Make Money From Youtube Without 1000 Subscribers or 4000 Watch Hours

I actually make money from my YouTube channel and no, I'm not monetized yet. As of today I only have 779 subscribers and well below the 4,000 watch hours you need to qualify for Youtube's Partner Program. It’s been 3.5 months since I started my Youtube channel and I’m already making money from it! If you’re a small YouTuber as well, I want to tell you exactly how you can as well!

Before I get started, no this clickbait title was not my intent. It is truly what I do and I don't see enough people talking about this process! I've watched a couple of other videos on “How I monetize my YouTube videos without being monetized.” They mostly suggest affiliate links, merch, things of that nature, which I'm totally not opposed to. In fact, I have a whole article on those types of "lazy” income streams. I'm talking about actually getting money from your already created Youtube content.

There are a couple things you need to think about to set up this process, which once you lock down this workflow, it will be a lot easier in the future!

1. Set up a blog

The first thing you're going to want to do in conjunction with starting your YouTube channel is start a blog. I personally use Squarespace because it is so easy to use and update on the back-end. That ease of use really makes it worth it for me. For more affordable alternatives you can create your own self-hosted Wordpress blog or Blogspot is a free alternative.

If you're not sure if you're going to be able to keep up with this content creation I would not advise you spend $200 on Squarespace quite yet. For me, I know I'm going to be consistent with these finance related Youtube videos. I've run my IG account, @millennialmoneyhoney, which I've maintained for 2+ years. Plus, the amount of money I can make through this blog will cover the expenses of my website.

If you're still interested in using Squarespace and you know you will stick, you can use my link to trial it and see if it's actually right for you. (You’ll need to do the business plan, but more on that ahead.)

2. Apply for and set up Google AdSense

Now that you've set up your blog, it’s time to apply for Google AdSense. Since you're already a YouTube content creator, it makes sense to apply for this anyway. You can apply for Google AdSense, which is how you would be paid on YouTube, prior to hitting your 1,000 subs and 4,000 watch hours. You'll have that set up and ready to go when you finally do get monetized! Through this, you’ll also be able to monetize your blog. 

This is why Squarespace costs $200+ per year for the business version. You’ll need to pay for that upgrade to be able to add Google Ads to it. Again, this is what works for me but if you're still playing with this idea,  be sure to check out some free options like Blogspot or cheaper options like Wordpress. 

Google search how to install AdSense onto your specific blog platform that you end up with. I turn on the auto-placement ads to just maximize the visibility and have Google do all the work for me. You could also put in ads only in places where you choose, but you may lose out on the opportunity to get paid more.

These two steps are one-time steps, so once you've set up your blog and applied for Google AdSense and installed AdSense on your blog, we're gonna take it back to YouTube. This is where we start makin’ that bread.

3. Make a Youtube video and upload it

First you're going to film your video and make the content. Duh. I personally prefer to film it unscripted or with very light scripting. I used to do a full script, but then I was reading it and it didn't come off as natural or as candid even though I said a lot less “um’s” and “you knows” and “likes.” Unscripted talking to the camera makes it a little more natural for me and I want to maintain that authenticity, so I do not script my videos. I go full send with a very light outline. 

Once I film the video, I edit it, and then I upload it to YouTube.

4. Use TubeBuddy to optimize SEO

I recently started using TubeBuddy to help me build my title, tags, as well as the video description. This helps me rank higher in search results and get a better grasp on what people are searching for. I’ll also be able to use the title and description across everything else.

You can see this title is getting between a good and very good score!

If you have under 1,000 subscribers, TubeBuddy is 50% off and only $40.32 for the year! So be sure to take advantage of that discount if you’re still a budding Youtuber like me. I’ve watched a lot of videos on this and although it is primarily for Youtube, I think it will be useful for general SEO performance. I’m testing out optimizing my SEO on this blog (starting with this article, in fact)!

5. Transcribe your video using the subtitles

YouTube basically scrapes all the audio that you have spoken and transcribes it for you. It takes a few hours after uploading to transcribe it so be patient. Once they’re ready, go to edit your video, then click on Subtitles to the left. Click the Duplicate and Edit button to pull up the subtitles and copy all of that. You can exit out and don’t need to save any changes. This is the content for a blog post.

