Hack Your Wealth
As a lawyer / engineer / MBA, how can you achieve FIRE (financial independence, retire early) rapidly to quit the rat race, pursue your passions, and live life on your own terms? Andrew Chen – founder of the Hack Your Wealth Blog and lawyer, financial expert (CFA graduate), and tech industry veteran – shows you strategies and tactics to (1) earn, (2) save, (3) invest, and (4) protect as a high earner so that you can build massive wealth and create a portfolio that’s a FIRE machine. Through solo lessons, expert interviews, and side hustle profiles, you’ll learn about tax strategies, retirement account optimization, asset allocation & rebalancing, passive income (real estate investing, side hustling, online business, digital nomading), family finances (e.g., strategizing college education costs), travel hacking, estate planning, and career transitions. Andrew podcasts about the big picture concepts, then adds step-by-step implementation guides downloadable from the Hack Your Wealth website to help you FIRE strategically, methodically, and rapidly.
Episodes
95 episodes
Healthcare planning = retirement planning
#95: The biggest concern many would-be retirees have, at least in the US, is the cost of healthcare.Not only is healthcare more expensive in the US than in every other industrialized country. There’s also no national health insura...
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Episode 95
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1:14:21
Real estate investing in short-term rentals and hotels
#94: Real estate investing changed a lot the last couple years, but one asset class consistently punched above its weight: short-term rentals, a.k.a., STRs, e.g., Airbnbs.In 2020, when people couldn’t go on vacation by hopping on a plane...
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Episode 94
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56:12
Health insurance for traveling early retirees
#93: Early retirees often fill their early years in retirement with lots of travel. There is even a vibrant community of nomadic early retirees who travel long-term.But what do you do about health insurance, especially if you’re American...
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Episode 93
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53:49
How a female MBA early retired at 39 (+ her advice for women pursuing FIRE)
#92: Most FIRE stories are of men. A lot seem to be of ex-software engineers (on blogs anyway). It’s rare to see profiles of early retired women, especially single women who retired early from ambitious careers.Also, most FIRE st...
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Episode 92
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1:05:35
Financial independence in healthcare: how a dentist built a $7M nest egg
#91: It’s no secret that many healthcare professionals earn lots of money. So, you might think it’s relatively easy for them to achieve financial independence and retire early (or at least step back from demanding clinical hours).Aaaand…...
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Episode 91
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54:40
How to pay for college
#90: It’s back to school season, and that means it’s also the time of year for high school seniors to start agonizing over college applications.Applying to college is an anxiety-filled rite of passage for high school seniors, but it’s o...
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Episode 90
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1:15:33
How to do real estate due diligence when buying a home
#89: Summer is fast approaching, and that’s traditionally when home-buying season ramps up.This week, I share insights on how to conduct due diligence when you’re looking to buy a home. Whether you’re buying a primary residence o...
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Episode 89
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1:23:21
Mega Backdoor Roth
#88: Have you maxed out your backdoor + mega backdoor Roth conversions yet?For high earners, direct contributions to a Roth IRA, and tax-deductible contributions to a traditional IRA, are limited by income thresholds.But ALL taxpa...
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Episode 88
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37:23
How the future of (remote) work is changing
#87: Remote work and digital nomadism have always been of particular interest to folks in the FIRE community.After the pandemic, remote work was suddenly thrust upon the entire knowledge workforce. And after two long pandemic years, the ...
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Episode 87
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59:39
Why the 4% rule doesn’t work anymore
#86: Pretty much everyone in the FIRE community has heard of the 4% rule.It is the starting safe withdrawal rate number for a 30-year retirement horizon that was proposed a few decades ago by retirement researchers.And it has atta...
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Episode 86
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1:06:09
How current economic changes impact retirement safe withdrawal rates
#85: Recently I’ve really started to notice the impact of inflation on daily spending. Have you?At first, it was just 1-2 things. Then it was a handful. Now it seems like everything is noticeably more expensive. (Assuming it’s even in st...
