False Prosperity

You most certainly can in Perth, 7-10 km from city. Wont last

 

but its so sweet when you ‘gamble’ and win. And you can lose by not participating.

Though with no margin call low interest loan is a safer way than most to do it.

 

i NORMALLY rescue my investment cash at about 150% profit , and reinvest it elsewhere ( if i can find a suitable place )

now large amounts in the bank is where i have concerns especially after the Greece and Cyprus events , it is one thing if a bank fails , it is obnoxious when national government steps in , but totally worth remembering when international entities start force restrictions on citizens bank funds ( when they have committed NO crime )

now of course when several asset classes appear to be in bubble territory , the normal reaction is to dampen down liquidity ( and easy credit ) often causing a run of the bank deposits .

will i be rushing to cash , NO not me , i have been calmly accumulating cash ( mainly because sensible places to invest it are hard to find ) , but am also still willing to take an opportunity should one arrive

i am retired so ideally i need that cash working , without excessive risk and YES i realize i am looking at huge 'paper losses ' should the bubble pop , but in 2020 i learned i could make enough sensible choices , to claw out an extra gain , i am ready to try again ( hopefully wiser ) in the next dip .

in normal times i would start looking at bonds and hybrids , but are these normal times , even by future metrics

 

Yeah its good. Easy money, that's life though.

 

I'll just sit on my couch eating potato chips and downing my coffee and I might get lucky to be wealthy one day.

It's total hogwash.

 

I think both, there is luck and skill

But you still need to be proactive, take action

I also understand some things are out of our control ie divorce, health issues, made redundant etc etc. This will certainly impact on outcome..... lucky or not so lucky????

 

my skill is to know when i am lucky ( and take some profit off the table ) ( and the wisdom to learn from when i am NOT )

 

The more opportunities you engage in, the 'luckier' you will become.

Then there are life's major curve balls such as major illness, death etc. And those factors definitely can take it's toll. But let's be serious, who here hasn't been affected by some major curve balls life has thrown our way? I think most people will experience these events throughout their lives .

At the end of the day, if you don't get off your ass and take action, you're not going to build any wealth.

 

I agree, have also seen a couple of friends that never recovered from their low curve balls.

Depends, what it is and age will be significant

Imagine losing a business in your late 50s, through no fault of your own, covid. How do you recover at this age, how do you even source finance

I am just saying, its not an even playing field. Luck most certainly plays a part in life regardless

Who you marry? I know people whose partner holds them back from investing, that’s life

 

I completely agree, luck plays it's part. To think it has no part whatsoever is naive.

And your partner can either make you or break you.

 

As the old basketball saying goes:

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.​

 

My favourite and so true: "success is not a game of luck, but willpower".

 

Quite ironic that someone would complain that capitalism has prevented them from buying a home.

Firstly, capitalism is defined as a system of private ownership. In the alternatives to capitalism, there is no private property ownership.

Any affordability issues, are a direct result of government and central banking policies. If we had a pure free market system, we wouldn't even have central banks to create the inflation that is making it hard to buy property in the first place. If we had a pure free market, interest rates would be higher, and housing would be cheaper.

But I digress.

Yes, I suspect you are right about political pressure leading to interference. But unless they deal with the root cause of the problem (their own policies - artificially low interest rates, and other "stimulus" measures), governments would just be pushing the problem into a different area of the market or the economy (ie, perhaps pushing the problem into rentals).

 

It is simple:

My in-laws lost everything and had to go bankrupt in their mid to late 50’s (my FIL is 88, my MIL has passed).

The first thing we had to work on was their attitude, their mindset, their inner thoughts, ... They were both absolutely and totally NEGATIVE.

They moved up from NSW and lived with us for years. Over time, we encouraged them to process their bitterness/grief, we eradicated most/all of their negativity, ...

Slowly they turned and started to become positive about the world, their position, their lives, ... We even set up a food business that they both worked in to support them on their journey.

My FIL now owns his own house outright, drives his favourite brand of car (a Benz), has cash in the bank, ...

As with most successes in life, GOOB (Get Off One’s Backside) works and is way more successful than the alternative.

 

Fantastic post. Thank you.

 

This is absolutely huge. As you know I've been bringing the topic of mindset/psychology up from time to time and most folks just aren't interested. Yet many are happy to discuss over and over again certain "sexy" topics . But to confront, analyse and discuss the very factors which influence all of our decision making and will largely determine how successful we'll be? Nup. Sorry, not interested

 

Effort and getting off your ass has very little do with anything. Capital earns vastly more than you can hope to earn working for someone.

If you bought a house at any time in the last 6 years you are definitely gambling with your life savings. No one in 2015 was to know that rates would be so savagely cut in such a ridiculous way and the absurd QE was to follow.

You won, that's nice for you, but implying those who didn't gamble or who don't want to gamble now are "lazy" is incredibly ignorant.

 

I don't know how you can say this nonsense and keep a straight face. The scary thing is, I believe you truly believe it.

 

practice?

we convince ourselves of our own realities.

 

This is true..... we humans are a flawed lot