Explore Your Options. Build Your Community. Gain confidence in your Slow FI Plan.
Dates: Thursday, September 28th to Sunday, October 1st, 2023
Location: YMCA of the Rockies, Snow Mountain Ranch, Winter Park, CO
Are you on a path to financial independence?
Along the way, have you started to realize that you don’t want (or need) to keep pushing as hard to reach FI?
Maybe you’d reach FI a bit later, but who cares if you are enjoying your life along the way?
Do you have an idea (or ideas) in mind but wonder how you could make it work financially? Does it feel scary to step away from the standard life (or even standard FI) path?
If so, the Slow FI retreat is designed for you.
Why We are Doing a Live, In-Person Retreat
Something unique happens when we intentionally step outside of our normal routine and daily life. A different level of awareness and inspiration happens. So many of our life-changing realizations happen when we are outside of our daily grind.
Plus, building a like-minded community of people who really “get” you is the #1 way to work toward your goals and find joy in the process. While I love community that happens virtually and online, there’s something special that happens when people get together in-person. All of the informal connection adds up in a way that structured Zoom calls can’t compare.
At this retreat, you’ll have the opportunity to cultivate relationships with others who are passionate about building financial freedom, defying societal expectations, and designing lives they love.
Most people in your life probably don’t understand your goals… But, these people will!
Join Us (the Fioneers) and 40 Slow FI Enthusiasts for this intimate 3-Day Retreat.
At this retreat, you’ll:
- See real, ordinary people living extraordinary, expectation-defying lives to inspire new possibilities.
- Cultivate relationships with a like-minded community that will encourage you and push you forward.
- Brainstorm new ideas and solutions to challenges.
- Dig into strategies to work through the fears that are holding you back (e.g. scarcity, failure, defying expectations, etc.)
- Create an action plan to move forward.
- Relax and enjoy each others' company in this beautiful Rocky Mountain location.
The Slow FI Retreat will have a variety of activities including: workshops, panel discussions, breakout groups, and time for individual reflection. We’ll also host formal and informal group activities, such as a welcome “party,” a campfire, board games, group hikes, disc golf, and plenty of hang-out time.
Thursday:
- Check-in begins at 5:30 PM
- Dinner with the welcome “party” to follow
Friday:
- Breakfast
- Morning Session: Exploring Lifestyle Design Options (Panel Discussion)
- Lunch
- Afternoon Session: Explore Lifestyle Design Options (Breakout Groups)
- Free Time to Enjoy Snow Mountain Ranch
- Dinner, followed by more free, hang-out time
Saturday:
- Breakfast
- Morning Session: Understanding and Using our Finances to Empower our Choices
- Lunch
- Afternoon Session: The Power of Experimentation: taking action with more ease and less fear
- Free Time to Enjoy Snow Mountain Ranch
- Dinner, followed by a campfire and free, hang-out time.
Sunday:
- Breakfast
- Morning Session: Create your Action Plan
- Lunch
- Retreat Ends
Sunday Optional Add-ons:
- Afternoon: Optional Group Hike
- Evening: Optional Dinner and Hang Out Time for Anyone Staying an extra night
Once you arrive at Snow Mountain Ranch on Thursday evening, September 28th, EVERYTHING is included:
- Lodging for 3 nights in one of two large retreat cabins
- Three meals per day (starting for Thursday's dinner and going through lunch on Sunday), snacks, and drinks (alcoholic* and non-alcoholic)
- All retreat activities, including workshops, panels, breakout groups, group hangouts, and fun activities onsite (such as hiking, campfires, and disc golf)
- Swag Gifts, including a T-shirt and Notebook
- Optional: Group Hike on Sunday Afternoon.
*See Alcohol and Controlled Substances Policy Below for more details
Participants will also have the option to stay in the cabin with us on Sunday night after the retreat wraps up for a small cost. Note: there are only 7 spots left to stay for an additional night.
If you’d like to stay longer than one additional night, you’ll have the opportunity to extend your stay in one of Snow Mountain Ranch’s Lodges (three meals per day are included in the cost of lodging) to explore Rocky Mountain National Park.
What’s Not Included:
- Airfare and/or transportation to the retreat site
To help participants curb travel costs, you will have access to a carpool spreadsheet, so you can reach out and find others who want to share rental cars. If you don’t want to rent a car, you can utilize a local shuttle services to get from the airport to Snow Mountain Ranch (we recommend Home James). Coordinating with other retreat attendees will allow you to get a discount group rate.
Accommodation Options and Pricing
Shared Room - Bunk or Single Bed
Your own single bed or bunk sharing a room and bathroom with 2-5 other retreat attendees*.
$1,200
Private Room (Couples/Double Accommodation)
Private room and bathroom for a couple traveling and attending together.
$1,500 (each)
Shared Room - Queen Bed
Your own queen bed sharing a room and bathroom with 1-2 other retreat attendees*.
$1,500
Private Room (Single Accommodation) - SOLD OUT
Private room and bathroom for one person.
$1,900
*We will make room assignments based on answers to a survey.
If you’d like to stick around for an additional night (or book a flight that leaves Monday), you also have the option to stay in the cabin on Sunday night for $150 (dinner and breakfast included). We have availability for up to 20 people to stay with us in the cabin on Sunday night.
Note: There are still a few spots left to stay in the cabin on Sunday night, but you’d need to choose a Shared Room (queen bed) or Private Room (Couple). All Shared Room – Bunk/Single Bed and Private Room (Single) tickets that include the additional night are Sold out.
We are committed to safety and comfort of each participant at the event.
To do this, we will require attendees to be fully vaccinated (2 shots of Pfizer or Moderna or 1 shot of Johnson and Johnson) and/or to have received a booster (with your most recent vaccine or booster being within the last 18 months).
We will do rapid testing upon arrival. If you do a rapid test prior to departure, a photo of your negative test will suffice.
If someone is symptomatic, they will be isolated and tested immediately. In the event that someone tests positive, they will be expected to leave the retreat premises. They may choose to isolate in a room in one of the lodges on site (at their own cost) or find their own accommodations.
If you are unable to attend the event after buying a ticket, please let us know as soon as possible. If you let us know at least three months before the event, and we can fill the spot with someone from the waitlist, you would be issued a full refund. If the spot goes unfilled, no refund will be issued.
In the unlikely event that the full retreat is cancelled, you will be issued a full refund.
The YMCA of the Rockies does not serve alcoholic beverages. However, we plan to stock the fridges in the cabin with beer, cider, and wine, and we may consume them in the privacy of our cabin and meeting spaces.
The use of marijuana and other controlled substances are prohibited anywhere on the grounds of the YMCA of the Rockies.
Featured Retreat Speakers
Michelle Jackson
Michelle is an expert in having financial conversations. She is the host of the award-winning podcast – Michelle is Money Hungry – and loves having awkward conversations about money.
Michelle is a strong proponent of Slow FIRE and starting with the life you want and working backwards to create it. She paid off over $60,000 in unsecured debt and is an entrepreneur with many different income streams. She now works only 4 days/week for 10 months each year.
Author of the upcoming book, Not a Financial Unicorn, Michelle’s goal is to transform people’s lives through increased financial knowledge, empathy, and shared resources.
Anders Skagerberg, CFP
Anders – The Coast FI Guy – had been aggressively pursuing FIRE since 2015. All that changed in 2020 when he learned about Coast FI and welcomed his newborn daughter into the world.
Since then, Anders and his wife, Paige, have opted for a slower, more flexible, and more enjoyable path to FI. They are in no rush, and are “coasting” to the finish line – letting compound interest do the heavy lifting.
Anders now works as a part-time freelance writer and part-time seasonal tax preparer while enjoying a healthy balance between work and play.
In his free time, you can find Anders hiking with his wife and daughter, playing pickleball, or working in the garden.
Heidi Dusek
Heidi earned the title of adventurous mom after a decade of packing up kids and setting off on adventures near and far. She is currently winding down her career in the public sector as a Foundation Executive to take a gap year with her family.
As an “ordinary” mom, she creates content on her podcast – Ordinary Sherpa – to guide and support other families on their quest to live a more adventurous life.
Over the last 14 years of marriage, she and her husband, Brent, have traveled to over 40 states in an effort to support their 3 kids’ travel goals which include visiting all of the Major League Baseball Stadiums, exploring all of the National Parks, and tasting the best small homemade ice-cream in all 50 states.
Mel Dorion
Mel is a financial coach, speaker and blogger behind Modest Millionaires. She’s an expert in guiding individuals, couples, and families to align their finances to support the life they truly want.
Over the last decade, her family progressed from a negative net worth to achieving 80% of their target FI goal.
