The Other Kind of Freedom

Monthly Money Man on July 3, 2026

Every July 4th, we celebrate freedom — but the freedom that changes your life doesn’t get a parade, fireworks, or flags. That’s financial freedom. We fire up the grill, watch the fireworks, and take a moment to appreciate what it means to live in a country built on the idea that people deserve to be free. It’s a big idea. A worthy one. But most people spend their entire lives chasing financial freedom without ever quite reaching it

And here’s the thing — it doesn’t look the way most people think it does.

What Financial Freedom Actually Looks Like

Let me tell you about my day.

My mechanic handled my car. A contractor worked on my AC. I picked up two fast casual meals so I didn’t have to cook. And I spent the day doing work I love.

No yacht. No beach in the Maldives. Just a regular Tuesday where my time was mine.

Last week looked different — I paid my kids and my nephew to handle the majority of my 12 yards of mulch and a load of stones. Saved about 20% off a professional rate, the work was just as good, I made sure of it, and instead of writing a check to a business I put that money in three kids’ pockets. That’s everybody winning.

Two different days. Same idea. I had the freedom to let others handle what I didn’t have to do myself — because I’d built enough financial breathing room to make that choice.

That’s financial freedom. Not a number in a bank account. Not early retirement on a tropical island. It’s optionality — the ability to decide how you spend your time because you’re not trapped by financial pressure.

Most people celebrate freedom every Fourth of July and then go back to living paycheck to paycheck the other 364 days. They’re not free — they’re just busy.

Living paycheck to paycheck means every unexpected bill is a crisis. Every job you hate, you keep. Every dream you have, you defer. That’s not freedom. That’s the opposite of it.

Financial freedom is buying back your time. Every dollar you save, every debt you eliminate, every investment you make — you’re purchasing more Tuesdays like mine.

And the earlier you start, the more Tuesdays you buy.

The Conversation Worth Having This Weekend

Here’s where you come in.

This Fourth of July weekend, while the kids are around and the mood is light, try this. Ask them one question:

“If you never had to worry about money, what would your perfect Tuesday look like?”

Let them answer. Don’t redirect. Don’t correct. Just listen and write it down together.

Then tell them — that’s the goal. That’s what we’re building toward. And here’s how we start.

The Freedom Day Challenge

This is an exercise you can do with your kids this summer and it will teach them more about financial freedom than any lecture ever could.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Give your child a task or small job to earn a set amount — $5, $10, whatever fits your family.

Step 2: Tell them they can use that money to hire a sibling or you to do their chores for one full day.

Step 3: They spend that day doing whatever low cost or free activity they choose — a bike ride, a board game, a trip to the park. Their call entirely. They own that day.

Step 4: That evening, sit down and ask them — how did that feel?

Then connect the dots. That feeling of having your time be yours? That’s what financial freedom feels like. And every dollar you save and invest is buying you more days like this one.

It works because they don’t just hear about financial freedom — they experience it. And once you feel it, you want it forever.

Starting the Journey Early

You don’t have to wait until your kids are teenagers to make investing real for them.

When my boys were young, if one of them said “Dad, I want to buy stock in that company” — we did it. I’d purchase a share or two inside my own brokerage account and keep a simple spreadsheet tracking their holdings. At the end of the year I’d pay out their dividends. Real investing. Real money. Real lessons.

No special account required. No paperwork. Just a parent making the concept tangible before it had to be.

When they’re ready for the next step — typically around 14 or so — a custodial brokerage account lets them invest in their own name with a parent or guardian co-signing. That first account is a real act of financial independence. Their money, their decisions, their future. If they have earned W2 income, its not too early to start their ROTH IRA.

The earlier they start, the longer compounding has to work. And the sooner they feel what it means to own a piece of something, the sooner financial freedom stops being an abstract idea and starts being a destination they’re actually climbing toward.

This Fourth of July, Celebrate Financial Freedom Too

We are lucky to live in a country that was built on freedom. Take a moment this weekend to appreciate that — it’s real and it matters.

And then take one more moment to think about the other kind.

The freedom to wake up on a Tuesday and decide what happens next. The freedom to not panic when the car breaks down. The freedom to work because you love it, not because you have to.

That freedom is buildable. It’s teachable. And it starts with a conversation at the kitchen table this weekend.

Start the climb.

See you at the top.

Your Tax Refund: Freedom or Consumption?

Monthly Money Man on March 13, 2026

The Bottom Line Up Front: That refund hitting your bank account isn’t a windfall. It’s your own money coming back to you. And what you do with it in the next 72 hours will tell you everything about whether you’re still the old financial you, or the new one climbing toward the summit.

Let me guess what’s happening right now.

