Catching Up to FI

What if the thing keeping you from Financial Independence (FI) isn't your income, your portfolio, or your math. It's probably the quiet belief that you still need "one more year" when you actually don't. Our guest on this episode is Aubrey Williams, a former particle physicist, radar-tech leader, debt-slayer, and now advice-only financial planner. In this conversation, he flips some of the FI community's favorite assumptions on their head. This is the first of a 2-part episode with Aubrey so be sure to follow the podcast to be notified of the second part of this fascinating conversation.
This episode covers:
How Aubrey rebuilt after divorce and $90,000 of debt
Why savings rate is nonlinear and more powerful than most people realize
How a higher savings rate can erase working years faster than expected
Why our brains are wired for survival, not modern investing and retirement decisions
How to build evidence that you can safely spend instead of just hoard
Why living smaller can sometimes create more freedom and more joy
How Aubrey reached FI in high-cost Santa Barbara without leaving California
Why the FI community itself often knows more than the average advisor
The difference between fee-based, fee-only, flat-fee, and hourly advice
Why Aubrey believes many FI people are still working too long
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=== SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===
📩 Sign up for our newsletter
🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website 
🔗Connect with us
☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee" 
🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question

.
===DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS===
🆕Big changes with student loans in 2026. Get help from the experts at Student Loan Planner, all CFP®, CFA and CSLP® professionals. They charge a one-time fee for their thorough review. Our listeners receive $100 off a 1:1 consult using the link below. Flat fee is normally $595, but after your $100 off 'Catching Up to FI' discount, it's $495.
👉🏼 Be sure to use this link: studentloanplanner.com/catchingup 
 
For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners
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RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW
Open Path Financial
Aubrey's EconoMe Talk (2026): Coming soon!
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⏰ Related Episodes
Founder of 'Catching Up to FI' Just Hit Financial Independence, Now What? | Bill Yount | 196 
Enoughness: Your Life or Your Money | Vicki Robin | 95
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If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating and review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!
.
📌Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.

You've worked twice as hard to catch up on your path to financial independence, so why leave your legacy to chance? To help keep your FI plan from going up in smoke we sit down with estate planning and small business attorney, Allison Harrison. It's a fast, funny and slightly alarming deep dive into estate planning for normal people who assume they're "not rich enough" to need one.
This episode covers:
Why your FI plan is incomplete without basic estate planning 
The real cost, delay, and public exposure that can come with probate
Why many people think they need a trust when they actually don't 
When a trust does make sense, especially for control and complex family situations 
The simplest ways to avoid probate using beneficiaries and transfer-on-death designations 
Why healthcare and financial powers of attorney matter just as much as a will
Estate-planning blind spots for small-business owners and side hustlers
The role of umbrella insurance, LLCs, and business agreements in protecting your assets
Why digital accounts, passwords, and two-factor authentication are now part of estate planning
What parents of newly minted 18-year-olds need to handle before college or adulthood begins
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=== SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===
📩 Sign up for our newsletter
🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website 
🔗Connect with us
☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee" 
🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question

.
===DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS===
STUDENT LOAN PLANNER
Big changes with student loans in 2026! Get help from the experts at Student Loan Planner, all CFP®, CFA and CSLP® professionals. They charge a one-time fee for their thorough review. Our listeners receive $100 off a 1:1 consult using the link below. Flat fee is normally $595, but after your $100 off 'Catching Up to FI' discount, it's $495.
👉🏼 Be sure to use this link: studentloanplanner.com/catchingup 
 
For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners
.
RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW
Allison's EconoMe Talk (2026) -Coming soon-
ALH Law Group
See Us Mob Podcast
ALH Law Group Youtube
Free Estate Planning Guides, Infographics and More (no email required)
Safe Sendoff (Legal Planning for Young Adults) 
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⏰ Related Episodes
Attorney Spilling all the Legal Tea on Estate Planning | Jenny Rozelle | 121
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If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating and review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!
.
📌Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.

What do you do when your accountant brain knows the numbers, your life blows up anyway, and the answer turns out to be halfway around the world in a weird little movement called FIRE? We head to New Zealand to talk with Bronwyn Candish, a chartered accountant, community builder, and one of the clearest Kiwi voices in financial independence movement. She talks to us about starting over after divorce, rebuilding from the middle, and discovering that "doing money right" has a lot less to do with credentials than with courage, alignment, and actually taking action.
This episode covers:
Growing up with scarcity in New Zealand and how that shaped Bronwyn's money mindset
Why being an accountant did not automatically make her good with money
Lifestyle creep, overbuying on housing, and drifting into paycheck-to-paycheck living
Divorce as a financial wake-up call in her late 30s
How Bronwyn found FIRE through a random article and went deep down the rabbit hole
The role of KiwiSaver, housing, and DIY culture in the New Zealand version of FI 
Why community and accountability matter so much on the journey
How Bronwyn turned her accounting practice into a FIRE-adjacent coaching space
The creation of Black Friday and the growth of the Kiwi FIRE community 
What it looks like to be "mid-journey" and still deeply love the path
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=== SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===
📩 Sign up for our newsletter
🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website 
🔗Connect with us
☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee" 
🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question

.
===DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS===
🆕Big changes with student loans in 2026. Get help from the experts at Student Loan Planner, all CFP®, CFA and CSLP® professionals. They charge a one-time fee for their thorough review. Our listeners receive $100 off a 1:1 consult using the link below. Flat fee is normally $595, but after your $100 off 'Catching Up to FI' discount, it's $495.
👉🏼 Be sure to use this link: studentloanplanner.com/catchingup 
 
For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners
.
RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW
KiwiFI and Black FI Day website
Sheppard & Ormsby
PocketSmith Personal Finance Software
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⏰ Related Episodes
Borderless FI: The Happy KiwiSaver | Ruth Henderson | 165
Borderless FI: Australian Paramedic Healing Her Own Trauma | Tasch Rogers | 143
Indiana Jones and an Extraordinary Life with the Donegans | Alan and Katie Donegan | 079
Borderless FI: Thunder Down Under | Late Starter Fire | 004
.
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating and review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!
.
📌Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.

