Financial Independence Podcast
The Financial Independence Podcast, hosted by Captain FI, explores personal finance and the journey to financial independence. Each episode features interviews with experts and individuals who have achieved or are working toward financial freedom, uncovering their strategies and insights. The host also shares personal reflections on his own path to retiring early, offering practical tools and lessons for listeners. It's a resource for anyone interested in building wealth and gaining control over their financial future.
Episodes
Episode 69 - Is online business still worth it in 2026 with Matt Raad
Is Online Business Still Worth It in 2026?Captain FI sits down with Matt Raad from the eBusiness Institute to answer the big question on every digital entrepreneur's mind: has AI killed the online business model, or is it creating more opportunity than ever?Matt shares why it's now a buyer's market for websites, how savvy investors are picking up undervalued "diamonds in the rough" for as little a
68 - Catching up to FI Takeover - FI Freedom Retreat Bali
For Episode 68 of the Captain FI Podcast we are changing things up a bit and hosting a podcast Takeover! I co-host a LIVE episode of the Catching up to FI podcast with Jackie Cumings Koski, recorded during the third annual FI Freedom Retreat in Bali hosted by Amy Minkley.This is an awesome episode with lots of powerful stories and life lessons across a wide variety of FI experience - from relative
67 - Michael Quan - Financially Alert
On board today is Michael Quan, author of the book The FirePlanner, and the man behind the popular Financially Alert blog and the Breakthrough Millionaire Podcast. Michael reached FIRE in his early thirties and It was actually only after he sold his IT company to a larger provider and inadvertently found himself back in a nine-to-five corporate job that he decided he was going to pull the pin and
66 - Liz - Meet The Frugalwoods
Today, I have the absolute pleasure to be chatting toLiz from her awesome blog and amazing book that she wrote, Meet the Frugal Woods! Anyone who's been on the Captain FI blog knows that I'm a big fan of Liz and Nate, the Frugal Woods and they are literally living my dream!They have an acreage in rural Vermont, which they call theFrugalwoods. There, they're raising their two beautiful daughters an
65 - Phil Muscatello - Shares for Beginners
On board today is Phil Muscatello, the host and producer of theawesome podcasts, Shares for Beginners, Stocks for Beginners, ETFs for Beginners and Talking Companies.Phil is not from a finance background, but he wants to learn more about becoming a better investor. So he hopes that his listeners come along for the ride and don't make the same mistakes that he has. Phil actually has degrees in Medi
64 - Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung - Millennial Revolution
On board today is Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung from Canada, alsoknown from their popular blog, Millennial Revolution. Here's a quote from our guests, 'Money is the most important thing in the world'. Maybe a bit of a controversial take.Whilst having money is certainly no guarantee of happiness, poverty is sure to make you miserable, and no one knows this better than Kristy, who has seen both ends o
63 - Louise Howard - The Executive
On board today is Louise Howard, a Sydney-based executive who I met through the FIRE community. Louise is an incredibly talented, dedicated and successful person who has held executive roles in infrastructure projects in the public sector, as well as management and consulting in the private sector.She recently decided to take a break from her government job and launched her own advisory business c
62 - Dev Raga - Personal Finance Doctor
On board today is Dev Raga, a practicing clinician from Melbourne with a passion for personalfinance. Dev is a fellow podcaster and currently hosts the MyMillennial Money Professional Podcast, which is a podcast that makes money concepts simple for busy professionals. Dev began podcasting because he wanted to leave a blueprint for his children and family in the rare event that he wasn't around to
61 - Making Sense of Cents - Michelle
On board today is Michelle from Making Sense of Cents. Michellereached financial independence through her online businesses and has enjoyed living a variety of interesting lifestyles post FI, including, but not limited to van life.Now, Michelle and her family even live part-time on a sailboat, and get to travel the world via the seven seas, which is pretty bloody cool. Michelle used to work as a f
60 - The Fioneers - Jess & Corey
On board today are Jess and Corey, better known online as The Fioneers. Jess and Corey both spent the majority of their careers workingin mission driven non-profit organizations.But in 2018, Jess experienced really bad burnout,which led to some anxiety and really needing to take a step back. So Jess had a six month career break to really focus on her mental health, returning the following year to
59 - Doc G - Jordan Grumet - Earn and Invest Podcast
On board today is Dr. Jordan Grumet, better known as Doc G from the DiverseFI blog and the host of the incredibly popular Earn and Invest podcast, but he's also the author of the blog, In My Humble Opinion. Doc G specializes in palliative care and despite reaching FI continues to work in the hospice part-time where he compassionately helps people through the finalstages of their lives.Unlike most
