Aussie FIRE | Financial Independence Retire Early

Aussie FIRE | Financial Independence Retire Early

By Hayden Smith & Dave GowBusinessInvesting
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Aussie FIRE | Financial Independence Retire Early episodes

  • 97. Remaining calm on the FIRE journey

    Your FIRE plan might look perfectly reasonable on paper. But what happens when the share market drops, an investment property needs a $20,000 repair, interest rates rise or the government starts changing tax rules? And if financial decisions are keeping you awake at night, is the answer to change your investments, change your thinking or simply accept that some things are outside your control?


    After a listener asks how Dave manages to stay so relaxed about money, Dave and Hayden explore why financial uncertainty affects people differently, how they deal with their own investing anxieties and whether becoming more comfortable with risk is something you can actually learn.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    ๐Ÿง  Why Dave seems remarkably calm about financial setbacks while Hayden admits to being prone to anxious thoughts, and what their different approaches reveal about managing money stress.


    ๐ŸŽฏ How experience, education and learning to distinguish between possible and probable outcomes can help put financial worries into perspective.


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why Hayden walked away from a $2,000 crypto investment that he estimates would now be worth $100,000, and why he still doesn't regret the decision.


    ๐Ÿ  Why investment property downturns can be particularly stressful when falling property values combine with negative cash flow, unexpected maintenance costs and the risks of leverage.


    ๐Ÿ“‰ How share market falls can feel devastating when you're measuring progress towards FIRE, yet potentially work in your favour when you're still accumulating investments.


    ๐Ÿฆ Why interest rate rises and changing tax policies can make long-term financial planning frustrating, particularly when so much of what happens is outside your control.


    ๐Ÿ“Š Why investors can spend too much time worrying about their exact ETF allocations, and how strongly expressed opinions on Reddit can make relatively small portfolio decisions seem much more important than they really are.


    ๐Ÿงช Why Hayden is considering a $5,000 margin loan as a way to explore an investment strategy he's previously found intimidating, rather than treating the decision as all or nothing.


    โš–๏ธ Why taking on the biggest mortgage you can afford might come at the expense of flexibility, and how leaving yourself more options can make unexpected work and life changes easier to navigate.


    ๐Ÿ”ฅ Whether financial peace of mind comes from developing a higher tolerance for risk, reducing the risks you're taking or simply becoming more confident that you can handle setbacks when they happen.


    The big takeaway? Staying calm on the FIRE journey doesn't mean pretending that market crashes, property problems or financial uncertainty don't matter. It's about understanding the risks you're taking, recognising what you can and can't control, and building a financial life that gives you enough flexibility to deal with whatever comes next.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


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    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    44 min
  • 96. Q&A: Super, ETFs and planning for retirement

    Where should a retirement cash buffer live when most of your wealth is already in super? If you're aiming to retire in ten years, is it better to build your outside portfolio first or split your investing between ETFs and super now? And once you're already retired, does it make sense to sell a large share portfolio just to get more money into super before pension phase?


    In this listener Q&A, Dave and Hayden work through three super case studies that show how quickly contribution caps, access to your money and tax can complicate what looks like a fairly simple decision.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    ๐Ÿ’ฐ Where a one to two year downturn buffer might sit when you're 56, plan to stop work at 59, and most of your investments are already inside super.


    โณ Why the gap between stopping work and being able to access super can matter more than fine-tuning where your cash earns interest.


    ๐Ÿฆ What changes once concessional contribution caps are used, and the choice becomes keeping accessible cash outside super versus holding it inside a super cash option.


    ๐Ÿ”ฅ How a 39-year-old couple investing $7,000 a month could run into contribution caps if they leave their extra super contributions until later.


    โš–๏ธ Why building an ETF portfolio outside super first can look mathematically neat, but splitting contributions earlier may be simpler when contribution limits enter the picture.


    ๐Ÿ“ˆ Why this couple's current savings and investing rate could leave them with substantially more than their estimated FIRE target, potentially changing the retirement timeline altogether.


    ๐Ÿงพ What to consider when a retired investor with $500,000 outside super is advised to sell around $400,000 of investments and contribute the proceeds to super before starting pension phase.


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why the cost base and embedded capital gains in an ETF portfolio can completely change the tax maths of moving that money into super.


    ๐Ÿ” Why a relatively small tax optimisation may matter less than being comfortable with how your retirement wealth is actually invested, structured and accessed.


