Spend based on your values rather than your wants.

This is what Steve does with his money, his values being his wife, happiness, travelling, health and fitness. By focusing his money on the right things he was able to pay off over $100,000 in debt, house hack and reach his own level of freedom before even reaching FI.

You'll love his story

We also chat about...

The moment Steve realised he needed to fix his finances
How him and his wife house hacked their mortgage
Moving from Chicago to Miami
Spending based on values rather than wants
His future FI goals
The FI levers he's taking advantage of
Can everyone achieve FI?

Enjoy this chat with Steve, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Steve's blog: Even Steven Money
Steve on Twitter, Facebook.
The FIRE Documentary
Episode: Set for Life with Scott Trench

Key takeaways from our chat with Steve
1 - How house hacking gave Steve a huge bonus
Steve explains that him and his wife moved to Chicago and bought a foreclosed house in 2012. After renovating it, they moved into the attic and used it as their own apartment and then rented out the rest of the building as well as the garden. The renters eliminated that mortgage, and with the extra payments they were able to pay the mortgage on their Florida house off. With this extra money they were able to pay off other stuff early, and get out off $100,000 in debt!
2 - Doing a FI trial run
Steve focuses on his keeping a stable income and low spending, which means that him and has wife have a lot more flexibility and freedom. His wife works full time remotely, and he is building his own business. They're already at their own stage of financial freedom, and will be figuring out their ideal lifestyle for the next 3 years. Their goal is to have 1 million dollars and then use the 4% rule to live on $40,000 per year, but they are not aggressively saving at the moment as make sure to prioritise their current lifestyle too.
3 - Spending based on values rather than wants
Spending based on values means buying things that truly bring happiness. If you identify your values first and then spend based on these, you are more conscious on where your money is going which therefore brings you more satisfaction. If you value cars and know a new car will make you happy, then by all means by the new car (if you can afford it, of course). Steve identifies his values as being his wife, happiness, travelling, health and fitness.
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