611 | ChooseFI Classic: Financial Independence on an Ordinary Income (Paige & Sam)

611 | ChooseFI Classic: Financial Independence on an Ordinary Income (Paige & Sam)

August 10, 2026 · 1h 11m · Episode 611

About this episode

Paige and Sam share their unique journeys to financial independence despite living in a high cost of living area.

Paige started her journey to financial independence at 45 with student loans, negative net worth, and an average income in Los Angeles—yet she'll reach FI by 2025. Sam lives on $12,000 per year in the same expensive city and champions "retiring often" instead of early retirement. Together, they prove that every excuse about FI being impossible is just a limiting belief waiting to be shattered. Key Topics Discussed Introduction and Context 00:00:00 Brad provides context for this 2017 episode, explaining how Paige challenged their limiting belief about achieving FI in high cost of living areas. Paige's FI Discovery 00:05:00 Paige shares how she discovered FI at 44 after getting her first 'real' job, introduced by Sam to Mr. Money Mustache, and started her journey with negative net worth. Sam's Early FI Journey 00:15:00 Sam discusses how his parents automated investing for him, the importance of starting early, and his approach to 'retiring often' instead of just early retirement. Living on $12,000/Year in LA 00:25:00 Sam breaks down his extraordinarily low burn rate in Los Angeles, including creative housing solutions, no car payments, and extreme DIY lifestyle. The Alley Will…

People in this episode

Host: Brad

Guests: Paige, Sam

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mr. Money Mustache

Places: Los Angeles

More episodes of ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast podcast page.