What’ll it be – Coffee? Tea? Caffeinated hot chocolate?
No judgment here, I love them all!
[And yes, caffeinated hot chocolate does exist!]
My name is Katie and I am a money nerd.
Nope, not admitting to a problem here – I say it with pride! I’ve been a personal finance buff since the 90s, when I lived in Scotland. I started to pursue their financial planner qualification purely for personal understanding, but after passing the first module, I broke up with both my then-boyfriend and the inflexible UK, and moved back to NYC. Two years later I broke up with having a boss. Okay so that last one was really about me being dumped, but I had one foot out the door. Can we call it mutual?
I remember when the Motley Fool was free and had underdog status….when an online stock trade cost $10-$25…when my favorite personal finance blogger of all time, J Money, was just launching his awesome Budgets Are Sexy site…when “apps” meant appetizers…when Bitcoin existed only in the realm of vitamin-D deficient gamers.
Join me in the Solopreneur Cafe Facebook group!
No W2 since 2002
And I’ve never been happier – or more financially stable. I want every solopreneur out there to know what that feels like, and it doesn’t have to take years or 6-figures to achieve. Confession: I’ve never hit 6 figures. (Anyone else tired of the social media ads pushing a 6-figure income like you’re a failure without it??). I’ve figured out an awful lot since that last W2, occasionally the hard way (very, very hard actually) but mostly by keeping on top of trends in the personal finance community. For decades.
I’m Your “Near Peer”
I’m not a CPA. I’m not a financial planner. I’m a fellow solopreneur who has been at it for nearly 20 years and knows a hell of a lot about how to get the max from the money I earn. But when it comes to paperwork, I’m definitely more of a minimalist – I don’t think the solution to everything involves creating yet another spreadsheet or signing up for software that far exceeds my needs. I want to spend my time doing what I do best and enjoy most – and that is not admin. I’m pretty sure you feel me on that one. The one exception is that, well, I do my own taxes. Don’t worry, that’s not something I push anyone else to do. I have a history of trust issues there, which leads me to —
I’m not going to paint you a perfect rosy picture of my personal history with money. I also promise never to post a picture of me in a new Lexus or at some fancy resort in Cabo – I’m not trying to sell you on my lifestyle (and that is sooo not my kind of lifestyle!). The point is for you to reach your goals, and if they include things like homeownership, a savings cushion, financial independence, a bucket-list vacation every year, freedom from debt, becoming a digital nomad, stuff like that – well, you’re in the right “cafe”!
Where This Is All Leading
Right now, there’s not much for you to do but read this blog and hang out with me in the Solopreneur Cafe Facebook Group. But soon, there will be a weekly shortie podcast to download, and then an inexpensive membership featuring money games and challenges (with prizes!), a weekly “Lappy Hour” on Zoom, useful downloads, book clubs, guidance through the murky waters of getting your financial house in order, a community of others forging their own paths, and whatever else we all find useful. And fun! And not just the kind of stuff a money nerd like me considers “fun”.