Episode 373: Overcoming Poverty, Divorce, and Achieving FIRE with an Over $1 Million Portfolio w/ Jackie Cummings Koski

This week on the Journey to Launch Podcast, we have Jackie Cummings Koski, author of the award winning book “Money Letters 2 my Daughter” and her new book, “F.I.R.E. for Dummies”. Jackie overcame poverty, divorce and single motherhood and despite having a late start and making less than six figures, she reached Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE) at age 49 in 2019 when she officially retired from her corporate job with a net worth of over $1 million. Jackie shares with us the importance of mindset and reframing attitudes towards money, strategies for managing retirement finances, & how you too can reach financial freedom even if you are starting later in life. 

In This Episode you’ll learn: 

• How Jackie used the 25x rule to get her FI number, and what financial habits helped her reach FI in 10 years, despite being in a difficult financial situation after her divorce. 
• How shifting your mindset from saving for retirement to investing for financial independence, can make it exciting to save and invest.
• Why she initially struggled with the emotional aspect of withdrawing money from her investment accounts in early retirement, and how her net worth increased to 2.8 million by 2024, even after making withdrawals 
• Example of retirement planning strategies for early retirees, including Social Security benefits and tax-free withdrawals 
• How Jackie’s daughter has been her biggest cheerleader and how her views on work and retirement differ from Jackie’s as she is part of a different generation, Gen Z. 

Watch the video to this episode on YouTube by going to https://youtu.be/JARjqHD1r0s 

Other Links Mentioned in episode:

• Jackie’s first episode All About The Health Savings Account (HSA) -The Ultimate Retirement And Investment Account W/ Jackie Koski
• Jackie’s previous episode: How To Thrive in the Current Financial Market Turmoil & Better Position Yourself Financially with Jackie Cummings Koski
• Get a copy of Jackie’s book: F.I.R.E for Dummies
• Get your copy of my book: Your Journey To Financial Freedom
• Leave Your Journey To Financial Freedom a review!
• Get The Budget Bootcamp for FREE
• Check out my personal website here.
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• YNAB –  Start managing your money and budgeting so that you can reach your financial dreams. Sign up for a free 34 days trial of YNAB, my go-to budgeting app by using my referral link.
• What stage of the financial journey are you on? Are you working on financial stability or work flexibility? Find out with this free assessment and get a curated list of the 10 next best episodes for you to listen to depending on your stage. Check it out here!

Connect with Jackie:

• Website: https://FinomenalWoman.com
• Instagram:@FInomenal_Woman
• Twitter: @FInomenal_Woman
• Catching Up to FI Podcast

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @Journeytolaunch
• Twitter: @JourneyToLaunch
• Facebook: @Journey To Launch
• Join the Private Facebook Group
• Join the Waitlist for My FI Course
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• Get The Budget Bootcamp for FREE