Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing · 2026-09-19 · 36 min
We all want to eventually get to the point when work is optional. But some people make it a goal to get there much sooner - perhaps even by their 30s or 40s. One fellow who knows a lot about how to do it is Brad Barrett, the co-founder of the ChooseFI website and the co-host of the ChooseFI podcast. In this episode, Robert Brokamp spoke with Brad about:-The evolution of the financial independence, retirement early (FIRE) movement, and why many have dropped the RE and focus on the FI.-The savings rates and spending mindsets that are the foundations of financial independence-Identifying the “why” that motivates you to make sometimes hard choices-The flourishing FI community that crowd-sources ideas and provides support when living a somewhat counter-cultural lifestyle Send your financial planning questions for our upcoming mailbag episode to podcasts@fool.com. Host: Robert Brokamp, CFP®, EAGuest: Brad Barrett, CPAEngineer: Bart Shannon Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only.