House of FI

Latest Episodes:

BONUS EPISODE - Side-hustle Spotlight with Scentsy Independent Consultant Kristen Savee Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

This weeks Side-hustle spotlight was such a treat. I am sharing with you my friend and neighbor, Kristen Savee.

Kristen is a military Momma of five...you saw that correctly...And she is killing her side-hustle.

She didn't always have a side-hustle, however. Kristen initially worked in corporate America for a large restaurant chain, but after the birth of her first two children, she felt the pull and stress of balancing being a mom and moving every few years.

BUILDING A HOME-BASED BUSINESS

She began strategically searching for a business she could build and stay at home with her children. She wanted a business with unlimited potential - but that also that appealed to most demographics. She found Scentsy.

The catch was - at the time she could not afford the $99 it took to begin her Scentsy business. So she saved whatever she could, a few dollars here and a few dollars there - until she raised the $99 to start.

Since beginning as an Independent Scentsy Consultant, Kristen has built her business and is on track to meet her goal of earning $2500 a month for 12 consecutive months.

This will be a huge accomplishment for her and will also put her on track to receive a large bonus at the end of the year and placer her among an elite group of people who have been able to make the same achievement.

KEYS TO BUILDING HER DIRECT SALES BUSINESS

Kristen shares several tips that have helped her grow her business.

Realize and go after SMART goals - this is not a business you will make a million dollars overnight.
Social Media is your friend - but just a post on your page is not going to bring you the business.
Focus on building relationships
Don't be Spammy. No one likes that!
HUSTLE!
Create dedicated times to work on your business around your family's schedule.

KRISTEN ON PARENTING FIVE CHILDREN

It takes A LOT to keep a household of five children functioning under ANY circumstances - but throw in the mix that your spouse is deployed often for long periods of time....Well, frankly, I don't know if I could do it.

Kristen has found several ways to keep her household and her sanity intact.

Chores - all of her children, even her four-year-old Addison has chores. For instance, Addison knows how to vacuum as well as help sort with laundry.

Her 10-year old, Madeline, help Kristen bathe the baby each night and Austin and Bryson, her 11 and 7-year-old, do the dishes after dinner.

She says that one of the key things she has learned is that it is OK for kids to not do things EXACTLY how we might do them. It's part of learning - but also allows them to grow and gain confidence.

Because her kids all pitch in - she is able to set aside time, just for them on the weekends, to do fun things and enjoy more time with them - which they love.

If you would like to hear how Kristen makes a weekly food budget of $175 work for her family - listen in to the episode above.

You will also hear how she has taught her children how to keep and balance their own checkbooks. HOW COOL IS THAT?

HOW TO REACH KRISTEN

It was such an honor to share my friend with you. I hope you all enjoyed her story and are inspired - not only by her HUSTLE - but how she manages her large family as a military Momma as well.

You can find Kristen on her website by clicking HERE.

or check her amazing family on Facebook, HERE.

Wendy and Curtis Share 15 Ways to Make Quick Cash Mar 20, 2019

Show notes

MONEY OBSTACLES

One of the biggest barriers to beginning your Financial Independence journey is NOT MONEY! (Gasp)

Do you want to guess what it is....

It's your mindset. It's buying into the broken tapes we play in our heads - "I am not good with money." "I don't make enough." "But I live in a high cost of living area - there's no way I can afford to pay less for housing." "We owe SO MUCH - we will never be able to pay it all off." Do any of those ring true for you?

These beliefs can be overwhelming and lead to a feeling of hopelessness. And guess what? I believed a lot of those broken tapes for a long time too. Until...

Until we found the FIRE Community. (I like "community" much better than calling it a Movement - because that is really what this is - a community of people encouraging each other to reach their dreams.) But I digress...

When we found out other people, normal people, with normal jobs, living in every city all over the county - were financially independent in their 30's and 40's - it was as if we had found the hidden Fountain of Youth. It was that big of a discovery.

Did you have a similar moment?

MONEY FOUNDATIONS

If you can get past those old limiting believe and believe in what IS POSSIBLE - then you are ready to begin building your future.

So, where are you in your FIRE journey? We hear a lot of people talk about being in the "accumulation phase" and that is WONDERFUL. The accumulation phase is when you are saving for retirement.

