Journey to Freedom

Today's episode is a conversation with Steve Cummings of The Frugal Expat blog. Steve is an American and an adventurer who has traveled most of the U.S. and 19 other countries, and his wife Sarah is an Australian who has logged adventures in about 56 different countries. The couple have a travel blog called “Cummings and Goings” and another site, called "The Frugal Expat."

I discovered Steve via his brand The Frugal Expat and saw that he was currently living in Taipai, Taiwan, and was intrigued to hear about his journey to financial freedom and how he jumped into the the expat life--something I’m very much looking forward to doing myself.

Steve, The Frugal Expat has not always been frugal and he’s obviously not always been an expat. So we’ll hop into this conversation to find out about how his life of travel and wealth building began.

Show Notes can be found at www.megnordmann.com

In today's episode, "Journey to Freedom" host Meg Nordmann reads an article of hers that was published for Simple Money Magazine in August 2020 titled "Stoic Minimalism Steered Us Toward Financial Independence." The article begins by describing her family's Big Dream that is driving their aggressive saving and investing and then breaks down two philosophies--minimalism and Stoicism--which have been a crucial part of their mindset and habit changes on their 'journey to freedom.' Keep in mind, the article was published in August 2020. Today, in May of 2021, they are officially financially independent. They estimate they have one to two years before embarking on the next chapter: geoarbitrage in Costa Rica. 

Read the full article here.

@MegNordmann on Instagram and Twitter

www.megnordmann.com

Today I’m chatting with A Purple Life-- an anonymous blogger that has caught the attention of a lot of folks as she is radically transparent about her finances at APurpleLife.com. She started her blog in 2015 and publicly hatched a plan to retire in 10 years at age 35. In the meantime, she decreased her spending, increased her wages, and took advantage of domestic "geoarbitrage" (meaning, she moved to a less expensive city) and instead reached her goal in HALF the time and retired in 2020 at the age of 30. Her blog catalogs her journey to and through early retirement. 

If you’re wondering about the “purple” part, she does have purple hair and the only photo of her on her blog is one taken from behind--with the wind blowing her beautiful purple hair, so you can’t even see her face. 

She has been featured in Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Insider, ChooseFI podcast, Bigger Pockets podcast and so much more. Her blog, A Purple Life, even won the 2020 Plutus Award for best FIRE content & Blog of the Year. She posts a new blog every Tuesday and is very active on Twitter (@APurpleLifeBlog) and Instagram (@APurpleLife), while still protecting her identity.

We discuss how she is AirBnB-hopping with just a backpack and enjoying her stress-free nomadic lifestyle as an early retiree. We also discuss how she achieved this big milestone and how her investments are only continuing to compound and grow. 

Show Notes: www.megnordmann.com

Twitter, Instagram: @megnordmann

Today we are chatting with Jess of “The Fioneers” (who blogs alongside her husband Corey) --the couple have become one of the more popular and carefully watched Financial Independence bloggers as they document their journey to FI or FIRE--the acronym for “Financial Independence, Retire Early.”  

The couple has a little bit different approach to this goal which is more focused on designing their Dream Life throughout the process, rather than having their Dream Life be the End Goal. They’ve also created an intentional life of giving back. After getting married, they moved to a third-world country to teach English, and over the past decade, they’ve held various jobs of giving back to the community, often working for nonprofits. They may be out of the corporate rat-race in one sense, but working for nonprofits have come with their own set of challenges, including financially. But despite this, they still continue to maintain a high savings rate. Jess has recently stepped away from her nonprofit job and begun an entrepreneurial journey which includes coaching & writing for The Fioneers brand. 

The name “Fioneers” is derived from “FI” (the acronym for Financial Independence) and “Pioneers” because they are driven by a love for travel and adventure. They’ve now travelled to 8 countries and have a goal to travel to 100 countries together before they get too old to travel.  Because of this ambitious goal, they are working to not only be financially independent, but more importantly, location independent.

If there’s anything mentioned in our chat today, such as books, links, podcasts and other resources, I’ve included those with links and some quick notes in the Show Notes, which you can grab from my website, megnordmann.com.

You can find The Fioneers at www.thefioneers.com or @TheFioneers on Instagram or Twitter.

Welcome to the "Journey to Freedom" Podcast! 

The goal is not simply to have lots of stuff or lots of money--the goal is living life on your own terms. Whether it’s decluttering our homes, getting out of debt or striving to build financial independence, what we are all seeking is actually TIME. And time is ultimately our freedom. Owning your own time is true wealth. On this podcast, we’ll explore ways we can reclaim our life. Please join me, your host Meg Nordmann, on this journey to freedom.

In this introductory episode, you'll meet the host and understand the topics covered in this podcast, which aims to explore freedom of all types. Time freedom, financial freedom and freedom from material consumption are just a few of the topics that will be covered in upcoming episodes. Expect conversations on minimalism, the Financial Independence/Retire Early (FIRE) Movement, Stoicism, investment strategies, geo-arbitrage, expat life, alternative lifestyles, time hacking and so much more. Break away from the cultural norms that keep you stuck, trapped or chained in some way. It's time to get inspired and take action on your own journey to freedom. 

Please subscribe and you'll be notified of new episodes which will release each Wednesday. 

Visit www.megnordmann.com or @MegNordmann on Instagram or Twitter to connect!

Welcome to episode 2 of the Household Hemp Podcast! Today’s guest is Kayla Fiorvanti-- one of the co-founders of Ology Essentials, a research-driven brand of luxury skin care products made with high-quality hemp-derived CBD. Kayla has launched a natural personal care business once before and grew it from a $50 investment in her home kitchen into a large company that sold for millions. Ology is her newest endeavor. As she points out in our interview, the word “ology” means “a subject of study” or  “a branch of knowledge”--and Kayla certainly proves to be knowledgeable about the ingredients and formulas she’s created for her skincare products. She has over 20 years of experience in the essential oil and aromatherapy fields and has researched hemp extensively. She’s the author of several books, including “The Art, Science and Business of Aromatherapy” and is currently writing books about hemp as well. 

In this episode, we discuss:

- The synergy between hemp and aromatherapy

-The difference between Ology’s Blot Line and its Mature Line

-What goes into formulating a skincare product that makes your skin healthy on its own, as opposed to the norm where products actually make your skin dependent on their products

-The emulsifying process, and the process behind the checks-and-balances such as making a product organic, getting third-party tested, and the value Kayla places on third-party associations for certifications, and the hemp industry’s surprising lack of this at the moment. 

-How mothers, as consumers, are the driving force behind reshaping the market’s view of hemp, and separating it from its sister plant’s stigma. 

I really think you are going to love this interview. I know I left this phone call just absolutely buzzing from the information!

You can find more about them at ologyessentials.com or follow along on Instagram at @ology_essentials

Please be sure to subscribe to Household Hemp's podcast and leave a review! Please give us a follow on Instagram at @householdhemp or join our CBD Lifestyle group on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/householdhemp 

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