Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) Course

Welcome to the Rask Education FIRE course! The full program is divided into lessons and then topics. For example, the introduction lesson includes a few short topics. Some lessons or topics have short quizzes or actionable tasks at the end to test your knowledge as you go.…

1. Supercharged LearningLesson · 8 min
2. Key takeawaysLesson · 8 min
3. A bit about me (Kate)Lesson · 8 min

You’ve probably signed up to take this course because the idea of financial independence sounded intriguing. I mean, who wouldn’t be just a little curious. The Financial Independence Retire Early movement (which will be referred to as the FIRE movement or FI throughout this…

1. What is the FIRE movement?Lesson · 8 min
2. What does FIRE look like?Lesson · 8 min
3. FI vs FIRELesson · 8 min

Now that you understand a little about the concept of FIRE and what it means, we’ll dive a little bit deeper into whether it’s right for you. I often say that personal finance is just that, personal, and everyone’s situation is going to be different. There are, however, some…

1. What are the reasons people pursue FIRE?Lesson · 8 min
2. 10 things reflection activityLesson · 8 min
3. Common FIRE mythsLesson · 8 min
4. Are you prepared to change anything in your life to achieve FI?Lesson · 8 min
5. Setting financial independence goalsLesson · 8 min
6. Maximising the freedom and choices in your lifeLesson · 8 min

To reach financial independence, your investment portfolio needs to generate enough growth and income to cover your living costs and regular expenses every year. This is commonly done by utilising a range of different investment options including stocks, ETFs, property, managed…

1. Breaking down the 4% ruleLesson · 8 min
2. The paths to financial independenceLesson · 8 min
3. Case studies of Aussies on FIRELesson · 8 min
4. What could a path to FI look like for you?Lesson · 8 min

Now that you’ve got your head around the FIRE movement and what it’s all about, it’s important to start putting in the groundwork. Unfortunately, without addressing a few of these areas first, your FI/RE goal could become much harder to achieve. Regardless of your goals, the…

1. Eliminating bad debtLesson · 8 min
2. Changing your money mindsetLesson · 8 min
3. Sorting out your superLesson · 8 min
4. Building an emergency fundLesson · 8 min

Many people pursuing financial independence focus on either reducing their expenses or increasing their income. However, I think the best approach is incorporating them both into your plan. To ensure your path to FI is sustainable over the long-term, you don’t really want to…

1. Budgeting methodsLesson · 8 min
2. Simple budget winsLesson · 8 min
3. Knowing your money dialsLesson · 8 min
4. Increasing your incomeLesson · 8 min

Now that you’re sufficiently interested in the concept of financial independence and some of the key steps you’ll need to take to achieve your goal, it’s time to dive into the main ingredient: investing. If you want to shorten the time it takes to reach financial independence,…

1. Why is investing critical to reaching FI?Lesson · 8 min
2. Types of investmentsLesson · 8 min
3. Risk and diversificationLesson · 8 min
4. Building your FI investment planLesson · 8 min
5. Do Superannuation and FIRE mix?Lesson · 8 min

One of the less commonly discussed paths towards FIRE is starting a business. Whether that’s becoming a freelancer, a side hustle turned full-time business, starting a small business or becoming an entrepreneur, there are so many different avenues to creating your own job and…

1. What could starting a business look like?Lesson · 8 min
2. Creating a business planLesson · 8 min

When you start learning about the concept of financial independence, it’s easy to start wishing it could magically happen overnight. Unfortunately, even billionaires don’t reach that point overnight. There are many years of work leading up to that point. It’s important to get…

1. Micro-investing in AustraliaLesson · 8 min
2. Building financial resilienceLesson · 8 min
3. Risks of retiring earlyLesson · 8 min
4. Enjoying the journey to FIRELesson · 8 min

One of the best ideas that the FIRE movement advocates is intentionally designing your ideal life, even before you reach FI. By experimenting with your daily routine, hobbies, work, volunteering, exercise and education, you can start building a life that you truly love, without…

1. Hobbies and passion projectsLesson · 8 min
2. Changing the way you workLesson · 8 min
3. Volunteering & charityLesson · 8 min
4. Helping others learn about their financesLesson · 8 min

You’ve finally made it to the end of the FIRE course – congrats! What an amazing step you’ve taken to building a life that you love with a strong financial future. It’s crucial that you don’t stop now — keep your fire burning! I’ve included information on some potential next…

1. Keep your FIRE burning!Lesson · 8 min
2. FIRE course feedbackLesson · 8 min