Financial Autonomy

Guidance Financial Services: Investing & Retirement Planning Experts
  • 4.7 (169)
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Plenty of podcasts focus on building wealth – and that's great, as far as it goes. But focusing just on wealth misses the point. I believe what most of us actually want is to have choice. Choice in how much time we give to income-producing activities. Choice about what those income-producing activities are. Choice about where we live. Choice about when we retire. Choice about the ways we use our money to produce happiness. In the Financial Autonomy podcast, I explore the different ways you can gain choice - from investing in stocks to becoming self-employed, starting a side hustle, or buying an investment property. I share learnings I've gained working with clients for over 20 years as a Certified Financial Planner, and interview others with interesting insights or experiences in gaining choice in life.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Get Retirement Ready: Should You Pay Off the Mortgage or Boost Your Super?

    The most expensive retirement mistakes often happen 10 years before you actually retire. You still have time to make meaningful changes, but every choice starts to carry more weight.  So, where should you put your money to put yourself in the best position for retirement? Into your mortgage, so you can retire debt free? Into super, so you can take advantage of the tax benefits? Into investments outside super, so you still have flexibility if work ends earlier than planned?  In the first episode of this three-part retirement planning series, Paul breaks down what to focus on when retirement is around a decade away. He covers the decisions that can have the biggest impact on your final position, including how much you want to spend, whether your home still makes sense, why getting too conservative too early can be expensive, and how to review insurance before it quietly eats into your retirement savings.  Inside this episode:  • The mortgage versus super decision, and why the answer is rarely one size fits all  • Why getting too conservative too early could cost you hundreds of thousands  • How to work out what kind of retirement you are actually trying to fund  • Why being debt free before retirement is usually the goal  • How to balance super's tax benefits with access and flexibility  • The insurance costs that may be quietly dragging on your super  • What to focus on now so you are not scrambling later  WANT TO KNOW IF YOU'RE RETIREMENT READY?|  Book an appointment with Paul here.    WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:  Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and  what to pay attention to.  GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:  Send it to paul@financialautonomy.com.au, and it could be featured in his Ask an  Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.  General advice disclaimer

    10 min

  2. 28 APR

    The Ultimate Property Buying Checklist that Could Save You Thousands

    Buying a property is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make… and most people don't realise they've made a bad one until after they've signed the contract.  They've done their research, they've checked the suburb, spoken to a broker, maybe even run the numbers. But the things that actually cost people are the things they never knew to think about. Like the structure they didn't think through, the conditions they didn't question, and the small details that turn into expensive problems later.    In this episode, Nick is joined by buyer's agent Mel Dennis to break down the full property buying checklist, that helps you spot issues before you commit, understand what you're really buying, and avoid getting caught out after the fact.  You'll walk away knowing what to check at each stage of the process, what most buyers miss, and how to approach your next purchase with a lot more clarity and a lot less guesswork.   Inside this episode:  Why most property mistakes happen before you even start looking   The financial and structural decisions that shape everything that follows   What people forget to factor in beyond the purchase price   The non negotiables you need to define before inspecting properties   How to assess a property properly beyond first impressions   The due diligence checks that can save you from expensive surprises   What to look for in contracts, conditions, and key dates   How negotiation is about more than just price   What you need to know before bidding at auction   Why your pre settlement inspection is more important than you think  DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST:  Click here to get the checklist  READY TO SORT YOUR FINANCES?:   Book an appointment here.    WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:  Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and  what to pay attention to.  GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:  Send it to paul@financialautonomy.com.au, and it could be featured in his Ask an  Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.  General advice disclaimer

    24 min

  3. 21 APR

    What Inflation Is Really Doing to Your Wealth (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)

    You hear inflation talked about like it's the villain of the economy all the time.... but what is inflation actually doing to your own money?    Well, it's reducing what your savings can buy.  It's eating into your investment returns.  And it can leave you years behind where you thought you'd be, without you realising it's happening.   So, in this episode, Paul breaks down exactly how inflation impacts your wealth, where it shows up in your financial life, and how to tell if your current strategy is keeping pace or falling short.    Because if your money isn't growing faster than inflation, you're actually going backwards.  In this episode:  • Why your money can be growing and you're still falling behind  • The reason your returns don't feel like they're getting you ahead  • What inflation is quietly taking from your savings every year  • How "playing it safe" could be costing you more than you realise  • Why your retirement number might be wrong (and what's throwing it off)  • What inflation is really doing to interest rates, markets, and your plan  • The quick check to see if your current strategy is actually working      WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:  Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and  what to pay attention to.  GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:  Send it to paul@financialautonomy.com.au, and it could be featured in his Ask an  Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.  General advice disclaimer