    The thread through all three questions is that super optimisation can look precise on a spreadsheet, but access, contribution caps, CGT and how the money is invested can matter just as much as the headline tax rate. Sometimes the difference between two sensible options is much smaller than it first appears.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
  • 95. How to travel without killing your savings

    Travel is supposed to be one of the things money gives you more freedom to enjoy. But when a holiday can cost $15,000 instead of $5,000, how do you keep seeing the world without feeling like every trip is sending your finances backwards?


    In this episode, Dave and Hayden compare the simple principles and slightly more extreme hacks they use to keep travel costs down, from letting flight deals influence the destination to shared bathrooms, camping, house sitting and even taking annual leave to stay home.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    โœˆ๏ธ Why Hayden thinks a typical one-to-three-week trip can be roughly one-third flights, one-third accommodation and one-third everything else, and why that puts the biggest savings opportunities in two obvious places.


    ๐Ÿ’ธ How spending $5,000 instead of $15,000 on a trip can change what remains available to invest, and why delaying the most expensive destinations can be different from giving them up altogether.


    โšก Why the best low-cost airline deals can disappear within hours, and why flexible travellers may get better value by letting the deal influence the destination instead of starting with a fixed itinerary.


    ๐Ÿจ What paying an extra $50 for your own bathroom reveals about how quickly comfort upgrades can become automatic, even when you barely use the room.


    ๐Ÿ•๏ธ How hostels, pods, campsites and house sitting can make expensive destinations more

    accessible without turning every holiday into a bare-bones endurance test.


    ๐Ÿง  Why "travel inflation" can work a lot like lifestyle inflation, and how gradually expanding your comfort zone can change what feels acceptable to spend.


    ๐Ÿก Why Dave sees taking annual leave and staying home as a legitimate travel hack, especially if holidays are becoming the only escape from a working year you do not enjoy.


    ๐Ÿ“… Why booking flexible accommodation early, checking prices again later and travelling outside peak periods can sometimes matter more than obsessing over small daily purchases.


    ๐Ÿ”ฅ How financial independence, semi-retirement and flexible work can create another kind of travel advantage: the ability to jump on cheap dates and inconvenient times other people cannot use.


    The thread through all of it is not that cheap travel is automatically better. It is that travel spending is another lifestyle choice where flexibility, timing and knowing what you actually value can matter just as much as the headline price. The more deliberately you make those trade-offs, the easier it can be to keep travel in the plan without quietly turning it into another form of lifestyle inflation.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    43 min
  • 94. Can you just live off high yield?

    If the goal is to live off your portfolio one day, why bother selling investments at all? Could you simply build a portfolio that throws off enough income to cover your spending, ignore the 4% rule and leave the assets themselves alone? It sounds neat. But once you look past the appeal of regular cash flow, the trade-offs get more interesting.


    Dave and Hayden explore what a higher-yield FIRE portfolio could actually look like, why income investing can feel so psychologically appealing, and where chasing yield can start creating problems.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    ๐Ÿ’ฐ Whether living purely off investment income could offer an alternative to regularly selling assets under a more traditional FIRE withdrawal strategy.


    ๐Ÿ“ˆ Why total return still matters, even when a portfolio's dividend or distribution yield looks attractive on its own.


    ๐Ÿง  Why receiving regular investment income can feel easier than selling shares, especially once your portfolio becomes your main source of spending money.


    ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Why Australian shares have traditionally offered more income than US shares, and how that can shape the way local investors think about retirement portfolios.


    ๐Ÿ  How rental property, commercial property, peer-to-peer lending, savings accounts, shares and ETFs could all play different roles in a higher-yield portfolio.


    ๐Ÿงพ Why tax settings can influence the appeal of income versus capital growth, while also making it risky to build an entire investing approach around today's rules.


    ๐Ÿ“Š Why a 6% portfolio yield is not the same thing as a free extra 2% compared with a 4% withdrawal rate, particularly if higher income comes with lower long-term growth.


    ๐Ÿข How listed investment companies can smooth income differently from index funds, and why the way they generate distributions can vary considerably.


    โš ๏ธ Why high-yield assets can bring their own risks, from loan defaults and property cycles to debt-heavy REITs cutting or freezing distributions.


    ๐Ÿ”„ Why Dave has moved away from a strong yield bias towards a more balanced mix of growth and income, while Hayden is reconsidering where income might fit in his own approach.


