Summary
I have a really fun podcast for you guys today.
It’s been 5 years since she was on, but I’ve finally managed to get Mrs Firebug back on the podcast. Sometimes it’s nice just to stop, turn around and look back at how far you’ve come. I thought it would be cool to get a life update from her perspective and just a general chit chat about her experience dropping down to working only 4 days a week.
Some of the topics we cover include:
- Knowing what we know now, what would we have done differently if we could go back in time? (04:08)
- How has moving to 4 day working weeks impacted Mrs Firebug’s life? (12:26)
- Lifestyle creep – how has our lifestyle changed? (26:33)
- How have I changed over the years if at all when it comes to money? (31:06)
- How we have managed our finances as a couple (37:12)
- Will Mrs Firebug ever go back to full-time work? (41:17)
- Mrs Firebug’s tips for anyone with a partner pursuing financial independence (45:33)
Links
- podcast – Episode 7. Mrs Firebug
Great podcast. FIRE journey is much easier when a couple is in the same page. Enjoy your journey before the children arrive. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Amazing pod AFB and Mrs AFB! The original pod with Mrs Firebug was my favourite from a few years ago, and it was great to hear an update!
My wife and I are also doing the part-time working on the journey to FI, except the opposite of you two – I’m the one working 4 days a week and she works 3 days per week. On our “off” days we take care of our 2 young pre-school aged kids, it saves on daycare costs and more importantly its been awesome to spend time with them in these formative years.
Yes, having kids changes everything! But, you can certainly still travel, hang out with friends and enjoy life. It’s just swapping out the bar-hopping, night clubs and date nights at fancy restaurants, with kiddie birthdays, family BBQs, play dates, and smashed avo brunch at a kids friendly cafe – and there are heaps nowadays.
Best of luck to you two on the road to FIRE. Sounds like you’re doing it well. Its not just reaching the destination, its enjoying the journey. 🍻
Thanks a lot Papa 🙏.
We’ve been spending a lot of time with the nieces/nephew on weekends and I love all the events. The sports games, jump and climb, birthdays etc. It’s right up my alley. I can’t wait haha!
Really enjoyed that one mate! Sounds like you were quite the tightass back in the day, good to hear you’ve eased up on it a bit!
The discussion around whether you’d do anything differently was interesting, particularly with regards to when you went to the UK. You can’t change the decision without also looking at what else would have changed with it. Would you both have felt financially secure enough with your investments in Oz to spend a bunch of money on trips and passed up opportunities to earn more income? As you said if you’d done it earlier maybe you wouldn’t have been far enough along in your careers to get good jobs over there and had to work in bars instead and not had enough to travel. Or perhaps you’d have had the same jobs but been a little less mature and spent it all in pubs etc. There are so many variables and changing one can change the entire outcome.
In any case it sounded like going overseas was a real gamechanger for both of you with your approach not just to FIRE but to your lives in general!
So true hey!
I’m looking back with rose-tinted glasses. If we left earlier who knows where we would be now… and I LOVE where we’re at now!
I’m glad you enjoyed this one mate 🙂
Great podcast! It was uplifting to hear a fellow teacher having flexibility in the job. I have been working 2 day forc13 years, it’s the best feeling!
Never heard the Sunday Scaries before, very apt. That’s worth the hard work.
Oh man yeah the sunday scaries are a thing. I used to get them hard on a Sunday evening haha dreading Mondays sometimes. But then being a shift worker got rid of the sunday scaries because I had no routine haha