Recovering Women Wealth

Sober Women Managing Money & Mental Wealth

  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • FKA Ms. Fiology
  • About Me
    • Testimony
    • Mission Statement
    • Contact Me
  • Operating Procedures
  • Resources
    • Recovery Resources
    • Books I Recommend
      • Recovery & Self Growth Favs
      • Money Favs
      • Christian Favs
      • Non-Fiction Favs
      • Fiction Favs
    • Financial Resources
  • Public Speaking
  • Investment Policy Statement
  • Debt Freedom
  • Series
    • Brain Health
    • Inspiring Women in Recovery Interview Series
    • People are Basically…

This post may contain affiliate links to products I’ve used and recommend. If you click on the link and purchase the product, I am compensated (at no additional cost to you). 

View my full disclosure here.

ChooseFI – The Ultimate Book in Planning for Financial Independence

October 7, 2019 By Deanna 1 Comment

Today’s blog post is a book review for one I highly recommend. Dave Ramsey got me thinking about investing. However, the ChooseFI Radio podcast got me realizing how I could actually start investing. To say it had a monumental impact on my life is not a hyperbole. Moreover, I might not have had the courage to start this blog had it not been for the ChooseFI podcast.

I was thrilled when I saw that Chris Mamula teamed up with Jonathan Mendonsa & Brad Barrett to write a book. They took the many principles espoused on the ChooseFI podcast and put them in a linear fashion. Now you can read the ChooseFI book with much enjoyment.

What is Financial Independence?

Financial independence is having invested assets that produce enough passive income which allows you freedom and autonomy with your life. Your invested assets can be in the market, real estate, and/or business. Whatever your flavor this book will break down the basics to achieving financial independence.

Please don’t be intimidated by that concept. I’ll admit when I first heard it, it was a little daunting because I was starting my investing life so late. What I’ve come to peace with is that I’m just glad I’m starting. It’s never too late to transform your life and your finances.

The information in the ChooseFI book is approachable and more importantly doable. If you are interested in what comes after debt freedom or if you are looking for motivation to pay off your debt, this book is for you.

The FIRE Movement

Maybe you’ve read about the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement in some of the major news outlets. Perhaps you’ve seen the Playing with FIRE documentary. Either way, it’s a movement but what I love about ChooseFI the podcast and the book is that they focus on the FI (financial independence) part and not so much the RE (retire early) part.

Retirement can mean different things to different people and that’s fine with me. Being financially independent opens up a world of choices but that doesn’t mean one has to retire. Regardless, I’m going for FI and this book will give you the blueprint to do so if you want to join me…

The Difference Between the Book & the Podcast

I love, love, love the ChooseFI podcast and find so many of the guest’s stories inspirational. Additionally, Brad & Jonathan have a synergy that’s fun to listen to. It’s even more fun to be a part of it. I had my chance back in the fall of 2018 when they interviewed me. That episode went live in December of 2018 and you can listen to it here.

So what’s missing in the podcast, understandably, is a linear presentation of the information. The format of the show is an interview of guests on Monday and then a roundup show on Fridays. The roundup brings in feedback from the community which is great.

While listening to guests on the podcast, one is presented with a lot of concepts, stories, and actionable tips. It can be overwhelming.

I’ve mostly focused on the basics as I needed them and put other things in a someday bucket in my mind. However, as I advance in my investing life, I’d like to go back to some of the more advanced concepts. Well, this book is the perfect place to search.

Photo courtesy of my colleague, Carson

The Layout

The book’s layout, in my opinion, is just right! Chris nailed it.

via Giphy

The book is comprised of five main sections and 15 chapters.

Create Your Own FI Story

It all starts with you & me – the readers. It’s a great way to start a book by engaging the reader into dreaming about why. Everyone needs a why in life and that includes your finances. I’ve found that I’m more likely to stick to my goals when I have a powerful why behind them.

