spotify as broadcast 🙏

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    2 жыл бұрын

    You’re in luck! The podcast version is on Spotify, Apple, and other hosts. Here’s the Spotify link: open.spotify.com/show/0tTwIfjw5krrI8a7vuMh3T?si=y6PACkIiSAaPNgX_hWyPrA&dl_branch=1

  • @aj4856
    @aj48562 жыл бұрын

    You keep beating yourself up over not contributing to Roths at the beginning of your careers, but were they even available when you started working? I ask because Roth IRAs weren't available until 1997, and Roth 401(k)s weren't available until 2006 - and even then, you had to wait until your employer offered one, which very few did initially. Based on your ages, for the first ~10 years of your careers, you would have been able to put away, at most, $2000 a year into a Roth IRA, and nothing into a Roth 401(k).

  • @TwoSidesOfFI

    @TwoSidesOfFI

    2 жыл бұрын

    Fair points! We started working in 1996-7 so an IRA would have been an option but not the 401(k).