People who don't invest in property

[goddessk]

I was just thinking about some friends of mine and their approach to life and the future.

Since I started investing a year ago I have often been in conversations with friends who say "I just want to keep paying off my house, invest in super and spend my money on the good things in life."

I have others who say "Wow you have really done well for yourself, I don't know how you can afford to buy all those properties". An example is a friend who paid off her own home years ago at the ripe old age of 33, has bought a block of land since that made no money and is costing her money, channels her salary into her super (all her spare cash) and won't buy the new house that she desperately wants because her boyfriend of 14 years doesn't want to go into debt again. And she earns only a small amount less than me so could do exactly what I have done.

Do you guys have friends like this? Do you find it hard to sit back and watch people making these decisions, knowing that they have the funds to do exactly what you are doing but choose not to?

I don't say anything to my friends as it's their life. I just try to encourage them by leading by example. After all, we can make our own choices and my way may not ultimately be the right way. But why is it that human nature makes us want what others have and yet we won't get off our butts to get it? Or we are so complacent that we just sit there and do the safe thing.

Interested in others stories. Do you get frustrated with your friends? Do you try to help them or leave well enough alone? Just curious.

 

[Rolf Latham]

No touch :O)

Ya canna help them because you are too close.

Doug Wead says you can promote anyone but your self............... Donald Duck can give them the same info you did, and guess what, they will take it on :O)

ta
rolf

 

[kero]

goddessk,

i do have some friends that are similar. happy with their present situation and no intention to better it. i tried to share what i know with them and in reply i would get remarks like 'money does not buy happiness', 'money is not everthing' or ' you are obsess with making money'... just replace 'money' with 'wealth'... it seems like some are money repellent!

anyhow, i have given up talking or discussing to them about creating wealth etc. i guess it is difficult to push anyone out of their comfort zone. but then again, some people are easily contented.

are you?

 

[alexlee]

When the student is ready, a teacher will appear. The teacher was there all along: he/she just waiting for the student to notice them.

Keep doing what you’re doing, and if your friends are interested they’ll ask you.
Alex

 

[ani]

When the student is ready, a teacher will appear. The teacher was there all along: he/she just waiting for the student to notice them.

Keep doing what you’re doing, and if your friends are interested they’ll ask you.
Alex

I totally agree. When they are ready..........
but some never will be so live with that too

 

[MPmelb]

It's horses for courses. Not everyone is interested in amassing alot of money. Just enough to comfortably get by.

Some people prefer to live for the now, spend all their money and enjoy themselves now. It's called instant gratification.

We have to remember often a life of amassing wealth takes a long time, and means many sacrifices. It's called delayed gratification, it's not easy, and it's not for everyone.

 

[GIDDO]

I totally agree. When they are ready..........
but some never will be so live with that too

You are all spot on I say.

Now the market is quieter, I just shut up about what I do. A lot of people seem mildly aggressive on hearing that I am interested in owning more R.E.

Seems a strange attitude.
Almost like they hope I fail. Shadenfreude, I think it is called?

I can't imagine why a 33 year old person would be putting every spare cent into super?

A 53 year old - yes.

 

[Simon]

With the recent changes to Super I wonder if pumping as much as possible into it is not such a bad strategy.

Any experts here can discuss it?

 

[alexlee]

With the recent changes to Super I wonder if pumping as much as possible into it is not such a bad strategy.

If the alternative is them spending everything, then yes, super is good. It's good just because for most people the alternative is nothing. For people who can save and actively invest, super is not a good choice, especially if you're young. If you don't sell, property and shares grow effectively tax free (as opposed to, say, many investment funds).

People who don't do anything, and are too afraid or lazy to do anything would prefer other people not succeed. Watching other people succeed forces them to question why they're not progressing.
Alex

 

[Macca]

Hi all,

The same attitude is even more frustrating when it is your own adult children who won't provide "for a rainy day" and consequently don't even have a deposit on somewhere to live

Simon,
the main attraction in doing it personally rather than through super, is the compounding of assets bought with OPM.

As you would know, but for other readers, a super fund can't borrow money so it can be very slow to build up a "chunk" of money.

It also depends on the mentality of people, to most people a house is far more substantial (real) than a bit of paper which is priced to the market daily.

 

[kissfan]

Like others here, have friends and family that also just live for the now.
Over the years during conversations, I've been questioned re investing and have tried to offer good advice (in my opinion anyway).

Just when you think the message may have got through, you hear about their latest purchase, sometimes on credit.

So now, I try to keep my mouth shut. My circle of friends and family know what I do, and when they are ready to ask again, I will try to help.

Regards
Marty

 

[AlmostBob]

I am thankful that so many don't
Invest
plan
or even think about it
If everybody did, then who would rent from us

 

[lizzie]

yes, i have friends who don't invest. it was really frustrating at first and then when, two months ago they were struggling for the next dollar, and this month they've bought themselves a new lounge and massive screen tv. but i have learnt to relax and just enjoy them for the reason we were attracted as friends in the first place ...

i do tell them what i'm up to in passing, in the hope that one day they'll realise, but if not it is their life.

super is great for those who don't invest - the big downfall is you can't get access until 65 (or maybe even higher in the future) whereas with property you can "retire" and live on the rewards as soon as they are sufficient.

 

[FrankGrimes]

Keep doing what you’re doing, and if your friends are interested they’ll ask you.
Alex

That's spot on. If you try to talk about it to someone who isn't interested, they will just ignore you or whatever.

So I don't say anything unless asked, which is a shame because I'd happily talk about real estate all day

 

[FrankGrimes]

With the recent changes to Super I wonder if pumping as much as possible into it is not such a bad strategy.

Any experts here can discuss it?

There is nothing wrong with this as a strategy and it makes alot of sense, but there are some drawbacks.

1. You can't access the money until your 55, I don't want to wait that long. This is a big problem.
2. No gearing (unless you can put your super into a geared share fund)

 

[wylie]

I am very selective with the people I discuss our IPs with because I dislike it when I think people are talking for the sole purpose of "showing off" what they own or waffle on about their latest acquisition just to impress. Because of this I am careful of who I discuss property with and also who is around when anything is discussed.

My close friends know we have IPs but they also know we owe more than $1M. I don't like talking about our IPs with people who don't know us well because they could just see us as being rich braggers if they don't know what we have sacrificed to get into the position we are in (and just how big the repayments are on our loans). They don't know that while they were having their legs waxed or their eyebrows shaped or their massage, I was up a ladder painting or cleaning someone's mess off the sides of the IP oven or scrubbing a toilet between tenants.

However, a couple of close friends DO know what we do so I am comfortable talking to them because they have walked the walk.

Most people we know have more ready funds than us because of our huge debt, but we are confident that our portfolio will grow with time and our debts will reduce, but to just blurt out we have xx number of properties just makes us look like braggers, in my opinion.

Wylie.

 

[Simon]

If the alternative is them spending everything, then yes, super is good. It's good just because for most people the alternative is nothing. For people who can save and actively invest, super is not a good choice, especially if you're young. If you don't sell, property and shares grow effectively tax free (as opposed to, say, many investment funds).

People who don't do anything, and are too afraid or lazy to do anything would prefer other people not succeed. Watching other people succeed forces them to question why they're not progressing.
Alex

Alex,

This is a long held attitude that most share. Have you reexamined it in light of recent legislative changes?

Has anyone?

I will try and get to it but must admit that I find wading through it as attractive as slamming myself in the car door.

 

[McBrain]

I made an agreement with my partner that we wouldn't talk to friends about property investing. We had a conversation about it after the last thread on this subject a couple of months ago.

I've been finding it difficult to keep my mouth shut.

It's somthing I'm interested in and when people ask 'what have you been up to?' and we've been spending all our time looking for properties what do you say?

I've let it slip quite a few times (this is to good friends remember) and the response is either a glaze over the eyes and 'oh yeah', or indifference to almost aggression - as someone mentioned previously. Noone has ever asked me to elaborate, how does it work, etc. My Mum - who I thought would be proud - said when I told her we were looking for an investment property, 'why would you do that? Aren't you just being greedy now?' !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted someone to chat to about it. I guess that's why we have this forum. I guess I'm lucky as my partner is into it with me - I know some people don't even get that support.

My advice would be to maybe mention it ONCE to a friend, if they don't come back to continue the conversation then leave it. Think of it as a weird little dirty habit that you don't want them to find out about!

 

[goddessk]

It's somthing I'm interested in and when people ask 'what have you been up to?' and we've been spending all our time looking for properties what do you say?

That is so true. I always want to tell people too! Like someone asked how my last weekend was and I find that I had difficulty restraining myself from saying "Oh I just spent the weekend in Qld buying a property". I just bit my tongue and said "It was a good weekend".

 

[Shonnie]

I'm starting to learn that nobody wants to hear about your plan to be financially free- for most of my mates it's just this 'pretend' thing that I talk about..

I'm slowly realising that I'm just going to have to shuddup because nobody cares ..

I've been trying to talk to everyone I know about it, my best friend, uni friends.. my close girlfriends- I just want to share what I've learnt! I want them to know that they don't have to struggle for their entire lives if they just save a little bit now..

Like I said before, no one is interested.. I'll I hear is..

"Wow if you go into that much debt you go bankrupt for sure"- "No, thats not for me, I want to finish uni and have a long and established career" -

It's sad but all you guys are right.. you can't give any advice or talk about it unless they ask.. otherwise they just get mad, or bored.. pretty much anything else but excited ..

And AlmostBob is right- its good that not many people figure out that investing is great, otherwise there would be too many of them!

P.S Thanks for the tips guys, I realise now that no one wants to hear about IPs- and i'll keep my mouth shut until asked..