Escape The Clock: How to Become Financially Free and Have the Option Not to Work

Join me, Daniel C. Rodgers, WMCP® and author of the award-winning book Escape The Clock, as I break down the tactics you need to take control of your finances and achieve financial independence. These 40-minute episodes deliver bite-size, easy-to-understand strategies to get the most out of your money, giving you the option not to work, on your terms. For the book, the planner, and more free resources, visit www.escapetheclock.com .

Escape The Clock: How to Become Financially Free and Have the Option Not to Work is a education podcast hosted by Daniel C. Rodgers, with 77 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Daniel C. Rodgers hosts Escape The Clock: How to Become Financially Free and Have the Option Not to Work, a education show with 77 episodes published.

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  Episode #78

  What the Money Pros Are Saying, Live From FinCon 2026

  Sep 29, 202642 min

  Live from FinCon 2026 in Palm Springs: personal finance creators, coaches, and advisors share money tips on financial independence, early retirement, FIRE, investing, debt, and financial literacy. If you only got one money tip from a pro, what should it be? Five money pros. One tip each. Recorded live at FinCon 2026 in Palm Springs, Daniel asks Anthony Weaver, Kelsa Dickey, Shari Rash, Nik Johnson, and Whitney Hansen for the money tip on their mind right now. Then retired personal finance teacher Kathy Cuevas turns the mic around: why would anyone walk away from a tech career to teach money? CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 — Live from FinCon 2026 00:02:20 — The conversation that made the trip 00:04:22 — Anthony Weaver: Personal finance is personal 00:07:10 — Kelsa Dickey: Your future deserves savings 00:09:01 — Shari Rash: Rethinking savings-by-age rules 00:11:03 — Nik Johnson: You're one concept away 00:12:51 — Whitney Hansen: Back to the basics 00:14:43 — Kathy Cuevas asks: Why leave tech? 00:19:26 — Teaching money in a Title I school 00:24:02 — What people get wrong about money 00:33:30 — Why time beats money 00:36:21 — The work trips I never got to take EPISODE REFERENCES & RESOURCES: ℹ️ Credit card debt — NY Fed 2026 — https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2026/20260811 ℹ️ Personal finance mandates — NGPF 2026 — https://www.ngpf.org/live-us-dashboard/ CONNECT WITH THE GUESTS: ️ Anthony Weaver, About That Wallet — https://www.aboutthatwallet.com/podcast ️ Kelsa Dickey, Money Made Human — https://spendfirst.com/podcast ️ Shari Rash, She's Talkin' Money — https://www.shestalkinmoneypodcast.com/ ️ Nik Johnson, Everyday Money Heroes — https://everydaymoneyheroes.com/ ️ Whitney Hansen, The Money Nerds — https://www.themoneynerds.com/ ️ Kathy Cuevas, Financial Freedom Pathway — https://www.financialfreedompathway.us/ FinCon — https://finconexpo.com/ ESCAPE THE CLOCK RESOURCES The Book — https://escapetheclock.com/book ️ The Podcast — https://escapetheclock.com/podcast ⬇️ Free Planner — https://escapetheclock.com/toolkit Free 1:1 Help — https://escapetheclock.com/schedule ✉️ Free Monthly Insights — https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe SUPPORT THE PODCAST: ▶️ Watch more full episodes — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLO34lLUX2G8hVBErMy34e7RsYfUJBeiL Subscribe on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@EscapeTheClockMedia?sub_confirmation=1 Share this episode with someone who needs it Grab my award-winning debut fiction Killswitch — https://escapetheclock.com/books/killswitch This information is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for personalized guidance. #escapetheclockpodcast #escapetheclock #financialfreedom #financialindependence #earlyretirement #workoptional #financialliteracy #fincon2026 #fire #personalfinance #moneypodcast

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  Episode #77

  The Gold Rules: What Every Investor Should Know Before Buying Gold with Greyson Geiler, Fund Manager of the GoldRush Yield Fund

