The Fioneers & Slow FI with Jessica
The Fioneers & Slow FI with Jessica
I have an exciting November scheduled for all of you! I’ve decided to focus the entire month around the topic of Financial Independence. I’m going to speak to people who are pursuing it, people who have achieved it, and everything in between.
This topic is one that is near and dear to me. The idea of Financial Independence completely changed my concept of retirement and helped me reimagine a much more exciting vision of working, because you want to work and not because you have to work. There is no one path to Financial Independence, and I’m excited for you to hear more about this subject through different points of view.
Today I’m talking to Jessica from the blog Fioneers about her approach to FI, which she calls Slow FI. She joins me to speak more about it and her balanced approach to a financially independent lifestyle.
What are we drinking?
Jessica - Peppermint Tea
Shannon - Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
Jessica learned about financial independence (FI) from her husband about three years ago, when she was 30. Previously, she didn’t want to deal with money, because she had a scarcity mindset.
At the time, she was in a really toxic job and she wanted to do something different, so FI really spoke to her.
Jessica’s husband has been a personal finance blogger since 2011. He didn’t see them as part of the FIRE movement, because they were both young and were working at non-profits with low incomes. He took some ideas from FIRE like increasing their savings rate and incremental retirement.
Over time, he started to see the FIRE movement as a little more realistic, and he wanted Jessica to get onboard with it. Every year he would say they should save 5% more of their income, but she wanted to have fun and go out to eat.
Jessica’s husband gave her the book Your Money or Your Life. She learned that people could live their lives the way they wanted and the mechanics of retirement made sense to her for the first time. Seeing the math behind early retirement was helpful, because it was not just “save and hope for the best”.
After she read the book, she wasn’t ready to commit to FI, because she saw it as deprivation and as all or nothing. She didn’t want to just work and save, especially not at the toxic job.
For Jessica, it was much more about how to make the journey as remarkable as the destination. They were tested on this approach a few times after they committed to it.
Two weeks after they committed to FI, her job got even more toxic and she started having panic attacks. She ended up taking about six months off work, because she was so burned out.
For the first time, she realized the importance of being good with money, because she was able to take some time off. It was really freeing, because it was something she could do right then and it was a turning point. It is freeing to have choices.
Now that she no longer feels burned out, she likes working. She loves writing and lifestyle coaching. These are the things she would do if she was FI and didn’t need money.
Slow FI is a mindset where you are choosing to use financial freedom that you gain along the way to your ultimate goal to improve your life today.
After her break from work, Jessica decided to go back to work part time. There are so many options. Slow FI is saying I want to use the financial freedom I gain to improve my life incrementally, rather than there being a two-part journey where you accumulate wealth and then retire.
Jessica and her husband, Corey, don’t have a full FI date, but they would like to reach it in their 50s. If they keep everything the same as it is now, the timeline would be about eight to ten years. Their goal is not full independence right now, but they do want to become location independent entrepreneurs, so Jessica is working to build their business on the side.
It is about the journey, a mindset, and a lifestyle shift that gives you a variety of options. If full FI is 15 or 20 years away, it is still fine. It is about how are they making sure they are living their lives now and all along the way.
Many people who are pursuing FI take the traditional approach and forget to live their lives now. There is a lot to miss out on now. A lot of their approach has been informed by some of the early FI bloggers who have reached FI and are urging their followers to take a slower path and find fulfillment along the way.
Jessica and Corey live in Boston, which is a high cost of living area, and they are still pursuing FI. They didn’t have to do a lot to adapt. They both started their careers in non-profits in the New Jersey/metro New York City area. Jessica made $11,000 a year with Americorp and Corey worked part time at a university.
They didn’t go out to eat for a year. As they grew their careers and made more money, like $40,000 a year, everything felt better than when they first started. They’ve always lived significantly below their means and when they did start to make more they found a good balance of saving and spending.
Cities provide a lot of opportunity for higher paying jobs. Because of the access to these jobs, they feel like their journey to FI was accelerated. They now own a two-bedroom in Boston. Cities are more walkable and they only need one car and there is free entertainment.
It would be harder for someone moving from a low cost area to a high cost area. For them, they’ve always lived below their means.
When they committed to slow FI, they started having regular conversations about their day-to-day spending, and Jessica transitioned to working part time.
Jessica worked through a lot of baggage around traditional feminism, where she felt it was her role to grow her career and climb the corporate ladder to pave the way for other women. Working part time didn’t feel like she was doing this, but it actually is feminism because each person has the right to choose what they want to do.
You can do exactly what you want. You don’t have to climb the corporate ladder.
When Jessica and Corey started to design the life they really wanted, they found they actually spent less money.
Lifestyle design is aligning your daily actions with your values, future goals, and what makes you happy today. This is determining everything from your short-term and long-term happiness and the peak experiences in your life.
Jessica encourages people to think through the what, the how, and the why. What are the specific activities and projects you like to do? What is your core motivation for doing them? How many hours do you want to work?
For Jessica, she wants to be creative and make sure she has balance to stay physically and mentally healthy.
Most people don’t know where their money is going and they don’t have a good grasp on it.
Since Jessica cannot travel right now, she is doing things, like podcasts, to get her out of her comfort zone. If she can’t travel, she wants to do things so she can get those same feelings.
Jessica’s biggest spending weakness is ordering takeout if she feels stressed or exhausted. Now, takeout feels like a treat. It is important to look at the spending triggers and what makes you spend on the things you don’t value that much.
If Jessica’s spending would have remained the same and she went part time, their FI goal would have been extended by two years. After addressing their spending issues, their timeline didn’t change at all.
If you are able to be more intentional with your money, your savings rate can increase even if you go part time or if you take a lower paying job.
The most important thing is to figure out what you most uniquely value. If you don’t make a conscious decision to say no to something you are saying yes to the default. Getting off autopilot is important, if you want to pursue FI, so you are able to work toward those dreams and goals that bring meaning and purpose to your life.
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is that a slow FI approach to financial independence can give you the right balance of a healthier financial lifestyle while still enjoying the journey.
Random Three Questions
What is your favorite takeout food?
When was the last time you cried?
What is the next destination you would like to go to?
Connect with Jessica
Website: Fioneers
Instagram/Twitter: @thefioneers
Facebook: Slowfienthusiasts
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or if you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me to Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.
If you’d like to make financial independence a goal for yourself sooner than later, I hope you’ll reach out to my team at The Financial Gym. We give the goal of FI to all of our clients and work with them on the best path to get there as soon as possible. Remember, Martinis and Your Money listeners get special promotions at The Gym, so head over to, or send friends to, financialgym.com to get set up today.