Why true financial independence means eliminating financial vulnerability including not being overly reliant on stock market appreciation.Topics covered in this episode include:What does it mean to be financially vulnerable.What are the two paths to financial independence.Why we shouldn’t stake our financial independence and early retirement on the historical performance of stocks and bonds.What are the rules of thumb we can use to develop reasonable assumptions for stocks and bonds and how those assumptions will lead to lower portfolio balances compared to using historical returns.What has historical earnings growth been for U.S. stocks.Why stock buybacks will be less in the future due to high debt balances unless companies grow their revenues and overall earnings.How are actions lead to financial independence even when it is difficult.Thanks to Vistaprint and WIX for sponsoring the episode.For show notes and more information on this episode click here.[0:17] Being financially independent begins with a decision. [2:33] Protecting yourself against financial vulnerability. [4:14] Should you solely rely on investment returns for financial stability?  [7:52] Estimating the returns of asset classes. [13:40] Earnings per share drives the returns of the stock market. [17:31] Build an active and flexible strategy for financial stability. [22:49] Uncertainty doesn’t negate the positive effect of small actions.