Brad Barrett (left) and Jonathan Mendonsa record their podcast twice a week. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Local podcasters Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa connected face-to-face with their community after a July screening the pair set up for the documentary “Playing With FIRE,” which delves into the Financial Independence Retire Early movement. Its adherents aim to retire early by adopting frugal lifestyles and maximizing their savings and investments, and the audience at the Byrd Theatre was hungry to learn.
“People want control, but we are working all the time so we can have cool stuff,” Barrett said in his presentation. “Financial independence is not just about saving money — it’s people looking for a connection.”
Mendonsa and Barrett are working to create that connection and community through their podcast “ChooseFI,” recorded in an attic-level room of Mendonsa’s Henrico County home, along with discussions through affiliated Facebook groups, as well as articles and resources available at choosefi.com. They define financial independence as saving 25 times your annual expenses. To do that, they encourage building up significant savings, lowering living costs, diminishing housing expenses, using travel rewards, eliminating debt, investing sensibly and developing side hustles.
It may just be frugality and saving repackaged, but the two are monetizing these classic concepts through affiliate marketing of products and service recommendations. In July, they hit 264 episodes since their January 2017 start, with a release schedule of two podcasts a week — new material on Monday and a review with listener reaction on Friday. This summer, they expanded into professionally produced YouTube videos, and this month, they’ll release their first book, “ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence,” written with Chris Mamula of Can I Retire Yet?
A former pharmacist, Mendonsa is looking to reach financial independence within the next decade. Barrett was an accountant who gained financial independence and was able to leave that profession, he says. Barrett attracted media attention with websites that focused on using travel points for maximum travel savings before working on ChooseFI.
“Financial independence is doing what you love and focusing on what’s important to you,” he says, giving as an example his ability to swim at his community pool in the afternoons with his daughters. “Having control of your life is priceless.”
A book release event for “ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence” will take place at 6 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the Richmond Public Library’s Main Library branch, 101 E. Franklin St.