What if the biggest shift in your FI journey isn't hitting the number—but finally realizing you need a life plan, a tax plan, and maybe even a fiduciary teammate to help you spend it? Bill steps into the guest chair with Morningstar's Christine Benz for a thoughtful, surprisingly candid conversation about going from financially illiterate "rich doctor syndrome" to fully conscious wealth stewardship. He walks through the entire arc. But this episode goes deeper than a standard "how I retired" story.
This episode covers: 
➡️ Bill's path from paycheck-to-paycheck physician to financially independent late starter
➡️ How childhood money scripts and "rich doctor syndrome" shaped his early financial mistakes 
➡️ Why the Great Financial Crisis and burnout became a wake-up call
➡️ What changed when Bill moved from financial consumer to conscious wealth steward
➡️ Why accumulation can be DIY—but decumulation often gets more complex 
➡️ How Bill searched for a fiduciary, flat-fee, life-planning-oriented advisor
➡️ Why risk parity appealed to him for retirement and sequence-of-returns protection 
➡️ The role of a modern advisor as behavioral buffer, tax strategist, and cognitive-risk safeguard
➡️ Why FI gave Bill leverage to redesign work instead of just quit cold turkey 
➡️ How Bill is thinking about legacy, living giving, and helping the next generation now, not just later
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=== SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===
📩 Sign up for our newsletter
🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website 
🔗Connect with us
☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee" 
🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question

.
===DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS===
📈 Boldin (formerly NewRetirement): Retirement planning software that's like having a financial advisor at your fingertips. You can get started with the free version or choose the premium option (PlannerPlus) and get a 14-day free trial.   👉🏼 Be sure to use this link to get started:  Go.boldin.com/catchingup
 
Personal Finance Club: Use code CUTOFI to get $30 OFF any investing course
 
Nectarine: Advice-Only and Flat-Fee Hourly Fiduciary Financial Advisors (Catching Up to FI will be compensated by Nectarine if you use our affiliate link, which creates an incentive and conflict of interest. We are not current clients or employees of Nectarine.)
 
For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners
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RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW
The Long View podcast 
The White Coat Investor
George Kinder 
William Bernstein 
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⏰ Related Episodes
Founder of 'Catching Up to FI' Just Hit Financial Independence, Now What? | Bill Yount | 196
Flashback to Episode 1: 'A Boat Named YOLO' | Bill Yount | 197
Retirement Remix: Crafting Financial Futures with Purpose | Christine Benz | 117
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If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating and review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!
.
📌Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.

What happens when the two co-hosts stop being polite, start being honest, and publicly debate the money moves they still don't agree on? We throw open the doors on four of our favorite friction points:
Simple index-fund investing versus "modest complexity" 
Whether high school personal finance classes are actually helping 
What to make of the new 530A Trump accounts 
Taking Social Security at 62 versus waiting
 
The fun here is that neither of us is playing a character. Jackie comes in swinging for simplicity, practical execution, and "please stop overcomplicating this for normal people," while Bill makes the case for curiosity, customization, and not sleepwalking through important financial choices. Along the way, we swap real stories about helping kids with 401(k)s, seeing bad default investments in the wild, what personal finance education gets wrong, and why Social Security advice may be more nuanced than the "always wait until 70" crowd admits. It's a reminder that thoughtful disagreement can sharpen your own plan faster than blindly copying someone else's.
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=== SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===
📩 Sign up for our newsletter
🌐 Visit Catching Up to FI website 
🔗Connect with us
☕ Like what you hear on Catching Up to FI? Support the show at "Buy Me a Coffee" 
🎙️We love hearing from you! Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question Record a Voice Message with your feedback or question

.
===DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS===
📈 Boldin (formerly NewRetirement): Retirement planning software that's like having a financial advisor at your fingertips. You can get started with the free version or choose the premium option (PlannerPlus) and get a 14-day free trial.   👉🏼 Be sure to use this link to get started:  Go.boldin.com/catchingup
 
Personal Finance Club: Use code CUTOFI to get $30 OFF any investing course
 
Nectarine: Advice-Only and Flat-Fee Hourly Fiduciary Financial Advisors (Catching Up to FI will be compensated by Nectarine if you use our affiliate link, which creates an incentive and conflict of interest. We are not current clients or employees of Nectarine.)
 
For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners
.
RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW
Check your social security estimates
Mike Piper's Open Social Security Calculator 
Next Gen Personal Finance
Trump Accounts
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⏰ Related Episodes
Is Your 401(k) a Mess? Do This Now (Step-by-Step Guide) | Bill & Jackie | 205
These New Rules Will Change The Way You Think About 529 Plans | Patricia Roberts | 193 
Celebrating Financial Literacy Month with Next Gen Personal Finance | Tim Ranzetta | 072
Social Security Made Simple | Mike Piper | 054
.
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on your podcast player and leave us a rating and review. If you want to watch, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. This helps others find the show and keeps us creating great content for you!
.
📌Disclaimer: Our content is for general education and information purposes only. We are not providing financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult a professional before making important decisions.