Surrounding yourself with like minded people

This is a great forum, i enjoy reading and learning from people who sound very smart and are not trying to sell me my own business ???? I have my own business 5ips and growing and i am very busy learning new ways to finance to buy and to generally accumulate a lot more and with the help of this forum i am sure i will get there a lot faster.
I try not to tell anyone about my ips I find it better that people know as little as possible about how and why you invest .
I invest so that what all my freinds have now flash cars huge houses $8k fridges i can have later on + more delayed gratification i think they call it.
I hope to buy 2-3 more soon just organissing finance and then i will be ready to go on my way to 50?????


Keep these great threads coming .




Crusty
 
Top thread this one,
In the middle of last year there were retrenchments here - something that had never happened before.
My wife and myself discussed this, and agreed she would need to start working (at home, doing Family Day Care) just in case my job was to go....(although it would not be enough, it would help) -this is the state of the IT industry today - India getting the work that can be done here - and a lot cheaper.
I figure in another 5 years I might just have enough to get on by if retrenched (through buying IP's , doing wraps and maybe with a little help from Metropole) - but every day I come to work hoping to keep my job for a bit longer.
This forum has been a great source of information and inspiration - reading posts from "like-minded-people" that are here, getting help from great people like Rolf and Dale/Dales office and others.
This is definitely my number 1 obsession at the moment !!!
Thank-you everyone!!
 
Hi Guys,
I have also been reading these forums for quite a while, just decided to register and start posting tonight.

Great post always_learning, the average person doesn't understand why people want to be financially independent, and therefore people who invest are often branded as greedy and selfish. They are entitled to their opinions and that's fine, however for people like us who love to invest it is always benificial to be talking to like minded people, it gives us added motivation and inspiration. I'm glad i found these forums as i now have many like minded people to talk to and learn from.
 
Hello Fellow Forumites!

Is there really such a thing as an $8k fridge??!! How bizarre!

My motive for becoming wealthy through real estate is about animal wefare. I intend to become financially free so that eventually I can spend ALL of my time and money working with animal charities such as the World Wilflife Fund and the RSPCA. On my death, these two will then inherit 100% of my assets set up in a trust fund, so that they NEVER run out of money!

All significant philanthropists in the world are wealthy people. You cannot help others until you first help yourself. I will never feel guilty for wanting more than I currently have or more than my parents had. Even if I didn't have such ambitious plans for wanting to stop animal suffering the world over, the least we can all do for our community is to become financially independent so that we are not reliant on the taxpayers money in our retirement!

I hope to meet some of you at the next Sydney gathering!

Hobsie :D
 
I was in an electronics shop in Japan and there was a $15K fridge, links to your sony blue-tooth mobile phone or something and this allows you to control your fridge should the desire overtake you during your long day at the office. I think the idea is the fridge can monitor your beer supply and order more by itself. The quote "You carn't get another six pack from an empty fridge" may soon be resigned to history.
 
Great thread all.

I recall someone telling me a long time ago that they key to their success had been 'getting rid of money worries', so that they could do the things they really wanted to do (which in their case happened to be philanthropical).

This didn't mean to them that they would be super wealthy, or not have to THINK about financial issues, it meant that money was 'taken care of' so that it didn't rule their life, and influence every decision they made.

let's face it.... we are all here because we want to be financially successful and independant, however that is not necessarily what we 'aspire' to - most of us have dreams outside of property/investing that in many cases will make the world a much better place.

Unfortunately, for most people (me included at the moment), making money means losing time. getting to the position where this is not necessarily the case enables the expansion of our potential in many areas.

