"True consent", as Bacon has it, "is that which consists in the coincidence of free judgements after due examination". However, as Montessori has it, "we cannot be free if we are not independent". The persistence of economic hardship, where national governments are no longer able to fund basic research, it is hard evidence suggesting the need to achieve financial independence.

The aim of this seminar is to describe and discuss our method to achieve financial independence. We introduce the notion of financial curriculum, to be written in addition to the academic curriculum, describe how to read and write one such document, and how to profit from it using a step-by-step algorithm to perform the transition from the state of financial dependence to the state of financial independence. The method is of general applicability. As case study, we show the financial curriculum of a researcher, a professor, the Department of Computer Science, and the University of Pisa.