Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonca teach the FI number formula: expenses times 25.
ChooseFI treats money as a tool for building a more deliberate life. Recent episodes move from ACA credits and expense audits to minimalist book club conversations, parenting choices, live-event questions, and travel rewards through a financial independence lens.
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ChooseFI runs as a mix of two-host panel conversations between co-founders Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonca and one-on-one interviews with outside guests. The throughline across formats is a single calculation — annual expenses times 25 — which the hosts use to argue that financial independence timelines depend on spending, not income. Some episodes stay close to that mechanic, like the health insurance deep dives with recurring guest Cody Garrett on ACA premium tax credits, subsidy cliffs, and reconciliation math. Others follow individual case studies, such as a former Department of Defense engineer who left a W-2 job on a buyout to homeschool five children on rental income, or a returning guest checked in on more than six years after a prior appearance. Recurring topics include travel rewards and point redemption strategy, rental property cash flow as an alternative to portfolio withdrawals, tax optimization, and the softer logistics of leaving full-time work, including what the hosts call 'golden handcuffs.' Year-in-review and panel episodes bring in additional voices like Ginger to reflect on community themes — mini retirements, downsizing, and pushback on viral finance narratives like the 'middle class trap.' The show promotes a companion community platform (built over roughly two years) with a FI planning tool, local group directories, and digest emails, and covers in-person meetups like Camp FI. Guests skew toward people already deep into FI planning or living it — landlords, engineers-turned-homeschoolers, insurance specialists — rather than finance-industry commentators. Listeners who already track expenses and want tactical detail on ACA subsidy math, point valuations, or rental management are better served than those seeking a general investing primer. Production is conversational and unscripted, with frequent references back to specific past episode numbers and running community threads.
Made for: People actively pursuing financial independence who want tactical detail on expense reduction, ACA health insurance math, travel rewards redemption, and rental income rather than general investing basics.
What sets it apart: Nearly every episode anchors back to the same expense-driven FI number formula, and the show frequently revisits the same guests years apart to report on how their FI plans actually played out.
How would your life change if you reached Financial Independence and got to the point where working is optional? What actions can you take today to make that not just possible but probable. Jonathan & Brad explore the tactics that the FI community uses to reclaim decades of their lives. They discuss reducing expenses, crushing debt, tax optimization, building passive income streams through online businesses and real estate and how to travel the world for free. Every episode is packed with actionable tips and no topic is too big or small as long as it speeds up the process of reaching...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
ChooseFI connects financial independence calculations to the household choices, policy rules, and personal tradeoffs that determine whether a plan works.
ChooseFI turns financial independence from an abstract target into a sequence of decisions that can be examined, calculated, and revised. Conversations move easily between household expense audits, retirement-account access, real estate work, health insurance, and the tradeoffs…
A spending audit becomes a declaration of independence, with your five-year-old Honda Civic as supporting evidence.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical ACA planning episode for FI households weighing income, location, credits, and coverage choices.
Health insurance gets treated as a planning variable in this ChooseFI episode, not a background expense. Cody Garrett walks through ACA premium tax credit changes and the way projected income can drive marketplace pricing, including a household estimating $84,000 of income and…
A practical FI reset on using an expense audit to find leaks, compare tradeoffs, and regain control.
ChooseFI turns the expense audit into an early move toward financial independence, not a punishment budget. Jonathan and Brad frame it as a way to find money leaks, see where spending categories interact, and turn any savings into FI acceleration.
A grounded ChooseFI reset on memorable advice, retirement-account fear, and the psychology of living from assets.
ChooseFI uses a year-end takeaways episode to sort the ideas that actually linger after a year of listening and hosting. Ginger opens with Frank Vasquez's travel rule, only making the trip when there is a meaningful social reason, and turns it into a broader question about how…
Paul Haavardsrud unpacks Canadian money stories, from ski-hill VIP pricing to French butter tariffs.
Real-estate freedom, taught in plain numbers.
ChooseFI host discusses Oz Chen’s transition from a UX design career to financial independence after burnout, anxiety, and a layoff.
Brad frames ChooseFI 594 around Noah, a Richmond, Virginia guest he calls a world-class expert on travel rewards and redemptions.
Health insurance is shifting again.
This episode discusses achieving millionaire status through financial independence, featuring updates from a past guest and practical advice on investing and life hacks.
Can you audit your way to FI?
This episode explores the concept of the 'boring middle' in financial independence, reframing it as a continuum of accumulating power and discussing phases of the journey.
The hosts discuss crowdsourced voicemails about 2026 goals and share experiences from financial independence events.
The hosts discuss the concept that the detour is the journey on the path to financial independence, sharing personal anecdotes and upcoming travel plans.
Jonathan and Brad introduce a table of contents of ideas from the FI community to help listeners at different stages of their financial independence journey.
Brad interviews tax experts Sean Mullaney and Cody Garrett about Roth conversion strategies and tax planning for early retirement.
Ginger starts with Frank Vasquez's travel rule: only go when an important person is at the destination or on the flight.
The hosts celebrate the community's financial wins in the annual year-end episode, sharing listener success stories and discussing holiday traditions.
This episode features a solo segment where host Brad Barrett discusses his personal health journey and muscle-building progress, along with an upcoming interview with Dr.
Interview with a 15-year-old personal finance YouTuber about teaching financial independence to the next generation.
Ginger and Frank Vasquez discuss how understanding and avoiding regret can help optimize life and achieve happiness, inspired by Charlie Munger's inversion principle.
Brad interviews clinical psychologist Jasper Lee about the psychological aspects of achieving financial independence, including cognitive restructuring and behavioral activation.
Hosts interview two women about building adventure into life through an adventure list and little adventures, with a focus on financial independence.
Interview with Maggie Tucker about her journey to financial independence at age 41, discussing fear and anxiety around money.
An interview with investor Brian Feraldi discussing the state of the stock market in 2025, portfolio adjustments, and AI in research.
Brad and Ginger discuss the pros and cons of paying off a mortgage early, buying versus renting, minimalism, and the new ChooseFI local app.
Interview with Megan Combs about her wedding budget and financial independence journey.
Brad interviews JL Collins about the revised edition of 'The Simple Path to Wealth' and its impact on the FI community.
A masterclass on sleep health with Dr.
This episode answers listener questions about tax-efficient withdrawal strategies from taxable brokerage and retirement accounts, including Roth conversions and the pro rata rule.
Brad and Ginger discuss live events, travel, and designing an ideal life within the FI community.
The hosts discuss tax strategies for early retirees, including tax basketing, Roth conversions, and managing taxable accounts to minimize tax drag.
Brad announces the launch of the new ChooseFI member site, then introduces an interview with Vicki Robin about her book 'Your Money or Your Life'.
Brad announces the launch of the new ChooseFI member site, a free community platform replacing Facebook groups for the FI community.