by Aussie Firebug | Sep 15, 2024 | Net Worth
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. 🔥
First off, I’ve made a quick update to fix the scrolling issue some of you mentioned with the net worth section at the bottom of these updates. Hopefully, it’s sorted now! Let me know in the comments if it’s working 🙏
Winner winner chicken dinner 🐔
Our Co-working space took home the ‘New Business’ award at the Gippsland Business Awards night in August.
To be honest, the whole thing was mostly fluff and doesn’t hold much significance. We nominated ourselves, and I suspect most of the other businesses probably did the same!
Even though the awards are mostly just patting yourself on the back, it’s a great chance for the team to take a step back and really appreciate what we’ve pulled off.
A year ago, this was just a dream. Now we’ve got a fully operational co-working space with 23 seats, 2 meeting rooms, a private office, and over 12 members on monthly subs!
It’s easy to just keep grinding and forget to step back and think, “Wow, we’ve actually done a fair bit here!”.
I guess the same could be said about some people’s FIRE journey. Many people will grind for years, saving and investing, focused on reaching the finish line. They don’t realise they’re building freedom along the way and could probably start enjoying a better lifestyle sooner, rather than waiting until they hit their FI number.
Net Worth Update
The Data business continues to cash some big invoices, which pushed our NW to new highs in August.
Shares, Super, and BTC took a hit in August.
On the upside, we got an unexpected $8K boost in Super from Mrs FB’s account. She’s been on mat leave for the past year with no Super coming in, so I’m guessing this is some sort of big contribution from her employer. Anyone else ever had something like this happen during mat leave?
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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
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Shares
The above graph was created by Sharesight
Not a great month for our shares portfolio, and BTC was even worse!
Question: Why do we have A200 & VAS?
Answer: We started buying A200 in August 2018 after Vanguard didn’t lower their MER to match A200. Practically speaking, A200 and VAS are almost identical so it makes sense to go with the lower MER. As an added benefit, I like the fund diversification between Vanguard and Betashares. We decided to hold both after making the switch since it doesn’t have any impact other than some extra accounting work once a year.
Networth
by Aussie Firebug | Aug 15, 2024 | Net Worth
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. 🔥
For the third year running, we escaped Victoria’s chilly July by heading to Bali.
This time around, we had our little one in tow, which definitely made things a bit different, but she handled it like a champ—barely any complaints.
One of the greatest perks of FIRE and being able to run my business from a laptop is the freedom to be a digital nomad, living anywhere in the world. Mrs. Firebug and I have often dreamt about spending a few months a year in Bali or somewhere else in Southeast Asia.
This is what I love about financial freedom—it opens up possibilities that for 95% of people isn’t possible. Alternative lifestyles like this become a reality.
To be honest, though, this trip was a bit more chaotic than usual. We didn’t set ourselves up to live in Bali, it was more of a three-week holiday.
And there’s a big difference, at least for me. I thrive on routine, and after about two weeks without it, I start feeling off.
Still, it’s amazing to recharge with some warm weather and endless sunshine in the middle of winter.
Sharing this holiday with our daughter was something special. The locals couldn’t get enough of her, which was just so heartwarming 🥰.
Enjoying a sunset in Bali
In other news, our new co-working space is hosting its first live podcast, and guess who’s on the guest list? Yep, yours truly.
I’m really excited about this, and not just because it’s happening at our co-work spot. Over the last three years, since coming back from London, I’ve developed a real passion for start-ups.
And I’m not just talking about tech start-ups. Any business that sets out to solve a problem and gets rewarded financially has my attention.
This, to me, is the beauty of capitalism. When people pursue their own interests and seek rewards, they end up creating value for others too. It’s a system that not only generates wealth but also drives innovation, benefiting the entire community.
For me, businesses represent the pinnacle of human ingenuity. The magic of capitalism lies in the fact that both parties walk away better off.
I genuinely believe it can be a force for good, and I’m hoping this networking event inspires others in the community to take that leap and chase something they’ve always wanted to do.
This ties right back into FIRE as well—the flexibility of running your own business is incredible. Honestly, I wish I had started years ago.
I know some people get scared off by horror stories, but things have changed so much. Nowadays, you can start a business with minimal upfront capital, thanks largely to the internet.
That’s exactly what we’ll be discussing at the event—how each of us on the panel started our businesses, the time and effort it took, the start-up costs, the challenges, and more.
I’ll be there all night, so come by and say hello 🙂
Register Here
Come say hello at our live Podcast!
Net Worth Update
It’s been an incredible month, driven largely by our assets across the board and some significant cash inflows from the business.
The business is really starting to gain momentum, and while it technically should be part of these net worth updates, valuing it is tricky. On one hand, it’s clearly valuable since it generates monthly income, but on the other, how do you put a value on something that’s neither bought nor traded publicly?
I’d really appreciate it if someone could weigh in on how tech startups are valued. Is it based on profit, revenue, or a combination of factors?
Our FIRE portfolio (shares, cash and Bitcoin) ticked over $1M this montho too. This portfolio is what we’re actually going to be living off (althought I have some thoughts about this which will be addresses in a future post).
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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
We pre-paid for our accommodation and flights for the Bali trip, which kept our expenses for the month quite low.