Right now they are looking pretty incoherent. Paste those subtitles into a Google doc. Then start finding and replacing words like “i” → “I” and removing “ums” and “uhs.” By going through and editing it, this becomes the blog post, which you are reading RIGHT NOW! 

For those who write a fully fleshed out script, boom, you already have your blog article ready to go! There's no need to even transcribe your video.

6. Make a blog post from it

Take the copy transcription text and go over to your blog. I duplicate an older blog post to start off with. Then I go in, select all of the old text and replace it with my freshly transcribed audio.

Would ya look at that?! How meta. Then I update the video player at the top and replace it with the new Youtube video link. I put in the custom thumbnail for the video and insert it as an image to the very bottom of the blog post. I schedule the blog post to drop at the same exact time as my YouTube video so that the video will be playable.

In the SEO tab I copy and paste the short Youtube description that I created using all of the keywords from my title with the help of TubeBuddy.

7. Pin your blog post to drive traffic

Once the post goes live, I take the image of the thumbnail and pin it to Pinterest. This will help drive organic traffic to the blog as most people on Pinterest are expecting to be linked to blog articles to learn more.  It’s not the best practice to link your Youtube video directly there.

I used to create separate Pinterest images that were square or taller versions, which may perform a tiny bit better, but it was an added another step that I thought that was unnecessary. Using my YouTube thumbnail doubles up and works just fine. We are maximizing content here!

If people click on a link from Pinterest, it should take them directly to the blog article that corresponds to it, not just your site. 

Because your blog will have Google ads running on it, you’ll get paid any time you have traffic coming to your site. Be sure to promote this blog post on all social media platforms you have—Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn (if it makes sense).

6. Turn your video into a podcast

Finally the last thing I do is turn my Youtube video into a podcast through Anchor.  Anchor is a free podcast hosting site that allows you to take your Youtube video and turn it into a podcast. It also distributes it through platforms like Apple, Spotify, and more.  It's so great! You literally don't have to do anything.

I have a pre-recorded intro that I use over and over again saying, “Hey, this is the Millennial Money Honey Podcast and this is the audio from my YouTube video. If you want to go check out the live version of me speaking go check out my YouTube channel.” This way listeners will understand why I'm making some Youtube specific references, like “hit the notification bell” or “check out the description below.” This way they’re less confused because I’ve prefaced that it’s the audio from my YouTube channel. 

At first I was trying to edit the YouTube audio to cut out the parts that were YouTube specific, but that was too much work and I stopped. This new way I’m able to not do any additional work! I truly believe in the mantra of working smarter not harder.

Anchor also makes it easy for sponsors to approach you. Right now I don't have any actual sponsors, but you can always be sponsored by Anchor and they will pay you a small amount any time someone listens to you advertise their platform.

Again, I take my TubeBuddy SEO optimized description and title from my YouTube video loaded with keywords that will help me rank higher in searches. This also just makes it plain easy to fill out the podcast description!

My earnings

Before I show you my Google AdSense earnings I want to preface that I've had my blog set up since December 2019 and had made $24.75 before I started this Youtube to blog post process. 

You can see that I currently have $69.31 + $17.03 or $86.34! I only started pushing out weekly articles since I launched my YouTube in October 2020. As a result my Adsense earnings have increased significantly. This month alone (Feb 2021) alone I made $17.03—over half of my previous year’s total earnings. Google AdSense earnings don't get paid out until you hit $100. I think definitely in March 2021 I will receive my first Google Adsense paycheck!!! I'm very excited.

I basically promote it on all my social media accounts in addition to driving traffic from Pinterest. As a result, more people are viewing the site and generating more AdSense revenue. I’m sure YouTube ads pay better, but this will do for now!

I've made $4.05 n Anchor at the time of me writing this blog article! It pays out at $15. I literally have never promoted my podcast. Not even once! But the content is already made, so you may as well milk all the money out of it.

If you made it this far, congrats! Hopefully this is how you too can start earning money using Youtube content that you have already made! If you liked this article and are planning to monetize your YouTube videos this way be sure to subscribe to the Millennial Money Honey channel below. It’s free and helps me so much!

