Aussie Firebug

Following on from the previous episode, this is part 2 of the debate.

There’s been a few potential Super changes put forth by the Albanese government lately and I wanted to get two different viewpoints on the podcast to debate the pros and cons of the changes. I also wanted to talk about Super as a high-level concept. What exactly is Super? What’s the purpose of Super? Is Super fulfilling its job? etc. We have two returning guests joining in today’s discussion. CIO of The Motley Fool Australia, Scott Phillips and Economist Dr Cameron Murray. I’m playing moderator between these two as they give their different opinions on some of the following topics:

• Are you for or against opening up Super to allow members to buy a home? (00:01:33)
• Is confidence being eroded when the government keeps tinkering with the system? (00:08:20)
• Is it just the rich getting richer? (00:15:08)
• Is it a good idea for the government to invest in capital projects? (00:18:43)
• The proposed Super cap (00:31:35)

• Cameron Murray - Substack
• Cameron Murray - Twitter
• Cameron Murray - Facebook
• Scott Phillips - Twitter
• Scott Phillips - Facebook

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

I’m so excited for this one today. There’s been a few potential Super changes put forth by the Albanese government lately and I wanted to get two different viewpoints on the podcast to debate the pros and cons of the changes. I also wanted to talk about Super as a high-level concept. What exactly is Super? What’s the purpose of Super? Is Super fulfilling its job? etc. We have two returning guests joining in today’s discussion. CIO of The Motley Fool Australia, Scott Phillips and Economist Dr Cameron Murray. I’m playing moderator between these two as they give their different opinions on some of the following topics:

• What is the purpose of Super? (00:03:26)
• Is there an alternative to the current Super system? (00:11:38)
• Thoughts on how we could fix the Super system (00:19:27)
• Do we actually need to have both Super and the Age Pension? (00:39:48)

• Cameron Murray - Substack
• Cameron Murray - Twitter
• Cameron Murray - Facebook
• Scott Phillips - Twitter
• Scott Phillips - Facebook

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today my guest is Queenie Tan. She’s a 26-year-old Sydneysider who has amassed over 350K followers on various social media platforms. Raised by a single dad in Sydney, Queenie was earning $400 a week after she moved out of home at just 19. A few years later she was able to save a $100,000 property deposit and now at age 26, has a net worth of half a million dollars.

Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:

• Queenie's upbringing and relationship with money (00:02:12)
• How Queenie built her net worth to $500K by age 26 (00:10:03)
• Dropping out of uni to start earning money (00:15:40)
• Changing jobs every couple of years (00:21:11)
• Queenie's thoughts on the term “Finfluencer” (00:46:28)
• Financial content creators and the ASIC guidelines (00:51:09)
• Sydney housing markets and financial freedom (01:05:34)

• Website - Invest with Queenie
• YouTube - Invest with Queenie
• Instagram - Invest with Queenie
• TikTok - Invest with Queenie

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

My guest today is Brandon Ganch who is better known in the FIRE community as the Mad Fientist. Brandon is an ex-computer programmer turned blogger and podcaster who reached financial independence at the ripe old age of 34 with his wife Jill. It’s always a pleasure to speak with Brandon as one of my financial/investing heroes and someone who’s been on the scene since the early days when I first discovered the concept of FIRE.

Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:

• The life changing event of becoming a parent and how FI has helped (00:07:10)
• Did Brandon really crack the Billboard Top 40 list with his debut album? (00:16:15)
• How to raise a money conscious kid (00:20:13)
• What’s life been like since Brandon quit his day job as a programmer? (00:30:03)
• Difficulties switching from portfolio accumulation to consumption (00:36:50)
• How the utility of money changes as you get older (00:40:22)

• Website - Mad Fientist
• Spotify - 1=2

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today my guest is Liz Thames who is better known as Mrs Frugalwoods. Liz is a mother of two who lives with her husband Nate on a 66-acre homestead in rural central Vermont USA. She’s the author of the popular FIRE book called “Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living”.

Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:

• Liz’s motivation behind writing a memoir-styled book (00:02:44)
• How to transition from saving to living off your investments (00:07:39)
• What does FIRE mean to Liz? (00:11:36)
• How Liz and Nate achieved financial independence (00:15:37)
• What does the Frugalwoods investment portfolio look like? (00:31:03)
• Financial privilege. Can everyone achieve FIRE or is it only possible for a lucky few? (00:41:35)
• How FIRE helps when raising two young girls (00:47:19)
• Tips for buying a home (00:55:47)

• Website - Frugalwoods
• Book - Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living
• Financial consultation services with Liz Thames

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today I’m talking with the Chair of the Australian Electric Vehicle Council, Tim Washington. Tim has also co-founded two companies - JET Charge, who specialise in supplying and installing EV Chargers and Charge Fox, Australia’s largest EV charging network.
EVs have been a hot topic in the FIRE Facebook group lately and I’ve had a few episodes on EVs in general but none that dig into the charging side of the equation which is a big part.

Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:

• How does a home EV fast-charger work with your home solar system? (00:21:29)
• How will the new FBT legislation affect the cost of EVs in Australia? (00:23:44)
• How much does a EV fast-charger cost to buy and install? (00:26:09)
• Is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology currently an option for Australians? (00:32:27)
• Turning your car into a money-making asset instead of sitting idle 90% of the time (00:34:24)
• Can Australia’s electricity grid handle the upcoming transition to EVs? (00:46:59)
• Hydrogen cars (01:01:11)

• Website - Jet Charge
• Website - Electric Vehicle Council

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today I’m welcoming back property investor Scott O’Neill to the podcast. Scott and his wife are self-made multi-millionaires that created $300K in passive income by 28. Since Scott was last on the show, I received a fair amount of emails asking me to get him back to give a more practical guide on investing in commercial real estate.

Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:

• What is commercial real estate? (00:06:32)
• Pros and Cons for both residential and commercial property (00:13:52)
• Why commercial leases are so so important and very different compared to residential (00:21:58)
• What about finding a tenant to lease your property? (00:29:02)
• Are there strategies specific to commercial property investing? (00:41:50)
• What to look for when doing due diligence (00:52:46)

• Website - Rethink Investing
• Book - Rethink Property Investing
• Podcast - Scott O'Neill - Self-made $300K in passive income by 28. Marketing BS or the real deal?
• Podcast - Inside Commercial Property

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

Today my guest is city planner and urban designer Jeff Speck. Originally trained as an architect, Jeff is most famous within the FIRE community for his award-winning 2012 book: ‘Walkable City: How Downtown Saves America, One Step at a Time’.

It’s amazing how such a small detail like walkability can touch on so many tenants within the FIRE ethos. The economy, health benefits and sustainability are all areas that are impacted greatly by our poorly designed cities which are where the majority of humans on earth live.

Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:

• How Jeff became an expert in city planning. (00:03:25)
• What is urban design and city planning? (00:09:02)
• City development before the great depression and world war 2 (00:13:43)
• How do we solve this problem of a car-centric environment? (00:36:25)
• Health benefits of a walkable city (00:41:14)
• How we can change our roads to benefit pedestrians and reduce traffic (00:52:09)
• Different ways to make a city more walkable (00:57:48)

• Website - www.jeffspeck.com
• TED - Jeff Speck: The Walkable City
• Book - WALKABLE CITY: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast/

Today I’m talking with financial educator and podcast host Kate Campbell. Kate grew up in country Victoria and joined the defence force as a teenager before changing careers to finance and investing later on. She’s probably best known in the FIRE community as a co-host for many of the very popular podcasts that Rask Australia produces.

Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:

• How Kate got started in finance and investing (00:03:30)
• The importance of taking risks and just giving it a go (00:08:52)
• What does Kate’s portfolio look like? (00:23:12)
• Kate’s blog and podcast (00:32:04)
• How Kate came to work with Owen at Rask Australia (00:38:03)
• Common roadblocks people face with their finances (00:43:22)
• Financial hurdles women have to face (00:44:56)
• Money and psychology (00:54:04)

• Website - How To Money
• Website - Rask Australia
• Rask Investing & Finance Courses

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast/

Today we welcome back Dave Gow who retired at the ripe old age of 28. He’s better known online as Strong Money Australia where he blogs about early retirement and how to live a happier life. It’s a really light-hearted chat today where we mainly talk about Dave’s new book which will be available on the 1st of December 2022 which is very exciting.

But we also cover a range of other topics such as:

• Updates on early retirement (05:32)
• Strong Money Australia book (06:53)
• Publishing rights (12:58)
• Audiobook difficulties (18:23)
• Updates on the FIRE and Chill podcast comeback (34:15)
• Elon Musk buying Twitter (43:20)

• Website - Strong Money Australia

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast/