Aussie Firebug

Financial Independence Retire Early

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. šŸ”„


Delayed gratification is a core principle of the FIRE movement, but Iā€™d argue itā€™s also a great philosophy for life in general.

Take a simple exampleā€”a beer after mowing the lawn always tastes better than one before any work has been done.

I’ve embraced delayed gratification for years, and my FIRE journey is one of the best examples. We choose to live in a way many wouldn’t so that we can enjoy a level of freedom most never will.

As much as I believe in delayed gratification, the key is that gratification does eventually comeā€”otherwise, whatā€™s the point, right?

And let me tell you, January delivered the gratification in a big way…

Tesla Model Y

That’s right!

I finally pulled the trigger on a new Tesla Model Y. Tesla cars have been a dream of mine since I drove the Model S back in 2012.

It’s an interesting time to buy anything from one of Musk’s companies. Anyone famous is going to have some haters, but the Elon hate train is just about at its peak right now. I’m honestly a bit nervous that someone is going to key this car in an act of rebellion against Musk. I think he’s an incredible entrepreneur, but I wish he’d tone it down on Twitter. Some of his comments and actions are hard to defend, and it’s frustrating because I genuinely think he’s changing the world for the better.

I might have to get one of those stickers like, “I bought this before Elon went crazy’ šŸ˜‚.

We went with the RWD option, which had the following breakdown.


I know we can afford this car, but I still hesitated when I saw the price inching toward $70K on my screen.

Even with all the tax incentives and cost savings of owning an EV, itā€™s still a staggering amount. Back when I was 23, I spent $21K on a 2011 Camry and thought that was crazy expensiveā€”haha. 23-year-old me would have never imagined a world where weā€™d drop $70K on a new car.

But like I said at the start. The beer tastes better after some hard work, and we’ve been working pretty hard during the last 13 years… time to enjoy the beer now šŸ».

 

PS.Ā 

I’m thinking about financing this car and was quoted 6.5%, which seemed pretty reasonable to me.

Iā€™d love to hear how others purchased theirs and the pros and cons of each method.

For reference:

  • I’m buying this car through my company
  • The company has enough funds to buy it outright, but Iā€™d rather spread the cost over a few yearsā€”unless the numbers show significant savings by paying in cash.
  • This car qualifies for the FBT exemption

Net Worth Update

A monster month all around in January!

A $7K+ dividend was a nice little boost, adding to our cash reserves along with some company invoices being cashed.

Basically, every asset class had a stellar month, which resulted in an ATH for the net worth.

 

 

.

*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

Januaryā€™s passive income came dangerously close to covering expenses. Iā€™m confident the red will overtake the blue sometime this year unless a major market downturn hitsā€¦ which isnā€™t entirely out of the realm of possibilities.


 

Shares

 

The above graph was created by Sharesight

We didn’t buy any shares this month.

 

Networth

 

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