    The broader tension is simple: reliable income can make a portfolio easier to live with, but yield is only one part of the return you receive. For long-term investors, the interesting question is not whether income or growth is universally better. It is how the trade-off fits the life the portfolio is meant to fund.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  • 93. Q&A: Optimising CGT, home bias and when spouses don't agree

    Retiring overseas might sound like a straightforward FIRE move. But what happens when your portfolio was built around Australia, changing tax residency could create a tax event, your partner has a completely different appetite for risk, or you finally start selling ETFs you have been buying for years?


    In this listener Q&A, Dave and Hayden tackle three questions that show just how quickly a simple investing strategy can get more complicated once real life enters the picture.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    ๐ŸŒ Why home country bias exists in Australian portfolios, and whether it still makes sense if you plan to live somewhere else.


    ๐Ÿ’ธ What changing your Australian tax residency could mean for a portfolio you have spent years building.


    ๐Ÿงพ Why simply holding investments through an overseas brokerage account may not remove the Australian tax considerations discussed in the episode.


    ๐Ÿค What happens when one partner is comfortable riding out market crashes and the other is much more cautious about equities.


    ๐Ÿ“‰ Why your theoretical risk tolerance and your actual reaction to a large market fall may beย 

    two very different things.


    ๐Ÿ  Why some investors can view highly leveraged property as "safe" while seeing share market volatility as risky.


    โš–๏ธ How couples with different risk tolerances might find a middle ground without forcing either person into a strategy they cannot live with.


    ๐Ÿ”ฅ Why getting to financial independence does not necessarily require massive investment risk or spectacular returns, particularly during the earlier wealth-building years.


    ๐Ÿ“Š When you sell part of an ETF holding, how do you know which of the parcels you bought over the years you are actually selling?


    ๐Ÿงฎ Why choosing which ETF parcel to sell can ultimately become a question of when you pay tax, not simply how much you sell.


    The thread through all of it: FIRE can look beautifully simple in a spreadsheet. Then tax residency, relationships, leverage, market crashes and eventually selling your investments turn up. Understanding those trade-offs before they matter can make the real-world version of the plan a lot easier to navigate.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 min
  • 92. How your upbringing shapes your relationship with money

    How much of your relationship with money was shaped before you were old enough to earn any?


    In this episode, Dave and Hayden look back at their own childhoods and unpack how financial stress, family circumstances and the people around us can shape our beliefs about money. They explore everything from frugality and risk-taking to ambition, scarcity and the feeling that there is never quite enough.


    This is a more personal episode of Aussie FIRE. It is not about finding the perfect investment strategy. Instead, it is about understanding where some of our money habits might come from.


    In this episode:


    ๐Ÿ  How growing up in lower-income households shaped Dave and Haydenโ€™s early views of money, security and wealth


    ๐Ÿ’ฐ Why financial hardship can build strong saving habits, while sometimes making it harder to feel comfortable taking risks


    ๐Ÿ›Ÿ How having a family financial safety net can change the risks someone feels able to take with careers, businesses and investing


    ๐Ÿง  Why money stress can stick around even after your financial position improves


    ๐Ÿ› Haydenโ€™s โ€œmoney wormโ€, the voice that keeps asking what could go wrong, even when things are going well


    ๐Ÿ“ˆ How different childhood experiences influenced when Dave and Hayden became interested in investing and building wealth


    ๐Ÿ’ผ Why Hayden chose to reduce some of the risk of starting a business by working extremely hard elsewhere at the same time


    ๐Ÿ” How financial stress can make short-term comfort more appealing, even when it costs more over the long run


    ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ง Why people raised in the same household can develop completely different attitudes towards spending, saving and risk


    ๐ŸŽฏ When financial motivation can turn into compulsion, including the FIRE communityโ€™s familiar โ€œone more yearโ€ problem


    The big takeaway? Your upbringing can influence how you think about money, but it does not write the whole story. Personality, experience and the people around you matter too. Understanding where your habits come from can help you decide which ones still serve you, and which ones might be worth questioning.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    45 min
  • 91. Work optional at 34 with Anthony Nguyen

    Anthony Nguyen spent around a decade building towards financial independence. But when he got close to his target, he did something many people struggle to imagine: he stopped early.


