To climb onto the investment property ladder I saved $500,000 in 6 years.
Yes, half-a-million. In 6 years.
This sizeable saving was also achieved on just a normal wage. I wasn't on mega-money. There was no 6-figure salary, and there was no additional cash injection from a rich Aunt who recently passed.
Instead, it was steadfast dedication from my partner and I, who agreed to sever our spending to see it happen.
Today, we control a property portfolio worth over $2.2 million. The properties won’t settle until 2022, but they are already gaining in value and neither of us have any intention of selling them for the next 20-30 years.
So you might be worried – If you work with me as a property partner, am I going to tell you off for buying shoes, coffee or power tools?”
I admit my savings theory of “slashing everything” might not be suitable to most investors.
But when the conversation comes up, this does mean I can give good advice if investors do want to save more.
Actually, most people don’t have to make such drastic changes to their lifestyle to save more. That’s if they aren’t being irresponsible with their money.
But my personal experience has shaped my ethos around how I want to help clients.
Working as a property partner with Opes, I help would-be investors acknowledge their potential earlier than if they did it on their own. Because, everyone, from all walks of life, can be in a position to invest.
Before joining Opes, I had “done a lot” of things, which saw me build experience for my current role helping Kiwis.
In 2010, shortly after the financial crisis, when nobody wanted or liked property, I was helping people invest in real estate.
It’s really gratifying to see those people have earned hundreds of thousands or more since then.
Later, I worked for Aspire Advisors, a property and mortgage expert firm. This was later bought out by Squirrel Mortgages in 2015 when I continued to work for the company.
Before coming to Opes in January 2021, I was the Chief Operating Officer of online fitness company, Josef Rakich Fitness.
I haven't done everything perfectly though. I've made a lot of bad decisions along my investment journey, and I know what it’s like to be broke and come out the other side on top.
In fact that’s one of the things I think makes me of most value to the investors I works with.
Whether the investor I sit in front of has little money, or a bit more, I've been in that situation too.
To me, building wealth is really simple. All you have to do is carve out a piece of your income and apply it to assets that tend to go up in value over time that won’t dilute.
The economic machine is designed to deflate the value of your money. So all you have to do is acquire assets that can’t be diluted, and hold on to them for the long term.
It sounds simple because it is.
