Chances are, you’re not so different from us.
We did everything we were “supposed” to do- and yet not so long ago, we found ourselves burnt out, living for the weekend and knew there had to be a better way.
Hi! We’re Ali & Josh,
THE HUSBAND AND WIFE DUO BEHIND THE FI COUPLE- & WE ARE SO HAPPY YOU’RE HERE!
We started our married life working low income jobs with 6 figures of student loan debt. In less than 5 years, we paid off our student loans, scaled to a 10+ unit rental portfolio and gained financial independence.
The truth is - there’s no magic pill to reach your goals.
Getting your finances on track can be hard and will force you to think and live differently. Investing in real estate can be overwhelming and cost prohibitive. And reaching financial independence can feel like it’s a million miles away.
But despite all of that-you’re here for a reason. And it isn’t about the money, it’s about the time.
We all want to feel in control of our lives, and yet for so many of us, our power of choice is limited. There are 52 weeks in a year and we have to ask permission to take 2 weeks of PTO. There’s the potential for limitless income, and yet most of us are subject to a 2% annual raise (if we’re lucky).
Choice, Control, Autonomy- this is what financial independence can give you.
OUR MISSION
We want to make the world of personal finance and real estate less intimidating and more accessible to the everyday person.
We believe that everyone has the potential to build a life that they love- they just need the knowledge and support to make it happen.
OUR STORY
THE CLIFFNOTES VERSION
2017-
We were planning our wedding, and came to the bleak realization that 1.) Weddings cost a lot of money and 2.) We had no money (correction, we had negative money- we were six figures in debt and just realizing that fun fact). Josh started learning about real estate and personal finance through books and podcasts.
2018-
Within the first two weeks of the year, Josh totaled his car and got laid off unexpectedly. This made paying our bills, let alone saving for a wedding, very difficult.
Now, being supported by just Ali’s salary, we took a hard look at ourselves and the life that we were living. We were paycheck to paycheck and we weren’t living aligned to our values. We came to the realization that if we wanted a different life, we’d have to make some radical changes.
Late 2018
We got married, scraped together every penny we had and bought a 120 year old duplex. We moved into one side and rented out the other. We immediately cut our cost of living in half. We finally had *breathing room* and money that we could use to pay down our debt.
2019-
We worked to get on the same page with our finances and continued to learn and educate ourselves on real estate and personal finance. We both had full-time jobs and multiple side hustles, steadily reduced our expenses and put any extra money towards savings and debt payoff.
2020-
We scraped together every dollar we had to buy ANOTHER duplex. We moved into one side and rented out the other. We kept our original duplex and the cash flow from that covered all of our housing expenses. This meant we were living for FREE.
This was also the year that The FI Couple was born. Ali woke up in the middle of the night with the “crazy” idea to start a social media account where we documented our journey to FI. At 3am, Josh told Ali that it was a stupid idea- “who would want to follow us, what have WE accomplished?”
(FYI- the point of The FI Couple was to show the grind- the ups, downs and everything in between. We were tired of hearing the stories from people that had ‘made it.’ We wanted to hear OUR story- people that didn’t come from money, made mistakes and were still trying to figure out their lives).
2021-
After a year of trying to grow our family, we had our first appointment at a fertility clinic. Ali was working full time as a school social worker and was repeatedly involved in unsafe, crisis situations that significantly impacted her physical and mental well-being. Because of everything we had done to keep our costs of living so low and build multiple streams of income, she was able to quit her job.
2022-
We paid off our student loans. We started the process of IVF and found a part time job to pay for the majority of the costs. We purchased our third investment property, and this time, didn’t move into it!
PRESENT
We continue to grow and manage our rental portfolio. We are have officially left our 9-5 jobs and are both home full time raising our beautiful daughter!
LETS WORK TOGETHER
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LETS WORK TOGETHER ○
You have the power and potential to completely transform your life. You just have to learn and implement the steps to get there.
THAT’S WHERE WE COME IN.
When you work with us, you’ll get honest and no bullsh*t education and support. We will cheer you on when you’re winning and we’ll give you a pep talk when you’re not.