  Sep 22, 202640 min

  What if the safest-sounding asset in the world is the one nobody ever taught you how to own? Greyson Geiler began his career on the trading floors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and has spent more than two decades as an investment advisor. Today he is an Investment Advisor Representative with Andorra Capital and Lead Portfolio Manager of the GoldRush Yield Fund. In this episode, Greyson explains what gold actually does inside a portfolio, why he is not worried about another 1933-style confiscation, how the IRS taxes gold as a collectible, and why a gold fund manager tells people to build a plan and an emergency fund before buying a single ounce. Chapters: 00:00 - Gold Took 45 Years to Break Even 01:38 - A Dollar Saved in 2000 Buys 51 Cents 04:33 - From the CME Pits to a Closet of Gold 06:16 - Why Central Banks Keep Buying Gold 08:33 - Could the Government Take Your Gold 10:35 - Bitcoin, Gold and a Weaponized Dollar 13:49 - Gold That Pays Interest in Gold 16:40 - Physical Gold Versus a Gold ETF 20:06 - Gold Is Taxed Like a Collectible 22:31 - How Bullion, ETFs and Miners Are Taxed 24:16 - How Much Gold to Own and When to Buy 28:03 - Guaranteed Income Comes Before Gold 30:47 - A Gold Fund Manager Puts Gold Fourth 34:30 - No Dividend, No Coupon, No Rent 36:33 - Where You Hold Gold Decides the Tax 39:16 - Everything Else Depends on a Promise Escape The Clock Resources: The Book — https://escapetheclock.com/book ⬇️ The Planner — https://escapetheclock.com/toolkit ️ The Podcast — https://escapetheclock.com/podcast 1:1 Help — https://escapetheclock.com/schedule ✉️ Free Monthly Insights — https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe Episode References & Resources: ℹ️ Purchasing power - BLS (2026) https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm ℹ️ Real earnings - BLS (2026) https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm ℹ️ Credit card rates - Federal Reserve (2026) https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/ ℹ️ Central bank survey - World Gold Council (2026) https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/central-bank-gold-reserves-survey-2026 ℹ️ Central bank buying - World Gold Council (2026) https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends/gold-demand-trends-full-year-2025/central-banks ℹ️ Gold price history - JM Bullion (2026) https://www.jmbullion.com/investing-guide/facts/history-of-gold-prices/ ℹ️ Silver prices - Forbes (2026) https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/silver-price/ ℹ️ Collectibles tax - IRS (2026) https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409 ℹ️ Emergency savings - Bankrate (2026) https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/emergency-savings-report/ Connect with Greyson: Website — https://andorracapital.com LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/greyson-geiler-8621a81a/ Support the podcast: ⭐ Leave a rating & review Share this episode with others ✉️ Join the newsletter at https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe Grab my debut fiction book Killswitch at https://escapetheclock.com/books/killswitch This information is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for personalized guidance. #EscapeTheClock #EscapeTheClockPodcast #DanielCRodgers #GoldInvesting #PreciousMetals #FinancialIndependence #TaxPlanning #PortfolioDiversification

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  Episode #76

  Retire and Thrive: How to Turn Decades of Experience Into Income You Own with Lynn Friesth

