Financial Autonomy

It's summer and hopefully you're kicking back somewhere, recharging the batteries with plenty of blue sky and sunshine. It's at times like these, perhaps strolling along the beach with our partner, nothing urgent to be done and plenty of time to think, that the thought might pop into our head “wouldn't it be great to spend more time here. I wonder what it costs to buy a holiday house?”

Conveniently, real estate agents will have their windows brightly broadcasting all the various potentials to satisfy your desire. As a Financial Autonomy listener though, you are likely the prudent, perhaps even cautious, member of your little tribe, so perhaps your mind might turn to the factors that ought to be considered when contemplating a holiday home purchase.

Over the years I've worked with many clients who purchased holiday houses, so this week I thought I'd share with you a few of my observations.

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Today’s post is prompted by two separate discussions I had with new clients this week. In one case, there was a recent inheritance, in the other, the couple had recently paid off their mortgage. In both instances, multiple options existed. I heard about things like home renovations, private school for the kids, cutting back to four days a week, early retirement, buying an investment property, paying off an investment property, going on a big family holiday, topping up super. And on it went.

The problem in both cases wasn't not having any goals, but rather, the opposite. Complete overwhelm with too many goals, too many options, and an inability to be able to decide which to pursue.

So in this week's podcast, I thought I'd share how we overcome this very common problem.

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This week we’re lucky enough to haveAna Kresina, co-hosts of theGet Rich Slow Clubpodcast. Ana is also the Head of Content and Community at investment app Pearler, and a parent of two small children.

Today we are talking financial planning for parents and I’ve asked Ana to join me because she is the author of a book calledKids Ain’t Cheap: How to plan financially for parenthood and your family's futureso she’s clearly well and truely across this topic.

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This week’s podcast is inspired by a question I got for my Ask an Expert column in the Fairfax press.

A reader asked whether it was worth adding extra money to super given the balance goes up and down. She can put $5000 in one day, only to see the balance drop by that amount the next, causing her to feel like those savings just got flushed down the toilet.

There are several different elements that are important to get your head around in thinking about this question, and the word count limit in the newspaper makes giving a complete answer challenging. The podcast format however offers far more flexibility, so let's take a few minutes to dig into this question, something that I know other people have had go through their mind over the years, and dispel a few misunderstandings.

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You've almost certainly heard of index investing, also sometimes called passive investing. Here investment portfolios are constructed to replicate I given a market. The weighting given to each individual stock is determined by the size of each company, its market capitalisation. So for instance in the Australian market, the largest allocation would be to BHP, then Commonwealth Bank, CSL, etc.

The main alternative to index or passive investment is active investment. Here fund managers deploy various strategies in an effort to outperform the market average.

Factor investing sits in between these two approaches. It's been around for a long time, with mixed results. ETF offerings adopting a factor investing methodology are expanding in the Australian market, so this is an investment approach that you are likely to hear more about.

Let’s get you up to speed.

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A cancer diagnosis (in the midst of COVID), a career change, and starting a new business. This week I speak with Suzanne Alexander from Mindful Finances about how she helps her clients and the challenging journey she’s been on to accumulate the wisdom she’s now able to impart.

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Owning your own home is the goal for most of us. The security that comes with owning the roof over your head is a massive stress relief. It’s also almost certainly a good financial move in the long run, as you accumulate wealth through the combination of capital appreciation in the value of your home, and progressively paying down the debt.

The challenge typically though, is getting on that first rung of the ladder. Often there isn’t a huge difference between mortgage repayments and rental payments, so cash flow wise, the move to home ownership is doable. The barrier however is the deposit.

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This week on the podcast I’m joined by Kate Toon, entrepreneur and digital marketing guru.

Regular listeners will know that there are 3 pathways to achieving Financial Autonomy - investing in shares, investing in property, and running a business.

This week's episode clearly fits into the running a business stream. Financial Autonomy is about having choices in life, and being your own boss can certainly enable that. But running a business is far from simple, which is why I’m very excited to chat with Kate, someone who has not only succeeded herself in building a sustainable business but also helped many others as well.

You can find Kate's book here: www.katetoon.com

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When does it make sense to move your superannuation savings into a Self Managed Super Fund? Isnot shifting to an SMSF a wasted opportunity? Who should have a self-managed fund?

This week we're going to get you answers to all these questions. So if you've ever wondered whether a Self Managed Super Fund is right for you, hopefully this week's episode we'll set you straight.

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This week I’m excited to have Serina Bird join me on the podcast. You may have come across her podcast, The Joyful Frugalista.

Serina is here to talk about her new book - How to Pay off your mortgage in 10 years.

So if paying off your mortgage is on your to-do list, listen up for some great tips and insights.

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