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Today’s guest brings a happy philosophy to REI and pursuing financial independence.
Cubert from Abandoned Cubicle has been in the same place many of us have…stuck in a great job, with great coworkers and decent work…but itching to get out.
He was literally Googling phrases like “I gotta get outta here.”
Today, he joins us to talk about the pursuit:
- his personal path to FI, including rental properties
- his stoic philosophy for managing rental tenants (this is good)
- Pro Tip: “Know when enough is enough.”
- are all BMW drivers’ assholes?
- the last supper of FIRE Bloggers (exactly what it sounds like)
We’re huge fans of Cubert’s take on the state of FIRE blogging and education, as well as his advice for saving to FI.
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Enjoy this chat with Cubert 🙂
Show notes and links from today’s episode
- Cubert’s blog: Abandoned Cubicle
- Mr. Money Mustache – Our FIRE Lord and Savior
- Financial Panther (who used the same designer on Fiverr for their blog logos)
- Are all BMW Drivers’ Assholes? – From Cubert’s blog
- Rick Steves
Key takeaways from our chat with Cubert from Abandoned Cubicle
1 – Note for Bloggers – Nobody has your exact experience.
Have you ever been worried about repeating other people’s content? Stuff that’s been said over a million times already?
It’s a struggle any honest blogger goes through.
But good news! Not everyone (even your followers that follow other bloggers) has your same experiences and perspective.
This is a helpful thing to keep in mind. The best you can do is share your unique angles, thoughts, stories, and lessons learned.
Chances are high followers will learn or experience something new, even if they’re well-versed in your niche.
Great reminder, Cubert 🙂
2 – The value of fitting stuff in a small(er) car
The AirBnB couple from FIRE Drill episode 1 also brought this point up.
This sort of thing is always a bragging point in the personal finance community:
- What year is the car? The older the better…
- How many miles on it? The more the better…
- How much stuff can you jam in your beater? The more the better.
This is a thing now, and we like it.
It promotes a financially healthy lifestyle with is counter to the mainstream American Dream, where we’d all like to drive around new Teslas and huge SUVs.
But outside that, if you own a huge SUV or a truck (nothing wrong with this per se), you will get asked to help move other peoples’ stuff around 🙂
A small hatchback can fit a deceptively amount of stuff in it.
Jokes aside, let’s keep the “no car note!” mentality to save unnecessary interest and depreciation.
3 – “Know when enough is enough.”
Know what makes you happy.
Surprisingly enough, this is part of Cubert’s personal formula to financial independence.
- Find little extra ways to earn more for one,
- Be smart and save money by avoid debt, avoiding purchases you don’t *actually* need, etc.
- (Oh, and rentals play a key role in Cubert’s personal investment strategy)
Per #2, screw the Jones’s next door.
There’s only so much “stuff” that will increase your happiness on a daily basis, and “keeping up with the Jones’s” (i.e. buying excssive stuff society deems cool or valuable) will not only NOT make you happy…it’ll also ruin any plans for early retirement you might have.
(That’s a generalization of course, but the point remains).
Those who achieve FI pre-retirement age do so because they are highly tuned in to what makes them happy, what is valuable to them, and how money plays into that.
4 – When it comes to finding tenants for rentals, take the stoic philosophy.
Essentially, everything bad WILL happen.
Of course this won’t actually happen, but it can be a hugely beneficial philosophy to take.
Assume every tenant might break things. Assume they’ll break the least. Assume they’ll pay rent late.
Make those kind of assumptions, and you’ll find yourself planning for them! For example, preparing lease documents. Assume the worst.
(This can be applied to many areas in life, hence stoic philosophy in general. Here’s some excellent further reading for stoicism in general (thanks Ryan Holiday!)
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Cubert says
Man, this guy should get a job in the broadcast booth! What silky smooth delivery!!!
Had a BLAST recording this session with you both, J. and Gwen. Thanks for the opportunity. You both are fantastic hosts and play off each other and the guest quite well.
Super impressed. Watch out, Brandon!
Accidental Fire says
Great job Cubert, now go out and get another pair of shorts on Black Friday… it’s off-season, they’re ridiculously cheap!
Another great podcast Gwen and J., Happy Thanksgiving all!
My May says
I really really love your podcast! I’m lining it up!