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:

1. Something he wished they done 10 years ago
2. His daily habits that helped him in life
3. His most important lesson in life
4. His book recommendations
5. 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:

1. Something she wished they done 10 years ago
2. Her daily habits that helped her on journey
3. Her most important lesson in life
4. Her book recommendations
5. 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