While Mel hasn’t reached FI yet, she considers that she’s already build her ideal life, working 20 hours/week (and less in the summer) on her passion business, which allows her plenty of space to prioritize the things that matter most to her – family, health, adventure, and learning.
Here’s What You’ll Get When You Sign-Up
Slow FI Retreat
September 28th-October 1st, 2023-
Lodging for 3 Nights at Snow Mountain Ranch
-
All Meals, Snacks, and Drinks from Thursday night through Sunday afternoon
-
3 Days of Workshops, Breakout Groups, Community-Building, and Fun
-
Swag Gifts: A T-shirt and Notebook
-
Private Online Platform for communication with other retreat participants
-
Optional Group Hike on Sunday Afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park
-
The Option to Stay for 1 Additional Night in the Cabin
-
Pre-enrollment Opportunities for Future Programs
About the Retreat Facilitator, Jessica
Jessica is a lifestyle design expert and co-founder of the award winning Financial Independence blog, The Fioneers. She is skilled in training design, facilitation, and adult learning. Throughout her career in both Human Resources and Coaching, she has facilitated countless learning experiences through retreats, workshops, small group processes, and one-on-one coaching.
Jessica has helped dozens of clients (and thousands of readers) discover what they really want and develop skills, strategies, and mindsets to move toward their goals and feel good doing it. As a result, clients and readers have started businesses, reduced their work hours, become digital nomads, found jobs they enjoyed, negotiated sabbaticals, and more.
This is What People are Saying about Working with Jessica
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep the retreat small and intimate, we are only selling 35-40 tickets.
With this number of attendees, you will have the opportunity to get to know other participants and interact with speakers.
If you are unable to attend the event after buying a ticket, please let us know as soon as possible. If you let us know at least three months before the event, and we can fill the spot with someone from the waitlist, you would be issued a full refund. If the spot goes unfilled, no refund will be issued.
Because we know that some people would prefer a private room, we’ve made this an option at an additional cost.
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer childcare for an event of this size.
The event content and structure is focused on adults (and thus, not suitable for children).
If you’d like to attend and turn it into a family vacation after the retreat, your spouse and kids could come with you and stay in one of the (very affordable) lodges at YMCA of the Rockies during the retreat. You’d have the opportunity to see them during downtime and could join them when the retreat wraps up. They would also be welcome to join the group hike on Sunday afternoon.
Immediately upon registering, you will be redirected to a survey to share lodging preferences, dietary, restrictions, t-shirt size, etc. I will also share this survey within a few days if you do not fill this out immediately.
After all tickets are sold, we will create a spreadsheet to share your contact and flight information. This will allow you to find others to carpool (or shuttle) with, if you’d like.
Two months before the event, we will provide you with a detailed agenda for the event and invite you to the online platform we will use to communicate with other retreat participants.
Yes! The retreat content will cater to people at any point in their Slow FI journey – from people who are completely new to the idea to people who are ready to make (or have already made) significant lifestyle changes.
The activities and breakout groups will be tailored to support people at different levels in their Slow FI journey.
No! The content of this retreat is not designed for bloggers or other content creators. The retreat will focus on financial independence and using your financial freedom to design your life.
If you are a content creator, you are very welcome to attend. This retreat will help you design your best life as you share your story and create great content.
We’ve decided to not allow 1-day attendance. The content (panels, workshops, and breakout groups) builds up over the course of the weekend, so you need to attend the full event to get the experience.
We are requiring proof of full COVID vaccination (two shots of Pfizer or Moderna or 1 shot of Johnson and Johnson) and a booster in the last 18 months (if your initial vaccine was not in the past 18 months).
We want this retreat to be a place where people feel comfortable and safe interacting with each other without masks (if they so choose).
In the case that anyone contracts COVID at the event (which will hopefully be unlikely because of the precautions we are taking), we want everyone to have the peace of mind that it would likely be a mild case.
Here’s What You’ll Get When You Sign-Up
Slow FI Retreat
September 28th-October 1st, 2023-
Lodging for 3 Nights at Snow Mountain Ranch
-
All Meals, Snacks, and Drinks from Thursday night through Sunday afternoon
-
3 Days of Workshops, Breakout Groups, Community-Building, and Fun
-
Swag Gifts: A T-shirt and Notebook
-
Private Online Platform for communication with other retreat participants
-
Optional Group Hike on Sunday Afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park
-
The Option to Stay for 1 Additional Night in the Cabin
-
Pre-enrollment Opportunities for Future Programs
