by Adam Preston | Jan 27, 2023 | Podcast
Summary
My guest today is Brandon Ganch who is better known in the FIRE community as the Mad Fientist.
Brandon is an ex-computer programmer turned blogger and podcaster who reached financial independence at the ripe old age of 34 with his wife Jill. It’s always a pleasure to speak with Brandon as one of my financial/investing heroes and someone who’s been on the scene since the early days when I first discovered the concept of FIRE.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- The life-changing event of becoming a parent and how FI has helped (00:07:10)
- Did Brandon really crack the Billboard Top 40 list with his debut album? (00:16:15)
- How to raise a money conscious kid (00:20:13)
- What’s life been like since Brandon quit his day job as a programmer? (00:30:03)
- Difficulties switching from portfolio accumulation to consumption (00:36:50)
- How the utility of money changes as you get older (00:40:22)
Links
by Adam Preston | Jan 20, 2023 | Podcast
Summary
Today my guest is Liz Thames who is better known as Mrs Frugalwoods. Liz is a mother of two who lives with her husband Nate on a 66-acre homestead in rural central Vermont USA. She’s the author of the popular FIRE book called “Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living”.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- Liz’s motivation behind writing a memoir-styled book (00:02:44)
- How to transition from saving to living off your investments (00:07:39)
- What does FIRE mean to Liz? (00:11:36)
- How Liz and Nate achieved financial independence (00:15:37)
- What does the Frugalwoods investment portfolio look like? (00:31:03)
- Financial privilege. Can everyone achieve FIRE or is it only possible for a lucky few? (00:41:35)
- How FIRE helps when raising two young girls (00:47:19)
- Tips for buying a home (00:55:47)
Links
by Adam Preston | Dec 9, 2022 | Podcast
Summary
Today I’m talking with the Chair of the Australian Electric Vehicle Council, Tim Washington. Tim has also co-founded two companies – JET Charge, who specialise in supplying and installing EV chargers and Charge Fox, Australia’s largest EV charging network.
EVs have been a hot topic in the FIRE Facebook group lately and I’ve had a few episodes on EVs in general but none that dig into the charging side of the equation which is a big part.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- How does a home EV fast-charger work with your home solar system? (00:21:29)
- How will the new FBT legislation affect the cost of EVs in Australia? (00:23:44)
- How much does a EV fast-charger cost to buy and install? (00:26:09)
- Is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology currently an option for Australians? (00:32:27)
- Turning your car into a money-making asset instead of sitting idle 90% of the time (00:34:24)
- Can Australia’s electricity grid handle the upcoming transition to EVs? (00:46:59)
- Hydrogen cars (01:01:11)
Links
by Adam Preston | Dec 2, 2022 | Podcast
Summary
Today I’m welcoming back property investor Scott O’Neill to the podcast. Scott and his wife are self-made multi-millionaires that created $300K in passive income by 28. Since Scott was last on the show, I received a fair amount of emails asking me to get him back to give a more practical guide on investing in commercial real estate.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- What is commercial real estate? (00:06:32)
- Pros and Cons for both residential and commercial property (00:13:52)
- Why commercial leases are so so important and very different compared to residential (00:21:58)
- What about finding a tenant to lease your property? (00:29:02)
- Are there strategies specific to commercial property investing? (00:41:50)
- What to look for when doing due diligence (00:52:46)
Links
by Adam Preston | Nov 25, 2022 | Podcast
Summary
Today my guest is city planner and urban designer Jeff Speck. Originally trained as an architect, Jeff is most famous within the FIRE community for his award-winning 2012 book: ‘Walkable City: How Downtown Saves America, One Step at a Time’.
It’s amazing how such a small detail like walkability can touch on so many tenants within the FIRE ethos. The economy, health benefits and sustainability are all areas that are impacted greatly by our poorly designed cities which are where the majority of humans on earth live.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- How Jeff became an expert in city planning. (00:03:25)
- What is urban design and city planning? (00:09:02)
- City development before the great depression and world war 2 (00:13:43)
- How do we solve this problem of a car-centric environment? (00:36:25)
- Health benefits of a walkable city (00:41:14)
- How we can change our roads to benefit pedestrians and reduce traffic (00:52:09)
- Different ways to make a city more walkable (00:57:48)
Links
by Adam Preston | Nov 18, 2022 | Podcast
Summary
Today I’m talking with financial educator and podcast host Kate Campbell. Kate grew up in country Victoria and joined the defence force as a teenager before changing careers to finance and investing later on. She’s probably best known in the FIRE community as a co-host for many of the very popular podcasts that Rask Australia produces.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- How Kate got started in finance and investing (00:03:30)
- The importance of taking risks and just giving it a go (00:08:52)
- What does Kate’s portfolio look like? (00:23:12)
- Kate’s blog and podcast (00:32:04)
- How Kate came to work with Owen at Rask Australia (00:38:03)
- Common roadblocks people face with their finances (00:43:22)
- Financial hurdles women have to face (00:44:56)
- Money and psychology (00:54:04)
Links