Eight Rules Revisited #2: Your freedom number has 3 levers

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Episode two of Eight Rules Revisited continues the Thursday series comparing the eight golden rules from Stuart's 2018 book Investopoly with the updated versions in his new book, Wealth by Design, released on 28 July.

Rule 2 states that you must know how much income you need and by when. That principle hasn't moved. What has tightened considerably is everything surrounding it. The two goals now have proper names, the freedom number and the freedom date, and the underlying framework has shifted from a single retirement cliff to three distinct phases of working life, reflecting that most people today want to ease off gradually rather than stop abruptly.

Stuart explains why holding too little outside superannuation can quietly lock people into the all-or-nothing retirement they were trying to avoid, and why planning for at least 30 years of post-work life means growth assets need to remain part of the strategy well into retirement. He also breaks down why a $100,000 income target implying $5 million in assets is far less daunting once it's understood there are three separate levers available to pull, not just one.

The episode closes with a one-page exercise listeners can complete this week to produce a first version of their own freedom number and freedom date. The full worksheet and modelling method appear in chapter two of Wealth by Design.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

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