Your Best Life, By Design

Welcome to Pennies & Passion!

My name is Chris Elle Dove. I enjoy hiking, running, biking, exploring, and cooking. My ideal day begins while watching the sunrise over the mountains (coffee in hand), and ends curled up in front of a fire (reading a book).

I’m also a Certified Financial Behavior Specialist® with a Master of Sociology and another Master of Financial Planning and Financial Psychology.

Having experienced financial stress and uncertainty – if I’m being honest, there was a time when just hearing the word money made me a little queasy – I’ve learned, firsthand, the extent to which not managing money effectively can wreak havoc in your life.

Now that I’m in a completely different position, I realize how much calmer things can become once you’ve achieved financial stability and security. Today, money is a tool that works in my favor, leaving me free to spend time on what truly matters, to focus on those things that money can’t buy.

It’s nearly impossible to explain how light I feel without constant financial stress weighing me down. Don’t get me wrong, I still have problems. I struggle, for instance, to maintain balance between my various roles. But money, which used to exacerbate nearly every other issue I had, is no longer a concern.

My unique combination of education and personal experience has led to a desire to help others with financial lifestyle design – to convey ways to use wealth to expand opportunities and possibilities, both personally and professionally…

Pennies & Passion was formed to further those efforts.

What I Do (and Why)

Throughout the years, and currently, I’ve taken on many roles, “worn many hats”. Much of my early professional life was spent sharing sociological insights with community college students.

Regardless of the role I’m in, at any given moment, one of my top goals is to help individuals, couples, and groups shift their perception of and relationship with money.

I strive to provide information and insights that will help others:

Cultivate a more secure, stable (low-stress) future
Implement sound money management and investing strategies
Align spending habits with core values and desired lifestyle

Although the content may apply more broadly, my blog is written for those who want to:

Carve a path to financial independence
Learn to invest their own money
Find financial harmony in their relationships
Pass both wealth and wisdom to their children

When I’m not drafting an article, I’m focused on:

Health & Happiness

My husband and I are far enough along in our Financial Independence (FI) journey that I’m able to dedicate a large chunk of my time to fitness, cooking and eating nutritious food, spending time in nature, and nurturing my relationships.

I feel incredibly lucky (i.e. pleased by the results of our sacrifice, discipline, and years of planning) to have time to travel, chase my passions, further my education, and cultivate new skills.

Investing

Many years ago, per my husband’s suggestion, I (hesitantly) looked into investing. It wasn’t something I ever saw myself doing, let alone enjoying… I couldn’t have been more wrong!

After six months of reading every book I could get my hands on, and paper trading, I bought my first stock for ~$400. It wasn’t long before I was sinking every dime we could free up into our account.

I still love to read about the strategies and philosophies of famous investors, listen to earnings reports, watch economic trends unfold, discover the connection between macro factors and market movements, support entrepreneurs whose products have the potential to change lives, and wrestle with the question of what constitutes the perfect portfolio.

A few years in, I’d taken over all of our retirement accounts, was tracking our cash flow and updating our household savings plan, and managed our short-term vacation rental.

What started as a way to bring in some cash to fund the children’s books I was publishing has become my main gig (and a core part of my identity)…

Writing

Believe it or not, I’ve published five picture books!

My writing, here at Pennies & Passion, predominantly focuses on the following areas:

Financial Literacy

Imagine a world where students are taught about money throughout their education, where young adults are armed with the knowledge of how to build wealth and understand why it’s so important to start saving for the future right away.

In an attempt to nudge things in that direction, quite a few of my articles share information I wish I’d known sooner.

Money MIndset & Habits

Have you ever wondered why so many people want to improve their financial situation, yet so few do? Even those who read financial books, watch videos, and listen to podcasts often struggle to make changes. They try to rid themselves of harmful habits, and replace them with healthier ones, but find themselves repeatedly falling back into old patterns.

At the risk of oversimplification, what holds most people back is mindset and/or approach to behavioral change. My articles that address these issues provide ways to move past those common barriers.

Book Takeaways & Recommendations

There are multiple financial books in progress on my audible, kindle, and bedside table. I share what resonates, is thought-provoking, or has been brilliantly stated. Distilling information and making it accessible is both an art and a science.

I have the upmost respect for (and strive to be one of) those people who are able to relay information in ways that change the course of people’s lives, leading to more ideal outcomes. This blog is intended to be a catalyst for dramatic financial transformation.

Financial Independence

I no longer mentally separate my life into two distinct phases – work and retirement. My goal is to maintain Financial Independence (or FI), regardless of whether and to what extent I choose to trade my time for money.

Our plan is to sustain wealth throughout the remainder of our lives (as opposed to spending down our savings and investments during the post-earning years). This has required saving beyond the standard recommendations, investing wisely, and mitigating risks whenever possible.

Insights & Tips for Couples

Couples often have trouble working as a team, getting on the same page, financially. This is, in part, why money issues are one of the leading causes of divorce. Establishing common priorities, approaches, and drafting a shared budget will relieve ongoing friction.

Insights & Tips for Parents

Parents overwhelmingly want their children to become financially savvy, but might not know what to teach them, when to introduce various concepts, or how to make the lessons engaging and easy to comprehend.

THe Passion CONUNDRUM

At one time I was caught in what I’ve termed the passion conundrum – feeling forced to choose between rewarding work and a high enough salary to live comfortably.

Those who face this dilemma end up with one of two distinct problems – either they love their work (which pays a pittance) and struggle to stop living paycheck to paycheck, or they feel they’ve compromised their values and traded happiness for financial security.

Applying Financial Findings

Academic disciplines – psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, communication, family and consumer science (to name a few) – offer insights, concepts, theories, and research that either directly relates or could be applied to personal finance and wealth building.

I predominantly share findings that are both eye-opening and actionable.