WEBVTT - Front Loading the Sacrifice with $Pro Doc G #074 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.880 Welcome to how to Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.680 and today or discussing frontloading the sacrifice with money pro 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:27.920 doc G. Yeah, joe us right, we've got doc G on. 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:31.520 He is involved in the financial independence community. He's a 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:33.480 co host of a podcast as well, so I'm looking 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:36.680 forward to hearing what he has to say about five. Yeah, 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.280 it's independence. And if people are wondering why he's called 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:40.760 doc G, well, there are a lot of people that 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:43.919 blog and do podcasts in that community that have day 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:46.199 jobs and they don't really want to let everyone know 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:48.600 that they're a part of the fire community, which is 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:52.080 financial independent, retire early, and so dc G it goes 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.959 kind of under that anonymous name so that his employer 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.600 doesn't find out that's who he is. Yeah. You know, 0:00:57.640 --> 0:00:59.320 the first time I realized that, when I came across 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:00.840 a bunch of those folks, I thought it was the 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.480 weirdest thing ever, because there's they post pictures of themselves 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:05.160 and put like a sticker over their face that sort 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:07.120 of thing as well, like no social media at all. 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:09.399 But uh, you know, it does make sense. You don't 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:11.360 want to jeopardize your job, and when it comes to 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:13.720 how much money you have, you don't necessarily want all 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:15.639 that information out there because a lot of those folks 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:17.759 lay it all out there like they lay a bear, 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:19.959 and you can look at their budgets, how much they're spending, 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:22.240 how much they're earning, and there's a lot of privacy 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:24.240 that you're giving up when you're doing that. So I 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:26.560 can get behind that now, but initially it totally through me. 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:28.880 But uh, what you got for us today? Yes, So 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:30.760 I'm excited about this episode. I feel like there's a 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:33.080 lot of takeaway for folks as they kind of start 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.240 to think about saving and investing. But before we get 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:37.639 to that, Matt, I wanted to mention two different frugal 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:40.600 versus cheaps. Yeah, let's get back to that, Fermitt. We 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:42.440 haven't done a frugal versus cheap. I saw that note 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:43.959 on there. I was hoping you'd have one. Yeah. So 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:46.480 MLS soccer is back and I'm super excited. I know 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:49.200 you are too. We root for our local team in Atlanta, 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.640 Atlanta United, and I have two frugal versus cheps. I 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.880 wanted to share. One was is it frugal or cheap? 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:58.960 That I a couple of years ago, right when Atlanta 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.680 United first launched. I bought a jersey from China. I 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.640 know you're gonna say that, because it was much much 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.880 cheaper than buying one from like Adidas or the Team 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.760 Store or something like that. So I ended up getting 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:13.959 a jersey I think like twenty bucks shipped to my door. 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.960 That is cheap, that is inexpensive, That is very affordable. 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:21.359 But then when I put it on, all my friends 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.200 noticed instantaneously that it wasn't the real thing because it 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.200 was this completely different shade of bread, and like the 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:29.640 emblem and stuff like that started to fade super quickly, 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.800 just wear completely off the jersey, and I just stopped 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.200 wearing it because honestly, it just looked ratchet. So was 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.240 that frugal or cheap? I mean from the get go, 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.080 I I noticed as well. And you can always spot 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:42.000 the folks who had on the Chinese jerseys because they 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.160 were a brighter red. And I remember Pat specifically, our 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.200 buddy Pat. He would he would point him out. He'd 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:49.960 be like Chinese jersey, Chinese jersey because he hated him. 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:51.880 So the fact that you had to get another one, 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:53.600 or you didn't have to, but you chose to get 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:55.280 a new one you know, I asked for one for 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.000 my birthday because they completely fell on my face when 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.360 they came to buying that one. So i'll that's a 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:02.760 frugal fail. That was that was me cheap and out 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:04.680 being cheap, and I lost out on that one. So 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:07.240 I tried to go for the knockoff. It didn't work. 