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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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Mark and Tanja on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, just after dawn

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Throwback to the last time someone else cut my hair, in August 2019. I’ve gotten halfway decent at cutting my own hair in the intervening months (and even shockingly non-terrible at cutting Mark’s short hair), but I will happily pay cash money again in the future to get those crisp lines. ✂️💇‍♀️ [Alt text: Haircut selfie with clips in my hair, partway through the cut.]

First harvest of 2021? Only a year ago, we had no idea we’d be spending a year-plus barely leaving the house, and certainly had no plans to build a sizable-for-our-lot garden or to begin turning our yard into a permaculture food forest. (I’ve always loved gardening, and once had a super productive balcony garden in LA, but I assumed our travel schedule would be incompatible with gardening these days.) Now, however, gardening is almost my entire life. I count down the days until I can start my tomato and pepper seeds, and until I can set up the greenhouse tent and get pea and fava bean seeds in the ground. And I grew these oyster mushrooms indoors, because I love mushrooms of course, but also because, if I can’t get out there in the world, then I need to watch something else growing. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: watching things grow is incredibly grounding, which is something we all need right now. Whether it’s alfalfa sprouts in a jar, microgreens in a tray, or mushrooms on a damp block of sawdust, I hope you’ll welcome more life into yours. 🌱🍄 [Alt text: cluster of oyster mushrooms]

Progress never requires perfection. It’s still progress! This statement applies to everything: You can improve your finances without making only perfect choices. You can reduce your waste without being perfectly (and dishonestly) zero waste. You can eat less meat and dairy without being vegan. You can buy fewer things produced through exploitation without swearing off shopping forever. Don’t let the inaccessibility of perfection stop you from taking a step. Focus instead on progress. 💜

The real garden season is still months off, so my daily task of standing and staring at my plant kingdom involves an awfully small domain. 😆 But it still makes me happy to watch these little herbs grow a bit every day, making the house greener and greener. I’ll start peppers on March 1, tomatoes and eggplants March 15, and most of the other flowers and veggie in April, dates that still feel far off (we get frost into June here at 6000 feet), but I know that the house will be bursting with green so soon. 🌱

I grew up in a cold place. Green Bay, Wisconsin, is often called the frozen tundra when people talk about football, but the winters are cold, and even worse, they are gray. When I left to go to college in California, I swore I would never live in a cold place again, because I really thought that my unhappiness with where I had grown up was related to the cold. But after starting to ski, and visiting mountain towns all over the west, I realized that it’s not the cold I dislike, it’s the gray. We’ve lived in Tahoe for nine years now, and this shot so exemplifies what it’s like in the Sierra: the snow comes down and covers the tall trees, and then nearly always opens right up to that bright blue high altitude sky. (Absolutely no filter!) And I’ve learned, if I can have that bright blue sky, it doesn’t matter how cold it is. ❄️

Today is the two-year publication anniversary of my first book, #WorkOptional. 📕 I’m still immensely proud of it, and think I managed to write a financial book that’s about contributing good to the world, not just hoarding wealth. If you are interested in making work a smaller part of your life, or even retiring early altogether, check it out... especially if you’ve been put off by out-of-touch, shaming, or privilege-unaware financial advice in the past. 👍 (📚 Link in profile, but you know where to find books, ebooks, and audiobooks. 😉)

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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.

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

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

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