Money & a Good Life

Retirement planning beyond the numbers with Brad Fox

For most people, the one thing they worry about in retirement is money. Have I saved enough? Can I afford to stop working? When can I access my super? But what if that's the wrong place to start? In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Brad Fox Managing Director of Smart Brave Consulting, Chairman of Tribeca Financial, and one of the most respected voices in Australia's financial services industry to rethink what retirement actually means. Brad believes retirement is a phase of life that raises big questions about identity, purpose, time, and meaning. And while the money matters, the mindset matters more. What we talk about: * What retirement is actually about beyond "the moment you stop working" * Why starting with a narrow financial definition is limiting and sometimes harmful * How retirement looks wildly different depending on the person * Why there's no single "right" version of retirement * What separates people who thrive in later life from those who struggle * Odyssey Planning—a tool developed at Stanford for approaching retirement * Why Odyssey Planning is so powerful for this life transition * The process of imagining three different five-year futures * Why prototyping your retirement is better than locking into one big irreversible decision * Why engaging imagination is an important and often missing part of retirement planning * Factors beyond finances that create a "good" retirement * Why longevity and happiness aren't just about money * Autonomy, contribution, and growth as major drivers of wellbeing * How people keep learning and growing once their career stops structuring their lives If you've been thinking about retirement purely through a financial lens, this conversation will challenge you to think bigger about purpose, identity, and what you actually want the next chapter to look like. Here's to your Good Life. And thanks for listening. You can find us at https://www.tribecafinancial.com.au/ [https://www.tribecafinancial.com.au/]  Our guest:  Brad Fox, Chairman Tribeca Financial, Managing Director Smart Brave Consulting  Connect with Brad: linkedin.com/in/bradfox1 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfox1]  Visit Brad’s website: smartbraveconsulting.com [http://www.smartbraveconsulting.com/]  Our hosts:  Ryan Watson, CEO, Tribeca Financial   Follow Ryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-watson/  Stephanie Coombes, podcast expert and media strategist  Follow Steph: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-coombes-62903825/   Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd, ABN 54 604 005 209 trading as Tribeca Financial has been appointed as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No.1008603) of My Dedicated Advisory. My Good Life ® is a registered trademark of Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd.   Advice given in this podcast is general in nature and is not intended to influence decisions about investing or financial products. Our listeners should always seek their own professional advice that considers their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.  Tribeca Financial acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Feeling safe with money again with Bec Allan

Have you ever noticed that you can do everything right with money but still feel like you're getting nowhere? You do the budgets. You save. You try to be disciplined. And yet, somehow, it still feels hard. Like you're second-guessing yourself. So what's going on? In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan welcome back Bec Allan—money coach and mortgage broker who works with people who aren't necessarily bad with money, but feel stuck, overwhelmed, or quietly stressed about it, even when things look fine on paper. Bec explores why money can feel so difficult, especially when the world feels uncertain, and what we can actually change to make things feel easier. What we talk about: * Bec's story from earlier in life, when she was pregnant with her daughter * Whether Bec is seeing more money anxiety at the moment * Why behaviour matters more than knowledge for most people * How people can have the best budget in the world and still not follow it * What financial safety actually feels like * How to stay calm when things feel out of control * Making money feel simpler when it usually feels complicated and overwhelming * Where to start if you want to strip things back * One habit or shift that tends to have the biggest impact for clients If you're doing the "right" things financially but still feel stressed, anxious, or like you're getting nowhere, this conversation will help you understand why, and what to do about it. Here's to your Good Life. And thanks for listening. Find us at www.tribecafinancial.com.au Our guest: Bec Allan, Mortgage Broker and Money Coach Connect with Bec on LinkedIn  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bec-allan-b2653690/] Follow Bec on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iambecallan/] Visit Chamberlain & Co’s website [https://www.chamberlainandco.com/]  Our hosts:   Ryan Watson, CEO, Tribeca Financial   Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-watson/]  Stephanie Coombes, podcast expert and media strategist   Connect with Steph on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-coombes-62903825/] Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd, ABN 54 604 005 209 trading as Tribeca Financial has been appointed as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No.1008603) of My Dedicated Advisory. My Good Life ® is a registered trademark of Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd.   Advice given in this podcast is general in nature and is not intended to influence decisions about investing or financial products. Our listeners should always seek their own professional advice that considers their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.   Tribeca Financial acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Retiring early and actually living your life with Christine Wagner & Steve Kruk

