Summary
Today I’m speaking to one of the most popular FIRE bloggers in the UK, Barney from The Escape Artist.
Barney is a super interesting guy who is married with three kids, worked in Finance and managed to reach FI at the tender age of just 43. He could have done it much sooner too if he had discovered FIRE earlier in the piece which we get into in the pod.
Since I’m now living in the UK, I was particularly interested in what the FIRE community is like here and if there are any major differences in approach. We also have chat about the film that could be a game changer for the entire FIRE community worldwide, that is, of course, the documentary ‘Playing with Fire’ which is premiering in London on the 12th of June! And yes I will be attending the premiere and would love to see some Aussie help me rep the FIRE community if you’re in the area.
Some of the topics we cover today include:
- Barney’s journey towards financial independence in the UK
- What made him start The Escape Artist
- How boredom can be the secret to creativity
- Why FIRE seems to be more prevalent in the United States vs most other places in the world
- The London premiere of ‘Playing with Fire’ which hopes to be a game changer for the FIRE community
And much more!
Mate, I’d like to help organize a screening in Sydney…have u got any blogger that are in Sydney interested in do so?
Try Pat @ lifelongshuffle.com/
He’s based in Sydney I believe.
I’d love to host one back home if I were still in Australia 🙁
Hey Aussie Firebug, great podcast, it’s great to have a perspective of how they reach FI in other countries.
You mentioned a specific article you liked of his blog, could you add the link to that please?
Enjoy the premier of the movie, I look forward to watching in Sydney.
Thanks
I’ve updated the show notes mate 🙂
Gday mate, love the content.
When you get a chance could you tell me the A200’s total return in % since inception?
Many thanks
*Found it* Fund Returns After Fees (%)
1 Month: 2.28%
3 Months: 9.10%
6 Months: 10.74%
1 Year: –
Since Inception: 8.58%
(7-May-2018)
No more transcripts? Or am I blind?
Love your work btw FB
Ahh I don’t really do them anymore. Do many people read em? They were the slowest part for the podcasts because I outsourced them and it wasn’t exactly cheap. I’ll consider putting them back in if enough people read them.
I’m definitely missing the transcripts! I am much quicker at reading transcripts than listening to podcasts – and don’t have to rewind to parts I missed!
COMMENT CENSORED
I’m not political in Australia (as I cannot vote) but comments like this makes me really dislike Labor supporters. This country is a democracy and this is how democracy works – learn to lose with dignity.
Attacking franking credits is just a cheap way to attract votes amongst the masses – why pay extra tax on one type of asset class?
😂 soo true
I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve had to censor a comment in 4+ years of running this blog.
I’m usually totally against censorship and let people say whatever they like but this comment doesn’t add any value and is quite divisive.
A few people have asked for it to be removed and after thinking on it I now agree.
Sorry for the censorship 🙁
This is not a political site, so why don’t you keep your greedy and bogan comments to yourself? People visiting this site enjoy finance and would like to retire early, but we are not all liberal voters. If we do not care for our environment, then we will have more serious issues that the lack of franking credits. Think about having some respect for those without the same political views as yourself.
This post is about finance and you’ve made it political with your comments. Go back to your cave
I found Escape Artist through JL Collins blog. Down to earth guy, with good content.
Yeah he’s great! It’s going to be fun to catch up with him at the London premier. Can’t wait
Fantastic, thanks so much for sharing.
No worries BHL 🙂
Anyone know of/doing a screening of playing with fire in Brisbane area I’m keen to come along!
Oops I forgot to tick the follow up comment box…
Really interesting to hear what Barney had to say, and that despite different tax regimes, investment vehicles etc, the basic concepts and principles of FIRE are the same wherever. I spent twelve years living in London before returning to live in Australia over three years ago. I wish I’d discovered your blog or Barney’s back then, but even at age 45, it’s better late than never.
The currency adds another dimension. I have various savings accounts in the UK, earning 0.5% at the very most. I remember the good old days of over $2 to GBP1, as recently as late 2015 – and even $2.60 to 1 GBP about the time of the GFC. I’m planning to retire in Australia, not the UK, and so should not dwell on lost opportunities to take advantage of higher exchange rates from earlier times, and instead get those pounds back to Australia asap and into ETFs etc. It reminds me however that currency is a real issue – and risk – when investing outside of one’s own country. With so much Brexit uncertainty, that risk (in the UK) seems greater than it has been for a long time.
Oh, and just in time for Playing with Fire, there’s a FIRE article in the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age this week – here’s the SMH version – https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/a-house-in-your-teens-and-retiring-early-tips-from-our-most-frugal-aussies-20190527-p51rjq.html
So how was the premiere?
We are going this Wednesday mate. I’ll let everyone know how it was 🙂
Preservation age for Aussies born after 1st July 1964 is 60 not 65. You may have been confused with the pension age which is increasing to 67 in a staggered approach.
You’re right. I was getting confused with the pension!
Thanks for that.