    15 min

  4. 14 APR

    What It Really Takes to Turn Your Great Idea into a Real, Profitable Business

    How many times have you had an idea and thought, this could make me millions… and then watched someone else do something similar and actually make money from it?  Because having the idea is never the hard part. The hard part is turning it into something people will pay for, before you run out of time, energy, or motivation.  So what do you actually do next? How do you start figuring out if it's worth backing before you sink months into it? How do you get something in front of people when you don't have a brand, an audience, or a finished product? And how do you avoid becoming the person who's still talking about the same idea a year from now?  That's what this episode breaks down. What it actually looks like to move from "this could be big" to something that's out in the world, gaining traction, and starting to make money, without spending months building blindly.  Inside this episode:  • The ways you can start figuring out if your idea could actually make money  • What it looked like to go from idea to first paying customer  • How to approach your first version so you're not stuck trying to perfect it  • What actually helps you build momentum when no one knows who you are yet  • The point most people stall and what it takes to move past it  • The early decisions that had the biggest impact on getting traction  • Where time can easily get wasted in the early stages and what to be more mindful of  • What actually goes into turning an idea into something profitable over time  If you've got an idea sitting there that you haven't acted on, or you've started something and feel like it's going nowhere, this will give you a much clearer picture of what to focus on next and what actually moves things forward.    READY TO SORT YOUR FINANCES?:    Book an appointment with us here.    WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:   Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and  what to pay attention to.  GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:   Send it to paul@financialautonomy.com.au, and it could be featured in his Ask an  Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.  General advice disclaimer

    33 min

  5. 7 APR

    The 3 Questions That Will Change How You Make Every Financial Decision

    Most people are doing everything right with their money... saving, investing, planning for retirement... and still end up building a life they don't actually want. What if the reason had nothing to do with your portfolio, and everything to do with 3 questions you've never been asked?  In this episode, Paul walks you through all three. They take 10 minutes to answer but could change the next 30 years of your life. Because once you're clear on them, every financial decision becomes easier to make.  In this episode:  The question that exposes the gap between the life you're funding and the life you actually want  Why most people answer the first question too fast (and completely miss the point)  How to prioritise when you can't have everything at once  The test that reveals your real non-negotiables in life  A quick sense-check for whether your current financial path still makes sense  The warning sign that your money and your life have gone in different directions  One question that makes your next big financial decision obvious    READY TO SORT YOUR FINANCES?:   Book an appointment with Paul here.    WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:  Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and  what to pay attention to.  GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:  Send it to paul@financialautonomy.com.au, and it could be featured in his Ask an  Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.  General advice disclaimer

    10 min

  6. 31 MAR

    The Property Buying Playbook That Could Save You Thousands

    Buying property is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make… and most people are just kind of winging it.  You're going to inspections, watching prices, trying to read between the lines on listings, and still not sure if something's actually good value or if you're about to overpay.  So this week, Nick sits down with buyer's advocate Mel Dennis to break down what actually matters when you're buying property. They unpack how to work out what a property is really worth, the mistakes buyers don't realise they're making until it's too late, and how to handle the negotiation so you don't end up paying more than you needed to.  If you're in the market, or even just starting to think about it, this gives you a clear approach so you can make the call and buy with confidence.  Inside this episode:  Why doing your research still doesn't guarantee you won't overpay   The three things you're always balancing when you buy, and how to prioritise them   How to actually work out what a property is worth (not just what it's listed for)   The due diligence most buyers think they've done… but haven't   What experienced buyers look at that others don't   How negotiations really work (and where people end up paying more)   Why some properties grow in value... and others don't    WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:  Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and  what to pay attention to.  GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:  Send it to paul@financialautonomy.com.au, and it could be featured in his Ask an  Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.  General advice disclaimer

    28 min

  7. 24 MAR

    Should You Be Worried About Your Investments and Retirement as War Escalates and Oil Prices Rise?

    War is escalating, oil prices are rising and markets are reacting. So what does that actually mean for your investments and retirement? In this episode, we go beyond the headlines to unpack what's really happening, and answer the big question investors are asking right now: do I need to act? Inside this episode: • What war and rising oil prices are actually doing to markets • Why volatility makes even experienced investors second-guess themselves • The common mistake people make when reacting to headlines • How to think about your investments when things feel uncertain • The one question to ask before making any move WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?: Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and what to pay attention to. GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?: Send it to paul@financialautonomy.com.au, and it could be featured in his Ask an Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. General advice disclaimer

    9 min

  8. 17 MAR

    Franking Credits: Don't Miss Out on Free Money

    This week on the Wealth Builder podcast Nick talks to accountant David Markovski about franking credits and how to get the most out of them. Need help? - Learn about our Wealth Builder program Subscribe to our weekly GainingCHOICE email General advice disclaimer

    25 min
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4.7
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About

Plenty of podcasts focus on building wealth – and that's great, as far as it goes. But focusing just on wealth misses the point. I believe what most of us actually want is to have choice. Choice in how much time we give to income-producing activities. Choice about what those income-producing activities are. Choice about where we live. Choice about when we retire. Choice about the ways we use our money to produce happiness. In the Financial Autonomy podcast, I explore the different ways you can gain choice - from investing in stocks to becoming self-employed, starting a side hustle, or buying an investment property. I share learnings I've gained working with clients for over 20 years as a Certified Financial Planner, and interview others with interesting insights or experiences in gaining choice in life.

Information

  • Creator
    Guidance Financial Services: Investing & Retirement Planning Experts
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    427
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Paul Benson
  • Show Website
    Financial Autonomy

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