Its very hard (for me) to spend a lot of time with people who don't understand that the reason for making money is so that we can think more rationally and help make the world a better place. I'd like to be remembered for what I gave back, not for how much money I made..... but you can't do that properly until you take away financial stress as an issue

Ned
 
i am just glad Sunstone started this thread! thank you

i strongly believe in surrounding myself with likeminded people and always seek to learn/listen.

m an immigrant from a former communist country, i had to find people with "prosperity" psychology to interact with or succumb to beliving that you can't realise your dreams. in my experiense there are 2 types of immigrants:

1 focusing on the dificulties
2 focusing on opportunities

just couldn't see myself being part of 1st category......

i've spoke to many people who had thougher life than mine, yet they are way ahead of me - what an inspiration they are!!!

i m honoured to be part of this forum and thankful for all the forumites' contributions
 
i noticed this thread had been viewed over 2000 times, and only 46 replies.

there's obviously a lot of interest - what about posting more opinions forumites?
 
Yes , but if I wanted to get ahead I would have to think and plan, I would have to take responsibility for my actions, I would have to be patient, I would have to limit my spending to what I need, my children would not get every little thing that is advertised, I would not be able to go on a holiday every year, I would have to give up smoking and my bottle of wine every night, it is my money and I want everything my credit card can afford NOW!! Sound familiar?

I am in my fifties, my wife and I worked hard and just kept buying real estate, we semi-retired 5 years ago.

We have one couple who are friends that we can talk to openly about investing, they are doing what we did, not there yet but they are a hell of a lot closer than they were 5 years ago. We are their inspiration to persevere, we never meant to be, we just did our own thing and told no one who wasn't interested. They were interested, already had one IP but were having doubts, talked to us, Wow!! we didn't realise etc.......they have 5 now.

There are a LOT of wealthy people in Australia, if you have ever read the book The Millionaire Next Door it makes you think. So many people seen every day just doing there own thing are quite wealthy, so many people with fancy cars and nice clothes are up to their A** in debt, maybe there is a message there.
 
Spot on Ned.
It really is all about having the choice and the freedom to make decisions about your life, unencumbered by money worries.
For some, this will mean being content with a satisfactory income for the rest of their earthly years. The annual holiday, the new car, the house by the beach, good schools for their grandkids etc.
For others, it means not only being comfortable but giving back to the community as well.
There are so many causes out there worthy of our help. I just finished reading "Mean Streets, Kind Hearts" about Father Chris Riley, the 'patron saint' of streetkids and I was totally humbled. Here is a man who, with no money of his own, has managed to turn the lives of thousands of abused kids around through his hard work and the donations of many generous Australians. As he points out, it costs the govt $157,000 a year to keep a child in a detention centre (where over 80% of them reoffend) yet $55,000 for the same time will get them through one of Riley's programmes, designed to rehabilitate. It's causes like this one that grab my attention and that I would like to eventually be able to help bigtime.
It may sound trite, but to be able to "give something back" is extremely important to a lot of people and money can achieve just that. Not all of us have time to volunteer or possess the skills required to help make a difference, but we can reach into our pockets and give.
Just look at some of the wealthiest people in Australia and see what they have done for charities and the community. Packer, Pratt, Dick Smith, just to name a few.Without wealth creation, the economy wouldn't have a large enough revenue base to redistribute money to the disadvantaged.
Paul Keating once said "Back self-interest every time. It's the only horse in the race that you know is really trying".
Sorry if I've gone off on a tangent here!
As for hanging around likeminded people to help achieve wealth, if it works for you, do it!
 
I don't generally post more than once on the same thread but couldn't help myself.

It is obvious that the forumites who have posted on this thred have open minds and lots of interesting stories. Negativity is NOT a common theme. I would rather chat to people with such qualities than some of my negative friends.
 
