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William A. Finnegan's avatar

One thing to be clear... current subscriptions will not be affected. When prices increase on July 5, the billing rates you're currently paying will remain in effect. This is true across all subscription levels. However, if you're a free subscriber, now's the time to subscribe before the rates increase.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

🚨 UPDATE (7/1/2025 – 3:22PM CDT)

In response to the substantial demand for the Sovereign Architect tier, here’s the updated approach—and a new incentive for existing paid subscribers.

💳 Already a paid member (monthly or annual)?

If you're thinking about upgrading to the Sovereign Architect tier, I’ll credit 100% of what you’ve already paid toward the $2,000 upgrade.

How it works:

Email or DM me at editor@thelongmemo.com with the email tied to your Substack account.

I’ll look up your payment history and generate a custom invoice via Stripe.

Once paid, I’ll manually comp your Sovereign Architect access on Substack—this unlocks all benefits and ensures nothing you’ve paid is wasted.

Going forward, your SA subscription will renew automatically on the anniversary.

This approach also avoids unnecessary platform fees—and keeps things simple.

🧾 Bonus: Family Access Included

As a Sovereign Architect, you’ll also receive comped full access to Borderless Living for any immediate family members you'd like to include—spouse, partner, adult children, etc.

Anyone you want involved in the planning, the calls, or the execution? They’re in. No extra charge.

How’s that for a deal? 😄

You keep your credit. You get premium access. And your whole household can join the conversation.

Let me know if you want to move forward.

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Sue Kusch's avatar

Your information has been helpful and informative, and I appreciate your honesty about who would benefit most from your writing. I am retired, with under 1m in assets and relying partially on SS. I will need to develop a plan that doesn't rely on having so many assets. Thank you.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

Thanks for the kind words—and for being here.

Let me be clear: having a big portfolio isn’t the only way to do this. Yes, a lot of my writing focuses on protecting assets across borders, because that’s where many people make expensive mistakes. But Borderless Living isn’t just for the wealthy—it’s for people who want agency, options, and a strategy that fits their life.

We’ll continue to publish country reports, job relocation pathways, and smart ways to reposition what you do have—whether that’s capital, skills, or time.

That said, you’re absolutely right that there’s a gap in the market: most relocation content assumes either (a) you’re broke and want to geo-arbitrage, or (b) you’re rich and want to offshore. What’s missing is a strategy for people in between—or people like you, navigating this with limited resources but still wanting to leverage.

You can get there from here. I genuinely believe that.

Let me know what kind of content would help most. If there’s a country you’re eyeing or a scenario you want broken down, I’ll add it to the editorial queue. I’m not here to sell fantasy—I’m here to make the next move possible.

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Lori's avatar

Same

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Laura Skov's avatar

I left for Sweden in 2019 because I saw what was coming. We have all been happier for it, but the taxes really sting. If you want to complain about taxes, this is an excellent place to do it!

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KD1's avatar

Just feeling overwhelmed right now. Need to get through the next couple of appointments (consulate, tax).

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TR's avatar

Oh I didn't see that in the initial post so that's great thank you that's awesome

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TR's avatar

Hmmm well we joined for 1 month to see what this really was and if it would help us since we're retired but we do have two and a half mil but I basically read most of the site in I don't know 6 hours, I'm not sure 50 bucks and month is worth me being able to read every bit of content you have in less than 8 hours and that's with comprehension as much as I could.

I also asked a question in comments when you had said something about hey come hang out on substack on our server watch us play this or do something and I asked is that Discord crickets no answer.

SO 50 bucks a month but I'll have to see cuz it doesn't seem like moving to another country is going to fit retirees at all so in other words we're fucked since they just passed this useless budget.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

Hey there—appreciate the candid note.

Couple things I want to address:

1. Reading through everything in 6 hours

Totally fair—and actually expected. The value here isn’t just in static content. It’s in ongoing strategic insight, real-time reaction, and decision support. We’re not building a library. We’re building a compass. That’s why new guides, briefs, and tools drop every single month—because the map keeps changing.

2. Discord confusion

Yep, that’s on me. There was some fuzziness early on around Discord access and onboarding. We’re fixing that. As of July 5, Discord will be locked to paid members only, and it’ll include monthly live briefings and AMAs—not just text chatter. I should’ve answered your comment and I missed it. That’s my fault.

