How did your upbringing shape your attitude to investing and money..

No one ever taught me how to make money or invest,financial education was not on the public school curriculum that i went too,you just went to grade ten,, then most went into trade based employment..
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My first paid work was washing trucks at a truck stop at Rocklea in Brisbane my brother and myself would go early each weekend with our gear,from Semi to Semi each weekend use to take about 3 hours to wash the truck from back to front for 10 bucks sometimes the Truck driver would pity us and pay us 15 bucks,my next paid employment was pulling upmarket business people golf clubs around the Brisbane Golf course,on a good day you could do 2-- 18 holes rounds that would finish at 5 in the afternoon,then go back and find the brand new golf clubs they had lost and sell them too the golf pro for 25 cents each,who in turn would resell those balls for 75 cents we did this because our Father left us when i was 9 years old,it was very hard for my Mother,in the early 1970 you were looked down on if you were without a Father,so it made me at a very early age to focus on a longterm savings regime..

That upbringing taught me everything about life ,one of the business people i carried his clubs for several years and a very kind Man who ran a Plumbing Business gave me a start,put me through
TAFE,then i started my own businesses,started investing in property and other businesses in 1983
it's been a long road with a lot of bumps in between,but with the world today with it,s increasing connectivity massive amounts of information that comes out every minute and most times misinterpreted,so i guess it's not where you start or who you are,it comes down too the mindset and the ability to de-clutter to make clear decisions no matter what level of education you start off from..

 

I don't know where I learned about investing. Not my parents. All I remember is in high school (pre-internet), the real estate association published a weekly magazine with all the property listings for Perth. I used look for cheap properties and cash flow them out: loan amount, interest rate, rent and basic calculation of repayments after rent. Unfortunately, I wasn't earning enough to buy at that point, but I know I wanted to.

My parents were hopeless. They raised 5 kids on a single, low, income and we lived in employer subsidised housing most of our lives. They didn’t buy their first house until I was in high school.

My brother in law really inspired me to invest in property. When I first started uni he was buying up and selling development sites in Perth. He didn’t actually develop until his third property, a duplex in East Perth. Of course he is now in debt due to bad investment decisions

 

My parents were always middle class and will retire on a mix of super and aged pension.

Relying on either of those instruments scares the crap out of me so I certainly didn't get my financial skills from my parents. Countless other skills and values from them that I'm grateful for though.

 

When I was growing up I was taught money wasn't important. When I was studying at uni my parents told me to not get a job and focus on my studies. I hated what I was studying and really just bludged. I know my parents had the best intention in mind. In hindsight, I would have loved to start working and keep working as soon as I turned 14. At uni one of my mates was reading rich dad poor dad, that's where it all started for me. Meeting my partner actually put things into gear, he was business and realestate minded and then started all the re seminars and our education

 

The only financial lesson I learned from my parents is that they both exchanged thier time for low hourly rates.

I'd did not want this and started gambling in my early teens probably as a way to multiply money quickly.
Late teens was always looking at get rich quick methods and then started to discover small business in early 20's.
Took until 30 years old to start making serious money from business and finally break free from a job forever.

I do recall clearly recall though, that when I was about 5 or 6, that I had a very strong feeling I wild be rich one day, don't know where it came from, and I believe this is what shaped my actions to this day.

 

When I was 13 I was sent.. my older sister refused to go.. to pay the rent. My mother would put the money in my hand, look me in the eye and tell me 'this is dead money' ???? I thought I would die if I lost it....
Got my first job aged 14, and asked 'how much will you save'????? After 6 months with $200 ( Think of all the shoes I could have bought.. Marched into ANZ and put into term deposit for.. a rainy day.. I still don't like rain...

 

I came from a 'spend a bit now, but make sure you save for a rainy day' household. Problem was, 'saving' just meant put it in the bank, and I don't think anything else was ever an option.

So, for many years, that's what I did. But when I got my first home loan (PPoR, in 1999), I started learning about the difference between fixed and variable rates, and what putting extra into the mortgage could do to the balance, and the interest.

Unfortunately, things didn't really change for many years, and with a marriage breakdown, all the 'in front' money got sucked up in other 'stuff', but thankfully the CG the PPoR had gotten meant that I walked away from the whole experience with more than enough to start again. Thankfully, I've always been a great budgeter, so I was better off single than I was married (emotionally, and financially, but that's a whole other story ).

It's only been over the last few years that I've really started getting into a 'getting ahead' mindset. I see my mother on her $18,000 a year Govt pension and refuse to end up like that! I've worked too hard, for too long, for that to be my 'golden years'.

Today, one of my gorgeous Year 11's nailed it - "Miss, you're always telling us how important it is to look after our money. We need to make wise decisions about how to get it, use it, and make more of it. It's so exciting. Can you please tell me how to make my first million?"

I just wish that someone had taught me, at 17, what I know now……. If I have anything to say about it, the kids I teach now will have the chance to learn from my knowledge and experience. As I always say to my graduating Year 12's - "The first one to earn a million dollars, needs to come back and buy me a BMW".

