Catching Up to FI

Happy New Year! As we roll into 2026, organizing money becomes top of mind and one of the most common New Year's resolutions. So today on the show we have an expert with the leading money management app- Monarch Money, Rachel Lawrence. She is a Certified Financial Planner and fintech leader who works at the intersection of personal finance, behavior, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). She also runs her own fee-only financial planning firm called Reverie Wealth. In this episode Rachel gives us a masterclass on how to organize your financial life with Monarch's modern way to manage money that goes beyond the basics of budgeting. Plus, we'll get a peek into what changes they have coming in 2026!     DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS:   MONARCH MONEY The modern way to manage money! Monarch will change the way you organize your financial life. Track, budget, plan, and do more with your money – together. Get 50% off the first year using this link and entering code: CATCHINGUP50   ALLOY The Alloy Market offers a seamless and efficient way to sell your gold, silver, and platinum jewelry, regardless of its condition. They are committed to transparency and fairness, ensuring you get the best possible value for your items. Use this special Link and enter code CUTOFI15 to get a $15 bonus when you sell items over $199 (limited time offer).    For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners      📩 Sign up for our newsletter (NEW!) 🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website  🔗Connect with us ☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee"  🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question     RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW: (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)   🌐 Monarch Money 🌐 Reverie Wealth     If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating or review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!     📌Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.    

Catching Up to FI co-host, Jackie Cummings Koski crosses over to Andy Panko's 'Retirement Planning Education' podcast for a funny, deeply practical masterclass on what FIRE really is (and what it isn't). Jackie is single-mom late-starter, FIRE for Dummies author, and "I retired but I'm still busy" money nerd. She rewinds her journey of retiring before 50 and walks Andy (and listeners) through: How she hit a ~$1M FI number with ~$40K annual spending Managing healthcare premiums by understanding how ACA subsidies really work Tapping her pre-tax IRA before 59.5 using 72(t) without blowing herself up Qualifying for ex-spouse Social Security benefits Medical tourism in Bali funded by her HSA Why most 401(k) menus are quietly sabotaging regular people They finish with Jackie's second act: two books, a CFP, a master's in financial planning & financial therapy, and co-hosting Catching Up to FI to help late starters realize it's not too late.     DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS:   Monarch Money The modern way to manage money! Monarch will change the way you organize your financial life. Track, budget, plan, and do more with your money – together. Get 50% off the first year using this link and entering code: CATCHINGUP50   Alloy The Alloy Market offers a seamless and efficient way to sell your gold, silver, and platinum jewelry, regardless of its condition. They are committed to transparency and fairness, ensuring you get the best possible value for your items. Use this special Link and enter code CUTOFI15 to get a $15 bonus when you sell items over $199 (limited time offer).    For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners    📩 Sign up for our newsletter (NEW!) 🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website  🔗Connect with us ☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee"  🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question     RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW: (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) 🌐Retirement Planning Education 🎙️Retirement Planning Education Podcast  🌐Tenon Financial   📕 F.I.R.E. For Dummies by Jackie Cummings Koski   ⏰ 'Catching Up to FI' Episodes Retirement Planning Tips | Andy Panko | 063 From Poverty to Wealth and Early Retirement | Jackie Cummings Koski | 007   If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating or review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!     ⚠️Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.

The Mad Fientist (Brandon Ganch) is an OG, pioneer, and giant in the Financial Independence (FI) movement! It took us a while to get him on the show, but he finally joins us for this very special holiday catch-up. Brandon is a software developer and strategically put those skills to work in creating the popular Mad Fientist blog & podcast. He's best known for deep dive experiments on tax optimization, early access to retirement funds, and other brilliant FI strategies.  Now a family man with a wife and two kids, Brandon rarely does interviews these days. But today you will get a rare glimpse into the ups and downs of his post-FI life. In this episode he candidly talks about: What he thought about money growing up and as a young adult His obsession with money and how it led to a period of depression while running the Mad Fientist blog and podcast How he traded in his extreme frugality and self-deprivation for joyful spending using his "Wealth Machines" software that has been in development for years Building his dream music studio and putting out a Billboard-charting album (Dead Pixel) and new EP (QED) Becoming a dad and asking big questions about raising children who've never seen their parents go to work     DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS: 🆕NEW PARTNER:  Monarch Money The modern way to manage money! Monarch will change the way you organize your financial life. Track, budget, plan, and do more with your money – together. Get 50% off the first year using this link and entering code: CATCHINGUP50   Alloy The Alloy Market offers a seamless and efficient way to sell your gold, silver, and platinum jewelry, regardless of its condition. They are committed to transparency and fairness, ensuring you get the best possible value for your items. Use this special Link and enter code CUTOFI15 to get a $15 bonus when you sell items over $199 (limited time offer).    For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners      📩 Sign up for our newsletter (NEW!) 🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website  🔗Connect with us ☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee"  🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question     RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW: (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) 🌐 The Mad Fientist Blog  🎙️The Mad Fientist's Financial Independence Podcast Wealth Machines Software (in beta) 🎼 Follow Brandon's Music on Spotify (1=2) 🎼 New Album (QED, 2025) 🎼 1st Album (Dead Pixel, 2021) Get Rich Slowly- J.D. Roth 📘 Ramit Sethi – I Will Teach You to Be Rich 📕 Die with Zero by Bill Perkins 📗 The Wealth Ladder by Nick Maggiulli     ⏰ 'Catching Up to FI' Episodes   The Godfather of FI Talks Fatherhood | JL Collins | 149      The pURPOSE Code | Jordan Grumet | 115     Sustainable FIlosophy with Mr. Money Mustache | Pete Adeney | 073       If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating or review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!     ⚠️Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.