Shares
The above graph was created by Sharesight
Huge month all around with the Aussie markets leading the charge.
Given our substantial investments in Australia, this led to a decent bump in our net worth for July.
Question: Why do we have A200 & VAS?
Answer: We started buying A200 in August 2018 after Vanguard didn’t lower their MER to match A200. Practically speaking, A200 and VAS are almost identical so it makes sense to go with the lower MER. As an added benefit, I like the fund diversification between Vanguard and Betashares. We decided to hold both after making the switch since it doesn’t have any impact other than some extra accounting work once a year.
Networth
by Aussie Firebug | Jul 17, 2024 | Net Worth
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. 🔥
Super quick update for June.
It has mostly been Groundhog Day for us during this cold Victorian month.
Family, business, gym, Jiu-Jitsu and House of the Dragon every week.
In June, I hired my first full-time employee for my data company, which is exciting. The junior data engineer helps relieve some pressure on me to fix every issue and aligns with my vision of building a small team to solve problems and have fun with.
Lifestyle businesses can be a lot of fun, but they can also end up consuming all your spare time, which I’ve worked hard to free up through passive income. I found a great book to tackle this called Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell.
I love running the data company and being part of the new co-working space in town. However, I don’t want these activities to take over my life. Hiring people to handle jobs I don’t love doing is a good solution to combat this.
Net Worth Update
Not much to report on here. Decent month overall, but the cash reserves took a hit.
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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
.
Shares
The above graph was created by Sharesight
It’s always nice to see the dividends hit the account. BTC takes a dip in June.
Question: Why do we have A200 & VAS?
Answer: We started buying A200 in August 2018 after Vanguard didn’t lower their MER to match A200. Practically speaking, A200 and VAS are almost identical so it makes sense to go with the lower MER. As an added benefit, I like the fund diversification between Vanguard and Betashares. We decided to hold both after making the switch since it doesn’t have any impact other than some extra accounting work once a year.
Networth
by Adam Preston | Jul 1, 2024 | Podcast
Summary
Today on the podcast, we have Amy and her partner Matt from FI Freedom Retreats, a five-day financial independence retreat in Bali.
This was a passion project born out of Amy’s love and gratitude for the F.I.R.E. movement and community.
Heads up, I recorded this podcast in January this year and haven’t released it until now because I’ve been distracted with other things. This means there’s a good chance there won’t be any spots left in the retreat for this year, but I think you’ll still find our conversation interesting.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- Amy’s fear-based relationship with money (00:02:29)
- Geo-arbitraging in Mexico, Thailand, and Bali (00:09:37)
- Matt & Amy’s experience with healthcare while living in SE Asia (00:14:42)
- 90% savings rate in SE Asia (00:22:45)
- Why Amy started FI Freedom Retreats (00:35:41)
- Matt & Amy’s top tips for pursuing FI and living your best life (00:46:36)
Links
by Aussie Firebug | Jun 8, 2024 | Net Worth
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. 🔥
I turned 35 in May, which firmly places me in my mid-thirties and the start of what some might call middle adulthood (35-49).
I’ve always been a ‘man with a plan’ kinda guy, and turning 35 got me thinking back to when I was 25, wondering where the younger Matt expected to be in 10 years’ time.
I had a few milestones I wanted to achieve:
- Married ✅
- Kids ✅ (one is a start)
- Home ✅
- Millionaire by 30 ❌
- Win a seniors flag ❌
- Live overseas ✅
- Reach financial freedom ❌
- Escaped the corporate grind ✅❌ (I still do some ‘grindy’ stuff for my business)
- Maintain good health and fitness ✅
- Write a book ❌
- Buy a Tesla ❌
There was probably more, but that’s all I can think of.
The 25-year-old me would probably be quite shocked that I haven’t reached FIRE yet. We were on track to get there well and truly before 35 with no show-stoppers in the way.
I had the right job, a low-cost-of-living area, and an amazing partner who was on the same page.
What happened, dude?
Well, heaps, actually.
The main factor being how fantastic meaningful work, blended with a better work-life, could be. This combination greatly diminishes the urge to race towards financial freedom.
I would have loved to have sat down and told my younger self to head overseas sooner rather than wait another four years.
That trip was the catalyst for a lot of great stuff that’s in my life right now.
I’m still working on the rest of the list that isn’t tied to a specific age (this includes my football career 😅).
You bet I’ve been watching the latest Model Y price drops with great interest.
I think the Tesla might turn from a red cross to a green tick any month now 😎🚗
Net Worth Update
Decent month all around with the big influx of cash coming from a recent contract.
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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 passive income has never been this close to covering our expenses! It won’t be long before it crosses over. At that point, I might reduce these updates, as my goal was to continue them until our passive income exceeded our expenses. I’ll write more about this as we get closer to reaching this milestone.
Shares
The above graph was created by Sharesight
Solid month all around.
Question: Why do we have A200 & VAS?
Answer: We started buying A200 in August 2018 after Vanguard didn’t lower their MER to match A200. Practically speaking, A200 and VAS are almost identical so it makes sense to go with the lower MER. As an added benefit, I like the fund diversification between Vanguard and Betashares. We decided to hold both after making the switch since it doesn’t have any impact other than some extra accounting work once a year.
Networth
