Financial Independence Podcast

Is Online Business Still Worth It in 2026?Captain FI sits down with Matt Raad from the eBusiness Institute to answer the big question on every digital entrepreneur's mind: has AI killed the online business model, or is it creating more opportunity than ever?Matt shares why it's now a buyer's market for websites, how savvy investors are picking up undervalued "diamonds in the rough" for as little as $5,000–$50,000, and why the old passive income playbook has evolved into something more active — but potentially far more rewarding. They cover what's working in 2026 (community-driven sites, lead gen, course businesses, search everywhere optimization), what's dead (mass AI-generated content blogs), and how AI tools like Gemini and Claude are changing the way online businesses are researched, built, and grown.Captain FI also shares a personal update — including selling off parts of his portfolio, reviving his email list, and doubling down on the assets that matter most. Plus, Matt makes the case for why online business remains one of the fastest paths to financial independence, especially for millennials navigating a tough economic climate.Whether you're just starting out or looking to scale, this episode is packed with practical, no-fluff advice on how to build real cash flow online in the age of AI.

For Episode 68 of the Captain FI Podcast we are changing things up a bit and hosting a podcast Takeover! I co-host a LIVE episode of the Catching up to FI podcast with Jackie Cumings Koski, recorded during the third annual FI Freedom Retreat in Bali hosted by Amy Minkley.This is an awesome episode with lots of powerful stories and life lessons across a wide variety of FI experience - from relatively new starters, to experienced retirees!

On board today is Michael Quan, author of the book The FirePlanner, and the man behind the popular Financially Alert blog and the Breakthrough Millionaire Podcast. Michael reached FIRE in his early thirties and It was actually only after he sold his IT company to a larger provider and inadvertently found himself back in a nine-to-five corporate job that he decided he was going to pull the pin and FIRE at age 36, which is pretty impressive. Post FIRE, these days, Michael is a stay-at-home dad in sunny San Diego. He loves raising his kids, spending time with his wife, and in his downtime, writing, podcasting, and financially coachinghis students and readers. Michael's latest project has been setting upand running a real estate investor mastermind group, which he does a couple of times a month.I really enjoyed my chat with Michael and he had heaps of awesome suggestions for learning resources and inspiration too!

Today, I have the absolute pleasure to be chatting toLiz from her awesome blog and amazing book that she wrote, Meet the Frugal Woods! Anyone who's been on the Captain FI blog knows that I'm a big fan of Liz and Nate, the Frugal Woods and they are literally living my dream!They have an acreage in rural Vermont, which they call theFrugalwoods. There, they're raising their two beautiful daughters and they participate in a whole bunch of wholesome things. They're always gardening, the kids are always in the garden, and it really just looks like an awesome lifestyle. Liz and her husband started working towards FI in 2014, both 29 at the time. They had white collar office positions and thought they were dream jobs but they realised they didn't actually feel fulfilled. They were forced to re evaluate and started to talk about other ways that they could live their lives. Something that they really wanted to do was live innature. They were in Boston and did not feel energised, they wanted to be in the woods.So they bought a property in rural Vermont in 2016 and have never looked back. Liz has since enjoyed freelance writing, working one on one with clients doing financial consultations, writing for the Frugalwoods blog and she published the book, Meet the Frugalwoods which has been extremely popular! This was a bit of a selfish interview as I wanted as much info as possible on Liz's homestead life so I can make this a reality for myself!

On board today is Phil Muscatello, the host and producer of theawesome podcasts, Shares for Beginners, Stocks for Beginners, ETFs for Beginners and Talking Companies.Phil is not from a finance background, but he wants to learn more about becoming a better investor. So he hopes that his listeners come along for the ride and don't make the same mistakes that he has. Phil actually has degrees in Media Production and Literary Studies. He played in some awesome, psychedelic, heavy rock cabaret bands in Sydney during the 80s, before moving into a more stable career in radio, working at the ABC, and TripleJ. Phil describes himself as a seventies punk boomer, he loves playing guitar, ocean swimming, cycling, going to the gym, and anything to do with technology. He grew up in Sydney, has always been interested in music, playing guitar, loves literature, arts and is an avid reader. He went to UTS in Sydney and became a little bit of a political radical. After leaving university with a media degree, there was a recession and a lot of depair, as well as very limited jobs in media, so he ended up driving taxis for a few years before starting a career in radio, moving into commercial radio and then started his own recording studio. He recorded one of the first podcasts in Australia, setting up his own server and fast forward to today, is still loving the podcasting! Phil was incredibly interesting and had a thing or two to teach me too!