Aussie Firebug

Today I’m interviewing Ben, a 34-year-old husband & father hailing from South Australia who is well on his way to reaching financial independence.Ben reached out to me via my website and offered to share his personal experience with the NAB Equity Builder. This is a really popular financial product that often appears on financial forums so I thought it was a great opportunity to find out what it’s really like. We take a deep dive into the pros & cons of the NAB Equity Builder and how Ben and his wife are using it as a significant part of their journey to FIRE.Some of the topics in today’s episode include:Ben’s backstory and why he chose to invest in shares using the NAB Equity Builder.What is the NAB Equity Builder and how does it work?Margin calls, LVR and what makes the NAB EB different from other margin loans.The NAB EB interest rate, fees and application process. Who actually owns the shares?How much Ben borrowed to get started and what he used as collateral.What extra gains has Ben made using the NAB EB over the last couple of years?LinksNAB Equity BuilderNAB EB Guide by The Ships Ledgerwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today I’m joined by Ben, a sustainable living enthusiast from South Australia who lives completely off-grid with his wife and children.Ben's a member of the Aussie FIRE Discussion Facebook Group who posted about his self-sufficient home last year which really struck a chord with the community (it's still one of the most popular submissions to date). Ben has been kind enough to share his story of building an off-grid house and living sustainably in South Australia.Some of the topics in today’s episode include:How Ben and his wife designed and built a completely off-grid home.Their journey towards the dream of sustainable living.The primary driver of going off-grid and building this house.Utilising a solar energy system to completely power a family home.How much does it really cost and how long will it last?How to deal with heating and cooling when you’re not connected to the grid.Running water and the challenge of sustainable water usage when rain is your only supply.How to create a domestic system that generates zero wastewater.The bottom line - what was the total cost of the project? LinksAussie FIRE Discussion GroupLithium-Ion Battery Test CentreCSRIO Solar PV for your home: testing what’s Wattwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome Kurt to the show. Kurt is the co-founder of the online brokerage company Pearler. We talk about Kurt's relationship with money, how and why Pearler was started and what it takes to get a fintech startup off the ground.Some of the topics in today’s episode include:Kurt’s upbringing in an entrepreneurial family. His relationship with money/investing and his personal investing goal & strategy.The inspiration behind the creation of Pearler.The psychology of money & investing. Meaningful work and the ultimate benefits of financial independence.What sets Pearler apart from the pack.What’s involved in starting and building a company like Pearler?Where does the money come from?Angel investing, founder accelerator programs & building out a fintech team.LinksPearlerBook - The Barefoot InvestorBook - The Psychology of MoneyAngelListwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today I’m chatting with Katy Winter who may be the very first Aussie FIRE blogger ever! Katy has an inspiring story of overcoming disadvantages and adversity to pursue financial independence as a parent in a household of 5 kids.Some of the topics in today’s episode include:Katy’s backstory and how the Wealthy Winters FIRE blog came about way back in 2014.Katy’s experience of suddenly losing her mum when she was 8 months pregnant with her second daughter.An unexpected inheritance and what she did with the money.Katy’s journey from Minimalism to Barefoot Investor to FIRE and what really matters in life.Parenthood - Katy shares tips for those who are thinking about having kids while pursuing financial independence.How Katy got started with investing and what she bought first.LinksBlog archive - Wealthy WintersFacebook group - Financial Independence & Early Retirement AustraliaBook - Early Retirement Extreme - Jacob Lund FiskerAussie HIFIRE - FIRE and Kids - The cost of raising children in AustraliaBook - The Whole-Brain Child: 12 revolutionary strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind - Tina Payne Brysonwww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today I’m speaking with Glen James, a multi-award-winning financial advisor who is the creator and host of the very popular podcast, My Millennial Money. Glen’s a self-proclaimed ‘spender’ but was able to develop a process and system to manage his own money at an early age that ultimately lead him to financial success. He then went into helping others achieve their financial goals starting and selling multiple businesses along the way. Glen highlights some really interesting points about the FIRE movement as well as the importance of giving back as you build your wealth.Some of the topics in today’s pod include:Glen’s relationship with Money and the systems and processes he has built (00:04:44)Super asset allocations (00:14:01)Glen’s investing philosophy (00:15:40)Why the FIRE movement needs to ditch the RE (00:21:32)Being charitable whilst building wealth (00:32:25)My Millennial Money Podcast (00:39:27)LinksSort Your Money OutGlen with Dave RamseyMy Millennial Moneywww.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today I’m chatting to Lacey Filipich, author of 'Money School' which is an Australian book about becoming financially independent reclaiming your life.Lacey resume is very impressive, she's an engineer, author and successful entrepreneur starting multiple companies who reached financial independence in her early 30s.Some of the topics in today's pod include:Lacey’s upbringing and her road to financial independence (0:02:12)Burning out at work (0:10:48)Lacey’s investment strategies and current asset allocations (0:22:40)The Money School Book (0:56:42)How you can use Options with a FIRE strategy (1:05:34)Bank bail in-laws and what it could mean for people holding large amounts of cash (1:14:51)For a full transcription of today's episode plus show notes, please head over to www.aussiefirebug.com/lacey-filipich-money-school/