Let's get rich and retire early together! xo

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

FI/RE Diaries: An archeologist living in Stockholm and FIRE-ing in 10-15 years with $288k

Occupation: Archaeologist working on a PhD

Industry: Academia

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Salary: 276k SEK (~$33k USD)

FI/RE Number: $288k

Years Until FI/RE: 10-15 years

Current financial situation: SINK with a student loan

Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latinx

How did you first hear about FI/RE?

In 2017, I was working on as a banker and a client told me about FI/RE.

Why do you want to reach Financial Independence/Retire Early?

Freedom!!

What does FI/RE mean to you?

It means that I’ll be free to be picky about which projects I will take part in.

What types of big expenses does your FI number include?

A down payment for house hacking.

How much do you spend per month? Save per month?

Spend $800 and save about $1,000

What is your % savings rate?

Last year it was 28% after taxes

Are you doing anything to achieve FI/RE faster? If yes, what?

Learning GIS

Any advice you'd give to someone who has a similar FI/RE lifestyle as you, especially if it seemed hard or unattainable?

Take advantage of all student discounts, especially if subsidized housing is available.

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

How to Spend Mindfully and Discover Your Values

I used to spend thousands of dollars on my hair, now I get my hair cut for free. My hair, keeping it blonde and keeping up with appearances like that, do not align with my core values. I'm here today to talk to you all about how to figure out what your core values are and start spending your money in a way that aligns with your values.

If you don't already follow me on Instagram, go follow me on Instagram, but I went on a rant about people who judge people on FIRE others and think, wow they are cheap or frugal. In reality, people who find FIRE are just good at knowing what they find value in and what they are excited to spend money on. Instead of spending mindlessly, we're here today to not shame anybody on spending their hard earned money, as long as it aligns with their core values. 

This exercise will really help you figure out why you are trying to reach financial independence. It will align all of your values and everything really you do in life towards those things you want to achieve. Let’s talk money, honey!

FIRE gets a pretty bad rap for it’s followers being too frugal, being extreme, living like Scrooge McDuck and counting all their pennies. When you hear about people’s FIRE stories many hear how they live and think they are not really enjoying life. I am here to dispel that notion.

There is a modern day FIRE movement with normal human beings like you and me who are pursuing FIRE. We do not skimp out on eating omakase or grabbing brunch with their friends and still working on becoming financially independent, possibly retiring early.

Whether you are planning on retiring early or just starting your journey into personal finance, before you even begin any of that, you need to align on your values. What do I mean by that? I mean what are the things that drive you as a human?

For example, my five core values are: creativity, community, happiness, safety, and contentment. Those are my five core values. Everything I do and everything I spend on are all about those principles. I wanted to walk you through exactly how I go about determining what are the values behind my spending.

Since I was on this rant on my Instagram, I decided to go ahead and redo this exercise on my core values. They remain pretty much similar to what they were when I was first finding financial independence and the FIRE movement. Unfortunately, it was on a scrap of paper and it was cast aside. So yes, I decided to do it again and make it official.

1. Write down values that resonate with you

Google a list of values to jump start your brainstorm. Here’s one that I used, but any website is good. Any word that jumped out at me, I wrote down. Writing down words that resonate with you right away and speak to your soul is a good starting point. I initially tended to gravitate towards words that are more scholarly and dismiss cheesy things like “love.”

2. Think of memorable moments in your life

Write down all of the experiences that stood out in your mind over the course of your life—good and bad. I wrote down blurbs about moments that shaped me. Then, I would go in and underline all of the value-based words in that experience.

For example, I wrote: 

Being in love completely trusting my last partner

Love got underlined (even though I initially dismissed it). Trust got underlined. Another example:

Feeling safe being with Mom and Dad, comfort knowing all of my needs will be met

Safe was underlined. And then I thought of times where I was really, really mad: 

My friend was disloyal and betrayed my trust when she started dating a guy she knew I liked

I underlined disloyal and trust. (I added the word loyalty to my list.) Hopefully these examples give you an idea about experiences that can be formative to you and stand out in your life. What are your experiences?

