WEBVTT - START HERE! HELP! I am 38 and don't know what to do! How can I catch up? 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:04.160 Good morning, everyone, and welcome back to Sugar Mama's Fireplay, 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:08.200 the podcast that ignites your financial journey with inspiring stories 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:14.640 and innovative wealth accumulation strategies. I am your host financial planner, 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:18.760 Canna Campbell, and today we have episode one of our 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:23.279 new series. Start here. This is where I will be 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.760 answering your questions when it comes to what you should 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:31.000 be thinking about, learning about, and quite possibly doing to 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:35.000 get your finances moving in the right direction where you 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:38.800 can potentially make up for lost time and stay ahead 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:57.200 of the So let us begin now. Before we begin 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.560 today's episode, I must do my upfront compliance duties, and 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.600 that is to remind everyone that this episode, as with 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:08.240 all of my episodes, are general advice only. Nothing is 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:12.080 personal advice, product advice, strategic advice, or investment advice. And 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.160 that is simply because I do not know anything about 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:19.839 your goals, your dreams, your situation, your liabilities, your deadlines, 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:23.000 or your risk profile may be and the finer details. 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:27.479 All of my advice is educationally based only. Not at 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:30.919 any stage is this personal advice, investment advice, product advice, 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:35.560 or even strategic advice. It is simply to help educate 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:40.600 you offer as a guide for your further research, analysis, 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:45.400 and investigation. Please always refer to my financial planning and 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:49.960 general advice warning in the podcast notes. All right, with 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.040 that done, let us begin. So the other day I 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:56.640 received a DM on Instagram and it said, Hi, Canna, 0:01:56.720 --> 0:02:00.680 I'm absolutely loving your work. I'm sure you get dms, 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:02.560 but I was wondering if you had an episode or 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:06.440 could create one about people in a similar situation to me. 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:11.040 I'm thirty five, don't own my own home, and I 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:14.040 haven't been great with money. I earn eighty thousand dollars 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:17.639 a year. I have sixty thousand dollars in savings and 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:21.440 two thousand dollars in my emergency fund. My expenses are 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.560 low as I live at home, but continue beating myself 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:26.919 up as I should be in a better position financially. 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.200 I'd love to start investing for my future security, but 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:33.920 I feel it is too late at my age. So 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.640 this is the birth of the new series. As I said, 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:38.960 start here. This is where I'm going to open up 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:40.799 the forum for you to be able to reach out 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:45.360 directly to me on Instagram and ask me what I think. 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:49.880 What I suggest you start learning about, investigating, understanding, and 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:53.000 potentially applying in your life after getting personal advice from 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.359 a financial plan. These episodes start here to help get 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:59.560 the wheels in motion again, help you find your faith 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.200 and calmvidence in yourself and create that direction, that purpose, 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:06.040 that clarity, so you can go from strength to strength 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:09.080 and quite possibly help you make up for lost time 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.320 where you can potentially end up being ahead of the game. 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:14.760 So once you've listened to this episode, don't be afraid 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:18.200 to send me a DM asking me where should I start? 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:20.040 All right, so the first thing I think about when 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.639 I read this DM is that it is never too late. 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:30.120 When you put the right sensible, wise intelligent strategies in place, 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:34.120 you can make up for lost time. And in fact, 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:37.920 sometimes if you are really persistent and determined, you can 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:42.440 actually get ahead of the game. You see, I don't 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:45.480 really believe in any mistakes. And it's that old Buddhist saying, 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:50.080 when the student is ready, the teacher appears. So what 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:54.240 my advice to you to start is to actually behind yourself, 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:59.000 be compassionate, beating yourself up that you've been bad with money, 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:03.720 wasted time. Wasted money serves no one, especially you. So 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:06.120 it is time now to draw a line in the 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:09.080 sand and say to yourself, I'm now going to do 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:12.520 things differently. I'm going to do things better, and I'm 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:16.520 going to honor my future financial wellbeing as well as 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:20.039 my mental and emotional financial wellbeing. And for the record, 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:23.039 no one is dumb or bad with money. You get 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:27.240 started as soon as you possibly can. The second thing 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:31.279 that stands out to me is the importance and I 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:35.320 think need right now for some simple kindness and compassion 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.920 towards yourself. We are all doing the best we can 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:43.479 do with the resources we've got. And to me, I 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:45.479 may be making a bit of an assumption here, but 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.400 I have a feeling that no one has actually ever 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:53.280 sat down and given you any form of financial education whatsoever. 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:55.960 I would put money on it, and I'm not a 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.839 gambling person, so this says a lot. But I would 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.599 pretty much suspect that no one's talked to you about money. 