Want to Make 2024 the BEST Year Yet?

Life is full of challenges and opportunities, but also full of choices and decisions. How do you know what to do, where to go, and how to get there? How do you make the most of your time, talents, and resources? How do you achieve your dreams and aspirations?

One of the most powerful tools that can help you answer these questions and guide your actions is goal setting. Goal setting is the process of identifying and defining what you want to accomplish, and how you plan to do it. Goal setting can help you clarify your vision, focus your efforts, and measure your progress.

Here are a few examples to establish WHY goals are so important:

To illustrate the power and importance of goal setting, here are some anecdotes of people who used SMARTER goals to get ahead of life:

• Oprah Winfrey: The media mogul and philanthropist had a vision and purpose of inspiring and empowering people through her work. She set SMARTER goals for her career, such as becoming the first African-American woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show, launching her own television network, and producing and starring in movies and shows. She broke down her goals into stepping stones, such as getting a job as a news anchor, creating her own production company, and acquiring the rights to books and stories. She took action, such as working hard, learning new skills, and building relationships/networking. She evaluated her goals and made new ones, such as expanding her brand, diversifying her portfolio, and giving back to society.

• J.K. Rowling: The author and activist had a vision and purpose of sharing her imagination and passion with the world through her writing. She set SMARTER goals for her books, such as finishing her manuscript, finding a publisher, and reaching a wide audience. She broke down her goals into sub-goals and milestones, such as writing chapters, sending queries, and promoting her work. She took action on her goals, such as dedicating time, seeking feedback, and facing rejection. She evaluated and revised her goals, such as improving her craft, expanding her series, and supporting causes.

Those are but a few examples of successful people who have used the premise of SMARTER goals, even if they did not think they were. A lot of the time, this principle will come naturally, as it is innate in those who want to achieve more for themselves and their community.

But not all goals are created equal. Some goals are vague, unrealistic, or irrelevant, and they can lead to frustration, disappointment, or failure. That’s why you need to set goals that are SMARTER: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluated, and Revised. These criteria can help you create goals that are clear, realistic, and meaningful, and that can motivate you to take action and achieve results.

Let’s look at each of these criteria in more detail, and see how they can help you get ahead of life.

Specific

A specific goal is one that answers the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how. A specific goal is not vague or general, but rather precise and detailed. For example, instead of saying “I want to be successful”, a specific goal would be “I want to start my own online business by the end of this year”.

A specific goal helps you to:

• Define exactly what you want to achieve

• Identify the steps and resources you need to take and use

• Avoid confusion and ambiguity

• Communicate your goal clearly to others

Measurable

A measurable goal is one that has a quantifiable indicator of progress and success. A measurable goal is not subjective or abstract, but rather objective and concrete. For example, instead of saying “I want to be happy”, a measurable goal would be “I want to increase my satisfaction score by 10 points in the next six months”.

A measurable goal helps you to:

• Track and monitor your progress and performance

• Evaluate your results and outcomes

• Celebrate your achievements and milestones

• Adjust your actions and strategies if needed

Achievable

An achievable goal is one that is within your reach and ability. An achievable goal is not impossible or unrealistic, but rather challenging and feasible. For example, instead of saying “I want to be a millionaire by tomorrow”, an achievable goal would be “I want to save $10,000 by the end of this year”.

An achievable goal helps you to:

• Assess your current situation and capabilities

• Set realistic expectations and standards

• Boost your confidence and self-efficacy

• Overcome obstacles and difficulties

Relevant

A relevant goal is one that is aligned with your values, interests, and purpose. A relevant goal is not irrelevant or random, but rather meaningful and significant. For example, instead of saying “I want to learn how to play the piano”, a relevant goal would be “I want to learn how to play the piano because I love music and I want to express myself creatively”.

A relevant goal helps you to:

• Connect your goal with your vision and mission

• Prioritize your goal among other competing demands

• Stay motivated and passionate about your goal

• Enhance your happiness and fulfillment

Time-bound

A time-bound goal is one that has a specific deadline or timeframe. A time-bound goal is not open-ended or indefinite, but rather timely and urgent. For example, instead of saying “I want to travel the world”, a time-bound goal would be “I want to visit 10 countries in the next two years”.

A time-bound goal helps you to:

• Create a sense of urgency and commitment

• Plan and schedule your actions and tasks

• Manage your time and resources effectively

• Avoid procrastination and distraction

Evaluated

An evaluated goal is one that is regularly reviewed and assessed. An evaluated goal is not static or fixed, but rather dynamic and flexible. For example, instead of saying “I want to lose weight”, an evaluated goal would be “I want to lose 10 pounds in the next three months, and I will check my weight and body fat percentage every week”.

An evaluated goal helps you to:

• Measure your progress and performance

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses

• Recognize your achievements and challenges

• Learn from your feedback and experience

Revised

A revised goal is one that is modified and updated as needed. A revised goal is not rigid or final, but rather adaptable and responsive. For example, instead of saying “I want to get a promotion”, a revised goal would be “I want to get a promotion by the end of this year, but if I don’t, I will look for other career opportunities or pursue further education”.