    After years in commercial banking, Anthony took a career break, stepped away from the corporate world, and discovered that financial independence wasn't really about doing nothing. It was about creating the freedom to do more meaningful work, build stronger relationships and design life on his own terms.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    ๐Ÿ’ธ How Anthony went from feeling the Sunday scaries in commercial banking to Googling "how do I not work forever?" and discovering the FIRE movement


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why he moved away from individual shares and towards ETFs after learning some painful early investing lessons


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why property investing never appealed to him, despite growing up in Sydney surrounded by the belief that property should be the default path


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Renting forever by choice: how minimalism, travel and geographic freedom shaped Anthony's view of housing


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The 50% savings rate he adopted early in his career, and how salary increases went straight into investments instead of lifestyle upgrades


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why Anthony didn't wait until reaching 25 times his annual expenses before stepping away from work


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The impact of Die With Zero, and why good health, time and financial stability pushed him to bring his plans forward


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why the first year of freedom wasn't simply endless travel, cycling and hobbies โ€” and how boredom and isolation forced him to rethink what a good life actually looked like


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Anthony's version of a perfect day: meaningful work, meaningful relationships and some form of physical activity


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why FIRE didn't remove work from his life โ€” it helped him discover work he actually wanted to do


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Going from full-time banking to no work, then part-time work, freelancing and eventually creating content and building a cycling community


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The loneliness nobody talks about after leaving a 9-to-5, and why Anthony had to deliberately rebuild social connection and routine


    ๐Ÿ’ธ His current portfolio approach, with most of his net worth in ETFs and smaller allocations to individual shares and crypto


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why he no longer treats the 4% rule as a hard target, and how even modest income from meaningful work can change the maths dramatically


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The psychological shift that comes from earning your first dollar outside a salary โ€” and why Anthony believes people often underestimate their ability to earn again after leaving corporate life


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why he's now giving himself permission to spend more, rather than automatically investing every spare dollar


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Anthony's question for keeping lifestyle creep in check: "What is my enough?"


    ๐Ÿ’ธ His practical suggestion for anyone getting close to FI but unsure about quitting: check whether your employer offers a career break and test the lifestyle before making the leap permanent


    The thread through all of it: financial independence can solve the money problem, but it doesn't automatically solve questions around purpose, identity, relationships or how to spend your time.

    For Anthony, stepping away from corporate life wasn't the end goal. It gave him the space to work out what he actually wanted his life to look like.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    48 min
  • 90. VAS disappoints, avoiding a crash, US tech forever?

    Is the Aussie share market still worth it? Should a new investor wait for the next crash? And how much tech exposure is too much?


    Dave and Hayden open the listener mailbag and tackle three questions that all circle the same problem: it's very easy to make long-term decisions based on what has worked lately.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Whether broad Australian shares still make sense for long-term income, especially after a weaker dividend period had one listener questioning their strategy


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why a high-yield Australian share ETF has beaten the broader Aussie market over the past five and ten years โ€” and why that doesn't mean it will keep doing so


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Recency bias in action: the temptation to look at the last decade's winner and assume you've found the best investment for the next decade too


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why comparing cash with shares over a single year doesn't tell you much, especially when shares have both an income and a growth component


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The hidden risks inside REITs: leverage, management decisions and concentration in areas like offices or retail can make a high yield less simple than it first appears


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why "normal" share market returns can suddenly look disappointing after a decade of extraordinary US tech performance


    ๐Ÿ’ธ A question from an 18-year-old worried about an approaching market crash โ€” and Dave's argument that a bad market early in your investing journey can actually help long-term accumulators


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why nobody knows when the next crash is coming, and why spending years waiting for one can sometimes hurt more than the crash itself


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Hayden's way of thinking about US market risk: look past the headlines and consider what the biggest companies actually own, earn and do


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why starting slowly can make sense if you're nervous, rather than waiting on the sidelines for the "perfect" entry point


    ๐Ÿ’ธ A listener planning to invest $1,000 a fortnight for 40 years, with 70% in a US index and 30% in a concentrated mega-cap tech ETF


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The concentration problem hiding inside that portfolio: many of those same giant tech companies already make up a large part of the broader US index


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why doubling down on a theme can work brilliantly โ€” but also leaves you more exposed if that part of the market goes through a long stretch of poor returns


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The trade-off at the heart of diversification: you might miss some spectacular winners, but you also reduce the chance of landing near the worst possible outcome


    The thread through all of it: nobody knows which market, sector or strategy will lead over the next decade. Recent winners can keep winning, or the whole picture can change. Diversification won't make your portfolio the most exciting one in the room, but it can make long-term investing much easier to stick with.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 min
  • 89. How to increase returns without doing anything crazy

    There are plenty of ways to chase higher investment returns. The problem is that most of them also come with more risk, more work, or both.


    Dave and Hayden sort the sensible tweaks from the bigger bets, looking at ways investors might improve their long-term results without putting their whole FIRE plan on the line.