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:08.920 It ended up just kind of sitting in the back 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:11.440 of my dor because I felt too ashamed to wear it. Man, 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:12.799 I gotta be honest. You can wear it cutting the 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:15.799 grass or something though, Right, that's a good point. Yeah, 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.400 all right, I got one more for you, So frugal 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:21.880 or cheap I doubleheader. I took my my oldest daughter 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:24.280 to a game the other night and it was super fun. 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:26.079 It was we just had the best time, just her 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:28.480 and I hitting up a soccer game. And if it's 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:30.160 a late night game and you park at one of 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.120 the meters that's like a third of a mile away, 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:34.080 you don't have to pay to park, and so it's 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.280 pretty sweet because when you get close into the stadium, 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:38.960 people are, you know, lots of times we're riding bikes 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:40.760 and I probably should have ridden bikes that night, but 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.160 I didn't, and we drove and so I parked at 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:44.800 one of the meters and and didn't pay. But but 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:46.600 then we had like this really long walk ahead of 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:48.839 us to the stadium. So is that frugal or cheap 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:52.040 that I'm that I'm parking further away at getting free parking, 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:54.680 but taking that long walk to the stadium. I think, Okay, Well, 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.560 first of all, I think you should have ridden your bikes. Yeah, yeah, 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.600 that's what I would have That's what i'd say. First. Uh, yeah, 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:02.600 I think that's fairly frugal. I think you know, what 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:04.920 you're teaching your daughter is that just because you can 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.120 part closer, like we're not necessarily going to do that, 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:09.360 And as long as you're not walking through maybe a 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:12.640 sketchy part of town or you know, like a dodgy area. Personally, 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:15.160 I would do that. I think that's totally frugal. And 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:17.599 there might be sometimes when you might want to splurge 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:20.279 and maybe pay for parking, But with a bike, you 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.559 get to pull up and you get free bike valley parking. 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:24.640 So that's the best. Man, you're right across from the stadium, 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:26.640 That is the best. And I try to do that 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:28.640 as often as possible. That is a blast and here's 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:30.240 the Here's the other thing though, when you park further 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.240 way that I actually like. So when you park really 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.080 close and you're trying to leave the stadium, you're in 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:38.760 this nasty traffic jam because everyone close ends trying to 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:40.359 go in the same direction at the same time and 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:42.360 get out of these parking lots. There's one way out, 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.840 and so those parking lots are jam packed and it's 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.840 tough to get out and takes forever. So parking further away, 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.960 I'm walking faster than the traffics going, so I actually 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.320 break free. Yeah, so I actually think like, not only 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:55.920 am I saving money getting a nice little fun walk 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:57.960 in with my daughter, but then at the same time, 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.520 I'm out of there much quicker because I'm not like 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:02.680 sitting in that parking lot traffic. Plus they're small enough 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:04.280 now where we can throw them up on our shoulders 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:06.120 and we can kind of pick up the pace a 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:08.039 little bit if we need to. So yeah, no doubt. 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:09.760 All right, Joel, let's talk about the beer that we're 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:12.159 gonna have on this episode. We have a bunch of 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.440 beers from Spindle Tap Brewery. The brewery reached out to 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.120 us directly, and yeah, it's been a minute since we've 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.080 had an actual brewery sent us some beer, So I'm 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.000 excited to have a few of theirs on the show. Yeah. 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.080 This man, Leo, who works for Spindle Tap. He listens 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:28.600 to the show and just super cool. He reached out 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:30.640 via Twitter and said, man, I love the show. I 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:33.000 worked for spindele Tap and offered to send us not 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.000 only beer, maybe sent us some really cool T shirts too, 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:40.520 So yeah, some mad props. Yeah me too, I'm loving mind. Yeah, 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:43.559 so that's super kind. And and Spindle Tap, I gotta 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.160 say I went to their website after Leo reached out, 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:48.880 and I just scrolled through their list of beers and 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.000 they make just I p A after I p A 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:52.920 after I p A, and they all like my mouth 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:55.320 was watering. They just all sound delicious. So