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ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

It's A Small World After All

ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

Jonathan Mendonsa & Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media, Inc

Careers, Investing, Business

4.85.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 February 2020

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A $5,000 hospital bill landed in Jonathan's mailbox, but instead of panic—or acceptance—he made one phone call and saved thousands. This episode tackles the listener challenges and voicemails that show financial independence in action: from donating plasma for $400 a month to negotiating medical debt to understanding military benefits most service members miss. Key Topics & Timestamps: [00:01:02] Experiments in Financial Independence The $1,000 challenge: raising money through side hustles and selling things Andrew and Zach test internet money-making claims in real life [00:02:21] Plasma Donation Experience Andrew details donating plasma for extra cash Potential earnings and actual process discussed [00:08:30] Healthcare Costs Discussion Jonathan shares how a personal medical bill turned into a negotiation lesson The mechanics of high-deductible healthcare plans [00:20:17] FI Terminology Explanation of financial independence (FI) and its implications [00:23:27] Documentary Series Announcement Upcoming series featuring people new to FI Application open for community members to participate [00:27:22] Pop-Up Business School Announcement Free two-week business school event in Charleston Entrepreneurship without significant capital [00:37:00] Local Events Highlight Overview of upcoming community events Local engagement in the FI community [00:44:00] Drawing for Book Giveaway Book giveaway details Key Quotes: "Never hesitate to ask for a better deal!" [00:10:36] "Understanding your healthcare plan can save you thousands." [00:09:21] "You can make up to $400 a month by donating blood." [00:02:21] "It's amazing to hear from people who have done it, but it's hard to remember those first couple of steps." [00:25:35] "There's a gap, but a lot of people are receiving benefits." [00:18:27] Related Resources: ChooseFI Travel Rewards Course [00:32:41] Pop-Up Business School [00:27:40] Terminology: FI - Financial Independence, the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live without having to work actively for basic necessities. [00:20:17] Pop-up business school - An informal educational event aimed at teaching entrepreneurship skills in a hands-on and accessible way. [00:27:22] Plasma donation - A process where an individual donates plasma, the fluid part of blood, usually for medical use. [00:02:21] TSP - Thrift Savings Plan, a retirement savings plan for federal employees and members of the uniformed services. [00:20:45]

Transcript

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0:00.0

Congratulations, you made it to the weekend.

0:02.0

This is your Friday Roundup.

0:03.7

Welcome to Choose FI.

0:05.5

You're listening to Choose FI Radio.

0:08.0

The blueprint for financial independence lives here.

0:13.0

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

0:26.0

you're in the right place.

0:28.0

Please join the community of like my people who are getting all fans to know you.

0:33.0

And taking control of their lives in the pursuit of financial independence.

0:37.0

Choose FI.

0:38.0

You're home for financial independence online.

0:43.0

Alright everyone, very excited about today's episode.

0:54.0

I'm going to have a lot to cover, a lot of questions, a few corrections from the community,

0:58.0

which is my favorite.

0:59.0

And to help me with this, I have my ghost brat here with me today.

1:01.0

How you doing, buddy?

1:02.0

Hey Jonathan, I am doing quite well.

1:04.0

And yeah, here we have some experiments in financial independence going on with some of our team members here.

1:10.0

The $1,000 challenge a couple of weeks ago that you talked about.

1:14.0

How can you raise $1,000, either by side hustling or selling things.

1:19.0

And it sounds like Zach and Andrew have picked up the torch here and ran with them.

1:24.0

What's great about that is that when you and I started, that was actually the tagline for the show,

...

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