Financial Autonomy

375 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratings

Plenty of books, podcasts and blogs focus on building wealth – and that’s great, as far as it goes. But focusing just on wealth misses the point.

I believe what most of us actually want is to have choice.

Choice in how much time we give to income-producing activities.
Choice about what those income-producing activities are.
Choice about where we live.
Choice about when we retire.
Choice about the ways we use our money to produce happiness.

In the Financial Autonomy podcast, I explore the different ways you can gain choice - from investing in stocks to becoming self-employed, starting a side hustle, or buying an investment property. I share learnings I've gained working with clients for over 20 years as a Certified Financial Planner, and interview others with interesting insights or experiences in gaining choice in life.

Self-Improvement Education Business Investing business entrepreneur finance marketing entrepreneurship health leadership interview money entrepreneurs
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Episodes

So what is Bitcoin? Episode 24

December 19, 2017 23:00 - 48 minutes - 111 MB

In this episode we are joined by ICT professional and cryptocurrency expert Ivan Jasenovic, who describes himself as having his head in the cloud, his soul on the Blockchain, and his heart in decentralized Healthcare. In this interview we cover: The benefits of Blockchain technology and whether you truly need to understand how Blockchains The different types of cryptocurrency and examples of when you would look to use each one How bitcoin works and has the same value per unit no matte...

Early retirement - the multi-phase approach for Australians - Episode 23

December 12, 2017 23:00 - 15 minutes - 35.9 MB

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 Aged Pensions, just to get you started. The approach I’m going to take you through today is a multi-phase approach that I’ve built specifically fo...

Ruby Lee - Side Hustler and Career Guru - Episode 22

December 05, 2017 23:00 - 49 minutes - 114 MB

In this next interview episode on the Financial Autonomy Podcast we chat to Ruby Lee the founder of The Careers Emporium and head of HR at Cogent. In this interview we cover: The benefits of a side hustle in achieving your financial goals The 18 month journey Ruby when through when changing careers Identifying your strengths and knowing when the time is right for a career change How daily journaling helped Ruby gain clarity when dealing with financial and career issues How she tur...

The side hustle - your ticket to Financial Autonomy? Episode 21

November 28, 2017 23:00 - 15 minutes - 34.3 MB

What do Apple, Nike, Under Armour, Instagram, and Groupon all have in common? It’s not just that they’re hugely successful, multibillion dollar companies. They also share a common birth – they all started life as side projects of their founders. I’ve been reading Nike founder Phil Knight’s autobiography Shoe Dog recently, and I highly recommend it – very readable and interesting. He was working as an accountant at Price Waterhouse whilst establishing what we now know as Nike, and when...

Adam Murray of Subtle Disruptors - Taking Control of His Life - Episode 20

November 21, 2017 23:00 - 38 minutes - 88 MB

In my next interview episode on the Financial Autonomy Podcast we chat to Adam Murray from the Subtle Disruptors Podcast. In this interview we cover: How a difficult personal time highlighted the need for Adam to take some leave from his career and reevaluate his life How the Good Life Project gave him a framework to take a gap year How identifying four key priorities during that gap year has now impacted his life The power of being present in the moment The focus on his health an...

I can't buy a home, am I financially doomed? Episode 19

November 14, 2017 23:00 - 17 minutes - 39.2 MB

There’s a template that all Australian’s are meant to follow. Study, enter the workforce, buy a house, raise kids, pay off a mortgage, retire. It’s served us pretty well for the past 100 years or so, so you know the saying about if it ain’t broke… But for an increasing number of Australian’s this model is broken. The original spark that started me on this Financial Autonomy journey was the realisation that the path from studying until around your early 20’s, then working in p...

Felicity's transformation from New York fashion journalist to Digital Creative Director - Episode 18

November 07, 2017 23:00 - 34 minutes - 78.3 MB

In our first interview episode on the Financial Autonomy Podcast with talk with Felicity Loughrey. She shares her career transition journey from journalism to advertising that spanned across two continents. In this interview we cover: How this Australian freelance journalist ended up working in New York Why she finds Americans are good to work with How she handled the transition away from the dying industry of journalism into writing advertising copy The interesting journey of getti...