58 - Queenie Tan - Invest with Queenie
On board the podcast I welcome Queenie Tan, a Sydney-based personal finance content creator who you might recognise from her incredibly popular channel and profile, Invest with Queenie, where she has amassed nearly 400,000 followers across social media channels such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. Queenie creates helpful, relevant content centered around money-saving hacks and investin
57 - Nicole Martin - Martin & Fortuin
On the pod today I interviewed Nicole Martin, owner of Martin & Fortuin, teaching Financial Literacy Australia. Nicole began her career as an accountant in Cape Town, South Africa. After 4 years of training, she made the move into finance, working firstly for a Listed Investment Company, and then as the assistant accountant to the financial director in a manufacturing business. When Nicole and
56 - Canna Campbell - Sugar Mamma TV
I'm tickled pink to welcome to the podcast Canna Campbell, the founder and director of the financial media platform, Sugar Mamma TV! Canna is also the bestselling author of The $1000 Project, and Mindful Money, and has been working as a licensed financial planner for nearly two decades. Canna runs the popular podcast Sugar Mamma's FirePlay which has seen more than 1.3 million downloads, as well as
55 - Corwin - Engineering your FI
On the pod today from Austin, Texas is Corwin, a fellow aerospace engineer and FIRE blogger from 'Engineering your FI' with a Bachelor's, Masters and PhD in aerospace engineering, as well as over a decade of engineering industry experience. He definitely fits the engineering bill, which we often see here in the FIRE community. Corwin and his partner reached financial independence at ages 35 and 33
54 - Mr Nomad Numbers on Slow Travel
On board the podcast today is Mr Nomad Numbers. Mr and Mrs Nomad Numbers sold everything they owned and began slow travelling the world. They've documented their travels and their journey on NomadNumbers.com where they blog anonymously and share their travel destinations, itineraries and meticulously document their costs of travel and living. They came to the conclusion that the cost of slow trave
53 - Dom - Gen Y Finance Guy
On board the pod today is Dom who runs the popular blog Gen Y Finance Guy, where Dom's been blogging about his journey to financial independence and posting net wealth updates for the past decade. Dom is from California, where he lives with his wife and 2 kids. He faced some immense challenges early on in life, growing up below the poverty line, and eventually having to be raised by his grandparen
52 - Jonathan Clements - The Humble Dollar
On board today we welcome Jonathan Clements, the founder and editor of The Humble Dollar blog. Jonathan is also the author of 9 books, with the most recent being 'My Money Journey' which includes money journeys from not only himself, but from 30 others who have found financial freedom. Jonathan was born in London and has moved over to the USA, he was hired by Forbes magazine as a junior reporter a
51 - Q and A Session with Matt Raad - Part THREE
We welcome back Matt Raad from the E-Business Institute for Part THREE of our Q and A Session! Matt and his wife Liz, teach and mentor their students on how to create online business (websites) for passive income.This podcast is the third in a series of three pods where we unpack a huge series of listener Q and A's. So tune in for Part Three of our Q and A session and make sure to catch Parts One
50 - Karsten - Early Retirement Now
On board the pod today is Karsten from Early Retirement Now. Sometimes he's affectionately referred to as Big Ern due to his massive 6'6" stature, but Ern isn't just any old blogger. He's originally from Germany, and he moved to the USA as an exchange student where he stayed after graduating to proceed on his finance career. He has a PhD in economics and has dozens of journal articles published in
49 - Barney, The Escape Artist
Today on the pod, all the way from London, I welcome Barney Whiter, The Escape Artist, to discuss his journey to financial independence and escaping the cubicle. Barney is not just your average blogger, he has a degree in economics and has worked for over 2 decades as a qualified charter accountant in corporate finance. He was able to retire at the age of 43, about a decade ago, never having won t
48 - JMoney from Budgets are Sexy
On board the pod today is JMoney from Budgets are Sexy. JMoney is probably one of the most recognizable names, or should that be Mohawks in the fire community. After a somewhat impulsive purchase of a home in his early twenties, J became focused on improving his finances and became inspired by what he read online, causing him to start what eventually came to be the incredibly popular blog, Budgets
47 - Deacon Hayes - Well Kept Wallet
For today's podcast, I welcome Deacon Hayes from Well Kept Wallet who went from over $50,000 in debt, to financial independence and who actually became a financial planner along the way. Deacon paid off his debt in just over a year and a half and became so excited about the process. He studied finance, became a financial planner and founded Well Kept Wallet, advising high net worth clients as a wa
