What is your net worth? $2,400,000 (for us as a couple)
At what age did you become a net worth millionaire? 45
How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? We just attacked the mortgage hard for 20+ years, including putting in every spare bit of cash or little windfall, until the mortgage was gone. Then we started saving. Plus the property boom helped, which is pure luck. House $1,800,000, low fee index fund $300,000, KiwiSaver $150,000, shares $100,000
What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? $3,000
What is your career? Marketing
Do you have children? NO
Do you have a tertiary qualification? YES
Did you inherit any of your money? NO
What's the approximate value of your house? $1,800,000
Are you debt free now? YES
Are you in KiwiSaver? YES
Were you taught about money? YES
If YES, how were you taught? Small picture stuff like how to shop carefully at the supermarket. But no investment advice.
What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? My lifestyle block is like paradise to me and I marvel at how beautiful it is and I feel lucky every day to live there.
Do you use your money or your time to help others? YES
What is your greatest financial win? I have some investments in start-up companies, one of which is looking likely to deliver a $200,000 windfall. Plus the property boom has increased the value of my property by about $600,000 over the past decade or so.
What is your worst financial mistake? Investing $50,000 in a company that owed my business money. I lost it all, plus they never paid the bills they owed me. I took a $130,000 hit all up.
What advice do you have for others? I'm way more frugal than almost all of my friends, even the poor ones. My car is a beater (paid cash) and I rarely buy clothes. But I have earned well, which is partly luck, and the property boom is pure luck. I would say “slow and steady wins the race” - I shovelled money hard into the mortgage for frickin decades!
What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? It doesn't mean much. $1,000,000 is not actually a lot of money. We need more than that to buy a decent house, so I still don't have enough saved for our retirement. We will need to downsize our house as well as saving more in order to retire (I don't want to work to 65).
Finish these sentences:
If you want to build wealth do this… Live simply most of the time. You will enjoy the splurges even more. Look after the pennies and the pounds really do take care of themselves - it surprises me how many people fritter money, thinking it's inconsequential because it's not thousands of dollars. That shit adds up! Things that are good for the soul - like a walk on the beach, or doing something for someone else - are often not expensive.
If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… Don't take investment advice from people who don't have money.
If these questions don’t adequately tell your story, feel free to briefly elaborate here: Looking back on my answers I think I have got so used to being in accumulation mode that I don't know how to stop. I think I need to nail a figure of how much we need to retire, so I know when it's enough.