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Back when we were still running the rat race, one of our favourite things to do was stalk other FI-ers and read the ever-loving-crap out of their blogs. And one of these FI nerds is Brandon, also known as “The Mad FIentist“.
Not only does the Mad FIentist write helpful blog articles about his journey to early retirement, he actually creates spreadsheets and software to help you get there faster, by using completely LEGAL tax avoidance strategies. Because who doesn’t want to have the government fund their retirement?
So you can imagine the sheer amount of fan-girling and shrieking that happened when he asked us to be on his Podcast. The whole time I was thinking “Be cool, don’t look stupid, don’t look stupid.” So I went to type “yes, of course, that sounds interesting”, but instead what came out was “HOLY CRAP, IT’S THE MAD FIENTIST! GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”
So if I sound like a crazy person in this podcast, you’ll know why. Hopefully I was able to keep the insanity out and stick to the topics, but probably not. You be the judge:
Denouncing the Cult of Home Ownership
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Listened to this podcast the other day and loved it! Awesome to see you guys sharing your story with more people.
Thanks!
I enjoyed the podcast guys. Your comment on the cost of living in North America caught my ear. We’re currently living in Mexico where we enjoy a nice life at very moderate prices. Last month we spent about $1,700 U.S. for an entire month in Cancun. We could drive that amount down even further with a long-term rental, but right now we’re happy using AirBnB as we check out various sweet spots.
Keep up your excellent work. I agree with Brice that the FIRE movement is becoming more mainstream and less of a fringe movement. This really is a revolutionary movement.
Ed
I had no idea Cancun was so cheap! I knew other parts of Mexico was cheap but I thought Cancun prices get pushed up because of the resorts? Wow. Good to know. I’ll have to check it out sometime!
Great interview. The Mad Fiantist is pretty monotone though haha.
Seriously, congrats on your successes. You both seem like genuinely good people.
HA HA. I think he was trying not to upstage us. Love it when I meet a blogger I idolize and they turn out to be so humble and awesome. The Mad Fientist rocks!
I just listened to your podcast! It was great! I actually found your site a few days before the podcast went up so I was like, “Hey! I just started reading their blog!” I really love your views on renting versus purchasing. I lived in a pretty high COL area where we can’t even afford houses within 30 min of our jobs. The ones we can afford are outside of the city requires 1 hr commute each way, which I don’t want to do. We just got married so we’re thinking of buying a place within the next 2 years, because we don’t want to keep wasting our money on rent. Also, we’re both brought up on the values that owning your own home is a good thing and that’s really the end goal in life is to have a stable home and family. However, after reading your blog, I’m not sure the housing move is the correct one! Although currently our rent cost the same as the monthly payment on a house within our price range (I’ve been running numbers through basic mortgage calculators). If only we can find somewhere cheap to rent where we would be happy! We love our current apartment but it’s so expensive!!
Well, this definitely opened my eyes a lot, between your experiences and Paula’s at Afford Anything’s article on house ownership! I will definitely do the math and try my best to not let emotions get in the way!!
Really enjoyed the podcast, and I’m glad Mad Fientist introduced me to your site. VERY glad to see people questioning the cult of home ownership. My wife and I are a bit older than y’all, and are jealous of how smart you’ve been at such a young age. Well done!
I’ve also written a bit about the issues of ownership. Like all things, it’s not totally black and white – here’s a way that we’ve made it work for us, and how it can make financial sense for others: http://www.kevinklinkenberg.com/blog/the-best-way-to-own-a-home
Just cause it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s not super heulfpl.
I just listened to the podcast it was dope. Thanks for sharing. FI is inspirational.