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Welcome to another #AusFIWeekly with handpicked Financial Independence links and events from Australia and abroad. I’m Michelle, a mid-30s semi-retiree sharing my FI journey at FrugalityandFreedom.com
This week, I welcome another member of our local FI community to choose some favourite financial independence links (archives here). Say hello to today’s guest curator, Chasing FIRE Down Under! Take it away…
Hi, I’m Chasing FIRE Down Under and have recently started following the FI community over the past year. I’m a doctor in my late 20s and started blogging to share my journey from the perspective of a single woman aiming to reach FI in comfort.
Even though every single person’s journey is different and individualised, I’ve loved engaging with the community so far and learning from so many different people.
chasingfiredownunder.wordpress.com
Twitter @ChasingFir
Australian Links
Why FIRE? – Chasing FIRE Down Under
“Reaching financial independence doesn’t mean that you’re never allowed to work again. It just opens up your choices and opportunities, because the choice of what you do is no longer dependent on money.”
Misconceptions about the FIRE Movement podcast – FIRE & Chill Podcast
“In this episode, we chat about the misconceptions we see people making about the FIRE movement. Both newbies starting out and outsiders unfamiliar with the concept seem to miss some important key points. We’ll clear those up today, so we can all move forward together! There are also some haters out there, so we pick apart why they’re (obviously) wrong.”
The Single Woman’s Track to FI – Burning Desire for FIRE
“The Frogdancer household is more like a benevolent dictatorship, where there is only one set of hands on the financial reins. Mine.”
I love this article because it’s such a refreshing perspective on the pros of chasing FI as a single person, rather than focussing only on the downsides!
Emerging from the Storm of COVID – Late Starter FIRE
“I sincerely hope all of you are ok. If you are not, please seek help. And speak out. As for me, I will be fine. I remind myself to control what I can control, as I acknowledge my anxieties and let them go. And bake another loaf of sourdough.”
As Melbourne continues to cope with Stage 4 lockdowns, re-reading this blog post was a good reminder to remain hopeful and focus on the parts that we can control.
International Links
Decide for Yourself What Spending You Value, and then Spend Without Guilt – Our Next Life (USA)
“You are allowed to spend money on whatever either makes you happy or gives you the conditions for a happy life. Period. The only person who knows what’s included in that list is you. Spending money on something that someone else wouldn’t choose to isn’t doing it wrong, it’s doing it exactly right. Because the whole point of all of this is to diverge from society’s script and to write our own script, not just to quit one choir and sing with a different one.”
Preach it! This article reflects my views about spending vs saving perfectly. While it’s important to save and plan for the future, it’s just as important not to feel shame or shame others for what they do choose to spend their money on.
Fiscal Policy and Stimulus video – Crash Course Economics (USA)
This is actually part 8 of a video series which I would recommend watching in order. The series was very useful in helping me to understand macroeconomics and how different it is from microeconomics.
How to Curb Emotional Spending – The Fioneers (USA)
“Once we become aware of our emotional spending, we can use it as an indicator of what we are feeling… If I notice that I’m spending more money than usual on something, it’s often a sign that I need to evaluate what’s going on in my life.
We’re all guilty of spending/consuming as a method of self-comfort. It’s definitely important to address the underlying emotions, rather than relying on ‘self discipline’ to rein in spending.
Time to Stop Normalising the Personal Finance Unicorns podcast – Michelle is Money Hungry (USA)
“It’s ok to be proud of the Unicorns and love their stories. And, it’s 100% ok not to be one. Unicorns are Unicorns for a reason.”
This one is a podcast, and though I usually prefer reading to listening, this podcast made an important point. We need to share more ordinary stories, not just the incredible, extreme success stories. We need to uphold the normal wins and motivate ordinary people, rather than continuing to feed into the bootstrap narratives.
Thank you to Chasing FIRE Down Under for choosing this week’s great links. Follow her story of pursuing FI as a single 20-something at chasingfiredownunder.wordpress.com
Want to be an #AusFIWeekly guest curator? Got other Australian blog posts to recommend? Get in touch.
Yours in pursuit of FI,
Michelle @ Frugality and Freedom
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