Investment

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

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

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

July 12, 2023

The Impossible Question – why it’s so hard for investors to decide between shares or property

For an investor trying to build wealth and achieve financial independence, a question they will inevitably face is whether they should be sending their savings into stock market investments, or paying off an investment property instead. In my experience, most people decide which fork in the road to take based more on comfort and personal … Continued

Investment

Property

June 28, 2023

Could You Be Over-Saving?

To achieve peak performance athletes need to train. Train too little and they risk lacking the fitness and skills to achieve their full potential. Train too much though, and they risk fatigue and injury. A balance needs to be found in order for the athlete to succeed. When thinking about money and finances, the typical … Continued

Investment

Saving Strategy

May 10, 2023

Alternatives to Retiring Early

Winston Churchill was 65 in 1939 when World War 2 commenced. He had his most important, and arguably his best years, ahead of him. Ray Kroc founded McDonald at 52 years of age. And Harland Sanders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken when he was 62. Betty White got her major acting break at age 51. Nelson … Continued

Investment

April 19, 2023

5 Strategies to Achieve Financial Independence in Your 40s and 50s

As you guys know, the focus of our podcast is to help you gain choice through the achievement of what I’ve called Financial Autonomy. A very close cousin of the idea of financial autonomy is Financial Independence. Financial independence is the concept of owning assets that produce income such that it is not necessary for … Continued

Investment