SUMMARY
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Chris Mamula documented his personal path to financial independence at Eat the Financial Elephant for several years before leaving his career as a physical therapist in 2017 at age 41. Shortly after, he joined Darrow Kirkpatrick at Can I Retire Yet?, where he continues to follow his calling of helping people live their best lives. He’s the co-author of the book, Choose FI, and his mission is to spread the life-changing message of financial independence to a broader audience.

Today, Chris joins the show to talk about common misconceptions around the FIRE Movement, what it means to have a valuist mindset, and why it’s imperative to prioritize saving money.

TAKEAWAYS
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00:58 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Chris Mamula, who joins the show to talk about debt, helping people, and the decision to choose a path towards financial independence, retire early (FIRE)
11:20 – FIRE resources and common misconceptions about the FIRE Movement
15:48 – Having a ‘valuist’ mindset
18:08 – Valuing financial independence over retirement
21:45 – Statistics around retirement readiness and the vision of ‘Can I Retire Yet’
25:49 – How Chris is raising his children to think about money and finances
32:22 – The psychology of saving money
37:16 – One thing we can do to increase financial success and one thing to completely ignore
39:47 – The last thing Chris changed his mind about
41:59 – Jonathan thanks Chris for joining the show and lets listeners know where to connect with him

QUOTES
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“Debt is a part of life for most people - at the very least a mortgage. Virtually no one can buy their first house with cash unless they’re getting a lot of parental support. That’s, unfortunately, a part of life for most people.” (04:50) (Chris)

“A ‘valuist’ just means you really line your spending up with your personal values. To me, that kinda just summed up exactly what we were doing.” (15:48) (Chris)

“There’s this Warren Buffet idea of giving your kids enough that they can do anything, but not enough that they can do nothing.” (28:58) (Chris)

“One of the bigger downsides of reaching financial independence is that I wish I had more impact...” (30:38) (Chris)

ABOUT MINDFUL MONEY
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Do you struggle with money? You’re not alone.
Money is a means, not an end. It’s a necessity of life for sure, but more money does not always guarantee a “good life”. Money enables many aspects of modern life, but as a dominant consideration it becomes destructive.
The paradox is that more time and energy spent on personal finance does NOT create better outcomes. Unlike many other parts of life, we can’t create better outcomes by being smarter, spending more time, or putting in more effort.
Join Mindful Money author and experienced 40-year investor Jonathan DeYoe as he shares stories from artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other advisors about how they mindfully minimize their need to think about money and get more out of life.
If you aren’t happy with your finances, feel like money takes more time that it should, or want to place your financial decisions into the broader context of your life, this show is for you.
Each episode will draw the line between the “enough” activities that the academics tell us are additive to family outcomes, and those “little bit more” efforts that take time and sap energy, but do NOT improve outcomes.

GUEST RESOURCES
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Chris’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-mamula-9602a8264/
Can I Retire Yet: https://www.caniretireyet.com/
Eat The Financial Elephant: https://eatthefinancialelephant.com/
Abundo: https://abundowealth.com/
Chris’ Book: Choose FI: https://amazon.com/Choose-FI-Blueprint-Financial-Independence/dp/0960058907/
FIRE Resources:
JL Collins: https://jlcollinsnh.com/
Choose FI Podcast: https://www.choosefi.com/listen/choose-fi-podcast/
The Psychology of Saving Money: https://www.caniretireyet.com/saving-money-psychology/
Books Mentioned:
Outlive: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=book+outlive+by+peter+attia&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1OmoBhDXARIsAAAYGSFOgzdcs9UGlroa0v3q7aPqUdQjUiDz7GwZQgc0PFpg7co0FFde65MaAqq7EALw_wcB&hvadid=663015975494&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9004867&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1144458851515818661&hvtargid=kwd-2113318289994&hydadcr=8487_13545024&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_9p5g8bhllr_e

MINDFUL MONEY RESOURCES
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Monthly Coaching Membership: https://courses.mindful.money/mindful-money-membership
Jonathan’s Book – https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Money-Practices-Financial-Increasing/dp/1608684369
Website - https://mindful.money/
Jonathan DeYoe on LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/jonathandeyoe
Mindful Money on Twitter - https://twitter.com/MindfulMoney_Ed
Mindful Money on Facebook - http://facebook.com/MindfulMoneyPlan
Mindful Money on Instagram - http://instagram.com/mindfulmoneyplan
Mindful Money on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/MindfulMoney🎙️
Podcast Production by FullCast: https://fullcast.co/sn