I'll ping me what your handle is on Discord, and I'll go find it, and answer it. I am writing and responding to people as quickly as possible. Part of the reason why I hired Aymara was to ensure nothing gets missed. So, I didn't ignore you on purpose, but it was on me.

3. Retirees & relocation

Let’s talk about that.

You’ve got $2.5M. You’re not screwed. But you do need a very different sovereign plan than, say, a 35-year-old entrepreneur. That’s one of the use cases I’ve been thinking about writing more for—how retirees with decent capital relocate (or restructure) without triggering exit taxes or losing benefits.

If you’re up for it, hit me back with some detail:

Are you looking to leave the U.S. entirely?

Or just protect capital and get a Plan B residency?

What’s your risk tolerance (legal, lifestyle, tax)?

I’ll see what I can create—maybe even as a mini-brief for others in your shoes.

Obviously I wouldn't answer in this chat... but you can email me or DM me.

Stay safe. Stay sovereign. Stay Borderless.

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Julie Bolt's avatar

My husband and I are in this position too - retired with approx. $2.5M. We are seriously considering the Netherlands. Will you be doing a country brief for it? We don’t have heirs so don’t care about inheritance tax. Trying to decide if subscription is worth. Have to admit your anonymity is a bit of an obstacle.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

Thanks for the thoughtful note.

The Netherlands is already on my shortlist for a full country brief—especially given how many readers are looking at it for retirement. While I haven’t published it yet, I’ve been gathering research on taxation, long-stay visa options, healthcare access, and cross-border income treatment. If you decide to join, I’m happy to move it up the queue.

Your situation—retired, $2.5M in assets, no heirs—is exactly the kind of case I try to support here. Most relocation content is binary: either “here’s how to live on $12K/year in Thailand” or “here’s how to set up a Dubai trust with your $50M portfolio.” There’s very little out there for people in the middle—those who aren’t ultra-rich, but can’t afford costly mistakes either.

On the anonymity—fair concern, and I get it.

I write under a pseudonym not because I’m hiding anything, but because the topics I cover—sovereignty, asset protection, cross-border tax strategy—are increasingly politicized. I've chosen to maintain a layer of privacy to protect both my family and the work. It also helps keep my writing here siloed from my other businesses, especially for SEO reasons. I don’t need everything bleeding together in a hyperpolarized, surveillance-prone world.

That said, everything I write is grounded in real experience. I’m doing this in real-time, with real capital on the line. People in the Sovereign Architect tier meet with me directly, 1:1. I’ve done private group sessions on camera. It’s not about secrecy—it’s about separation. The pseudonym is for Google, not for you.

No hard sell—if the material here helps you, great. And if you’d like to see that Netherlands brief sooner, just say the word and I’ll move it forward.

Either way, I appreciate you being here.

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Julie Bolt's avatar

Thank you so much for this. I’m going to sign up for a monthly membership and it would be great if you could move The Netherlands up in the queue. We have a trip planned in October to check it out.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

Amsterdam and The Haag are amazing. I have also been to Nijmegen and Eindhoven (pronounced Ny-meg-an and Eighnd-hove-en). The Waalbrug bridge is the bridge from "A Bridge Too Far," which the British expeditionary troops couldn't capture, and Market-Garden failed.

LOL! I asked my driver to take me over the bridge. I demanded we play this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWBoMWZJkeI&list=RDXWBoMWZJkeI

My driver for the week as a Dutch attache to the U.S. Embassy ... and thought I was hysterically funny. We spent the week together while I was there. He drove me around to meetings, and was my contact from the DAO. His grandfather had fought with the 101st Airborne as part of the Dutch resistance in WWII. When they reached Eindhoven, his GF helped the 101st and Easy breach the bridge. I also got to meet some Dutch military officials there as a consequence of all that... and exchanged challenge coins.

The Dutch are a long and faithful ally of the United States. The country is beautiful. They are very polite and very civil.

Plus... CHIMAY! :D Best beer God ever made. Although, I wouldn't want to try to go places. One Chimay and your ass is going to be keelhauled. :D I didn't realize that... here I was going beer for beer with my Dutch counterparts... drinking Chimay like there was no tomorrow... Go to stand up... almost fell over. :) It's like 17% alcohol by volume or something.

Still amazing. :) The Netherlands are amazing. Have fun. :D

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Julie Bolt's avatar

We visited in May and it was the first place we’ve visited where we both felt we could live happily. We loved Haarlem especially and are returning there in October. I have some Dutch ancestry — my great grandparents came from there in the late 1800s.

