All Articles
October 29, 2020
Which Financial Independence pathway is right for you?
So you have a goal of achieving Financial Independence. Fantastic. Financial Independence provides the potential for enormous freedom in life. But how to get from where you are today, to your chosen nirvana? Of course you need clarity on your goals, and a robust cash flow plan to maximise your savings. But with those two … Continued
Investment
Property
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
August 26, 2020
Why (and how) I wrote Financial Autonomy – the money book that gives you choice
It was wonderful to be approached by a publisher to write a book. It felt like validation that the effort I’d been putting into the Financial Autonomy podcast, and the weekly Gaining CHOICE email were being recognised, and the ideas conveyed were interesting and valuable. I enjoy writing, and as much as putting together enough … Continued
Investment
Property
Saving Strategy
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
Superannuation
April 1, 2020
Learnings from our recent Community Survey – Episode 139
Today’s episode is a bit different. I don’t have a script and I don’t have a guest. I recently ran a community survey to everyone that gets the Gaining Choice email. In this podcast I want to share with you what we learned and some of the ways this information will be used to shape … Continued
Investment
Property
Saving Strategy
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
December 5, 2019
The Financial Autonomy Journey
I put this diagram together yesterday to explain the central framework that we are working to here at Financial Autonomy. Anyone who successfully achieves Financial Autonomy will employ at least one, and usually two or three of these approaches. The self-employment route spotlights the difference between Financial Independence and Financial Autonomy. Financial Autonomy success is … Continued
Investment
Property
Saving Strategy
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
July 24, 2019
Rent or Buy – how to determine what’s right for you
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 … Continued
Property
July 3, 2019
Listener Q & A – 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 … Continued
Investment
Property
Saving Strategy
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
Superannuation
March 20, 2019
How to get your home loan repaid sooner – Episode 85
Debt is like the leg irons worn by convicts – it holds you back from gaining choice in life, from achieving Financial Autonomy. Yet if we aspire to own a home, then in all likelihood we’re going to need to take out a very significant loan – a home loan. So given the conflict between: a. … Continued
Property
August 22, 2018
The Beauty of the Worst Case – Episode 59
Do you remember those Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbooks that were around everywhere about a decade ago? How to land a light aircraft if the pilot has a heart attack, or how to survive a bear attack. I don’t know if they extended to surviving a zombie apocalypse, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they … Continued
Investment
Property
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
July 18, 2018
Pay off the mortgage or invest?- Episode 54
A shout out here to Christine Calnan who emailed me about this dilemma – whether it is best to put your savings towards extra mortgage repayments, or should you instead be investing? This is one that does come up a lot when I’m working with clients, and it’s certainly not a question with a … Continued
Investment
Property
Saving Strategy
April 4, 2018
Financial Autonomy – Common Strategy Options – Episode 39
Regular listeners and readers know by now that Financial Autonomy is about gaining choice. Maybe that choice is retiring early (eg. the FIRE goal that’s popular in the US), but it could just as easily be the choice to work in a different career, start your own business, work fewer hours or days, or the … Continued
Investment
Property
Saving Strategy
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
Superannuation
March 14, 2018
6 Powerful Early Retirement Hacks – Episode 36
The goal for many in the Financial Autonomy community is to retire early. Early retirement means different things to different people, but as I always talk about, Financial Autonomy is about gaining choice. So whether you’re early retirement consists of lying on the beach in Fiji at age 40, or traveling around Australia with your … Continued
Investment
Property
Saving Strategy
Superannuation
February 21, 2018
First Home Super Saver Scheme – should I care? Episode 33
We all know that property prices in Australia have gone stupid in recent years. One significant consequence of that has been that first home buyers have found it increasingly difficult to enter the property market. Banks like to see at least a 10% deposit, and in the ideal world you’d have a 20% deposit to … Continued
Property
Saving Strategy
Superannuation