At the Starting Line

[astroboy]

Geez guys, Noel is 26 give him a break, he has time on his side.

I would say keep your car, a 10K vehicle is by no means extravagant. Work on getting rid of that debt by all means, but don't think you have thrown it all away just because of a lousy 35K of bad debt, if you choose to you, will be rid of it in no time.

Read, learn, save, invest. You have obviously seen the directions to the road to wealth. But please have a life.

Good on you for the Europe trip, it will be one of those things you and your wife will look back on with fond memories for many years to come.

There are no trial runs in life, this is it, please enjoy it.

astroboy

 

[WillG]

Hi Astroboy,

I totally agree with 'Have a life' as you say.

I don't believe anybody is being hard on Noel; they are simply responding to his situation and goals to get an IP or 2 within 5 years. They have probably been in similar situations and are sharing tools & techniques they have used to get where they are today.

I consider saving money, reducing debt, buying IP's and learning more & more techniques to become 'financially free' as 'having a life'. You can do these things, go on overseas holidays & buy plasma TV's with a little discipline & a plan.

I don't think anybody has suggested he has 'thrown it all away'

Cheers

 

[astroboy]

Originally posted by WillG
You can do these things, go on overseas holidays & buy plasma TV's with a little discipline & a plan.

I don't think anybody has suggested he has 'thrown it all away'

Cheers

Ahhh WillG,
Thanks for putting it so succinctly, that's what I was trying to say.
With the right approach you can have your cake and eat it too. ;-)

astroboy

 

[WillG]

mmmmm. You said cake ?

I'll have ....
double choc mud cake with cream & ice cream accompanied with a slightly chilled desert wine (late harvest reisling, tokay or musket) from the Rutherglen

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Hi Guys and Girls,

I have been following this thread with interest.

I agree, it ia all about mindset !!!

Hope this is relevant Does anybody have a good household budget plan. Plans are great but how do you stick to them?

Has anybody put a excel spreadsheet together which might help others with household budgets.??

Get that right and wealth should follow

 

[Sam_H]

Noel;

My thoughts.....

Just want to agree with Will/Astroboy in saying you have to live life...and travelling europe is fantastic--> I'd much prefer to borrow the money and travel versus not travelling and hence not incurring debt!

Can you sell the car and get a cheapie?
I drive a car worth $500.00 tops....does the job...and I can chuck my surfboard/wetsuit/greasy bike in the back without a worry!

That may reduce your debt to say $27k (allowing a $2k car)

At this point I think you have 2 options:

1) Approach family and plead them to loan you money at a low interest rate (eg family who have equity in their homes.....ask for say $27k...at the rate they pay on their LOC...eg 6.4%) -whole lot nicer than paying cc rates of 18%

2) Goto one of the lenders that will loan you something like citibank at the moment.
Im in the proecess of transferring the balances of a few cc's across onto their gold visacard which lends money at 6.9% on the balance transferred.
See www.citibank.com.au for details


Cheers

Sam

 

[phm]

Hi Gordon

I believe simplicity is the best budget.

Get your REGULAR a/cs for the last 12 months out- elec, phone, rates, mortgage, insur, regos, loans, memberships, savings, Christmas club etc. Add the 12 months worth of each one together (ie 12 months worth of elec bills) and divide by 52. This tells you how much a week they cost you. Do the same with each one of your REGULAR a/cs. Add another, say $10. Tally these amounts up and transfer (or leave) this amount into an account, out of your weekly wage. DO NOT TOUCH this unless you are paying one of the above bills.

Using regular a/cs rather than things like, guestimating your yearly takeaway food and videos, makes your figures more accurate.

This budget gives you peace of mind in knowing your regular bills are always covered and whatever money is left is allowed to be spent on other things.

 

[coolstyle]

noel,

Well done for getting on the forum ...
You are obviously planning to do something, and revealing all on this post is a great start.

What do i recommend you do?

Three simply guidelines and set some goals:

1) If something you have to buy is not an income producing asset, then save for it first - do not break this rule for the next 3 years.

2) Look at the money you 'invested' in the options trading course... if you have committed to this, then focus on making money using the strategies you have learned.

3) Continue to have a presence on this forum, read books (borrow from library), and invest time in learning as much as you can about property.
I beleive you do not need to spend any money on your education with all that is available on the web etc.

Stick to the above rules and SET SOME CLEAR short, medium, and long term goals.
such as..

1) Monthly goals - push yourself a little to save an aggressive amount each month. Save what you plan first, then spend on what you have left over ... not the other way around.

2) 6-12 monthly goals - aim to pay of xx $ on your loan at each 6 month interval.

3) Long term goal - to keep you motivated, you must write a long term goal of x $ or x number of properties in x many years ...
--> spend a few hours with your partner and write this long term goal .. frame it and post it up on the wall where you can't miss it .

See you around

Coolstyle.