Dream to be Comfortable not Rich. Start Now!

[The_Bludger]

What a down-to-earth post! Congratulations on your achievements. Property has made "ordinary" people into "comfortable" people. Well done, hope it happens to me one day as well.

It's like the old saying "What can you possibly buy a man(or women) that already has everything". You are there already.

Message of this story for me - go slow and steady and the rewards will come.

 

[C-mac]

Inspired post, Bianca, and great journey so far! Still more to go, sounds like!

I personally am having trouble reconciling that you say you don't need much/aren't a botox queen, and a lot of your indulgences I can accept (even the Porsche!).

But you lost me a little at 'yaucht'!! Seriously!? Yaughts are ridiculously expensive and indulgent! Do you mean you actually own one, or just travel on yaucht adventures a lot?

 

[MsAli]

Great post bianca. Thank you for sharing your journey.

You seem wealthy to me! Perhaps the definition of 'rich' changes with every step you take.

Again, great to hear from someone who has been there, done that and made it!

Found this old post of yours: http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22286

Appears the portfolio was circa $5m @ 34% LVR in year 2005 when bianca first posted.
If growth has been 5% on average for the last 10 years, the portfolio would be worth 8.14m, making the portfolio 21% LVR

 

[china]

We own our own multi million dollar house, and have done so for 10 years.

We own a commercial property, 2 other properties , and 2 more very shortly.

We have 6 more properties to sell over the next few years,

I own everything I could possibly want, own a Porch, a yacht, a few cars, and have enough Visa points to go anywhere for free. I have a massage every week, facials and get my nails done.

But we are not rich! It has taken 35 years to get to this point, and it has flown by.

We will not join the rich list anytime soon, but hey, this is comfortable! Ask yourselves, is it realy necessary to be "rich" rather then continue your life in comfort? Being on the rich list takes a lot of time, energy and maintenance, unless you are a crook.

I don't understand why you say you are not rich. Anyone with net worth of 5 mil or above is in the top one percent in Australia. It sounds like that just your house alone puts you in that category.

With the rich list - do you mean the BRW 200 list or the Forbes 200?

 

[freyja]

Your life description is what I think of as rich . However, I like the theme of your post. It's not a race. It' an individual journey which one takes at their own pace - but start as early as you can and keep chipping away at it!

 

[Biz]

Comfortable.

My body is ready.

 

[Deltaberry]

If you can do it now, do it. The interest rates at the moment may never be this low again!

Haha liked most of your post except this.

I'd much rather buy when interest rates are high.

 

[JohnMichael]

So, aim low. Sorry, not interested.

Did you even read her post?

 

[Ace in the Hole]

That's why I commented the title of this thread is misleading.

95% of the population are very comfortable where they are, and are quite content being average. You don't have to dream to be comfortable.
Which is the main reason they stay where they are.

The OP's standards luxury home, Porsch's, yachts, etc, would be considered well above "comfortable" to the average 95% of the population.

So if you tell an average person to dream to be comfortable, the'll probably seem surprised, as they're likely already there.

 

[JohnMichael]

That's why I commented the title of this thread is misleading.

95% of the population are very comfortable where they are, and are quite content being average. You don't have to dream to be comfortable.
Which is the main reason they stay where they are.

The OP's standards luxury home, Porsch's, yachts, etc, would be considered well above "comfortable" to the average 95% of the population.

So if you tell an average person to dream to be comfortable, the'll probably seem surprised, as they're likely already there.

I think many aren't comfortable, though. And many would simply like to be comfortable.

Many people are almost content, but just need a little bit more than I have now. I think this is quite common!

And of course many, many people dream of being rich but never get close. Look at the US, where a higher proportion of people all believe that one day they'll be rich, yet they have one of the biggest gaps in terms of income inequality.

Then look at socialist countries like Denmark, where they don't "dream of being rich" as much at all, pay a very high proportion of tax... yet have the best upward mobility of any developed nation. If you are born into the lowest socio economic bracket, your chances of moving out of it are much higher in Denmark than the US

The difference between setting high goals and achieving them is great. In fact, the more realistic goals have a much higher chance of actually being implemented and thus the person being successful.

 

[wobbycarly]

Haha liked most of your post except this.

I'd much rather buy when interest rates are high.

This is so you get more back on tax, isn't it?

 

[Deltaberry]

Ahahaha yes we all invest to negative gear

 

[Loony]

congrats! it is good that you have found the life style that you want.
I wish the day when I am your age I can look back and think I have enjoyed my life.

life is not about chasing money.

 

[ChrisA1]

ok Highly geared. I'll dig up some numbers and post them later.

To those questioning the value of "comfortable' and "rich":

To give you an idea of our current lifestyle;

We have a pretty nice unit at the Gold Coast where we and our family stay a few times a year-last time for 3 months. It was a 'mistake' buy at first, but time has seen it flourish as a nice little earner.
We live in a magnificent house on the beach, where it's summer all year round.
If i feel like being a bit flash, i drive my Porch, but frankly, there is not a lot of reason to leave our house and it just site in the garage.
We have travelled around the world and back, in luxury and also on a budget in the early days.
I can't think of anything i want to own anymore. All my hobbies are fulfilled, whatever i want to do at a whim, I can.
We can travel all we want. We can take off in the Catamaran anytime, and go sailing around the Whitsunday islands.
We can work when we want, and if we need some extra income.
Our health is still good,our family taken care off.
We still look pretty darned good even after all the hard work
We can still dream of a "next" project if we get too bored.

What on earth more could you want by being super rich? You can't take it with you?
"Comfortable" is achievable by all. Super rich is a level from which many fall as quick as they have reached it.

That's rich for me!! Having the choice to do what you want when you want and not being driven by your job or finances is a solid foundation to aim for, then you can go further.

I like your comment in the first post to hold down your day job. This is what is needed to pay the bills until you can choose to go your own way.