Julia wants you to keep working

[weg]

Ditto - the oldest I knew is a couple who were 47 and 48 when they had their youngest.

Means they'll be around 70 before he's even thinking about leaving home.

I knew a couple, second marriage, but already had a child when she was 49 to this guy (she also had 3 children in their late 20's from the first marriage) give birth at 53, to triplets - self inflicted through IVF .

This couple made all the national magazines at the time, and I even saw them in one of those 'that's life' mags (in a waiting room incase anyone thinks I buy them ) not long ago.

They had their 3 around the same time I had my single, unsettled, last child, and I tell ya, whenever I had to get up many times a night and felt overwhelmed, I thought of them and instantly felt better.

 

[jaycee]

Ok, if it wasn't for Keating/Hawke reforms before Howard Costello and the Libs being In power in a period of unprecedented world prosperity and growth (later shown to be built on debt and imploded as the GFC,which, by the way, Labor had to deal with). Not to mention typical Liberal lack of infrastructure spending and reform, there would have been no surplus.

I have never seen so much whinging from a community of people who taking control of their futures and are so action oriented (are you sure?). The constant blaming, complaining and whining over nothing on here is absolutely amazing.

Higher govt. debt? That's a relative term. I don't think the low levels Australia has always had,( not to mention mostly surplus) would come under your definition of "high govt. debt"

Are you telling me that just saying that's what I''m doing isn' enough to make me automatically better than the masses ?

I'm going to get a 2nd opinion on that

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

And so are most of the worlds poorest as well.

That would be consistant with the principal of risk vs. reward.

Had you put your super into a defensive fund that is predominatly cash based, you would have had positive returns outperforming most other funds over the past 5 years, but the most other funds will outperform a defensive fund over 30 years. Again it's risk vs reward.

 

[coastymike]

Agreed PT. Not taking a shot at you. But many people sprout the same thing. What they forget to say is that most self employed make very little money. They would be better off financially if they were not self employed. It isn't a game for everyone. I've had staff who were great employees and the minute they went out on their own all the problems of business arose and they failed. Ended up coming back pleading for a job. For some it is great for others it isn't worth it. But I do agree if you succeed in private business you will generally do much better than working for someone else. Emphasis on the IF you succeed.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

Very true Mike. Self employed is a hard slog. I can personally attest to the rewards and the massive risks involved. Most people are definitely not cut out for it.

This is also why we need super. Most people definitely not cut out to prepare over 40 years for their own retirement so the government has to force them to do it.

 

[geoffw]

Agreed about the hard slog.

I've been seven years, drawing the minimum wage, working on average 363 days a year (ok, some days just a few hours, but other days a massive number of hours).

But the payoff is coming. The two shops are worth 1.3M and almost all debt has been paid off. So when I sell it will be rose smelling time.

 

[Aaron_C]

Well mike is right in that it's not for everyone. But by definition success is not for everyone...otherwise it wouldn't be called success.

 

[coastymike]

Good stuff Geoff. And even better $1.3m TAX FREE thank you !!!

 

[Macca]

Pleased to read about this Geoff, I know it was a shock, then a battle, now for the payoff.............. Onya

Agreed about the hard slog.

I've been seven years, drawing the minimum wage, working on average 363 days a year (ok, some days just a few hours, but other days a massive number of hours).

But the payoff is coming. The two shops are worth 1.3M and almost all debt has been paid off. So when I sell it will be rose smelling time.

 

[geoffw]

WHEN I sell. I haven't sold yet. One shop is on the market (at this stage), and there's only been a few nibbles.

There will be a little tax to pay. There's a capital gain component. Discounted by 50% (normal capital gain discount) and then another 50% discount for business capital gain.

 

[coastymike]

Not true Geoff. The small business concessions should reduce the capital gain to zero. 50% active asset concession and then either retirement exemption or replacement asset rollover. Once you sell the business use the retirement exemption. No CGT.

