Find Your Freedom Podcast

Jessica from The Fioneers and I discuss how important it is to be mindful during stressful situations in Episode 15 of Find Your Freedom Podcast (link in bio).

Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help you recognize feelings as they arise, and understand what is bothering you at the moment. It’s a skill that is often built through mediation.

Both Jessica and I use Headspace, a meditation app that provides guided meditations. Mindfulness helps you observe and accept the way things are, which can help in stressful situations where avoidance is a common defense strategy.

Additionally, mindfulness can help you identify physical sensations, such as tightness in your chest, or your shoulders tensing, and connect that to an emotion.

Once you are aware of the emotions that are causing physical and mental stress, you can work to accept them and move past them.

Listen to Episode 15 (link in bio 👉 ) for more actionable tips on how to manage stress during this crisis!

Have you tried mindfulness or meditation before? Comment below

The COVID-19 crisis has made it necessary for many businesses, investors and even employees to shift their business models quickly.

If you are an employee, get a side hustle or consult on the side.

If you are an investor, change your allocation or approach.

If you are a business owner, pivot your offerings or change your prices.

Listen to Episode 19 (link in bio 👉 ), where I chat with Sunitha Rao about pivoting her real estate business model to remain profitable during this crisis.

How have you pivoted? Comment below!

Jessica, a blogger at The Fioneers, and I talk about how to manage stress during a crisis in Episode 15 of (👈link in bio).

You’ve heard that the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that there is a problem. It follows that the first step to managing stress, uneasiness, and anxiety is learning to identify signs of stress.

Signs of stress can include having trouble sleeping or falling asleep, mind racing, or news addiction, as well as physical sensations such as tightness in your chest, body aches, headaches, or feeling sick.

Listen to Episode 15 (link in bio 👉 ) for more actionable tips on how to manage stress during this crisis!

How do you manage stress? Comment with your tips below.

In just 2 years, Shelby Osborne generated enough cash flow to cover her living expenses by age 28. She is now financially independent and owns 41 units after investing in real estate for just 2 years. The former army veteran built an award-winning real estate business, Five Pillars Realty, that now employs 12 people after just 1 year in business!

In this episode, we dive into the details of how Shelby built a thriving business so fast, and the mindset and habits that led to her success. We discuss failing forward, using leverage, delegating and outsourcing, creating systems, using the 80/20 principle, and the morning routine that is the secret to her success.

If you’re curious about real estate investing, or just want to learn powerful success habits, take a listen to this episode. If you enjoy it, please subscribe and share with a friend. Also, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, I’d really appreciate it.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode4/

Moving into a smaller living space will downsize your budget too! If you're spending less on your mortgage or rent, you can save more.

The ultimate goal of downsizing is to save money. By living in a smaller house, you can significantly reduce your monthly bills and living costs.

Smaller homes tend to have smaller properties thus less stress & better quality of life. The less property you have, the less maintenance you’ll have to worry about. The smaller your house is, the less items you can fit in it too, so you don’t have to spend so much time worrying about maintaining your stuff.

Moving can also shorten your commute, if you go somewhere closer to work, and therefore reduce your transportation costs.

Having a smaller living space also means lower utility bills, because you’re paying to heat and cool a smaller area.

Listen to Episode 18 (link in bio 👉 ) for more money saving advice from Stephanie and Gillian !

What are some creative things you’ve done to reduce expenses? Share them below!

Rose said:

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"Becky’s timely, weekly podcasts have also become a surrogate for an outdoor activity like a chat with friends over coffee in Starbucks. Or a sit on a park bench, eating a sandwich. Being in quarantine shouldn’t mean you can’t find your freedom"

This whole taboo around talking to our partners and spouses about money is really just hurting everyone. It’s time to start talking about the number one tool that you use to live your life together – money! Alicia Walter and I discuss being open with your partner about money in Episode 8 of the Find Your Freedom podcast (link in bio 👉 ).

How do you approach this subject?

How do you make sure you’re on the same page?

How do you make sure both partners know what’s going one even when one partner manages the money?

The easiest way is to just sit down together for a quick money meeting. Go over what you spent, what you saved, and discuss your goals. What do you want to save for? What do you want to spend less on? There are so many resources online that will walk you thorough having this conversation.

