Welcome back to the Aussie Firebug Podcast, the financial independence podcast for Australians, where I interview interesting people on topics relating to financial independence. Today on the podcast we have Amy and her partner Matt from FI Freedom Retreats, a five-day financial independence retreat in Bali. This was a passion project born out of Amy’s love and gratitude for the F.I.R.E movement and community. Heads up, I recorded this podcast in January this year and haven’t released it until n...
Jun 30, 2024•59 min
Today we're joined by Ana Kresina, Head of Product and Community at Pearler and the Co-host of the 'Get Rich Slow Club' and 'ETFs for Beginners,' podcasts. She’s also just become a published author with the book “Kids Ain't Cheap”. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: Ana’s FIRE journey (00:03:37) Hitchhiking through Europe (00:07:09) Why Ana wrote a money book around raising kids or preparing to raise kids (00:10:02) The importance of normalising mon...
Jan 14, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Today's episode is something a bit different. Terry, the host of the Wealth Time Freedom (WTF) podcast interviewed me a few months ago. The response was so positive from that episode that I decided to repost it on my show. In this episode, Terry asks me about becoming a dad, my recent pivot with work and my new perspective on FIRE. I found it to be a great conversation, and I hope you'll enjoy it too. Links Podcast - Wealth Time Freedom (WTF) www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast...
Jan 07, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Today, my guest is fellow FIRE enthusiast/podcaster/blogger, Captain FI! He’s actually been on the podcast before but I had to take that episode down due to ASIC’s 2022 guidelines. Cap came and stayed at the Firebug household after attending the Rask event in my hometown. It was a lot of fun meeting and greeting others from the FIRE community and it was extra special to do so in my own backyard. This was very much an improv podcast and I didn’t have any set questions. We had a general chitchat a...
Dec 17, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Today, my guest is none other than my accountant, Clayton! Clayton and I have talked about doing this podcast for a while. I pay him thousands of dollars each year to help with tax planning, structuring our investments and businesses and other strategic decisions that ultimately help me reach FIRE sooner. I thought it would be interesting to chat to him about what role an accountant can play when someone is trying to reach FIRE, and explore why certain decisions were recommended for our family i...
Dec 10, 2023•1 hr 9 min
I've been thinking about this post for the past 18 months, and to be honest, it's long overdue. So much has changed over the last 11 years since I first stumbled across FIRE. And if the podcast's feature image wasn't obvious enough, I recently became a father. So, now is the perfect time for a big update/recap on life at the Firebug household. www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast
Oct 22, 2023•23 min
Today my guest is Carl Jensen who is better known in the FIRE community as Mr. 1500. He’s a family guy living in Colorado with his wife and two young children and managed to retire at the ripe old age of 43. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: The story behind the name "Mr. 1500" (00:02:06) Investment philosophy and strategies (00:07:25) Carl’s interest in Tesla and EVs in general (00:18:44) Balancing frugality and fulfilment on the path to FI (00:23:49) The biggest ben...
Jul 23, 2023•1 hr 12 min
Today’s episode is very special to me personally. I’m speaking with my dad about how he grew up and what money and life lessons he learnt along the way. He’s probably had the biggest impact on how I view the world (along with my mum) and set the foundations early on for me to be in the position I’m in today. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: What life was like growing up in Melbourne with immigrant parents (00:02:16) How Tony learned about money management as a child (00:13:08)...
Jun 18, 2023•1 hr 3 min
I’m excited today to be having a conversation with Bryce Holdaway and Ben Kingsley who co-host the very popular podcast called The Property Couch. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: How Ben and Bryce originally made a connection (00:02:00) Property investing guidelines and regulations (00:12:37) Their investing strategy/philosophy (00:23:25) The Australian housing and rental crisis (00:48:56) Active property investing vs passive share market investing (00:37:03) Are property inv...
Jun 08, 2023•2 hr 31 min
My guest today is Dr Toni Lindsay. Toni is a clinical psychologist who works primarily with people who are at the end of their life or have a severe illness (usually young people!). In her own words: “My work has shaped how I think about all this FIRE stuff!”. Toni is also the author of multiple books but the one which probably has the most application with FIRE would be “The Certainty Myth: How to be resilient when the world keeps changing”. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: W...
