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Financial power to live our values and change the world // Blog by Tanja Hester, author of Work Optional and Wallet Activism

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OurNextLife.com blog header image — retiring late 2017 at the ages of 38 and 41 // early retirement, adventure, mountain living

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Pre-Order Wallet Activism

Wallet Activism, a book by Tanja Hester

About Tanja

Read Work Optional

Upcoming Events for Wallet Activism

Launch Night Party – November 16, 6 PM PT, Green Apple Books in San Francisco (in-person and virtual) *Must be vaccinated to attend in-person
Virtual reading – November 17, 7 PM ET/6 PM CT, Barbara’s Bookstores in Boston and Chicago (offering 10% off the book)
Virtual reading – November 18, 7 PM ET, Malaprops in Asheville, NC
Virtual reading – November 22, 7 PM ET, Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, NH
Virtual reading – January 12, 2022, 7 PM ET, Books & Books in Coral Gables, FL
Virtual reading – January 13, 2022, time TBD, BookBar in Denver, CO

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I’ve had this quote pinned up above my desk for a while now, and it’s the quote I chose to open Wallet Activism. It helps me get my head right about what’s required to change the status quo. It’s so easy to think change should be free, but no real change ever is. Instead, in the words of @violadavis, “If you’re dedicated to change, let it cost you something.” [image: Viola Davis’s quote hand written on an index card, seen on a magnet board.]

It’s a big day! Apparently I have been a German citizen my whole life because my mom was born there and had not yet naturalized in the U.S. when I was born. But, she always told me that I couldn’t have German citizenship because she had given up hers, and I never thought to question it. Maybe it was the Trump years, maybe it was watching U.S. leaders do essentially nothing to face up to the realities of the climate crisis, but I started to wonder if there was any chance I might be allowed to live in Germany or elsewhere in the EU. After doing a lot of research, I wrote to the German consulate in San Francisco a year and a half ago, and a year ago, they affirmed that I was already a citizen. It took me almost a year to get an appointment to show all the original documents and start the actual process (that explains the trip to SF and brown hair a few weeks ago), but finally, as of today, I have the actual document to prove my dual citizenship. 🙌 I am not one to run away from problems, so there’s no plan to bail on the U.S. But having more options is always a good thing. 🇩🇪🤝🇺🇸 A lot more folks have dual citizenship options than probably realize it, so do a little digging, and you might be surprised!

Aaaaaaaah! The day is finally here to share this with you! Wallet Activism, the book, is available for pre-order, and I’ve got lots of bonuses lined up to say thanks for your support. 💜 Wallet Activism, the podcast, is also live today, so find it in your podcast app of choice or grab the link in my profile or stories. 🎧

News! Wallet Activism is a book AND a podcast. The pod doesn’t duplicate the book—they are meant to be their own standalone resources—but instead features conversations with people practicing #walletactivism in all sorts of ways, flexing their financial power to change the status quo. Go subscribe now in your podcast app so you get new episodes as soon as they drop. (And tap some stars if you feel inspired.) [image: Podcast app screenshot with cover art in the middle. Cover is similar to the book cover of Wallet Activism, with the title and author name written on stylized protest signs held up by hands of different skin tones.] #podcasts #climatecrisis #socialjustice #environmentaljustice

Right now there’s an ad that keeps showing up in my Instagram stories for a “zero waste planner.” It is made out of paper. That will be waste in under a year. Don’t believe that something is zero waste, sustainable, or even recyclable just because some marketer tells you so. [image: tweet of above text.]

This summer has not been what I hoped: after getting vaccinated early in the year, and hoping that more things will become safe, we made a bunch of plans, nearly all of which we’ve now canceled. (Womp womp FinCon.) We’re going barely anywhere because of the danger of the Delta variant, the book tour that I thought would happen this fall is becoming much more limited and mostly virtual. But. Out in the garden, this has been summer of my dreams. This was my big experimental year of trying a whole lot of different varieties to figure out *if* I could even successfully grow warm weather crops like tomatoes and peppers here. Well. Not only can I grow them, I can grow them in respectable quantities, enough to make a gradient photo from one day’s harvest. The only problem is: now it’s going to be a lot harder deciding which few to narrow it down to for next year! [image: A basket of tomatoes and peppers arranged in color order from yellow at the top to dark red at the bottom.] #growingveggies #growyourownfood #gardening #zone6b #zone6agardening #highaltitudegardening #mountaingarden #tahoegardening #shortseason

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Best New Personal Finance Book and Community Builder 2019

Best New Personal Finance Book and Community Builder 2019

Blog of the Year 2018

Our Next Life, winner of Blog of the Year at the 2018 9th Annual Plutus Awards

Best FI/FIRE Blog 2017

8th Annual Plutus Awards Finalist

Disclaimer

Everything on this blog is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to substitute for obtaining professional financial advice. Nothing contained here or in the book Work Optional implies a consulting or coaching relationship. Please consult a licensed financial or legal professional for advice on your own situation.

Copyright and permissions

All photos are original and copyrighted by Our Next Life unless clearly noted. All rights reserved.

Linking encouraged with brief excerpts only, but posting photos and/or full content allowed only by express written permission.

Copyright 2015 – 2020 Tanja Hester / Our Next Life. All rights reserved.

Our Next Life income policy

The books I recommend include affiliate links, and the revenue from them ($.50 or less per book purchased) covers a small fraction of the out-of-pocket costs of providing ad-free, unsponsored content to you at no charge. In any calendar year in which affiliate income fully covers the cost of web hosting, photo editing and email list maintenance (currently $150/month+), I will donate all earnings above and beyond expenses to charity directly or to our donor advised fund for charitable giving, for the remainder of that year.

Affiliate link fine print

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. (These fees cover blog expenses only, and do not net a profit for us.)

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