Hi all, Looking for some ideas of where to start in my position. Female, 52, unemployed, one dependant, I have no debt and I am living with ex for the moment in regional nsw. My question is, with 500k cash available, $200k in super, instead of buying a house or ip outright then obviously hope to find employment to pay bills etc, what other strategy could I follow, if I don't go about things the right way it could cost me greatly down the track. Any insight greatly appreciated.
Hi @Halfwaymark I suggest you might start with one of the free services of a financial counsellors. Financial counselling | ASIC's MoneySmart If the first one you see does not help you, or refer you to someone who can help you then make an appointment with another one. There are a number of different agencies out there. Depending where you are in NSW there are womens centres that also can offer you help/direction Good luck in what ever you choose
Hi, I will either have to buy a place or rent, if I had to rent I would love it to be offset by any income that I could earn on the 500k, Ive thought of buying a house and putting a GF on it, or parking the money in a high interest term deposit (if i can find one) and try and get a FT job so as to borrow for a home whilst rates are low and I do plan to see a financial advisor but I like people who think outside the box.
I guess one of the issue with posting a question like you have is that you are likely to get either: 1. Nothing - because it's difficult to make any suggestions with the details given OR 2. A mind boggling array of "you should...." of which 0.1% might apply to you. It may be more productive to give a specific scenario like "If you had $500k, no home and no job, what would you do" (FYI there are many threads like this). Have a look at INVESTMENT FOR UNDER 350K The Y-man
@The Y-man is right. There are so many different scenarios none of which might be right for you. And as you said, if you don't get this right it could cost you down the track. This is why I went straight to the counsellor suggestion first. Someone who can sit down with you and look at your options. When you have those options we would be in a better place to make suggestions about how to go about them.
Will you stay in regional NSW? How old is your dependant? Private school? Public school? $500k cash doesn't include $200k in super? Would you be better to live somewhere (how long can you stay with the ex - rent free?) while you find a job in the place you want to live? Then see what you can borrow. The idea of having a granny flat to throw off some income sounds good to me if I was in your position. I'd definitely buy something rather than rent, even if you rent out what you buy and rent somewhere else (cheaper?). The thought of turning 60 and having to work longer because you have to pay rent is not a good thought. If you can buy something and rent out a granny flat, at least if you can pay it off quickly, the granny flat could help you to retire earlier than if you simply are having to find rent money each week. Just my thoughts anyway.
I understand, any strategy should be personally tailored to suit your situation. I will have a read of the thread also, thankyou.
Hi, Yes, still worrying about money at 60 is a daunting prospect. At this stage I am not planning to move as my child starts high school next year at a Catholic school, 500k plus the 200k, lets hope my super picks up the slack in the next 8 years
#1 priority should be trying to find employment asap. Once you have that, all your options will get easier.
Definitely not advice but for a bit of fun, if I was 50 with $500k cash & $200k super. Just very off the top of my head I’d gain employment, buy a $500k PPoR with $150k deposit so I don’t have to rent & essentially gain a tax free asset) Buy 2 IPs around the $500k mark with $150k deposits, so they cover themselves on P&I. In 15yrs would have a balance of around $200k ea. Then I’d start contributing as much as I could to super up to the threshold, and also smashing my PPr mortgage. At a very minimal 3% growth in 15yrs time, have 3 properties valued at 2.3m+ on a $600k balance, id sell the PPor and pay off the ips plus take a chunk of cash, And hopefully have a decent super balance to top up the IP income coming in, then just travel oversea’s and through SE Asia/euro. Probably a much better way/tax effective of using funds but I wrote this in 20secs without thinking much. Again Not advice as everyone’s risk profile is different. Some others may develop, some may push more towards super, etc etc.
Debt is not your friend unemployed at 52. What benefits/social security/ welfare are you entitled to? I don't know either so you MUST investigate this. I would suggest the cheapest, safest housing you can find at this stage. including renting a room sub-let./flatmate option. (if living with your ex is cheap and safe great but if not....) its not forever but you need breathing space and time to re-group. "3% minimal growth" sounds conservative but ignores the fact that property can go backwards and very often does. Especially in regional areas. There are many threads on this forum about this. Employment is a must. No bank will lend to you without cash flow. Even in the glory days of banking and we certainly are not there any more. Very best of luck. There are stories here and in the old Somersoft forum which are quite inspirational. try this blog. Getting Rich: from Zero to Hero in One Blog Post Try and read anything Scott Pape writes. He writes for the just starting, the recently broke and the financially illiterate-but-trying -to-learn. He is dissed a lot on this forum but he has sound solid advice that won't get your wings burnt as you try to fly. At 52 I would suggest your human capital should be guarded carefully. And finally, we live in one of the safest richest, countries in the world, your future is brighter than most whatever happens. kind regards Xactly
I do like this scenario, also aware of all the drivers that make a property a good investment in the first place and not at an inflated price, people will always need somewhere to live. Low interest rates are an advantage at the moment also.
I hear what you are saying also, worrying about money at any age is stressfull, I have always tried to live within my means, I see friends working their butts off to pay off a couple of properties but life is passing them by and quality time with their kids is sub par at best. There's alot to consider that's for sure.
If you can get a clearer picture of what you want life to look like in 13-15yrs when you hit 65, it will then become easier to map out a plan to suit that lifestyle. Requiring $80k each year at 65 will require a completely different strategy to someone needing $150k
Living within your means isnt enough. Because your means decrease with age and limited to the pension, and that usually assumes you own your own home.