Frank Vasquez (aka 'Uncle Frank' to the FI community) returns to the show to talk gold and what this shiny speculation is actually doing in a modern FI portfolio. Frank is the voice behind Risk Parity Radio and has a knack for making even the most tangled concepts in life and investing feel approachable. In this episode he tackles: Gold as speculation, not a gamble  Gold's role in accumulation vs. retirement Typical gold allocation Correlation & diversification Physical gold vs. ETFs   DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS: 🆕NEW PARTNER:  Monarch Money The modern way to manage money! Monarch will change the way you organize your financial life. Track, budget, plan, and do more with your money – together. Get 50% off the first year using this link and entering code: CATCHINGUP50   Alloy The Alloy Market offers a seamless and efficient way to sell your gold, silver, and platinum jewelry, regardless of its condition. They are committed to transparency and fairness, ensuring you get the best possible value for your items. Use this special Link and enter code CUTOFI15 to get a $15 bonus when you sell items over $199 (limited time offer).    For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners      📩 Sign up for our newsletter (NEW!) 🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website  🔗Connect with us ☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee"  🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question     RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW: (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) Charity: The Father McKenna Center 🌐Risk Parity Radio     ⏰ 'Catching Up to FI' Episodes 'The Risk Parity Paradox' an Exercise in Simple Complexity? | Frank Vasquez | 124 SpongeBob and Drawdown Strategies | Frank Vasquez | 044   If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating or review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!     ⚠️Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.

Trae Bodge is one of the country's leading smart-shopping and personal-savings experts. You've probably seen her on CNBC and Good Morning America, or in publications like The New York Times, USA Today, and MarketWatch. She joins us on the show for a holiday-season intervention on spending, shopping, and gift-giving. Trae also shares news about her, mom-inspired Threadneedle Alley Foundation, a nonprofit that provides grants and guidance to midlife entrepreneurs facing financial challenges. Through Dec. 31, 2025, entrepreneurs ages 40 and up can apply for a $5,000 grant and ongoing mentorship .      🎁 🎁 🎁A Special Gift from our friend... The Mad Fientist (only through Dec 10th) Brandon Ganch's (aka The Mad Fientist) is one of the early pioneers of the FI Movement and has shared his knowledge and brilliant resources with millions of people for over a decade. He will be featured on our holiday episode (releasing on 12/21/25). This holiday season he has a brand new beta software called Wealthmachines.co, a complete system designed for financial independence that focuses on your assets and the income they generate. Even though he's brilliant at developing software, his real passion is music, and he has a new album coming out with a juicy offer! Until December 10th, he is gifting early access to you before it goes to a monthly subscription when you purchase his new album. Here's how you can support his passion and get his software:   Preorder his brand new EP Album for $4.99 before December 10th on Amazon Music (or other music retailers) and ​follow him on ​Spotify (help him get to 1000 subscribers) Send a copy of the receipt to [email protected]​ Go to Wealthmachines.co and click the "Get Access" link in the top right corner to get free access. Note: The public release won't be until 2027, but you'll be able to start using it as soon as it's ready. Also, you will NOT need to pay an annual fee once the app becomes publicly available (the annual fee will be more than the EP's cost, every single year)!     DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS:   🆕NEW PARTNER:  Monarch Money The modern way to manage money! Monarch will change the way you organize your financial life. Track, budget, plan, and do more with your money – together. Get 50% off the first year using this link and entering code: CATCHINGUP50   Alloy   The Alloy Market offers a seamless and efficient way to sell your gold, silver, and platinum jewelry, regardless of its condition. They are committed to transparency and fairness, ensuring you get the best possible value for your items. Use this special Link and enter code CUTOFI15 to get a $15 bonus when you sell items over $199 (limited time offer).  For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners      📩 Sign up for our newsletter (NEW!) 🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website  🔗Connect with us ☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee"  🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question     RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW: (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) Charity:  Threadneedle Alley  🌐 TrueTrae.com     If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating or review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!     ⚠️Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.