Distractions that stop people from progressing....

What distractions do you think stop people from progressing with property investment?

 

I think one can get distracted, especially in accumulation phase, if one doesn’t have a detailed strategy/plan and if one doesn’t measure progress against that plan on a regular and frequent basis.

I am in retirement/financial independence phase. I still measure my cash reserves at least once a month and my net worth at the end of every Quarter.

IMHO, it is pretty hard to get distracted when one does this.

 

Busy day job and not having a specific detailed strategy

 

I think that certain online sites that I won't mention because they are rude are a destraction to progression.

One can be researching their next IP purchase when evil thoughts suddenly come to mind. The next thing a new window opens and with a few taps of the keyboard, you're there!

And for the next 8 hours or so you're stuck. So being strongly focussed on the job is vitally important. Do not be distracted by pop ups either. Time management is important and stick to the task. What the

 

property forums and questions on distractions

 

major health issues in the immediate family

 

Why is anything a distraction? Maybe they just don’t want to do it or don’t care. People have different priorities.

 

Life!

Life, gets in the way. Property investing is lumpy and it takes many years to build a large holding. It's not like shares where you can invest a small amount each month. You need a big chunk for your deposit, then it could be quite some time before you are able to do something again, and for many, once they've bought a property, even if they intend to buy more, there's not a lot they are ABLE to do for a long time, and so it gets pushed to the back of the mind.

Being involved in something like this forum helps keep you focused, but even then people drift in & out, even those who have a large holding can get distracted, or find new things to focus on......and then someone can say something & they do a quick google & they are back on the ball again, or the market starts to turn & they start their research for the next acquisition or sale.

 

Photography!

 

Negative people , negative friends cos they lead to negative thoughts .. ....thus it is imperative you need to be able to spot one when you see one and then run for the exit!

 

Kids

 

Like any long term goal, its low or negative rewards up front with an uncertain outcome. Sometimes you just need faith.

 

A lot of stuff. Life can sometimes throw a gold nugget but it could hit you in the head which would be pretty distracting.. also painful.

Health issues is the biggest distraction. Often little can be done about it. That sense of being powerless is the worst feeling ever. But then it gets better, and distraction is gone.

Family, sometimes. But it is rewarding when they can be helped and assisted. Also they make an awesome cheering squad.

Annoying people, often are a distraction. But it’s easy to learn to avoid them.

 

Cruises get in the way! I've recently decided to spend 1 year traveling on back to back cruise ships and may continue indefinitely if I enjoy it. Doing this will be a distraction and stop any progression with property investment however I'm already retired so I'm focused on spending my money and enjoying it before I die. I guess it depends what stage you're at and if you're still accumulating.

 

Some bad luck and timing can put people off investing for life.

For eg. Someone who went hard investing in Perth property market over last 10 or so years only to see themselves in negative equity with no end in sight would be put off property investing and sometimes investing in general for life no matter how much you try and convince them.

For them best place to put money is in bank fixed deposit.

Cheers,
Oracle.

 

^^^^^ Aaah, but a simple solution would be to invest interstate or even the United States.

 

You better stop reading threads on PC then .

 

Kids.

Biggest distraction ever. Especially when you have a few of them, and they all start getting older and wanting to do everything and start costing more.

The thing about kids is that they are always causing parents to reassess their priorities. This can be good or it can be bad. And its a continual process.
Its incredibly easy to get distracted from your investment goals when you have kids.

 

Your kids are your investment imo ... they might not return dollars but they enrich your life more than any bank balance ever will.

For some though, it can actually be the driver of wealth creation...although it mostly comes at cost to family relationship imo.

 

Property is long term.

You don't see the benefits real quick.

As @skater said - its not like shares. Its that 'dopamine' hit that comes with quick gains, which property doesn't provide.

Often, people get caught up in their careers. Life gets too busy, with some having to work long hours.

Also, people don't have the exact steps they need to take, which will get them from Point A to Point B.

So, what needs to happen for someone to get past the distractions?

if you were distracted, what changed for you?