Financial Autonomy

I'm hugely excited to share with you my interview with Nick Loper from the Side Hustle Show podcast. In our chat Nick shares: How a house painting gig over the summer holidays helped set him on a path to entrepreneurship. His first side hustle. How he transitioned from full-time employee to full-time self-employment and some the challenges he faced along the way, not least of which was a huge Google roadblock on day 1 of self-employment that took 3 months to solve. Common ingredients for a successful side hustle. Nick also shares with us some of the highlights from the hundreds of side hustlers and entrepreneurs that he's interviewed over the years. Check out Nick and The Side Hustle show here: https://www.sidehustlenation.com/side-hustle-show/ And be sure to sign-up for our regular Gaining Choice email to set you on the path to Financial Independence.

February 12, 1999. That was the date something never before seen, happened. The Central Bank of Japan, battling persistent recession, cut official interest rates to zero. At the time other central bankers around the world criticised the move. Savers must be rewarded for savings. Borrowers must have to pay something to borrow. Without these basic financial assumptions, does the money world still make sense? Many predicted inflation would result. You will recall back in episode 111 I explored the enormous damage out of control inflation can cause. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

You’ve probably stumbled across the FIRE acronym before – it stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. It came out of the US and has spawned countless books, podcasts, conferences, and even a movie. Reddit has huge discussion threads devoted to the idea, with the primary thrust seeming to be how young you can achieve early retirement. Now I’m well on board with the first part of FIRE – Financial Independence. But it’s the second part – Retire Early, that I have a problem with (as indeed do many in the FIRE community themselves). Financial Independence grants you choice. Choice in how you spend your time, how much of your time you devote to income generating activities, and what sort of income generating activities you do. Having gained that choice, why on earth would you want to retire? In this episode, I explain some alternatives that I've seen bring people happiness. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY      

What are the secrets to a fun and interesting working life? Nepal, teaching, and pursuing your passion. That's what we discuss this week with Jim Smith who shares how he's been able to achieve this much-desired outcome. These days Jim's focus is on building a tourism business that helps Australian's and especially students, experience life in Nepal, whilst also helping the local Nepalese people through paying fair wages for work done - such as guiding, and supporting several orphanages.  “And at that point in time, it was more a question about what you like doing and what you want to do with your life more than what's going to pay you the most money” – Jim  Smith Jim's website is www.Focustours.net   SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY   

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  How many thousands of dollars do you have parked on the street or in the garage losing money every day?    It’s a question I’ve been focused on for our household recently. My wife and I each have a car, plus there is a 12 seater minibus for my wife’s tourism business that we could use for a personal trip in a pinch.    I reckon we’ve got about $70,000 of vehicles sitting on the street, slowly degrading, and all the while costing us money in servicing, petrol, tyres, insurance, and registration.   Surely there’s a financially smarter way of getting around!   I want to share the research I’ve done on a few alternatives to owning a vehicle and a little about my journey with car ownership. 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  We speak Vanessa Wiltshire, a Gen-X/Y ‘tree changer’, living in Heathcote, Victoria.  Three years ago, she and her husband made the leap from suburban Melbourne to Heathcote in rural Victoria. In our chat Vanessa explains:   - How to know if a "tree change" is right for you. - Escaping a career that makes you unhappy and into something that makes you smile (and pays the bills) - The top things to look out for (that most tree changers won’t tell you) - Knowing where the GOOD jobs are and how to find them (tapping hidden job market). Check out Vanessa's website: www.sparkrural.com.au      

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  Welcome back to another episode in our financial history series. We started with Tulip Mania and the madness of crowds. Then we reviewed the Great Depression and how the lessons learnt continue to have impacts today. One thread of the Great Depression story was the Gold Standard, which we explored in episode 109. An understanding of the Gold Standard is vital to anyone attempting to think through the potential global impacts of Crypto currencies. This week we look at another moment in financial history – the hyperinflation experienced in Germany during, and especially after, the First World War. It was this experience that made countries so reticent to drop the Gold Standard during the Great Depression. We’re also going to explore why nations today could be planting the seeds for a repeat of this financial disaster.  

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  Peter Stanhope, co-founder of Gig Super shares some of the challenges faced by self-employed people in our financial system. If you are self-employed, or planning on making a move to self-employment – this one’s for you.  

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  Welcome back to the third episode in our financial history series. Last episode we looked at the Great Depression and why it still matters today. Before that we visited Amsterdam in the 1630’s to learn about Tulip Mania. Today we’re going to be exploring the Gold Standard, something that cropped up during the Great Depression piece. Indeed the Gold Standard is often pointed to as one of the key causes of the Great Depression, and certainly contributed to its depth and duration. Like the previous episodes, we’ll be giving you the essential facts and narrative around this important historical period, but what I hope you’ll especially get value from is the exploration of how the concept of the Gold Standard is being re-imagined today in the Crypto Currency world. So hold onto your 1920’s hats, and let’s dive into – The Gold Standard – What was it and what does it have to do Crypto currencies?