But there is one thing no blog post or book can do for you – and that’s taking action and making talking about money with your partner a habit. That’s on you.

Listen to Episode 8 of the Find Your Freedom podcast (link in bio 👉 ).

How do you get a job overseas? You don’t necessarily need an employer to relocate you. Instead, try what Stephanie and Gillian did.

They networked, made a lot of connections, did informational interviews over the phone, and then visited Singapore while they were traveling to see if they could imagine living there.
The total time for them between deciding to move to Singapore and actually getting on the plane was only 5 months!

Listen to Episode 18 (link in bio 👉 ) for more advice from Stephanie and Gillian, who lived as expats for 6 years in Singapore!

Where would you like to get a job overseas? Comment below!

You can retire at 27! Seriously, Emily shares exactly how she retired early in this episode. When she graduated college, her and her husband fell into lifestyle inflation, including a too-big condo, new clothes, and 5 cars (at the same time)! But at age 24, they discovered financial independence, and planned to reach it in 6 years. By investing in real estate, Emily and her husband created enough passive income to live location independent and job-free in just 3 years! Now, they’re traveling the world full time.

In this episode, we talk about:
- Lifestyle inflation and how to reverse it
- How to get your spouse on board with financial independence (FI)
- Using real estate to become FI quickly
- Taking a leave of absence to ease into early retirement
- What full-time travel in early retirement is really like

If you want to retire in just a few years, take a listen to this episode. If you enjoy it, please subscribe and share with a friend. Also, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, I’d really appreciate it.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode10/

FYF 46: Travel for Free: Beginner Travel Hacking Tips with Julia Menez from Geobreeze Want to travel to Hawaii for free? It’s possible with travel hacking (both Julia and I have done it)! Julia Menez is a travel hacking coach, speaker, and founder of Geobreeze. After traveling to more

Ok, so you’ve probably heard about an emergency fund, that stack of cash you keep for just in case something bad happens. But have you ever thought about keeping some money saved for when something good happens? That is what an opportunity fund is for. Alicia Walter and I discuss how her opportunity fund allowed her to quit her job in Episode 8 of the Find Your Freedom podcast (link in bio 👉 ).

Having some money set aside to be able to take advantage of positive opportunities in your life is an amazing feeling of freedom. Make sure you have saved your 3 to 6 month emergency fund FIRST. Then, start putting aside additional dollars for your opportunity fund.

How much should you save? That depends on the types of opportunities you are preparing for. Want to quit your job? You might need an opportunity fund that has 6 to 12 months of expenses. Want to be able to jet off on the next exotic vacation you are invited on? Maybe then you only need to save a few thousand dollars.

An opportunity fund could even be used for investing extra in a down market, like right now!

Set your goals, dream big, and start saving for those unexpected happy surprises and opportunities that present themselves.

Listen to Episode 8 of the Find Your Freedom podcast (👉 http://www.twentyfree.co/episode8

Get work from home tips from someone who’s had practice! In this super-actionable episode, Becky shares her best tips on how to stay productive while working from home. Becky’s been working from home once or twice a week for 2 years and made the switch to working from home full-time in January 2020. This advice covers the stuff you need and actions to take to have a productive work day at home, and will work for you even if you have multiple people working from home or don’t have a separate home office. No fancy treadmill desks here - just practical solutions to common work from home problems.

In this episode, I cover:

• How to create a workspace when you don’t have a home office
• Ways to manage your attention to be as productive as possible
• The exact routines I use before and after work
• Tips for “switching on” and “switching off” from work
• The #1 thing not to do if you want to stay productive at home

If you want to be more productive while working from home than you are in the office, take a listen to this episode. If you enjoy it, please subscribe and share with a friend. Also, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, I’d really appreciate it.

Show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode21/

Having a good personal finance habits keep your finances under control and ensures a future of financial security.

Here are some financial habits to practice:

• Pay yourself first. Paying yourself first has been called “the golden rule of personal finance.” Set aside a certain portion of your income the day you get paid before you spend any discretionary money

• Spend less than you earn. Strengthen your savings and reduce your expenses. Remember, just because you can have something doesn’t mean you need it.

