SUMMARY
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Mike Piper is a CPA from St. Louis, MO, and is the author of many finance and tax-related books. He’s quoted regularly as a Tax and Social Security expert in publications such as The Wall Street Journal , AARP , Forbes , and Morningstar , among others. He’s also the creator of the blog, ObliviousInvestor.com, where he shows his readers that investing doesn’t have to be complicated.

Today, Mike joins the show to talk about his financial journey, how fear, anxiety and mental health impact our financial decisions, and the concept of having ‘more than enough.

TAKEAWAYS
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00:56 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Mike Piper, who joins the show to share early financial lessons his mother imparted on him, and how he started writing about finance and taxes
12:11 – Mike speaks to his experience publishing over thirteen books and refreshing new editions
14:18 – How writing has impacted Mike’s thinking
15:57 – The genesis of Mike’s blog, Oblivious Investor
17:23 – Taking on clients for Tax and Social Security advice
18:37 – The inspiration behind Mike’s latest book, More Than Enough
21:05 – Fear, anxiety, and mental health
26:49 – Feedback Mike has gotten from his book
30:07 – Conservative assumptions in the financial planning process
32:53 – What Mike would change about the tax code if given the ability
36:24 – The audience Mike wished to reach when he wrote More Than Enough
38:33 – Blocking out the noise in finance
42:27 – One piece of financial advice to heed and one thing to completely ignore
45:45 – The last thing Mike changed his mind about and what he would do if he only had 24 hours to live
48:31 – Jonathan thanks Mike for joining the show today and lets listeners know where to connect with him

QUOTES
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“It was basically an accidental business. Within a handful of months, I was getting emails from people who read the book saying, ‘This was really useful. I wish you would write a book about this other topic.’ So I did and then people bought that book. And in a little less than a year, it was pretty clear that I could just quit my job as an accountant and do that instead.” (11:07) (Mike)

“These days I would not suggest somebody go into publishing as a career because the Amazon ecosystem has changed in ways that are not favorable to writers and publishers, frankly. Of course, even back when I started, I just got lucky in terms of it becoming enough to make a living from. So even when it was a more favorable set of circumstances, it still took a lot of good luck for it to turn into a business that paid well.” (13:02) (Mike)

ABOUT MINDFUL MONEY
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Do you struggle with money? You’re not alone.
Money is a means, not an end. It’s a necessity of life for sure, but more money does not always guarantee a “good life”. Money enables many aspects of modern life, but as a dominant consideration it becomes destructive.
The paradox is that more time and energy spent on personal finance does NOT create better outcomes. Unlike many other parts of life, we can’t create better outcomes by being smarter, spending more time, or putting in more effort.
Join Mindful Money author and experienced 40-year investor Jonathan DeYoe as he shares stories from artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other advisors about how they mindfully minimize their need to think about money and get more out of life.
If you aren’t happy with your finances, feel like money takes more time that it should, or want to place your financial decisions into the broader context of your life, this show is for you.
Each episode will draw the line between the “enough” activities that the academics tell us are additive to family outcomes, and those “little bit more” efforts that take time and sap energy, but do NOT improve outcomes.

GUEST RESOURCES
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Mike’s Blog: https://obliviousinvestor.com/
Mike’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/More-than-Enough-Questions-Realizing-ebook/dp/B0BXY8HQLQ
Mike’s Email: mike@obliviousinvestor.com
Mike’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelrpiper
Podcasts Mentioned:
Huberman Lab: https://hubermanlab.com/
Books Mentioned:
The Economics of Inequality: https://www.amazon.com/The-Economics-of-Inequality-audiobook/dp/B014RN0REE/

MINDFUL MONEY RESOURCES
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Monthly Coaching Membership: https://courses.mindful.money/mindful-money-membership
Jonathan’s Book – https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Money-Practices-Financial-Increasing/dp/1608684369
Website - https://mindful.money/
Jonathan DeYoe on LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/jonathandeyoe
Mindful Money on Twitter - https://twitter.com/MindfulMoney_Ed
Mindful Money on Facebook - http://facebook.com/MindfulMoneyPlan
Mindful Money on Instagram - http://instagram.com/mindfulmoneyplan
Mindful Money on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/MindfulMoney🎙️
Podcast Production by FullCast: https://fullcast.co/sn