What is your net worth? 1,695,000
Are you filling this out as an individual or a couple? Couple
At what age(s) did you become a net worth millionaire? 42 and 38
What region of New Zealand do you live in? Wellington
How did you accumulate your net worth, what are you invested in? Property has been the most impactful to our net worth, but we have recently exited all property apart from our primary home. We now hold a single property (approx 50%), index funds (majority of balance), KiwiSaver and cash deposits.
What was your highest average household WEEKLY income after tax? $200,000 (I think they mean yearly - Ruth)
What is your career? Accountant and Social Worker
Do you have children? YES
Do you have a tertiary qualification? YES
Did you inherit any of your money? YES
If YES, how much did you inherit? $100,000
What's the approximate value of your house? $850,000
Are you debt free now? YES
Are you in KiwiSaver? YES
Were you taught about money? YES
If YES, how were you taught? Self-taught mainly. Internet reading, The Happy Saver(!) and the Barefoot Investor.
What is the most enjoyable thing you do with money? Letting the funds do its thing in index funds. Look at it once a month and then ignore and get on with life. No more rental properties, fixing issues, dealing with tenants.
Do you use your money or your time to help others? YES
If YES, can you please elaborate. Volunteer in the community residents association, and chair the local school board.
What is your greatest financial win? In terms of greatest financial impact, it was buying and selling a few properties at the right time… but I appreciate that was all luck on my part and not any great financial management. My personal greatest win is educating myself about index funds and just letting time and compounding do their thing. Also not getting upset when the market crashes - just go along for the ride - I have 20 years until I need this money, so what happens today won’t have a great overall impact.
What is your worst financial mistake? Not starting earlier. My wife and I were always frugal, but seeing the power of investing early and the overall impact this can have would have been nice to know!
What advice do you have for others? Do you! There is a lot of information out there and we all have different situations. Do as much research as you can, but then choose the path that works best for you. It might take some mistakes and changes along the way, but focus on what is important first, you - not what someone tells you. Also, you only get one life - make sure you enjoy it. I feel we got lucky in the property boom of the late 2010s/early 2020s, so I don’t feel like I knew what I was doing. Reading and education is the way to get forward.
What is the point of having a net worth above $1,000,000. What does it mean to you? Flexibility and freedom. Building a net worth that can allow our family to focus on what is most important to us and not stressing about finances. Having the ability to change if change is required. Today’s life is stressful enough, so many people (especially post COVID) appear to have very busy and stressful lives. Having our finances under control is one less thing for us to stress about.
Finish these sentences:
If you want to build wealth do this… Read and educate yourself. Maximise the power of compounding as early as you can.
If you want to build wealth avoid doing this… ‘Hoping’ to be lucky. Take control of what you can control.