Early retirement sounds like the dream. No alarm clock. No commute. No bosses. But for some people, it also feels out of reach. And even if you could retire early, would you actually know what to do with your time? Because it turns out, stopping work is the easy part. Figuring out how to live well without it, that's where things get interesting. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Christine "Wags" Wagner and Steve Kruk, a couple who both spent more than three decades at Ford before retiring in their 50s with teenage daughters, busy lives, and no intention of slowing down. They loved their jobs. But they realised they didn't want to wait any longer to actually live their lives. What we talk about: * Why they walked away from long, successful careers they actually enjoyed * Why early retirement is as much about emotional readiness as financial preparedness * Whether they had a plan to get out * Why people don't treat time with enough respect * How retirement gives you a clear sense that your days are finite * The confronting reality of 7,300 days in a 20-year retirement * Why most people avoid thinking about finite time altogether * The weird social reactions to early retirement * Being in the "hobby phase" and what that actually entails * Finding yourself busier than you were while working * Personal goals they're trying to hit * Setting collective and independent goals to balance big aspirations with day-to-day life * How new interests emerge (gardening, learning guitar, curating plants) * The importance of investing in relationships and friendships * Learning to spend money as a practiced skill * Recognising that without health, life quality deteriorates * Talking positively and proudly about being retired If you've ever questioned your own timeline or wondered whether early retirement is realistic, this conversation will challenge your assumptions and show you what's possible. Here's to your Good Life. And thanks for listening. Find us at www.tribecafinancial.com.au Our guest: Chrstine Wagner & Steve Kruk  Our hosts:   Ryan Watson, CEO, Tribeca Financial   Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-watson/]  Stephanie Coombes, podcast expert and media strategist   Connect with Steph on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-coombes-62903825/] Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd, ABN 54 604 005 209 trading as Tribeca Financial has been appointed as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No.1008603) of My Dedicated Advisory. My Good Life ® is a registered trademark of Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd.   Advice given in this podcast is general in nature and is not intended to influence decisions about investing or financial products. Our listeners should always seek their own professional advice that considers their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.   Tribeca Financial acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Why we make irrational money decisions (and how to stop) with Evan Lucas

We all like to think we're rational when it comes to our finances. But the truth is, most of our money decisions are driven by emotion, family history, and psychology. So does that mean we're trapped by our brains? Forced to make illogical decisions from now until eternity? Not necessarily. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Evan Lucas, behavioural finance specialist, media commentator, author of Mind Over Money, and host of the podcast Exchanges with Evan Lucas to explore how our emotions and cognitive biases affect our money decisions and why we sometimes act against our own best interests. If you've ever wondered why you keep making financial decisions you know aren't ideal, or how to build better financial habits that actually stick, this conversation reveals the psychology behind the patterns and how to change them. What we talk about: * What behavioural finance is in simple terms and why it matters * Common irrational financial decisions that sensible people make * Why we continue making financial decisions we know aren't ideal * What's happening psychologically in those moments * What delayed return decisions are and why they're important * How much of our financial behaviour is shaped by family history, heritage, and economic environment * Behavioural patterns across generations, how baby boomers handle finances differently to Gen X * Separating short-term market noise from long-term financial strategy * For people in their 40s or 50s juggling mortgages, ageing parents, and teenage kids—one financial behaviour Evan wishes more people would adopt * What Evan has learned about how people really want to engage with money through his career communicating complex financial ideas If you've ever self-sabotaged with money or struggled to stick with good financial habits, this episode will help you understand why it happens and what you can do about it. Here's to your Good Life. And thanks for listening. Find us at www.tribecafinancial.com.au Our guest: Evan Lucas, behavioural finance specialist, media commentator, author of Mind Over Money, and host of the podcast Exchanges with Evan Lucas Follow Evan on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/evanlucas_/] Connect with Evan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-lucas-44a25316/] Visit Evan’s website [https://evanlucas.com.au/]  Our hosts:   Ryan Watson, CEO, Tribeca Financial   Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-watson/]  Stephanie Coombes, podcast expert and media strategist   Connect with Steph on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-coombes-62903825/] Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd, ABN 54 604 005 209 trading as Tribeca Financial has been appointed as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No.1008603) of My Dedicated Advisory. My Good Life ® is a registered trademark of Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd.   Advice given in this podcast is general in nature and is not intended to influence decisions about investing or financial products. Our listeners should always seek their own professional advice that considers their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.   Tribeca Financial acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Cashflow hacks #2 with Matthew Rea

Today we're revisiting a topic that's greatly improved lives, including Steph's. It's probably the easiest change you can make to your finances with the greatest impact: cashflow. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan bring back Matt Rea to go through the fundamentals of cashflow and dig a little deeper into how it actually works in practice. If you've ever felt broke despite earning a good salary, struggled with lifestyle creep, or wondered why money feels so hard to manage, this conversation will give you the practical framework to change that. What we talk about: * What cashflow actually is (and what people usually get wrong about it) * Quick 101 on how to set up a cashflow system * Understanding what it costs you to live * Separating fixed costs from discretionary expenses * The power of automating your finances * "Pay yourself first" and what to do with surplus cashflow * Setting up your own pool of discretionary money * Can you be financially healthy without natural discipline? * What happens when clients can't stick with a cashflow system * The difference between earning more money and managing money better * Why someone on a good salary can still feel constantly broke * Why lifestyle creep feels invisible while it's happening If you want practical, actionable steps to take control of your money without feeling restricted, this episode breaks it down clearly. Here's to your Good Life. And thanks for listening. You can find us at https://www.tribecafinancial.com.au/ [https://www.tribecafinancial.com.au/]Our guest: Matthew Rea, Senior Adviser/Partner, Tribeca Financial  Connect with Matt here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/financial-adviser-melbourne/]   Learn more/book a meeting here [https://www.tribecafinancial.com.au/best-financial-planners-matthew-rea/]  Our hosts: Ryan Watson, CEO, Tribeca Financial  Connect with Ryan here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-watson/]  Stephanie Coombes, podcast expert and media strategist Connect with Steph here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-coombes-62903825/]  Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd, ABN 54 604 005 209 trading as Tribeca Financial has been appointed as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No.1008603) of My Dedicated Advisory. My Good Life ® is a registered trademark of Tribeca Collective Pty Ltd.  Advice given in this podcast is general in nature and is not intended to influence decisions about investing or financial products. Our listeners should always seek their own professional advice that considers their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions. Tribeca Financial acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.