 

[Deltaberry]

For the 'average' Australian out there, these situations are not highlighted to them. Hence my overall belief that the only way for the 'average' to prosper is for minimal governement, low tax rates and market capitalism.

You mean HK?

 

[geoffw]

Ok, thanks Mike.

But I'm not ready to retire just yet (assuming I do sell both shops) but I'm not going to roll anything over. So I'm not sure how the exemptions apply.

I'm looking forward to a 9-5 job. No phone calls at 11pm or SMS messages at 3am. Weekends and holidays.

 

[wylie]

I'm looking forward to a 9-5 job. No phone calls at 11pm or SMS messages at 3am.

Where's the fun in that?

 

[geoffw]

Yeah no fun at all. Like two weeks ago I had the joy of firing somebody at 130am. People who work for somebody else rarely have a chance to do something like that.

 

[kathryn d]

Yeah no fun at all. Like two weeks ago I had the joy of firing somebody at 130am. People who work for somebody else rarely have a chance to do something like that.

But we get to fire tenants ..aka evicting them.

Working for yourself never seems to be easy...it's a lot more than a full time job.
Good luck with your sales

 

[geoffw]

But we get to fire tenants ..aka evicting them

I've evicted- but never at 1:30 in the morning.

However I've never needed to get the locks changed when firing an employee.

I probably sound nasty. But I do not enjoy terminating really. Tenants or employees, any time of day or night. It's a very unpleasant experience.

 

[kathryn d]

I've evicted- but never at 1:30 in the morning.

However I've never needed to get the locks changed when firing an employee.

I probably sound nasty. But I do not enjoy terminating really. Tenants or employees, any time of day or night. It's a very unpleasant experience.

You don't sound nasty at all.

I used to really hate the thoughts of evicting..but no longer.
When we get to that point, I'm long past worrying about their reasons or feelings.

 

[Kristine..]

I've been seven years... So when I sell it will be rose smelling time.

G'Day Geoff

Seven years since Feasie and I met you at the Flock of Bats that Sunday?

Yes, I guess it is. How time flies!

So - after all the hard work, and taking into account the salary you were earning back then, and the (lost) increase in value to the Flats since you sold them to put the money into the businesses, has the experience been financially worth while?

Emotionally, I am sure that you have been personally enriched by the experience (I had the child care centre for 5 years, remember, and the retail store for 5 years after that ... we don't need to spell out how difficult some businesses really are on the day to day basis - but are you actually ahead financially for the 7 years work?

My ten years at the coal face bought me two properties, both of which I still have, and it is the properties which have provided serious capital growth over the time since. However, the two businesses put me in the way of the properties, so without the one it would be most unlikely that I would have achieved the other

Good luck with the sale/s. When your (mostly young) employees look back on their time with you they will realise how much they learned and how much they gained because they worked for Geoff

Cheers
Kristine

 

[MIW]

What you earn is irrelevant but what you save and invest!

Agreed PT. Not taking a shot at you. But many people sprout the same thing. What they forget to say is that most self employed make very little money. They would be better off financially if they were not self employed. It isn't a game for everyone. I've had staff who were great employees and the minute they went out on their own all the problems of business arose and they failed. Ended up coming back pleading for a job. For some it is great for others it isn't worth it. But I do agree if you succeed in private business you will generally do much better than working for someone else. Emphasis on the IF you succeed.

True, most self-employed make little but if invested can make a lot. It doesn't matter how much you earn but how much is left and what you do with it, don't you agree?
I do not think they would be better of 'not being self-employed'. For me it was better to be self-emplyed since 1995. Was it, is it easy? Well not! Was it, is it worth it? 100% yes!
Isn't there a saying that small business holds up most of the economy? If we were all employees that would be interesting?
So it's not whether you are an employee or self-employed but rather a true business owner who invests too that gets you ahead of the game.
My initial Super grew 45 times (through contributions and investments) when I took it out when I left my job and invested via SMSF (to give an example $70K x 45 = $3.15m). So all skeptics out there even $40K x 45 would give you $1.8m. So go and take control and start investing even your own Super money....