I'm really 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:57.400 excited to try this one tonight. Yeah, so this is 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:00.599 aggressive additions. I p A, Joel, You're going for it already, 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:04.679 initial thoughts quickly, I'll say, this one's right up my alley, 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.440 and Spindle Tap just through like two SIPs, worked its 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.960 way directly into my heart. So I'm looking forward to, 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:11.599 you know, sharing more of our thoughts about this beer 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.640 at the end. Of the episode. Oh my, this one 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:16.640 is good man. I'm looking forward to not only talking 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:19.719 about it, but drinking it on this episode. All right, Matt, 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:22.880 onto the topic at hand. We're talking about frontloading the sacrifice. 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.159 And like I said, we brought money pro doct g 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.000 on to kind of give us five minutes of distilled wisdom. 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:29.880 This is a topic that is near and dear to 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:32.239 his heart, and it is so important to him because 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:35.520 he realizes that most people don't understand that just a 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:39.040 little more effort upfront can mean a much smoother ride 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.360 in the future. We're gonna talk about saving and investing, 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:45.120 but just other ways of frontloading your sacrifice can have compounding, 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:48.440 massive effects for you on the back end. It's such 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:51.599 an important topic to essentially help people understand that today 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:53.520 is the day you need to get started, not next week, 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:56.200 not next month, but like today, because once you start 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:58.440 moving in a direction, the dominoes just kind of begin 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:00.040 to fall for you and and it all gets a 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:01.960 little bit easier over time. So and I think doct 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:04.320 does a really good job in this five minute segment 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.880 of presenting that well edual. And something worth mentioning as 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.520 well is that doc G's advice. It comes from the 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:13.440 standpoint of someone who is financially independent. He himself is 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.120 financially independent. He's partially retired, which I love, and we 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:18.400 can talk more about that later. How he's sort of 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.040 testing out the waters of retirement. But financial independence, we've 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.960 talked about this before, but quickly, it's essentially when you 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:27.120 have enough assets or money invest in that you no 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:30.080 longer have to work to earn money because your money 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.640 itself is earning that money. And also, there's just different 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:36.800 degrees of financial independence as far as folks that are 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.840 willing to give up different amounts of things, different sacrifice 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.240 that they're willing to make in order to achieve that 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.800 sooner versus later. But for all of them, like that's 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.320 their goal. Their goal is to basically break free of 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:50.040 the chains of having to to work in order to 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.960 pay their their monthly bills. And so it's worth mentioning 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:55.120 that because I think to a lot of folks his 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.440 approach might sound a bit extreme, but at the same time, 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:02.040 the advice that he is giving is widely applicable regardless 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:04.400 of how soon you actually want to retire. All right, Matt, 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:07.240 So without further ado, let's get into doc gees Money 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.920 Pro segment. Just a quick reminder. Every time we bring 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.920 a money pro on the show, they send us five 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:15.840 minutes of distilled wisdom about this particular topic. So so 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:19.040 here are doctees finest thoughts on the topic of the day, 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:23.280 Frontloading the Sacrifice. Hey guys, thanks for inviting me on 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:26.960 to speak about one of my favorite topics, frontloading the sacrifice. 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:32.240 Getting to financial independence requires hard work, planning, and missed opportunities. 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.080 This is part of the process. While some have found 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:37.280 a way to climb the mountain while also enjoying the 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.040 beauty of the local terrain, the great majority of us 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.400 have an end in mind. We tend to track that 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:45.600 end with laser like focus. Whether it be early retirement 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:48.000 or a particular net worth. We're willing to put in 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.199 the extra hours, lose sleep, or work weekends to make 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:53.920 it happen down the road. We all, in one way 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:58.000 or another, past the marshmallow test. Thus, especially if you're 0:08:58.000 --> 0:08:59.880 a young person, I have one key piece of it 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:05.080 ice front load the sacrifice. The concept. It's straightforward. The 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:07.240 harder you work as a young person, the less you 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.520 will have to as you get older. Want to retire 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:12.319 at forty, how about thirty five. There's no way to 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.560 achieve such mighty aspirations unless you pay your dues, so 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.120 do yourself a favor. Pay those dues early. The worst 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:22.160 mistake you can make is a failure to launch. Think 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:25.040 about it. What requires the most energy during a typical 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:28.440 trans atlantic flight. You'd be correct if you guess take off. 