All Articles
March 5, 2019
Financial Independence in Australia – Episode 83
Job security isn’t what it once was. The trend toward contracting, outsourcing and the gig economy, combined with technological automation and increasingly, artificial intelligence, means the need for us to be emotionally and financially resilient has never been higher. Emotional resiliency isn’t something I’m qualified to speak on, but financial resiliency – financial independence – is of course … Continued
Investment
Saving Strategy
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
Superannuation
February 13, 2019
Why your parent’s financial plan won’t work for you – Episode 80
If retirement is a decade or more away, it’s tempting to look at your parents and perhaps grandparents in retirement and figure, well, they seem to be getting along fine, I’ll just have what they’re having. But there’s two key factors that have underpinned your parents retirement, that will look vastly different in your retirement – the Age … Continued
Investment
Saving Strategy
Superannuation
November 7, 2018
The reality of negative returns – knowledge is power – Episode 66
Investment markets don’t always go up. In fact they go down on a pretty regular basis. Is that a shock to you? I suspect not. Yet virtually none of the commentary on investing talks about negative returns – markets going down. But when I speak with clients, especially new clients, usually somewhere in their … Continued
Investment
Superannuation
October 10, 2018
Putting the puzzle together – 4 essential elements to achieving your big life goals – Episode 62
Here at Financial Autonomy, our focus is typically on the money side of how you achieve your goals and gain the choice in life that you deserve. But of course, achieving big goals requires more than just a financial solution. And so in today’s post we’re going to take a step back and consider … Continued
Investment
Saving Strategy
Self-Employment & Side Hustles
Superannuation
July 4, 2018
Mini-retirements – Episode 52
In several previous posts we’ve looked at strategies to help you achieve early retirement. I’ve often spoken about the fact that early retirement in our Financial Autonomy context doesn’t mean spending all day sitting on the couch watching the Simpsons. Our objective is gaining the flexibility and choice to pursue the things that we’re … Continued
Investment
Saving Strategy
Superannuation
June 6, 2018
The 10 worst things you can do to prepare for retiring early – Episode 48
So your financial autonomy goal is to retire early. For some that might mean retiring at age 35 and for others age 58. Often, especially for those looking to retire at the younger end of the spectrum, it will mean ceasing their current role, but still engaging in some income producing activities. So retiring … Continued
Investment
Saving Strategy
Superannuation
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 28, 2018
Will my Money Run Out? Episode 38
Whether you’re planning for a traditional retirement at age 60+, or working towards an early retirement goal, thoughts of “will my money run out?” will no doubt have crossed your mind. There is a lot written about safe withdrawal rates. This refers to the rate you can afford to draw down on your savings, so … Continued
Saving Strategy
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
February 7, 2018
What’s your number? Episode 31
The goal when working towards Financial Autonomy is to gain choice. Choice in how you support yourself and perhaps your family financially, be that the type of work you do, the hours you spend doing that work, or whether you earn that income as an employee, or as a self-employed person. In developing an actionable … Continued
Investment
Saving Strategy
Superannuation
December 13, 2017
Early retirement – the multi-phase approach for Australians – Episode 23
The goal of early retirement is one many Australians aspire too. And certainly, when thinking about achieving Financial Autonomy, retiring early is very often baked into those goals. But what is the best way to bring that goal to reality, given the uniqueness of our system – superannuation, franking credits, negative gearing, and means tested … Continued
Investment
Saving Strategy
Superannuation