Millionaire #203

What is your net worth? $1,100,000

Are you filling this out as an individual or a couple? Couple

At what age(s) did you become a net worth millionaire? Briefly at 45 and 51 in 2021, thanks to the post Covid property boom. Dropped back to around $900,000 in 2022 and back to over $1,000,000 in 2024.

What region of New Zealand do you live in? Wellington region

How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? Predominantly our house, with the balance in KiwiSaver, a workplace superannuation scheme and various savings accounts.

What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? $2,300

What is your career? Property and Banking

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? Technically it was a gift of $100,000

What's the approximate value of your house? $940,000

Are you debt free now? NO

If NO, how much debt do you have and what is it for? Mortgage debt remaining is approximately $28,000 and we expect to have this paid off in six months (by February 2025).

Are you in KiwiSaver? YES

Were you taught about money? YES

If YES, how were you taught? A little bit from my Mum, a bit more from secondary and tertiary education, but mostly from self-directed researching.

What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? Live a comfortable lifestyle and support my kids.

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

If YES, can you please elaborate. I donate to charities when shopping when the shop assistant asks to add a $1 or so and also to the odd Give A Little campaign. My workplace allows volunteer leave which I always use.

What is your greatest financial win? Taking the time to track income and expenses and change some poor spending habits. I have been doing this for the last two years and am making gradual changes leading to an increased saving rate. I have created a financial plan for the remainder of my working years and it is motivating to see my future potential worth.

What is your worst financial mistake? Not joining KiwiSaver from the outset.

What advice do you have for others? Track your spending, create a budget, save as much as you can and use online savings calculators to see how compounding returns can benefit your future self.

What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? Since the bulk of my net worth is in my house which is the result of a ridiculous period of value growth, it's not a particularly meaningful figure to me. A more meaningful figure is how long I can survive on the rest of my wealth, which currently is not long at all, given much of it is locked up in super schemes. However, with my mortgage almost paid off I can see that this position will change rapidly in the coming years.

Finish these sentences:

If you want to build wealth do this… Be very mindful of what you spend. Does it serve or sabotage your future self? Don't procrastinate about saving for the future. When you're young it feels a long way off but each decade seems to fly by faster than the last!

If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… Taking on consumer debt. Save up for what you want. Avoid lifestyle creep.

If these questions don’t adequately tell your story, feel free to briefly elaborate here: I feel I am in a financially privileged position, but that to date I have fallen well short of my potential. I have been a spender for most of my life and have succumbed to lifestyle creep over the years. I have only become more disciplined with money management in the last two years and prior to that always operated with a very short term mindset. It is these new habits that I want to model for my children to give them the best chance at life, because I feel that getting ahead is much harder for today's young people.

Millionaire #204

Millionaire #202