Lesson 1.3: Three Truths about Money, with Elle

2.1 Status Roles and Tiny Details Exaggeration Syndrome

This lesson is one of the most disagreed-with lessons in the course. The premise is, after a certain level of income, all spending goes to create a status identity. Another way to put it, after a certain level of income, all spending goes to getting approval from the people we want approval from and to feel a certain way about ourselves. SOFF grad Jessica talks about setting a goal to hit financial independent in six years, at age 40. Now, six years later, at age 40, she hit it! She talks about how aligning her spending with her values (along with disciplined investing) has allowed her to reach her goal, and to set new financial goals.

Lesson 3.6: Inner Locus of Control and Brain Food

Is your financial security in your control or is it dependent on the economy, the stock market, or who’s controlling Congress? Is your financial destiny something you direct or a product of your family history and circumstances? Can you make choices that build a future you want, or does circumstance matter more? We get to the critical question of Locus of Control. We talk to Dawn Robertson, a recent FF1 grad, long time Buddhist mediator, and communications expert, about the issue of attention. Are we focused on our external environment, or our power and agency. We'll talk about grief, rage, and the victim mentality. This is a juicy episode!

The Three Vows: Devotion with Sarah Selecky and Ryan Henderson

Earlier this year, I had an idea of a new podcast called the Three Vows. In it, I translate the traditional three monastic vows, poverty, obedience, and chastity into modern vows of voluntary simplicity, integrity, and devotion.  In this interview, I talk with my friends Sarah Selecky and Ryan Henderson, who run the Sarah Selecky Writing School. Sarah and Ryan use their wedding vows as an anchor for making decisions together and for how they will treat each other. They refer to their vows almost daily. They talk about how the WRITING of their wedding vows was a creative act that set the intention of the creativity of their lives together. Their marriage is a perfect example of how our commitments grow to define us. Let me know what you think! This podcast is an experiment so I'd love your feedback. Should I continue? douglastsoi2.0@gmail.com

Lesson 3.5: Your Money or Your Life, with Christen Kelly and Jorden Cummings

We get to one of the key concept in the financial independence movement: that we exchange hours of our life for money (i.e. jobs), so when we spend money, we're actually spending our life energy. So the idea is when we stop mindless consumerism, we can buy our future time. Christen Kelly and Jorden Cummings, recent FF1 grads and current FF2 students, come in and talk about their realizations after learning life-energy/money exchange, particularly doing their calculations of their Real Hourly Wage. When you figure out your RWH, you can calculate how much that pizza, or that article of clothing, or even the rent costs you in life energy, and how much longer it will take you to gaining your life back.

Lesson 1.3: Three Truths about Money, with Elle

What are the benefits of financial independence? Is it worth the effort involved? What's wrong with working until normal retirement age? We address these questions with FF1 alumni Elle, a young primary care doctor. We talk about the sacrifices we make with paid employment: our time, our sense of agency, our personal ethics. Elle would not doctor the way she doctors, but for the requirements of paid labor. She would spend more time cultivating other parts of her life: time with her family, practicing her art, spending extended time in nature. And that's the true cost of financial literacy, a loss of the fullness of us.