1500 Days to Freedom

Think different and escape the rat race.

Chautauqua UK: Castles, Camarasaurs, And Community

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The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends. –Warren Buffett

UPDATE: Both weeks in Portugal are now sold out.

This summer, I’m riding my bicycle across Iowa with friends I met when I went to Chautauqua in Greece. We’re also going to Oktoberfest in Munich.

I also stay in touch with many of the folks who I met when I went to Chautauqua in Ecuador. One friend stayed with us a couple months ago. I’m working with another on an artsy project. I consulted with yet another just last week about Instagram strategy.

The people who I connected with at Chautauqua aren’t one-off friends. You know what a one-off friend is. This is a person you met at a conference or some other event. When you departed, you said something like:

Hey, let’s meet up again soon!

And then you never do.

The friends who I met at Chautauqua are lifelong. There’s a good reason for this…

I’m In It For The Community

It all starts with money. Personal finance is most likely the reason why you’re reading this blog right now. Maybe you’re building a life of FIRE. Maybe you’re trying to get your finances together. Maybe you’re curious about how to invest. Maybe you just like plastic dinosaurs. In any case, we have money in common and that’s huge. Here’s why:

People who care about money have a lot of other stuff in common too.

We’re frugal, so can be happy with porch meetups and backyard BBQs. Board games are fun. We treasure good conversation. We know that one of the main indicators of happiness is the people who we surround ourselves with.

We value our tribe and know what an incredible asset it is.

All of this is obvious in my little corner of the world. Our local FIRE Meetup group has over 400 members. Our parties are raucous events that fill to capacity quickly:

We’re all searching for our tribe and I’m thankful that I found mine in the FIRE community.

Chautauqua 2019 (And What It Means To Me)

Money, money, money; isn’t that what Chautauqua is about?

Not quite.

What Chautauqua isn’t: Chautauqua isn’t one long talk about saving rates, index funds, the 4% Rule and travel hacking. Of course, we talk about that stuff, but money is the beginning of the conversation, not the end. Money is a tool or facilitator, but not the goal.

What Chautauqua is: Chautauqua is about life. It’s about figuring out what your hopes and dreams are and how to get there. It’s about meaningful late night chats with members of your tribe. You just may arrive at some truths about yourself by the end of the week.

2019 Chautauqua

Chautauqua is expanding to 4 weeks this year. I’ll be speaking at week 1 along with JL Collins, Kristy from Millennial Revolution, and Alan Donegan. Why would you want to talk to me?

  1. Good looks
  2. Sophisticated sense of humor
  3. Above-average intelligence
  4. Frugalsaurus and Spendosaurus

That’s 4 reasons. I gave you a bonus one!

But really, who am I kidding? The other day I spent 15 minutes trying to take a good selfie and this was the best I could muster:

Ugggh.

Stop laughing, it hurts. I’m crying over here. Not really. Let’s move on.

Now I have to be serious and sell myself. Here is why you should want to meet me.

Money, Money, Money

  • Stocks! Index funds!! ETFs!!! Oh, MY!!!! I didn’t discover index funds until fairly recently. Before that, I was a stock investor. I’m also one of the few who has done fairly well with it. My biggest success was buying Google in 2004. 20 bagger! Despite my market-beating success, I’m a big believer in index investing and almost all of my money goes to Vanguard now. This in itself is a great topic for discussion.
  • Advanced Strategies: Do you know anyone who has a self-directed solo 401(k)? This is a fancy account that lets you deploy money to real estate (and other stuff) all from a tax-deferred account. I like talking about advanced strategies for saving money, investing and saving on taxes.
  • Real Estate: I have diverse real estate experience that includes:
    • Live-in flips: Flipping homes can be a great way to make tax-free money with minimal risk.
    • Landlording:  We’ve been landlords. While there is no shortage of landlord horror stories, our experiences were positive because we did our research.
    • Private loans and syndication: There are areas of real estate that I didn’t even know existed a couple years ago, but have since become very profitable for us.
    • Trailer Park: We own a trailer park. Have I got some good stories for you…
    • Local business: I own a business with friends.

Wait a minute! Didn’t you just tell me that Chautauqua isn’t just about money?

I sure did.

Life, Before And After FIRE

Far more interesting is how to live before and after you reach financial independence. Money is simple. Living a worthy, happy life is much more interesting and it’s something that I’ve struggled with.

Have you ever asked yourself these questions:

  • What will I do after I leave my job? How do I find my passion?
  • What if I’m bored?
  • Many of my good friends are co-workers. Will I lose my social life when I quit?
  • How do I find meaning in life?

I’ve struggled with the why and the when. I’ve made mistakes. The path is not always easy. However, I can say this with absolute certainty:

The decision to pursue financial independence was one of the best of my life.

Financial independence is different for everyone. It isn’t necessarily about leaving work. While you may choose to leave, it’s silly to consider quitting your job to be The Goal.

The real goal is something much, much more…

Money is just the enabler of greater adventures…

Let’s talk about it in the UK.

THIS is where Chautauqua will be held at!

Thanks

I’m incredibly thankful for this opportunity and I hope to meet some of you on the other side of the world. If you’re thinking about going, Chautauquas always sell out, so reserve soon. And if we don’t meet in England, I hope that our paths cross someday.

And if you’re afraid of me:

Or the dinosaurs:

A camarasaur and t-rex. Much artistic license taken here.