But I would like to talk about the phase before that and that is what I am going to call the Foundations phase. Before you can begin building a solid financial foundation, you have to have a proper foundation laid. A solid financial foundation requires 4 things:

1. Debt Free (at a minimum - consumer debt free)

2. Earning More Than You Are Spending

3. Money Master Plan (A fortified budget)

4. Contingency Fund (for emergencies only)

We offer a FREE 7-Step Money Foundations Course to help get you started. You can sign up for it HERE.

LAYING YOUR MONEY FOUNDATIONS

If you are deficient in 1, 2, or 4 - then the reality is YOU NEED CASH.

Curt and I would like to give you several ideas of how we have given our budget quick infusions of cash over the years. In the past, we have used these methods to pay down debt, build up our contingency fund as well as save for big purchases.

Now, we have not tried all of these, but we have used many of them (and continue to do so). We would not list them here if we did not believe they were not a good way to put money in your pocket within a very short period of time.

We go over about fifteen ways to earn quick cash in the podcast, so if you want to hear all of them, click on the player above to hear them.

(And if there are some we have missed - let us know. Send us a quick message on our voicemail line on the right.)

Bonus Episode a House of FI Family Meeting Mar 15, 2019

Show notes

HOUSE OF FI - FAMILY MEETING

Do you guys have Family Meetings in your house?

We do! And I thought it would be nice to call a House of FI family meeting.

In this episode, we discuss wins and losses for the week and reflect on Wednesday's episode with Angela Rozmyn of Tread Lighty Retire Early.

And.....

We have announcements!

FREE 7-STEP MONEY FOUNDATIONS COURSE

Our 7-Step Money Foundations Course is LIVE!!!!

This course is for anyone who wants to build a solid money foundation. Lots of tools, insight and support.

You can sign up for the course HERE.

DO YOU HAVE A SIDE-HUSTLE? OR HAD ONE IN THE PAST?

We are looking for more people to call in and let our community know of options for side-hustles.

It's SUPER EASY. Just click the "leave voicemail" button and record. EASY PEASY.

Lastly...

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN STARTING A PODCAST?

If you would like to get into the Beta Course for podcastersU, sign up HERE.

This course is intended to take you from concept to launch. We will share with you the systems we implemented to grow a podcast that ranks at the top of the charts every week.

We'll see you back here on Wednesday! We are glad you were here.

Spotlighting the Women of FIRE and Sustainability with Angela Rozmyn Tread Lightly Retire Early Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

Angela began her blog, Tread Lightly Retire Early, with the idea that financial independence and sustainability were two ways of living that worked well with each other. She aimed to have an impact and spread her love of both principles.

In this episode, we learn practical tips on how we can transition our families to a more sustainable lifestyle without the overwhelm of such a BIG idea. Angela provides us with some of the changes she has made in her home to live a more sustainable life.

NO SPEND CHALLENGE

Have you ever thought of doing a "No Spend" challenge? Angela has just hit the two-year mark of her no clothing challenge. For two years, she has had a complete ban on clothing purchases. This includes shoes, jewelry, accessories....everything. An unexpected benefit is that she has also found she is also no longer wearing make-up, which is another budget-saver!

Another challenge she has done is to not spend money going out to lunch and instead focused on bringing her lunches to work. This challenge has helped her lesson her monthly food budget as well.

CAMPING HACK

Angela and her husband have always loved to camp. But the cold Pacific Northwest Winters made this sometimes difficult. So, with a little bit of trial and error - and experimentation, she and her husband came up with a great solution...A Truck Tent! Now they are able to bear camping in the cold winters snuggled up in the bed of their truck. You can read all about that here.

SPOTLIGHTING THE WOMEN OF THE FIRE MOVEMENT

Women make up a significant population in the FIRE movement. That is no secret. But want appeared to be a secret was how many women were contributing as authorities in the finance space. We are here - we have always been here - but it was really the perception and attention that was lacking. Seeing that need, Angela decided to do something about it. After seeing a major player post his favorite finance blogs - and only seeing one woman listed - Angela was on a mission to bring the women SHE KNEW were writing about finance to the forefront.

This mission has turned into its own little "mini-movement." Her blog post that catalogs blogs and podcasts by women remains one of the top posts on her site.

She also started a private Facebook group that has exploded to about 5000 member is a very short period of time.

Her efforts to bring women to the forefront is making a significant impact on the community.

