9. FIRE at 31 in THE highest cost of living city, bravely sharing her IVF journey, loving expense ratios, while always negotiating (AND interviewing!) for jobs | Shang from Save My Cents
Shang (pronounced "shUng") is a badass stock investor who hit FI at age 31 in NYC. Shang bravely shares their IVF journey to have their beautiful baby boy. Shang has taught me so much, from how to negotiate to ways to keep the #igetto attitude despite all the changes life WILL throw your way. We open by talking life in COVID. She makes me greatly appreciate NOT having to deal with the rules and regulations of real estate in NYC. We deep dive into how to always negotiate when considering a new job. Shang shares that you should always negotiate (especially the ladies), always be interviewing and that negotiating a better bonus may be the way to go. We both strongly agree that choosing a career field based on passion is simply a bad idea, even thought permeates our culture today. Shang dives into who should and should not use a financial advisor. She gives us some amazing books to read -- my personal favorite, The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, The Broke Millenial’s Take on Investing and Boggleheads Guide to Investing. And how, for the average investor, getting an average rate of return is WAY more simple than you think. While financial advisors get all the hype, we think the real MVPs are good CPAs, aka tax people. My FAVORITE part is our deep dive into expense ratios. I pick Shang’s brain on using traditional vs. Roth retirement accounts Shang gives us her take on paying off the mortgage vs. investing in real estate (hitting on the classic 5% rule of personal finance … and we agree that, in America, your primary residence tends to be a terrible investment (and may not even be a true asset!) Here is my all-time favorite explanation of why the home you live in may not be AS great as an investment as it seems) We wrap up talking about FIRE as a lifestyle, not just a buzz word. Plus how to choose gurus who truly have your best interests in mind. I hope you all enjoy Shang as much as I always do, and I bet she will have you googling something after this podcast. LEARN: Investopedia Morning Star Save My Cents: Backdoor Roth IRA Mega backdoor Roth IRA with The Mad Fientist Rich Dad Poor Dad Suzie Orman Dave Ramsey --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support