In today’s episode, I chat with Diania Merriam, the founder of The EconoME Conference, also known as the “Ted talks of the FIRE Movement (Financial Independent Retire Early). She is also the host of the popular podcast, Optimal Finance Daily where she narrates articles from the best personal finance blogs on the planet. After getting out of $30k of debt in 11 months, she used her newfound financial freedom to negotiate a remote working arrangement with her employer, take a 2-month sabbatical to walk 500 miles across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago, and launch her own business. Diania saves 60% of her income and is on track to be financially independent by the time she’s 40 years old.
Diania is such an inspiration for guiding all of us into learning how to be more mindful and grateful for the little things in life. During our discussion, she also gets candid on how clarity with our finances is optimal— and even understanding where we are mentally and emotionally in our relationship with money.
“Money is only as valuable as your clarity of how you’re going to use it and your comfort level of how much is enough.” - Diania Merriam
In today’s episode, Krisstina chats with Erin Pheil. Erin breaks down what it is to have “junk value”. The definition of this is described as defining a big goal but not really knowing or understanding the ‘why’ behind it.
“We do things and act because we want to feel a certain way. We want to feel safe, we want to feel at peace…but sometimes when people are disconnected from their feelings… [there you will] find ‘junk values’”. She gets even deeper into sharing how many entrepreneurs are actually driven by fear. Fear of not being enough. Fear of being poor. Fear of any kind!
In today’s episode, Krisstina interviews Steve Goodman. Steve is an expert in business succession planning and estate planning. His knowledge and first-hand experience are exactly what we all need to better understand the importance of planning out our finances for the future. It doesn’t matter if you’re a small or big business; making thousands or millions— we all have the responsibility to tackle such major decisions.
Steve and Krisstina both share real, raw stories and personal experiences in the day-to-day practice of working with lawyers, family matters, money moves, and all that fall under that legacy umbrella we’re scared to open!