Procrastination - 9 tips to combat this number one killer of Financial Autonomy dreams - Episode 17

October 31, 2017 23:00 - 19 minutes - 45.2 MB

How hard is it to get started? I’m sure we’ve all had things that either need to be done, or that we’d like to do, but we put them off – shift them to the bottom of the pile or check out our Facebook feed instead. Procrastination is evil, and it afflicts us all at some point or another. When it comes to Financial Autonomy dreams, I think procrastination is quite possibly the number 1 impediment to you moving forward. So with this in mind, I’ve done some research on strategies to overcom...

Getting your debt under control doesn't need to be difficult - Episode 16

October 17, 2017 23:00 - 15 minutes - 36.2 MB

How good would life be if you were debt free? No mortgage payments, or car loans. No credit cards. Imagine the weight off your shoulders. The financial freedom you would gain. The financial autonomy. Of course many people, probably most people, achieve debt free status over their working life. This episode is not for those who have already achieved this milestone. This episode is for those of you on the journey. For whom debt obligations comprise a significant portion of your regular i...

The Sharemarket - A beginner's guide - Episode 15

October 03, 2017 23:00 - 15 minutes - 35.2 MB

If you catch a snippet of the radio in the morning on your way to work, you’re likely to hear what happened to the Dow Jones overnight. If you read your news online or watch the news on TV it’s likely you’ll hear about the All Ords or maybe the ASX200. You might even come across acronyms like the NASDAQ and the FTSE. Probably, you know this is something to do with share markets. If you turn your mind to it a bit more, you probably know that the share market is where people buy and sell shar...

How to avoid the most common financial mistakes – Part 3 - Episode 14

September 20, 2017 00:00 - 14 minutes - 33.2 MB

Today’s episode is the 3rd and final look at the most common financial mistakes I come across when advising clients. Thanks for your comments and feedback on the previous 2 posts, it seems that many of you have battled with some of these issues yourselves, and there were a few other mistakes that you’ve managed to make that, whilst being proud of them is perhaps not quite right, they are certainly something good for a laugh well after the fact. I’ve got 5 more for you today, so let’s dive i...

How to avoid the most common financial mistakes – Part 2 - Episode 13

September 06, 2017 00:00 - 13 minutes - 30.3 MB

Welcome back. In the last episode we explored common investment mistakes people make. It’s not really essential that you listen to Part 1 before giving this one a listen, but if you haven’t listened to that one yet, perhaps make that the next episode you grab. Today we’re going to explore common cash flow mistakes that I see people make. I mentioned in the first episode that when I was first planning this post, I jotted down 12 ideas – financial mistakes I’d seen regularly over my 18 years...

How to avoid the most common financial mistakes – Part 1 - Episode 12

August 23, 2017 00:00 - 14 minutes - 33.1 MB

Enough people have hit their thumb with a hammer for you to know that it hurts quite a lot. You don’t need to do the experiment yourself. I’ve been helping people as a Financial Planner now for almost 18 years, and I’ve meet many, many wonderful people. Often people put off seeing a financial planner until they’re at some sort of cross roads – they’ve been made redundant, or retirement is rapidly looming, or they’ve separated from their partner. So prospective new clients often come in to se...

The security illusion - Episode 11

August 09, 2017 06:27 - 12 minutes - 28.6 MB

Having a job and a regular wage is comforting and secure, except if you lose that job. UK stats say that 45% of workers will be made redundant at least once in their working life. I’d expect the Australian numbers would be much the same. In that sense, being a full time employee is very binary. Very secure and reliable whilst you’re employed, but when you’re not, there’s nothing. If Financial Autonomy is about having choices in life, then how does that align with being fully reliant on a...

Is your ladder against the wrong wall? Episode 10

August 02, 2017 00:00 - 11 minutes - 25.5 MB

How long since you’ve taken a step back from your professional life and considered where it’s taking you? Is your current professional activity taking you to somewhere you want to be in 10 or 20 years? Is it leading you towards inner happiness? It’s easy with the pressures of mortgage repayments or rent, perhaps kids, and just the normal expenses of life, to push on, head down bum up. The problem is that can lead you to a destination when you are perhaps in your 40’s or 50’s and with plen...