3. Write down things that fuel you

Moving beyond experiences, what are the things that you find fulfillment in? For me, I wrote:

Being creative through self-expression, finding a sense of wonder in the beauty of the world and my surroundings, and inspiring and connecting with other people

Those are 3 things that fuel me on my daily basis that maybe didn't relate to any of my experiences or the words that I had highlighted in the initial word dump.

4. Group similar words into themes

Now that you've done all of that, you'll have a bunch of words and values. For me, it came out to ~25 words, some of them being very closely related, almost interchangeable with slightly nuanced differences. I organized my approximately 25 words into little bubbles. Here are two examples:

Community, family, friendship, intimacy, service, connection, love

Creativity, aesthetics, beauty, self-expression

Some of the words are very similar and grouping them together really helps you define which core values are speaking to you. 

5. Form value statements

From there you can write a value statement. For my community bubble I put: 

Community being of service and building intimate connections with friends, family, and those I love.

That encompasses all of the words that I had written down. It's more of a value statement. All of these values encompass what I'm doing with my life and the things that bring me joy and give me purpose. It is WHY I am building a FIRE community of like-minded young millennials working to become financially independent. 

Recognizing that this is a value, helps me understand it is a priority for me to spend money on building community. I'm willing to spend money for my website and things like that to grow and foster these relationships in my life. 

Once you organize your bubbles you will create value statements. Value statements give a bigger, more whole picture to your singular words. One word is a word and there's much more depth to them that can't be captured in a singular word. These statements help establish your intentions and align all of your values.

Focus on your Focus

This is a really valuable exercise before you even begin your financial independence journey. If you're in debt, if you have a problem with spending, aligning your values and understanding why you're spending on what you’re spending on helps you recognize when you are spending mindlessly. If your spending doesn't align with your values, then you can cut it out because it clearly is not a priority in your life. 

That is where many people have take issue with the FIRE movement. People look at another person's spending habits and are like they are way too stingy!  I think it’s important to focus on yourself. I don’t mean to say be selfish, but you can only focus on changing what you do and what you spend on.

It's unimportant to you how other people spend. If others want to keep up with the Joneses, buy nice cars, live above their means, that's their prerogative. At the end of the day you can't change them, nor should you. Focus on yourself and change what you do. You can only impact your life because you have control over that.

How my Spending Has CHanged

Let's take a look back at my mindless spending and how that's how that's changed now that I've aligned all of my values. One of my values is creativity. For me creativity is self-expression, finding beauty, and surrounding myself with beautiful things. That's not a bad thing at all, but another one of my values is contentment and being okay with enough. I try to seek out and know when I am satisfied. I'm definitely a satisfier, not a maximizer. That's my nature—being efficient and knowing when enough is enough. 

I was spending thousands of dollars on my appearances from my hair to my nails to the clothes that I was wearing. I would spend a ton of money. Looking at my values, I was able to see it wasn't an efficient use of my money and not making me feel exorbitantly more beautiful.

Now when I shop, I rarely pay full price for clothes. I try to look at things that are secondhand. They deliver on the most efficient value and leave me with a sense of satisfaction knowing that I look and feel fashionable. And yes, I also still wear makeup. It gives me confidence and makes me feel pretty. However, the $3 eyeshadow that I'm currently wearing looks great (at least I think so personally, whatever if you think differently). I used to spend like $80 on an eyeshadow palette easily. Did that make me insanely more beautiful or feel more confident? No. My values of being efficient and finding satisfaction in life and my creativity and self-expression are now in alignment. 

As another example, I'm a basic girl. I like drinking Alfred's Coffee and Cha Cha Matcha and spending money on bougie foods. Do I do it every day? No. If my friend wants to meet up, of course! I value community. I value friendship. I value sharing an experience with them. I don’t even blink when it comes to spending money on those experiences. Catching up with my friends over cocktails is really expensive but I love a yummy craft cocktail and I love my friends all of those align to bring me a sense of value and happiness. 

Find your core values!

That is how I think about spending money. If you are on your own journey to financial independence and want to retire early or at least bare minimum, be financially independent, I really encourage you to do this exercise. Think about value-based spending. What values align with your life and then spend as much as you want on things that align with those values. If it doesn't, really be mindful and think hard about why you are spending what you are spending. 

