Today my guest is a legend in the Australian personal finance space. Noel Whittaker has been educating Aussies in money management and investing for over 50 years. He’s probably most famous for his international bestselling book "Making Money Made Simple" which has sold over a million copies worldwide! Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are: Noel’s upbringing and first investments (00:02:19)What made Noel become an author? (00:13:41)Noel’s investment choices and experience...

I have an interesting episode for you guys today and I think you’re really going to like it. My guest today is Scott O’Neill. Scott bought his first investment property in 2010 with a $60K deposit after saving for 5 years. Just 8 years later, Scott and his wife had 28 properties generating $300K of profit each year plus around $7Million of equity. And Scott is very adamant that he didn’t receive any financial help, gifts, inheritance, living at home rent-free until his late 20’s etc. He’s...

Today I’m chatting with chemical engineer/home energy advisor Tim Forcey. He’s probably known best in the FIRE community for creating the extremely popular Facebook group, My Efficient Electric Home (MEEH) which currently has over 65,000 members. I’ve always said one of the most common traits in FIRE community is hyper efficiency of everything we spend money on, so I was very excited personally to have Tim on the show, especially with energy prices creeping higher and higher. Some of the...

Today we’re talking about two popular career paths - starting out at one of the big four or going into a government role.  The Big Four is the nickname used to refer collectively to the four largest professional services networks in the world. These include Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Joining me in this discussion is my old schoolmate Jeremy who did a cadetship at Deloitte where he worked for 6 years. Jeremy explains the interview process,...

Today we’re talking about succession planning with the one and only Terry Waugh. This is a pretty big topic but we’ll be focusing in on areas such as: What is succession planning and why should we care? (02:22)What are some of the available options for succession planning? (04:19)Wills (07:06)Testamentary trusts (13:31)Succession planning within companies (20:52)Superannuation - who gets it when you die? (24:15)SMSF - what are the key differences? (28:42)Life insurance inside superannuation...

Have you ever been ripped off by a financial advisor?  Today’s podcast is all about identifying the tactics financial advisors use that put their interests ahead of yours.  Joining me in this discussion is Phil Harvey. He’s an independent financial advisor and one of the founding members of PIFA which stands for the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers. Some of the topics we cover are: Who is Phil Harvey? (05:41)Phil's personal experience with financial advisors in 2010 before the...

My guest today is Matt Ridley, a British science writer, journalist and businessman who holds a PhD from Oxford in Biology. He’s worked for many famous publications such as The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and The Times (London). Matt is probably best known within the FIRE community for his award-winning book, The Rational Optimist, published in 2010. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read that offers a counterpoint to the prevailing pessimism of our age and proves, however much...

In this episode we’re not talking about money or investing but rather touching on the sustainable side of the FIRE movement. Today my guest is Anthony Broese van Groenou, a sustainability expert, environmental scientist, PhD researcher and the co-founder of the Good Car Co. This company's goal is to accelerate the uptake of Electric Vehicles in Australia by offering second-hand EVs at an affordable price. Some of the topics we cover are: Who is Anthony Broese van Groenou and what is the story...

Today I’ve invited Terry Waugh back on podcast to talk about a topic that’s very popular in the Aussie FIRE community. I recently published an article about how we (Mrs Firebug & I) are Debt Recycling and have received a lot of questions from the community about the details of how it all works. Terry is one of the most knowledgeable people I know on this topic and he has kindly agreed to join me to answer as many questions as we have time for. Some of the topics we cover are: What is Debt...

This episode is a follow up on my previous conversation with Vijay Boyapati about Bitcoin. Today Mark Monfort joins me to talk about other Crypto currencies, Web3 and DeFi. Mark has worn many hats in his career working as an equities and macroeconomic analyst in Melbourne and London and also spent time in sales at the ASX. Mark is a TradFi native turned DeFi convert and is passionate about building communities in Web3. Some of the topics we cover are: How did Mark get involved with Crypto?...

Today I have Bill Perkins on the podcast who is the author of the very popular book titled “Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life.” The book challenges a few core FIRE beliefs and has definitely had an impact on the way I’m modelling for my retirement. Some of the topics we cover are: Who is Bill Perkins and what is he all about? (06:20)Why Bill wrote “Die with Zero” (07:42)The value of experiences fluctuating throughout life (12:05)Memory dividends (28:30)What...

Today’s episode is a summary of my blog post titled “ASIC Crush Independent Content Creators & the End of Ask Firebug Fridays”. The new ASIC guidelines have major implications for content creators in the FIRE and personal finance communities. This is why I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions on these new guidelines and what they mean for AFB moving forward. www.aussiefirebug.com/asic-crush-creators

I have a really fun podcast for you guys today. It’s been 5 years since she was on, but I’ve finally managed to get Mrs Firebug back on the podcast. Sometimes it’s nice just to stop, turn around and look back at how far you’ve come. I thought it would be cool to get a life update from her perspective and just a general chit chat about her experience dropping down to working only 4 days a week. Some of the topics we cover include: Knowing what we know now, what would we have done differently...

