The Voluntary Life

Is owning a car really worth it? This episode is about the financial and lifestyle benefits of deliberately choosing not to own a car (I'm in my early 40s and I've never owned one). Topics covered include: Why owning a car is often a waste of money The health and lifestyle benefits of living car free, especially walking and cycling Alternatives to car ownership including car clubs, peer-to-peer tr...

We are all subject to a psychological process called decision fatigue: every choice you make depletes your willpower and lowers your ability to self-regulate. This is true for trivial decisions as well as life changing ones. By designing trivial decisions out of your life, you can retain decision making capability for the things that really matter to you. In this episode I share some of my own exp...

Brett Veinotte is an educator and host of School Sucks Podcast . This episode is an interesting discussion with Brett about the power of conformity and how to resist it. Topics covered include: How conformity to "normal" spending habits prevents people achieving financial independence  Solomon Asch's conformity experiments and what we can learn from them  How conformity can alter your perception ...

In this episode, I interview life coach and author Hannah Braime (my lovely wife) about the relationship between self knowledge and entrepreneurship. Hannah is the host of the personal development website Becoming Who You Are . As a coach she helps people to develop their self knowledge and live a more authentic, fulfilling life. She is the organiser of an upcoming online symposium,  The Entrepren...

Cherie and Chris live on a converted vintage bus that they have packed with technology. They call themselves technomads (technology-enabled nomads). The bus has a solar electric system, lithium ion batteries, a mobile internet setup, and lots of other fun gadgets. Cherie & Chris work online whilst travelling and visiting new places. In this interview they share their inspiring story, including bot...

This episode is a review of the classic personal finance book Your Money or Your Life .  Topics covered include: The inspiring story of the author Joe Dominguez—an early retiree who devoted his life to promoting financial independence for everyone An overview of the 9 steps to financial independence suggested in the book Strengths of the book, especially its focus on actionable steps that you can...

This episode is a review of the book Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35   by Paul Terhorst. Paul and his wife Vicky have been living the early retirement lifestyle successfully for the last 30 years, as perpetual travellers. This book was written back in the 1980s and was one of the first books to suggest a strategy for financial independence. The book is aimed towards employees...

I got rid of my TV about 15 years ago and I have never regretted it. In this episode, I provide suggestions for how to upgrade your media diet using far better sources than broadcast media. Here's a summary of the system that I adopted for my media diet: I got rid of my TV (and radio and newspapers too). I did this because vegging out in from of the TV was an addictive path of least resistance for...

Whatever you want to get done in life, a task management app is the most valuable productivity tool that I can recommend to help you. In this episode, I explain what a task management app is and outline why it is so useful. I provide examples of how I use a task management app to help reach my goals, as well as some tips for power users. Topics covered include: Origins of task management apps and...

Comedian Rosie Tran interviews entrepreneur, financial freedom advocate, and author of Becoming an Entrepreneur , Jake Desyllas . They discuss the psychology behind financial freedom and the baggage that many people have associated with money, the importance of being on the same page as your significant other, and why less is always more! Great tips on breaking out of the employee mindset and beco...

Why are "haters gonna hate"? This episode is a review of a fascinating book called Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour by Helmut Schoek. Here are some of ideas that are discussed in the review: What envy is and how it differs from jealousy or a desire to emulate The key feature of envy being strongest where status differences are small  Why envy exists in every society and why it could never be com...

This episode is about how personal relationships can either be the most important source of support in achieving financial independence, or the biggest hinderance. Topics covered include: Romantic relationships Friends and neighbours Family Show Notes: E166 Retired at 33: Interview with Justin from Root of Good E164 We Plan To Retire At 30: Interview with Mike and Lauren The Millionaire Next Door...

This week's show is a discussion with my lovely wife Hannah Braime about how to read more than 50 books per year (Hannah reads over 100 per year!). Hannah is a life coach and the host of the website Becoming Who You Are . In the episode we talk about why reading matters and share all the hacks we know for getting more reading done. Show Notes: Becoming Who You Are How many books can you read in a...

As an entrepreneur, I wanted to learn more about the project planning because I needed to delegate and collaborate with others. I now see project planning as integral to getting things done in all areas of life. This episode is my own take on an approach called the natural planning model. These are the three minimal steps I use in planning every project: Naming the outcome Identifying the next act...

For many years I wanted to set meaningful goals for the year ahead, but struggled with the process. I never knew quite where to start and I often felt like I was just making goals up, without any real emotional connection to them. Consequently, I wasn't really committed to my goals and I found the whole process of making annual goals frustrating. I often gave up and didn't bother with the whole th...

This week's episode is an excerpt from the audiobook edition of my book,  Becoming an Entrepreneur.  If you prefer reading, you can get the ebook and paperback editions on Amazon. The paperback edition is the perfect christmas gift to encourage your friends to become entrepreneurs! Show Notes: Audiobook on Audible.com Audiobook on Audible.co.uk E-book, paperback, or audiobook on Amazon.com E-book,...

This episode is about the main barrier to financial independence: consuming for status instead of investing for wealth. You have a choice: you can either buy status symbols or your can buy financial freedom, but not both. Topics covered in the episode include: Why everything you think about "the rich" is probably wrong How most high income people blow their chance at financial independence How you...

There are many different routes to financial independence. In past episodes I've interviewed people who have achieved financial independence through extreme saving as a salaried employee. My own route was through entrepreneurship—growing and selling a business. Whichever route you take, you need a strategy to address common challenges. There are three core questions that your plan needs to address...

Understanding your personal finances is crucial if you want to achieve financial independence and gain more freedom in your life. Most people don't learn anything useful about personal finances growing up and are not taught about it in school (I certainly wasn't). It took me a long time to work out what I really need to know about my personal finances. I hope that by sharing what I've learned, I c...

We're selling our apartment, selling all our stuff, and leaving England behind to travel the world indefinitely. This means taking minimalism to the next level, since we'll only take with us those few possessions that will fit into two bags that we can fly with. To help with the task of getting rid of so much, I've created an inventory of everything that I own. This is a useful tool that I first h...

Everyone knows that to succeed as an entrepreneur (and just to be productive) you have to learn to delegate. However, in this episode I make the case for why it's preferable to automate a task rather than delegate it, when possible. I provide some examples of how I use automation to help my own productivity, such as: Text expansion (automated reuse of blocks of standard text) using TextExpander Fi...

This episode covers everything I've learned about upgrading my habits to improve my life. Here's a brief summary of the points covered: Habits are the most important demonstration of your character: you are what you do repetitively. By consciously upgrading your habits, you have an opportunity to implement your vision of who you want to be, in your day-to-day life. Habits are powerful because stea...

Why is there a lot of resentment towards entrepreneurs among intellectuals, white collar workers, extended members of successful business families, and artists? This episode is Part 2 of a discussion of "The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality" by Ludwig Von Mises.  In this episode, I explain Mises' own theories about resentment towards entrepreneurs from specific groups. Show Notes The Anti-Capitalistic...

Why do some people hate entrepreneurs? This episode explores some answers to this question put forward by Ludwig Von Mises in "The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality". Show Notes: The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality by Ludwig Von Mises (free ebook) Becoming An Entrepreneur by Jake Desyllas

In this podcast episode, I outline the mindset that is most conducive to becoming a successful entrepreneur.  This mindset is the culture of entrepreneurship. I provide a contrast with the culture of politics, to show what's special about the culture of entrepreneurship.   Show Notes: Becoming an Entrepreneur: How to Find Freedom and Fulfillment as a Business Owner