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  Today we’re continuing to explore significant moments in financial history. In particular I’m aiming to arm you with a basic understanding of what the event was all about, and then importantly, why it’s of relevance today.   Last week we looked at Tulip Mania in the Netherlands in the 1600’s. Today we skip forward several centuries to the Great Depression of the late 1920’s and 1930’s.   The Great Depression remains the longest and most serve economic collapse in modern history. There is some variation across countries, but it is generally considered to have lasted 10 years, from 1929 to 1939, though for many countries directly impacted by World War2, their struggles were further prolonged.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  You know how sometimes in the media or perhaps in a social setting, a self-declared expert will make reference to some historical event that they know full well most of us know little about, but they say it in such a way as to imply you’d be an imbecile if you weren’t aware of this world altering event. This is the first in a series of episodes in which we’re going to explore some of these often quoted financial events – the Great Depression, Hyperinflation in Germany, and this week’s episode – Tulip Mania. I’ll be keeping things short and sharp, as usual, but armed with the knowledge you’ve absorbed through these episodes, next time someone attempts to assert intellectual superiority, you can get right back in their face – “yes, I did know that”, you can say, “but actually the real tragedy was the way…”. Put them right back in their place. From the early 1600’s to the 1720’s, the Netherlands was the wealthiest count

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  It's so easy to just float along. If it ain't broke don't fix it is not just a good approach to raising toddlers, it can be a whole of life game plan. But there will come a day when you're sick of going sideways. When rinse and repeat just won't cut it anymore. Whether it be career progress, building wealth, or physical health and fitness, one day you'll wake up and decide it's time for a change - time to move forward. Today's episode provides a simple 5 step road map for how to achieve progress in making the change that you seek. For an audio blog whose focus is all about gaining choice, I'm not sure how we made it to 106 episodes without exploring this already. Better late than never I guess.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  Not your usual Financial Autonomy podcast.  I was recently invited to co-host the Wheel of Sport podcast when they were working on the theme of Money in Sport. I had a ton of fun with this one – I hope you enjoy it too.    

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY    In this week’s episode I speak with author Annie Raser-Rowland about her book The Art of Frugal Hedonism.    Annie shares her tips on living a life of maximum happiness and fulfilment, whilst side-stepping some of the limiting societal expectations that we all face.    Annie certainly embodies our theme of Gaining Choice, and I’m sure there are ideas here that you can draw plenty from.  Link: https://www.frugalhedonism.com/

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY The great Australian dream of owning a home once drove a fairly predictable housing pattern -  Aussies would rent for a little while, save for a deposit then dive into home ownership at the first opportunity. Housing status spoke volumes. Homeowners were successful while renters were either young or couldn’t get it together financially. How times have changed. Rising house prices and a need for lifestyle flexibility now have many questioning if they want a huge mortgage or if they’re simply better off as tenants. Let’s take a look at how you might decide if renting or buying is the right option for you.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY Online freelancing platforms can help you obtain freelancing work, or hire people to do tasks where you either lack the expertise or the time. In this interview, Sarah Tang from Freelancer.com shares the inside tips on how to get the most out of these hugely powerful tools.  

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY    With technology changing our world so rapidly, the chances of us entering the paid workforce in one role, and that role then seeing us through until retirement 40+ years latter would seem quite remote. And even if this were possible, is it what you would really want? In this post we’re going to explore some key steps you could take to execute a successful career change.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  EPISODE 100!!!! Thanks for joining us for another Financial Autonomy episode. We've got a bit of a change in the normal routine today, because today is Episode 100 and I don't want to pass through that milestone without doing something a little bit special. I've asked our Gaining Choice subscribers for their top Financial Autonomy questions. I've picked out five and in today's episode I'll take you through the answers. Let's jump into episode 100.  

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY  Throughout most of human history, the only time you retired was when you died. Retirement as we now experience it is a reasonably recent phenomenon. It's an invention of the 20th century and it's worthwhile questioning whether it will continue through the 21st century, at least in the format we currently think of. When the retirement age of 65 was set, back in the early 1900’s, it was assumed you only had 2 or 3 more years left until you were in the grave. But as we live longer and longer, will the current version of retirement continue to be feasible for the bulk of the population? Perhaps more importantly, will it be desirable?

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY    In this episode, we explore how the fantastic journey of Kim from being an employee to a self business starter The experiences and knowledge Kim shares in this episode: How he turned a small side business into his full-time gig. Planning and Preparedness is important in transitioning from employee to self-employed Seeking mentorship for guidance and feedback to fast track your way to success. Sales is the lifeblood of any business.