Mar 30, 2023•2 hr 32 min
Following on from the previous episode, this is part 2 of the debate. There’s been a few potential Super changes put forth by the Albanese government lately and I wanted to get two different viewpoints on the podcast to debate the pros and cons of the changes. I also wanted to talk about Super as a high-level concept. What exactly is Super? What’s the purpose of Super? Is Super fulfilling its job? etc. We have two returning guests joining in today’s discussion. CIO of The Motley Fool Australia, ...
Mar 09, 2023•48 min
I’m so excited for this one today. There’s been a few potential Super changes put forth by the Albanese government lately and I wanted to get two different viewpoints on the podcast to debate the pros and cons of the changes. I also wanted to talk about Super as a high-level concept. What exactly is Super? What’s the purpose of Super? Is Super fulfilling its job? etc. We have two returning guests joining in today’s discussion. CIO of The Motley Fool Australia, Scott Phillips and Economist Dr Cam...
Mar 02, 2023•56 min
Today my guest is Queenie Tan. She’s a 26-year-old Sydneysider who has amassed over 350K followers on various social media platforms. Raised by a single dad in Sydney, Queenie was earning $400 a week after she moved out of home at just 19. A few years later she was able to save a $100,000 property deposit and now at age 26, has a net worth of half a million dollars. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: Queenie's upbringing and relationship with money (00:02:12) How Queenie bu...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr 25 min
My guest today is Brandon Ganch who is better known in the FIRE community as the Mad Fientist. Brandon is an ex-computer programmer turned blogger and podcaster who reached financial independence at the ripe old age of 34 with his wife Jill. It’s always a pleasure to speak with Brandon as one of my financial/investing heroes and someone who’s been on the scene since the early days when I first discovered the concept of FIRE. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: The life changing e...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Today my guest is Liz Thames who is better known as Mrs Frugalwoods. Liz is a mother of two who lives with her husband Nate on a 66-acre homestead in rural central Vermont USA. She’s the author of the popular FIRE book called “Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living”. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: Liz’s motivation behind writing a memoir-styled book (00:02:44) How to transition from saving to living off your investments (00:07:39) What d...
Jan 19, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Today I’m talking with the Chair of the Australian Electric Vehicle Council, Tim Washington. Tim has also co-founded two companies - JET Charge, who specialise in supplying and installing EV Chargers and Charge Fox, Australia’s largest EV charging network. EVs have been a hot topic in the FIRE Facebook group lately and I’ve had a few episodes on EVs in general but none that dig into the charging side of the equation which is a big part. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: How doe...
Dec 08, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Today I’m welcoming back property investor Scott O’Neill to the podcast. Scott and his wife are self-made multi-millionaires that created $300K in passive income by 28. Since Scott was last on the show, I received a fair amount of emails asking me to get him back to give a more practical guide on investing in commercial real estate. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: What is commercial real estate? (00:06:32) Pros and Cons for both residential and commercial property (00:13:52) ...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 5 min
Today my guest is city planner and urban designer Jeff Speck. Originally trained as an architect, Jeff is most famous within the FIRE community for his award-winning 2012 book: ‘Walkable City: How Downtown Saves America, One Step at a Time’. It’s amazing how such a small detail like walkability can touch on so many tenants within the FIRE ethos. The economy, health benefits and sustainability are all areas that are impacted greatly by our poorly designed cities which are where the majority of hu...
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr 16 min
Today I’m talking with financial educator and podcast host Kate Campbell. Kate grew up in country Victoria and joined the defence force as a teenager before changing careers to finance and investing later on. She’s probably best known in the FIRE community as a co-host for many of the very popular podcasts that Rask Australia produces. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: How Kate got started in finance and investing (00:03:30) The importance of taking risks and just giving it a g...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 12 min
Today we welcome back Dave Gow who retired at the ripe old age of 28. He’s better known online as Strong Money Australia where he blogs about early retirement and how to live a happier life. It’s a really light-hearted chat today where we mainly talk about Dave’s new book which will be available on the 1st of December 2022 which is very exciting. But we also cover a range of other topics such as: Updates on early retirement (05:32) Strong Money Australia book (06:53) Publishing rights (12:58) Au...
