It ALL worked. All of it. | Connie

ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

Jonathan Mendonsa & Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media, Inc

Investing, Business, Careers

4.8 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2024

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After her husband's passing, Connie had to rebuild her financial life from scratch—and she managed to turn that necessity into mastery. Her journey from following traditional debt-reduction advice to strategically using HSAs for healthcare, gaming the FAFSA for maximum college aid, and funding international travel through rewards cards offers a roadmap for anyone feeling overwhelmed by their finances. Connie's Financial Journey [00:01:02] Thrust into managing all finances alone after husband's death Transitioned from traditional frameworks to a holistic approach Built financial literacy through continuous learning Navigating Health Insurance [00:04:59] Used HSAs to manage healthcare expenses during husband's illness Successfully managed significant medical costs with self-directed health plan Learning and Transitioning from Dave Ramsey [00:11:15] Started with Dave Ramsey's methods Discovered broader financial perspectives through ChooseFI community Switched to fee-only financial advisor after understanding impact of AUM fees FAFSA and College Planning [00:17:40] Leveraged FAFSA's two-year look back rule for maximum financial aid Used strategic timing of income to optimize household figures Successfully secured funding for daughters' education Travel Rewards Insights [00:42:09] Shifted to travel rewards cards for everyday expenses Funded trip to Japan using points and miles Enabled international travel without incurring debt Final Thoughts and Looking Forward [00:59:55] Key Takeaways Financial education enables better decision-making and family empowerment HSAs are powerful tools for managing healthcare expenses Understanding AUM fees can save significant money over time Strategic FAFSA planning maximizes college aid opportunities Travel rewards cards turn everyday spending into travel opportunities Action Items Explore HSAs for managing healthcare costs [00:04:59] Review financial advisors and fee structures [00:12:08] Research FAFSA process to maximize college funding [00:17:40] Start using travel rewards cards for everyday expenses [00:42:09] Key Quotes "If he and I can come through this and make it this far, anybody can do it!" [00:03:32] "The beauty of this community; there's so much valuable information out there." [00:11:41] "I discovered the FAFSA two-year look back just in time!" [00:17:24] "Wealth compounds into a beautiful life." [00:28:31] Related Resources ChooseFI Website FAFSA Information Travel Rewards Programs Terminology FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid, used to apply for financial aid for college HSA: Health Savings Account, tax-advantaged account for medical expenses AUM Fees: Asset Under Management fees charged by financial advisors based on total assets managed Coast FI: Financial state where savings are sufficient that working becomes optional

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to choose a fight today on the show we have an amazing episode
0:04.4	Connie is a listener who's written me a number of emails and her most recent one was one of the most incredible that I've ever received in seven and a half years of
0:13.8	Chuzofai and it basically started off and said it all worked all of it and she
0:19.8	went on to describe a series of steps that she's taken over the last three years that has been truly
0:26.5	transformative and really honestly one of the most remarkable things I've seen.
0:30.8	I cannot tell you how excited I am for this episode. I'm going to cut this short and just let's get into it because you are going to love this one.
0:37.6	With that, welcome to have you here. I've been looking for it.
0:47.4	Connie, I am so happy to have you here.
0:50.2	I've been looking forward to this for months.
0:52.0	Thanks for coming on.
0:53.0	Yeah, thanks, Brad. I'm very excited to be here.
0:55.8	I get very excited talking about this.
0:58.0	Yeah, it really is something special.
1:00.0	This email that you wrote me in March,
1:02.0	was just one of those that hit me like a lighting
1:04.8	bolt and I actually asked you if I could put it in the five weekly newsletter and I did and it just,
1:10.8	the amount of outpouring that I got just people responding to saying how
1:14.2	incredible this was and I know I forwarded you a bunch of those emails and people wanted to
1:18.8	reach out to you and ask you questions and I think A I want to tell your story, but B, there's so many actionable nuggets in here that I think the larger community is going to get benefit from.
1:29.0	So, yeah, I mean, let's dive in, but I think let's take a step back and say like where did your
1:34.6	Fai journey begin? So first I want to say when I was writing the email my eyes were
1:41.4	so big because the more I was typing things out I'm like oh yeah there's this that worked too and this worked but to start what happened was my husband unfortunately got sick and passed and so then I was thrust into having to do everything myself and I'm somebody who learns constantly.
	...

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