Leaving His Job at 36 to Give Back, NOT Get Rich During FI

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Investing, Education, Business

4.6 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For many of us, FI (financial independence) isn’t just about having the biggest bank account. Growing wealth is one thing, but getting rich isn’t the goal. Freedom, time with loved ones, and giving back to your community are. So, when he reached the millionaire mark and achieved Coast FI, Ryan Brennan knew it was time to leave his new director role and focus on something that fueled his FIRE in a non-financial way. But, how did he get to a seven-figure net worth in his mid-30s anyway? A few very savvy (and repeatable) money moves catapulted Ryan’s net worth, allowing him to reach a level of financial freedom three decades before traditional retirement age. Through smart investing, unconventional living, and using his money to multiply his investments, Ryan secured the financial runway to enjoy a long sabbatical, doing what he truly loves—service work. After multiple volunteering trips, Ryan started the FI Service Corps, a group for those on their way to (or at) FI to give back to the community and help others in less fortunate positions. Ryan and his FI Service friends have helped build houses for qualifying low-income families, laid floors, and painted for Habitat for Humanity, and done it all while staying on track for early retirement. Want to give back, too? Join Ryan on a FI Service Corps volunteer trip! In This Episode We Cover Repeatable money moves Ryan made to reach Coast FI by 36 Why financial independence is so much more than just growing your net worth (it’s about giving back!) How to know you’re ready to take a sabbatical or quit your job The live-in flip house hack strategy that will supercharge your FIRE progress Why Slow FI may be even better than retiring as early as possible How to join Ryan and other FI friends on a trip to help those in need And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-644 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's guest at just age 36 did what most of us dream about, walked away from a secure
0:06.3	W-2 job to take what was supposed to be just a one-year sabbatical.
0:10.3	That temporary break transformed into extended travel around the world.
0:15.1	When it came time to dust off his resume, he decided he didn't want to go back to traditional
0:19.4	employment, so he didn't.
0:21.1	What did he do instead?
0:22.5	That's what we're going to talk about in this episode.
0:29.5	Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast.
0:32.7	My name is Mindy Jensen.
0:33.8	And with me, as always, is my back from his daddy sabbatical co-host, Scott Trench.
0:38.8	Thanks, Mindy. It's great to leave my parental duties, the old time at least, and come back to
0:43.8	Bigger Pockets. Bigger Pockets money. Bigger Pockets has a goal of creating one million
0:46.9	millionaires. You're in the right place if you want to get your financial house in order
0:50.0	because we truly believe financial freedom is attainable for everyone, no matter when or where you're starting.
0:54.9	But you actually have to have the mental chops to leave your work and give up what I imagine is a peak income at that point in time to go and realize Tuesday afternoon at the park.
1:05.4	So today we are super excited to be joined by Ryan Brennan, founder of the Phi Service Corps.
1:10.6	We will absolutely get more into that organization in our conversation, but we're excited to be joined by Ryan Brennan, founder of the FI Service Corps. We will absolutely get more
1:12.1	into that organization in our conversation, but we're excited to start with his money story and how he's
1:16.4	able to leave his W-2 job at the age of 36. Ryan, thank you so much for being here.
1:21.6	Thanks, Scott. Thanks, Mindy. So great to be here with you guys. Well, Ryan, I want to kick this off
1:26.0	before hearing about your money story. I want to hear about your Tuesday. What did you do yesterday? Yesterday, I went to an
1:32.8	Orange Theory class at 10 a.m. That's something that I've really enjoyed during this time off from work
	...

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