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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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One major part of my Smart Income stream is rental real estate. Although it is not all of our income, it represents at least 50% of it, so when all of my tenants were forced to Shelter in Place and a large percentage lost their jobs, it brought back memories of 2008. Let me explain the strategies that we are doing so that it might help you determine yours.
While the news media only seems to want to cover COVID19, let’s have a nice distraction from the doom & gloom and talk about the 2020 Presidential Race to the White House. Yeh, I know - that’s boring too. But this time I’ll go out on a limb and tell you who is going to win it ahead of time.
Those with clarity of mind will see opportunities when all others see disaster. So how do you find mental peace and get that clarity? Simple. Get through the grief process faster than everyone else.
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?
As we navigate through these uncertain times, we take the opportunity to test the methods of Financial Sustainability against crisis and show it to be the best strategy to secure your future and your wealth going forward.
This is a impromptu show that i recorded to get timely information out as people are grappling with the effects of a pandemic and the facts that the mainstream media probably are not telling you.
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...
On today's show I am joined by the legendary economic analyst Lynette Zang on the big picture of why things are how they are, where they are going and what is likely to be the best investment and security option for the future.
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.
Decentralization is the key to survival both from a human population perspective, but also and probably more importantly from a financial perspective. In this episode we talk about why decentralization is critical, we celebrate crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin and how decentralization survives the greatest human challenges.
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.
On this week’s episode, I speak with Will - a journeyman on the mission to financial sustainability. Will is far further ahead on this journey than most, having already begun his acquisition of rental properties and already proven the power of smart income when faced with work interruptions. However like all journeys, he needs optimization and improvement so we deep dive with him on how he can meet his goals and objectives faster.
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.
When you artificially inflate a stock market to record highs for so long, a recession hurts. You can imagine how that will feel for those falling off that cliff. Best you be prepared for this, so we’ll go into details on what you can do now to avoid destruction now and find opportunities.
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?
Becoming unconstrained takes time. It is important that you have some way to measure how are you going along the journey. Here’s a few tips and tricks you can use and how to know when its right to quit your job and be free
I’m not a Republican or a Democrat, but I can smell a scam a mile away. I did, however, watch the entirety of the State of the Union speech by President Trump and here’s my reaction.
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.
Are you ready for the rise of China and the decline of the US empire? We are only a matter of a few years away from the US losing the #1 economic powerhouse position in the world, and that could signal either a long economic stagnation or a fast economic collapse. Are you prepared and do you have a bug out strategy ready to keep your treasure safe?
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.
We are ending another decade in human history. Normally there is a positive push into each new decade that comes with invention, creativity, etc. and yet for this new decade there are world meta issues at play that will change how the world will look over the next 10 years. I give you what I see as opportunities that I may be participating in for the next ten years in this article.
We just returned from a family weekend to Las Vegas and although the shows are incredible and we all enjoyed them, walking down the Strip and being shunted in and out of casinos forces you to see the dichotomy that is Las Vegas and the life of the constrained.
I’m not a fan of the Tim Ferris book, “The 4 Hour Work Week”. It is a flawed method for achieving what people aspire to - a life of abundance with little effort. It celebrates the concept of little work and big rewards, and is no magic formula for life. The fact is the more you give up and outsource the more constrained you are. Let’s discuss.
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.
When you travel and return home, there is a clarity that comes with that. If only for a short period of time, you see things for what they are. I'm going to share my clarity from about 5 months of travel, with periodic returns back to the USA, before those memories are obliterated by day to day events.
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.
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...