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TR's avatar

Hey William thanks for all that detail that definitely helped, i DM'd U with a bit more info

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Frank Moore's avatar

Ok. Let me know. My wife and I are on the Portuguese Golden Visa path (so far grandfathered from proposed changes). We own property in Portugal but have not relocated there. We own too many assets in California to just bail. But we’re very much interested in the contingency planning you offer.

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Mart Ridel's avatar

Same question as Frank - where to sign up for Sovereign Architect Tour?

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Mart Ridel's avatar

Thank you! Very helpful.

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TeaMind's avatar

1) Will those of us with current subscriptions retain access to the Long Memo?

2) For those of us with something to protect, this article is absolutely where the rubber meets the road. We were hot and heavy on France - especially because they honor US tax rates & Roth structures- until we uncovered the inheritance tax laws. That was the deal breaker for us. Since discovering that fact, I started using 'tax impacts' as one of my top three filters.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

Those of you with TLM access will retain it. As I said, previous subs remain unchanged.

Second - yeah, the EU is a shitshow for inheritance taxation. :) Welcome to the party pal. :D

Tax impact is something I'm considering adding to the model. The problem is, it's not a universal "here's how money is impacted" calculation. As you're finding, it's about what you have, what you're trying to protect, goals, etc.

So there's a lot wrapped up in the "tax impact." That said, I'm noodling the idea of a tax compatibility variable for the models.

Canada, for example, is way more "tax compatible" with the U.S. than most of the EU.

Mexico doesn't even understand what most U.S. trust vehicles are... let alone how to tax them or how they work. So, in that regard, I suppose it's "compatible," but nebulous.

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TeaMind's avatar

The addition of the tax impacts would be most valuable....because so many overlook it and only find out after they've already jumped in. I do believe you could make a matrix to evaluate each of these. For example, rating the tax impacts on the following (and if they are countrywide or bystate/region as in Spain):

1) Wealth tax

2) Inheritance tax ( which lines of inheritance are affected, and is it worldwide)

3) Treatment of real estate

4) Treatment of Roth structures

5) Government vs SS vs private pension taxation

6) Overall maturity of asset and tax structures compared to the US (most medium and small countries simply don't have the population or the commerce to warrant the development of such advanced tax structures as are present in the US.... they haven't needed it.... and it keeps the wealth balance more intact across the population)

7) Who can benefit / who is least impacted? (Someone whose parents have already passed/ already inherited from & who have no children to leave assets to might do fantastically in France. By contrast, it would devastate our family's Inheritance pathways.)

And so on. So my vote is totally for you to add this. Because it would be fantastic.

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TeaMind's avatar

And if there is 'dual tax treaty' and 'totalization agreement'.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

Hmmm.... wanna job? :D

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Kelly H's avatar
8dEdited

Yes. :-) I'm a researchaolic.

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Frank Moore's avatar

What does the Sovereign Architect Tier cost and how does one sign up?

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

I'll message you directly... since you're already a subscriber, I think you have to "manage" your subscription to change.

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Sara Robinson's avatar

I have a related question: does our current subscription fee roll over (prorated, of course) to the SAT fee?

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

I thought about this... and here's what I'll do.

If you already have a subscription, then email or message me.

I will compute what you've already paid, give you full credit for it, and then issue a separate invoice. That way you get full credit for what you've already paid for access, and I'll then upgrade people manually when they pay the invoice. That's what I just did for another reader. I think it's the cleanest way to do this.

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

I'm not sure how how that works by substack. That said, I'm not looking to punish subscribers who want to become a Sovereign Architect. Worse comes to worse, I can manually deal with it in Stripe. Substack makes it complicated. I won't. I'll credit whatever a prior membership was and issue the refund through Stripe.

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Rebecca Cohencious's avatar

Do your subscriptions help subscribers understand access to banking options outside the US (i.e., foreign bank account options and considerations)?

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William A. Finnegan's avatar

Yes. We published a guide about opening an account in Canada that people have used. I have another reader providing me information that will be turned into a guide about how he's helped people open accounts in Jersey from HSBC United States.

Every country brief includes an entire section on finance... state of the financial system, what to expect, etc.

Does that help answer the question? Is there something specific you'd want to know? If so, we'll look at it. Financial matters, banking, etc., are key.

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Rebecca Cohencious's avatar

Yes, this is great - thank you!

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