sometimes, you just need a clean slate.

[Trogdor]

This is an interesting comment. I expect it's the opposite and he does not want to keep making life decisions just based on the numbers.

Will be interesting to see what Blue Card has to say.

Wish him well, but if you are right, he is cutting off his nose to spite his face.

If part of the complication is bad investments or he can find better opportunity elsewhere, or cash in his chips and give up on investing, then thats a different story. Hopefully thats the case and there is some merit in this move.

If he's just "wiping the slate clean" to get back into similar investments down the track, incurring CGT / sales commissions / stamp duty, that wouldn't be a very smart move at all.

Would be interesting to know more of the facts (if the OP is comfortable sharing).

 

[heidi]

Aaron, I'd urge you to keep one property as a PPOR.

 

[evand]

Be better if you stated 'why'?

Aaron, I'd urge you to keep one property as a PPOR.

 

[Aaron Sice]

hi guys, thanks for the responses.

i'm not really having a midlife crisis - and i'm certainly not chucking in the towel.

i just need a slower pace of life for a bit. my eldest daughter starts school in a week, my youngest is just out of nappies. my wife finally has some direction for herself and i'd like to support her with that. my investing goals have also changed direction. my business can take a back sit and i'll run that on autopilot for a little.

some of you may remember i cleared a lot of crap out about 18m ago - my garage and all my car related paraphenalia, magazines, engines, parts etc. it was liberating because until that point, i'd felt obligated to finish something that i no longer had an interest in - something that required a lot of time that i no longer had. it was a cancer festering in that garage causing me a lot of stress that i didn't need.

they're just structures i'm liquidating. they cost a cupla hundred to set up. they're not people and they're not physical things. my share portfolio is huge and diverse - it's hard to keep track of - selling them all will just see the trustees pay the tax and the profits are whittled down into lower tax brackets. then it will be wound up.

the car is in the business name. it's a deduction at present - so i'll sell that, pay the GST and dissolve that entity as well. i certainly won't miss that $850pcm repayment (yes it's high because i'm paying extra to have equity on the sale to pay the GST component).

the PPOR alone has too much equity tied up that i'm not allowed to access. i listened to my broker and put it all in, with the promise i could get an LOE and access it for investing after. well, what a crock of 5h17 that turned out to be. now i have over $300k i can't use - money that i worked hard for and make smart trades for and took calculated risks for and now i'm being denied access to it. why?

because my accountant has misadvised me to keep himself in a job.

it's just one big house of cards that looks impressive but is more trouble that it's worth.

so it will go.

i'm 30. i'm not worried about the time i have. i think i've done well, to date. i certainly have a lot more left in me. i still have an appetite for calculated risk. i see opportunity in new things - that i haven't mentioned - that will allow me to grow both as a person and financially as a side benefit.

i've always said focus on yourself and the money is a side effect of a successful person.

it's time to put that into practise.

 

[skater]

Aaron, I'd urge you to keep one property as a PPOR.

Things may not be as black & white as that!

It could be that the PPOR is tied up in one of the stuctures that are now going to be removed. Or it could be something else altogether.

I don't know if Aaron knows what is best for Aaron at this point in time, but one thing I do know is that without knowing everything that has passed for him to come to this conclusion, not one of us know what is best for him either.

Bearing that in mind, all I can do is wish him well, and ask him to think carefully about what he is doing.

Just remember, this situation is only temporary. I'm sure he'll emerge from this in one piece, ready to conquer the next challenge.

 

[wobbycarly]

*snip*
i've always said focus on yourself and the money is a side effect of a successful person.

it's time to put that into practise.

Thanks for that thought - something for me to think about, too...

 

[lizzie]

i wish you all the best aaron.

just like skater, we too went thru that "cleansing" stage starting around 2-3 years ago.

on advice of accountants etc we'd set up complicated trust and company structures - only to have it cost us over $100,000 in real cash over the years. we're still carrying the losses on a company structure that hope to soak up in the near future.

we ditched the exhorbiantly expensive accountant, sold everything except the ppor, bought two new-ish cars for cash, thought about what we really want to invest in (after trying everything under the sun over the years) and launched outselves back out again only 3 months ago with two stress-free ip's and new business venture.

it was very freeing to have cash in the bank (still a substantial amount) and a fresh start ... albeit with 15 years of knowledge behind us now.

 

[Aaron Sice]

Hmmm, Mr Sice, is that sig related to Nineteen Eighty Four (George Orwell)?

no, it's advice i gave to a friend who was trying to dodge paying some tax.

 

[Aaron Sice]

i wish you all the best aaron.

just like skater, we too went thru that "cleansing" stage starting around 2-3 years ago.

on advice of accountants etc we'd set up complicated trust and company structures - only to have it cost us over $100,000 in real cash over the years. we're still carrying the losses on a company structure that hope to soak up in the near future.

we ditched the exhorbiantly expensive accountant, sold everything except the ppor, bought two new-ish cars for cash, thought about what we really want to invest in (after trying everything under the sun over the years) and launched outselves back out again only 3 months ago with two stress-free ip's and new business venture.

it was very freeing to have cash in the bank (still a substantial amount) and a fresh start ... albeit with 15 years of knowledge behind us now.

that's incredible - that's the path i see laid out for myself.

i can choose to ignore and complicate it further, or eradicate the problems and start again the way i know is right for me.

 

[skater]

just like skater, we too went thru that "cleansing" stage starting around 2-3 years ago.

.

Only we didn't finalise the cleansing process.

Got rid of some in the Trust, but still have the Trust and still holding more that I want to dispose of, but am thinking of waiting until we get Hubby free of the work force. We have put a plug in the massive losses now, so financially it is much, much better, it is just a massive headache in the administrative sense. We have substantial losses sitting there that we can't offset against anything else, so any suggestions on how to do that would be great. It is the fear of losing the losses (does that make sense?) that is one of the things that has kept us from removing the Trust altogether.

 

[Aaron Sice]

Only we didn't finalise the cleansing process.

Got rid of some in the Trust, but still have the Trust and still holding more that I want to dispose of, but am thinking of waiting until we get Hubby free of the work force. We have put a plug in the massive losses now, so financially it is much, much better, it is just a massive headache in the administrative sense. We have substantial losses sitting there that we can't offset against anything else, so any suggestions on how to do that would be great. It is the fear of losing the losses (does that make sense?) that is one of the things that has kept us from removing the Trust altogether.

it's that fear - both the fear of loss and the fear of missig out (greed) - that is part of those things that are being expunged.

 

[skater]

I know that the feeling of relief when we cleared some of the Trust assets was amazing. Good luck to you Aaron.

 

[jaycee]

i've always said focus on yourself and the money is a side effect of a successful person.

it's time to put that into practise.

Best of luck Aaron, both wise words and brave action, it's not easy to admit, and I reckon even harder to do.

 

[steveadl]

Good luck with it Aaron.

I've recently been having similar thoughts - sometimes things become overwhelming and you get tired of the stress.

Haven't sold anything yet, but taking steps to help cashflow.

 

[Perp]

Have you run the numbers to see if this is a break even strategy?

Hopefully you're doing it because the numbers work (or you want different underlying investments) and not just as an expensive way to get a cathartic feeling.

What is money for but giving us what we need and (hopefully) want in life? Money serves us, we don't serve money.

If what Aaron needs right now is catharsis, then there's nothing wrong with spending some money (via incurring losses/expenses) to get it, just as if he needed medical treatment, he'd pay for it.

i'm 30. i'm not worried about the time i have. i think i've done well, to date. i certainly have a lot more left in me. i still have an appetite for calculated risk. i see opportunity in new things - that i haven't mentioned - that will allow me to grow both as a person and financially as a side benefit.

i've always said focus on yourself and the money is a side effect of a successful person.

it's time to put that into practise.

Aaron knows more, has more assets, and far more energy than I had at 30. He's also got a good head on his shoulders, and, I perceive, the most important of all: a fabulous wife and family, solid relationships, and his priorities straight. In many ways, he's already achieved all that anybody could reasonably want from life.

Aaron, you can't help but have an enormously successful life. You're an inspiration and I know this will be a great move for you and your gorgeous family.

But have you considered that if you just move the profits from the business to offset the CGT liability in your Trust...

 

[willair]

i'm not really having a midlife crisis - and i'm certainly not chucking in the towel.



i'm 30. i'm not worried about the time i have. i think i've done well, to date. i certainly have a lot more left in me. i still have an appetite for calculated risk. i see opportunity in new things - that i haven't mentioned - that will allow me to grow both as a person and financially as a side benefit.
.

Wait till you get above 55,then looks back and see how fast it all goes sometimes it pays to step back and see what road you are on and wake up stress free,i don't follow the WA market so you may see something that others don't,you are still a young Man,and someone like you from the way i read things does not need to work just be street smart..
good luck..
http://www.nimbinrealestate.com.au/

 

[investor2009]

Hey Az!

Just wondering how your current situation is going, are you still going ahead in liquidating your portfolio?

I sometimes feel it would be nice to have the monkey off my back, but I know it's completely opposite my best interests and goals for the future.
Financial freedom sometimes seems so far away, especially since my portfolio has pretty well done nothing for the past 6 months, this is the first time I've experienced a stabilisation period, but I know it's just a part of the cycle and we all just have to wait it out. FWIW I'm 30 also.

Cheers Aaron, thanks for sharing your thoughts and actions in this thread.