  Sep 15, 202645 min

  What if your career ends on someone else's schedule — and the only asset left that can replace the income is the one everyone keeps telling you is expiring? Lynn Friesth spent 40 years in manufacturing leadership at John Deere before retiring in 2015. Over the next decade he built a coaching practice, recorded more than 200 podcast episodes, mentored founders through SCORE and the Iowa Venture School, and at 75 built an AI coaching assistant with no coding background. In this episode, Lynn explains how to design an intentional life after work instead of drifting into one, why doing everything at once is the most common post-retirement mistake, and how a 75-year-old with a slide rule background ended up building an AI tool that coaches people around the clock. Chapters: 00:00 - 48% of Retirees Left Earlier Than Planned 02:16 - The Retirement Party Nobody Gets Anymore 05:31 - Drifting After 40 Years at John Deere 08:21 - Retired With a Pension and Still Working 11:23 - People Skills and a Slide Rule 14:13 - Fractional Work and Other Paths After 50 16:01 - Money Mistakes and the Zone of Genius 18:41 - Building an AI Coach With No Coding 22:39 - Filter Failure, Not Information Overload 26:34 - Small Experiments Before You Leave Work 29:17 - Take a Sabbatical, Not a Vacation 31:17 - Four Months of Life at Red Lights 35:18 - Leaving Work at 43 With No Plan 37:45 - Does It Energize or Sustain You 41:08 - What Would You Do If Nobody Paid You 44:13 - Your Decades Are Not a Sunk Cost Escape The Clock Resources: The Book — https://escapetheclock.com/book ⬇️ The Planner — https://escapetheclock.com/toolkit ️ The Podcast — https://escapetheclock.com/podcast 1:1 Help — https://escapetheclock.com/schedule ✉️ Free Monthly Insights — https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe Episode References & Resources: ℹ️ Early retirement trends and workforce confidence - EBRI 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey https://www.ebri.org/retirement/retirement-confidence-survey ℹ️ Age and high-growth entrepreneurship - Azoulay et al. (2020) https://www.nber.org/papers/w24489 ℹ️ Older worker labor force projections - Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024) https://www.bls.gov/emp/data/labor-force.htm ℹ️ Age discrimination in the workplace - AARP 2026 Survey https://www.aarp.org/work/age-discrimination/age-bias-survey-2026/ ℹ️ Life expectancy at 65 - SSA Actuarial Life Table https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html ℹ️ U.S. deaths projected to exceed births - CBO Demographic Outlook (2025) https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61164 ℹ️ Slow productivity and deep work principles - Cal Newport, Slow Productivity (2024) Connect with Lynn: Website - https://www.lynnfriesth.com ️ Creating An Encore Career Podcast - https://www.lynnfriesth.com/podcast LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnfriesth/ LynnAI — https://app.coachvox.ai/share/LynnFriesth Support the podcast: ⭐ Leave a rating & review Share this episode with others ✉️ Join the newsletter at https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe Grab my debut fiction book Killswitch at https://escapetheclock.com/books/killswitch This information is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for personalized guidance. #EscapeTheClock #EscapeTheClockPodcast #DanielCRodgers #RetireAndThrive #EncoreCareer #RetirementPlanning #FinancialFreedom #AICoaching

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  Episode #75

  Words to Wealth: Turning Reading Comprehension into Financial Independence with Russell Van Brocklen, Founder of Dyslexia Classes

  Sep 8, 202645 min

  What if the greatest asset you'll ever own isn't your house or a hot stock, but the very thing most unique about yourself? Russell Van Brocklen went to law school reading and writing at a first grade level. He learned to read there, then built a method out of what worked and convinced the New York State Senate to fund it. His original program is owned by the SUNY Research Foundation, and he spent more than a decade training New York City special education teachers. Today he runs DyslexiaClasses.com. In this episode, Russell explains why a student's specialty is the only viable entry point, what happens to motivation outside it, why he starts specific and works outward, how word analysis on your own writing comes before the writing gets good, what a ten year old reading at a second grade level did with a 900 page biography, and how that habit lets a young adult read a loan document instead of just signing it. Chapters: 02:12 - A $29,000 Gap Between Reading Levels 05:36 - New York State Funded This Method 07:10 - Ten Years Old and 900 Pages In 10:31 - Half of Freshmen Misjudge Their Debt 12:40 - Start With a Movie You Know Cold 15:10 - Hero, Goal, Villain, and Conflict 16:45 - Type It Out Then Take It Apart 21:45 - Credit Card Fine Print Costs You More 25:00 - Fifteen Minutes a Week Is Enough 27:45 - Reward the First Sale and Repeat 31:00 - Trapped in a System Built by Adults 33:05 - Reading Every Night for 19 Years 38:15 - Start With What You Already Love 41:20 - Write First Then Mine Your Own Words 43:30 - Explain It or Do Not Sign It Escape The Clock Resources: The Book — https://escapetheclock.com/book ⬇️ The Planner — https://escapetheclock.com/toolkit ️ The Podcast — https://escapetheclock.com/podcast 1:1 Help — https://escapetheclock.com/schedule ✉️ Free Monthly Insights — https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe Episode References & Resources: ℹ️ Definition of human capital - OECD, The Well-being of Nations (2001) https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2001/05/the-well-being-of-nations_g1gh268d.html ℹ️ US adults at the lowest literacy level, 2017 versus 2023 - NCES, PIAAC (2024) https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/2023/national_results.asp ℹ️ Wage gap across the adult literacy scale - OECD, Survey of Adult Skills https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/about/programmes/edu/piaac/reports/2013-Skills-for-Life-Key-Findings-from-the-Survey-of-Adult-Skills.pdf ℹ️ Concrete to abstract instruction beats the reverse - Fyfe, McNeil, Son and Goldstone, Educational Psychology Review (2014) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-014-9249-3 Connect with Russell: Website - https://dyslexiaclasses.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-van-brocklen-2007ab87 Free Guide - https://mailchi.mp/dcacd9a6f9ae/3-reasons-ebook Support the podcast: ⭐ Leave a rating & review Share this episode with others ✉️ Join the newsletter at https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe Support Dan by picking up his debut science-fiction novel Killswitch. You can find it at https://escapetheclock.com/book/killswitch or any online place books are sold. This information is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for personalized guidance. #FinancialFreedom #EarlyRetirement #EscapeTheClock #EscapeTheClockPodcast

