by Aussie Firebug | Dec 16, 2021 | Podcast
Summary
Have you ever wondered how far your donations to charities really go? I know it feels good to donate and we should all consider giving away part of our wealth considering we Aussies are some of the wealthiest people on the planet, but I’m not sure many of us really go over with a fine-tooth and comb how the money is spent and how many people are affected with every dollar.
Today I’m speaking with Luke Freeman, a former tech and marketing professional who had a desire to positively affect the lives of the less fortunate in the world. Luke is the Chairperson and a Board Member of Effective Altruism Australia and Executive Director of Giving What We Can, which are both charitable organisations designed to help the less fortunate.
The attributes of effective altruism share a lot of similarities with the FIRE movement. It’s all about using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis.
Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:
- Who is Luke Freeman and how did he become interested in giving back to others? (03:05)
- What is Effective Altruism Australia (EAA) and how did it start? (07:33)
- Is EAA a not-for-profit organisation and how does it actually work? (10:04)
- What are the tax advantages of donating through EAA? (14:58)
- What metrics does EAA use when assessing how effective time and money are used in charitable organisations? (16:39)
- Is corruption in charitable organisations a real issue or is it overblown by the critics? (22:56)
- What are some of the biggest problems in the world that EAA is targeting? (27:25)
Links
by Aussie Firebug | Dec 9, 2021 | Podcast
Summary
Today I’m speaking with Julia Druery, a mum of two, living on the Gold Coast who was studying to become a financial advisor before a tragic event hit her family back in 2016. Julia’s husband Kent suffered from an acquired brain injury which left him with several permanent disabilities and no longer able to work. Thankfully Kent had various insurances in place before the injury which helped to relieve the financial pressure of this life changing event.
Some of the topics we cover are:
- Julia shares the story of her husband Kent’s acquired brain injury. (08:54)
- What was the process of claiming insurance payments after the injury occurred? (12:03)
- What is trauma insurance and is it included in default super cover? (17:25)
- Why is lifestyle an important consideration when making insurance decisions? (27:16)
- How much does all this cover cost and is it really worth it? (30:32)
- How has Julia & Kent’s insurance cover impacted their lifestyle today? (35:01)
- Julia’s personal experience with debt recycling. (48:18)
Links
by Aussie Firebug | Dec 2, 2021 | Podcast
Summary
My guest today is fellow Aussie, Vijay Boyapati who is an Ex-Google engineer and the author of The Bullish Case for Bitcoin. Vijay’s book has been translated into over twenty different languages and is said to be one of the most read pieces of literature on Bitcoin. This is a monster episode and we go deep into so much more than just Bitcoin and the Blockchain.
Some of the topics we get into include:
- Who is Vijay and what led him to start working for Google? (04:28)
- Vijay shares why he identifies as a Libertarian and what he learned from working in Silicon Valley. (08:13)
- Why Vijay left his job at Google in 2007 to work on the Ron Paul US presidential campaign. (11:46)
- What exactly is Bitcoin and the Blockchain? (15:06)
- Why is Bitcoin important and what problem does it solve for the average person? (31:51)
- Gold v Bitcoin (45:27)
- Will Bitcoin be used as money anytime soon? (01:02:22)
- FIRE community Q&A (01:17:57)
Links
by Aussie Firebug | Nov 19, 2021 | Podcast
Summary
Today I’m speaking with Chi Lam, an ex team-lead in the medical devices industry who lives in Sydney with his wife and 2 daughters. Chi was recently featured in an ABC Everyday article where he shared his story about how he quit his full-time job in his mid-thirties and redesigned his life so he could spend more time with his family.
Some of the topics in today’s episode include:
- Who is Chi and when did he start thinking about financial independence? (06:37)
- Chi shares the traumatic story of how he and his family came to Australia from Vietnam. (07:51)
- What Chi learned about money and life from his experiences as a child refugee. (13:19)
- When, how and why Chi got started investing in property. (16:18)
- Chi talks about the day he quit his job and what made him take that leap of faith. (28:45)
- How Chi’s side hustle/passion project has grown into a full-time business on his own terms. (36:02)
Links
by Aussie Firebug | Nov 12, 2021 | Podcast
Summary
It’s my absolute pleasure to welcome Ruth onto the show today. Ruth lives in New Zealand and is better known online as The Happy Saver. She has a very popular podcast and blog where she writes about managing money, living the good life and not working too hard.
Some of the topics in today’s episode include:
- Who is Ruth and why did she create The Happy Saver blog and podcast? (4:49)
- Ruth shares her personal money story and how she became interested in investing. (10:10)
- The important life lessons Ruth learnt from losing her family home in an Earthquake. (16:11)
- Property investing – the significant differences between NZ & AUS tax laws. (19:28)
- The major advantage of investing in the share market in NZ. (24:40)
- Advantages of living in the country over the city. (29:48)
- What does Ruth actually invest in? (35:43)
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