Additionally, this first section tackles mindset. I’ve found in life that my greatest battlefield is in my mind. As a Christian, this means keeping my thoughts captive to Christ. That’s a lot easier said than done. Additionally, it means remaining teachable and correctable. It’s about embracing a growth mindset, as defined by Carol Dweck.

Spend Less

The next four chapters center around spending less. ChooseFI is not focused so much on frugality as it is value-based spending. I can easily get on board with this concept. Value-based spending basically means spending money on the things you truly value and cutting back on everything else.

Once, you go down the rabbit hole of spending less, it becomes fun to find ways to reduce costs without reducing quality. For example, in 2018 I switched to Cricket (an MVNO) with my cellular service and saved about $30 a month. Recently, I switched to Spectrum mobile and have cut my monthly cell bill down by another $16 dollars. And in all of this, I’ve not experienced any negativity with my network, data or calls.

Additionally, in this section, you’ll learn about tax optimization ‘cus who doesn’t want to legally spend less on taxes??

Earn More

The next three chapters are on earning more. My favorite – career hacking!! There is a limit to how far you can cut your expenses, but no ceiling exits on how high your income can grow.

Sure, reduce your expenses where you can but, IMHO, income is where you should focus most of your time. Your income is perhaps your greatest asset so grow that baby! How do you do that? Well for one, be valuable in your career and two be strategically noticed for your value. ESI money, who is mentioned in this section of the book, is a phenomenal resource on this topic. I recommend you go here for more in-depth material.

The ChooseFI book has an entire chapter on hacking college and/or even skipping it. This is such an important topic with the amount of student loan debt in this country. Who wants to be underwater right out of the gate if you don’t have to be??

Invest Better

Here’s where it really gets fun! In the not too distant past, investing intimidated me. Firstly, I didn’t have the money to do it and secondly, I thought if I ever did, I assumed I’d hire someone to do it for me. However, ChooseFI (the podcast & now the book) breaks it down in a very practical manner.

There is a full chapter devoted to each of the following:

  • Laying a foundation
  • Index fund investing
  • Building a business
  • Investing in real estate

Those things add up to diversification!

What’s Next

Lastly, the book ends with the enjoyment of the journey. There are many people who in pursuit of FI burned out and we can learn from their mistakes. How lovely that the book ends with a cautionary chapter to remind us that it’s the journey that matters more than the destination.

The book then concludes with a rediscovery of possibility.

Closing Thoughts

I can wrap it up in three words – approachable, encouraging, actionable. I loved♥ it and highly recommend it. One of the best things about this book is that each chapter ends with clearly defined actionable tips appropriate to the concepts presented.

Most likely it’s a book you’ll want to revisit again and again. I know I will.

Borrow it or buy it, but most just importantly read it!

 

 

Filed Under: Financial Independence Tagged With: Book Review, Financial Literacy, FIRE

Trackbacks

  1. Choose FI Book Review: Your Blueprint To Financial Independence - The Retirement Manifesto says:
    October 10, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    […] Recovering Women Wealth […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

About Me

My name is Deanna and I am happy to be on this redemptive path. I got sober from drug addiction/alcoholism in 2010 and returned to a faith in Christ. Additionally, I finished digging my way out of debt in 2017. Today, I’m learning to be a wise steward/investor of my resources while helping other women find their victories too. More about me.

Join my email list!

Subscribe to be notified of my latest posts via email.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Affiliate Link – Click Image

Affiliate Link – Click Image

As Featured On

Recent Posts

  • Seasons Change: Not Goodbye, but a New Beginning
  • A Tastefully Frugal Dream Wedding
  • What Does it Take to Make a Huge Change?

Categories

  • Blogging
  • Career Hacking
  • Financial Independence
  • Frugality
  • Healthy Living
  • Inspiration
  • Investing
  • Minimalism
  • Personal Finance
  • Stories of Recovery
  • Tax Efficiency
  • Travel Hacking
  • Tribute

Archives

  • May 2022
  • June 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018

Copyright © 2022 Recovering Women Wealth