Financial Autonomy

If you’re to achieve financial independence and gain the choice in life that is our goal here at Financial Autonomy, then it’s very helpful if some or perhaps all of your living costs can be met without you needing to put a finger to a keyboard, smile at a customer, or drill a hole to install something or other. Passive Income sources are the key to arriving at this outcome. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

We're talking property this week. I recorded this interview a few months back with John Pidgeon, co-host of the popular podcast, My Millennial Money. John shares his property journey with us and provides some great ideas on creating wealth through property. We discuss: John’s first investment property in rural Victoria His thoughts and approach to building wealth through property How John has built a property portfolio to give he and his wife choice in life. Where he thinks the opportunities are now I think there's a tonne of wisdom and knowledge you can get out of this episode, so I really hope you enjoy it. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

If you’re to achieve financial independence and gain the choice in life that is our goal here at Financial Autonomy, then it’s very helpful if some or perhaps all of your living costs can be met without you needing to put a finger to a keyboard, smile at a customer, or drill a hole to install something or other. Passive Income sources are the key to arriving at this outcome. It’s important to recognise that in one way or another, passive income generation requires considerable work up front. So for instance, our third option – buying shares, produces wonderful passive income via dividends, but of course you’ve had to work and save in the first place in order to have the cash to buy those shares. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY

This week’s guest went from high school science teacher to being self-employed providing digital marketing services. In the space of 12 months she has grown her business income to over $100,000, and now has 2 staff helping her out. In this episode Brittany shares what sparked her change of career, her use of side hustles through her journey to self-employment, how she built the skills she needed for success, and what she’d do differently if she was starting over. If a career change or move to self-employment is on your radar at some point in the future, this is an episode that you won’t want to miss. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

This week’s guest rose to become the medical director - head of department as an anaesthesiologist at a large trauma hospital, within 10 years of graduation. He was working really hard, and getting the success that hard work brings. But then: “I remember one night in the middle of a horrible, horrible case. It was a level one trauma. I'm covered in blood. And all of a sudden I realised that I don't know if I could do this anymore. I was exhausted. It had been a 20 plus hour day. I'd been working straight, I was in charge of all the operations for the day. And I thought, man, I don’t know if I could do this. And I've painted myself in a corner.” In this week’s episode, career coach and anonymous podcaster Doc of all Tradez shares how he reinvented his working life and how he helps others do the same. If you’re looking for a better balance between work and family life, between earning money and pursuing what gives you joy, and between pursuing the standard script of career success vs playing the long game for y

Between 1870 and 1970 our lifesplans more than doubled globally. For the thousands of years of human history prior to this massive leap forward in longevity, most humans did well to make it into their 40's. We lived long enough to reproduce, protect our children until they could fend for themselves, and then we were gone.  Yet today in Australia we have a life expectancy of 82.5 years. In wealthy countries like Australia life is lengthening by more than five hours a day, every day.  In this week’s episode we’re going to look at how the traditional picture of what retirement looks like could evolve to better suit the realities of modern day life in Australia.  For all things Financial Independence and gaining choice in life, be sure to visit www.financialautonomy.com.au . There’s our library of past posts, and over 40 free downloads to help you succeed. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

Early retirement via property investment is a key theme of this week's episode. Brad Dantonio, host of the Man Overseas podcast  and I, met in Washington earlier in the year and sat down to record this collaboration episode. Brad shares how he's been able to use property investment to retire early. He now lives in a different city around the world every 30 days. We also discuss shares, happiness, NFL, and plenty more. I hope you enjoy it! SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS 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.