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  Episode #74

  604 Days: What to Do With the Time Early Retirement Buys You

  Sep 3, 202617 min

  Everyone asks how much money it takes to retire early. Almost nobody asks what you plan to do with the time. I left in May 2024 at 43 with a spreadsheet that ran to age 100 and a to-do list I had put off for decades. Two years later, here is the honest accounting of what I did with the time I bought back: I wrote two books, earned the WMCP designation, taught financial literacy as a volunteer, fostered dogs, and launched this podcast. Almost none of it paid. That is the point. In this special off-schedule episode I walk through what actually got built, why a financial plan has to become a life plan, and the milestone I am proudest of. Killswitch, my debut science-fiction novel, released September 1, 2026. It took 604 days and 137,500 words. I also get into why a book about artificial intelligence belongs on a financial independence show, and why my son editing it and designing the cover was the return I never budgeted for. Regular Tuesday programming continues as scheduled. Get Killswitch: Hardcover, $29.99 — https://amzn.to/4qVrgRy Paperback, $17.99 — https://amzn.to/4qQqjK9 Kindle, $4.99 — https://amzn.to/4iIBGS9 All formats — https://escapetheclock.com/books/killswitch/ Free on Kindle Unlimited. Borrowing it costs nothing, it counts, and it supports the book. If you read it and it holds up, an honest review does more for a debut than anything else I could ask for. Chapters: 00:00 - What Early Retirement Bought Me 01:41 - Teaching Money and Fostering Dogs 04:19 - The Goal That Was Never the Podcast 06:23 - AI Today Is a Very Good Magic Trick 08:15 - Building What We Cannot Turn Off 10:28 - Inside the Premise of Killswitch 12:02 - The Choice With No Good Answer 14:38 - Why This Book Needed Early Retirement Escape The Clock Resources: The Book — https://escapetheclock.com/book ⬇️ The Planner — https://escapetheclock.com/toolkit ️ The Podcast — https://escapetheclock.com/podcast 1:1 Help — https://escapetheclock.com/schedule ✉️ Free Monthly Insights — https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe Episode References & Resources: ℹ️ Killswitch 5-star review — Literary Titan (2026) https://literarytitan.com/2026/08/27/killswitch/ ℹ️ 604 Days: What I Did With the Time I Bought Back — Escape The Clock Insights (2026) https://escapetheclock.com/insights13 ℹ️ Financial literacy volunteering in Washington — Financial Beginnings https://finbegwa.org ℹ️ Foster-based dog rescue, Redmond WA — Motley Zoo https://www.motleyzooanimalrescue.org Support the podcast: ⭐ Leave a rating & review Share this episode with others ✉️ Join the newsletter at https://escapetheclock.com/subscribe #EscapeTheClock #EscapeTheClockPodcast #DanielCRodgers #KillswitchBook #Killswitch #EarlyRetirement #FinancialIndependence #LifeAfterWork #RetirementPlanning

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