You filed your taxes. You’re getting a refund. And you’re already thinking about what to buy with it.

Maybe it’s that thing you’ve been eyeing for months. Maybe it’s a weekend trip. Maybe it’s just “treating yourself” because you feel like you earned it.

I’m not here to judge. But I am here to ask you one question:

Are you buying freedom, or are you consuming?

Because here’s the truth most people don’t want to hear: your tax refund isn’t bonus money. It’s not a gift from the government. It’s money you overpaid all year that’s finally coming back to where it belonged all along—in your hands.

And what you do with it in the next few days will show you exactly who you are financially.

The Consumption Trap

I’ve watched this pattern play out hundreds of times.

Someone gets a $2,000 refund. They’re excited. They feel like they just won something.

And within two weeks, it’s gone.

New TV. Night out. Online shopping spree. Upgrade the phone. Book a flight.

All consumption. Nothing invested in the climb ahead.

And here’s what happens next: three months later, that same person is stressed about money again. The emergency fund is still empty. The debt is still there. The financial anxiety is still crushing them.

Because they consumed the refund instead of using it to buy freedom.

What It Means to Buy Freedom

Freedom isn’t a vacation. Freedom isn’t a new purchase.

Freedom is waking up and knowing you have options.

It’s having one month of cash reserves so you’re not living paycheck to paycheck anymore.

It’s paying off that credit card so you stop hemorrhaging interest every month.

It’s maxing out your Roth IRA contribution so your future self doesn’t have to scramble.

Freedom is what you buy when you use money to reduce stress instead of create temporary pleasure.

And your tax refund—if you’re getting one—is the single best opportunity you’ll have all year to buy a significant amount of freedom all at once.

The Test of Who You’re Becoming

Last week we talked about emptying your financial backpack to see what you’ve been carrying.

This week, you’re making a choice about what to put back in.

The old financial you puts consumption back in. Stuff. Experiences that don’t build anything. Short-term pleasure that disappears.

The new financial you—the one who’s ascending this mountain—puts tools back in. Things that make the climb easier. Things that reduce the weight you’re carrying.

Your refund is the test.

Are you still the person who consumes windfalls? Or are you becoming the person who deploys them strategically?

Where Your Refund Should Actually Go

Here’s the honest answer: I don’t know where your refund should go.

Because I don’t know what your greatest financial weakness is right now.

But you do.

If you have no emergency fund: Your refund just became the foundation of your safety net. Put every dollar toward building that first month of cash reserves. That’s buying freedom from paycheck-to-paycheck panic.

If you’re carrying high-interest debt: Your refund just became a debt destroyer. Attack the highest-interest debt first. Every dollar you put there is buying freedom from interest payments draining your account every month.

If your foundation is solid but you’re not investing: Your refund just became your future. Max out your Roth IRA contribution for the year. That’s buying freedom for future you.

If you’re already doing all of those things: Then yes, enjoy some of it. But even then, consider using most of it to accelerate your climb. Freedom compounds. Consumption doesn’t.

The answer isn’t the same for everyone. But the question is: where do you need freedom most?

What to Do Right Now

If you’re expecting a refund, here’s your action step before it even hits your account:

Decide where it’s going before you have it.

Not “I’ll figure it out when I get it.”

Not “I’ll see how I feel.”

Right now. Today. Decide.

  • Is it going to your emergency fund?
  • Is it going to debt?
  • Is it going to your Roth IRA?
  • Is it going to finally fix that financial weakness you’ve been avoiding?

Write it down. Make the decision now, while you’re thinking clearly, before the money is sitting there tempting you.

Because once it hits your account, the consumption voice gets louder. The rationalizations start. The “just this once” thoughts creep in.

Make the decision now. Lock it in.

The New Financial You

You’re not the same person you were in January.

You’ve been tracking your spending. You’ve been building your safety net. You’ve been emptying your financial backpack and examining what you’re carrying.

You’re becoming someone different. Someone who’s climbing.

Your tax refund is the moment you prove it.

The old you would have already spent it in your mind.

The new you is buying freedom.

Which one are you?

See you at the top.

Fun Money — Allow Yourself to Breathe and Take in the View

Monthly Money Man on February 27, 2026

In January, we built our basecamp. We mapped out the year, set our financial intentions, and committed to the climb. In February, we focused on building our safety net — the cash reserves that catch us when life, as it always does, throws something unexpected in our path.

But here’s something every experienced climber knows that the guidebooks don’t always tell you. The mountain will break you if you never stop to breathe. If you put your head down and grind every single day without a moment to look up and take in the view, you won’t make it to the top. Not because the mountain beat you, but because you forgot why you started climbing in the first place.

That’s what this week is about. Fun Money.

