Financial Freedom 1
Taking Control of Your Finances to Live the Life You Want
Do you feel in control of your financial life? Without financial literacy, it’s hard to live the life you want. Learn the basic math, mindsets, and behaviors to build towards financial freedom. We’ll explore the influence of your family background on how you’ve lived your financial life and discuss the hidden assumptions of consumption and debt in our capitalist system. The goal is owning all of your time, attention, and energy without worrying about money for the rest of your life.
NEXT COHORT: OCTOBER 1, 2022- NOVEMBER 30, 2022
Tier A Pricing: $897 ($60/hr or above wage earners)
Tier B Pricing: $697 ($30-$59/hr wage earners)
Tier C Pricing: $497 ($16-$29/hr wage earners)
Tier D Pricing: $297 ($15/hr or below wage earners)
See our Pricing Policy for more information on tiered pricing.
This is a self-paced online course, meaning you can take it wherever you are and according to your own schedule. You will be in a cohort, where you challenge and support each other as you work through the lessons. You will have me as a coach who will be reading and responding to all your posts, giving you feedback and encouragement. You have two months to complete 32 lessons, each about 45-60 minutes long. It’s work. And it’s transformative.
Here's a radical idea: you should take control of your finances and work towards financial freedom. Financial freedom is the ability to do what you want with your time, attention, and energy without having to worry about money. The true meaning of financial independence isn’t being able to buy whatever you want; it’s owning every hour of your time for the rest of your life.
There is only one person responsible for your financial health: you. Yet you probably spend little time thinking about or learning how to manage your finances. There’s no benefit in waiting to fix that. Most people live unconsciously or avoidant about money. As a result, people get victimized by the capitalist system, living in financial fragility and feeling like they never have enough. You can remove that worry and scarcity in your life by taking control of your relationship with money and build the life you want.
This course will help you examine the reality of living in world where money matters and help you take ownership of your relationship with capitalism and consumerism. You will dig into the larger picture of money in your life, understanding the largely unconscious and unexamined beliefs you have about money, and consider how they affect you. With moral vision and thrift, you can take control of those beliefs and the direction of your financial future. You'll learn the seven levels of financial maturity, from financial dependence, or living paycheck to paycheck, to saving conventionally, and, lastly, having financial freedom. We'll explore the influence of your family background and the hidden assumptions of consumption and debt in our capitalist system. The course is about reclaiming ownership of your time, attention, and energy, and freeing yourself to do what you want to and were meant to do.
Understand the basics of money.
Write your financial manifesto and fit money into living according to your values and who you want to become.
Change your money mindset, which matters more than strategy or tactics.
Learn how to distinguish between the essentials and the excess in your life and learn how enough is better than more.
Take the emotional scripts out of money decisions. Balance present spending and future spending with clear eyes.
Make a budget, lower your expenses, eliminate debt, increase savings, and live with more financial security.
Feel in control of what's coming in and what's going out, lowering stress and self-doubt.
Increase your amount of free time by reducing expenses and the amount of time you spend working.
Heal the split between money and your values, making your life one integrated whole.
Know how much you need to retire
Have a goal for when to retire
Feel more comfortable talking about money to others
The course is work. It’s doing math, it’s emotional work, it’s a serious reexamination of your lifestyle and beliefs. It’s also worth it. People who have finished the course report saving $100-$800 per month more because of the changes they made. In other words, the course pays for itself many times over for those willing to do the work.
Module 1: Understanding money. Talking about money is taboo in our society, which means we aren’t often aware of our relationships with it. We'll start with our internal assumptions about money, where they came from, and how they dramatically influence our lives. Then we’ll talk about the personal savings rate and how it affects how many years you have to work. Want to see a sample lesson?
Module 2: Reducing consumption. The personal savings rate only has two components: spending and production. We'll talk about the profound personal and global implications of taking control of the first: consumption. How do consumption and debt increase stress in your life? How do they affect the world environmentally? How does a culture of more systemically keep people in a cycle of chronic dissatisfaction?
Module 3: Writing your manifesto and making a budget. No matter where you are on the path, working towards financial independence moral vision and willingness to change. You’ll draft your financial manifesto and learn about the behaviors and attitudes that ensure financial security. We’ll discuss “real hourly wage” and the miracle of compound interest, both in debt and in investing. Then you'll make one-year, five-year, and long-term budgets that match your values, aspirations, and priorities.
Ultimately, financial freedom is about desiring and believing in a different future than a consumer capitalist one. It's about being able to take care of your loved ones while making creative contributions to the world without waiting until you're 65. Read about SOFF founder Douglas's experience of achieving financial freedom by age 42.
"This course was great! It really helped me re-examine and re-create my relationship to money. I'm totally inspired now to think and learn about money, and am starting to save and invest in the future that means the most to me. Douglas is a living example of financial freedom, and was an skilled facilitator, guide, and advisor during the process. Take this class! It's the best investment (in your dreams) that you'll ever make." - Dan, Portland
"The Financial Freedom course changed my perspective on money and removed a lot of mental and emotional barriers I was having to taking control of my financial life, as well as providing me with a lot of practical information. Highly recommend!" - Kronda, Portland
“It’s the most useful 30 hours you could possibly spend on adulting. The curriculum is super well designed for learners at all levels—I went in with a lot of personal finance knowledge and still found it insightful and engaging. Take it and you’ll get so much more than you paid for.” - Carl, San Francisco