What is your net worth? $1,700,000
At what age did you become a net worth millionaire? 45/46
What region of New Zealand do you live in? Wellington
How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? Property initially but have become very interested in other options.
What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? Under $1,000
What is your career? Manager in a small private Health Care Company.
Do you have children? YES
Do you have a tertiary qualification? NO
Did you inherit any of your money? YES
If YES, how much did you inherit? $440,000
What's the approximate value of your house? $1.3 Mil
Are you debt free now? NO
If NO, how much debt do you have and what is it for? $640,000 on a new build that was completed this year and rented out.
Are you in KiwiSaver?: YES
Were you taught about money? YES
If YES, how were you taught? Self-taught really. But my parents gave me $6 a week from the age of 12 and using that I then had to purchase and save for anything I wanted (except for school items).
What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? Family outings and holidays.
Do you use your money or your time to help others? YES
If YES, can you please elaborate. Just small donations currently when asked (very small) but I do want to do more.
What is your greatest financial win? Getting started at a young age, saving and being very frugal to pull together $1,000 to purchase a first apartment to rent out before leaving to do OE.
What is your worst financial mistake? Not starting KiwiSaver earlier.
What advice do you have for others? I think just the basic advice of just getting started and learning how to budget so you can always save 10% of your income. I think starting with reading Scott Pape's book The Barefoot Investor would help a lot of beginners on how to structure this. And of course reading the blogs on here, before moving on to how to invest.
What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? Financial freedom and not having to work in a job I hate. Also, love travelling and hope that we can one day travel the world again.
Finish these sentences:
If you want to build wealth do this… Just get started and as you start to see this money grow you become more motivated.
If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… Spending money on things you really don't need, really think about your purchases and DON’T buy if you don't have the money (cash).
If these questions don’t adequately tell your story, feel free to briefly elaborate here: Well I love listening to your podcasts as they describe people who have really had to work hard to get to where they are. I am just so astounded when families I know say they can't afford something when I know that both work full-time jobs bringing in huge double incomes. We feel very fortunate to be in the position we are in as I had bought an investment property early and when I met my partner in my mid 30's he had no property but had a very good deposit for one. When we started a family we went to a single income (and what would be considered a low income) and have managed on this since. In the early years I had a business and so felt very poor for a few years, some weeks having no income at all coming in, but we pulled through and now have no mortgage on our home. So, we had really made a decision that is what we wanted to do and at the time we received an inheritance we had got our mortgage down to $150,000 so I did feel like we cheated by using the inheritance to pay this off… Anyway, that's likely longer than you wanted :-) Also, we both travelled and lived overseas prior to meeting so we both always saved for our trips and of course still do. I definitely have plans to enable further travelling.