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ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

Go Curry Cracker | Capital Gains, Losses and The Roth Conversion Ladder

ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

Jonathan Mendonsa & Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media, Inc

Investing, Business, Careers

4.8 β€’ 5.2K Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 10 April 2017

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jeremy retired at 38 after saving 70% of his income for a decade β€” then figured out how to never pay federal income tax again. The blogger behind Go Curry Cracker walks through the mechanics of retiring early while traveling the world with a young family, paying zero in taxes, and spending far less than you'd expect. Jeremy and his wife Winnie achieved financial independence through a combination of aggressive savings, index fund investing, and what he calls "geo arbitrage" β€” living in low-cost countries while their investments grow. But the real revelation is how they've structured their withdrawals: by strategically harvesting capital gains and timing Roth conversions, they legally avoid federal taxes year after year while funding a life most people assume costs six figures. Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Jeremy and Go Curry Cracker 00:03:34 - Travel Rewards and Maximizing Travel 00:06:07 - High Savings Rates for Early Retirement 00:09:19 - The Importance of Eliminating Debt 00:38:57 - Tax Optimization Strategies 00:54:23 - The ChooseFI Hot Seat Key Points: 70% Savings Rate: Jeremy and Winnie saved the majority of their income to reach financial independence in their thirties. [00:06:07] "Retiring in your thirties is simple, but not easy." Debt Elimination: Paying off debt is the starting point for financial freedom. [00:09:19] "Eliminating debt is key to financial freedom." Index Fund Investing: The couple invested their savings in index funds for long-term growth. [00:32:14] "Investing is essential for long-term wealth growth." Travel Rewards: They leverage credit card points and airline miles to drastically cut travel costs. [00:04:09] Capital Gains Harvesting: By carefully timing the sale of investments, they minimize or eliminate federal tax liability. [01:05:05] "Strategically harvesting capital gains can minimize taxes." Geo Arbitrage: Living in countries with lower costs of living while earning or drawing income from U.S. sources. [00:02:29] Resources: Go Curry Cracker Blog [01:04:16] JL Collins' Stock Series [00:56:14] ChooseFI Episode 13 [01:05:29] ChooseFI Episode 17R [01:05:50]

Transcript

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0:00.0

Okay, choose of I fans. Welcome back to the show today. This is going to be episode 18.

0:04.6

And let me start by introducing our guest today. This is Jeremy from Go Curry Cracker.

0:09.1

Jeremy and Winnie retired in 2012 to travel the world and start a family. And they did this while

0:13.5

still in their 30s. On his blog, Jeremy shares how they were able to become financially and location

0:18.3

independent at an extremely young age. They also share the specific details of what a full life,

0:23.1

a full-time travel and child rearing looks like. And they include photo stories and the cost of living

0:28.6

for each country they visit. This is Geo Arbitrage at his finest. His signature articles include

0:33.8

how they got over $10,000 of free travel to Europe, how they plan to never pay taxes again,

0:39.1

which we're going to talk about today, how they invest in their portfolio and why they will be

0:43.4

renters for life. This is going to be a phenomenal episode. We're going high level with you today.

0:48.2

And I hope you look forward to it.

0:49.9

You're listening to Choose FI Radio.

0:57.2

The blueprint for financial independence lives here.

1:10.0

If you're looking to unblocked as secrets to financial independence and early retirement,

1:15.1

you're in the right place. Stay tuned and join a community of like-minded people who are getting

1:20.4

off-amps from Europe and taking control of their lives in the pursuit of financial independence.

1:26.0

Choose FI, your home for financial independence online.

1:37.2

All right, Brad. We're back in the studio today. We got Go Curry Cracker with us. I'm

1:47.2

extremely excited that he's here with us today. How you doing, Brad?

1:50.1

I'm doing great, Jonathan. Yeah, this is a real exciting one. Jeremy is definitely,

1:54.8

in my opinion, on the Mount Rushmore of the Fire community. Not Rushmore. Yeah, yeah.

2:00.0

We've got a lot of them in a row, right? We've got Mad Finest, we've got Jeremy,

...

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