#29 – THE ESCAPE ARTIST with Barney Whiter

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  • Reading time:5 mins read

In this episode, Nick and Ben are talking with Barney Whiter. He paid off his mortgage when he was 32, built up an investment portfolio and then quit his job in 2014 at the age of 43. When he made enough money, he didn’t need to work anymore. He did this whilst married and supporting a family with 3 kids, without winning the lottery, inheriting money or being CEO of a large multi-national company. Barney has a degree in economics, is a qualified accountant and has a 20-year career in corporate finance.

In this episode we cover:  

  • Barney’s journey and background
  • What is the financial independence retire early movement all about?
  • The maths and mindset behind reaching retirement early
  • Simple strategies for getting the best out of life
  • Functioning of Vanguard
  • Straussian approach to finance 

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Episode Notes

Summary notes

  • 00:00 – Introduction  
  • 00:25 – Barney’s journey and background 
  • 04:30 – Financial maths 
  • 06:13 – How much it takes to start saving at age 18? 
  • 08:03 – Where would somebody start with saving? 
  • 10:46 – Straussian approach to finance 
  • 12:13 – Functioning of Vanguard and its approach 
  • 16:37 – What would Barney like to change? 
  • 17:55 – Expensive cars and swimming pools 
  • 22:09 – How much is enough? 
  • 23:09 – Insights for parents 
  • 25:37 – Would Barney do anything different with life longevity? 
  • 29:51 – What if we expand a life 100 – 120 years? 
  • 31:25 – Balance between financial independence and fitness 
  • 33:51 – Barney talks about relationships 
  • 35:46 – What are marginal gains? 
  • 37:40 – Retiring at 40 
  • 38:38 – Top 3 tips

About Nick

Nick Powell is the founder of Stronger Self and he works with entrepreneurs and senior leaders to enable them to take their personal and professional performance to the next level.

Nick’s approach uses cutting edge tools and techniques from the worlds of biohacking, productivity, anti-aging and neuroscience; harnessing the exciting intersection between biology and technology.

Nick has developed his Peak Performance Coaching Programmes to enable his clients to deliver extraordinary results across all aspects of their personal and professional lives.

He runs his Coaching sessions face to face in London & Surrey and across the World via Zoom.

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