About

Hey, my name is Shaun Maslyk, and welcome to the Most Hated F-Word. Finances have longed been the most hated f-word. Year after year, we see finances as the top-ranked stressor in our lives, despite we have access to more information than ever before.

What’s the deal?

Well, maybe it’s because finances aren’t the soul purpose?

I believe to be truly wealthy or truly financially independent, we need to develop a financially-free mind: we see money as simply an ingredient to accomplish fulfilling things in our lives—part of the recipe.

When we identify our money stories—those foundational money experiences we gained in childhood that impact us today—and when we identify our money relationships and what’s important, our entire money framework changes in a healthy manner. We experience financial independence.

My mission Is to redefine the concept of retirement/financial independence by focusing on the intersection between our minds, our money, and what matters most.

Ok. who am I?

It seems my whole life that I have been trying to figure out this personal finance thing. I have always been so intrigued by money and the paradox it represents. It can make us so happy yet, so upset. What’s the deal?

In university, I was fortunate to make a decision that has forever changed my perspective and relationship with money. I decided to drop out and bought a one-way ticket to Vietnam with my girlfriend (now wife!) and travel the world.  We had $35,000, less than half the Canadian average annual household income, in our bank account and set a goal to travel around the entire world for a year – without working.

With a strict spending plan (boy was it hard to find information on making one of those), we successfully travelled for 13 months around the entire world. It was amazing.

However, it wasn’t until we returned home and did all the “adult” things (bought a home with a mortgage, purchased vehicles with loans and signed up for all our utility bills) to realize what this trip did to me.

On paper, we were successful, right? We bought a home and vehicles at a young age; I had a full-time career with a pension – I was set! Right?

When we returned home, I started obsessing about money and happiness. I started reading book after book on personal finance. I even took a career in the financial services industry, and I became a Certified Financial Planner.

Then one day, I woke up and realized that 6 years of my life flew by. Six years had flashed past me faster than I could’ve imagined. The busyness of life took over my obsession with money and happiness. Yet, I was about to be a father, and I wanted things to slow down.

And, while the memory of that trip and what it taught me about myself and money was still burning inside of me, I had snuffed out a lot of that fire.

I felt stressed as I was doing so many things on other people’s time, not mine.

I was living to work instead of working to live.

Despite all the personal finance information I was consuming, I had fallen into the rat-race trap.

I felt frustrated and stuck.

I realized it was time to dive deeper into my relationship with money to really find out what I wanted out of my money and life.

After taking the time to explore things—like how money actually made me feel, what emotions it evoked, what I learned from my parents around money, the role money played in my house as a child, what my relationship with money was, how I used money—I was discovering and recognizing my money story. 

After some deep introspection, I took the time to bring light to my unconscious money beliefs and started to uncover my true values. I realized that spending my time and money wasn’t in line with the most important things to me and that the last thing I needed was more personal finance information.

I discovered the traditional approach to personal finances, where you focus on the “external aspects,” wasn’t enough for me.

My soul was seeking more than just how to save more and invest.

Now, I deeply believe the key to having a healthy relationship with money is rooted in our own psychology. And by identifying our money stories and money beliefs that unconsciously impact how we think, act and feel towards money – we can start to gain control over our money relationships. When we understand our money relationships and what’s important, our entire money framework changes in a healthy manner where we can experience financial independence.  (maybe all from my conference)

I am on a mission to educate and empower people to live their happiest and most fulfilled lives. So that they don’t see six or eight or ten years pass by in a blink.

For me, financial literacy is not about becoming rich: it’s about living our most enriched lives.

Join me on The Most Hated F Word Podcast and different speaking events, where I focus on the intersection between our minds, money, and what matters most.

Stay Amazing,

Shaun