46 - Jeremy Schneider - Personal Finance Club
Today I welcome on board Jeremy Schneider from Personal Finance Club! Jeremy joins us from sunny California and chats to us about building his successful business Rent Links, where he was always famously the lowest paid employee, and which he worked bloody hard to build over a 10 year period! He went on to build several other successful businesses and has always maintained simplicity when it comes
45 - Interview with JL Collins
Today I'm chatting to one of my all-time favourite authors and an idol in the FIRE community - JL Collins. JL is the author of the bestselling personal finance book, 'The Simple Path to Wealth' and his online blog - jlcollinsnh.com features his stock series. JL has been investing for nearly 50 years, has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to investing and money, he has had diverse career roles, a
44 - Q and A Session with Matt Raad - Part TWO
On the pod today we welcome back Matt Raad from the E-Business Institute. Matt and his wife Liz, teach and mentor their students on how to create online business (websites) for passive income.This podcast is the second in a series of three pods where we unpack a huge series of listener Q and A's. So tune in for Part Two of our Q and A session and make sure to catch Parts One and Three with even mo
43 - FI Freedom Retreats with Amy Minkley
In this podcast, I chat to Amy Minkley who created FI Freedom Retreats in Bali. Amy shares her journey of working hard, travelling abroad, maintaining a high savings rate for a long period and then getting burned out. She talks about her money fears and where they came from, and how it took hitting rock bottom for her to realise she needed a change. She discovered the FIRE movement, moved her life
42 - This Is Your Captain Speaking #4 - One Year of Early Retirement
This podcast is an update about my FIRE Journey - one year after leaving my flying job, essentially one year of early retirement, which has also been a very busy year. There has been some traveling, the loss of my dear mum, some family drama, working on some personal projects including the website business, lots of reading and prioritising my own health, as well as setting goals for the short term
41 - Q and A Session with Matt Raad - Part ONE
On the pod today we welcome back Matt Raad from the E-Business Institute. Matt and his wife Liz, teach and mentor their students on how to create online business (websites) for passive income. This podcast is the first in a series of three pods where we unpack a huge series of listener Q and A's.So tune in for Part One of our Q and A session and watch this space for the following two pods with eve
40 - Independent Financial Advisors with Andy Darroch
On board the pod today is Andy Darroch who runs Independent Wealth Advice. Andy calls himself a self-loathing financial advisor and has some controversial views on the financial advice industry.On board today is Andy Darroch. Andy runs Independent Wealth Advice, an independent financial advice firm that provides fixed upfront fees for a statement of financial advice. He has a degree in accounting
39 - Captain FI on The Money Pal
This podcast features Captain Fi! I am interviewed by Jesse from The Money Pal. We discuss making money from website businesses, how I started my financal independence journey, and what inspired me along the way, including the OG Mr Money Mustache and the various personal finance books that have helped build my knowledge. I talk about some financial struggles I experienced, especially when startin
38 - Money with Ana Kresina
In this episode I chatted to Ana Kresina who works in Fintech under product management. She is also obsessed with personal finance and has a blog under her name - AnaKresina.com, where she writes about career advancement, personal finance topics and travel. Ana moved to Australia from Canada, has a young family here in Australia and is navigating how to move forward in her career and work towards
37 - Online Business with Matt Raad
On board the pod today is Matt Raad, from the eBusiness Institute, who is joining us once again, to discuss changes to the online real estate landscape, to discuss Matt and Liz's business philosophies and to cover some of the Frequently Asked Questions about online businesses and websites that popped up in the recent webinar. For some more context, you can go back and listen to Episode 11 - (Digit
36 - Tax with Minh, a degree qualified accountant
Whilst a lot of people might roll their eyes when they start to think about submitting their tax returns, it's something that everyone has to do. So personally, I used to submit my own tax returns and actually when I was at uni, but I eventually realized that I was actually cutting myself short because there were lots of work related deductions that I was missing out on that I didn't know about. F
35 - Pearler investing update with Nic
Pearler is an online investment (brokerage) platform built for those on the path to Financial Independence. Since I joined Pearler in 2020 a lot has changed, so today I have got Nic Nicolaides, one of the cofounders of Pearler, to give us an update on some of the major changes, and some features we can expect to see rolled out soon.
