The Voluntary Life

There are many aspects of life that you can work to improve, in order to create the life you want. In this episode, I make the case for prioritising your personal finances, before focussing on other personal development goals.

This episode is an interview with Jacki Rigoni, who blogs at Post-Consumer Life. Jacki and her husband realised that their million dollar house was really just a million dollars of mortgage debt which they would have to work like crazy to pay off until the age of 75. So they decided to sell the house, get rid of the debt, buy a plot of land, build their own tiny home, and live off-grid. Listen to the episode to hear Jacki describe her inspiring story.

This episode is an interview with Bobby Casey, founder of Global Wealth Protection and many other internationalization businesses. Bobby talks about his own background as an entrepreneur, how he became interested in the internationalisation field, and his life as a perpetual traveler. He explains some of the key ideas of asset protection, such as the role of offshore trusts and companies. He also discusses the opportunities for establishing residency in different countries for tax benefits, as a place to live and in some cases to gain a second citizenship.

An episode about two inter-related questions that are crucial to your happiness in life:

• How will you achieve financial security and/or independence?
• How will you find fulfilment?

It's your responsibility to find your own answers to these questions, repeatedly throughout your life. Nobody can answer them for you. This episode provides some suggestions about how to think about these questions, to help you develop a more conscious strategy to address them. Show Notes:

• Episode 124 Four Ways To Quit The Rat Race
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink

This episode is about the most powerful technique I know for overcoming deadlock in negotiations and resolving disputes, both in business and in personal relationships. The technique involves a very straightforward concept that everyone understands, but it is often ignored or usually only tried when it is already too late. Show Notes:

• Episode 144 Win-Win Negotiation Part 1: Communication
• Episode 145 Win-Win Negotiation Part 2: Strength and Value

Joshua Sheats invited me onto the Radical Personal Finance podcast to discuss the Permanent Portfolio investment strategy for individual private investors. In this episode we talk about many aspects of the PP strategy including:

• my own reasons for choosing this investment strategy
• the design of the portfolio
• the philosophy behind the approach
• strengths and weaknesses of the PP

Show Notes:

• Radical Personal Finance Episode 30
• Recordings of Harry Browne's investing radio shows
• Permanent Portfolio discussion forum
• "Wild About Harry" – article by William Bernstein about the Permanent Portfolio
• Fail Safe Investing by Harry Browne
• The Permanent Portfolio: Harry Browne's Long-Term Investment Strategy by Craig Rowland and JM Lawson

As always regarding investment, do your own research. I am not a financial advisor and this isn't advice, it's my own experience and opinions. My intention is to encourage you to think for yourself.

Justin retired at the age of 33. He writes about his journey to financial independence on his blog Root of Good. In this interview, he discusses his path to financial independence from intensive saving. Topics covered include:

• Saving all salary increases and avoiding lifestyle inflation
• Cost-effective housing, transport and food choices
• The importance of having agreement with your spouse towards your financial goals
• Children and financial independence

Show Notes

• Root of Good

Joshua from Radical Personal Finance Podcast invited me on his show to talk about entrepreneurship. We talked about learning entrepreneurial skills, voluntary versus compulsory education, the importance of selling in life, the ethical nature of business, and the positive power of entrepreneurship. Show Notes:

• Four Ways To Quit The Rat Race Presentation
• Radical Personal Finance Podcast
• Becoming an Entrepreneur

Mike and Lauren have average-income jobs, no big inheritance or bonuses, and they plan to retire at the age of 30. They share all the facts about their journey to financial independence on their youtube channel. In this interview, they talk about the practicalities of intensive saving, the challenges of making unconventional life choices, and their dream to sail around the world. Show Notes:

• Mike and Lauren's website
• Get Rich Slowly
• Early Retirement Extreme

Jeffrey Tucker interviews Jake Desyllas about his book Becoming an Entrepreneur. They discuss how to think like an entrepreneur and the amazing potential of entrepreneurship, both for personal growth and for a better world. Jeffrey is the founder and Chief Liberty Officer of Liberty.me, Distinguished Fellow of FEE, head of LFB.org, and founder of CryptoCurrencyCon.com.

Show Notes:

• Liberty.me
• Becoming an Entrepreneur on Amazon.com
• Becoming an Entrepreneur on Amazon.co.uk