Today’s episode is a summary of my “We Bought Bitcoin” article which is all about why we have decided to buy Bitcoin and how Bitcoin plays a part in our financial independence strategy. Some of the topics I cover are: Post-crash and General Feelings (04:51)Down the Rabbit Hole (06:46)Risk Verse Reward (10:03)End Goal (12:22)But Why? (14:00)Conclusion (17:12)Links podcast - Vijay Boyapati - The Bullish Case for Bitcoin podcast - Decoding Cryptowww.aussiefirebug.com

My guest today is John Pidgeon. John is probably known best as the co-host of the very popular podcast, ‘My Millennial Property’ and has been investing in real estate for over 20 years. I had so much fun with this episode because John and I bounce around all different topics and we even get some footy chit chat in there as well. Some of the topics we cover are: How John got involved with property investing (12:27)Bringing up children in a money-conscious household (15:00)Private vs public...

Welcome back to another episode of Ask Firebug Fridays! Today Terry W has returned to the show to help me answer your questions. Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode: A lengthy case study involving a couple who partially owns two businesses through a company and a trust. How their current share portfolio is structured and if Terry has any concerns or recommendations. (03:39)Receiving the monetary value of a trust distribution that doesn’t go directly to you. (35:36)Can you...

Today I’m chatting with Terry & Ryan from the Passive Income Project podcast. I’ve been listening to their show for a few years now and what I really like is their emphasis on the psychology of investing and money. They’ve recently gone deep into the world of crypto in their latest podcast series called “Decoding Crypto”. Some of the topics we cover are: Is the financial planning industry coming to a crossroads? (00:11:08)Is there a consensus among financial planners about what needs to...

My special guest today is one of the very first personal finance bloggers that I can remember. It’s J. MONEY from the 2012 Blogger of the Year awards “Budget Are Sexy”. J. managed to become a millionaire in roughly 10 years and has blogged throughout the journey posting his net worth each month which definitely inspired me to start something similar in Australia back in 2015. Some of the topics we cover are: J.’s experience of buying a house in 2007 and what the fall out of the GFC was like...

I’m joined today by our favourite Kiwi here at the Aussie Firebug podcast - it’s Ruth, also known as The Happy Saver who featured on the show back in episode 47. Ruth and I are answering 3 questions from the community today. Royal screw ups and the lessons we’ve learned. (05:53)Changing portfolio allocation when transitioning to retirement. (28:34)Micro investing apps - are they a waste of time and money? (43:37)Links Blog - The Happy SaverPodcast - The Happy Saverwww.aussiefirebug.com/aff

My guest today is Scott Phillips - a Sydney based investor with over 20 years experience. Scott holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma of Accounting but is most famous for his role as Chief Investment Officer of The Motley Fool Australia. This is a monster episode where we dive deep into many different areas of investing. Some of the topics we cover are: Where does it all begin with Scott Phillips and finance? (00:05:10)How and when did Scott start investing? (00:14:31)What does...

I’m kicking off the new year with a little refresher and a summary of a new article called “10 Lessons I've Learned from 10 Years Pursuing Financial Independence”. Check it out! 1. The ultimate goal is to be happy. Never lose sight of this (03:50) 2. Find your why of FI (07:18) 3. Master behaviours, not spreadsheets (08:43) 4. Getting wealthy is simple. Don’t overthink it (14:38) 5. What’s measured is managed (19:07) 6. Income potential is often overlooked (23:43) 7. Compound interest takes...

Have you ever wondered how far your donations to charities really go? I know it feels good to donate and we should all consider giving away part of our wealth considering we Aussies are some of the wealthiest people on the planet, but I’m not sure many of us really go over with a fine-tooth and comb how the money is spent and how many people are affected with every dollar. Today I’m speaking with Luke Freeman, a former tech and marketing professional who had a desire to positively affect the...

Today I’m speaking with Julia Druery, a mum of two, living on the Gold Coast who was studying to become a financial advisor before a tragic event hit her family back in 2016. Julia’s husband Kent suffered from an acquired brain injury which left him with several permanent disabilities and no longer able to work. Thankfully Kent had various insurances in place before the injury which helped to relieve the financial pressure of this life changing event. Some of the topics we cover are: Julia...

My guest today is fellow Aussie, Vijay Boyapati who is an Ex-Google engineer and the author of The Bullish Case for Bitcoin. Vijay’s book has been translated into over twenty different languages and is said to be one of the most read pieces of literature on Bitcoin. This is a monster episode and we go deep into so much more than just Bitcoin and the Blockchain. Some of the topics we get into include: Who is Vijay and what led him to start working for Google? (04:28)Vijay shares why he...

Today I’m joined by an Aussie FIRE favourite - Tina from MoneyFlamingo.com The 3 topics that we’re covering today are: How many ETFs are too many? (04:41)Using cash as a deposit or to invest in Sydney at the moment considering the housing market. (15:53)The inevitability of a recession and how that affects us investing in the now. (23:14)Links Article - VDHG or Roll Your OwnArticle - Meet Bob The Worlds Worst Market TimerWebsite - Money Flamingowww.aussiefirebug.com/aff/