The variety of subjects covered in this week’s episode of The Delicious Story is vast, because we talked about living and investing like a nomad—that’s “21st century-style.” We also talked about the aspects of being a world traveler, an expat and an entrepreneur on a borderless planet, and eating a paleo diet a smidge on the kosher side of things, too.
Whew! It’s a ruckus interview with Shlomo Freund of Free Financial Self, who is a financial planner for the expats and nomads (and those who aspire to be).

As I write this post, I review the date Shlomo and I recorded the interview, which was back at the end of February. You and I both can attest that feels like centuries ago. The world is completely upside down because of COVID-19, and yet Shlomo calmly reports that the only thing to count on, especially if you’re striving to live like a nomad, is to count on the unexpected.

SHLOMO AND FAMILY
I stumbled (or perhaps LinkedIn helped) onto Shlomo and saw the words “expat” and “financial planning” in his title. I thought, “This is a thing? There is a different strategy for those who live permanently abroad? What would be different for investing as a frequent or regular traveler, and why?”

We dive into those very questions under his investing and coaching approach, using his life as an example. I learned that Shlomo and his family are “location dependent” in Israel but make planned, long-term stays in other parts of the world as an ongoing strategy.

When Shlomo mentioned his family’s base, my first thought was, “but you already live somewhere cool and abroad.” Of course, this is spoken like a person based forever in one place, Des Moines, Iowa that I call home but nothing exotic.

However, I regrouped and focused attention on the concept of expats who exist within my family. My daughter was born in Des Moines but is living in Lima, Peru, and my daughter-in-law moved to the United States from her home in South Africa. Is there a financial planning strategy that is better suited for people like them?

NOMADS, EXPATS AND SOMETHING IN BETWEEN
Shlomo explains that some of his clients are true nomads in that they work virtually, usually as entrepreneurs, which provides them the freedom to relocate their base as their needs and interests change. The distinction between nomad versus tourist is an important one.

Nomads often land in a place long enough to experience the culture and meet people, and gain a deeper understanding place before picking the next spot they want to discover. In contrast, expats relocate from the country of their origin and make another country their base.

To get even more into these definitions, Shlomo has other clients who want to prepare to be nomadic or expats, or something in between the two. They reach out to Shlomo to create a plan in their finances and life so that more travel in their future is possible.

Shlomo explains how he works with clients to help them identify their goals with a target of becoming mobile in mind. See if you’re not shocked when Shlomo reveals the biggest surprise he encounters in asking people to identify what they want for their future. Is this financial planning of more therapy? You decide.

INVESTING LIKE A WORLD CITIZEN
The idea of financial planning is something necessary but honestly sort of dry to me. However, investing like a nomad sounds pretty sexy. Shlomo talks about how he approaches working with clients to find the balance of investing that works for them, which includes classical investments and other opportunities which are not as traditional.

Shlomo details an approach that is methodical and prudent, but he doesn’t limit himself to the standard opportunities because the world is big investment prospect if you really want to be a citizen of the world. But he also acknowledges that many of these opportunities come with much greater risk and keeps his advice up-and-up with transparency.

Shlomo elaborates on subjects including peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding as vehicles worthy of exploration. And just to offer proof, he shares his portfolio on his blog where he dives deep and offers candid thoughts about investing for a long-term strategy.

DRAGON EYEBALLS
I’ll just let that header above hang out there for you to ruminate on, and assure you there is a fascinating and humorous memorable meal story you’ll enjoy. You’ll be transported to Beijing and a popular vegetarian restaurant called Pure Lotus. The after-dinner aperitif involved a fruit called lychees. I’ve seen these canned in Asian markets but have never been bold enough to try them. Clearly, I am not a culinary nomad.

Here are lychees unpeeled.
Here they are unpeeled. You’ll need the images if you’re not familiar with the fruit to understand Shlomo’s story.


NO LASAGNA FOR SHLOMO
We covered the topic of lasagna, too, of which I’m well-versed compared to everything else. But for the world of me, I can’t imagine how someone who is on a paleo diet and observes kosher would ever manage it. In fact, Shlomo acknowledged he hasn’t eaten this comfort food in years.
I wasn’t sure what encompasses a paleo diet, so a quick search brought me up to speed. The bottom line is everything is meant to be natural, not processed. Ironically, it is a diet well fit for a nomad, because the foods are supposed to be the basic staples of foragers.

I’m not versed on eating kosher, either, but I’d heard about the importance of not mixing dairy and meat, which really makes lasagna impossible. I went on an internet search and found a paleo lasagna recipe here, and a kosher lasagna option here.

Shlomo emphasized that what he likes about being nomadic is taking on the adventure and exercising his ability to adapt. The fun is in being malleable wherever you go. It is an interesting combo for someone who also values and teaches preparation which I see makes being pliable possible.

In these days of a pandemic we’ve all learned how interconnected we are weather we travel or stay in one place. What Shlomo advises is creating a plan and knowing the direction you wish to go. Whether you dive into non-traditional investments or just want to be ready for a life of surprises there is good advice and great stories here.