Achieving FI Through The Trades | Captan DIY

On today's episode, Cody and Justin are joined by Captain DIY as he breaks down his journey to becoming a professional electrician and how that intersects with his journey to financial independence.

Cody and Justin have had a chance to hang out with the good Captain a couple of times including down at a Camp FI event.

Go give it a listen and let us know what you think!
Episode Summary

* Started money journey 8 years ago when his first child was born
* Their goal was to save $20k before their son was born
* He found himself spending a lot of his excess money on musical equipment
* His biggest change though was bringing his lunch to work and also his toughest
* He grew up learning how to build things with his dad but didn't see it as a passion and he went to school for graphic design
* He ended up spending 6 years taking community classes
* But his leap to being an electrician came from working at a sign shop and realized he might  be worth more to them if he was a licensed electrician to wire up the lighting
* He recommends starting with small projects to get into the DIY spirit such as changing out handles or painting
* He talks about the triple benefit of DIY which is saving money, getting a workout, and a lot of self-satisfaction
* Then he jumps into the potential of vocational high schools and apprenticeships vs traditional college and the debt that typically comes with it
* He also breaks downs the rates of pay for trades work that you do on your own vs working for another company which is about 4 times
* He recommends shopping around and talking with multiple tradesmen before hiring one to protect yourself from getting taking advantage of

Key Takeaways

* Understand Value: He saw an opportunity to bring more value to his employer at the sign shop by diversifying his skill. It's always important to know what your boss is looking for and how to make yourself more valuable.
* Benefits in bunches: It seems like most skills and routines that we do for some benefit also bring 2nd and 3rd order impacts. As he said, DIY skills help in much broader strokes than just finances.
* Pride in your product: It was clear that the reason he has no trouble finding work is that the product he delivers is top notch. Whatever work or service you do, be honest, upfront, and deliver what you promise. Just think of how much even one bad review poisons your outlook on a product or service you're considering. If you want to build your brand, it has to be a brand people trust.

Call to Action

Make or fix something with your hands. There's just something therapeutic and rewarding to creating something or returning value to something that was previously useless.

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Links from the Episode
Electroboom Exploding Guitar Video