What were you doing 5 / 10 / 15 / etc years ago ??

[sue78]

Now : still building H+L, busy with family life, never been so sick in my life and wondering each day when it will end.

5 years ago : bought a townhouse, bought 3 blocks of land with no deposit, built on 2...caught the property boom. Honeymoon period. Thanks to rich dad poor dad.

10 years ago : Finishing Uni, partying hard. Had a good idea about investing and making money work for me so really eager to start work. Moved to sydney for my first job, caught the dotcom wave, bought my first tech shares.
Decided I wouldn't earn enough money in Oz so went to work in NY and London for 1.5yrs. Did a lot of travelling.

When was rich dad poor dad released? I think I was about 19y.o at the time. 11 years ago. I remember going to free share seminars and dragging my best friend with me who fell asleep the entire time. Only now she can appreciate financial knowldge property and shares.

 

[Dazz]

....wow, this thing has really grown some legs and run away with itself.

I'm a tad astonished at the number of women who have dropped "idiots" and moved on with their investing. Hopefully the idiots aren't reading the thread...

Funny how life's road twists..

Exactly....I wonder how many of us sat down and planned or mapped out where we would be now 10 or 15 years ago....probably none, except the half man - half machine known as Rixter.

We certainly didn't have any plans or goals that long term. We did have "life goals" that we initially thought would take us a lifetime to achieve. With property investing to assist us, we achieved that in the first 5 years and it sort of went a bit rudderless from there. Rudderless is good I reckon, cos at the start you don't know what you don't know.....so there's not much point making goals conatined or restricted by the things you know and the very small comfort zone you operate in at the time.

I wonder what the future holds for all of us in 5 / 10 / 15 years from now ??

The wife and I are both planning on hanging around for a further 60 years or so, so the compounding thing should have kicked in by then.

Please keep the contributions coming, it's an interesting window on people's journeys thus far.

 

[steveadl]

Good thread.

Now: Engaged to a beautiful girl, business going well, properties performing well, gross assets in my control continuing to increase.

5 Yrs Ago: Moved into my first house after renting it out for the first year.

10yrs Ago: Coming to the end of Highschool with absolutely no clue as to what I wanted to do. Didn't look too far into buying an investment unit like my parents suggested.

15 Yrs Ago: Last year of primary school. Lots of time hearing the good and bad of business from my parents conversations.

20 Yrs Ago: Yr2 of primary school. Started to hear the heartache of my parents who had been misled in a business transaction and as a result would have to fight to keep the house, stay together and spend years in the courts.

 

[devo76]

Now

Happy in life,PPOR nearly paid for,1st IP a year along and getting ready for IP 2 and kids in the near future

5 YEARS AGO

Purchased PPOR,Got married and partied for the next five years like a mad man. Good times but so much lost money.

10 YEARS AGO

My Low point, Best friends dead in a car accident,lost job, plus endless other down moments

15 YEARS AGO

Starting my working life .

 

[ems]

Great thread Dazz!

Now: 2 IPS.......both on the Gold Coast. Equity around the $350,000 mark which isn't too bad considering we only started 2 years ago. Married to the best guy in the world. As of yesterday both unemployed (Scary) as were moving back to London next week. (Double Scary) Not too sure on how the job situation is like back home but if it doesn't work out then we will come back and go to the mines. Hubby is a welder by trade so could earn good money.

5 years ago: Just started working in London...Spending what I earn't and pilling up the credit cards debts. Totally in love with David Beckham

10 years ago: I was 16 so just left high school. Tried to find a job but had trouble so went onto College.

15 years ago: I was 11 so just started high school.

20 years ago: I was 6.....2nd year in Primary school.

Ems

 

[pieman]

20 yrs - trying to "make it" playing in a band in various pubs aust. wide. Worked FT in a gov dept as a clerk.
15 yrs - took voluntary redundancy from gov. job. Went back to uni FT and worked as a teller PT...ugghh
10yrs - got a graduate role in a big corporate...32 yrs old...when IT was relatively immature. Purchased first inner city house in Melbourne with the help of my redundancy and OT.
5yrs - married with first baby, purchased large PPOR on large dev. block in bayside melbourne. Was now a millionaire thanks to property and working hard.

