Freemium services have ruined us.

Fiat's 'buy now pay later' philosophy has hacked our value perception, and it incentivizes us to make poor, short-term choices. We accept services that don't hit the mark because they are free.

We trade low functionality for zero investment.

We trade our time for advertisement minutes.

We trade our freedom for Big Tech's digital panopticon.

I do it too.

The answer (as usual) is FOSS.

Encryption and sound money help us realign incentives with reality.

And when we offer our time or work for free, it cannot be 'freemium'.

We can only trust those who are up front and say 'I expect nothing from this.'

I've been pondering this subject as I shifted from coaching (selling via the freemium model) to writing for money.

My energy is not invested into creating taster courses or useful writing tips.

I run the Gran Canaria Bitcoin community and help friends set up self-custody.

Going all in on bitcoin makes you honest about your time, effort and money.

And it feels great.