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:30.520 Once the plane is up in the air and on 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:34.320 its trajectory, fuel needs decreased drastically. If you can just 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:37.319 make it past the original hump, you can expect smooth 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.960 flying for the duration. Your financial timeline is no different. 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:43.760 The fuel you create and burn early in your journey 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:47.000 will often propel you even faster the rest of the way. 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:50.520 This is particularly important in your early twenties. Leaving college, 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:52.960 you may face a mountain of debt. Whether you demolish 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.120 that mountain or build it up even higher will have 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:58.960 profound consequences on your financial well being, although they may 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:01.720 seem self evident. Let's look at a few reasons. Front 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:04.600 loading the sacrifice is so important. You all know about 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:08.400 the magic of compounding, if not, for God's sake, google it. 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:11.360 The idea is simple. Start with a little money in 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:14.480 vast watch the trick over turns turn into an avalanche, 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:17.640 and then retire. It goes without saying that earlier you 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:20.720 start compounding, the faster your net worth will grow. As 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:24.040 a resident physician, I moonlighted at my local hospital. The 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:26.719 extra profits originally went into a down payment on a 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:29.720 house and then later into investments. Can you imagine what 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.320 that ten thousand dollars I made in residency is worth? 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:36.320 If not, find yourself a compound calculator. It's not just 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:40.079 the compounding gains, but also the compounding losses. That's right. 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:43.400 Credit costs money, So if you have a huge educational 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:46.280 or car loans, you're sapping your jet fuel. Every month 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:49.560 you're paying interest. That interest will erode your wealth and 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.800 happy your path to financial freedom. My wife, for example, 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.040 had fifteen thousand dollars of educational debt when she finished college. 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:58.400 We both put in extra hours at work in those 0:10:58.400 --> 0:11:01.160 early years to pay it off fairly quickly. By becoming 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.960 a free of debt, we are able to maximize retirement 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:07.559 savings and start a taxable brokerage account before becoming parents. 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:11.760 It's also easy to forget that experience compounds. These skills 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.360 you learn and the education you receive when you are young, 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:17.760 can serve as you mature in your professional career. You 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:20.480 know what other advantage that most have upon leaving college 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:24.560 no children. You don't have children, or possibly a mortgage 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:27.560 or other responsibilities that weigh you down. You are free 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:31.240 to aggressively pursue a career, business opportunity, or side hustle. 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.559 As you get older, have children, and settle into suburbia, 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:38.600 your time becomes parse between unyielding mistresses screaming for your attention. 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:41.280 The young also have an abundance of something else that 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:45.280 we old timers are sadly lacking energy. As a young physician, 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.320 I could work thirty six hours in a row without 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.040 getting a wink of sleep. Now it takes me weeks 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.760 to recover from such activities. In summary, the money you 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:55.760 make as a young person will be the jet fuel 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:58.439 for your transatlantic flight. It will propel you through the 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:01.800 stratosphere and prepare the way for coasting at a comfortable altitude. 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:05.240 The young have large reserves of energy, a few responsibilities, 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:07.600 and the ever important time horizon to take advantage of 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:11.199 the magic of compounding front load to sacrifice. You won't 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:14.640 regret it. And one last note, don't fall victim to 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:18.160 the you only live one syndrome. Yolo is a no no. 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:21.280 Yolo is a no no, because you don't only live once. 