Hi all,
I understand totally that family & friends don't understand
us & some are quite aggressive.
A witty retort to "the tenants will wreck the beeping place" is BEAUTY- insurance replaces old for NEW, place will be like a palace & I can get MORE rent!
Seriously though I love this forum, I am a much happier person now I can interact with Like Minded People.
Cheers from Brenda
 
Great thread ,I couldn't resist.
Macca we live pretty simply like the start of your post and I don't think much will change when we are super rich. I think the most valuable asset is quality time (family, kids school involvement, community, charity). At the moment we are doing renos and tapping into a bit of the increased equity so I have lots of quality time.
I used to try and tell everyone about the magic key that I had stumbled across,but have since found out it can turn people away from you . Even at family functions we no longer mention the " P " word that ends with a " Y " as we have noticed it devides the group. My brother is just about to start and can't get enough of it,and others feel inadequate because it's to hard for them so they will settle for the pension.
I used to throw the " P " word out to other dads at school or kids sports on Saturdays to see if they were interested - but they weren't, to risky ,not for them.
Nowdays when I'm over at the school or doing my bit around the place I seem to always get asked "Aren't you working,I know someone who needs some electrical work" I used to answer " No and I'm not looking for work". I would then count to 3 - get a dumb look from them and then they would say "how do you survive" .I used to try to explain but these days it's much easier to say that I work shiftwork on weekends, which I do sometimes.
I throw out the odd line but have all but given up. I've got a few friends that are into property so I get my fix when we catch up, but if I'm in need I just log on to this fantasmagorical site and soak it all up
Cheers Bushy
 
Fantastic Thread!!

WillG wrote
It is obvious that the forumites who have posted on this thred have open minds.and lots of interesting stories. Negativity is NOT a common theme. I would rather chat to people with such qualities than some of my negative friends
Click to expand...

As well as the lack of negativity there is a very positive thread seen in almost all on this forum. Each has taken some form of action to move toward what they want - even if it is only to start talking to like minded people.

Not so long ago I was one of those that knew what needed doing but hadn't got around to it yet - the ideas and comments on this forum and the energy of people like Asy, TW and Jakk spurred me to action. I only have one IP at this stage but it won't be my last.

Like many here have said I also have family and friends who are very negative about property and investing and I echo other's comments in that it is not worth wasting your energy to reach people until they are ready to listen - better to put that effort into your next IP!!!

Bill
 
Originally posted by wbthom
Fantastic Thread!!

I only have one IP at this stage but it won't be my last.

Bill
Click to expand...

Go Billy Boy,

and by the way, I still have your book, I think,... hopefully catch up soon so I can give it back.

regards
 
Having come from Christian circles I am very familiar with the "don't be greedy" phase. It was very popular in the seventies and eighties for people to embrace "simple living" banding together in group houses and sharing everything including income from low-income jobs that were socially acceptable. I have come to think that apart from a few exceptions this is just massaging a middle class sense of guilt about being born into a first world country. When I mentioned investing in property or shares I was called a parasite. To me, however, it is much more important to have a renewable asset base which can provide ongoing assistance than a band-aid one-off donation.

Some years ago I heard a story about a couple who ran a very successful business and attended church regularly. They were constantly being bagged about their business and long hours they spent there and how they were just building up riches for themselves. Finally, they decided to sell their business and most of their assets and they donated the proceeds to rebuilding the church building which was falling into disrepair. Suddenly they were praised for their generosity, their return to the simple lifestyle, stories about rich men and eyes of needles etc etc.

Within a few months, however, the Church began noticing that the weekly donations were going down and that their social programmes including child care centres, holiday centre, aged care, etc were running out of funds and they had to close some of these down which catered to many poor people in their local community. On further investigation, it was revealed that the big drop in weekly donations were due almost entirely to the business couple who had donated about 10% of their earnings each year (to the tune of about $50,000 a year). They were encouraged to return to their business. They rebuilt the business in about twelve months, the regular funds returned and the programmes recommenced. No longer were they abused for doing what they did best.

So next time sometimes admonishes you for building wealth and that you should be satisifed to just have enough for yourself just suggest that this might be a very selfish point of view and if you can make money easily then do so and if you don't need it or want it, try giving it away to someone who can use it. That $100 profit on a share trade may mean nothing to you but a dinner out at a restaurant. In East Timor it is enough to establish a business that will support a whole community - people who earn less than $5 a day. To me there is a sense of poetic justice in having shares in an alcohol company and donating the dividends to Missionbeat or Alcoholics Anonymous. It's one way of getting these companies to donate funds to repair the damage that can be caused!

