Aussie Firebug

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 some people like to think to the contrary, that things are getting better.

Some of the topics we cover are:

• How did Matt come to be a writer? (08:18)
• As a scientist, what attracted Matt to economics, business and politics? (14:17)
• The relationship between evolution and human innovation (16:39)
• Why did Matt write The Rational Optimist? (20:25)
• Matt’s famous TED Talk – “When Ideas Have Sex” (24:56)
• How much better are we living in the 21st century compared to our ancestors? (30:03)
• Is the 24/7 continuous flow of information good or bad for humanity? (36:27)
• Matt talks about his new book – “Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19” (50:50)

• Book – The Rational Optimist
• TED Talk – When Ideas Have Sex
• Animated version of essay – I, Pencil – Leonard E. Read
• Book – Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19
• Website – mattridley.co.uk

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 behind the Good Car Co.? (03:24)
• What options are there now for Australians who want to purchase an EV? (07:11)
• What is the price range in Australia for second-hand EV’s atm? (12:44)
• One of the most exciting features of EVs in my opinion is the two-way charging capabilities. What does this mean and what are the benefits? (20:27)
• How much can an average Aussie expect to save on fuel and maintenance costs with an EV? (30:10)
• How long does an EV battery last and what is the replacement cost? (31:46)
• What about EV battery warranties - do they get passed on to the second-hand car owner? (34:54)
• Do EV’s actually lower CO2 emissions when you factor in everything it takes to actually make the car and the battery? (44:20)

• Good Car Co.

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 Recycling? (02:28)
• What are some of the ways you can DR and how does it work? (03:48)
• What happens if you need to sell some shares due to an unforeseen event? (21:26)
• What happens if you don’t have a lump sum to invest? Can you DR with dollar-cost averaging? (23:04)
• Are there any products on the market that make DR any easier? (26:42)
• Can you explain your tip “Repayment needs to be done once in full”? (28:30)
• Can you use a fixed loan with DR or does it have to be variable? (29:30)
• Is DR more or less effective if the interest rates were to rise? (31:27)
• Can you still claim the interest if you redraw the money to increase leverage on a marginal loan to maximise purchasing power? (33:59)
• Does the loan need to be in your name to get the total deductions? (35:37)
• What happens if you refinance? (37:40)
• What happens if you sell the PPoR later down the track? (41:07)
• What happens if you convert the PPoR to an IP later down the track? (43:59)
• Can you sell a chunk of your portfolio in order to pay down the loan, redraw it back out and then buy the exact same shares as before? (47:15)
• What happens if the income from the trust is not enough to cover the interest on the loan? (49:14)
• If your PPoR loan is P&I do you have to structure the loan agreement to the trustee as P&I as well? (51:06)
• Can you DR with a trust if both the borrower and the trustee are the same person? (52:53)
• Debt Recycling an investment property (54:03)

• Debt Recycling article
• Tax Tip 2: Debt Recycling
• Using AMP’s Master Facility to Debt Recycle
• Tax Tip 13: Simple Loan Structuring Strategy
• Incorporating a Trust into a Strategy Recycling Debt
• Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd
• The Structuring Podcast

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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? (07:45)
• What is Web3? (10:00)
• Why use blockchain technology and what problem is it solving? (13:40)
• What is DeFi? (22:01)
• Bitcoin vs all the others. What is there to consider? (31:43)
• What Crypto currencies does Mark “invest” in? (41:54)
• Energy concerns about Crypto currencies (44:18)
• Proof-of-Work vs Proof-of-Stake? (53:50)

• NotCentralised
• Australian DeFi Association
• TradeFlows
• ETFtracker
• New Era Analytics

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 about the kids? (36:26)
• What if I run out of money before I die? (43:02)
• What the FIRE movement gets wrong (55:45)
• Criticisms of the book (58:37)

• Book - Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life
• Website - Die with Zero

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 if we could go back in time? (04:08)
• How has moving to 4 day working weeks impacted Mrs Firebug's life? (12:26)
• Lifestyle creep - how has our lifestyle changed? (26:33)
• How have I changed over the years if at all when it comes to money? (31:06)
• How we have managed our finances as a couple (37:12)
• Will Mrs Firebug ever go back to full-time work? (41:17)
• Mrs Firebug’s tips for anyone with a partner pursuing financial independence (45:33)

• podcast - Episode 7. Mrs Firebug

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 Crypto

www.aussiefirebug.com/we-bought-bitcoin

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 schools (22:37)
• John's first property investment (27:28)
• His current real estate strategy and what his portfolio looks like (32:34)
• Are first home buyers currently locked out of the market? (50:57)
• Tips for first home buyers (55:55) 

• podcast - My Millennial Property
• website - Solvere Wealth

www.aussiefirebug.com/podcast

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 distribute franking credits only to someone in a high tax bracket? (41:36)
• Working as a contractor under the PSI rule and trust distributions. (43:07)
• Estate planning for families with international assets. (45:11)

Links:

• podcast - Episode 46. Terry W - Structuring
• podcast - The Structuring Podcast
• website - Structuring
• website - terryw.com.au

www.aussiefirebug.com/aff