Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
If you don’t know who Dave Gow is, he’s the current author of the Strong Money Australia blog and Strong Money Australia book, which has sold over 30k+ copies in just under 2 years.
As a brief story, he started his FIRE journey at 19 years old and retired at the ripe age of 28 years old. Isn’t that amazing! Imagine retiring at 28 years old and never having to work again. Some of you will have mixed opinions on that, but I’m not here to speak about that.
I’m here to talk about why after reading 100s of FIRE related podcasts, listening to dozens of financial related podcast episodes and watching so many YouTube videos around reaching FIRE, budgeting, saving, investing, etc, I’ve come to the official conclusion that Dave Gow is the GOAT “FIRE blogger”.
If I were to choose only 1 resource to listen from, I’d be his blog articles and podcasts.
There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is that he simplifies everything to a T, uncovers bullsh*t going on in the media, regularly provides with stories of Aussies who’ve reached or on their way to FIRE, and literally practices what he preaches by staying retired and living mostly off of his dividend income from shares.
I also love how he had a very modest upbringing; he didn’t have rich parents, no large inheritances or even worked at a high-paying job. Just a humble 18 year old kid from Country Victoria that came to Perth to find work, only to realise 2 years into his job how miserable working 40+ years without any reward is draining.
Having the simple self awareness to realise that a change was possible…
That he didn’t have to live what society glorifies…
He chose a different path for himself and his future.
And I bet 100% his future-self is thanking him right now for making the right financial choices at a young age.
And for the record, he didn’t work as a doctor, lawyer, silicon valley software engineer, pharmacist, or a top-selling real estate agent.
He didn’t even have a side hustle.
On his journey to FIRE, he mainly worked as a forklift driver you see every day in supermarkets, earning a modest wage that amounted to less than six figures per year. As a matter of fact, his salary was on average $75k per year, which is just around the average Aussie wage mark.
Which brings me to my first point, which is…
As a modest income earner, Dave is the perfect example that you don’t need a high income to achieve FIRE
One of the most common misconceptions is that you need to be a “high-income earner” to achieve FIRE.
And if you earn anything below a six-figure salaried job, then it’s impossible to “get by” in Australia and you barely have enough to cover your basic living expenses, let alone save and invest 50-70% of your income.
If you’re new to FIRE, then I totally get why you think that. Especially as a lot of FIRE content creators or bloggers are working in jobs like software engineering, doctors, lawyers or earning big time from their six-figure side hustle.
Even Mr Money Moustache, the most prominent FIRE figure, was earning nearly six figures in the 90s as a software engineer, so you might look at that and go “well duh Mr Money Moustache can save 50% of his income since he’s working a high paying job”.
Here’s the truth though; if you a burning desire to reach FIRE, you will find a way to save 50-70% of your income to get to your destination. It’s like all other areas in life. If you truly want it that badly, I promise you will 100% do whatever it takes to get to your goal.
And that’s what I love about Dave; he never went to a prestigious Ivy League University. Heck, he never even graduated high school. And it’s not like he went out of his way to get a high-paying jo either. All he’s ever worked in is warehousing and forklifting. Literally the definition of “blue collar” jobs.
Nevertheless, he didn’t complain about his situation. Instead, his scary realisation of a bleak work future fuelled him to save and invest as much of his income as possible.
No he didn’t live like a Monk.
And yes he saved 60-70% of his income.
How?
By cutting out unnecessary crap in life he doesn’t need, optimising expenses like:
- Living in share room with his mates (huge money saver)
- Buying exactly what he needs at the grocery store
- Using a run down car til it broke down, instead of getting finance for a new luxury car he doesn’t need.
- Not buying other crap like a new iPhone, a new TV, a new lawn mower, sofas, beds, etc.
Saving a huge chunk of your income literally comes down to not falling for the modern daily consumerism trap, which means buying sh*t that you don’t need.
So if he can achieve FIRE, so can you. Simple as that.
Simplifies investing to a T
Property is a religion in Australia, and everyone including your mum and dad will tell you that property will at least 2x within the next 10 years, and leverage is the “golden standard” of investing.
Even buyer’s agents will obviously tell you that property is the best investment class, and I can’t 100% fault them especially if they made their wealth from property.
However, Dave doesn’t see it that way. As a matter of fact, he isn’t a “shares only” or “property only” type of guy. Why? Because he was experience investing in both asset classes.
When he first started FIRE, he actually first started investing into property, and will tell you first hand that yes, whilst leverage is a powerful mechanism for amplifies your returns and that you can make greater returns with property, it isn’t always a guaranteed that you’ll always get great returns.
And that couldn’t be more true. He doesn’t sell you hype, or promote his “get rich quick” course. Just real-world experiences and figures that gives you a better perspective on each asset class.
But the most important thing is that he makes investing so simple. Analysis paralysis is the biggest enemy of getting started in investing.
Things like choosing which ETFs to buy, when to “time the market”, small cap, large cap, tech ETFs, etc. Those things are all fluff.
Just literally pick the VGS and VAS, and invest in those 2 only. Those 2 ETFs are one the most popular and proven ETFs that basically track the major international and Australian market, and have consistently yielded solid returns.
Don’t overthink it and just get started! Simple as that.
Genuinely the most honest content creator
With the rise of “financial influencers” on YouTube, TikTok, it’s most often than not that they’re not actually producing the highest quality content.
Instead, you see more clickbaity titles that are nothing but a waste of your time, and wonder why there’s information overload.
What I truly love about Dave has a person and his content is that his life isn’t sold to the YouTube algorithm where he tries to make the most clickbaity content possible. Instead, he provides you with genuine advice, and spews out any bullsh*t in the media or common misconceptions.
For example, he calls out BS investments like mortgage funds, Crypto or even the overhyped property industry.
And I know I’ve already mentioned this, but his way of approaching finance is so doable for everyone.
And the best part is that he charges $0 for all his info. Like honestly, he could gift wrap that into a $1k course and make a sh*t load of money from doing so. But no, he believes in providing real-world advice for FREE, solely focused on helping the average Aussie break out out the rat race and achieve financial independence to create a better life.
Please support Dave by visiting his website at strongmoneyaustralia.com
I promise I am in no way affiliated with Dave. I’m just recommending his blog because I know personally he’s single handley responsible for helping me to shift my mindset and pursue FIRE.
