Aussie Firebug

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/

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)Audiobook difficulties (18:23)Updates on the FIRE and Chill podcast comeback (34:15)Elon Musk buying Twitter (43:20)LinksWebsite - Strong Money Australiawww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast/

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 consider as the most influential figures for me to come across throughout my investing journey so as you could imagine, this was a special episode for me personally.Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:Burnout and seeking an alternative path (00:06:15)Investing in property (00:17:37)Vendor financing (00:20:51)Australia’s housing market is a Ponzi scheme (00:27:44)Online entrepreneurship (00:46:30)Finding meaning beyond financial independence (01:11:37)LinksBook - From 0 to 130 Properties in 3.5 YearsWebsite - Property InvestingWebsite - Money MagnetWebsite - Tree Changewww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast/

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? (00:15:11)Finding a manufacturing factory in China (00:25:28)The importance of separating personal finances from the companies (00:30:55)Dealing with adversity (00:34:20)Marketing vs engineering (00:39:09)Electric motorcycles (00:43:36)LinksWebsite - Braaap MotorcyclesThe Woke Salaryman - Stop blaming the poor for being poorBook - The Ultimate Sales Machine: Chet HolmesLinkedin - Brad Smith Braaapwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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)www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 lot of early retirees, such as myself, will be interested in hearing.Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:Why Australia should scrap Superannuation since the aged pension is a superior system that costs less and delivers more (00:11:20)Housing policies and what changes need to be made to help affordability (00:52:46)Money creation and its role in inflation (00:58:27)Political corruption and what it costs Australians (01:25:52)How to become a better economist (01:31:55)LinksWebsite - Fresh Economic ThinkingReport - Scrap SuperannuationBook - Game Of Mates: How favours bleed the nationTwitter - @DrCameronMurraySubstack - Fresh Economic Thinkingwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast