New Investor - Be warned, long post

[propertyVIC]

In Aus

As others have said the US market is very different to here, also very volatile... and it's hard for even experienced investors from Aus to get finance. I'd be wary as a first purchase.

Also think what I'd do is buy a PPOR, live in it six months then rent it out.

An advantage to moving is that you will become familiar with lots of cities in Aus. Excellent for the future in that it will make it easier to buy property remotely and spread your assets around.

An alternative to tracker funds are shares such as Argo, a company which buys shares in other companies. (No, I don't work there.) Effectively it gives you more diversification in the share market than just buying shares in one or two companies.

A good income is important to building your investment empire! So don't forget to really put some effort into your day job. Every promotion counts towards more cashola for investments! And partners in big law firms earn megabucks.

Have you considered that one future business which might suit you would be to go to the bar? It's working for yourself, it's flexible if you need more time to manage investments... and you can take on worthy pro bono cases to satisfy your need to contribute to society.

Good luck!

 

[Humphrey]

At 24 you are on a good wage and it is likely to increase rapidly over the next few years. I would agree with trying to purchase a property in Perth to at least get you started. This will give you a sense of making some progress.

You may be a bit stale after studying. Have you considered taking some time off to travel and recharge your batteries? You've got a lot of years ahead of you and maybe you need to take some "you" time. Perhaps you could do something like work in London for a year or two? you'd still be earning and advancing your career but you'd also be able to see some cool places.

I may get hammered for this but I would tread carefully in regards to starting your own business. I dare say that some of the investors who frequent this forum have become wealthy while still working for the man. All I'll say is that the majority of start-up businesses fail, something like 80, 90 or 95% depending on which study you look at. How many of those people behind the those businesses thought that they would fail? I'd guess that it was pretty close to zero. I'm not saying that you can't make it in your own business but it is often nowhere as easy as people make out in their books and seminars.