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Financial Autonomy - Melbourne to Manhattan: A Podcast Pause for a City Change

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February 28, 2024

Melbourne to Manhattan: A Podcast Pause for a City Change

A somewhat emotional episode this week as I sit down to record. After 6 and a half years, and 342 weekly episodes, I’ve decided to take a break from producing the Financial Autonomy podcast. Truthfully, at this point I don’t know if this is the end of the podcast or just a pause. It could … Continued

Investment

February 21, 2024

Am I too old to achieve Financial Autonomy?

It’s not uncommon I find, for people to arrive at the desire to achieve Financial Autonomy in their 40s or 50s. Particularly for those with kids, until this point in life it’s largely just been survival mode. Money in equals money out. First it’s saving a deposit for a home, then it’s getting the mortgage … Continued

Investment

December 20, 2023

Beyond Local – International share diversification

I think I mentioned in a previous episode that I’ve been doing a lot of research recently on a possible new book I’m working on focused on investment portfolio construction and evidence based investing. One aspect that’s cropped up is the question of how much international share exposure we should have in our Australian portfolios. … Continued

Investment

December 20, 2023

Should we buy a holiday home?

It’s summer and hopefully you’re kicking back somewhere, recharging the batteries with plenty of blue sky and sunshine. It’s at times like these, perhaps strolling along the beach with our partner, nothing urgent to be done and plenty of time to think, that the thought might pop into our head “wouldn’t it be great to … Continued

Investment

Property

December 13, 2023

Having Goals is Not Enough

Today’s post is prompted by two separate discussions I had with new clients this week. In one case, there was a recent inheritance, the other, the couple had recently paid off their mortgage. In both instances, multiple options existed. I heard about things like home renovations, private school for the kids, cutting back to four … Continued

Investment

December 6, 2023

Is Superannuation Worth the Risk?

This week’s post is inspired by a question I got for my Ask an Expert column in the Fairfax press. A reader asked whether it was worth adding extra money to super given the balance goes up and down. She can put $5000 in one day, only to see the balance drop by that amount … Continued

Superannuation

November 23, 2023

What is Factor Investing?

You’ve almost certainly heard of index investing, also sometimes called passive investing. Here investment portfolios are constructed to replicate I given a market. The weighting given to each individual stock is determined by the size of each company, its market capitalisation. So for instance in the Australian market, the largest allocation would be to BHP, … Continued

Investment

October 25, 2023

When do SMSF’s make sense?

When does it make sense to move your superannuation savings into a Self Managed Super Fund? Is not shifting to an SMSF a wasted opportunity? Who should have a self managed fund? This week we’re going to get you answers to all these questions. So if you’ve ever wondered whether a Self Managed Super Fund … Continued

Uncategorised

October 11, 2023

What are Annuities and what role do they play in Retirement?

Annuities are a product most people have heard of, but don’t know exactly what they are, or when to use them. With interest rates returning to more normal levels, annuities are coming out of the deep freeze. So this week I thought I’d take you through the basics of annuities so you have an appreciation … Continued

Superannuation

September 13, 2023

Crushing Debt: A Guide to Paying Off Loans and Building Wealth

We all know that interest rates have leapt up quickly in the past 18 months. Whilst many people have been protected thus far by fixed rate mortgages, as these roll off, more and more of us are starting to feel the pain. That being the case, paying off debt has bubbled to the top of … Continued

Property

September 6, 2023

5 Key Steps to Building Wealth for Professionals in Their Prime

1.      Create a solid foundation   There are three things I consider foundational to successfully build wealth and achieve financial autonomy.   First you need to understand your cash flow. What does it cost you to live, how much do you have coming in, and is there a surplus?   Without surplus cash flow there’s … Continued

Investment

August 9, 2023

Understanding Risk Profiles: Their foundational role in attaining Financial Autonomy

The relationship between risk and reward is one we’ve explored many times. Anyone pursuing a Financial Autonomy goal through investment needs to contend with the typical desire to achieve their objectives as soon as possible, whilst adopting a level of risk that enables them to sleep comfortably at night. When you start working with a … Continued

Investment