Posted By Welcome to the Hub!
We are a North American portal site dedicated to all things related to Financial Independence: blogs, books, podcasts, discussion forums, web videos and the like. We are not a site about Personal Finance per se. Personal Finance is all about tactics, not long-term strategy. Nor are we strictly a site about Retirement. We believe there is a profound difference between the traditional concept of “Retirement” and the paradigm shift we call Financial Independence. We always refer readers to Wikipedia’s definition of financial independence.
To save syllables speaking about financial independence, we’ve invented the contraction “Findependence.” The state of being financially independent we call “findependent.” Therefore we have also unveiled a mirror site to help save a few keystrokes: www.findependencehub.com. We expect it to get more use as the term “Findependence” gains currency.
The philosophy of Findependence is outlined in two traditional books published in 2008 and 2013: the Canadian and American editions of Findependence Day. You can find these books at another sister site that has been around for several years now: www.findependenceday.com.
Findependence Day is simply Financial Independence Day: the day that all sources of income exceed what you can earn from the single source of income known as an employer.
New companion e-books for US$2.99
You can also find more about the concept of Findependence in two new Kindle e-books that are being launched at the same time as the new Hub. They are titled A Novel Approach to Financial Independence: How to reach your Findependence Day … While you’re still young enough to enjoy it.
The American edition of “A Novel Approach” launched on Amazon.com as a Kindle e-book for US $2.99 on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, and you can find it here. The Canadian edition of the same e-book launched on Nov. 13, 2014. It costs C$3.37 at Amazon.ca and is already a bestseller in Amazon’s Love & Romance category. (The original novel, Findependence Day, is a financial love story.)
Content, now and in the future
So what can you find on the Hub? There are many websites, blogs, books and other materials that relate to the topic of financial independence. If they exhibit a certain high quality of content and objectivity, we’re happy to include them in sections and links of the site, even if some might regard them as “competitors.” If prize-winning writers for MoneySense like David Aston have produced quality journalism, we’re happy to link to it, as we are to the Globe and Mail’s Rob Carrick, the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Zweig, the Today Show’s Jean Chatzky, the Financial Post’s Garry Marr and … well, you get the idea.
Certainly, you will find a blog written by the Hub’s Chief Findependence Officer (CFO!): Jonathan Chevreau, a veteran financial writer who was the Financial Post’s personal finance columnist for 19 years, and the Editor-in-Chief of MoneySense Magazine for two years after that, until he declared his personal Findependence Day on May 20, 2014. Like the blog that has been around since 2011, it will be updated almost every day of the week.
You will also find guest blogs and columns by various financial journalists and investment advisers who share the “Findependence” philosophy. We recognize that some cost-conscious investors are happy to do it all on their own, but that others need assistance, either to make the big decisions or at least validate their own ideas. The “Getting Help” tab shows two directories of fee-only financial advisers or planners: one in the U.S., the other in Canada. Plus, we have added a short list of advisers we believe “get” the whole concept of financial independence.
There will be many reviews of books on this topic, and a scrolling news feed based on the various Twitter lists curated by @JonChevreau. We plan to provide links to many of Jon’s financial independence columns originally written for the Financial Post, MoneySense, Motley Fool and InvestorEd.ca’s GettingSmarterAboutMoney.ca. There will be a monthly e-newsletter that will summarize the best content of the previous month, with special offers from time to time. To get it, just sign up to the Hub over to the right of this site.
Discussion Forums, Comments, Social Media Sharing
We have the capability to serve discussion forums but until enough users ask for it, they will remain dormant. In the meantime, feel free to append Comments to the bottom of any given blog. As of mid-December we have also added social media sharing buttons for the major platforms, including Reddit and the four I personally use: Linked In, Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.
Like any website, what you see now is Version 1.0. For now, the site is available free of charge. Please enjoy and if you have suggestions or criticism, please don’t hesitate to contact us at jonathan@findependenceday.com.
