All in Debt Free
I first heard from Andy when he was 29. He emailed with several questions and observations, and the bit that stuck with me most was that he was pretty keen to buy himself a car parking space as an investment. He writes for a living, so he writes a good email and through those, I got to see his thoughts evolve and the evolution of a workable financial plan.
This week I’m sharing the story of a central Hawke’s Bay couple Rach and Becs. They made the bold move to leave both of their families behind and move out of Auckland, headed for Hawke’s Bay so they could get ahead both financially and for a better work-life balance.
Over the years Janet, who is 59, has worked out that other people can be unreliable, so she is better to plan for her own success, instead of relying on others. She is a huge forward thinker and she spends time gently tweaking all aspects of her financial life to gently steer her waka where she wants it to go.
By working hard and being at the right place at the right time, Fatima had managed to buy several properties but there was a tipping point one day when she found herself seriously short on cash and having to borrow money from whanau. Fatima is not one to muck around, so she decided to implement some change and reintroduce some balance into her life.
I’m starting out this series of six new episodes with a woman that I know pretty well, the reason being that she is one of my sisters! I was particularly keen to catch her at an important milestone and we spoke on the eve of her last ever mortgage payment.
For the last episode in this series, I have once again reconnected with a few people that I’ve interviewed before. I like to check in on people and get a feel for the progress and changes they have made and I know you do too.
Jen freaked out at 49! She considered herself to be halfway through her life and had big concerns about what the other half might look like. A divorce halved her net worth and becoming a single mother introduced a whole heap of new challenges. She is now fast tracking to an early retirement at the age of 55 and is a wonderful example of showing just what a woman on a mission is capable of!
Jo is a busy Mum of a two year old, they had just returned from an overseas trip and she is juggling parenting with a 30 hour work week, while her partner is working as well. She was encouraged into buying property at a young age but is now discovering new ways to invest outside of what she knows, housing.
Tracy was on a debt repayment marathon, trying to pay down $94,278 of consumer debt. When we spoke she was down to $10,471.11 of debt and the sprint to the finish line was on! She is one determined and focussed lady.
Dale and Dean were ambling along just fine until Dean realised that soon he would be 50 and he became determined that he wanted to be debt free before his birthday.
Farrel and Chihiro are a great example of how to get two people with completely opposite money personalities on the same page. One was a spender and one was a saver and it would have remained that way unless an ultimatum was given: Either shape up or ship out!
I get a lump in my throat when I think about Tracey, her family and the journey they have been on together. Back in 1996, she had no money, she had less than no money actually, she was in debt.
Sandra and Paul have both saved up, whittled down their lives to an 11kg backpack each, quit their jobs and transitioned into a new life of travel, adventure and a location-independent lifestyle.
