049: The Residual Income Path to FIRE | Eric Chang

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In today’s episode, Eric shares how he achieved FIRE by building multiple streams of residual (aka passive) income—all before the age of 30! From marketing consultant to real estate and entrepreneurship, Eric’s story is fascinating, inspiring, and motivational.

Be warned: Eric’s energy and enthusiasm is contagious! After hearing his story, you’ll have an overwhelming desire to build your own residual income! We hope you enjoy the interview—it’s a fun one.

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048: When Your Dreams Get in the Way of FIRE | Max Desmarais

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What do you do when you have a dream… a calling… an overpowering pull to pursue your life’s passion? But you discover FIRE, and you realize your passion won’t get you there?

This is the story we’re sharing today—from EFIC’s show editor and mixer, Max Desmarais. Max has lived a life filled with joy and deep fulfilment, yet he now finds himself in his forties; the starting gun has gone off, and he hasn’t even left the gate yet.

What now? And even more importantly: is this even a problem? Could it be that Max is the one who’s pursuing FIRE (or more accurately, FI) the ‘right’ way? Listen in as we discuss this existential dilemma… and let us know in the comments what you think!

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047: FI-lexibility | Diania Merriam of EconoMe

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Diania discovered FIRE when she was living in NYC and $30,000 in debt “for no reason”. After a refreshing punch in the face from Mr. Money Mustache, she started her FIRE journey, turned her finances around and started the EconoMe Conference.

In the interview, we discuss ‘FI-lexbility’ and how it can make the long journey to FIRE more sustainable and meaningful. We also dive into one of Chrissy’s favourite topics—FIRE misconceptions. We hope you enjoy the episode… it’s a fun one!

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046: From Oil Patch to Eco-Frugality and FIRE | Chris Istace

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Happy New Year! We’re back and ready to bring you more Canadian FI content. In our inaugural episode for 2021, we’re featuring a long-awaited guest: Chris Istace, the Mindful Explorer.

Chris’s FIRE journey is particularly fascinating: he and his family went from living the high life in the oil industry to lean FIRE on Vancouver Island. Since discovering FIRE, Chris has fully embraced Mustachianism, mindfulness, and a focus on leaving a lighter footprint on our Earth.

We hope you enjoy his inspiring story!

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045: Holiday Special | EFIC x FI Garage Mashup

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Happy holidays everyone! We have a special episode for you today—a holiday mashup with our good friends over at the FI Garage!

Chrissy joins The Accountant, The Economist and Money Mechanic as they enjoy a round of beer and engage in their usual “joyful banter”. We discuss limiting money beliefs, how we survived the year of COVID, and what we’re looking forward to in 2021.

This will be our last episode for 2020—we wish you and your family all the best this holiday season and a happy, healthy new year. We’ll see you here again (bi-weekly on Fridays) starting January 8th!

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044: The Mustachian Path to FIRE (aka ‘Shaidah’s Way’)

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In this episode, previous panellist and co-host Shaidah returns to the show—this time in her very own interview! We talk about her Mustachian tendencies (aka Shaidah’s Way), beekeeping, side hustles, frugality and real estate.

Shaidah and her husband show us the power of the basic tenets of FI and how intentionality and creativity can go a long way on the path to FIRE.

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043: From 60K in Debt to Pursuing FIRE | F.I.R.E. We Go

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When Gean and Kristine met, she was $60,000 in debt. Having worked and saved hard to immigrate from Brazil to Canada, Gean already had a good handle on his finances. Together, they managed to pay off the debt and get on the path to FIRE—in just one year!

Listen in to hear how this remarkable couple turned their financial situation around with intentionality, dedication, and teamwork. We also discuss their investing strategy, the Smith Manoeuvre and Norbert’s Gambit.

Special thanks to listener Ashley M. who generously volunteered his time to edit the transcript for our show notes. Ashley, we’re so grateful for your help!

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042: Do You Have a Post-FI Healthcare Plan? | Tami Romanchuk

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While we’re fortunate in Canada to have universal healthcare, we still have some out-of-pocket medical expenses. Do you have a plan to cover these costs once you reach FI? Tami Romanchuk from Shoreline Financial tells us what we need to know when considering extended health plans.

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041: Your Smith Manoeuvre Mortgage Questions Answered!

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Robinson Smith is back! This time, he’s joined by Keaton Kirkwood—a Smith Manoeuvre-certified mortgage broker. On this episode, they answer some tricky Smith Manoeuvre mortgage questions—all sent in by you, our listeners. We hope you learn as much as we did!

Special thanks to listener Ashley M. who generously volunteered his time to edit the transcript for our show notes. Ashley, we’re so grateful for your help!

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040: Boot Camp to Budgets | Gnomadic Norbert

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Norbert Kallai (aka Gnomadic Norbert) immigrated from Romania at the age of two—the second youngest of six children! He tells us how he went from scarcity to abundance; boot camp to budgets; and frugality to FIRE. We also discuss the perks of a career in the reserves (and what he’s planning to do with that military pension)!

Special thanks to listener Ashley M. who generously volunteered his time to edit the transcript for our show notes. Ashley, we’re so grateful for your help!

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038: Demystifying Pensions | Ed Rempel

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If pensions have you confused, this episode’s for you! Ed Rempel returns to the show to discuss DC and DB pensions, commuting, LIRAs, and more. Ed shares simple, clear info to help demystify the whats, hows, whys behind pensions in Canada.

**Special thanks to listener Kate, who provided us with the show idea and most of the questions for Ed!

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037: The Money Master | Sandy Yong

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Sandy Yong is the author behind The Money Master. Today on EFIC, she discusses her book and her journey into FIRE. Sandy also shares her experiences as a keynote speaker, real estate and stock investor, and financial coach—all of which she does on the side, along with her day job!

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035: Financial Superpowers | Cici from Toronto

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Cici is a lawyer and mom of three who lives near Downtown Toronto. She and her husband are on the path to “I don’t fit into my last year’s clothes FIRE”. We discuss her financial superpowers, real estate investments, and more! We hope you enjoy Cici’s inspirational, down-to-earth story.

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034: The Real Estate Empire Path to FIRE | Matt McKeever

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Today, we’re chatting with Matt McKeever—a FIRE and real estate YouTuber, CPA, and entrepreneur who achieved FIRE at age 31. Matt shares his journey to FIRE and tells us how he built his Canadian real estate empire to over 120 units!

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033: All About RESPs (Part 2) | Money in Your Tea and Modern FImily

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On this episode, we’re continuing our deep dive into RESPs with Kari from Money in Your Tea and Court from Modern FImily. In this second of two parts, we discuss RESP withdrawals, payments, and taxation. Get your notepads ready—we’re once again covering a lot of ground!

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It’s Our Podiversary | EFIC Turns One!

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That’s right, Explore FI Canada is celebrating its birthday today! One year ago, we launched this little podcast, and we recorded this special minisode to mark the occasion.

We hope you enjoy hearing about what we’ve learned, and how our FI journeys have changed in the last year. Thanks for being a listener—we appreciate every one of you!

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032: All About RESPs (Part 1) | Money in Your Tea and Modern FImily

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On this episode, we’re taking a deep dive into RESPs with Kari from Money in Your Tea and Court from Modern FImily. In this first of two parts, we discuss RESP basics, grants, contributions, and investments. Get your notepads ready—we’re covering a lot of ground!

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