34 - Geo-Arbitrage to South East Asia with Amber
I first met Amber when I listened to the Money Madams Podcast. Amber and her co-host Katherine run an awesome podcast, sharing their experience with personal finance and interviewing interesting guests – I was lucky enough to be featured! After chatting to these two very knowledgable people, I knew I wanted to get them on the pod to discuss some areas of the FIRE movement they had first hand exper
33 - Lacey Filipich on Life, Money, Mini-retirements and Death
I first heard of Lacey after she gave a TEDx talk at the University of Western Australia in 2018 on the concept of mini-retirements, that is, taking regular sabbaticals throughout a career as part of a genuine commitment to work life balance, and I thought it was brilliant.Lacey was so genuine and brutally honest about her life experience and struggles working in such a high stress operational rol
32 - Sharesight portfolio tracking
An Interview with Prashan Mohan, the Chief Marketing Officer of Sharesight, to discuss what is Sharesight and how investors on the path to Financial Independence can use the Sharesight program to make their portfolio tracking, administration, and tax accounting easier.
31 - Risk and Insurance with Katherine
On board the podcast today is Katherine Hayes, to talk all about insurances (how to cover your butt!). This is something not often talked about enough in the FI/RE space, so I was really glad to have an expert on board to break down the different types of insurances and what to look for.
Katherine is a multi-award-winning financial advisor based in Canberra who has over 20 years industry experienc
30 - This is your Captain Speaking #3 - Early Retirement Update
Today I am sharing an update about my FIRE Journey - specifically all about my decision to stop work and leave flying, leave Sydney and move across the country back to my hometown of Adelaide, South Australia. I chat about what I have been up to, latest decisions in the portfolio, my family update and finally finish with a reader question
29 - Digital Marketing with Richard from Paramark
On board today is Richard, a Sydney based digital marketer to talk all about digital marketing and online business, and how he leveraged digital marketing to create a business, reach financial independence and leave his job.Richard actually has had a similar background to me, starting off his career in engineering and then chasing financial independence through leveraging his time and creating a b
28 - Hands off investing with Chris Brycki from Stockspot
Onboard the podcast today is Chris Brycki, founder and CEO of Stockspot investments and three times in a row winner of the ASX share trading game!Chris has over 25 years of investment experience and spent most of his early career as a Portfolio Manager at UBS. Chris has been a member of the ASIC Digital Advisory Committee and volunteers as a member of the Investment Committee for the NSW Cancer Co
27 - Online Asset management with Pat from Six Park
On board today is Pat Garrett, co founder and CEO of Six Park online asset management. Pat is a financial advisor and member of the FPA, as well asgraduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has worked as a Board member, CEO, CFO, senior level corporate advisor and a private equity investor. Pat has over 30 years experience in the financial industry - having worked for JP morgan
26 - Jade the Student Investor
Onboard today is Jade Johnson, a student who is on track to graduate University debt free. Jade shares her money journey and experience investing as a student, and just how she is graduating debt free through a combination of part time work, scholarships, side hustles and her money coaching business. Jade Johnson started her blog Finance for FIRE early 2020 to document her own financial journey. A
25 - Small Business to reach FI with Josh
Josh is a young father on the path to Financial Independence who works in the engineering construction industry. Recently, he sold all of his crypto investments and used the money to start his own small business called 'You Knead Sourdough', which provides customers with complete sourdough kits to enable them to make awesome home made sourdough for a fraction of the price that it costs in store. H
