I share these net worth updates to stay accountable, seek feedback on our strategy, and prove that achieving financial independence in Australia is feasible without relying on extraordinary luck or wealth. The table below tracks our journey from $36K in debt to reaching our goals. 🔥
August honestly felt like Groundhog Day.
Family, work, BJJ training, the weekend, and repeat.
We’re finally starting to find a bit of a rhythm with the baby, but any time outside of those core activities is pretty much nonexistent at the moment.
Luckily, I don’t mind routine. I actually enjoy doing the same things week in and week out.
But… I definitely missed our annual Bali trip this year.
There’s just something about escaping the middle of winter, spending most of the day in the sun, and completely unplugging from the grind. I’m already looking forward to next year’s trip. I always come back from Bali feeling recharged and ready to dive into some interesting problems at work.
I’ve always said I love Victoria’s seasons, but the last month of winter really drags. Throw kids into the mix, and it gets even harder. Everything takes more effort when it’s wet and cold outside.
Spring can’t come soon enough 🌄
Net Worth Update
Another monster month.
Shares and Super had a good run in August, but it was the business that really moved the needle. Things are picking up, and it’ll be interesting to see where we land by the end of the year.
We’ve been steadily building multi-year contracts over the last couple of years, but now I’m ready to take things up a level. I held off on marketing while we were preparing for our second baby, but she’s here now, and life’s starting to settle.
The team’s really starting to come together, too. I’ve got two guys with me now, and I’m aiming to add a third by year’s end.
It’s go time.
I’ve told the team we’re going hard after new business in Q3 and Q4, with the goal of setting up a huge 2026.
Since starting the business in 2022, I’ve taken things slow on purpose. Bootstrapping it myself meant no investor pressure, no bosses, no rushing just to tick boxes. I’ve had the time to figure things out properly and build with intention.
In my old jobs, so much work felt rushed and half-baked because the incentives were wrong. When your boss only cares that something gets done, you naturally do the bare minimum. I was guilty of it, too.
Running my own business flips that. Everything I build, every process, and every line of code must align with the bigger picture. If I cut corners now, I’m only making life harder for future Matt.
That’s why I’ve liked growing slowly. It gives me time to make better long-term decisions. Not everything needs to be perfect, but some calls are painful to undo if you get them wrong.
Morgan Housel summed it up perfectly in this piece:
Investing: The Greatest Show On Earth
To summarise:
“Trees that grow too quickly in open sunlight develop soft, weak wood and often don’t last. Without the slow, steady growth needed to build density and strength, they become fragile and vulnerable to disease and a shorter lifespan.
Trees that grow slowly in the shade, on the other hand, develop strong, dense wood over time. That steady pace gives them resilience, allowing them to thrive and stand tall for decades.
Companies are no different. Rapid growth can feel exciting, but if you don’t take the time to build strength and stability, you end up exposed to risks that are hard to recover from. Sustainable growth takes patience, discipline, and a long-term mindset“
We’ve spent enough time growing in the shade. Now it’s time to rise above the canopy and make our mark on the industry!
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*Expenses include everything we spend money on to maintain our lifestyle. We do not include paying down our PPoR loan as an expense, only the interest
*Investment income is simply 4% of our FIRE portfolio divided by 12
Our FIRE portfolio has hit a new milestone: over $4K per month in passive income, nearly $50K a year! That is crazy!
Shares
The above graph was created by Sharesight
We didn’t buy any shares this month.
Networth
what done, mate. $2m just around the corner!
Great work, love following these. Just a reminder what does the business do again?
Thanks Jaco, Data Engineering mate!
Hi Mate,
Great to see the progress in the investment portfolio and your business. Congratulations on reaching 50K PI mark. A milestone to celebrate!
How often do you have to fill the W-8 BEN form for VEU and VTS. Any challenges when these ETFs are held in a trust structure.
Are you planning to have meetups like Dave Gow in the near future.
Thanks
1. Once every 2-3 years
2. None so far
3. I”ve organised a few in the past. Very hard to it now with young kids. I’m hoping to attend some in the future though.
Thanks for another blog post. It’s funny how I read it with your voice.. probably listened to too many of your podcasts
How are you getting the $4k per month passive income on your share portfolio when the dividends are only quarterly. It looks like you have gaps for Feb, May, Aug, Nov with A200 VEU & VTS. Or do you include capital growth in this $4k?
AFB has a note under that graph stating, “*Investment income is simply 4% of our FIRE portfolio divided by 12”
I had a similar thought when I saw the investment income amount. I understand you’re just taking 4% of the portfolio value, but can I ask whether you would disclose your actual investment income received over a recent full 12 month period? I’d just be interested in seeing whether the 4% investment income is a reasonable assumption based on the investments you have now. Thanks!
FIRE drawdown can also include selling assets – the actual investment income is irrelevant.
got it, thank you
Over the last 12 months, our portfolio is up $188,203.
Current portfolio snapshot:
Total Portfolio Value: $1,090,155.98
Total Gains (12 months): $188,203.25
Breakdown:
Investment gains: $144,778.80
Dividends & distributions: $30,039.57
Crypto gains: $43,424.45
On average, that works out to about $15.6K per month, but of course, these returns are unusually strong and not something I’d expect every year.
For these updates, I stick with the conservative 4% approach that most of the community uses, just to keep expectations realistic.
I think he assumes PI is just 4% of shares held
Looking good.
You now have $128k in cash. Are you saving up for anything in particular or will you be adding to the share portfolio soon?
Keeping things liquid for now. The business has a lot more expenses these days with staff to pay.
No plans on buying more shares any time soon. We have plenty
Nice work Aussie Firebug, nice bump this month. Yeah winter sucks so we have taken off to a warmer climates
In Europe for a while. Unfortunately this means we will miss seeing the Mighty Adelaide Crows smash your pies tomorrow
LOL.
I’m feeling good about our chances tonight, mate.
Only a matter of time before we’re back in premiership form.
Can I confirm you’re including business networks in your FIRE total?
Context being I’m grappling with the same concept (a Fin Services consultancy) so no material assets. For now we have excluded any profits or losses and kept the business ring fenced.
*net worth (not network!)
I include the cash held within the business but not the value of the business itself. Technically, I should include it, but I have no idea what it’s worth.
Killing it mate! I’ve just cracked $2.1m last monthly update too. It’s an amazing feeling considering where we started.
I love that quote. it reminds me of a company I am invested in. They have been growing slowly in the shade & now they are ramping fast & people don’t know what’s coming.
2nd baby? WTH. Congratulations. I must have missed quite a bit overly the last 12 months lol
Nice work Ben, is that just shares or property also?
It’s a pain for reinvesting that VTS pays way later than VAS/A200
Another great update, interesting time of your lives. Kids change everyone’s perspective in life, will be looking forward to seeing how the FIRE plans evolve over the next few years. New larger house on the cards? or maybe changing the Tesla for a mini van 🙂
Thanks Dave.
If Tesla ever released a minivan… I’d be lining up for sure haha!
Hi! Just going through your website now and really enjoying reading your blog. I’ve tried to download your networth excel sheet, but not having any luck. I’ve tried on multiple browsers and devices, etc. Are you please able to email it to me? Thanks!
Apologies if you’ve covered this but have you revisited the idea of LICS now that they are at a good discount. Do you know if Thornhill is still strong on them?