Living Off the 4% Rule | Marla Taner | Ep 560

ChooseFI

Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media

Financialindependence, Investing, Firemovement, Passiveincome, Frugalliving, Personalfinancepodcast, Daveramsey, Careers, Business, Earlyretirement, Habits

4.8 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 August 2025

⏱️ ? minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Marla Taner shares her journey of living off the 4% rule since her retirement in 2013. She discusses the financial strategies that have supported her abundant lifestyle, the emotional aspects of transitioning into retirement, and the importance of reassessing fixed costs. Marla's insights provide inspiration for those seeking financial independence.

Timestamps:

00:01:26 – Marla's Background
00:02:04 – Living off the 4% Rule
00:09:39 – Psychology of Retiring Early
00:24:33 – Managing Withdrawals
00:25:51 – Market Timing and Cash Strategy
00:28:46 – Travel Rewards
00:49:10 – Lessons Learned
01:00:17 – Conclusion

Key Takeaways:

4% Rule: Marla retired in 2013 with a strategy based on the 4% rule, successfully navigating financial independence (00:02:04).
Psychology Matters: Transitioning from a saver to a spender can be psychologically challenging, but it's crucial for enjoying retirement (00:50:21).
Cash Cushion: Maintaining two years' worth of cash reserves provides peace of mind during market fluctuations (00:25:51).
Reassessing Fixed Expenses: Many perceived fixed costs can be more flexible than we realize—it's worth reassessing them regularly (00:43:12).
Travel Rewards Enthusiast: Marla curates her extensive travel experiences using travel rewards strategies that keep her costs low (00:28:46).

Actionable Insights:

Examine Fixed Costs: Reflect on your budget to identify which fixed costs you might be able to adjust or reduce (00:43:12).
Withdrawal Plan: Develop a thoughtful withdrawal strategy before retiring to reduce anxiety when selling investments (00:24:33).
Monitor Spending Habits: Track your spending for a year to understand your financial needs better and adjust accordingly (00:50:21).

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Chusify. Today on the show, we have my good friend Marla Tanner, who's here again.
0:05.7	She was on the show way back in episode 77 talking about advanced travel rewards. And that's a
0:11.4	fun one to go back to listen to. But today, she's here to talk about living off the 4% rule.
0:17.6	I think this is something that a lot of people are looking for that example,
0:22.0	right? We always say the world revolves around stories and we're looking for that example of
0:25.8	somebody who has reached FI, who's selling their assets, who's living off the 4% rule and to hear
0:32.5	about their journey, to hear about the mechanics of it, to hear how this all went down and
0:37.1	what's really neat. So moral that I knew would be the perfect person to talk about this mechanics of it, to hear how this all went down and what's really neat.
0:38.6	So Marla, I knew would be the perfect person to talk about this, but she actually just did this
0:42.5	as a presentation at Camp Mustache very recently.
0:45.9	So this was the ideal time to have her on because she's actually run the numbers.
0:49.6	She's run the numbers both on her own life and an alternate scenario of worst case scenario Marla essentially,
0:55.8	which is really, really cool to see how this would have worked out and how it did work out.
1:01.4	And interestingly, and the spoiler is it would have worked out beautifully, even in the
1:05.7	worst case scenario. And it's just really wonderful to see someone living this incredible Phi life and going through the
1:13.3	prototypical path.
1:14.4	And I absolutely love it.
1:15.3	I think you're going to love this episode.
1:16.9	And with that, welcome to choose that Phi.
1:26.4	Marla, my great friend.
1:28.2	Oh, it is so good to see you.
1:29.4	Thanks for coming back in the show.
	...

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