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Episode 85
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1:49:58
REPLAY: How to set and rebalance your asset allocation efficiently
#84: Today's episode is about an important end-of-year planning topic: asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing.Many otherwise smart investors set their portfolio once, but then fail to rigorously monitor their asset allocation ...
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Episode 84
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36:29
Retirement withdrawal strategies: tax-efficient portfolio drawdowns
#83: You’ve worked hard all your life. At retirement, it’s time to kick back and relax, right?Not so fast.You still have to get THROUGH retirement.That means knowing how to draw down your portfolio to:meet all y...
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Episode 83
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52:24
Annuities explained: are annuities a good investment for retirement?
#82: Are annuities a good investment for retirement?With $250 billion in sales each year, and $2.5 trillion in retirement annuity assets under contract, annuities comprise a huge slice of US retirement assets.Understanding annuiti...
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Episode 82
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1:01:34
Taxes on stock gains: how to avoid capital gains tax on stocks
#81: With the market rallying like crazy this past year, you might have significant capital gains on stocks right now.Now might be a good time for some of you investors to harvest some capital gains. Maybe you’re looking to buy a house. ...
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Episode 81
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40:44
Teaching your kids about money and financial independence
#80: Teaching kids about money isn’t easy, but it’s crucial if you want to boot them off your payroll after they graduate from school.But while financial literacy is good, helping your kids build the mindset and momentum to achieve finan...
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Episode 80
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1:24:31
College student financial aid changes coming to the FAFSA application
#79: This one’s for you parents who have kids in college or soon going to college…In the COVID relief stimulus bill that passed at the end of 2020, there was a big chunk about federal student financial aid.New rules are bringing <...
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Episode 79
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55:17
Money lessons for kids: Tips from other personal finance influencers
#78: For this episode, I polled other influencers in the personal finance community to ask for their best tip on teaching money lessons to kids.I had four different personal finance influencers weigh in – a range of bloggers, podc...
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Episode 78
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11:00
Financial literacy for kids: how to teach your kids about money
#77: Teaching financial literacy for kids may seem like a tall order…when considering that financial literacy even for adults is a national deficiency.But teaching kids about money is crucial if you want your kids to grow u...
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Episode 77
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1:00:12
Language learning through travel immersion courses in early retirement
#76: Retiring early to travel the world is a common goal for FIRE aspirants.But full-time travel can lose appeal quickly. Churches and temples quickly start to look the same. Gardens and palaces quickly look the same.When you’re r...
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Episode 76
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1:11:37
How this middle income couple built a real estate portfolio of 25 doors (in expensive California!)
#75: Real estate investing might seem like something only wealthy people can do.It’s expensive, down payments can be high, and you may feel you don’t have enough income to afford it.Maybe you think: “I can’t even afford a house ...
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Episode 75
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1:08:55
How to early retire (FIRE) if your spouse isn’t on board
#74: This week, I chat with Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career coach now early retired, whose own spouse wasn’t on board with early retirement for many years before she finally convinced him to get on the FIRE train.We talk about tips and...
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Episode 74
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55:08
Stock option and RSU tax planning
#73: One big reason the tech industry attracts a lot of talent: you get partly compensated in stock, and if you’re early enough at a company that IPOs, your stock options or RSUs can make you a millionaire multiple times over when the company g...
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Episode 73
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1:07:46
1031 exchanges: what real estate investors need to know
#72: This week, I invited Bill Exeter to teach us about 1031 exchanges. He is the CEO of Exeter 1031 Exchange Services and has been doing 1031s for nearly four decades.You might know at a high level that a 1031 exchange mea...
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Episode 72
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1:10:59
Buying tax deeds to invest in real estate at a deep discount
#71: Tax deed auctions provide an opportunity to buy tax-delinquent properties at a discount, wipe away existing liens and mortgages, and earn sizable profits in the process.This week, I invited my friend Phil Kessler back ...
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Episode 71
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1:16:01