Welcome to the early retirement show. If you are a long time listener, thank you. And if you are new to the show, as a reminder, this show is dedicated to helping you retire early, otherwise known as the show dedicated to helping you understand what you have to do to be in a position where you are financially free, where work is now optional. So whether you are a few years out from retirement and you just want to know everything to prepare

for that big date or you're new in your journey and you want to get a head start on maximizing

what you've worked so hard for throughout your life, this is the show for you.

So we discuss everything from investments to

taxes to insurance and everything that comes in between. So without further ado, let's go ahead

and hop into today's episode. Welcome back to the early retirement show. I'm your host,

Ari Taublieb, and I think today's episode is going to be

one of the most fun ones, at least fun for me to record, and I hope it's fun for you listening as well,

because it's a fun question, and that question is how much money do I need to be financially free?

And so I want to start by saying thank you for asking that

question that was submitted on my website. And what I think is fascinating about that question,

and I'm preserving the name of the person who asked the question as they asked to be kept anonymous,

is that so often we think that financial freedom has to do with a number. It means, hey, once I have a

million dollars, I'm financially free. For some people, it's, hey, once I have 500,000, for others,

it's 5 million. And they are all wrong. They're all wrong because it has nothing to do with a number,

and this mindset is something that I currently speak with

clients about. It's something I currently, not just tell people, but it's something that I currently

use in my life. And so this concept behind financial freedom being a number is just incorrect,

in my opinion. And today's episode, you're going to hear all about why.

And there's no right or wrong when it comes to finance. It's just how everyone views it,

and it's a little differently. And so if someone else says, hey, it's a million bucks,

great. That might be their number in their head they're shooting for. And having a number to

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