Today I invited one of my favourite Aussie FIRE bloggers on the pod, and that’s none other than Aussie HIFIRE. HIFIRE works in finance and is looking to create a higher than average income stream to fund his retirement.Some of the topics we cover are:Who is Aussie HIFIRE? (00:04:30)What is HIFIRE and how does it differ from regular FIRE? (00:05:10)What does AHF want to do during retirement? (00:11:53)The role that bonds play in a portfolio (00:18:53)How Aussie HIFIRE approaches FIRE and kids (00:29:42)Income insurance during the accumulation phase (00:44:10)www.aussiefirebug.com/aussie-hifire/

Hey guys, welcome to the Aussie Firebug podcast, My names Matt, I’m a country boy for regional Victoria. I barrack for the Magpies, I love to snowboard and I play way too much Call of Duty. I’m a pretty normal bloke, but the one area where I’ve always been a bit different is when it comes to money and investing. In fact, I’m on track to reach financial independence by my mid-thirties and plan to retire early. That’s what the FIRE acronym stands for, financial independence, retire early. You might be thinking “There’s just no way someone could retire in their 30’s without a big inheritance, high paying job or winning the lotto”! But that’s just not true! Early retirement is 100% possible for most Australian. FIRE was a movement that started in the US around 2011 and has since spread all over the world.I stumbled across it in 2013 and when I read the formula for reaching early retirement, it blew my mind. It was one of those lightbulb moments that changed my life forever. There were heaps of great content creators for the states but they were all talking about 401K’s and Roth accounts. I wanted to know if FIRE was possible for Australians, so in 2016, I created the Aussie Firebug podcast. This is the financial independence podcast for Australians where I chat with people who have already reached or are on their way to financial independence. There’s also a segment called Asked Firebug Fridays where I answer listeners questions on the last Friday of every month. If you want to know more about me or the FIRE movement in Australia. Head over to https://www.aussiefirebug.com/welcomeI hope you guys enjoy the show and I’ll see you in the next episode

Today's episode covers the incredible story of how retail investors are taking on billionaire hedge funds. This David vs Goliath story heated up last week and the big wigs on Wallstreet resorted to insanely dirty tactics to try and break the internet army. Some of the topics we cover are:- What is GameStop (00:03:40)- What does it mean to short a stock? (00:08:45)- Dirty/Ilegal tactics that these hedge funds are trying to implement to stop further losses from occurring (00:17:25)- Why this story is resonating with so many millennials (00:27:40)- Aussies were trying to buy $GME stock on the ASX which is actually a mining company 🤦‍♂️ (00:46:13)#✋💎🤚#🚀🚀🚀#🦍💪🦍#Wejustlikethestock

Today I’m chatting to Dev Raga, a medical professional from Melbourne who migrated from India as a child in the 80's. Dev runs his own podcast at devraga.com and is breaking the stereotype of Doctors not being the best with money with his educational content on various personal finance topics. Some of the topics we cover are:- Dev's background (00:03:03)- How long does it take to become a doctor and when do they start earning the big bucks? (00:10:30)- How Dev became interested in FIRE (00:23:12)- What Dev invests in (00:44:06)- The Dev Raga Podcast (00:51:14)For a full transcription of today's episode plus show notes, please head over to https://www.aussiefirebug.com/dev-raga/