My dad once said no to a $1 dipping sauce. It wasn't about the dollar.

Growing up, money decided everything: what we ate, where we went, what we did on the weekend. By 13, I'd decided to find a way to make it without a job. It started with a Pokémon Tazo on eBay, listed in my mum's name.

Last episode was where we ended up. This one goes back to where it all began: before the businesses, before investing, before I'd even finished school.

In this episode:

• Why a $1 dipping sauce explains how most families think about money
• Selling Pokémon Tazos on eBay at 13
• The $20 eBook that taught me to import products from China
• A back room full of boxes, and what my parents actually thought
• What a $10,000 sales week at 16 really put in my pocket
• Discovering passive income, affiliate marketing and SEO at 17
• The $5,000 mistake I kept secret from my parents
• The one piece of advice for anyone starting from zero

Next episode: the tiny apartment. A one-bedroom in Melbourne's CBD with a mini fridge, a two-seater couch and no TV, where we built the money habits we still run on today.

Get the free 6-Step RETIRE Framework at neverworkagain.org

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

Most people hear "never work again" and picture a beach chair. That's not it.

Ten years ago we were eating half-price 7-Eleven sandwiches and tinned tuna in a one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne's CBD. Today we own our home, we're raising two kids, and work is optional, reached at 33. No inheritance. No lottery ticket. No overnight exit.

This first episode is the thesis for everything that follows: what work-optional actually looks like day to day, what it cost to get there, and who this podcast is not for.

In this episode:

• Why "never work again" doesn't mean not working
• What a random Tuesday looks like when work is optional
• Getting financially secure before having kids, and what that bought us
• Why we're finally talking about this publicly
• Who should stop listening right now
• What people assume about how we started, and what's actually true
• Getting fired, and what it turned into

Next episode: teenage Ashton. The products he sold online before most people knew that was possible, and why those experiments shaped everything after.

Get the free 6-Step RETIRE Framework at neverworkagain.org

Educational content only. Not financial advice.