Captain FI

On board the podcast today is Katherine Hayes, to talk all about insurances (how to cover your butt!). This is something not often talked about enough in the FI/RE space, so I was really glad to have an expert on board to break down the different types of insurances and what to look for.

Katherine is a multi-award-winning financial advisor based in Canberra who has over 20 years industry experience, and is also the co-host of the Money Madams Podcast alongside Amber Parr. She is a business owner, mum of 3 energetic boys and before she got into financial advice she was actually a croupier working onboard sailing ships in the Caribbean! So it is fair to say, Katherine knows a bit about money (especially that the house ALWAYS wins!).

I would describe Katherine as genuine, energetic, knowledgeable and passionate. Whilst we chatted for hours, we've tried to keep the episode down to a manageable chunk but it is still nearly an 1 hour 40 minutes so. I was super glad to connect with Katherine, and will definitely be asking her back onto the show to share some more of her expertise.

Today I am sharing an update about my FIRE Journey - specifically all about my decision to stop work and leave flying, leave Sydney and move across the country back to my hometown of Adelaide, South Australia. I chat about what I have been up to, latest decisions in the portfolio, my family update and finally finish with a reader question

On board today is Richard, a Sydney based digital marketer to talk all about digital marketing and online business. Richard actually has had a similar background to me, starting off his career in engineering and then chasing financial independence through leveraging his time and creating a business in his dream job.

Richard grew up in Canberra and currently lives in Sydney with his Wife and daughters. Whilst web design and digital marketing is his specialty, he has actually been building websites since he was 15 years old (and back then it was a lot tougher and required a lot more coding!).

After a break, he ended up getting back into websites as a side hustle as taught by Matt and Liz Raad at the eBusiness Institute after he and his wife attended one of their seminars. They ended up absolutely killing it - managing to create passive income from several personal websites as well as building some high-performing websites for local business clients.

Based on their success, Richard continued to build client sites and actually was able to leave his full-time Engineering job back in 2019 and he and his Wife co-founded Paramark, their digital marketing agency which specialize in helping industrial, tech and finance businesses grow through engaging web design, search engine optimization and online advertising.

Fast forward three years to today, he runs this business full time with a team of seven, and is continually expanding. Richard runs dozens of websites both clients and personal portfolio sites, enabling his family to reach financial freedom and regain control over their lives.

He says he feels a lot better as he finally has time to spend raising his young family, with the ultimate 'work optional from home flexibility' that comes with running an online business.

Onboard today is Chris Brycki, the CEO and founder of Stockspot, a Sydney-based online investment company. Chris is an experienced fund manager, holding a Bachelor of commerce and some impressive credentials - Chris was the national winner of the ASX share trading game three years in a row, and went on to work successfully as a portfolio manager at UBS investments.

After years working as a fund manager and openly discussing finance with his close friends and family, Chris saw the need for an investment tool that was fairly priced and focused on the client, and not just on extracting the most fees out of investors! He also decided he wanted out of the corporate rat race, and somehow managed to convince his partner to sell their property to found the dream of their very own investment company. Fast forward 8 years, Chris has been an absolute success story building one of the most popular automatic investment tools in Australia and is now managing over $450 Million of client funds completely hands-free for them.

I actually really like the passive approach Stockspot use and after meeting Chris and the team I decided to voted with my dollars, and now have tens of thousands invested with them.

Today Chris and I are going to unpack this bit more and talk about what Stockspot is, how it works, the role asset allocation plays and the impact of CHESS sponsorship on the structure of your investments. I'll also try to get as much valuable information out of Chris as I can about his journey to Financial Independence and his experience working as a fund manager.

On board today is Pat Garrett, co founder and CEO of Six Park online asset management. Pat is a financial advisor and member of the FPA, as well as

graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has worked as a Board member, CEO, CFO, senior level corporate advisor and a private equity investor. Pat has over 30 years experience in the financial industry - having worked for JP morgan in New York and San Fransisco before moving to Melbourne where he worked as managing director for private investment firm Georgica Associates. In 2014 he co founded Six Park with Brian Watson (AO) who himself also worked at JP Morgan (as the Chairman of JP Morgan Australia).

Pat is a serious investor, but outside of finance he loves Surfing, Barbecuing and spending time at home with the family and his dog Charlie. I've been in touch with Pat for some time now, and he has always had time to chat with me and answer any questions or concerns I have had - not just about my Six Park investment balance and whether I am in the right fund, but also about investing, mindset and life in general. He's even taught me a few new recipes he learned in lockdown!

Onboard today is Jade Johnson, a student who is on track to graduate University debt free. Jade shares her money journey and experience investing as a student, and just how she is graduating debt free through a combination of part time work, scholarships, side hustles and her money coaching business. Jade Johnson started her blog Finance for FIRE early 2020 to document her own financial journey. After paying off over $17,000 of personal debt and subsequently growing her net worth to $50k by the incredibly young age of 22, she realized that she had strategies that could help everyone achieve financial freedom. Jades business finance for fire focuses on teaching budgeting, paying off debt, raising credit, and investing so others can create generational wealth.

Josh is a young father on the path to Financial Independence who works in the engineering construction industry. Recently, he sold all of his crypto investments and used the money to start his own small business called 'You Knead Sourdough', which provides customers with complete sourdough kits to enable them to make awesome home made sourdough for a fraction of the price that it costs in store. He has seen amazing success so far with high demand for his kits, and is almost at the point where he is able to leave his full time construction job as the business income nearly covers his families cost of living.

On board the podcast today is Scott Rieckens, Author of Playing with FIRE and the director of the Playing with FIRE documentary. Happily married in California with a young daughter, Rieckens had his dream life: A luxury car, yacht club membership and a big house. Underneath this façade, he was struggling with depression, overworked and overwhelmed, with no exit strategy. After discovering the financial Independence Retire Early movement, Scott began learning as much as he could, finally explaining to his family it was time to change. After a lot of research, talking and hesitation, they finally agreed. He finally quit his job, the family hit the road to move interstate, worked remotely over a year, and finally settled in a lower cost of living area, downsized their home and cut their expenses by 50%. Playing with Fire is Rieckens' story as told from their 'works in progress' perspective on their journey to financial independence through deliberate minimalism, reduced spending and maximised investing. A man after my own heart (and hairline!), Scott has championed Financial Independence, and his documentaries, short films, interviews and published works have provided information and inspiration to millions globally. I am absolutely stoked to have been able to chat with him and pick his brain for us all to benefit.

Liz Raad is a successful online entrepreneur and educator who's expertise is buying and selling websites and teaching women how to do the same. She is also the co-founder of theeBusiness Institute a private training organisation that provides digital marketing courses designed specifically for those who want to re-train for the digital future or earn income independently. Liz and I chat about her experience with Entrepreneurship, and how her and her Partner Matt transitioned from being professional zoologists on a PAY-G wage, into digital business owners producing a seven figure income.