• Avoid bad debt. The general rule to avoid bad debt is: If you can't afford it and you don't need it, don't buy it.

• Resist lifestyle inflation. Lifestyle inflation is a natural part of earning more and moving up the chain at work – but it’s only acceptable if you’re spending within your means. Make sure you only spend what you can afford, and maintain your valuable financial freedom.

Listen to Episode 18 (link in bio 👉 ) for more tips about good financial habits!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

What financial habits have you created to help you on your financial freedom journey? Share them in the comments below!

Why wait any longer to start living your dream?

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"This is a solid podcast with great insights and actionable information to help you start living more of your dream right now."

-cbowman247

👉(Leave your review at http://twentyfree.co/itunes , it only takes 2 minutes!)💙

FYF 45: How To Make a Vision Board That Actually Works Create a life you love. Having a vision board is a great way to make this happen! In this episode, we dive deep into how to set intentions that help your vision come to life.

Self sufficiency is part of emergency preparedness, and can really help during a crisis. Angela Rozmyn and I discuss how to be self-sufficient in Episode 14 (link in bio 👉 ).

Self sufficiency is a pretty large concept. It can relate to whether you can grow, cook, preserve and prepare your own food. It can relate to the skills you have, such as fixing things, baking bread, and technology troubleshooting.

It can mean whether you are able to survive in your home without needing to buy consumable items such as paper plates, toilet paper, paper towels, soaps, etc.

Angela and I both practice self-sufficiency through gardening to grow our own food, and owning high quality reusable items that replace consumables. Angela has not bought new clothing in over 3 years. I personally make my own personal care items instead of buying them.

During this crisis, I am also taking the time to learn more skills around cooking from scratch with simple ingredients. We are reducing our food waste, and trying even harder to fix things instead of replacing them. Think about the ways you can increase your self-sufficiency, and start small.

Listen to Episode 14 (link in bio 👉 ) for more advice on how to be prepared for the next crisis.

How are you working to increase your self-sufficiency? Comment below!

Show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode14

Coronavirus has been tough for everyone, especially those who have found themselves laid off or with a pay cut. Even if your income hasn’t been affected, you might want to start a side hustle to diversify your income just in case. Plus, if you like to travel, you could potentially take these remote jobs on the road once we are allowed to travel again.

Here are some ideas:

Start building a freelance portfolio or monetizing your website. Consider applying for remote jobs that you can take anywhere around the world.

If you prove that you can excel at your work while remote, you may be able to maintain your remote work arrangement after the lockdown is over.

Some other ideas for remote side income include teaching English online, virtual assistant work, freelance or contract work, and creating and selling online products such as ebooks or printables.

Do you know some other ways you can make money from home? Comment below!

Want to be a money coach? Learn how from a money coach who replaced her full-time income while coaching as a side-gig, and now earns six-figures after just 4 years in business. Whether you’re looking to become a money coach as a side gig to earn more money, or to be self-employed full time, this interview will tell you what you need to know. Whitney Hansen from The Money Nerds Podcast shares what money coaches really do, powerful tips for starting a coaching business, and how to focus on being profitable over being popular.

In this episode, we talk about:
• What being a money coach is really like
• The skill you need to build a profitable coaching business
• Which offerings you should start with as a new coach
• What NOT to do as a new money coach

If you want to become a six-figure money coach, take a listen to this episode. If you enjoy it, please subscribe and share with a friend. Also, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, I’d really appreciate it.

Show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode20/

This is a good time to test out your financial preparedness and make a plan to become more prepared in the future. Angela Rozmyn and I discuss financial/emergency preparedness and ways to help your community during a crisis in Episode 14 of (👈link in bio).

Questions to ask yourself:
Was your emergency fund the right size?
Did it account for the possibility of both you and your partner losing your jobs?
Or for having to pay employees while not making income in your business?
Or for having to pay mortgages on several rental properties with no rent money coming in?

We could all be served by evaluating if our financial preparedness could become more conservative.

That means thinking about whether your personal and business emergency funds should be bigger, or more accessible to you, in the case that it is in laddered CDs or something less accessible than plain cash.

