I’m delighted that #100 is from two wonderful people, Chris and Kazia. They were featured on episode #13 of my podcast: New Country New Life!
Well done you two!
What is your net worth? Approx $1,017,500 combined with my spouse
At what age did you become a net worth millionaire? 35 (Chris) and 33 (Kazia)
What region of New Zealand do you live in? Auckland
How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? We are heavily weighted towards property.
Own home: net worth - $736,000
Rental property: net worth - $154,000
KiwiSaver: Chris - $64,000
KiwiSaver: Kazia - $57,000
Investment Funds: $6,500
We have other sources of income from a side hustle and the income goes to paying off the mortgage.
What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? $2,400
What is your career? Registered Nurses
Do you have children? YES
Do you have a tertiary qualification? YES
Did you inherit any of your money? NO
What's the approximate value of your house? $1,000,000 approximately
Are you debt free now? NO
If NO, how much debt do you have and what is it for? $370,000 for own home loan and rental property home loan combined.
Are you in KiwiSaver? YES
Were you taught about money? YES
If YES, how were you taught? From family and parents:
Chris - yes there have been some situations where money and investing were discussed but not in great detail.
Kazia - has probably more experience with money growing up with an entrepreneurial-minded family.
School taught us a little bit, just the basics. We now learn more from books, research, blogs and podcasts.
What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? Travel! Definitely what we aim for.
Do you use your money or your time to help others? YES
If YES, can you please elaborate. In a way, I try to give my time to friends who always come to me to ask for advice and I don't expect anything in return. Having to share my knowledge and talk to them about money is quite satisfying enough.
What is your greatest financial win? Scoring a $10 a day cruise tour of Australia for 10 days! What would have been a $4,000 experience, we gladly paid only about $300 dollars including flights and purchases.
What is your worst financial mistake? It still bothered me to have bought a $14,000 car on finance.
What advice do you have for others?
1. Start saving young! Time is on your side.
2. Spend lavishly on what you really want and value, cut back ruthlessly on what you don't want or what is not important.
What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? It is a quiet milestone that means we are on track with our goals towards our FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) goal and being debt-free.
Finish these sentences
If you want to build wealth do this… Start investing in low-cost index funds in New Zealand and abroad. Invest for the long term and let compound interest work its wonders!
If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… DO NOT TIME THE MARKET and don't be a day trader!
If these questions don’t adequately tell your story, feel free to briefly elaborate here: So far I think that's it, Ruth. Most of our life story can be accurately summarized in episode #13 of your podcast New Country New Life! Cheers!