Why Free Range Finance Has No Ads, Affiliate Links, or Sales Pitches
A Different Approach
You might have noticed something missing from Free Range Finance: I'm not trying to sell you anything.
No affiliate links for credit cards or banks. No sponsored posts about investment platforms. No "exclusive course" for $297. No ads cluttering up the content. No "limited time offers" or email sequences pushing products.
This is intentional, and I want to explain why.
The Problem with Monetized Financial Content
Walk into the financial advice space online and you'll immediately notice something: almost everyone is trying to sell you something.
Personal finance blogs are packed with credit card affiliate links that pay $100-500 per signup. The "best" credit card recommendations mysteriously align with whoever is paying the highest commissions.
Investment advice sites push you toward brokerages that pay referral fees, regardless of whether they're actually the best option for your situation.
YouTube channels are sponsored by trading platforms, budgeting apps, and cryptocurrency exchanges, always with a "special discount code" that benefits the creator.
Financial "gurus" sell courses, coaching, and masterminds that promise to teach you their "secret strategies" for thousands of dollars.
The result: Conflicted advice that serves the creator's bank account more than your financial independence.
Why This Matters for You
When someone's income depends on you clicking their affiliate links or buying their products, their advice becomes biased, whether they realize it or not.
Examples of how this distorts advice:
Recommending expensive active trading over simple index investing (because trading platforms pay higher commissions)
Pushing credit card churning strategies that work for creators but might hurt regular people's credit scores
Suggesting complex investment strategies that require paid tools or courses to implement
Focusing on tactics that sound exciting but don't move the needle on FI progress
The psychological pressure: When your newsletter income depends on selling products, you start writing content designed to make people buy, not content designed to help them succeed.
My Approach: Actually Free Advice
Free Range Finance operates differently:
No affiliate links: When I mention a brokerage, bank, or service, I get zero compensation whether you sign up or not. My recommendations are based solely on what I think works best for FI.
No sponsored content: No company pays me to write about their products or services. Every recommendation comes from my genuine experience and research.
No courses or coaching: I'm not building an audience to sell you expensive education. The newsletter IS the education, and it's free.
No ads: Your attention isn't being sold to advertisers. The content exists to help you, not to generate ad revenue.
No email funnels: You won't get hit with sales sequences or "limited time" offers designed to pressure you into buying.
Why I Can Afford to Do This
The honest answer: I'm already financially independent.
I don't need this newsletter to pay my bills. I'm not trying to replace my income or build a financial advice business. I'm writing because I want to share what I learned on my own FI journey.
This creates a different dynamic: My success isn't measured by how much money I make from readers. It's measured by whether the advice actually helps people achieve financial independence.
What This Means for You
Unbiased recommendations: When I suggest a brokerage, index fund, or strategy, it's because I genuinely think it's the best option, not because someone paid me to recommend it. Also, I can provide a real explanation of why it’s the best, not just a blanket statement.
Focus on what works: I can write about boring, effective strategies (like index fund investing) instead of exciting, profitable-to-promote tactics (like day trading).
No pressure tactics: You'll never get a "sign up now or miss out forever" pitch. Good advice doesn't need artificial urgency. Everything I do is slow, steady, and reliable.
Honest trade-offs: I can discuss the downsides of strategies I recommend because I'm not trying to convince you to buy anything.
The Temptation Is Real
I want to be honest: turning down monetization opportunities isn't always easy.
What I've been pitched:
Credit card affiliate programs (could earn $10,000+ annually)
Investment platform partnerships (significant referral fees)
Course creation partnerships (split revenue on financial education)
Sponsored content deals (companies wanting to sponsor newsletters)
Coaching and consulting opportunities (leveraging newsletter audience)
Why I've said no: Once I start depending on newsletter income, the incentives change. Even with the best intentions, I'd start thinking about what generates revenue instead of what helps readers.
What I Do Get Out of This
Personal satisfaction: Helping people avoid the financial mistakes I made and reach FI faster is genuinely rewarding.
Intellectual challenge: Explaining complex topics clearly and researching new strategies keeps me sharp. I genuinely enjoy the concepts of FIRE!
Community: Connecting with readers who are on similar journeys creates interesting conversations and perspectives.
Accountability: Writing about FI strategies keeps me disciplined about my own financial decisions.
Is This Forever?
I don’t know. I’m not going to commit to donating my time forever. Instead, I can commit to being completely transparent about any changes and explain exactly why.
I can see a scenario where I charge for 1:1 consultations or specialized advice. Additionally, Substack has the ability to charge a subscription for premium content. We’ll see where it goes!
How This Affects What I Write
I can be boring: For example, index fund investing isn't exciting, but it works. I don't need to make it sound more exciting than it is to sell you something.
I can be honest about limitations: I have invested in real estate and know it has risks and requires significant time. I don't need to oversell it because I'm not offering a real estate course.
I can admit when I don't know: If I haven't personally experienced something, I'll say so instead of pretending expertise to maintain authority.
I can change my mind: If I learn something new or my opinion evolves, I can share that without worrying about how it affects product sales.
What to Do with This Information
Take the advice seriously: Because I'm not trying to sell you anything, you can trust that the strategies I recommend are what I genuinely believe work best for FI.
But still think critically: Even unbiased advice might not fit your specific situation. Use the information as a starting point for your own research and decisions.
Share with others: If you find the content helpful, the best way to support it is by sharing it with people who might benefit. No purchase necessary.
The Bottom Line
Financial independence is too important to be corrupted by sales incentives.
I want you to reach FI as quickly and safely as possible, not to maximize my affiliate income. That means recommending boring index funds over exciting trading strategies, simple brokerages over complex platforms, and free resources over paid courses.
The goal isn't to get rich from teaching about FI. The goal is to help you get rich by achieving FI.
Until next time,
Max
A request: If you find this approach valuable, the best way to support it is by sharing the newsletter with someone who might benefit. Word-of-mouth is the only "marketing" strategy that aligns with keeping the content completely independent.