Blake and Allanah moved across the globe to pursue their next adventure in life. But when a family emergency forced the family of four to travel from Canada back to Australia, their financial problems became crystal clear. They were in debt, with no savings and needed to borrow money to travel. That's when they decided to educate themselves and get their finances on track. Now, they have a solid net worth, a savings rate approaching 50% and a full emergency fund saved. They have since launched the blog FIRE with a Family and Blake joined me for this week's episode to discuss their story.
This episode is brought to you by WalletHacks.com.
Family background
- Their focus on financial independence started in the fall of 2019
- They have been together for 16+ years and have two young kids
- Moved from Australia to Canada for work opportunities
Childhood
- Growing up didn’t have tons of money, as he started making money wanted to spend it
- Allannah grew up having what she needed, but family used credit cards when they needed
- Got in the habit of using cards based on what they witnessed, thought it was normal
Turning point
- Needed to travel to Australia for family emergency and needed to borrow money to travel
- Decided to turn things around and started to learn on YouTube: Marko at WhiteBoard Finance
Their relationship
- They had different approaches with finances but have come together to get on the same page with spending, balance each other out
- She had previously spent a lot on online shopping, several hundred dollars at a time, but her habits have changed slowly over time
- She listens to the Slow Home Podcast, living below your means concept
- They decided that they couldn’t continue to live in debt and worked out a plan over several months
- Started their blog and it helps hold them accountable, post new content each week
Started to learn about net worth
- Most of his net worth has been based on retirement funds through work
- Back-calculated to $230k in November 2019
- Now in March it’s increased to $300k
- Most of the gain is based on debt reduction
- Use high yield savings accounts for emergency fund
Savings rate focus
- Started to get close to 50% savings rate
- Would like to get to 60% and beyond in the next few years
- Have an full emergency fund and have saved for travel
- Looking to eventually focus on investing in ETFs
Budget changes
- Small adjustments have added up
- Focus on planning meals to save on groceries
- Travel has been scaled back, were spending a lot on weekend trips
- Going camping instead of going to hotels
- Try to wait 24 hours+ on purchases
Frugal vs cheap
- Has become more on the frugal end of the spectrum in recent months
- Frugal is focused on finding the best value
- Cheap is focused on spending as little as possible
Advice to people starting the path late
- Learn as much as possible, read books, listen to podcasts and audio books
- Investments can still compound and make a difference, you might just need to invest more
- Understanding your “why” is important
- Educating your kids about money is also something to focus on
Follow Blake and Allanah
FIRE with a Family blog: https://www.firewithafamily.com/
Instagram: @firewithafamily
