the tools you need to be set free
I used to have acne. Not just your typical teenage smattering of spots, but a full-blown pimple parade marching across my forehead, nose, and chin. When my birthdays ticked over from teens to twenties, the battle began in earnest. I tried everything—salicylic acid, oils and washes, and benzoyl peroxide that left my pillowcases and towels […]
There is power behind money that forces companies to consider their environmental, social, and political impact. As consumers, we influence which companies thrive; as investors we decide which companies survive.
People keep asking me how to stay motivated, and how to keep coming up with new ideas. I think the question really boils down to: how can I be more creative? Not just that, but how can I be preposterously creative? The type of creative that has people laughing, sobbing, thinking? It’s quite simple really, here it […]
I just got back from a conference for finance content creators (bloggers, podcasters, youtubers, etc). What a bunch of nerds! I was walking with my friends Zach (Four Pillar Freedom) and Becky (TwentyFree) when we jokingly threw out all the money advice we’ve heard lately. We may have repeated some of this advice ourselves. Then […]
I received an e-mail from a reader heading into the next chapter of his life: a soon-to-be empty-nester! He has a big question for us: should he take a mini-retirement while he’s still young, or stick it out until fully financially independent (FI)? He has a great salary and a high net worth, but doesn’t […]
My sister is extremely generous. As a kid, she delighted in pretending to take the family’s orders one-by-one, then carefully carrying out miscellaneous items from the kitchen meant to represent our hamburgers (me), filet mignon (dad), and lobster a la carte (mom). Every gift she gives is carefully considered and tailored to the recipient. Once, […]
I’m sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor in Spain, bent over a jar of spaghetti sauce. For the life of me, I can’t get it to open. I twist until my fingers hurt. I try to use a tool with a rubber grip. I run the lid under warm water. My roommates are […]
“You live life on hard mode,” my coworker teased. We were out on our morning walk before heading into the office and as usual, I had just regaled him with a tale of one of my misadventures. Over the next year, it became a running joke. I described the mess in the kitchen as I […]
I try to walk in my mom’s high heels, dressed for the day in pearls and a little blue dress. I want to be pretty. I’m three years old. The never-ending quest for beauty begins young. I’m twelve when a girl at school announces to the lunch table that I still don’t shave my legs, […]
You have looked forward to this rare slice of time away from work for weeks. You have spent hundreds of dollars to venture across state, national, or continental borders. You have planned each day meticulously to make every minute count. And now you are waiting in a line. “Surely it will be worth it,” you […]