24 - Playing with FIRE with Scott Rieckens
On board the podcast today is Scott Rieckens, Author of Playing with FIRE and producer and feature of the Playing with FIRE documentary.Happily married in California with a young daughter, Rieckens had his dream life: A luxury car, yacht club membership and a big house. Underneath this façade, he was struggling with depression, overworked and overwhelmed, with no exit strategy…..“What If a Happier
23 - Entrepreneurship with Liz Raad
Liz Raad is a successful online entrepreneur and educator who's expertise is buying and selling websites and teaching women how to do the same. She is also the co-founder of theeBusiness Institute a private training organisation that provides digital marketing courses designed specifically for those who want to re-train for the digital future or earn income independently. Liz and I chat about her
22 - FI with Sherry the SaverSpender
On board today is Sherry, better known as the SaverSpender from her instagram channel, and her blog savespendsplurge.comSherry lives in Canada - the northern hemisphere's much colder version of Australia.Today we are talking aboot the reflections from Sherry's journey to financial Independence, and the powerful lessons she can pass on for us still working towards FISherry started her financial jou
21 - This is Your Captain Speaking Q&A #2
This is your Captain speaking is a Question and Answer segment where I unpack some of the most popular questions from the Financial Independence community. If you have a question for the Captain, the best place to ask is the CaptainFI Facebook group or by leaving a comment on blog posts. If you would like to stay anonymous you can get in touch via the email from the CaptainFI blog contact form. I
20 - Super with Vince Scully the Life Sherpa (Part 2 of 2)
Part 2 of Superannuation with Life Sherpa. Important that you listen to Part 1 first.
On board today is Vince Scully, better known as the Life Sherpa and Author of the popular book the Latte Fallacy which aims to dispel many common personal finance myths (like that ordering a latte or smashed avocado will stop you owning a home). Vince is a licenced financial advisor, and with over 40 years experi
19 - Super with Vince Scully the Life Sherpa (Part 1 of 2)
On board today is Vince Scully, better known as the Life Sherpa and Author of the popular book the Latte Fallacy which aims to dispel many common personal finance myths (just like that ordering a latte or smashed avocado will stop you owning a home). Vince is a licenced financial advisor, and with over 40 years experience in the industry he has only just recently reached preservation age and is se
18 - Financial Advisors with Dee
An important lesson us Pilots all learn in ground school is the value of having an experienced flying instructor. They guide, shape and mentor us as we learn to fly and eventually gain our wings.
Well similarly, A financial advisor or financial planner is a professional who can help you learn to manage your finances like a pro. They can also help with estate planning and your overall financial str
17 - This Is Your Captain Speaking #1 (Q&A)
This is your Captain speaking is a Question and Answer segment where I unpack some of the most popular questions from the Financial Independence community.If you have a question for the Captain, the best place to ask is the CaptainFI Facebook group or by leaving a comment on blog posts.If you would like to stay anonymous you can get in touch via the email from the CaptainFI blog contact form. I am
16 - Cryptocurrency with Stephan Livera
World renowned Crypto expert Stephan Livera and I hang out in Sydney to discuss Crypto, Bitcoin, FI/RE and what the hell an NFT is! Stephan co-founded the ministry of nodes which is focused on educational content about the economics and technology of Bitcoin, and he also hosts one of the worlds leading bitcoin podcasts (regularly ranked in the top 10). Stephan has interviewed many high profile Bit
15 - Dan from WeMoney
We stop into Perth again, where Dan Jovevski (CEO WeMoney) joins us on the podcast to discuss all things expense tracking and financial well being. Just as well this flight is going to Perth, because this is a long one!
