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)
Links
by Aussie Firebug | Nov 5, 2021 | Podcast
Summary
Today I’m speaking with Terry Waugh who you may know as TerryW from his online legal and tax tips. Terry is admitted as both a solicitor and barrister to the Supreme Court of NSW as well as the High Court of Australia and holds specialist qualifications as a Chartered Tax Adviser. He operates as a lawyer specialising in tax, estate planning, asset protection, and trusts for property and share investors.
Some of the topics in today’s episode include:
- What structuring options do investors have when owning or controlling assets – specifically property and shares? (05:22)
- Land tax – when is it relevant to property investors? (08:34)
- Do many people invest through a company and what are the benefits of doing so? (10:43)
- What trust structures work best for property and share investors? (13:40)
- What is a trust, how do they work and how do investors benefit from trust structures? (15:44)
- What are discretionary trusts and why are they so commonly used? (19:05)
- What are the main pros and cons of using a trust structure and when does it make sense to use one? (20:49)
- How does a trust structure protect your assets? (25:20)
- How do distributions work when investing through a trust? (27:10)
- Who can pay money into a trust and how does that work? (29:42)
- When does it make financial sense to set up a trust? (34:38)
- How much do trusts cost to set up and to keep running? (35:34)
- What is a bucket company and why would anyone use it? (36:14)
- Terryw’s Tax Tip #14 – Never park money in a loan – why avoiding mixed purpose loans is so important. (40:09)
- How to set up and execute a debt recycling strategy in 2021. (42:54)
- Are testamentary discretionary trusts a good option for preserving wealth for your kids? (47:49)
- Why Terry thinks that a testamentary discretionary trust is the ultimate structure. (50:00)
- Buying an investment property through a company structure. (54:06)
- Protecting your own assets when entering a new personal relationship. (55:34)
- Who is the best person to see for investment structuring advice – a lawyer, accountant or financial adviser? (01:00:12)
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