Nov 10, 2022•52 min
Today is a very special episode because if you had told me 10 years ago that I would be chatting to Steve McKnight on my own podcast, I would have never believed you. Steve is a professional investor, media commentator and online entrepreneur. But he’s probably most famous in the FIRE community for his book “From 0 to 130 Properties in 3.5 Years”. This was actually the second book about financial independence that I ever read and completely changed my life. Steve is one of three people who I’d c...
Nov 03, 2022•2 hr 30 min
Today I’m talking with Brad Smith. Brad is an entrepreneur and former young Australian of the year for Tasmania who founded a motorcycle company Braaap in 2005 at the ripe old age of 18. Entrepreneurship is sometimes popularised as a quicker way to reach FIRE with the added benefit of doing something that you love. But it doesn’t always work out this way. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: Brad’s background and family upbringing (00:05:53) What made Brad start a company so young...
Oct 27, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Today I'm joined by my high schoolmate Luke. Luke and I attended FinFest and the Sydney FIRE meet-up over the weekend. I thought it would be fun to recap the event/meetup because we both had a blast. Some of the topics we cover in today's episode are: The FinFest event (02:51) The presentations on the day (08:05) Food truck lines (09:18) Bumping into others from the FIRE community (15:51) The FIRE meet-up (30:08) Noisy venues (31:06) Other content creators coming to the meet-up (33:20)...
Oct 20, 2022•46 min
Today I’m talking with Dr Cameron Murray. Cameron is a father of two currently living in Brisbane and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Sydney. You may have seen Cameron in a collection of print media outlets and in TV programs such as Q&A on ABC. This is a big episode today because Cameron has such a breadth of knowledge across so many areas that affect our ability to retiree early. He has one of the most interesting and original takes on our Super system too which I think a l...
Oct 06, 2022•2 hr 35 min
Today my guest is a legend in the Australian personal finance space. Noel Whittaker has been educating Aussies in money management and investing for over 50 years. He’s probably most famous for his international bestselling book "Making Money Made Simple" which has sold over a million copies worldwide! Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: Noel’s upbringing and first investments (00:02:19) What made Noel become an author? (00:13:41) Noel’s investment choices and experienc...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 4 min
I have an interesting episode for you guys today and I think you’re really going to like it. My guest today is Scott O’Neill. Scott bought his first investment property in 2010 with a $60K deposit after saving for 5 years. Just 8 years later, Scott and his wife had 28 properties generating $300K of profit each year plus around $7Million of equity. And Scott is very adamant that he didn’t receive any financial help, gifts, inheritance, living at home rent-free until his late 20’s etc. He’s self-m...
Sep 15, 2022•1 hr 26 min
Today I’m chatting with chemical engineer/home energy advisor Tim Forcey. He’s probably known best in the FIRE community for creating the extremely popular Facebook group, My Efficient Electric Home (MEEH) which currently has over 65,000 members. I’ve always said one of the most common traits in FIRE community is hyper efficiency of everything we spend money on, so I was very excited personally to have Tim on the show, especially with energy prices creeping higher and higher. Some of the topics ...
Sep 08, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Today we’re talking about two popular career paths - starting out at one of the big four or going into a government role. The Big Four is the nickname used to refer collectively to the four largest professional services networks in the world. These include Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Joining me in this discussion is my old schoolmate Jeremy who did a cadetship at Deloitte where he worked for 6 years. Jeremy explains the interview process, culture, wo...
Sep 01, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Today we’re talking about succession planning with the one and only Terry Waugh. This is a pretty big topic but we’ll be focusing in on areas such as: What is succession planning and why should we care? (02:22) What are some of the available options for succession planning? (04:19) Wills (07:06) Testamentary trusts (13:31) Succession planning within companies (20:52) Superannuation - who gets it when you die? (24:15) SMSF - what are the key differences? (28:42) Life insurance inside superannuati...
Aug 18, 2022•48 min
Have you ever been ripped off by a financial advisor? Today’s podcast is all about identifying the tactics financial advisors use that put their interests ahead of yours. Joining me in this discussion is Phil Harvey. He’s an independent financial advisor and one of the founding members of PIFA which stands for the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers. Some of the topics we cover are: Who is Phil Harvey? (05:41) Phil's personal experience with financial advisors in 2010 before the ro...
Aug 11, 2022•59 min
