This Black Friday, this Cyber Monday, this holiday season maybe you should consider buying Freedom for you and your family rather than more stuff.

By this point in the article you might be thinking “what the hell are you on about Alan? How do you buy freedom? Where is the freedom store?”

You have a choice of what to spend every dollar or pound that you have on. You can buy plastic tat, cars, houses, televisions or freedom.

You get to decide what to spend your money on and there is a marketing WAR to get you to spend your money with different companies. Apple, Samsung, John Lewis are all competing for your money.

If only there was a freedom sale on Black Friday. If only there were teams of marketing people working to get you to spend your money on you; rather than more stuff?

Instead of buying stuff you could buy a broad based index fund such as the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap and buy your freedom back instead. Buy enough of one of these and eventually the returns are greater that the amount you need to live and you are financial independent!

The problem is that most people don’t believe that it is is possible so they just buy so they can feel that immediate gratification.

This is my meagre effort at competing with the marketing teams around the world! Maybe next year I will actually run a freedom sale with a huge marketing campaign. Maybe you can help me share the word?

Maybe together we can help a few thousand, maybe more people to stop buying stuff and start buying freedom instead. The side effects of this are huge, we look after the planet, we protect the environment and we enjoy a more minimalist life which leads to happiness.

You get to choose what you do with your money, you get to decide how you spend it. Katie and I for many, many years chose freedom instead of stuff. We still do! We don’t own a house, a car or anything with keys! Yes we are completely keyless..

We would prided ourselves on spending as little as we could on stuff and taking EVERYTHING else and buying Index funds or ETFs. Those funds grew over the years till we had enough to retire early.

Katie retired at 35 and I retired at 40 years old. That is 25 years earlier than the average in the UK. So instead of buying plastic stuff we bought freedom. 25 years of it!

What would you rather have? Freedom or a house full of plastic stuff and things?

You can probably tell by my tone how important freedom is for me. I can travel anywhere in the world, explore, enjoy and meet incredible people. I get to decide what to do with my time rather than turning up every day for an employer.

I can do without the latest television in exchange for my freedom.

I am currently in the woods in Levin, for New Zealand’s first ever multi-day financial independence event. It is called Black-FI day and we have all come to the woods to avoid the Black Friday marketing and talk about investing and creating the life of our dreams!

This Black Friday why don’t you take every dollar or pound you would have spent in the sales and spend it on a broad based index fund instead and start to buy your freedom.

Even if you took 50% of the money you would have blown, you are 50% better off right now and over the long term that will grow to make you wealthy.

Give yourself the gift of FREEDOM this holiday season rather than a luxury towel, set of golf clubs or perfume set.

Or maybe tell your friends and family the gift you want for Christmas or the holiday season is the gift of freedom. Please don’t buy me stuff buy me a Vanguard Index fund?? I am not sure how they would react but it would be an interesting conversation.

Or how about you GIVE freedom at Christmas? Buy your nieces or nephews broad based index funds for Christmas (educate them to never sell and watch it grow!) and start them on the path to freedom.

Maybe in the short term they might be sad they didn’t get Lego, let’s be honest I would do but it is all about long term pleasure not short term gratification!

Avoid the Black Friday Sales, invest instead buying freedom and then start to wonder how life would be if you didn’t have to work every day.

Do you want more time with the kids, do you want to be able to do yoga each morning and have coffee with friends or as Katie and I have choose to do go travelling.

Buying freedom is super cool; but the truly amazing piece of the pie is spending it on what you want to.

Sometimes the coolest gifts you can give are free, time together, a hug!

Have fun this holiday period avoid the sales and take all that money and put it into buying freedom instead.

Peace and pineapples

​Alan & Katie