Unfortunately, I'm still waiting (but with hope……. )

 

My dad was a businessman and always on the phone making deals and I would often watch him. Also I had been exposed at a young age to some great famiy friends who are very financially successful and they together with my dad greatly helped me to shape my philosophy, ideology, mindset and knowledge of investing. I would also listen to a lot of Jim Rohn, Les Brown, Dr Norman Vincent Peale, Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Earl Nightingale, and many others week in, week out. After awhile your kinda indoctrinated for success really, imo.

 

My uncle was my idol. He was in real estate. He had a massive house, aeroplanes, helicopters, old cars, new cars, and a Ferrari. For my 15th birthday, he gave my Dad his Ferrari for a few months. I was going to be rich like him.

And, perhaps I'm on track too. Sacrificed everything to earn good money, and am probably following his footsteps further by readying to give it all away in a failing marriage.

But if I'm going to lose half, then I better just double my goal.

 

I was really lucky that my family emphasised independence and if you want something you need to work for it... As a teenager I really wanted horse and it was clear that if I wanted a horse I would have to do it myself... So with that early lesson I developed a pretty high level of financial discipline. Everytime my friends were spending money I would always think about 'how many hours work is this'? Working for $9 an hour... Hehe many things were not worth spending money on.

 

I remember being about 10 and overhearing my mother say "You don't make money by saving". It really resonated with me and got me thinking....Then when she met my step-dad they began their investment property journey and I watched from the sidelines. I didn't start early though - uni, starting a family 'youngish' and daycare fees/part time work/mortgage and the sluggish Sydney market from 2003 meant we didn't have the equity or cash to start until this year.

 

Nobody told me about an FBA before I needed to know about it, and it was too late - read up now

 

I grew up across 5 continents, 6 countries about 3-5 yrs each...Confused... Had no idea about investing... Learnt about it by regularly reading the wall St journal ( yeah no kidding).

 

When I was I think 21 I went to a supposed expert palm reader when I was in China and among other things he said I would start to be ' very wealthy' by the time I was 28

 

No idea, my family was never good with money. In fact my Mum used to borrow back my pocket money after I had saved a couple hundred dollars. At 10 I knew the concept of interest and Mum and my brother used to have to pay it on any money I lent them, whether it was $1 or $100: Don't worry, I don't charge Mum interest any more.

Interestingly, I think this has still rubbed off on myself. I am not really that good with money in a day to day practical sense; I can't sacrifice and I keep on buying things I don't really need and spend way too much on food. My other half is often yelling at me. luckily I have some idea of how it works so I can manipulate what's left to some greater end goal.

 

My Mum (and actually all relos on her side) has no concept of money. None what so ever. My father is polar opposite, very astute investor and thanks for him my parents have shares, properties, land, superannuation, really well balanced portfolio and they reteired before they turned 60.

When I was a kid we were not rich by any means, but not poor either. But investments, good work ethic and getting ahead has been part of my life from a young age. I bought my first apartment immediately after I graduated from uni. I had worked almost full time when in uni and I had savings. The bank lend 80% and Father took a mortgage over one of his investment properties for the rest. I loved that apartment. Still wish that I had not sold it.

Due to my parents different spending habits they argued over money constantly. I remember the moment when I was a kid and decided that I never will marry someone, who can not save money for a rainy day and that I do not want to argue over money. That principle has served me well and yes, call me cold hearted, but I dumped a boyfriend once when it came clear that his spending and saving habits and priorities were significantly different than mine.

 

My parents were dog-poor, and we never went on any sort of cool holiday as kids etc. But we were happy enough.

But, then I started working as a teenager in various jobs, and ended up working in the Golf industry as a Golf Pro (mostly Teaching and Proshop work).

This is where the lightbulb moment happened; I started to look closer at the customers I had to deal with each day and came to the realisation that sooo many of them were retired, on the pension and mostly broke.

As a group, they were mostly pathetically tight and lived a life of less, and exuded this sort of mild depressionistic attitude about their lifestlye (or lack of it), and a sort of sadness about their lot they have ended up with.

Many laugh it off and project an outer cheeriness, but you can feel the deeper self.

I also reflected on my childhood of not having a lot, or going anywhere and decided I never wanted to be like my parents or the mingy pensioners I served (and am still serving even today! ) in terms of wealth.

It took me until aged 40 and a young child to realise I needed to do more than just own a PPoR and earn an average wage, and this is where the investing journey began.

Fast forward 14 years, and unfortunately, it hasn't turned out all that well as of right at this moment. Better than a lot of others for sure (we now own a business and an IP outright, have no debts and a bit of cash in the Bank, but renting a place to live), but I expected to be a lot more zeros on the end of the equation and the lifestyle to go with it by now.

But, the important factor - and for everyone here - is the mindset is there and once you have it, you can keep on doing it.

 

Funny about that.
I went to China when I was about 22 I think, and had my palm read too. They said I wouldn't be rich because I let money slip though my hands too easily, which was true at the time. This was because when I put my palm flat and fingers straight there were big gaps between my fingers.
They said it so convincingly and with certainty too, an experienced salesperson as they were quite mature with supposed wisdom.
I was disappointed at the time with their prediction and they looked sorry for me, believing that was my destiny.

Anyway, I refused to believe it and it made me even more determined.

 

You went to a palm reader and they told you that you let money slip through your fingers too easily?

Oh lordy the irony!

pinkboy

 

What is an FBA and how does it help?