When bad luck strikes - how cancer impacted Jenny's life and the financial lessons learned - Episode 9

July 26, 2017 10:37 - 17 minutes - 18.2 MB

When thinking about financial autonomy we are typically talking about medium to long term goals, and then developing strategies to get to those goals. The transition then is a planned one. What if your transition was thrust upon you? I met someone recently who faced this challenge, and with her permission, I thought it was worth sharing with you a little of her story and the learnings that we can all take. Financial autonomy is about standing on your own two feet and not being reliant on oth...

Divorce - how to bounce back financially - Episode 8

July 18, 2017 22:43 - 14 minutes - 32.9 MB

Financial Autonomy is about managing and planning for major transitions in life. A transition that many of us face unfortunately is divorce. I understand researchers have found that going through a divorce can be one of the most stressful things you can experience in life. As a financial planner, I often work with clients who have been through or are going through a divorce, and assist them in the planning necessary to get them back on their feet financially. In this post I’ve broken down ...

How to retire early - 5 things you could do to gain financial independence - Episode 7

July 12, 2017 01:59 - 17 minutes - 40.2 MB

Many people that I speak to seek freedom from the need to clock on and clock off. To not be answerable to a boss. To not having to devote time and energy to things that they’re not passionate about, just for the pay. The dream therefore becomes to retire early, and the sooner the better. In Australia superannuation is the primary vehicle that we use to save for retirement, and access to superannuation is available from age 60. So, when we’re talking about early retirement, we’re referring ...

Financial Autonomy success story - how Nish escaped the corporate world and pursued his passion - Episode 6

June 20, 2017 11:08 - 14 minutes - 33.1 MB

I’ve known Nish for over 25 years. He was there when I started my first job out of school, and over the years our careers and lives intersected. These days, as well as being a friend, Nish and his family are also clients. For many years Nish was a financial planner, even running his own firm for a period. To have someone with that professional skill and background decide to engage me and my firm to act as their financial planner is to me, one of the greatest professional compliments you c...

How to be financially ready to start a family - Episode 5

June 20, 2017 10:53 - 15 minutes - 35.4 MB

Starting a family is a huge step in a great many of our lives. Bringing a new little human into the world. So much hope. Scary too! Completely life changing. Financial Autonomy is about you taking control of your finances, and not being controlled by your finances. The focus of this audio blog is to think through the financial implications of taking this big leap, and what you can do to prepare for this major transition in your life. Also, if you’re reading or listening to this during ...

How to analyse the financials when buying a business - Episode 4

June 20, 2017 10:38 - 21 minutes - 48.3 MB

One fantastic and I find often overlooked way to achieve financial autonomy is to buy an existing business. In comparison to starting your own business where cash flow starts at zero and you need to support yourself whilst the business becomes self-sustaining (refer episode 1), when you buy an existing business, you have cash flow and customers from day one. Buying a business is something I can talk about with quite a bit of experience. I’ve bought two businesses, and for a couple years I ...

What is financial autonomy and how to begin the journey towards financial independence - Episode 3

June 20, 2017 10:19 - 12 minutes - 29.6 MB

I’ve named this podcast Financial Autonomy. So what is Financial Autonomy? What does it mean? Well that’s what we’re going to explore in today’s podcast I’ll give you a big hint – Financial Autonomy is about gaining choices in life. Buckle up – let’s dive in! Financial autonomy or financial independence if you prefer, is about being in a financial position to have CHOICE. In my role as a financial planner, every day I talk to people about their financial plans. In almost all cases, amongst...

Redundancy - what a great opportunity - Episode 2

June 20, 2017 05:45 - 14 minutes - 32.8 MB

Redundancy – not something most of us like to contemplate. Yet it is a reality for many of us in our working life. So rather than redundancy being seen as something negative, let’s flip it around - your redundancy could be the best thing that has ever happened to you. Financial autonomy is about building financial strategies to give you choices in life. And very often these choices present themselves at moments of transition. In this case, your transition is leaving the comfort of a work pl...

How to be financially ready to start a business - Episode 1

June 14, 2017 05:37 - 16 minutes - 38.4 MB

So you’ve decided you’re ready to take the big plunge and start your own business. Congratulations. Having transitioned from being an employee to running my own business, I can tell you, you will be in for some challenges, but also many rewards, not least of which is flexibility in how you manage your time. I know of self employed people who like early morning, quiet, thinking time, and so choose to work for 2-3 hours from 6am, then take a break, do some exercise, have something to eat, a...