Additionally, consider diversifying your income sources. Having one single income source can cause financial hardship if that stream of income is lost. Many people have experienced this recently with sweeping layoffs at corporations, and the diminished demand for certain gig-economy roles. Start building up side gigs now to prepare for the next financial crisis.

Finally, keep your expenses low. The less you have to pay monthly for fixed expenses means you have more flexibility in tight financial times. Fewer monthly payments to debt means that you won’t default if you lose your income source. If you keep fixed expenses low and makes sure that discretionary spending can be cut when needed, you will feel much more financially prepared for the next crisis.

Listen to Episode 14 (link in bio 👉 ) for more advice on how to be prepared for the next crisis.

Did you realize that you needed to become more financially prepared after happened? Comment below!

Show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode14

How do you reduce expenses quickly? First, see where your money is going.
If you don’t know what you are spending your money on, you won’t know where to cut expenses. Then, decide what can be canceled, suspended, or changed.

Review your credit card statements for subscriptions and monthly fees. Cancel or suspend subscriptions you aren’t using now, such as music, TV, audio books, and more.

If you only listen to Spotify or Audible on the way to work or while you travel, and you’re stuck at or working from home, you should cancel or change your subscriptions.

Audible has an option to downgrade your subscription to get credits every other month instead of every month.

You can also call your gym and see if you can suspend your gym membership payments while the gym is closed. My gym, Planet Fitness, is doing this automatically. The same goes if you have any other memberships to businesses that are currently closed, such as movie theaters and yoga studios.

You can also look into decreasing your payments on things like student loans. Federal student loan payments and interest have already been suspended by the United States federal government until September 30 of this year.

If you have privately held student loans, work with your servicer to see if you can decrease or defer your payments if necessary.

Finally, cancel or suspend insurances you are not currently using, like travel or profession-specific insurance.

Call your car insurance and ask them to adjust your rate if your mileage has significantly decreased due to working from home. Or, park your car in your driveway or garage and take it off insurance entirely. Only do this if you will not be using your car at all.

What creative ways have you cut your monthly expenses? Comment below!

This is a great time to evaluate the ways in which you were not sufficiently prepared for this crisis, and do research and make a plan to become more prepared in the future. Angela Rozmyn and I discuss emergency preparedness and ways to help your community during a crisis in Episode 14 of (👈link in bio).

Like Angela said, it is possible that following this crisis many more people will be prepared for emergencies than they were before. Being prepared for emergencies, whether that is natural disaster, weather related emergencies or a pandemic such as this one, brings a feeling of security and peace of mind that is priceless.

Gather your emergency supplies together, make a list of them, and then consult a list of generally recommended emergency supplies to see what you are missing. Also be sure to specifically prepare for the most common types of emergencies in your area, such as snow storms or tornados.

You can find a free downloadable emergency preparedness list in the show notes for Episode 14 (link in bio ).

Consider creating a spending category for emergency items, in order to save specifically for expenditures of this kind.

Emergency preparedness doesn’t just mean having the right tools and supplies, it also means having enough food and water to shelter in place for a period of time.

Do your research to determine how long you want to be prepared to shelter in place, and then calculate how much food, water, and paper and sanitary items you would need.

You don’t have to go out and buy all of these items at once. It is best to make a plan, and shop sales to bulk up your pantry.

Be sure you are storing food that you will really eat, and consider storing high-calorie, versatile foods with long shelf lives such as rice, beans, and pastas.

Listen to Episode 14 (link in bio 👉 ) for more advice on how to be prepared for the next crisis.

Did you realize that you needed to increase your emergency preparedness once happened? Comment below!

Show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode14

Travel credit cards are specially designed credit cards that bring in maximum benefit to the card user who travels a lot due to these cards’ partnership and co-branding arrangements.
While there are many benefits of using a travel credit card, take a look if it is still holding value for you. Especially now that we can’t travel as much as usual.

Examine if you’ve taken advantage of all of the benefits of each card. Do you know when your annual fees are due, and how much they are? Or if there have been any changes to the terms of your credit card since you got it?