Why Fun Money Is Not Optional

I want to be direct with you. Fun Money is not a reward for when you’ve “made it.” It’s not something you allow yourself after you’ve checked every financial box. Fun Money is a required line item in your budget — as essential as your rent, your groceries, and your emergency fund.

Here’s why. One of the most common reasons people abandon their financial climb isn’t because they lack discipline or intelligence. It’s because the journey feels like punishment. Every dollar is accounted for, every purchase is scrutinized, every impulse is denied. That works for about three weeks before human nature wins and the budget gets thrown out the window entirely.

The most successful financial plans I’ve ever seen — and after nearly three decades of living, studying, and advising on personal finance, I’ve seen a lot of them — are the ones that build enjoyment into the system from the beginning. Not as an afterthought. Not as a cheat day. As a planned, intentional, guilt-free category in the budget.

At Monthly Money, we’re not just about reaching the top. We’re about enjoying the climb. Because what’s the point of summiting a mountain you hated every step of?

Where This Idea Comes From

I’ll be honest with you about something personal. I grew up in a home where money was a constant source of tension. I watched my parents argue about finances more times than I can count, and eventually that financial stress contributed to their divorce. I was eleven years old when our family split apart, and I made a promise to myself that day — I would learn everything I could about money so I would never feel that powerless again.

But I also made a quieter promise. That when I built my own family, money would not be the thing that tore us apart.

My wife and I have been together for a long time, and I won’t pretend we’ve never had financial disagreements. Every couple does. But one of the systems that has genuinely protected our marriage — not just our budget — is Fun Money. We built it into our financial plan from the beginning, and it has diffused more potential arguments than I can count.

How the System Actually Works

Here’s the practical framework my wife and I use, and that I recommend as a starting point for any couple.

We set aside 3% of our combined net income — that’s take home pay after taxes — every single month. That 3% gets split in half. Half goes into her individual savings account. Half goes into mine. It happens automatically through a scheduled transfer so we never have to think about it or negotiate it in the moment.

That money is earmarked for one purpose only — to spend on whatever each of us finds meaningful, no questions asked and no justification required. If she wants to buy a piece of art for the living room or a pair of earrings I’d never understand the appeal of, that comes from her Fun Money. If I want to book a fly fishing trip or a river rafting adventure, that comes from mine. We don’t debate it. We don’t negotiate it. We simply say “it’s Fun Money” and move on.

I cannot overstate how many arguments that three word phrase has ended before they ever started.

Now, 3% is a baseline and a starting point — not a rule carved in stone. The best percentage is the one that two spouses can genuinely agree on and actually afford. If 3% of your net income works out to $100 a month, that’s $50 each. That might not sound like much, but here’s the beauty of the system — you don’t have to spend it every month.

I am a natural saver. There have been stretches of six months or more where I didn’t touch my Fun Money account at all, just letting it accumulate quietly while I focused on other things. And then one day I’d look at that balance and book something that genuinely filled my soul — a day of fly fishing in a mountain river, a challenging hiking expedition, an outdoor experience that reminded me why I work as hard as I do. I don’t place much value on material possessions. What I value is experience, adventure, and time in the wild. My Fun Money account makes that possible without a single dollar coming out of our family budget or a single conversation that starts with “do we really need to spend money on that?”

My wife has her version of that same freedom. And because we both have it, we’ve never had to fight over it.

Tony fly fishing in a mountain river enjoying his Fun Money outdoor adventure
This is my Fun Money in action — a trip to a mountain river that I saved up for month by month. Worth every penny.

What This Looks Like in Your Budget

If you’re single, Fun Money still belongs in your budget — it just looks a little different. It’s the category that gives you permission to spend on what brings you joy without derailing everything else you’re building. It’s the concert ticket, the weekend trip, the dinner out with friends that doesn’t send you into a guilt spiral afterward.

The Monthly Money Method is built around capturing the difference between what comes in and what goes out, then deploying that difference strategically. Fun Money is a strategic deployment. It’s not waste. It’s not weakness. It’s the investment you make in your own sustainability as a person who is playing a very long financial game.

The climbers who make it to the top are not the ones who never rest. They’re the ones who know when to rest, how long to rest, and how to use those moments to come back stronger for the next section of the climb.

Your Assignment This Month

Look at your current budget and find Fun Money. If it’s not there, add it. Start with 3% of your monthly net income and divide it equally if you have a spouse or partner. Set up an automatic transfer to a separate savings account on the same day every month — payday works well. Name the account something that makes you smile. And then give yourself genuine permission to spend it on whatever matters most to you, without guilt and without explanation.

The climb is long. The view along the way is part of the reward.

See you at the top.