Being more intentional with spending will really truly set you up for success. At the end of the day, you will look at your FIRE journey and know that you are working on building a life that encompasses all of your values. This really allows me to live a very purpose-driven life. Be intentional and align your values with your spending.

If you like this video and found value out of value-spending, be sure to click the button below and subscribe to my Youtube channel. That way more people have the opportunity to watch the video and really think about what they're spending money on. This is truly the first step to getting better with money! 

Let's retire early together!

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

FI/RE Diaries: A 24 year old registered nurse living in Alberta, Canada and FIRE-ing in 11 years with $1.2M CAD

Occupation: Registered Nurse in acute care

Industry: Healthcare

Location: Alberta, Canada

Age: 24

Salary: $40/hr (~$83k/yr)

FI/RE Number: $1.2 M

Years Until FI/RE: 11 years

Current financial situation: SINK with $30k in low interest student loans

Ethnicity: Asian/Pacific Islander

How did you first hear about FI/RE?

Instagram

Why do you want to reach Financial Independence/Retire Early?

To ensure future opportunities and safety/security for myself, my family and friends is important

What does FI/RE mean to you?

Appreciating what you have for the hard work you’ve done while recognizing the lifestyle itself is a privilege. Sharing the wealth is a bonus!

What types of big expenses does your FI number include?

Future down payments for myself and hopefully parents/siblings

How much do you spend per month? Save per month?

Expenses < $2k

What is your % savings rate?

55-60% after taxes

Are you doing anything to achieve FI/RE faster? If yes, what?

Considering starting a small business (not sure what) or real estate, looking into additional certifications in nursing (can increase your pay depending on your union contract), clothing/furniture/tech resale.

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

Girl on FIRE Reacts: The Truth About The FIRE Movement | Mrs Dow Jones

Millennial Money Honey: The other day I saw that one of my favorite personal finance influencers, Mrs Dow Jones, dropped a YouTube video on FI/RE. I watched the teaser and as a girl on FIRE, I decided to do a reaction video.

I’ve been watching a lot of Graham Stephan lately and he does these Millionaire Reacts series. I've been wanting to do one too and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity—doing reactions to other people who talk about FIRE.

If you want to see more videos like this and react with me, be sure to like this video ~for the algorithm~ and subscribe to my channel. Let's talk more money, honey!

Okay let's watch The Truth About the FIRE movement: Is Early Retirement Worth it? You already know I think it's worth it.

Mrs Dow Jones: Alright, what's up rich people? It's me, Haley, and I'm a financial pop star. If you j’adore a good acronym like ROFL or YOLO or EBIDTA, have you ever heard of FIRE? (aka Financial Independence/Retire Early) It is a popular financial lifestyle movement that is actually super dangerous. Why? LME—Let Me Explain. Keep up people, they would have gotten that on TikTok.

MMH: FIRE is ‘super dangerous?’ I feel like this is a marketing scheme of hers. This is a hot, hot take and she knows it's going to cause some controversy. And what does controversy cause? Views. Not hating on that. But I don't think anybody actually working toward financial independence, probably you, if you’re reading this, feels like FIRE is ruining your life. Really extreme of her to say, but extremes cause views. Maybe I need to be more extreme? 

MDJ: Instead of their 60s, they have eschewed the traditional age of 65 as the end of their work lives and instead want to retire at Jojo Siwa's age and post up in Boca and turn retirement communities into content houses.

MMH: PAUSE. If you want to join me in early retirement and start our FIRE content house, let's talk.

MDJ: They have to save 50 to 70% of their incomes. No, I did not stutter 50 to 70%. 

MMH: But saving 50 to 70% of your income is literally not a bad thing. You can't hate on that! I don't get like why that’s such a bad thing?

MDJ: FIRE was first mentioned in the 1992 bestseller, Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin, which yes, I have read. Since then it has gained relevance thanks to all of the internet personalities who have really made the program their own—Mr. Money Mustache, I'm looking at you.

MMH: Okay drag! Oh my gosh. If I ever blow up on YouTube (side note: let's make this blow up), I feel like she would definitely come for me. 😧 YouTube drama. I mean, I'm here for the drama. I love a little bit of flair in my life, but yeah she's like dragging Mr. Money Mustache. Wow. He's like the OG.