Do you know you can have access airport lounges for cheap or free? You can by signing up for new benefits that you haven’t already, such as lounge access and free services!

If you’re not sure that the card is still holding value for you compared to the annual fee, first call and request that they waive your annual fee.

You can also downgrade a credit card to one without a fee instead of canceling it fully. Be sure to find out how to keep your points, and whether downgrading to a different card affects your future sign up bonus eligibility, before closing or downgrading any card.

Listen to Episode 17 (link in bio 👉 ) for more tips for travelers in quarantine on how to get ready to travel again in the future.

What’s your favorite travel credit card? Comment below.

Getting stuck in Italy during the coronavirus is not what this couple expected when they retired early in October 2019 and set off to slow travel Europe. Stephanie and Gillian from Our Freedom years moved from Canada to Singapore and lived as expats for 6 years. During this time, they created a budget, ran the numbers and realized they could retire early within 2 years! They retired early (in their 30s/40s), sold everything they owned, and traveled with their two suitcases, two backpacks, and two little dogs around Europe until the pandemic hit. They were in Italy at the time, and ended up not being able to leave due to closed borders and country-wide lockdown, so they hunkered down in Lake Como for a month before returning to Canada.

We talk about:
• How they retired early without having a budget for 99% of their lives
• The good money habits you need to have to retire early
• What traveling is like with two little dogs
• How to get a career abroad & become an expat
• What slow travel in early retirement looks like
• What it was like being stuck in Italy during the height of Coronavirus outbreak there

If you want to learn about how becoming an expat can accelerate your timeline to early retirement, take a listen to this episode. If you enjoy it, please subscribe and share with a friend. Also, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, I’d really appreciate it.

Show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode18/

Donna Sowa Allard shares what freedom means to her in Episode 13 of (👈link in bio).

I love her definition of freedom – being able to make your own choices. Ultimately, I think that’s what we’re all after when we pursue freedom: the ability to self-direct our lives. To make choices that aren’t dictated by a boss, by money, or by societal expectations.

Listen to Episode 13 (link in bio 👉 ) for more insights from Donna and advice on how to manage your money during a financial crisis.

What does freedom mean to you? Comment below!

Show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode13

FYF 42: How I Took 2 Mini-Retirements By Age 25 with Marjolein from Radical FIRE Do you want to take a few months off from work? You can do this with a mini-retirement. Marjolein from Radical FIRE has taken 2 mini-retirements so far, and she’s only 25 years old! She

Thinking about quitting your job to work for yourself, retire early, or just get out of a crappy job you hate? I took the leap in January of this year, and spill all the details in this episode about how I made the decision (and what alternatives I considered) to finally leave my job and work for myself.

In this episode, I share:
- Practical tips for helping you decide if you should quit your job
- My personal decision process for quitting my job
- The good, the bad, the breaking point, and what made up my mind
- Alternatives to quitting that could increase job satisfaction
- Ways to help your work fit better into your lifestyle design
- The worst case scenario if you do quit your job

If you’re trying to decide whether to quit your job, take a listen to this episode. If you enjoy it, please subscribe and share with a friend. Also, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, I’d really appreciate it.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.twentyfree.co/episode9/

While we’re stuck in one place, we can work on making future travel easier for ourselves by getting organized.

The best way to get organized is by having checklists.
A pre-travel checklist should include items from booking hotels, flights, and transportation to emptying your fridge, SD cards, and trash cans.

My pre-travel checklist has a “closing down the house” section on it where it lists things like checking for wet laundry in the washer, cleaning the kitchen, turning down the temperature and turning off the lights in order to save energy. Plus it’s always nice to come back to a clean house!

My post-travel checklist includes items like picking up mail, letting people know I’ve returned, unpacking, emptying my SD cards, and deleting offline maps and downloaded books and movies

Also make sure you keep a record of expiration dates on essential travel documents such as your passport, global entry or TSA pre-check, lounge memberships, and more. An excel spreadsheet is handy for this.

Listen to Episode 17 (link in bio 👉 ) for more tips for travelers in quarantine on how to get ready to travel again in the future.

What are your favorite tips for travel planning? Share them with us in the comments below!