(Hops off soapbox)
 
Originally posted by Bushy
.....Nowdays when I'm over at the school or doing my bit around the place I seem to always get asked "Aren't you working,I know someone who needs some electrical work" I used to answer " No and I'm not looking for work". I would then count to 3 - get a dumb look from them and then they would say "how do you survive" .I used to try to explain but these days it's much easier to say that I work shiftwork on weekends, which I do sometimes. I throw out the odd line but have all but given up. I've got a few friends that are into property so I get my fix when we catch up, but if I'm in need I just log on to this fantasmagorical site and soak it all up
Click to expand...

How about that, you have to basically lie about the way you live your life, just to avoid the sticky problems of people unable to accept reality. ie. they believe so strongly that it cannot be so that when confronted clear proof of the opposite they question it or just refuse to believe it then finally give you the "dont delude yourself" look.

Sometimes I read/listen to people say the Jan Somers (lets call it the basic buy, hold utilizing negative gearing at the start) strategy is flawed and doenst work etc. How about that, a refusual to accept reality of countless reallife examples, their thought process must be "if it is true then I should do it, but I don't want to do it thus it mustn't be true" , Jan actually did it many thousands of others have done it, it's not a hypothetical situation she writes about.
 
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Excellent thread

CAUTION: Long response that may border on philosophy!!!!

I think a lot of why people do not support you in the field of property investment, financial independence is their not taught anything about it in school or at home. More importantly many people are'nt expose to positive environemnts where they are told encouraged to take risks, to dream and acheive.

At school were taught to work hard get a good job, work till we're old and then rake out a meagre existence in retirement. You might here about striking it rich by winning the lottery, or inventing a new product or maybe even playing the stockmarket. We are also taught (through competition with our peers) to act rich when we're not. "they must be rich, look at the car they drive, or they watch they wear etc. etc etc." No where are we taught that anyone can do it, you just have to choose.

As a teacher I deal with heaps of kids everyday that have so much opportunity and talent. But mum and dad are on the dole, their grand parents have never worked so to them even the idea of pursuing school to get a good job is worthless, let alone the idea that you can choose to make yourself financially independent. By the time they get to high school for 90% of cases we've already lost them. Yet even those from the worst background have dreams and ambitions when they are in year 1.

From my experience in disadvantaged schools and interacting with disadvantaged families and communities it is the negativity about everything that kills the dreams. It must be near impossible to acheive anything when you never hear a positive thing. When I go to functions/ social gatherings in these sorts of environments the majority of all conversations are based on complaining and negativity. It appeas that many of the people that I meet in these situations can't converse unless they are complaining.

Yet amazingly we do have many successes, every year we have students they come from terrible circumstances they get apprenticeships or go on to TAFE or Uni. Somehow they manage to achieve this things with so many negative people around them. Imagine what they could acheive if they were surrounded by people as positive as those on this forum.

As 3 men one sang (in the most dire of circumstances) always look on the bright side of life: - Monty Python

Keep up the positivity

Darryl
 
Dear guys,

It's good to revisit important areas.

What steps have forumites taken to "Surround themselves with likeminded people?" in the last 12 months?

How would you review your results of this? Would you do anything differently? How could this be done better?

Cheers,

Sunstone.
 
Well, I joined this forum!

Have enjoyed it so much that I had to give up going on the chat room. I was spending too much time on the computer.

Also have a group of people we get together with to discuss investment strategies. We are all at about the same level but have tried different things. We call it the "Brains Trust".

I think investing is a bit like religeon, people don't want to have their deeply held beliefs questioned especially when there is so much riding on those beliefs, it can be very uncomfortable.

Don't really talk to other friends about property much unless they ask. Some people we know have investment properties and we do like to chat with them about the properties.

The forum is the main source of mixing with like minded people. I read and post and just tell my Craig (husband) all the interesting bits.

Robyne
 
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