MDJ: Those seeking to attain FIRE are sort of the Soho House members of the personal finance community. When your friend joins Soho House it becomes their whole personality and they want everyone to know that they're part of it. Well the same thing happens when your friend joins FIRE. And yes I have a Soho House membership, which yes, I am paying for despite the pandemic. *Brag*

MMH: Paying for Soho House in the middle of a pandemic just seems fiscally irresponsible. Basically throwing money down the drain! That's my hot take. But also what do we care?! What's really cool about FIRE people is that you realize you stop caring about what other people think and don't give up $%#!

MDJ: I’m not a pyro and I 100% do not condone the FIRE movement. Why sweetie? Well let me break it down. Okay in Your Money or Your Life, author Vicki Robin calls the ties that people wear to the office a ‘noose.’ like that is how intense she is about hating jobs. Basically if you buy into the movement, you're 100% going to end up hating your job.

MMH: FIRE does not make you hate your job, your job makes you hate your job. Nobody finds FIRE and is like I didn't hate my job before, but now I suddenly hate it. People working in the corporate field just don't like working. FIRE does not necessarily in and of itself make you hate your job. 

MDJ: The movement completely demonizes corporate jobs even though a lot of people seem to enjoy them. Even if I agree with Vic that money equals life energy, is it wrong that I want to spend my life energy doing a job? Like for me personally I find my career fulfilling, sorry and if you don't. Maybe try and pursue a career that you might like instead of committing impulsively to a life of extreme frugality just so you never have to work again, just a thought.

MMH: Okay, whoa. Let me just take that in. It's like super privileged that she can say, “I love my job you should too!” I don't think everybody has that same situation where they can find a corporate job that they love. That's what FIRE is all about, you are able to walk away from your job without the ramifications of struggling to pay the bills and that's really extremely I don't know privileged of her to say just go find a job you like...not everybody has that luxury. 

Everyone should be working to become financially independent. That's why I want to spread the FIRE. I want people to know they can become financially independent and have opportunities in which they don't have to rely on money. Also what is her job? According to her Linkedin all she does is Mrs Dow Jones. I'm not here to hate on Haley, love her, but that does not sound like corporate life to me...

MDJ: FIRE is basically financial anorexia, which yes I am allowed to say because I was anorexic in college. FIRE does to your budget what I did to my diet. It cuts everything fun out that you feel deprived and your quality of life will tank. Personally I would rather have to get a report to Susan by the end of the week and then have money to go to that cool Neapolitan pizza place with my friends and drink natural wine, than live in a pantry on wheels and eat gruel. I don't want to live in a van.

MMH: Okay point number 2, wow, I disagree with all of these points. There's a new younger generation of the FIRE movement. I go to Nobu. I eat omakase. I go to brunch and get cocktails and drink wine with my girlfriends. I don't deprive myself. 

I'm trying to reshape how this next generation thinks about the FIRE movement. Yes, the FIRE movement gets a really bad rap for being extreme—extremely frugal, extremely cheap. Obviously, I love a good deal, but I want to show people that there truly is balance in my life. I spend money on lavish trips, but also I cut back in places I don't care about. We are all about balance, it's just balance looks different to different people.

Don't let her budget-shame you or FIRE-shame you. Everybody needs to live and let live! Live your own life, on your own terms. Don't worry about what other people are doing or what they're eating, gruel or otherwise. 

MDJ: FIRE does not make you financially independent. It actually makes you financially obsessed. And a lot of the FIRE influencers that you look up to are lying to you. Yes, Mr. Money Mustache I'm looking at you, buddy. You are out there acting like you are just living on a dollar in a dream, but really you've got supplementary income coming in from your website and from your podcast and from the courses that you sell. 

In my book that does not mean that you are retired that just means that you switched careers to become an influencer, which is fine but isn't that what we talked about in step one? If you hate your life, you hate your job, maybe you should just switch careers. Then you don't have to live a life of extreme frugality. 

MMH: Okay to point number 3, retirement looks different to everybody. If you want to go live the van-life, by all means do it. Nobody is shaming you for defining yourself as an early retiree and then continuing to pursue hobbies. I am still going to retire early. Maybe you don't think I am retiring early because yeah, I might have this YouTube channel, I'm going to have a blog, and things that might still make me passive income, but do I feel like I'm working? No.