    In this episode we'll discuss:


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why quitting stock picking could actually improve your returns, and Hayden's two near-misses with Boeing and Qantas


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The brutal maths of individual stocks: a small number of huge winners drive much of the market's long-term return, which makes consistently picking them incredibly hard


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why fees matter more as your portfolio grows, from expensive funds and advisers to the recurring costs hiding in your everyday budget


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The simple super tweak that could have an enormous impact over 40 years: matching your investment option to your time horizon and risk tolerance


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Debt recycling as an optimisation strategy: using money you were already planning to invest while gradually turning home-loan debt into deductible investment debt


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Tax efficiency beyond debt recycling, including asset ownership, income versus growth, super, and why your marginal tax rate can change the return you actually keep


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why Dave and Hayden are comfortable holding relatively small cash buffers, and the trade-off between emergency cash and keeping more money invested


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The next level of risk: borrowing to invest, geared ETFs, and the questions to ask before adding leverage to your portfolio


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Hayden's argument for looking for a discount rather than simply asking what will grow fastest, plus Dave's case for paying attention to mean reversion in unloved markets


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why thematic investing sits somewhere between index investing and stock picking, and why a convincing story about AI, healthcare or any other theme isn't the same thing as a guaranteed return


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The case for looking beyond traditional investments, from commercial property and private businesses to earning a profit share or commission by taking more responsibility at work


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Hayden's take on outsized returns: there are usually two paths โ€” more effort or more speculation โ€” and owning part of a business can give you more influence over the outcome than simply parking money in an asset


    The thread through all of it: there are ways to squeeze more from your long-term plan, but extra return rarely comes free. Sometimes the opportunity is cutting costs or improving tax efficiency. Other times it means taking on more risk, effort or uncertainty. The important part is knowing which one you're accepting โ€” and making sure the potential reward is worth it for you.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


    Follow us on Instagram

    Watch on Youtube

    Ask a Question

    FI Case Study Request Form

    Pearler

    Strong Money Australia

    Original Aussie FIRE e-book


    Dave's books on Amazon and Spotify


    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    54 min
  • 88. Savings vs offset vs investing: How each stacks up at 6% interest rates

    A few years ago mortgages were under 2% and cash earned you nothing. Now rates sit around 6% and every option looks different: savings accounts are suddenly respectable, offsets feel like a guaranteed win, and borrowing to invest looks scarier than it maybe is.


    Dave and Hayden work through how a high-rate environment reshuffles the deck, and the mental shortcuts that lead people astray in both directions.


    In this episode we'll discuss:

    ๐Ÿ’ธ Savings accounts are back, but interest is taxed at your marginal rate, and plenty of high earners forget that 5% is really more like 3%


    ๐Ÿ’ธ A quick test for whether you're carrying too much debt: how nervous do you get before RBA meetings?


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Dave's peak-debt confession: millions owed in his twenties, and why a 2% rate rise would have broken the strategy


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The offset trap: why "a guaranteed 6% return" isn't permanent (it moves with rates), and why "6% tax-free equals 10% invested" is the wrong comparison. Compare after-tax returns to after-tax returns


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Waiting for rate cuts before investing: why asset prices reprice on the way down, and if everyone has the same plan, you need to be early for it to work


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Dave's counterintuitive maths on borrowing to invest: how borrowing at 8% into a low-yield growth ETF can still come out ahead after the tax deduction


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Why people happily suspend the maths for property ($923 a week in interest on an $800k Sydney apartment) but won't extend the same long-term logic to shares


    ๐Ÿ’ธ Hayden's crusade: housing's advantages are mostly structural (CGT exemptions, pension treatment, cheap secured lending), and why he wants mortgage-rate loans against boring index ETFs to exist


    ๐Ÿ’ธ A cracking listener tip from Jared: pay a lump sum into the loan and ask the bank to recalculate your repayments. Unlike an offset, it actually improves your monthly cash flow


    ๐Ÿ’ธ The cherry-picked chart problem: the friend who "proved" property beats shares using 1998 to 2018, and why you should go find the raw data


    The thread through all of it: know what a decision actually costs you over the long term before you anchor to big theoretical numbers.


    Questions, disagreements or your own scenario: [email protected] or reach out on socials at Strong Money Australia and Pearler.


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    Disclaimer:

    Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.

    Pearler is an Authorised Representative 1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 6 min

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The Aussie FIRE podcast is the ultimate guide to Financial Independence for Australians. Having started life as an e-book, then an audiobook, it's now reached its final form: a podcast that willโ€ฆ

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