023R | In today's Friday Roundup we discuss career hacking with ESI Money, Big ERN's analysis of Paul's case study, plus hear our answers to an interesting question posed by audience member Jason about the value of frugality. In Today’s Podcast we cover: Friday Roundup after Episode 23 with ESI from ESI Money Looking at compound interest on the earnings side of a career instead of just on the savings side ESI is now an author on Business Insider. Our question of how he made that connection What jumped out to us from the episode with ESI? Starting at a higher salary, managing the boss, etc. Commonalities of career paths for people pursuing FI and for Second Generation FIRE? Options for seasonal work (such as tax preparation) while pursuing FI Managing the boss: Telling your boss you want to be a high performer and how to quantify it How this sets you up to ‘win’ either in this current job or to land a better job elsewhere The power of networking for Choose FI and our growth Personal relationships matter, even in a digital and connected world Itunes review about us “mainlining the secret truth of the universe” Our definition of FI being 25x your annual expenses. There is also the conversation of ‘safe withdrawal rates’ Big ERN’s feedback on Paul’s case study and his in-depth analysis of Paul’s early retirement plan ERN’s calculations plus his look at the real-world implication of social security on Paul’s plan Paul’s response to our question about his $70,000 per year of expenses. A full $23,000 is based on travel they took last year With “slow travel” and intentionality they can reduce the cost of their travel while actually traveling more Excluding travel their post-FI expenses are actually only $37,000 Many expenses are reduced once you reach financial independence and Paul has actually identified many of those reductions Feedback from the community: Jason posed a question to us about what we’re “missing out on” by pursuing FI and if the finer things in life are something we should pursue Brad thinks that pursuing FI is a ‘superpower’ that enables him to live a life he enjoys. And if that means “sacrificing” BMWs and Maine Lobster to get there, it is a trade he’s more than willing to make If money is no longer an issue, what changes then? That is the real question Responses from the community on Jason’s question and how they would spend their money College hacking article coming from Edmund Tee on Choose FI Frugal wins of the week from the community Life hack from Steve on life insurance Itunes reviews and winners of The Simple Path to Wealth Links from the show: ESI Money ESI’s article on Business Insider: I retired at 52 with a $3 million net worth — here are the 10 worst money mistakes anyone can make Early Retirement Now