ANGELA ON THE FINAL QUESTIONS:

1. One financial lesson growing up that she has carried over into her adult life has been the importance of teaching children to earn money to buy the things they want, even at a young age. It is something her parents taught her and she now is teaching her son.

2. Angela's favorite life-hack has been pitching to her boss an 80% work week. This allows her to come home early every day and gives her more time to do the things she would otherwise not be able to do (or be running around like a crazy person trying to accomplish.)

3. Her favorite/current read is a book called Nomadland. It describes a growing population of generally the Baby-Boomer generation that has been forced into a "nomadic" lifestyle due to a lack of financial resources after retirement - planned or forced.

Side-Hustle Spotlight Pet-sitting and Dog-Walking with Jen Tserng Mar 08, 2019

Show notes

In this Bonus Episode Side-Hustle Spotlight, we hear from our listener Jen Tserng who is just killing it in her Side-Hustle as a dog-walker and Pet-sitter.

Jen currently makes $25 per half hour and on a good day, she can make upwards of $400.00 a day.

She informs us beginning dog-walkers can earn approximately $15 per half an hour and build their business from there.

Some of the PROS of this business are:

Freedom
Flexibility
Location Independent
Work in your own neighborhood (or elsewhere)
Work as little or as much as you want
Limited only by your own availability
Multiple ways to increase your hourly
You can work for a company or start independently
You get to LOVE on animals ALL day!

And the CONS...

You are an independent contractor/business owner and you have all of the responsibilities of one (taxes, tracking income)
You have to build your business
Uncertainty

But overall - your income is limited only by you!

You can sign up via various APPs. But the most popular are Rover and Wagwalker.

The Reluctant Spouse - Getting Your Partner on Board with FIRE with Curtis Mays Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

Episode 32

So many times we get asked, "how did you get your spouse on board with FI?" Finances are one of those areas where a couple should really be on the same page. But it's hard enough to get on the same page about finances, but to then agree on such a radical concept as FI.

In this episode, Curtis discusses the evolution of his "FI" epiphany and how he transformed from a Reluctant Spouse to being "on FIRE" about FI.

He discusses how he watched his mom struggle as a single mom when he was growing up and not really ever having more than enough to put more than a roof over their head and foot on the table. In college, after he and Wendy met, he still didn't have any real knowledge of money. But he knew how to work and to be a provider and for many years - he simply accepted that was his role.

Struggle was a common occurrence during the early years of their marriage and he and Wendy had many years of ups and downs after that.

So, when Wendy came to him several years ago he, at first, just thought this was another one of her crazy plans. But it wasn't. It took a while, but after Curtis decided to listen to a podcast on his own, he began to understand.

Along the way, there were a few other moments for Curtis where things began to click for him. He was inspired after meeting JL Collins in Greece for Chautauqua last year. It was an incredible time being surrounded by others who all were on the same path.

Listen in to see how Curtis finally came around and is now 100% on board with the plan to achieve Financial Independence by age 55.

Mentioned in this episode:

Choose Fi - Pillars of FI

JL Collins - The Simple Path to Wealth

Christy and Bryce - Millennial Revolution

Alan and Katie Donegan - Pop-Up Business School

Side-Hustle Spotlight - How One Listener is Making $800 Writing in Her Spare Time Mar 01, 2019

Show notes

Do you know one of the fastest ways to supplement your income and get paid well? It's to get paid to do something you already have the skillset for.

You can literally put yourself to work immediately, IF you have the hustle.

This week we hear from our listener Chris in PA. Chris wrote in to let us know how she has leveraged her writing skills into freelance work that is netting her $800 a month. That's a pretty great addition to someone's monthly income and can really accelerate your FI plans.

Way to Go Chris!

As with any business, there are some Pros and Cons. Here are a few that Curtis and I talk about.

PROS

Flexibility
Easy Start-up
Low start-up
Easy Entry-no additional skills
Work Remotely
High potential income
Work with who you want

CONS

Responsibilities that come with business ownership (Taxes, tracking expenses, etc.)
You have to go get your business
Tracking down payment from bad clients
Difficult clients

We hope that this episode has gotten your wheels spinning!

There are so many areas that you can do freelance work. Some of these great freelance side-hustles are listed below:

Podcast editing
resume writing
guest posts
writing for other bloggers
Voiceovers
Web Design
Social Media Marketing
and the list goes on....

The possibilities are limitless. Simply ask yourself, What skill do I currently possess that other people would pay me for?