 

[GreatPig]

Now: Comfortable, working part-time (same place for about 18 years), own PPoR with no mortgage, cashed up, no IPs, continuing to study the stock market and trade shares (although very little recently).

5 years ago: Got bulk of cash from takeover of the company I work for, where I had employee shares. Not long afterwards, joined Somersoft and one or two other forums and started reading, reading, reading, and asking questions.

10 years ago: Got married and bought PPoR (actually 9 years ago) at auction. Only decent place we'd seen in the area in about a year or so of looking. A couple of years earlier almost bought a different PPoR in the same area. Got right up to signing the contract and waiting to hear from the solicitor about the exchange being complete, only to find out a week later that the vendor had pulled out (a doddery old lady). All for the best really, as the place we got is a lot better (although also more expensive).

15 years ago: Spent two months backpacking in Japan. Somewhere around this time I also took up rockclimbing, and continued with the irregular bushwalking I'd been doing for some years. Otherwise mainly working and socialising with friends from the local gym I frequented.

20 years ago: Spent 10 weeks hitchhiking and backpacking up the Queensland coast, including a 4WD excursion to the tip of Cape York. Working for a tiny company that was going downhill, and finally went broke a couple of years later owing me a fair amount of unpaid wages (I was also broke and in debt a bit then). Good experience though.

25 years ago: Finished university the year before, started working (in NZ, for company above that later went broke) and shortly afterwards spent 6 weeks in Sydney then three months in Beijing. Six months later moved permanently to Sydney. Subsequently rented a number of different places (mostly share) up until bought PPoR about 15 years later.

GP

 

[Nathan]

now; 9 props, sydney.
5 years ago; got first job, finished school
10 years ago; in year 8 @ school
15 years ago; in year 3
20 years ago; playing with lego and building my own cities.

 

[sash]

now: reasonable portfolio of properties in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, diversifying into Share Options
5 years ago: accelerated my property acquisitions and started to look at interstate properties
10 years ago: acquired IP # 2
15 years ago: bough PPOR in Sydney
20 years ago: started my MBA in good ole USA and applied to immigrate to Australia

 

[Pogi]

Now :.............. Bought my first PPoR/IP in Sydney CBD, looking to move in in April.
5 years ago :.... Was still in uni (2nd year), working part time, travelled Asia, America and Europe.
10 years ago :.. High school - Year 8.
15 years ago :.. Primary school - Year 3.
20 years ago :.. 4 years old, just recently migrated to Australia.

 

[Rickardo]

Now :.............. Working full time, enjoying life, saving for deposit on 2nd IP. In a pretty good financial position for my age compared to the general population.

5 years ago :.... 2nd year uni, working part time, enjoying life, investing in shares, learning lots about investing and saving for an IP/PPOR

10 years ago :.. year 9 in highschool.

20 years ago :.. in kindergarten

 

[rkordic]

Now: Quite happy with my lot in life- work part-time when it suits me, or to help cash-flow. Still looking for opportunities , to make up for lost time!

5 years ago: We bought our first IP and then our second. I finally understood what investing was about.

10 years ago: Thought about buying an IP

15 years ago: Thought very seriously about buying an IP.

20 years ago: Thought about buying an investment property, but listened to people who told us you could "lose everything".

25 years ago: Sold PPOR 2ks from the city and traded up to a much bigger one inthe 'burbs. Something told me that worker's cottage could be worth a lot one day, but I didn't listen.

RK

 

[JamesGG]

Hiya,

Loving this thread. Some pretty cool stories in all these posts. As for mine...

Now: Running my businesses, properties and share portfolio. Working for the fun of it (which is perhaps a little perverse given my occupation) moreso than the necessity.

