About this episode
Today’s episode features the star of the Playing With Fire documentary, Scott Rieckens. Scott found himself saving 8% an heading towards a lifestyle that seemed unsustainable. The FIRE movement showed him that his value/happiness was not aligned with his spending. Scott and his wife made an amazing transformation and shared it with the world. Listen, learn, and let us know what you think about Scott’s amazing journey. Episode Summary Scott’s Background His Dad was in the Navy so he picked up and move many times. His Mom would always try to pick up a job at the new location She also handled the bills and investing outside the pension At a certain point, Scott realized his lifestyle wasn’t sustainable He was trying to take on more and his spending was also increasing Then he found the FIRE community That took his focus just from income streams to also include responsible spending Entrepreneur Focus Scott found himself laid off three years after college He and a friend spent three months to put together a business plan They raised a couple hundred thousand dollars to build an indoor golf center But as they worked the projections, they ended up scrapping the idea Then he goes back to the drawing board and back to the small business center for help When Scott goes there for advice, the advisor realizes Scott has social media experience In 2009, very few people had this experience and the advisor encouraged him to pursue that route From then on, he’s been an entrepreneur Scott recommends the book The War of Art for entrepreneurs Embracing FIRE Scott recalls the Chautauqua trip in Ecuador with people from the FIRE movement There he learned that if this didn’t work, he’d just be going back to work like everyone else That realization made him feel much more comfortable with the attempt at hitting FIRE Scott then breaks down why everyone doesn’t embrace a journey of financial independence Not being in the right place in life or being afraid of what they could uncover We also talk about the taboo around money Playing With Fire Scott’s original idea was to go around interviewing people about the movement Then it swapped to him actually going through the journey and transformation He talks about how difficult and invasive the documentary Scott also the moments the camera missed Now Scott is taking the Playing With FIRE brand into a Podcast Key Takeaways Awakening: It’s so cool to listen to someone explain the process of totally shifting your outlook on life as Scott did with his spending Strong Minds: We love all the parallels Jed draws between his mindset and process in the NFL to be successful on the outside Call to Action Make a list of the 5 things that you value the most and that brings you the most happiness. Then reflect on what percentage of your budget is spent on items from this list. Join the Community We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community! Sign up for our exclusive newsletter Join our Facebook Group Leave us a voicemail Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com If you like what you hear, please leave a rating/review ! The FI show on iTunes The FI show on Android Check out our Partners We are completely obsessed with tracking our net worth to understand our current financial positions (you should be too). Instead of spending dozens of hours adding up all our assets and subtracting our debts, we use a free service called Personal Capital . This free, easy-to-use portfolio management tool aggregates all of your financial data and helps to track your spending, net worth, and investment accounts. Keeping track of your money has never been easier. With 1.6 million users and growing, this platform is becoming a leader in its industry. We have both been using Personal Capital for years and highly recommend it. Sign up for your free account here! Scott’s Information His Website: Playing With Fire His Book: Playing With Fire Their Podcast: Playing With Fire Learn More About Your Hosts Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog) Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)