For those who have been following along on our Instagram account, Fire2Moms1Babe, and have tuned in to read all of our guest posts and listened to all of our guest podcast interviews that we notified you of on that social media platform, you guys rock and can just peace out and we will see you next week. Just kidding! We are happy to announce that our next guest blog post with the ladies over at Keepin’ It Frugal is out (see more info below)!
This week’s post is to fill you in on what we’ve been up to elsewhere besides the Modern Fimily blog. Forgive us but we realized we never officially made any notifications on the blog about our past guest appearances! So far we have written one guest blog post and have been interviewed on 3 podcast episodes (plus a little 3 minute blip on a 4th podcast episode too). We have silently been adding links to our Guest Appearances page but you, dear reader, would have no clue that we put the links up there when the blog/podcast aired in the past. Whoops! As you can tell we are blogging newbies and appreciate you hanging in there with us as we figure this whole blog thing out. And for those of you who do follow us on Instagram but haven’t had the chance to tune in yet, this is your friendly reminder of how to access all the clips.
If you haven’t checked out our previous guest blog post and podcast interviews see below for the links and a little more information about each one. And again, you can always head to the Guest Appearances page in the future too.
Guest Blog Posts
We actually wrote this guest blog post before we even launched Modern Fimily (it was published slightly after starting up Modern Fimily so I made some edits at the beginning to word it as if our blog was up and running at that point but in reality all other content was written prior to even launching our blog). I personally love reading guest posts of other people as it helps shed some light on who that person really is and provides a bit about the person’s background which I always appreciate so we tried to do the same here (and that’s why we also started the FIRE Community Interview Series on our blog). Since publishing this post, Angela from Tread Lightly Retire Early and I met up while I was in Seattle for work a few months ago and we spent 4 hours having supper, going for a walk in the woods outside her house, and chatting all things FI related. That is honestly the beauty of us starting our Instagram account and this blog. It’s all about the connections we are making with others who “get it” and understand our way of life.
Guest Podcast Interviews
– Explore FI Canada – Ep. 10 “Court from Calgary, AB | Moving from Florida”
Our most recent podcast interview released was with the awesome folks over at Explore FI Canada. This is a relatively new podcast and is comprised of a trio of Canadian hosts (Chrissy from EatSleepBreatheFI.com, Ryan from CanadianFIRE.ca, and the Money Mechanic at FIGarage.ca). Unfortunately the Money Mechanic was unable to attend the interview (who works these days?!?!) but I sure had a blast with Ryan and Chrissy. They were both so down to earth (…aren’t all Canadians??) and I’m hoping to be on their podcast again in the future. On this podcast interview I share some of my personal experiences and thoughts regarding the move from Florida to Calgary and some differences I’ve noticed between living in the US vs Canada.
I stumbled across this podcast a few months ago and boy am I sure glad I did. Clark and Jace have recorded over 100 millionaires (or those close to becoming millionaires) and I really enjoy hearing the different stories and strategies behind these everyday millionaires. We uncover some of our investment strategies and being the FIRE enthusiasts we are, we also dig into quite a bit of information on our early retirement goals. (Note: we did realize an oops we made on this interview – around the 12 minute mark we say “2022” but meant to say “2020”.)
– FIRE Drill Podcast – Ep. 161 “Why Cutting Out Lattes Won’t Help you Reach FI | FIRE2Moms1Babe”
Julie from Millennial Boss is the host of the FIRE Drill Podcast and she was the first person to reach out to us regarding being interviewed for a podcast, and for that we are grateful, thank you Julie! My favorite thing about the FIRE Drill podcast is the variety of people that are interviewed for the show. Julie not only digs into FIRE and Financial Independence but also side hustles, real estate, travel blogging, etc. On this episode we talk about focusing on reducing you spending on the big expenses, our house hacking experience in Florida, why we chose to still have a mortgage today, and why we are cautious and going with a sub 4% withdrawal rate.
This was us dipping our toes into a podcast episode. Juile and Gwen (who used to also co-host the FIRE Drill Podcast) had an episode on parents from the FIRE community providing 3 minute long clips each of advice from their experience being a parent thus far. Our little 3 minute clip starts right around the 30 minute mark. Honestly, cutting what I wanted to say down to 3 minutes was SO hard. I wrote the entire thing out Old school pencil and paper – yes this lefty uses pencil, not pen), timed myself, and realized I was closer to 7 minutes and even talking really fast couldn’t get me down to 3. So I edited it and edited it A LOT and still spoke fast to try and get it to 3 minutes only. I could do a whole ~45 minute podcast interview on our child experience alone!
Without Further Ado
And now on to the good stuff this week! We are happy to announce we were recently featured on the Keepin’ It Frugal blog. We first “‘met” Sarah & Laura through Instagram and instantly connected and think of them as our Aussie besides. They have been so helpful behind the scenes as we’ve been trying to figure out this whole blogging thing (thank you guys!!). Here’s a glimpse into our guest interview with them!
Hey, we’re Modern FImily! We are a lesbian family of 3 who have reached financial independence at the ages of 32, 30, and 1. Nic became a stay-at-home Mom when our daughter was born in 2018 and Court is still working part time for 1-2 years as we are hopeful to become a family of 4 in the future, and are saving for a higher FIRE number with that in mind. We went from $110,000 combined student loan debt to a net worth of over $1 million within 9 years all while enjoying life along the way. We consider ourselves as “valuists” and currently spend under $25,000 annually as a family of three, yet we do not feel deprived in any sense.
Want to read more??
Head on over to Keepin’ It Frugal’s site for the entire post!
More To Come
And as a little teaser, we are happy to announce that by the end of the year we have one more guest blog posts coming out with Bob from TawCan who is a Vancouver based blogger who has a great lineup of previously interviewed Canadians within the FIRE community. Additionally, we are also lined up for 3 more podcast interviews (one with Brad and Jonathan from Choose FI (say whaaaat?!), one with David and John (aka the Debt Free Guys) on their Queer Money podcast (I have taken WAY too long to set this one up, sorry guys!!), and one with Cody and Justin from The FI Show. Not sure when exactly all of these will air, but the recordings will be taking place in November and December. Going forward, once a new guest blog post or podcast episode with yours truly airs, not only will we add a link to the post/podcast on our Guest Appearances page like normal, but we will make an entire (short) post about it so you can be informed and tune in!
As always, thanks for tuning in! Let us know what you think about the guest appearances so far in the comments below 🙂 Are there any additional topics you’d like us to touch on? Are there any Modern Fimily badasses out there that have tuned in to ALL of our guest appearances so far?! Do you host a blog or podcast you’d like us to be featured on? If so, send us a note and we will review and reach out if it’s a good fit.
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We believe in stacking up life hacks to keep your enjoyment levels to the max without depleting your bank account. Here are some ways to further educate yourself and save thousands of dollars over your lifetime by making some simple adjustments:
- Investing Newbies: Check out our free Investing 101 Series.
- How much are you paying for your phone plan? Canadians, learn more about Public Mobile, and see how we are paying $3/mo for our cell phone plan.
- How much are you paying for internet? Canadians, learn more about the various Independent Service Providers out there to see who services your area so you can lower your monthly bills.
- How much are you paying for home insurance? We were able to reduce our rates by 25% by switching over to Square One Insurance. If you live in BC, AB, SK, MB, and ON, check out Square One for your home insurance, landlord insurance, and/or tenant insurance. Use this link to receive an extra $15 off your quote. (Note that you must use this link to start the process to get the $15 off even if you prefer to pay over the phone.)
- How much are you paying for your monthly utility bills? See how you can likely save on this monthly expense.