5 years ago: Studying full time (read: showing up to uni for a few hours each week) whilst continuing my accounting career around it. Learning, saving. Hadn't really started investing much at this point, other than a handful of NAB shares. They did ok.

10 years ago: Maybe 13 or 14 years old at this point, just discovered Kiyosaki and co. Devoured it, then started skipping classes, talking to people, and enjoying life a hell of a lot more.

15 years ago: Massive nerd, few (if any) friends. Wanted to be an accountant when I grew up just cos that's what Dad did.

20 years ago: Just learning to read and write and tie my shoelaces and play chess. Not a care in the world. Good times.

Cheers

James.

 

[kissfan]

Now: Have a portfolio of IP's (7) and a fair whack in mgd funds. Still pondering my next move (still a KISS fan )

5yrs ago: Had 5 or 6 IP's, was trying to come up with ways of getting ahead quicker. (yes, was still a KISS fan)

10yrs ago: Bought first IP, after paying off PPOR (you guessed it, was still a KISS fan)

15yrs ago: Was working away (wife & I) trying to pay off PPOR and raising family. Probably started thinking about creating wealth, pity I didn't actually act then. (ahem...still a KISS fan)

20yrs ago: Working away, from memory, saving to get deposit. Pondering my next move (some things never change) (Still into KISS)

25-30yrs ago: Was a massive KISS fan and that's all that seemed to matter then

Regards
Marty

 

[HiEquity]

Now: Got a toddler and a baby. About to move into dream PPOR (well dream location - we can work on the house later!) by the beach in Perth (was an IP) if we can sell current PPOR. Bought 2 more IPS this year so far. Eager to get into commercial / industrial - looking at a whale (for us) at the moment. Still working though.

5 years ago: Got married to my beautiful bride. Had a few IPs by then. In the middle of a multi unit development that took way too long... haven't done any developing since.

10 years ago: Just out of uni. Got my first PPOR and proceeded to pay down ASAP. Spent a lot of time engaging in various water sports (those were the days!).

15 years ago: Started uni. Working at pizza shops / food wholesalers and saving pretty hard. Partying but only if it wasn't too expensive!

20 years ago: Just started high school.

 

[quoll]

now: in the sh!. but slowly extracting our selves from the mess we created.

5 years ago: 2003 - 2 IP's - buying 3rd IP
10 years ago: 1998 - selling 1st PPOR $85k and buying 750m2 block on esplanade
15 years ago: 1993 - buying 1st PPOR $80k getting out of renting $120wk for $60k house
20 years ago: 1988 - beach bum, tanned, sun bleached hair, working part time, met wife around this time.

It's good to look back bit of reflection on what we have learnt and how thinking has changed over the years.

thanks for starting the thread Dazz.
Regards
Graeme

 

[lizzie]

now: in the sh!. but slowly extracting our selves from the mess we created.

are there any lessons there for the rest of us? you seemed to be travelling well 5 years ago, what got you in the sh .. ?

you don't have to answer if you don't want, but i am always eager to learn from mistakes - often my own but sometimes from other people.

 

[GreatPig]

still a KISS fan

Is your wife sick to death of KISS yet?

GP

 

[tess85]

20 years ago - was a screaming toddler in their terrible threes.

...

5 years ago - 1st year uni. Decided I wanted to be a home-owner as soon as I graduated & got a full-time job... looking at small inner-west Sydney apartment which I could service on 1 income. I even picked the street I wanted to buy in! Also met hubby-to-be and started dating. Took on too many casual jobs but saved steadily towards deposit.

Now - married - about to buy our PPoR - can afford something nicer with 2 incomes (but only slightly nicer due to increase in Sydney market)! But I'm sure glad I started saving early. Many friends still rent, zero savings.

 

[whitehope06]

23 years ago --- went to uni,got married, had a baby
15 years ago --- came to Australia with my family
10 years ago --- never thought I'll stay here more than 5 years
5 years ago ----- dreaming to buy our PPOR
1.5 years ago --- bought our PPOR
NOW------------- love to buy our first IP