215: FI: More Than Retirement, a Chance to Take Risks w/ Diania Merriam

After years and years of working in licensing, Diania Merriam opened up her credit report and saw that she was (collectively) $30,000 in debt. This forced her to ask the question, “what am I working for?” It made sense at the moment: you get your paycheck, you can go out to a fancy dinner, you get another paycheck, you can buy yourself something nice. But Diania wasn’t happy, or at least as happy as she thought she’d be.

She realized that she didn’t want to be stuck in a job she had to go to every day. She wanted autonomy, freedom, and financial independence that would allow her to rule over her schedule and pursue her passions and interests. So, she went to work and started saving whatever she could. She stopped eating out, started cooking all her meals, moved to a more inexpensive city, bought a house and house hacked, heavily invested in retirement, and did everything right.

Now, she’s self-employed, hosting the Optimal Finance Daily podcast and the EconoMe Conference in Cincinnati. She was able to create her dream roles because she came from a position of financial strength, she also had a plan in mind and knew what her “worst-case scenario” looked like.

In This Episode We Cover

Getting out of consumer and student debt as quickly as possible

Minimizing expenses and maximizing income to increase savings rates

Building a strong financial runway so you can start your own business

Buying a house and house hacking by renting per room

Understanding your “worst-case scenario” before you take the leap into entrepreneurialism

Finding your passions and cementing what you want to do when you reach FI

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group

BiggerPockets Forums

Finance Review Guest Onboarding