There are three other weeks to choose from. Jillian Johnsrud (Montana Money Adventure), Scott and Taylor Rieckens (Playing With FIRE documentary) and JD Roth (Get Rich Slowly) are also speaking. I’ve met them all and they’re all top caliber humans. Here are their announcements:

And here are the full schedules:

Week 1 (UK): June 8-15

  • Carl (me!)
  • Kristy: Millennial Revolution
  • Alan: PopUp Business School
  • Jim: jlcollinsnh

Week 2 (UK): June 15-22

  • Jillian: Montana Money Adventures
  • Kristy: Millennial Revolution
  • Alan: PopUp Business School
  • Jim: jlcollinsnh

UPDATE: Weeks 3 and 4 are sold out.

Week 3 (Portugal): September 21-28

  • Scott and Taylor Rieckens: Playing With FIRE
  • Kristy: Millennial Revolution
  • Alan: PopUp Business School
  • Jim: jlcollinsnh

Week 4 (Portugal): September 28-October 5

  • JD Roth: Get Rich Slowly
  • Kristy: Millennial Revolution
  • Alan: PopUp Business School
  • Jim: jlcollinsnh

Book any of the weeks here: https://www.fichautauqua.com/book.html

Thanks and I hope to see you in England!

Testimonials from past attendees:

Join the 10s who have signed up already!

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*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.

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Comments

  1. My better half and I had an amazing time in Greece – highly recommended. Also recommended that you keep your phone on you at all times – those dinosaurs have a habit of stealing them if you dont.

    Carl – if anyone wants to chat to a former attendee before booking – feel free to send them our way. More than happy to have a call (or a coffee in person if you in Zambia!) if you have some questions.

  2. This is absolutely crazy. I can’t believe what a cool group of people I’ve stumbled upon! You guys get to travel the world talking about your passions with other people who share the same passions. I love it! I never thought that something like that would be possible, but now it’s something that I’m chasing as hard as I can. I can’t wait to attend a Chautauqua event someday, after I reach FI, of course!
    Mr. Bo Dangles recently posted…Bo’s Bucks Breakdown – Jan, 2019: Awwwwww Baby!My Profile

    • Will be jealous that Carl gets to hang out with you and Katie again, Alan!

      For another testimonial from someone who attended the Ecuador Chautauqua with Carl and Alan…

      These really are great events, even if the price feels a little un-frugal. Figure out how to get there cheaply on points, and it’s not like you’re going to be hanging out with a bunch of people that want to hit up all the shops and buy as many souvenirs as they can stuff in their bags and you can mitigate the total expense somewhat. A little more savings can even be achieved by sharing a room – something I did with a total stranger (before that week) and have no regrets.

      And heck, the USD/GBP exchange rate is pretty dang good right now!

      At the risk of sounding like an old woman… I remember being in the UK when each GBP cost $2…
      Mrs PoP recently posted…PoP 2018 Finances In ReviewMy Profile

  5. I’m afraid of you and the dinosaurs, but your Good looks,
    Sophisticated sense of humor and
    Above-average intelligence (?) conspired to make me take the risk.

    See you at Shakespeare’s place!

  6. Every year I want to go, but it never seems to work out. We’re actually headed to Portugal this year…but not at that time.

    Some day!

    You have a great line up and I’m sure it’ll be a great time.

    But if you’re still headed to Phoenix this spring, let me know. We have a porch AND boardgames.
    Done by Forty recently posted…The Wage Gap, & Sharing Salary with WomenMy Profile

  7. If I didn’t already have multiple trips lined up this year, I would love to attend once my significant other and young son were interested in taking a vacation centered around financial and (spiritual?) stuff.

    Also wanted to comment, I am a little jealous about the Ragbrai ride, one of my bucket list things when I was young and now not so young. Still like riding bikes, but for pleasure and not pain. One of my grade school projects was to map out the week long journey for Ragbrai riders. BTW, Iowa is not completely flat despite many people thinking it is nothing but cornfields.

    • Chautauqua is awesome! Do it someday.

      RAGBRAI: Why not? The ride isn’t competitive and it’s a leisurely ride. Also, there are sag wagons if you can’t complete a day.

      And yeah, I know about those Iowa hills? One of the past RAGBRAIs was a southern route and wow, that was a hard day. This year is flat though.

  8. Would love to go! Is that a goddamn CASTLE?! Sadly…I’m halfway around the world, and I hate plane travel. With a passion. Though going to admit I’ve only seen talk about the Equador Chautaqua…so for the longest time thought that was the name of the town it was held in. Then started hearing about ones around the world, and was all “huh, that’s weird. There’s a lot of towns called that?!”. Finally I googled it. Oh. It’s a dang convention. With a fancy name. Problem is that a bunch of the fun sounding ones are far away, and cost $ to get to (yeah, I know I could travel hack…but I use all my miles to get myself to and from DC for work. Long story about that). Also will be 7 mo preggos by then, and airlines start getting antsy about a potential messy birth on their planes. But still wish I could go. This also mean’s I’ll be missing the FinCon that is conveniently in DC (while I would need to be at work if I wasn’t going to be on maternity leave)! Dang it. Timing sucks.

  9. The flight alone to the UK from nowhereville would set back my FIRE aspirations. 🙂

    A paradox putting these conferences in expensive/distant locations.

    But, I’m sure they are fun/rewarding trips.