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The great Australian dream of owning a home once drove a fairly predictable housing pattern -  Aussies would rent for a little while, save for a deposit then dive into home ownership at the first opportunity.

Housing status spoke volumes. Homeowners were successful while renters were either young or couldn’t get it together financially.

How times have changed. Rising house prices and a need for lifestyle flexibility now have many questioning if they want a huge mortgage or if they’re simply better off as tenants.

Let’s take a look at how you might decide if renting or buying is the right option for you.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY

Online freelancing platforms can help you obtain freelancing work, or hire people to do tasks where you either lack the expertise or the time.

In this interview, Sarah Tang from Freelancer.com shares the inside tips on how to get the most out of these hugely powerful tools.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

With technology changing our world so rapidly, the chances of us entering the paid workforce in one role, and that role then seeing us through until retirement 40+ years latter would seem quite remote.

And even if this were possible, is it what you would really want?

In this post we’re going to explore some key steps you could take to execute a successful career change.

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EPISODE 100!!!!

Thanks for joining us for another Financial Autonomy episode. We've got a bit of a change in the normal routine today, because today is Episode 100 and I don't want to pass through that milestone without doing something a little bit special.

I've asked our Gaining Choice subscribers for their top Financial Autonomy questions. I've picked out five and in today's episode I'll take you through the answers.

Let's jump into episode 100.

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Throughout most of human history, the only time you retired was when you died.

Retirement as we now experience it is a reasonably recent phenomenon. It's an invention of the 20th century and it's worthwhile questioning whether it will continue through the 21st century, at least in the format we currently think of.

When the retirement age of 65 was set, back in the early 1900’s, it was assumed you only had 2 or 3 more years left until you were in the grave.

But as we live longer and longer, will the current version of retirement continue to be feasible for the bulk of the population? Perhaps more importantly, will it be desirable?

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In this episode, we explore how the fantastic journey of Kim from being an employee to a self business starter

The experiences and knowledge Kim shares in this episode:

• How he turned a small side business into his full-time gig.
• Planning and Preparedness is important in transitioning from employee to self-employed
• Seeking mentorship for guidance and feedback to fast track your way to success.
• Sales is the lifeblood of any business.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

Writer David Rae, in a great article in Forbes magazine, identified the disconnect between the early retirement through extreme frugality crowd, and the mainstream of society who want to enjoy life without financial constraints. 

He identified 8 levels of financial freedom. A ladder that we progress along to gain more and more choice and freedom.

Given this aligns so well with our Financial Autonomy mission, I thought they were worthy of exploration.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAIL “GAINING CHOICE” TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THINGS FINANCIAL AUTONOMY 

The starting point must be clarity around your goals. Most importantly, your goals determine your investment time frame. They also dictate whether your investment should have as a priority growth, or income.

If your goal is having the option to retire in 15 years time, then you can invest in assets that experience high levels of volatility. You could also hold assets that are fairly illiquid – that is, not quickly sellable.

Some examples. On the volatility side, as I write this piece, the Asian Share index is the best performer over the past 5 years. It is however also more volatile than the developed markets such as the US and Australia. If you wanted maximum returns 5 years ago, you got the best result through buying the Asian share index. But you only enjoyed those gains if you stuck to your investment and rode out the significant ups and downs. Now with a 15 year time frame, you can do that. If your time frame was 3 years though, an investment in the Asian share index was likely to lead to a disappointing investment outcome.

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Freelancing offers flexibility. It’s a way to fit in the necessity of generating an income, with the other things you want to achieve in life.

Recently I heard someone reflect on the standard 9 to 5 working day. It came about in the industrial era to align with day light hours. The factories had little or poor lighting, and so they needed the workers to be there during the hours when the natural light streaming in through the windows was at its best.

Given the wonders of electricity mean that most of us are no longer tied to having to work when the sun shines, why persist with this ridged allocation of our daily hours?

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When it comes to gaining choice, there’s few more powerful enablers than increased skills. Financial Autonomy is about gaining control and choice over your life – not enduring a working life that is unfulfilling. It’s about getting the most out of the one precious life that we are allotted.

In this post, we’re going to look how an investment in your education, could help you gain that choice and control.

 What brings each of us happiness differs, but what is consistent is that in the modern world, money is a necessity. And whilst in the long term it may be possible to generate the money you need from accumulated wealth – for example dividends and rent from tenants – for most of our adult lives, the money equation will be solved through us doing something that someone else values, and getting paid for it.