The Personal Finance Podcast

Episode: He Achieved Financial Independence in 2 Years! (Here's How!)
Host: Andrew Giancola
Guest: Justin David Carl
Date: December 15, 2025

Episode Overview

This inspiring episode features Justin David Carl, who shares his journey from deep financial trouble to achieving millionaire status and financial independence in just over two years. Host Andrew Giancola dives deep into the mindsets, tactical actions, and life philosophies that powered Justin’s meteoric financial turnaround. The conversation covers actionable personal finance tips, the importance of mindset, balancing wealth and quality of life, measuring progress, and the strong parallels between fitness and finance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Justin’s Financial Rock Bottom and Awakening

• Background: In 2017, Justin was $80,000 in debt and six years behind on taxes. His finances were a “total dumpster fire.”
  • Memorable Quote:

    “In 2017, I was $80,000 in debt and six years behind on my taxes. The truth is, my money was a total dumpster fire.” – Justin, (03:23)

• Catalyst: Inspired after hearing Mr. Money Mustache on Tim Ferriss’s podcast. Reading “The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement” was an eye-opener.
  • Quote:

    “I read it, and my mind exploded. If I had understood these concepts back in my 20s, I would already be a millionaire, multimillionaire, and financially free.” – Justin, (03:23)

2. Mindset: Turning Weaknesses into Superpowers

• On Obsessive Personality: Justin discusses how his addictive tendencies could become a superpower if channeled toward positive goals (like financial independence or fitness) rather than vices.

  • Quote:

    “Having an obsessive or addictive personality is a double-edged sword. If it's channeled towards the right thing, it's your superpower. If not, it's your kryptonite.” – Justin, (03:23)

• Resilience: He shares the lesson learned from his Stanford application rejection, emphasizing perseverance:

  • Quote:

    “You can either let this break you or you can let it make you.” – Justin’s mom (as told by Justin), (10:08)

3. The Tactical Path to Financial Independence

a. Radically Cutting the Big 3 Expenses

• Housing, Car, Food: Justin moved from a fancy condo to a cheap rental, sold the luxury car for a used Prius, and stopped eating out for nearly three years.
  • Quote:

    “I sold my Range Rover and got a 2012 Prius that I still drive to this day, even with a $3.4 million net worth.” – Justin, (15:02)

  • Quote:

    “I literally stopped eating out at restaurants unless someone else was paying for almost three years.” – Justin, (15:02)

b. Aggressive Income Optimization

• Invested in Coaching: Hired sales/career coaches even while being frugal elsewhere; income soared from ~$150k to $888k within three years.
  • Quote:

    “Within one year of working with them, I went from like $100k-$150k to over $400,000. Year two, over $700,000. Year three, $888,000 in personal income.” – Justin, (15:02)

c. Savings Rate as the 'Cheat Code'

• Maximized savings and investing, reaching ~80-90% of income at the peak.

• Key insight: Every "cheat code" was about both lowering expenses and aggressively increasing income—thus turbocharging the savings rate.

• Quote:

  “My goal was, let’s get my savings rate to 80-90% so I can do this in 3-5 years.” – Justin, (28:22)

4. Determining and Adjusting the "Enough" Number

• Started with $1.5M as the FI number based on annual expenses and the 4% rule, but kept moving the goalposts.
• Shifted mindset from maximizing net worth to maximizing "net life".
  • Quote:

    “I’m learning that I’m no longer in the season of maximizing my net worth, and instead I’m in the season of maximizing my net life.” – Justin, (23:40)

5. Saving & Investing Strategy

• Invested predominantly in total US stock market index funds; kept portfolio highly simplified.

  • Quote:

    “I am like a big fan of JL Collins and Simple Path to Wealth. So I predominantly invested in a total U.S. stock market...” – Justin, (31:27)

• Mostly used taxable brokerage accounts (only ~10% in retirement accounts) to allow access to funds before traditional retirement age.

6. Partner Buy-In and Relationship Dynamics

What DIDN’T Work:

• Trying to convert his wife by emails and Mr. Money Mustache articles (which she didn’t appreciate).

What DID Work:

• Focusing on support, not sameness—letting her live her own comfortable financial life while still supporting his dream.

• Attending Camp FI together, exposing her to diverse perspectives, especially women and couples living the FI life differently.

  • Quote:

    “As long as my wife is supportive of my goal of financial independence, I don’t need her to be as wild and frugal and crazy as me. I just need her to support my dream.” – Justin, (34:39)

  • Quote:

    “What really changed everything for us as a couple and our finances was going to Camp FI in Joshua Tree in 2018.” – Justin, (34:39)

7. Fitness and Financial Independence: Powerful Parallels

• Justin’s Fitness Journey: Spent 15 years trying alone, then worked with a coach for rapid transformation (lost 30 pounds of fat in 6 months).
• Key lesson:

  “A good coach will collapse time for you.” – Justin, (44:44)

• Tracking is Essential: Just like in finance (tracking savings rate), tracking body fat percentage and macros helped him finally see a 6-pack.
  • Quote:

    “What gets measured gets optimized.” – Justin, (44:44)

• Consistency Compounds: Justin stayed at 8-10% body fat for 10 years by relentless consistency—mirroring relentless wealth accumulation.

Fitness Regimen:

• Sleeps 7.5-8.5 hours nightly
• Follows high-protein diet (1g protein per pound of bodyweight) and plenty of carbs
• 15,000+ steps per day (non-exercise activity)
• Strength training 4-6 times/week with variety
• Plays 2-5 hours of pickleball almost daily
• Uses tracking devices (Garmin, Whoop)
• Quote:

  “If the work gets in the way of my pickleball, I’m like, nope.” – Justin, (60:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You can either let this break you or you can let it make you.” – Justin’s mom (10:08)
• “Obsessive personality is a double-edged sword … it’s your superpower if you channel it right.” – Justin (03:23)
• “I went from $80k in debt to millionaire in a little more than two years.” – Justin (15:02)
• “Track your savings rate.” – Justin (60:31)
• “Consistency compounds, whether it's fitness or finances.” – Justin (53:09)
• “Maximize net life, not just net worth.” – Justin (23:40)

Key Timestamps

• Justin’s “Dumpster Fire” Finances & FI Awakening: 03:23 – 08:32
• Mindset & Stanford Story: 09:45 – 14:19
• Cutting Expenses: Housing, Car, Food: 15:02 – 20:43
• Income Explosion via Coaching: 15:02 – 21:47
• Defining “Enough” and Mindset Transition: 23:40 – 27:28
• Savings Rate and Early Retirement Math: 28:22 – 31:13
• Investing Approach: 31:27 – 34:08
• Partner Buy-In, Camp FI Story: 34:08 – 40:01
• Fitness Parallels and Regimen: 44:44 – 58:13
• Rapid-Fire Advice + Definitions of Wealth: 59:46 – 61:34

Summary Takeaways

• Major Levers: Cutting major expenses and amplifying income are the core levers for fast financial independence.
• Mindset > Methods: Growth, consistency, and measurement beat specific tactics.
• Coaches Collapse Time: Hire experts for the fastest progress—both for money and health.
• Net Life, Not Just Net Worth: After reaching FI, shift focus to enjoying your wealth and optimizing for quality of life.
• Metrics Matter: Track your critical number—savings rate for finances, body fat for fitness, etc.
• Relationships: Seek partnership support, but don’t force your path on others; let them see the possibilities for themselves.

Resources & Where to Find Justin

• Fit Rich Life Podcast
• fitrichlife.com
• Free workout program: fitrichlifecoaching.com/workout
• Free savings rate tracker: fitrichlifecoaching.com/tracker
• Instagram & Threads: @JustinDavidCarl

This episode provides both a motivational blueprint and a tactical roadmap for anyone pursuing financial independence or personal reinvention, emphasizing that it's never too late, and that major results come from relentless focus, tracking, and a willingness to get help when needed.