Early retirement / FIRE

DeBloot

Feeling old
I hope the 40-50% of your income saved is not wasting away in a savings account
You need to make the money you save work harder so you don't have to
If you choose a low cost investment such as indexed funds (for example) you will ride the highs and lows, but will be in a long term upward trend

As far as housing goes, Queensland sounds like the winner to me
I think housing here is still great value for money (relative to other states) and the climate suits you
If you're game you can pick up a nice house and land package for around 500K in South East Qld
This would include 4 bedrooms for your future family, and not much yard so you can spend your spare time recreating
The most important thing is not to overspend on your home and know that interest rates will rise eventually
 

frenchman

Eats cheese. Sells crack.
I hope the 40-50% of your income saved is not wasting away in a savings account
You need to make the money you save work harder so you don't have to
If you choose a low cost investment such as indexed funds (for example) you will ride the highs and lows, but will be in a long term upward trend

As far as housing goes, Queensland sounds like the winner to me
I think housing here is still great value for money (relative to other states) and the climate suits you
If you're game you can pick up a nice house and land package for around 500K in South East Qld
This would include 4 bedrooms for your future family, and not much yard so you can spend your spare time recreating
The most important thing is not to overspend on your home and know that interest rates will rise eventually
The excess income is in a savings account until we have the deposit for the house, once that is locked down we can then look towards how to best invest any further savings.

I’d like to think we wouldn’t want / need any bigger than something with 3 bedrooms purely to limit the amount of junk we could accumulate. That also leaves room/budget for future shed upgrades ;)

Live on the Tablelands then.
I didn’t mind cairns in the build up. Just did more shuttle runs instead of pedalling or we went to Atherton.
 

Nerf Herder

Wheel size expert
Based on SYDNEY ... but meh SYDNEY is the centre of the universe.
https://apple.news/A6Z3D-IgPTlKtpdQN6ouq9w

This makes sense for the vast majority of Australians ... Id add that your job and your education is an indicator of where you will likely sit in this grouping as well.

BOT
Early retirement to me is a function of assets vs lifestyle vs length of time

The more assets => the higher the lifestyle => for a longer period of time.
The less assets => the longer you need to work => to maintain the lifestyle you want => the later your retirement

The majority of Australians have a home/mortgage or superannuation as their core asset.
This is a really old stat but the average home loan is paid off in 15years.

Property is also the investment of choice for the vast majority if Australians ... IMHO Australians are way way too conservative (read fucking lazy) which is reflected in their choice of Property as their core investment.

Property is relatively expensive and illiquid which really means => the more savings you need, to buy => the longer you need to hold it and or pay it off => the later your early retirement will commence.

For me. Superannuation as a surrogate for direct share investment is the key to “faster” asset accumulation and there for earlier retirement. Alternatively, entrepreneurialism to generate higher income combined with asset accumulation would be another strategy (both separate or in combination to super/share investment)

If you have time + knowledge + clear strategy => share investment can be manageable risk vs speed. => solid exit and reinvestment opportunities means you can start with a small amount and grow it via steady reinvestment. However, there are higher risks you need to manage.

If you have none of the above 3 then super ... particularly a low fee industry fund ... is your ticket.
The main problem here is how much you can plough in vs tax benefits vs your early retirement timeframes vs risk.

Assessing/reducing risk is the killer, which is why most people opt for property or worse bank interest. Prior to property, the investment of choice for the average Aussie was a term deposit.

I’m not a financial advisor but I have relevant professional experience, education and interests to back my comments and biases.

Happy to talk via PM if you like ...but as much as I hate Financial advisors and think that in the majority they are under educated, sales people at best ... heading into your bank or contacting your super fund could intro you to one that might be worth listening too even if it’s just for a free assessment

Free sounds good ... but to get the most out of advice you need to think about
A budget for the lifestyle you want
Assets vs liabilities ... what you own vs what you owe (credit cards if not mortgage)
Time frames ... set a date ... work out how much assets you will have at that start point vs expenses vs budget = how long you can stretch for before you need govt pension.

Good luck
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
I dont know why any sane outdoor person would want to live in Melbourne or Sydney?
OK family [ move them somewhere cheaper ] profession [ accept something lesser }
 

Ultra Lord

Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
I dont know why any sane outdoor person would want to live in Melbourne or Sydney?
OK family [ move them somewhere cheaper ] profession [ accept something lesser }
Because we have some pretty great outdoor stuff withing an hours drive in all directions? Sydney's not as bad as people make it out to be. Just exxy
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Exactly. I’m lucky enough to own a pretty piece of it & have travelled the world...not found a place I’d rather be.
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
OK pretty in parts if you can afford to live there but if you sell up = whooooaaa.
The traffic and noise ?
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
My joints pretty quiet.

Traffic doesn’t bother me. My hour commute after work just becomes downtime listening to podcasts.
I listen to podcasts at work and based on your commute I get 1h 40mins every day to do other stuff. I live 5mins out of Brisbane CBD.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
OMG THATS AMAZING!!!! EVERYONE MOVE TO BRISBANE
I sense sarcasm.
Seriously though I do actually find it amazing that every week you spend the equivalent of one of my work days just travelling to and from your work. To me that's a massive amount of extra time I get to spend riding or with my kids. But hey, if there are people out there that don't mind traffic and love podcasts, well, I guess Sydney's the place to be.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
I sense sarcasm.
Seriously though I do actually find it amazing that every week you spend the equivalent of one of my work days just travelling to and from your work. To me that's a massive amount of extra time I get to spend riding or with my kids. But hey, if there are people out there that don't mind traffic and love podcasts, well, I guess Sydney's the place to be.
Live close to the city, drive miles to the trails.

Live next to the trails, drive a while during the week.

I like not using the car at all on the weekends.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Live close to the city, drive miles to the trails.

Live next to the trails, drive a while during the week.

I like not using the car at all on the weekends.
You just need to the right city. Or big country town...an acceptable trail network + "CBD" + waterside living all nice and close here.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Live close to the city, drive miles to the trails.

Live next to the trails, drive a while during the week.

I like not using the car at all on the weekends.
Yep it's a compromise. I don't live near the trails and at the moment I live 5 mins out of the city but it takes me about 30mins to get to 4 different riding places which I reckon is pretty good. An hour drive to a whole lot more. The worst thing here would be that summer heat doesn't match with riding. I think the long term aim for me would be to live near the beach or trails and work from home.
 

frenchman

Eats cheese. Sells crack.
@Nerf Herder thanks for the write up. I’ll be in touch if we end up going down that way. Currently we just need to get into our own place so we are not paying 40k into someone else's mortgage.

I dont know why any sane outdoor person would want to live in Melbourne or Sydney?
OK family [ move them somewhere cheaper ] profession [ accept something lesser }
I didn’t mind Sydney, but in saying that I’d look to get a place in the eastern suburbs with Malcolm and his friends ;)
This map is still relevant

I think syd and melb are nice enough if like you mentioned, you make some good coin.
 
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