Freedom Before FI | Life Design, Purpose, Sabbaticals, Coast FI & Financial Independence (FIRE)

Scott joins us again to talk about his journey to creating more time freedom through part time consulting, where he works only part of the year. This frees him up to work on things that are meaningful to him, like more time with his partner, passion projects, travel and of course writing. Scott is based in Melbourne Australia, he left full time work and a six figure salary in 2023 to work part of the year and he runs the Scott on Fire blog where he writes about his FI philosophy and how to live a good life. 
Things you’ll learn:
About his part time consulting work
The Melbourne local FIRE community
His FIRE Goal: to make work optional by 40
His investment portfolio and his fun money
The 4 ETFs he’s investing in
The debt recycling strategy (in Australia)
His investing journey from 2018
His 50% savings rate for 7 years
How he was able to save 75% in one year
His career journey from 2018: Studied accounting
His first job: data entry as payroll officer
On never getting promotions, just positive ‘side steps’
How he got into consulting
Quitting full time work in 2023
The challenges of having freedom
Quick-fire round questions at the end:
Something he wished they done 10 years ago
His daily habits that helped him in life
His most important lesson in life
His book recommendations
1-2 small things listeners can do this week to get started
Scott on Fire Links:
Website & Blog: https://scottonfire.com/ 
X: https://x.com/ScottOnFire
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottOnFireDotCom 
Substack: https://scottonfire.substack.com/ 

Freedom Before FI Links:
Free Guides: Download the free ‘Freedom Ideas’ Cheat Sheet and the free ‘Find Your Purpose’ worksheet at: https://freedombeforefi.com/free-guides/
Website: Check out our resources and services at www.freedombeforefi.com
Email: If you want to connect, send me a note at greg@freedombeforefi.com
Instagram: or send a DM at Instagram Link 
Linktree (all links): https://linktr.ee/freedombeforefi 

Listen to FBF on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/freedom-before-fi-life-design-purpose-sabbaticals-coast/id1740083285

Listen to FBF on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0XxPgEeuGayTqaEwUE19mk?si=cc8639ad8c28474e

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice

Have you ever thought about living between two countries to avoid the cold winters? Thats exactly how Bex Thomas and her husband are living their life now. They designed a life they love which involves living in Sydney Australia for part of the year and Brittany in France the rest of the year to avoid the colder winters. Bex is the awesome host of the Sabbatical Stories podcast and is a career break and career transition coach.
Things you’ll learn:
Current living situation: Between Australia and France
The hardships of renovating a 15th Century barn in France
What a typical years looks like between the two countries
Her backstory from growing up in UK to moving to Australia
First sabbatical before moving to Australia
Her first 5 years living in Sydney
Her promotion to Director level and it being an anti-climax
Second sabbatical (8 months): Soul searching and life design
Their 3 themes of life design: sunshine, freedom and people
Exiting full time corporate in 2022
How she got into coaching 
Passion projects she experimented with
Finding her Ikigai 
Finding life balance over 365 days not just per day
On coaching people to take leaps into the unknown
Values misalignment: Main issue for students
Crossroads Program: outline of 6 sessions
Purposeful Pause Program: outline of 6 sessions
Advice she gives for people post sabbatical
About her monthly tech free ‘Joy Day’
How they set up finances to fund their transition
Quick-fire round questions at the end:
Something she wished they done 10 years ago
Her daily habits that helped her on journey
Her most important lesson in life
Her book recommendations
1-2 small things listeners can do this week to get started 
Bex Thomas (Links):
Website: https://bexthomas.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bexthomas/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bexthomascoaching/
Sabbatical Stories Podcast: Link 

Freedom Before FI Links:
Free Guides: Download the free ‘Freedom Ideas’ Cheat Sheet and the free ‘Find Your Purpose’ worksheet at: https://freedombeforefi.com/free-guides/
Website: Check out our resources and services at www.freedombeforefi.com
Email: If you want to connect, send me a note at greg@freedombeforefi.com
Instagram: or send a DM at Instagram Link 
Linktree (all links): https://linktr.ee/freedombeforefi 

Related Episodes:
Ep. 88: Test Driving Retirement by Slow Travel (w/ Not Your Ordinary Plan) Link
Ep. 77: The 5 Tools For Designing Your Life (If You’re Feeling Stuck) - Link
Ep. 74: Crafting Your Best Life Now Before FI w/ Justin Peters of the FI Minded Podcast - Link

Listen to FBF on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/freedom-before-fi-life-design-purpose-sabbaticals-coast/id1740083285

Listen to FBF on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0XxPgEeuGayTqaEwUE19mk?si=cc8639ad8c28474e

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice

FIRE SPARK Retreat Teaser: The Retreat will be held in August 2026 on the Gold Coast of Australia. It's a weekend getaway for the FI Community to make new friends, learn from the community and get inspired on their journey to FI. On this special episode I’m joined by the founder Brenda James who will tell us a bit more about the retreat and what to expect (in case anyone is interested to join, links to registration are below). I’ll also be joined by Scott of the Scott on Fire Blog who’ll be speaking at the event. Brenda will then switch into interviewing mode and will be asking Scott and I some questions about our journey and our thoughts on the retreat. 