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:05.279 No one's talked to you about how to do a budget, 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.240 or how to use a credit card wisely, or how 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:11.280 to start investing, or why your superannuation is so important. 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.120 And then I would also suspect that no one's ever 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:18.839 taught you how to set some simple financial goals for yourself. 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:21.600 So what I would love for you to do right 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:23.520 now is to draw a line in the sand and 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:26.799 know that it is great that you're aware of this now, 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:30.000 because you're now going to do something about it directly. 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:33.159 You're going to step up. You're going to take this 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:37.760 problem with two hands by the horns and put some smart, intelligent, 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:45.600 wise actions in place as quickly as you possibly can. Now, 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:48.920 where do I think you should start? Again to remind 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:51.480 you that this is general advice, because to this person 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.479 who sent me this DM, I actually, other than the 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.880 fragmented information you've provided me right here, I don't know 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.760 much about you. I don't know the details of your goals. 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:03.880 I don't know what the time frame is for these goals. 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:07.640 I have no idea what your risk profile is. I 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.040 have no idea what debts you may have, maybe credit 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.640 cards or car loans, or personal loans or maybe investment loans. 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:17.159 And I also don't know about what you value, what's 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.520 really important to you. So again, for all the listeners, 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.760 and particularly for this person who sent me this DM, 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:26.240 please take this as general advice only and as a 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:30.520 guide to get you moving. But this is where I 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:35.200 recommend you start. Start here. So here are some assumptions 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:38.479 I'm going to be making in this particular episode for you, 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:41.480 the writer of this DM, and also for the listeners. 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:44.600 So Number one is I'm going to assume, for simplicity 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:48.080 here and educational purposes, that there is no toxic debt 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.359 right now, so there's no credit card car loans or 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.120 personal loans. I'm also going to make the assumption here 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:56.040 that there is no desire to buy a home, and 0:06:56.080 --> 0:07:01.200 that this particular person values financial freedom first before buying 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:04.400 a property, and that they are a long term investor. 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:07.039 They understand that it takes time to make money, and 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:10.000 they're certainly not looking for any get rich quick schemes 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:13.560 because that's not my jam. So this is where I 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:18.640 recommend you start. Number one, invest some time writing down 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:23.560 some goals. Financial goals. Goals that excites you, goals that 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:27.040 make you feel empowered, Goals that even maybe scare you 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:29.520 a little. And if you don't know where to start, 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:32.920 can I recommend having a goal that is based around 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:36.920 what I call a mindful money number goal, a passive 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:39.960 income goal. So you would set a goal for yourself 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:42.680 to build a passive income for example of twenty thousand 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:45.520 dollars a year or fifty thousand dollars a year, or 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:47.560 eighty thousand dollars a year or one hundred and twenty 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.760 thousand dollars a year. A mindful money number goal is 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:52.960 the amount of passive income that you would like to 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:57.000 build over time for yourself to give for yourself that 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:01.160 sense of financial freedom and for this person security. And 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:03.720 you may want to keep this number low initially as 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:06.120 you find your feet and build your faith and confidence 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:09.080 within yourself, but having a goal to build up a 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:11.560 passive income is definitely a goal that you're never going 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:14.840 to regret setting for yourself. Trust me on that, I'm 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.200 a financial planner and I've always been working on my 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:20.520 financial goals. Not only does this excite me and motivate 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:22.920 me and make me accountable with my money, it also 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.200 acts as a beacon of light for those times where 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:29.800 I'm frustrated, annoyed, or just having a crap day. So 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.800 invest time setting goals for yourself, but most importantly, having 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:37.040 a mindful money number that is a passive income goal. 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.680 Number two emergency money. You mentioned in your DM that 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.960 there is only two thousand dollars in emergency money. That 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.880 is simply not enough. You really need to sit down 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.079 and look at your individual situation and what your life, 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:54.360 your responsibilities look like, and what the cost of things 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:57.800 going wrong would be. Then look at three of those 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:01.040 expenses happening all at the same time. That will start 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:03.840 to give you a much clearer idea as to how 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:07.760 much emergency money you need. Now. I actually have an 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:10.800 episode purely based on working out how much emergency money 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:14.240 you need on both Sugar Mummers fireplay and on how 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:16.320 do you afford that? Or how do they afford that? 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.920 I should say, so make sure you have enough. But 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.240 I can tell you for the record, two thousand dollars 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:24.080 is not enough. I don't care how much annually you've got, 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:26.440 how much sickly you've got, the fact that you live 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:30.280 at home. You need to be real about what your 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.680 situation looks like and what could possibly go wrong. It's 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:39.360 about being real, responsible and honest with yourself. Now, once 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:42.360 you've worked out how much emergency money you need, you 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.520 need to make sure that it is kept in a 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.960 separate savings account away from your everyday spending account, and 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.800 you nickname it my emergency money, and if possible, put 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.800 the amount of emergency money in the title to remind 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:57.640 you as to how much you must always maintain in 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:03.400 emergency money. This is a non negotiable and just so 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:07.800 you know, I've never had someone regret having emergency money. 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:10.400 In fact, the only other thing I ever hear is 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:13.239 I wish I'd had a bit more in emergency money. 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:17.360 Step number three is to do a budget, sit down 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:22.080 and look at your living expenses, look at what has 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.400 to stay and what could possibly go. Now you're in 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:27.959 a very fortunate position to be able to be living 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:31.760 at home with low living expenses, so use this to 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:35.920 your financial advantage to help maximize how much money you 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:38.360 can save, or even better, how much money you can 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:42.520 start investing. Now, I'm not sure what that sixty thousand 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.520 dollars is earmarked for, and I'm not going about to 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:48.640 go and provide advice for it, but it is very 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.760 important that you understand the difference between money for short 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:55.679 term expenses and money for the long term. So money 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.240 for short term expenses is money that should always be 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:03.959 maintained in assets such as cash, fixed interest or term deposits. 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:06.480 The reason why is you don't have the benefit of 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:09.000 time to see your money bounce around like a go 0:11:09.160 --> 0:11:12.360 yo with high levels of volatility that often come with 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:16.720 high growth assets. It's a risk versus return balance. So 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.440 please always keep in mind any money that you think 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:23.880 you're going to need within the next one to five 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:28.520 years should always be maintained in a safe, conservative environment. 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:33.040 Do not gamble with this money. Yes, you may manage 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:35.720 to get lucky and double your money or make an 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:39.040 extra ten to fifteen percent over that time, but what 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:43.240 if that money drops in value last minute with market 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:46.559 volatility and pullbacks and corrections. You never want to be 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:49.520 in a position where you have to crystallize a loss. 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.160 When you do a budget, it really makes you aware 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:54.800 of where your money goes, and you can quickly and 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:59.240 easily identify any financial waste stage or things that actually 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.720 you don't vowvalue or value as much anymore, so then 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.200 you can look at cutting them down or cutting them 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:09.120 out completely. Now, to avoid that lifestyle creep, it is 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:13.800 really important that you immediately proactively replace those newfound savings. So, 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:15.920 for example, if you realize that you're paying for a 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:18.880 subscription service that's costing thirty dollars per month and you 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.240 realize you don't use it anymore, you don't actually value 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:24.120 it anymore and you cancel it, make sure you replace 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.520 that with a regular savings plan, or a regular investment plan, 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:31.520 or a regular debt reduction plan by that thirty dollars, 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.280 Because if you don't do this, that thirty dollars very 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.000 quickly will be end up being spent somewhere else, and 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:38.760 you'll be scratching your head, going where did all these 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.840 newfound savings actually go? You want to proactively take control 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:47.360 and redirect them towards your financial goals, whichever they may be. 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:50.160 But in this case, let's assume it's a passive income goal, 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:53.839 that mindful money number goal. So as you do your budget, 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:55.720 go as far back as you can look at the 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:58.480 cold heart reality of your bank transactions so you can 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:01.719 see what things actually cost. This will also allow you 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:06.040 to see what change in expenses you've experienced without realizing. 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:08.120 So a gym membership may have actually gone up without 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:11.480 your realization, or you may actually be spending more money 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:14.560 on say clothes or restaurants or takeaways than you like 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:17.840 to actually think you do. So go through those transactions 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:21.040 and go back as far as you possibly can. Now 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.360 for anyone who's listening, goes, actually, I really need help 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:26.160 with my budget. Please head to my link in the 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:28.800 podcast notes because I can share with you the Sugar 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.439 Mamma Budget and cash Flow Academy, where I teach everyone 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:34.520 how to do a budget and build a cash flow 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:38.360 system for their individual needs. And this is a brilliant 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:40.360 program where you learn how to do a budget the 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:42.120 right way the first time, and you just get on 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:43.880 and deal with it and don't only have to think 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.440 about too much going forward because it starts working for 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:50.080 you quickly and easily. So step number three to reiterate 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:51.920 is you've got to do a budget and from that 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:55.160 you've got to work out where your savings or even 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:59.520 better investment plan can begin. So, as I said, look 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:01.520 at all those things you've been able to cut out 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:04.800 and cut down, add them up, and then set up 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:10.239 a regular investment plan, ideally where that newfound savings accumulated 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:13.240 go into a separate savings account. And to make it 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.880 actually happen and not create another task on your list 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:19.000 of things to do, set up a regular savings plan 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:22.120 so that the moment you get paid that thirty dollars 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:23.920 per month or three hundred dollars per month or what 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:25.200 are the total amount of things you've been able to 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:27.320 cut out of your budget to free up. Money comes 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.240 out of your account as a priority a couple of 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:31.960 days after being paid and into a separate savings account 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.000 where it can sit there safely, away from temptation, and 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:39.160 accumulate and be used when you're ready to start investing 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:42.600 or working on that particular financial goal. Step number four 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:46.000 is to do some work on your mindset. Clearly, in 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:48.280 reading this DM, I can see that this person is 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:52.040 really feeling very insecure, lacking a lot of faith and 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:58.680 self confidence within yourself. This doesn't serve you. You need 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.080 to realize you're actually doing a great job. The fact 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.920 that you're listening to these episodes around investing and financial 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:09.240 freedom and independence is brilliant. That to me shows you're 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:13.360 very motivated, You've got direction, and you clearly understand the 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:15.760 importance of all these things because you've made these decisions 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:19.160 and you've reached out directly to me. As I said, 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.480 you have sixty thousand dollars in savings. That is evidence 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:24.440 you're actually smart with money and you actually know to 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:26.560 have emergency money, even though it may not necessarily be 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:28.760 the right amount. Can you please take a moment to 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:31.840 give yourself a pat on the back, and can you 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:34.880 also get excited about these new goals about what your 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:36.960 future is now going to look like. And you now 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.600 know that it is never too late, and you've got 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:44.520 plenty of time and options and opportunities around you to 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:46.520 make up for lost time and to get back on track, 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.960 and even better, to get ahead of the game, and 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.800 even better, stay ahead of the game. So write down 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:56.560 things that you are grateful for, write down things that 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:01.200 you are excited about in embracing this journey, and really 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:04.000 look at the things that exist within you that you 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.800 can turn the volume up and actually become better with 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.800 what you are doing already. So clearly you're good at savings. 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:12.680 So now we need to turn the volume on that 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:15.520 skill set that you already have within you and shift 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.240 it and allow it to evolve and grow into becoming 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:21.760 a great investor. Your greater savings. You're now going to 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.680 become a great at investing. So work on this and 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.760 always be aware of your mindset. We all have these 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:32.000 little like negative self tught conversations that creep into our minds. 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.280 We just need to create the awareness so that if 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:37.600 we hear them, we shut them down quickly. And laugh 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.880 them off and then go and replace them with empowering 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:45.920 affirmations and positive self talk. Number five is to educate 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:49.480 yourself now. Of course it goes without saying. If this 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:52.400 part is overwhelming you don't want to do it, and 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:54.880 you know that you're going to procrastinate, go and see 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.240 a financial planner. This is what they do for a living. 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:00.280 They can give you personal advice. They can go into 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.960 the finer details that's really needed right now and look 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:06.080 at the goals, help you even come up with some 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:10.080 goals and more details for those goals and actually get 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:12.960 them in place. I think one of the most underested 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:16.240 things about a financial planner is they stop the thinking 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:19.160 and the talking, but make things actually happen because they 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.720 go and do it for you. And before you know it, 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:24.440 you've got a share portfolio, and before you know it, 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:26.639 you've got a savings plan for an investment property, or 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:28.879 before you know you've got a debt recycling strategy in place, 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:31.320 or before you know it, your superannuation has now been 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:35.600 fixed and corrected and is invested correctly with the right contribution. 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:37.960 Advice around how to make sure you've have enough money 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:41.119 in retirement. This is the value of financial planner it 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.920 is they get things done. And if your time poor 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:48.480 find is overwhelming and want to spend your weekends with 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.400 your family and friends doing fun things good, go see 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:53.680 a financial planner and get them to do it. Delegate. 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.679 We delegate things like our dry cleaning and our ironing, 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:00.520 and some of us are gardening and just the maintenance 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.000 of our homes and cleaning of our homes. Delegate to 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.919 a financial planner. It makes sense. But if you want 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:07.760 to go down this path where it's all about self 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.280 education and doing this for yourself, and you feel a 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:14.040 little bit intimidated seeing a financial planner for the short term, 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.840 which I can kind of understand, make sure you use 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:18.639 this time to educate yourself so that when you do 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:21.560 see a financial planner, you turn up going, Hi, this 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:23.200 is who I am, this is what I've done so far, 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.920 because I did this, this and this and why, and 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:27.840 this is now what I need from you, And these 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:29.439 are the goals I want to achieve, and this is 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:30.720 where I want to learn more of and this is 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:32.480 what I'd like you to help me to do. That 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:35.359 is going to make your relationship with your financial planner 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:38.399 so much better. And the financial planner is going to 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:40.960 take you really seriously because you know what you want 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:44.040 and you are determined to make sure it happens. So 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.400 we'll make the financial planner's job a lot easier as well. 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:48.520 But as I said, if you're going down the self 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:52.040 education path, you've got to pick up some books and 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:55.359 start reading them. My book Mindful Money is pretty much 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:58.000 a roadmap from start to finish as to what to do. 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:00.720 I really focus on how to start investing, how to 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:03.000 build up that passive income. I mean the book's called 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:05.240 Mindful Money, so it's literally how to build that mindful 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:07.520 money number goal. And I talk about, as I said, 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:10.399 debt recycling. I talk about your superannuation, how to invest 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:14.000 it correctly, what to look for, how to understand market 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:18.120 pullbacks and corrections, the importance of long term investing, being patient, 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.440 your emotions, your mindset. I do everything in that book. 0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:24.240 It's a great place to start. The other book that 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:27.480 I highly recommend everyone reads, and you would have listened 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:30.000 to my episodes with Peter Thornhill, and that's Motivated Money, 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:33.399 particularly if you want to start investing in shares. And 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.400 then of course you need to educate yourself around superannuation. 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:40.200 Why it is so important. Superannuation is most likely going 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:42.840 to be the biggest financial asset that we will ever 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:46.239 own in our lives. And if you look at how 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:49.280 much money our employers are putting in every single year, 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:51.919 that percentage is only increasing, so we're putting more and 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.040 money in there. Our superinnuation is simply an investment portfolio 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:58.600 is just locked away from temptation because the government knows 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.840 we'll go and spend it, because that's what we tend 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:04.919 to do. You should also start educating yourself around the 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.600 power of gearing. No, that is not advice to start 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.159 borrowing money to invest, far from it. It is to 0:20:11.280 --> 0:20:14.680 understand what gearing is, the risks involve, the costs involved, 0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:18.520 and when is possibly the right time to consider using 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:20.680 something like this, and how to do it in a sensible, 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:24.400 wise conservative way that actually adds value to your financial 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:28.560 situation in helping you achieve your goals more efficiently and effectively. 0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:32.679 It's also important that you understand the different types of investments. 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:37.360 I have a huge passion around shares, in particular industrial shares. No, 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:39.840 I'm not recommending that, but it's important that you understand 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:43.160 there are plenty of others. Some people will be better 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:46.960 off looking at bonds, corporate bonds, government bonds. Some people 0:20:46.960 --> 0:20:49.879 will be better looking at residential investment properties because that's 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:52.439 what suits them and their needs. Some people will be 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:54.320 better of having a great mix of all of them. 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.639 So it's important that you understand what the different asset 0:20:57.640 --> 0:20:59.639 class is out there and what is the right blend 0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:01.880 for you. And that is when something like a risk 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:05.320 profile comes in. And when you've done a risk profile, 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:07.480 you can then use that as a guide to help 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.720 build up your investment portfolio and let you know where 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:14.600 and how you should start investing. Now, I will say 0:21:14.640 --> 0:21:16.960 this when people ask me where should I start investing. 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:18.840 Obviously I don't tell them more to invest because that 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:21.240 could be deemed as advice, and that's responsible and I 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:24.119 don't think about them. But if you are looking at 0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:27.280 investing and you want a diversified investment portfolio, and you 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:29.120 do not want the stress and pressure of working out 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:32.320 which investments to invest in, how, when and why and 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:35.880 in what amounts and with what market movements and currencies 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:38.960 and so forth, this is why we have wonderful products 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:43.320 out there like ETFs, diversified ETFs, like high growth ETFs, 0:21:43.440 --> 0:21:47.280 balanced ETFs ETFs that specialize in certain industries such as 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:54.560 Australian shares, Australian high yield shares, bonds, ethical investments, international investments, 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:57.760 a Japan fund, a US fund, a European fund, an 0:21:57.760 --> 0:22:00.879