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:23.680 I would argue that in the typical eighties some years 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:26.960 of existence, people experience many new beginnings. There are new 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:31.320 days and new decades, new careers and new relationships. Change 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:34.120 is so constant that we are continuously beginning or ending 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.440 a new stage of life. When you make economic decisions 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:39.560 based on the idea that once the moment is past, 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:42.040 it will never come back again, you spend based on 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:46.600 fear and short lived hedonism in actuality, especially when you're young, 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.320 every new stage in life will feel like a fresh start. 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:54.000 Although wisdom accruise, new beginnings abound. You know what happens 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:55.840 when people spend like you only live once when they 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.160 are young, they end up facing the multitude of new 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:01.520 life stages, poor and unprepared to fully enjoy what life 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:03.800 has to offer down the road. Think of all the 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:05.960 joy as a new parent or a newly retired person 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.760 can experience when they have enough economic fuel to propel 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.840 them in their journey. Don't erase the wondrous effect of compounding. 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.320 There you have it frontload to sacrifice and you don't 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:20.160 only live once words to live by. It almost sounds 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:22.320 like reincarnation a little bit mad, right? Is that? Is 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:24.520 that what doctors going for? Yeah, that was awesome stuff 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.640 from Doc g and I'm looking forward to unpacking that 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:38.839 with you man right after this break. Alright, Matt, we're 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:40.880 back and Yeah, that was some really good stuff from 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.240 from Doc. And really a lot of what Doc is 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:45.680 saying is that if you want to achieve what's called 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.000 financial independence that you kind of defined a little bit 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:50.240 earlier and we talked about in a much earlier episode. 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:53.240 Is financial independence a good goal to have? Well, it's 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:55.840 going to require a lot of hard work planning and 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.800 missing out on some opportunities that you're probably interested in. Yeah, 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.280 you know, honestly, for me, missing out on those opportunities, 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.040 whether they be experiences like events or even sometimes like stuff, 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.160 that to me is the hardest because I can work hard, 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:10.959 and I think a lot of folks feel that they're 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:13.320 not afraid of hard work. You can even plan some 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:17.600 but behaving and not overspending after you've done that hard work. 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:19.800 For me, that, honestly, I find that to be the 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.960 toughest challenge when it comes to my personal finances. You 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:25.960 work hard and and you feel that you've earned the 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:28.040 stuff that you're going to purchase. I guess a little reward. 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:31.000 We've talked about that recently. You hear the motto work hard, 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:33.320 play hard, But like that's the problem. A lot of 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:35.640 times that's when your finances can totally get out of 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.480 whack and you're not really getting ahead even though you're 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:40.880 working really hard and you're earning an incredible wage because 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:42.880 you're spending all of your money. Yeah, you have that 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:46.120 kind of treat yourself mentality. Well, you utterly deserve the 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:48.760 things that you're buying. You deserve a bigger house, you 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.360 deserve a new car because you worked really hard, exactly, 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:54.480 and and and so I completely understand that mentality. But 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.760 that's the mentality we have to get away from. And 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:58.400 so you and I'm at though on this show, we 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:01.200 have talked about many, many times throughout all the episodes 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:03.800 we've created that we are into living a rich life 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:06.200 now on less money. And so I do need to 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.520 stress that utter deprivation is not what we're all about. 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:13.800 But ultimately there is a strong need to hone in 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:17.560 and focus on the things that actually matter. If financial 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.000 independence is something that you want to achieve. And so ultimately, 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.960 people that are able to achieve a certain amount of 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:26.000 financial independence in their lives or that ultimate goal of 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:30.520 real financial independence, they're able to stay focused along the way. 