Come along and meet others on the path to inspire you to keep to your goals, gain insights, and enjoy the journey! 
Things you’ll learn:
Brenda will give a quick intro to the FIRE SPARK Retreat
She will then give further details of the day-by-day programme (7-9 August)
Scott and Brenda give insights of what participants learned on the previous FIRE SPARK retreat.
Brenda will then interview Scott and myself (for participants to get to know us a bit more)

FIRE SPARK Retreat (Links):
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FIRESPARKRetreat/
Retreat registration page: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1476532
Scott on Fire (Links):
Scott on Fire blog: https://scottonfire.com/
Freedom Before FI Links:
Free Guides: Download the free ‘Freedom Ideas’ Cheat Sheet and the free ‘Find Your Purpose’ worksheet at: https://freedombeforefi.com/free-guides/
Website: Check out our resources and services at www.freedombeforefi.com
Email: If you want to connect, send me a note at greg@freedombeforefi.com
Instagram: or send a DM at Instagram Link 
Linktree (all links): https://linktr.ee/freedombeforefi 

Listen to FBF on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/freedom-before-fi-life-design-purpose-sabbaticals-coast/id1740083285

Listen to FBF on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0XxPgEeuGayTqaEwUE19mk?si=cc8639ad8c28474e

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice

Meghan quit her high paying corporate tech job and downshifted to Barista FI and now works part time as an actual Barista in a coffee shop. She now has a less stressful job and has time to explore other hobbies like book writing and spending more time with her hubby. Meghan is the host of the awesome Everyday FI Podcast where she explores the lives of everyday people on their financial independence journey and she's based out in North Carolina, US.
Things you’ll learn:
About her part time Barista job 
Her FI Progress and Investing Strategy
Household income with husband
Savings rate after transitioning to Barista FI
Net worth and portfolio split
How she’s enjoying the journey now before getting to FI
Where she heard about FIRE
Career pivot from art historian to tech
Art historian salary v her tech salary
How she went from 55k to 150k in salary
Being a couple on the FI journey
How therapy was one of the best decisions for her
Why and how she quit her high paying tech job
Dealing with toxic bosses
Writing a post on Linkedin about quitting 
Getting depressed after not working 
What she does now outside of part time work
Perks of working in a coffee shop as a barista
Quick-fire round questions at the end:
Something she wished she done 10 years ago
Her daily habits that helped her in life
Her most important lesson in life
Her podcast recommendations
1-2 small things listeners can do this week to get started 
Meghan Combs (Links):
Website: https://everyday-fi.com/ 
Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everydayfi/id1747124228 
Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0FihxuhxKG9j4xBChlsLtj?si=dd017fcee8bb412c 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EverydayFIpodcast 
Freedom Before FI Links:
Free Guides: Download the free ‘Freedom Ideas’ Cheat Sheet and the free ‘Find Your Purpose’ worksheet at: https://freedombeforefi.com/free-guides/
Website: Check out our resources and services at www.freedombeforefi.com
Email: If you want to connect, send me a note at greg@freedombeforefi.com
Instagram: or send a DM at Instagram Link 
Linktree (all links): https://linktr.ee/freedombeforefi 
Related Episodes:
Ep. 88: Test Driving Retirement by Slow Travel (w/ Not Your Ordinary Plan) Link
Ep. 77: The 5 Tools For Designing Your Life (If You’re Feeling Stuck) - Link
Ep. 74: Crafting Your Best Life Now Before FI w/ Justin Peters of the FI Minded Podcast - Link
Listen to FBF on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/freedom-before-fi-life-design-purpose-sabbaticals-coast/id1740083285
Listen to FBF on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0XxPgEeuGayTqaEwUE19mk?si=cc8639ad8c28474e

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice

One of the ways you can enjoy your path to FI is by finding work you enjoy. That might involve quitting a career thats not serving you, or making some changes in your current work place. Today, we’ve got Ben Fox on the show to talk to us about career transitions. Ben is a career coach - based in New York - and his coaching niche is primarily helping senior software engineers break free from the golden handcuffs and into careers they love
Things you’ll learn:
Quitting his job and going full time as a solopreneur
First year as a solopreneur and struggles experienced
The power of joining online community / group programs
The power of having the right people around you when starting businesses
How he niched down to coaching tech professionals
Reasons why people go to him for coaching (their initial career struggles)
Coaching clients: example case studies
Case study 1: Garth: accountant of 23 years in toxic environment
Case study 2: Mel: mid 30s, 2 kids, 15 years in sales, but does not like it
Why we find it hard to quit jobs we hate
Advice for people struggling to leave the golden handcuffs
The risks of staying in a bad job
His coaching process outline
Creating healthy boundaries in your current job 
Quick-fire round questions at the end:
Something he wished they done 10 years ago
His daily habits that helped him in life
His most important lesson in life
His book recommendations
1-2 small things listeners can do this week to get started 
Ben Fox (Links):
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benfoxcoaching/
Website: https://benfoxcoaching.com/ 
Reverse Engineering you Job Search Video: https://benfoxcoaching.kit.com/jobsearch 
Freedom Before FI Links:
Free Guides: Download the free ‘Freedom Ideas’ Cheat Sheet and the free ‘Find Your Purpose’ worksheet at: https://freedombeforefi.com/free-guides/
Website: Check out our resources and services at www.freedombeforefi.com
Email: If you want to connect, send me a note at greg@freedombeforefi.com
Instagram: or send a DM at Instagram Link 
Linktree (all links): https://linktr.ee/freedombeforefi 
Listen to FBF on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/freedom-before-fi-life-design-purpose-sabbaticals-coast/id1740083285
Listen to FBF on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0XxPgEeuGayTqaEwUE19mk?si=cc8639ad8c28474e

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice