Millionaire #128

What is your net worth? 1,384,000

At what age did you become a net worth millionaire? 35

What region of New Zealand do you live in? Nelson

How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? Property - home we own with no mortgage and two rental properties. Plus savings, KiwiSaver and shares. My husband is a part-owner in a business that we work in but we don’t include the business value in our personal net worth.

What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? $1,961

What is your career? Manager in the field of engagement and partnerships.

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? $930,000

Are you debt free now? NO

If NO, how much debt do you have and what is it for? Above the debt free home we live in we have two homes worth $1,310,000 with mortgages of $940,000.

Are you in KiwiSaver? YES

Were you taught about money? NO

What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? I find it hard to enjoy our financial freedom after growing up with a single parent where money was a constant struggle. It has made me very cautious with money and I find it hard to justify spending on things just for fun or enjoyment.

Do you use your money or your time to help others? YES

If YES, can you please elaborate. Since having my first child at 20 I’ve been involved in the community and voluntary sector professionally and personally. One of our rental properties was a purchase purely for the purpose of housing my mother who lives solely on her pension and has no assets and cannot afford market rent. We subsidize her living at a cost of $300 per week. Our other rental is also rented below market rent to an older couple, this just ended up happening and it’s definitely our worst financial decision!

What is your greatest financial win? My husband and I have had lots of small wins. He’s grown up in a different position to me with a well off family and the chance to buy into the family business. I’ve worked for everything I’ve got, I’ve never had financial backup and seeing my mum struggle so hard and my father being so bad with money showed me how I didn’t want to live, so I guess inadvertently they did each teach me about money. One of my best decisions was to study as a young mum at home with my kids. I worked part-time and studied part-time while being a full-time mum (no daycare). I was determined not to have a big student loan so I paid for as much as I could as I went. Investing in myself has meant that I’m now in a very well paid job which has enabled us to help my mum and start to seriously build our investments.

What is your worst financial mistake? Not fighting harder when I got divorced. My ex-husband had legal fees covered by family and I had no one and virtually nothing at that stage so I had no chance but to let him take most of our assets because I could not afford the legal fees to fight for a fairer deal.

What advice do you have for others? Don’t borrow to fund your lifestyle, don’t stretch yourself to get a bigger, better house, car, etc. I read every book I could find about how to live a frugal life back as a 20-year-old first-time mum. It set me in good stead because I’m considerate about everything I spend. Also, know what you want for your future, we’ve really only just started being intentional about our financial goals and knowing what it will cost you to have the life you want when you’re retired is so important.

What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? It’s just a step towards financial freedom. We want to retire early and enjoy our lives together while we are young enough to be fit and healthy. Financial freedom means choice and choice is something I place a lot of value in.

Finish these sentences:

If you want to build wealth do this… Know where you spend your money and be intentional about it if you don’t know where to start, read and research!

If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… Borrowing to fund lifestyle.

Millionaire #129

Millionaire #127