That's the key difference. When you become financially independent and pursue hobbies that you really love, especially if you self-designate as being retired, you often make money simply from the passion that you pour into it because you don't have a fear of failure.

I would never today quit my job in corporate life and say, “See ya gonna make YouTube videos and blog and be an Instagram influencer or TikTok influencer. Goodbye!” No. That's not realistic for most people. Those people that have found so much success in their post FI life it's, again, because they aren't afraid of it not making money. That's the key it's. They would do this even if they didn't make money.

She's using these people as examples because that's all she has to go off, but I’m sure a lot of people who retire early probably don't make money. They travel the world and take painting classes or go live off the grid and become van-life rock climbers. You just don't hear about the people who end up doing nothing. You only hear about these people who make money from their blogs because it's what they love doing. The sample she pulls from is a little skewed. 

MDJ: Even though I strongly disagree with the FIRE lifestyle, here are the elements of the philosophy that I actually thought were really cool. Okay, the traditional amount that we are told to save of our paychecks is like 10 to 15% and if you're like me you took that information and went on your merry way. But after reading this book and learning about the FIRE movement, it really opened my mind and made me think about my budget and like if I could save more to which the answer is yes. Like am I going to save 50 to 70% of my income absolutely not. But like could I definitely get it up to maybe 25%? For sure and I'm gonna. 

MMH: That's funny she trashes the FIRE movement for saving so much, but then she's like it's actually a good thing. It's like what? You can't have your cake and eat it too. Of course saving is better.

MDJ: You are who you surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with a group of people who are financially savvy and focused guess what honey you're gonna succeed. The FIRE community is strong like there's literally dating apps for people who do FIRE. And while the pickup line, come to my van and let's eat ramen, wouldn't necessarily work on me ,the whole culture around this cult (sorry, I mean program) is one that I admire. I'm actually trying to build one here. 

MMH: That's funny like she's trying to build her own cult...and it doesn't sound very nice to be honest. Here’s a link to my Facebook community—Millennial Money Honeys: Girls on FI/RE—because yeah, it's way more inclusive and we will not shame you. Not gonna lie, I don't know if I want to be a part of her cult. The FIRE community is strong and everybody is great. I have to agree with her on that and she knows it. FIRE community I see you, drop a comment below and we can be friends on FIRE together!

MDJ: Financial goals are quite frankly bae. Like they do not have to be that you want to reach FIRE but having them is helpful AF. When you know exactly what you're aiming towards, it makes it a lot easier to get a bullseye.

MMH: That is actually really true. Before finding FIRE I did not check my money at all. It wasn’t until I found Mr. Money Mustache's blog and I wanted to calculate my savings rate, which is your (income minus expenses) divided by income. That tells you when you can reach early retirement. I have been tracking my money ever since and it does really help you stay focused on your goal. Now I know I need $1.5 million to FIRE.

MDJ: I am a FIREfighter. I am not a pyro. I do not want you to get burned in order to reach FIRE. You have to live a life of extreme frugality and that is going to degrade your quality of life. Having a job, having cool work friends, having a career that you're passionate about is priceless and it's something that you should be proud of. But also saving diligently, spending mindfully, and working towards clear financial goals is bae.

MMH: Okay, I do appreciate Mrs Dow Jones for putting together her video. I love so much of her content and she's great about turning people on to the idea of financial literacy and personal finance basics. But to be honest, she definitely did not get what the FIRE movement is really all about. 

This video made waves in the FIRE community and got everybody talking. In fact I'm here reacting to the video. So she got me. She got you because you are now watching this video too. But don't let this deter you from finding FIRE. Stereotypes are there for a reason but I am actively trying to show you that you can live a healthy balanced life and reach financial independence. Finding what you love is critical but it is much easier when you don't have to worry about money and that's what's really important about the FIRE movement. 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below—agreed? Disagreed? Would love to hear your hot takes. If you like this video and want to see more react videos, also let me know in the comments. Be sure to hit the like button for the algorithm so we can spread the FIRE and get more people hip to what the real FIRE movement is all about! Subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell so you know when the next video drops. Let's retire early together!

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