Aussie Firebug

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:What does Toni actually do in the field of clinical psychology? (00:04:02)What motivated Toni to write “The Certainty Myth”? (00:15:54)How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help with the journey to FI (20:19:00)The relationship between uncertainty and anxiety and how we can better manage this (00:55:54)Cognitive flexibility - how flexibility can be an antidote to uncertainty (01:01:43)How FIRE plays a role in resiliency (01:10:54)How Toni’s experience with mortality has shaped her FIRE journey (01:21:50)LinksWebsite - www.tonilindsay.com.auBook - The Certainty MythBook - The Resilience Project by Hugh van Cuylenburgwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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, Scott Phillips and Economist Dr Cameron Murray. I’m playing moderator between these two as they give their different opinions on some of the following topics:Are you for or against opening up Super to allow members to buy a home? (00:01:33)Is confidence being eroded when the government keeps tinkering with the system? (00:08:20)Is it just the rich getting richer? (00:15:08)Is it a good idea for the government to invest in capital projects? (00:18:43)The proposed Super cap (00:31:35)LinksCameron Murray - SubstackCameron Murray - TwitterCameron Murray - FacebookScott Phillips - TwitterScott Phillips - Facebookwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 Cameron Murray. I’m playing moderator between these two as they give their different opinions on some of the following topics:What is the purpose of Super? (00:03:26)Is there an alternative to the current Super system? (00:11:38)Thoughts on how we could fix the Super system (00:19:27)Do we actually need to have both Super and the Age Pension? (00:39:48)LinksCameron Murray - SubstackCameron Murray - TwitterCameron Murray - FacebookScott Phillips - TwitterScott Phillips - Facebookwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 built her net worth to $500K by age 26 (00:10:03)Dropping out of uni to start earning money (00:15:40)Changing jobs every couple of years (00:21:11)Queenie's thoughts on the term “Finfluencer” (00:46:28)Financial content creators and the ASIC guidelines (00:51:09)Sydney housing markets and financial freedom (01:05:34)LinksWebsite - Invest with QueenieYouTube - Invest with QueenieInstagram - Invest with QueenieTikTok - Invest with Queeniewww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 event of becoming a parent and how FI has helped (00:07:10)Did Brandon really crack the Billboard Top 40 list with his debut album? (00:16:15)How to raise a money conscious kid (00:20:13)What’s life been like since Brandon quit his day job as a programmer? (00:30:03)Difficulties switching from portfolio accumulation to consumption (00:36:50)How the utility of money changes as you get older (00:40:22)LinksWebsite - Mad FientistSpotify - 1=2www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 does FIRE mean to Liz? (00:11:36)How Liz and Nate achieved financial independence (00:15:37)What does the Frugalwoods investment portfolio look like? (00:31:03)Financial privilege. Can everyone achieve FIRE or is it only possible for a lucky few? (00:41:35)How FIRE helps when raising two young girls (00:47:19)Tips for buying a home (00:55:47)LinksWebsite - FrugalwoodsBook - Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple LivingFinancial consultation services with Liz Thameswww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 does a home EV fast-charger work with your home solar system? (00:21:29)How will the new FBT legislation affect the cost of EVs in Australia? (00:23:44)How much does a EV fast-charger cost to buy and install? (00:26:09)Is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology currently an option for Australians? (00:32:27)Turning your car into a money-making asset instead of sitting idle 90% of the time (00:34:24)Can Australia’s electricity grid handle the upcoming transition to EVs? (00:46:59)Hydrogen cars (01:01:11)LinksWebsite - Jet ChargeWebsite - Electric Vehicle Councilwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Topics covered in the podcast include the differences between commercial and residential real estate, the importance of commercial leases, strategies for finding tenants, specific strategies for commercial property investing, and tips for due diligence when buying commercial property.

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 humans on earth live.Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:How Jeff became an expert in city planning. (00:03:25)What is urban design and city planning? (00:09:02)City development before the great depression and world war 2 (00:13:43)How do we solve this problem of a car-centric environment? (00:36:25)Health benefits of a walkable city (00:41:14)How we can change our roads to benefit pedestrians and reduce traffic (00:52:09)Different ways to make a city more walkable (00:57:48)LinksWebsite - www.jeffspeck.comTED - Jeff Speck: The Walkable CityBook - WALKABLE CITY: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Timewww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast/

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 go (00:08:52)What does Kate’s portfolio look like? (00:23:12)Kate’s blog and podcast (00:32:04)How Kate came to work with Owen at Rask Australia (00:38:03)Common roadblocks people face with their finances (00:43:22)Financial hurdles women have to face (00:44:56)Money and psychology (00:54:04)LinksWebsite - How To MoneyWebsite - Rask AustraliaRask Investing & Finance Courseswww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast/