What is your net worth? $1,700,000 +
At what age did you become a net worth millionaire? 39
What region of New Zealand do you live in? Waikato
How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? Properties (x 2) $1,400,000. KiwiSaver $150,000+. Shares $20,000+. Heavily depreciated boat/vehicle $130,000 and some cash on hand as an emergency fund.
What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? $2,000
What is your career? Self Employed Consultant
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? $125,000
What's the approximate value of your house? $975,000
Are you debt free now? NO
If NO, how much debt do you have and what is it for? $110,000 still owing on a holiday home but that will be paid off in <3 years based on current repayments.
Are you in KiwiSaver? YES
Were you taught about money? YES
If YES, how were you taught? Heavily influenced by my father who is a meticulous saver. He always told me to watch my pennies and the pounds would look after themselves; and that I should always pay myself first. Would love to say I listened to his advice when I first started working, but that would be a lie! It was a good 13 years before I took heed of his advice. The point to make though is that when I did start saving, I never stopped - even through long periods of financial adversity (ill health and receiving a sickness benefit).
What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? Both my partner and I have had considerable periods of ill health and sizable setbacks in life (including divorce/losing pretty much everything and cancer), so we have probably been more fickle with our money than we might ordinarily have been. Inherently though one of us is a spender (me), and the other a saver (partner) - so it's been a hard fought battle at times to get to this point but we feel hopeful of a happy, healthy (financially and physically) and fulfilling retirement when our time comes.
Do you use your money or your time to help others? YES
If YES, can you please elaborate. We coach/manage kid's sports teams year-round; plus we donate a percentage of our annual income to charity. It feels really good knowing that our hard work and saving can help those less fortunate.
What is your greatest financial win? $120,000 gifted by one set of parents + $240,000 insurance payout for cancer.
What is your worst financial mistake? Buying a new car and a $150,000 boat that costs $400+ to fill up every other weekend in summer. But we are making wonderful family memories and if I'm honest, it's been worth every cent of that insurance payout.
What advice do you have for others? Have insurance! Partner's cancer had one silver lining - we were insured. All those years of paying our premiums and thinking it was all for nothing; it proved to be one of THE best decisions we'd ever made in taking out that policy.
What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? It doesn't mean too much at this point in life as it's all 'on paper' really. We have a young family and so we are more fixated on creating meaningful experiences/memories - probably because of the setbacks we've been through ourselves. That said, I am able to work part-time and that's something we never dreamed was possible. It's a nice balance between working and the school run :) Long term though, it gives peace of mind that 'we've got this' and our retirement will be comfortable.
Finish these sentences:
If you want to build wealth do this… Pay yourself first. Every payday. No exception. Deduct it automatically from the source so you won't even miss it. It's incredible how quickly it all adds up.
If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… Buy new cars and boats! (Do as I say, not as I do!) ;)