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We are a community of contrarians that embrace the art of "Financial Sustainability". FS is an alternative to Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) and focuses on a whole life approach to becoming and maintaining your financial and personal independence in a debt enslaved western world. If you are sick of always working, never getting ahead and knowing that there has to be a better way for you and your family, this is where you will get the answers and motiviation to change it all. Read our Philosophy and our Articles to get started.
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If you are one of the 78% of people living pay check to pay check, you’ve been lied to. By your parents, your government, your friends, your teachers and your banks. I’m going to give you some tough love and some hope if you want to change things, because it CAN be changed.
Author Travis Luther has just released a new book "The Fun side of the Wall" and it is all about those that wish to retire in Mexico. In this episode, I do a deep dive with Travis as we talk about the reasons that people do this, what they go in search for, what they find and whether they stay. Enjoy!
This is my first ''fireside chat'' with Mikkel Thorup on the subject of internationalization, expatriation, living a free life and escaping the clutches of western society. Mikkel is the best selling author of ''Expat Secrets'' available on Amazon and the host of the popular ''Expat Money Show'' podcast
I am introducing a series of five (5) interviews on how to prepare your life and your finances for internationalization. Being able to have a ''bug out'' strategy should the USA go through a possible financial collapse, social uprising, civil war or other potential catastrophic situation is critical in 2020.
Governments are, by their nature, dysfunctional. They suffer the same challenges any large organization has, except they don’t have any profit motivation to have workers go the extra mile to get things done. Case in point - the recent SBA EIDL Loans offered to US small businesses. Spoiler Alert - It’s a trap.
The one rule that I think everyone agrees to - whether you are Suzie Orman or a FIRE advocate, is that you CANNOT retire with any debt. When we use the term “debt” we are referring to personal debt - I’m not talking about holding debt for income producing assets like real estate. But with this generally accepted rule, why is it that everyone is being hypnotized to think of debt as a currency?
The guy trying to swindle you on the side of the road in Las Vegas with his ball & cup trick is your government. While they are trying to tell you that up is down, right is left, etc. you should realize that the statistics that we have been hypnotized to focus on - particularly employment numbers, are relevant only to a bygone age and do nothing to help you live a rich & meaningful life today. This is the time you should break free of employment and become unconstrained.
I've questioned this for all of my working life. What drives us to work? What is the real reason why we do what we do? And in this episode not only do I explore why, but I also explain the dangers of not working, how retirees run the risk of psychological issues, depression regardless of when they retire and what must be understood in order to successfully transition from wage slave to financially independent and survive mentally.
I’m not above admitting I was wrong. If I had put money in the stock market when it was at 18,000 on the DJIA, I would be a richer man as I watch it go to 27,000 now. And that was within about 3 months. Not a bad ROI there at all. Kudos to anyone that did that. But it just feels wrong. To quote the wisdom of one Johnny Rotten of the band The Sex Pistols, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?"
This is an out of cycle podcast recorded June 1st 2020. In this episode I cover the recent riots, martial law, lock downs and all things that threaten your freedom and being unconstrained.
Last year, I had a total shoulder replacement surgery done in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was a major success. I was quoted $125,000 for the surgery in the USA, and got it done for a total cost of $9,000 in Mexico. On this episode, I am interviewed on the Evan Brand podcast on the whole experience. Evan is a medical practitioner and wanted to know about the whole experience. Enjoy.
I was watching TV this morning and on Bloomberg they were showing the price of a barrel of Brent Oil at $32. About 3 months prior I had a chat with a friend of mine when oil was basically $10 a barrel, saying that this can’t last and the world has to keep the lights on, so oil will go back up. We tripled our money on the bleeding obvious. But why is it that others didn’t see this, yet lost their jobs, lost money in the stock market, etc?
Since many companies have decided to either close entirely or cut back as a result of the pandemic, those that have been on the path to FIRE are looking at whether they should exit work now, often earlier than planned, since the economic outlook is bleak. I'm going to give you my take on this and my suggestions. We'll do a deep dive on the economy and what the real decisions have to be in this episode.
This is the final episode in the mini-series "The Frugal Millionaire". In this episode we dive into the costs of healthcare, and how you can reduce them and get the best outcomes. I mean who wouldn't want to live longer with higher quality for less cost, right?
I just received the $1,200 stimulus check from the US government. This is the most stupid pandering effort I’ve ever seen. But guess what... That check paid for exactly what my monthly health insurance premium was, so basically... poof! It’s gone. Meanwhile most of the western world offer health care for free, so how is this actually helping?
In this video interview, Myles Wakeham sits down with the legendary Andreas M. Antonopoulos, the guy who literally wrote the book on Bitcoin, to talk about how the banksters have taken our freedom from us an what we can all do about it.