WeMoney is probably the best expense tracking application I have found - I recently did a review on their software and my experience using it over the past 6 months or so, where I
14 - Kurt from Pearler
To reach Financial Independence, we all know we need to be investing. There are a wide range of financial products, investing tools and share trading platforms available today, making it difficult to know which is the right one for you. To make matters worse, many of these have outrageously high brokerage fees or even hidden fee structures which can seriously erode your returns.To help de-mystify
13 - Matched Betting with Nico
Have you ever heard of matched betting? It keeps coming up in the FIRE community, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Matched betting is basically a technique that allows you to profit from online gambling, by taking advantage of Bookmakers loss-leading promotions. It exists because bookmakers give away free bets in order to encourage punters to bet with them.
Matched bettors collect these fr
12 - A Purple Life reaches FIRE
Here on the CaptainFI podcast, we Love a good success story. I’ve got one for you today as we celebrate with blogger A Purple Life as she hit her FIRE goal!Starting with an ambitious goal back in 2015 to reach FIRE within ten years, she needed to maintain at least a 65% savings rate. Well fast forward to today – she has absolutely demolished her goals, reaching an average 77% savings rate to becom
11 - Digital entrepreneurs Matt and Liz Raad
On board today we have two VIPs in the first class cabin. These entrepreneurs were able to light the afterburners on their own wealth engines through a number of successful business ventures. Coming from humble farming backgrounds, this couple actually met whilst studying at university and managed to spark each other’s fire for financial Independence.Dropping out of university in pursuit of Financ
10 - Dave Gow Strong Money Australia
On board today is a frequent FI-er and a bit of a celebrity in the Australian Financial Independence community, Dave from Strong Money Australia!Dave and his partner are a regular Aussie couple from Perth, who maintained a healthy savings rate and regime of property investing over a ten year period.One day they discovered that if they moved some equity from their investment properties into dividen
9 - Jarrod from SelfWealth
To reach Financial Independence, we all know we need to be investing our savings.
There are a wide range of financial products, investing tools and share trading platforms available today, making it difficult to know which is the right one for you.
To make matters worse, many of these have outrageously high brokerage, or even hidden fee structures which can seriously erode your returns.
To help de
8 - Property with Amy Lunardi
On board today we have Amy Lunardi, an experienced property investor and buyers advocate. Amy is barely into her 30s and has already built up an impressive property portfolio which she continues to grow.
Initially working in the public sector, Amy devoted her evenings and weekends to researching, buying, renovating and developing properties. In doing so, she found her true passion and took a leap
7 - Bikes with Money like Mike
On Board today is Mike Staunton: Investor, Personal Finance Coach and the CEO and co-founder of Money like Mike. Mike lives in inner Melbourne, and after reaching Financial Independence he left a high stress career as an Engineer to pursue his passion of helping others take control of their wealth.
Mike has a pretty interesting story - originally from North Carolina in the USA, he trained and work
4 - The Aussie Firebug
Episode 4 of the Captain FI podcast takes an international connection, stopping in London to feature none other than our very own, Aussie Firebug! The Aussie Firebug is an Aussie FIRE Blogger with over 12,000 subscribers, and over 100,000 listeners on his Podcasts.The Aussie Firebug was one of the first Australian Financial Independence bloggers, coming onto the scene in 2015. He is a millennial t
3 - Shang from SavemyCents
Episode 3 of the Captain FI podcast features Shang from Savemycents. Shang hit her (7 figure) FI/RE number and reached ‘Work optional’ status at age 31, making her a Millionaire after only 11 short years in the workforce.Shang graduated from Harvard University and is an MBA. She now lives in New York, where she balances her free time between passion projects (like being a money coach and finance b
2 - Captain FI's Investing Strategy
G’day everyone Captain FI here checking in with episode number two – my financial independence investment strategy. After releasing episode number one I had a lot of questions from the listeners asking to speak a little bit more about my personal circumstance and journey towards fire and specifically my investment strategy. For show notes check out https://captainfi.com/podcast-investing-strategy/
1 - Financial Independence for Beginners
Here it is Ladies and Gents, the first podcast for Captain FI! This Podcast is the first in the series on Financial Independence which kicks off with a discussion on Financial Independence for Beginners. For Show notes head to https://captainfi.com/podcast-financial-independence-for-beginners/
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