Top 5 Takeaways:

1. Freedom is optionality. Hanna defines it as being able to say yes to things without financial constraint, not as never working again.
2. Rest is productive. Your best breakthroughs often come from deliberate rest, not relentless doing.
3. The "savings mountain" can paralyze people. Focusing on building skills and income streams may be more empowering than fixating on a number.
4. You don't have to buy a house just because everyone else is. Flexibility and experiences might align better with your actual values.
5. Comparison culture keeps people feeling behind. Much of what you see on social media is aspirational marketing or outright fake.

Chapters:

• 0:00 – Meet Hannah Horvath + The Slash Career Life
• 3:49 – Rest, Productivity & Rethinking Hustle
• 6:32 – Influential Mentors & Early Money Experiences
• 11:59 – Money Psychology: How Your Past Shapes Your Financial Decisions
• 17:41 – Money Personalities & Defining “Enough”
• 20:25 – What Does Freedom Actually Mean?
• 21:11 – Home Ownership: Wealth Builder or Wealth Trap?
• 25:57 – Optionality: Savings Mountain vs Cash River
• 31:35 – Debt, Financial Anxiety & Psychological Burden
• 36:49 – Retirement, Autonomy & Building a Healthy Relationship with Money

Hanna Horvath is a Certified Financial Planner and money psychology expert based in Brooklyn, New York. She writes the newsletter Your Brain on Money, exploring the hidden psychological forces behind our financial decisions. A Syracuse journalism grad with a master's from NYU, Hanna previously served as Managing Editor at Policygenius and held editor roles at J.P. Morgan Chase and Bankrate. Her work has appeared in NBC News, Business Insider, CNBC, and USA Today.

You can connect with Hanna at yourbrainonmoney.com.

🎧 Pre-order Time Freedom and get the audiobook FREE today. Normally it takes three copies to unlock the audiobook, but for podcast listeners, just one.

👉timefreedombook.com | code: PODCAST

Enter code PODCAST and you'll get instant access (your paper copy arrives in September). Pre-orders help the book land on more shelves on launch day, so thank you!

Top 5 Takeaways:

1. Time freedom might accelerate financial freedom. Saying no to low-value obligations frees you to focus on what actually moves the needle.
2. Test your retirement before committing. Bernadette's sabbatical was a trial run that made retirement feel possible.
3. Confidence in your ability to make money is a backup plan. That skill matters as much as a nest egg.
4. You do not owe everyone unlimited access to you. Protecting your calendar is not selfish, it's necessary.
5. Book marketing is about building advocates, not just readers. Bernadette booked 50 collaborations at one conference by being intentional.

Chapters:

• 0:00 – You Don’t Owe Everyone Unlimited Access to You (Cold Open)
• 0:49 – Welcome + Meet Bernadette Joy
• 2:46 – The Opening Question + Showing Up Without the “Mask”
• 7:53 – Bernadette’s Story: Corporate → Financial Freedom → “Retiring” at 40
• 10:26 – The Catalyst Moment: Loss, Perspective, and Choosing a Sabbatical
• 14:31 – What Retirement Looks Like Now: Intentional Living + Slowing Down
• 16:39 – Money vs Skill: What Actually Creates Freedom?
• 19:19 – Time Freedom vs Financial Freedom: What She’d Do Differently
• 24:12 – Trolls, Certifications, and Representation in Finance
• 32:50 – Book Launch Strategy + Where to Find Bernadette

BERNADETTE JOY

Bernadette Joy is a first-generation Filipino American money expert who paid off $300,000 of debt in three years and hit a net worth of over $2 million by 40. She's the author of Crush Your Money Goals and founder of the coaching program by the same name. Bernadette has been featured on CNBC, Forbes, MarketWatch, and Yahoo Finance, and has spoken at FinCon, South by Southwest, NASDAQ, and TEDxHouston.

You can connect with Bernadette at crushyourmoneygoals.com.

🎧 Pre-order Time Freedom and get the audiobook FREE today. Normally it takes three copies to unlock the audiobook, but for podcast listeners, just one.

👉timefreedombook.com | code: PODCAST

Enter code PODCAST and you'll get instant access (your paper copy arrives in September). Pre-orders help the book land on more shelves on launch day, so thank you!

Top 5 Takeaways:

1. Mini retirements don't just help your personal life. They often accelerate your career and finances in unexpected ways.
2. "Stuck at 6” is the hardest place to change from. When life is just OK, the upside feels small and the downside feels huge.
3. You can fund mini retirements for life by saving just 6.5% more, or by landing one job switch with a modest raise.
4. Experiments that go horribly wrong teach you more than ones that go fine. Failure is a goldmine of insight.
5. The real cost of staying put might be a million dollars. Jillian's friend proved that not switching jobs and not taking breaks can leave serious money on the table.

Chapters:

• 0:00 – Welcome + Introduction to Jillian Johnsrud
• 1:44 – Jillian’s Journey to Financial Independence
• 11:38 – What Are Mini Retirements?
• 14:45 – The “Stuck at Six” Problem
• 17:03 – The Courage to Step Away from the Grind
• 18:31 – Experimentation, Growth & Mini Retirements
• 20:05 – Learning from Failure and Career Missteps
• 21:50 – Mini Retirements as a Long-Term Lifestyle
• 25:55 – The 6.5% Rule Explained
• 31:52 – Career Shifts, Income Growth & Timing
• 36:08 – How the 6.5% Rule Funds Time Freedom
• 38:06 – Job Switching, Earning Potential & Flexibility
• 38:57 – Time Freedom Book Promotion + Closing Thoughts

JILLIAN JOHNSRUD

Jillian Johnsrud is an author, speaker, and financial independence advocate who achieved financial freedom at 32 while working low-earning jobs and raising five kids. She's the author of Retire Often and hosts the “Retire Often” podcast where she shares real stories of people who've taken mini retirements. Jillian's work has been featured on All the Hacks, ChooseFI, and at FinCon.

You can connect with Jillian at retireoften.com.

🎧 Pre-order Time Freedom and get the audiobook FREE today. Normally it takes three copies to unlock the audiobook, but for podcast listeners, just one.

👉timefreedombook.com | code: PODCAST

Enter code PODCAST and you'll get instant access (your paper copy arrives in September). Pre-orders help the book land on more shelves on launch day, so thank you!