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.280 So the goal might truly be retiring early. And documenttioned 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.000 some lofty numbers of retiring like thirty five or forty 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.120 And I gotta be honest, for almost everybody listening, I 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:41.160 know that's a really really hard number to hear. Even that's, uh, 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.160 that seems impossible. But for but for some people listening 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:45.920 who are We got an email Matt the other day 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.640 from a fourteen year old and for him, that's totally 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:53.080 that's that is totally possible. For most people, that's gonna 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:55.280 be really really hard to do, and especially because we 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.240 have a lot of listeners who are in their thirties 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.520 and forties and fifties, and so for those people, that 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.360 opportunity has passed. But at the same time, there's the 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.680 ability to right now, whatever age you are, wherever you're 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.600 at in life, to start front loading the sacrifice now. 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.160 So it's not about going back and doing it over 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:14.160 because obviously that's impossible. What it is about is creating 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:17.960 a focus to change the trajectory of your future. Now, yeah, man, 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.360 keeping that that laser like focus like you mentioned is 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:22.440 so key. And can you mentioned the marshmallow tests? Have 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:24.520 you heard that? I have? Yeah, I read up on 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:26.560 the marshmallow test just based on what he said, So 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:27.960 I thought it was I thought it was fascinating. Do 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:29.440 you want to explain it? Yeah, it's it's kind of 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:31.520 a classic if you haven't heard about it. It's the 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:35.640 Stanford experiment on delayed gratification basically, and Stanford did the 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:39.080 best like psychological experiments on people prison was it the 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.480 Stanford prison experiment? They do all these sort of messed 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:44.240 up studies and that like that's borderline unethical and maybe 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.640 completely exactly because this one maybe borderline unethical. But they 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.080 had kids sitting in a room, uh, and they're told 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.960 that here's a marshmallow. We're gonna leave. If you don't 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.560 eat the marshmallow. When I come back, you get two marshmallows. 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.880 And so yeah, it was a test of delayed gratification. 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.000 And what they found where that the children who were 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:04.639 able to say no and through discipline, were able to 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.679 control themselves ultimately in the long term, we're able to 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:10.720 achieve more in life, and so Dag is essentially saying 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.360 that in the same way, like this is the experiment 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:15.359 that we're exposed to every day when it comes to 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.320 our purchases and expenses. If we can say no to 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.160 the things right now of consumption, at some point down 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:25.480 the road, when you're financially independent, hopefully you're gonna have 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:27.040 a lot more choices and you're gonna have a lot 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:30.280 more options presented to you. Yeah, and Matt, we did 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:32.600 an episode back in the day about peace out Money, 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:34.840 and that is kind of like one of those stepping 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:36.760 stones on the way to financial independence, And so we 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:40.240 said that even though financial independence is this incredibly lofty 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.000 goal and it takes quite a while to achieve, right, 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:43.879 you're not going to be there probably in three years. 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:46.320 It's gonna take decades to to hit that goal of 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.080 financial independence. But even along the way, you're gonna hit 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.160 these stepping stones and something like peace out money, which 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:54.680 gives you kind of enough of a cushion in order 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:56.479 to say, you know what, I want to move on 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:58.080 to another job, or I even want to take a 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:01.280 job that pays less money because it's something I'm more 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.200 interested in doing, and I think I'm gonna be able 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.159 to stick to it for a longer period. So I 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.240 just want to stress too that it's not necessarily all 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:09.960 about achieving this ultimate end goal that that might be 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:11.760 decades down the road, but there are these steps in 0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:13.960 between that you're gonna hit that are going to provide 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:16.119 you no matter where you're at. Maybe it's just building 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:18.399 up that emergency fund and having laser like focused and 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.159 you've got a frontload of the sacrifice right now in 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:22.320 order to get there, or you're ready to get to 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:24.840 that piece out money place so that you can look 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.240 for another job. Either way, it's gonna take passing that 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.080 marshmallow test and and not eating the marshmallows put in 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.560 front of you, and putting that marshmallow in like a 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:34.959