I get a lot of flack for not showing undying love for the US stock market. The truth is that I see it more of a casino than a true market. In this article I’m going break down my reasons for my disdain at equities and why they don’t represent at all the health of the economy.
All this shall pass. Eventually this virus will become either part of our subconcious lives or a cure or vaccine will be unleashed onto the world. The 12 months or so of time will pass quickly before we are out of the woods, but what will day to day life really look like in Q3,Q4 of 2020 and beyond?
Myles is a guest on today's Q&A show of "Rethinking the Dollar" and covers how to survive and thrive in the current and coming depression by using financial sustainability & SMART Income.
The economic and COVID19 pandemic that has hit the USA has affected small businesses greater than most, as they have fewer means to combat shutdowns. Layoffs and furloughs have turned over 16 million to unemployment. Meanwhile the SMB owners thought they were going to get some govt assistance. Think again.
Business as we know it is disrupted, but not in a good way. The human natural need for socialization is being threatened as we are told to shelter in place, and the biggest immediate impact is our ability to transact. Electronic forms of transactions are strong and remain, but human to human interaction is minimized. Who is most at risk here, and how do you reduce the risk factor?
When things look pretty bad, everything is burning up around you and you are looking at the smoldering ashes of something that once was valued and pristine, chin up. It isn’t that bad. And maybe it is needed - in a good way...
The last few weeks have been living hell if you are vested in the DJIA. For those of us who chose to distance ourselves from stocks & counter party risk, we’re doing fine. But those that didn’t, came face to face with the fact that on a planet with finite resources, betting on infinite growth doesn’t end well.
No one likes bad news. No one likes negative stories, particularly when they don’t serve their own personal story or narrative. This is the case in politics, in social communication and in the financial independence blogging space. But sometimes you gotta put on your big boy pants and face up that all things that go up, must also come down at some point. And if you really have a strategy that works, it has to work in BOTH the bull & bear markets.
There are times to worry about money. There are times to worry about survival. This time the focus needs to be on the latter. Let's talk realistically about COVID-19 and how you should address this challenge.
If you are awake for 16 hours a day, and at least 8 of those hours, 5 days a week, are devoted to serving your boss, then you have given up a minimum of 35% of your life to your employer. More than likely it is closer to 50%. How can you look yourself in the mirror with pride doing that? Or be present for your kids or your spouse? Who's really more important here?
It is all in the news - The Coronavirus. But I’ve seen this all before. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be concerned, but I think the impact of it on economics could be far more of an emergency and it shines a light on just how badly prepared we are in terms of dealing with any adverse event economically.
I’m looking for a few good people/families out there that would be interested in a FREE consulting session on their finances to be broadcast on the Unconstrained Podcast. We'll keep your privacy guarded but if you have been following our teachings and want some one on one advice on implementing them, this is your opportunity.
According to a 2016 study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College on the Mortality Effects of Retirement, it is clear that “There may be an increase in mortality risks when people stop work.” This mirrors my own experience with Retirement and underscores the importance of removing the word Retirement from our vocabulary.
When I was 32, I retired. It didn’t end well. This is my retirement story. Take from it what you can. Life isn't experienced in some cubicle somewhere, but the majority of people I talk to who are embracing FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) don't really understand what life looks like on the other side of the retirement line and why they might want to rethink their goals.
I have had my surgery in Mexico. For anyone that wants an honest accounting of the process and costs, I have laid it all out in detail here. I cover the emotional doubts, fear of surgery in a foreign land, financial truth and the outcome. You be the judge of whether this is right for you. For me, it was. Spoiler Alert: It cost me less than 1/10th of the US Price.
It can be a frightening thing - choosing to go to a foreign country to get major surgery. The vast majority of us find that a bridge too far to cross. I took the leap of faith, and I have begun the journey. This article (and hopefully the one that will follow it after my surgery is completed) will give a totally fact based account of the experience so you can see if something like this makes sense for you.
We should all take the best care of our teeth. But in the USA, costs are outrageous. Insurance doesn't cover most dental procedures and patients are often presented with $10K+ bills for basic dental work. If they realized there was a better option right on their doorstep, this could all be avoided. Welcome to medical tourism, and the border town of Los Algodones, Mexico.
In previous articles, I have stated that the concept of FI (Financial Independence) is flawed. Although the pursuit of it is admirable, the fact is that few FI followers have been able to do this through bear markets. Consequently putting yourself on that path has some dangers. I prefer to concept of "financial sustainability" and this article gives you tangible steps to take to achieve that.
There is a lot of interest in the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement, but I am skeptical of whether those that achieve FI during a bull market have what it takes to make it through a bear market...