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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.
I was recently asked by a listener who is in his 20s, what my life looked like back then, and what did I do in my career, and what I learned from it. Let me venture down my memory lane, tell you what I learned and you might get to know me a bit better by the end of this episode. Strange thing is that I think I know myself better from recording this now.
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.
It has taken me decades of mistakes to come to the realization of all the time wasting business endeavors that I’ve pursued and how stupid they were. Not because they didn’t make money, but because they became an albatross around my neck due to misunderstanding the entire point of Smart Income. In this episode I’m going to tell you the secrets, so you can avoid my mistakes and fast track yourself to financial freedom.
It wasn’t that long ago, in 2003, when the US invaded Iraq. Oil prices skyrocketed. I remember filling up at the pump in California on a road trip back then, where few gas stations were less than $5 a gallon for regular gas. Well it seems history may repeat. The US is at the precipice of war with Iran, and the threat of rising oil prices could be a huge win for those ready for this.
We’ve been programmed into thinking about saving for retirement like it is a ceremonial event throughout our working lives, and that if we don’t do this we are doomed to live on the street, in a cardboard box, or die early. I’m going to dispel some of these myths and explain some alternative thinking you might want to entertain in this episode.
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?
When I speak with people that are working a 9-5 job, investing in their 401K, etc. they ask me why they are not getting ahead. It is hard to tell them this, but I’ll tell you - it is because they are not taking any responsibility for their lives and deferred it to a third party. The unconstrained know the buck stops on their desks so let’s have a chat about responsibility.
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.
There is no progress without risk. Investment returns are tied to risk. You get up in the morning and live your life - that’s a risk. There are risks everywhere. The key is knowing your tolerance for risk, how to manage and live with them, and seek out enormous returns with proper risk management.
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.
The traditional thinking of Financial Independence is to amass a large amount of cash by savings, then invest it at interest rates that return more than a draw rate, and eventually you can retire. In this episode we are going to burst that bubble by focusing on the falacies of this approach and how Financial Sustainability offers a contrarian position that you might want to entertain.
I had the opportunity to watch a YouTube video put together by the billionaire investor, Ray Dalio, and I was disappointed by it. He correctly states the current economic thinking in regards to wealth, but neglects to consider anything to do with the unconstrained. My review is here in this article.
This episode shines a light on the choice of going to college. Parents and students are trying to make the right decisions for this important choice. I am going to give you some ideas you may not be yet considering... The Red Pill approach.
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 am 100% financially sustainable because of my rental real estate investments. But it didn’t start out that easily, so I’m going to share what worked and what didn’t work in my real estate portfolio and how, once you discover what works for you, you can scale it to the moon and live 100% financially independent and sustainable.
I don’t give personal financial advice. But what I will do is to open the kimono, so to speak, and tell you what I’m doing. Maybe history will prove me to be foolish or wrong, or some super genius or something, but I have no crystal ball. What I do have, however, is a sensitivity and observation of what is going on in the world and I use that directly to influence my own decision making process. I'll tell you what I'm doing here.
History teaches us that the path to immense wealth involves punting on the future. Today I’m going to focus on what I see as innevitable changes coming to the world in the next five or ten year horizon, how this impacts those pursing financial independence and early retirement and how that may underscore the importance of being unconstrained.
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.
After a discussion with someone on Twitter on how to live unconstrained, it seemed that every answer to how to live unconstrained was rebutted with a perception on why that person couldn’t do it. Let's talk about the mindset needed to become unconstrained, because it is impossible to learn this craft if your mind isn't open to it in the first place.
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.
I am returning from a 3 week trip to my home in Australia. I was born there, spent the first 25 years of my life there, then the next 30 years in USA. Each year I go back to South Australia to see family. As much as I love my home city of Adelaide, I’m saddened by what I see going on there and the liquidation of so much of the culture by selling it out to the highest bidder. This is the story of how a city can go from utopia to constrained in a relatively short time frame.
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.