Sam Lustgarten on the freedom of frugal living - SHP025

Sam Lustgarten on the freedom of frugal living - SHP025

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes I have a conversation that is so honest and open it floors me. Today’s episode is one of those.

Sam Lustgarten writes about how to live a frugal, simple (and awesome) life, but he and I dive in to a whole lot more than that today.

We talk about how he fell into debt in college, and how spending money on stuff became a much-desired distraction as he moved through a difficult personal time. We also look at the first crucial steps Sam took to start getting out of debt and live a simpler, more frugal life.

Debt can be such a shameful, emotional burden to carry around, but Sam shows how being honest, open and vulnerable can actually lessen the burden and free us up to pay it off (and keep it off).

What I loved about this chat was that Sam never shied away from answering the tricky questions, and as a result I felt myself opening up and talking about our own issues with money and debt.

Such a pleasure talking with Sam, and I’m sure you’re going to love it too!

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Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.

Alternatively, you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!

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In This Episode You'll Hear About:

    • What do we mean by living a frugal life?
    • Sam’s personal motto of ‘play hard, work less’ and why it’s so powerful
    • Where his personal finance chops come from, and what caused him to fall off the money wagon during college
    • How spending money on stuff became a much-wanted distraction in a time of depression and upheaval
    • How an innocent question from a girlfriend set Sam on the path to reclaim his financial freedom
    • What steps Sam first took when he realised he was almost $40,000 in debt
    • Why acknowledging the issue was the most powerful part of the process
    • Why getting rid of the majority of his belongings was more helpful in regaining financial freedom than actually paying off the debt
    • Whether Sam thinks there is such a thing as 'good' and 'bad' debt
  • Where people waste the most money (Sam's answer really surprised me)

Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:

    • Mint.com - the personal finance app Sam uses
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Bele Masterman on keeping Christmas simple - SHP026

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William Powers: living slow in a big city - SHP024