What is your net worth? 1,430,000.00
At what age did you become a net worth millionaire? Not sure, probably 3 years ago - aged 45 and 48
What region of New Zealand do you live in? Auckland
How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? Capital gains in house, KiwiSaver and shares.
What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? $2,000 (before kids)
What is your career? Customer Service and Management
Do you have children? YES
Do you have a tertiary qualification? YES
Did you inherit any of your money? YES
If YES, how much did you inherit? $385,000
What's the approximate value of your house? $1,650,000.00
Are you debt free now? NO
If NO, how much debt do you have and what is it for? Mortgage $282,000
Are you in KiwiSaver? YES
Were you taught about money? NO
What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? When it’s possible, travel!!
Do you use your money or your time to help others? YES
If YES, can you please elaborate. Charitable giving
What is your greatest financial win? Reading The Barefoot Investor for years and becoming interested in personal finance.
What is your worst financial mistake? Loads!!
When my husband and I got together we each had a house and then bought one together. The banker said why don’t you keep the other two rather than sell them? Freaked out by a large mortgage (well under a million but on two good incomes) we sold the other two and only had our house. My old place was in a great school zone and large enough to be subdivided. It’s now worth mega bucks and my mortgage on it was tiny. Oh well!!
What advice do you have for others? Wasting $27 a day (which is super easy to do) adds up to almost $10,000 a year - scary!
What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? Nothing really, my aim is to be mortgage free. We’ve just reduced our mortgage term to 9 years. I’m aiming to have it gone by 55 and 58.
Finish these sentences:
If you want to build wealth do this… Hang on to your houses if you can afford to!
If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… Try to keep up with The Joneses. It will only make you feel rubbish and ruin your goals.
If these questions don’t adequately tell your story, feel free to briefly elaborate here: I’m a spender and I recommend PocketSmith. It keeps me on track and changes my behaviour. I look at it at least three times a week!