Then go ask! (Remember what Curt's mom used to say, "Closed mouths don't get fed.)

Episode 31: Wanna Crush Your Student Loan Debt? Feb 27, 2019

Show notes

Like a lot of people, Travis didn't always have money growing up. In fact, there were times when there just wasn't enough to go around. Even so, Travis took in the many lessons and stories his grandfather told him about the hardships his generation endured during the Great Depression.

It was through his grandfather's vivid story-telling that Travis gleaned the importance of saving and of frugality.

College and Career

After college, Travis entered corporate America as a bond trader. Because he followed the wisdom of his grandfather - he didn't let lifestyle creep take over but saved religiously and lived well below his means.

He experienced tremendous success as a bond trader. The problem was - he was not fulfilled. He grappled with the thought, before coming to the conclusion that the corporate world was not for him.

Deeply unsatisfied with his career - he took two years off, to his parents chagrin, and travelled Europe. But this wasn't a time of purposeless wandering for Travis; instead, he used this time to really think of the future he wanted for himself and getting rid of old thought patterns and beliefs that were holding him back.

Finding His Calling

Sometimes we find our calling by accident. That is what happened to Travis. He was helping his wife figure out the best possible scenarios to pay off her student loans and put a plan in place for her. Soon, her friends wanted to help too, and the seed was planted.

Student Loan Planner was born. To date, he’s consulted on over $300 million in student debt personally, more than anyone else in the country. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and brings his background as a former bond trader trading billions of dollars with him.

Where To Get Help For Your Student Loans

If you think you could benefit from looking at your options. Travis has provided the following resources:

If you're curious about refinancing student loans

Or if you need a plan for handling your student debt Here's details on consolidation: Consolidate your loans by logging into studentloans.gov. Click on the "consolidate my loans" section. You should see a long list of your loans. Check all the ones you want to include. You can see the titles of each individual loan by hovering over the question mark box with your mouse and the name should pop up. Any loans that don't say "Direct" should be consolidated. FFEL loans are the most commonly consolidated. You'll also be able to send your new consolidation loan to the servicer of your choice. Check what payment plan you want (REPAYE), and the whole process should take about 2 months at most for everything to transition over. You can call the Dept of Ed's Student Loan Support Center at 18005577394 if you have any questions or want help doing the consolidation.

Episode 30 Bonus: Side Hustle Spotlight - Loan Signing Agent Feb 22, 2019

Show notes

If you knew you could earn between $75 to $200 for an hour or less of work, would you want to know how?

Well, that's exactly what we are going to be talking about today on a SPECIAL Side-Hustle Spotlight.

What began as a side-hustle late last year, for Enrique Castro or Go Notary, has turned in to a full-time business that has replaced his income.

He is now able to not only earn an incredible living, but he has the freedom and flexibility of business ownership - as well as unlimited income potential.

That is the stuff we like to hear! We think this business is a great option for some of you. But with that in mind, here are some of the pros and cons we think you should consider.

Some of the Pros and Cons:

PROS:

easy entry
small start-up costs
$75-$200 per signing
low over-head
flexibility
unlimited income potential

CONS

this is a business!
you are in charge of getting the business
fees associated with getting your notary
fees associated with fingerprint clearance
wear and tear on your car
housing market fluctuations

If you are interested in checking out Mark Wills Loan Signing System course, you can check that out HERE.

We hope you have enjoyed another special Side-Hustle Spotlight Episode.

If you have a side-hustle you want to spotlight, leave us a voicemail at: houseoffi.com

**If our website is down due to migrating to a new host, you can also find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Houseoffi/

We Have a House of FI Announcement! Feb 20, 2019

Show notes

We have some exciting changes coming to the show!

You'll have to listen to the episode to find out what they are. Then....

Come back here on Friday, for a brand new Side-hustle Show where we spotlight another awesome side-hustle, that could even turn into a full-time career for some of you.

Then, next Wednesday, we'll be back here for a regular episode to kick off season 2.

In the meantime, there are a few previous episodes that you show really take a listen to - they are so inspiring for wherever you are in your FIRE journey.

Episode 18 - with Jackie Cummings Koski - a single mom who has achieved a net worth of one million dollars, while never reaching six figures.

Then, in Episode 28, we talked to Dan Shaw, who was fed up and determined to reached Financial Independence. He did it and is now able to be at home with his daughters and focus on real estate investing.

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