A revised goal helps you to:

• Adjust your goal to changing circumstances and conditions

• Incorporate new information and insights

• Explore new possibilities and alternatives

• Maintain your relevance and competitiveness

How to Use SMARTER Goals to Get Ahead of Life

Now that you know what SMARTER goals are and how they can help you, how can you use them to get ahead of life? Here are some steps you can follow to create and achieve your SMARTER goals:

1. Identify your vision and purpose. What is your ultimate dream and aspiration in life? What is your reason for being and doing? Write down your vision and purpose statement, and use it as your guide and inspiration.

2. Brainstorm your goals. What are the specific outcomes and results you want to achieve in different areas of your life, such as personal, professional, financial, health, social, spiritual, etc.? Write down as many goals as you can think of, and don’t limit yourself by any doubts or fears.

3. Prioritize your goals. Which of your goals are the most important and urgent for you right now? Which of your goals are the most relevant and meaningful for your vision and purpose? Rank your goals by order of priority, and focus on the top three to five goals.

4. Make your goals SMARTER. For each of your top goals, apply the SMARTER criteria and write a SMARTER goal statement. Make sure your goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, evaluated, and revised.

5. Break down your goals. For each of your SMARTER goals, break it down into smaller and more manageable sub-goals or milestones. For each sub-goal or milestone, write down the specific actions and tasks you need to do, and the resources and support you need to use.

6. Take action on your goals. For each of your actions and tasks, schedule them on your calendar and set reminders and alarms. Follow your plan and execute your actions and tasks on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Track and monitor your progress and performance using a journal, spreadsheet, or app.

7. Evaluate and revise your goals. For each of your SMARTER goals, review and assess your progress and performance on a regular basis, such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Celebrate your achievements and milestones, and reward yourself for your efforts. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and learn from your feedback and experience. Modify and update your goals as needed, and incorporate new information and insights.

Goal setting is a powerful tool, and it does come with a warning, because once you set and start achieving your goals through hard work and discipline, you will not want to stop. If you want success and to be an achiever, setting goals and writing down your dreams is a must.

Until next time,

Take Back Control.

Why Budget??

Why do we budget? Why plan or project out your income and expenses?

You would think it is a simple answer, to be better prepared and have some certainty around your finances, to not get yourself into debt when a big expense comes up.

However, you can also budget for multiple other reasons as well, such as trying to get ahead with savings or investing, opening up a business and even planning for your first child.

The reason budgeting is a “buzz” word right now, especially on TV shows like “The Morning Sunrise” or the “Today Show” is because we have all seen that the Reserve Bank of Australia has been increasing rates and people are starting to feel a slight pinch in their hip pocket.

Not to mention, inflation has been increasing prices of our foods and other general expenses, and our wages have remained relatively low.

Therefore, to project the next month of finances, or even twelve months for those who are a bit more advanced, would be pretty handy given everything that is happening.

Meaning that you will not fall short when at the grocery store, a day before pay day, wouldn’t that be nice? To not have to delve into your savings and to keep building your wealth, rather than chipping away at it and becoming even more depressed as your savings account dwindles.

You would rather see those savings increase wouldn’t you? You have travel plans or plans to invest in the future? You want to start a family and give your kids the best start in life? You need money to do all of that and more, therefore you have a reason to create a budget.

I remember learning pretty quickly that if I want to achieve my dreams and goals, the success of achieving them come down to how much cash I have sitting in the bank and how much I earned.

Therefore, I learnt pretty early on that I needed to create a budget, and to focus on the carrot, not the stick. Focus on the reward at the end of the day, rather than any dollar figures or massive expenses coming up.

You are more likely to stick to and achieve your budget if you work towards something, rather than just create a budget for the sake of it.

Therefore, the reason you should create a budget is because of a deeper reason, a massive goal that is going to take some effort and work to make happen.

No matter what it is, you will generally find that there is a dollar figure that will help you attain that goal as well, no matter how big or small it is.

You could start budgeting for a simple weekend get away with your partner, or to pay off a debt, like a car loan.

You need to imagine how it will feel to get away or to have no more debt or responsibility to pay back that loan, use that feeling as fuel to project out your finances and make it work.

The reason why I am going through this is because I want to focus on really pounding it into you that budgeting is not for doom and gloom, in fact, budgeting is for thinking bigger and for hoping for the future.

We budget so that way, we can live a life that we have a little certainty over and can give us a little bit more purpose around our work and of course around making extra money.

Budgeting is not hard either, it can be made simple, which is why I am going to be giving you a very simple way to budget in my next blog, where I will show you how I have budgeted to save for our first house, a few cars, a wedding, a second home and a Europe trip/multiple other holidays over the course of the last seven years.

All of which would not have happened unless I learned how to budget and stuck to it (which is always the hardest part), so make sure to look out for my next blog article and until next time,

Take Back Control

Wealth Tip -The MOST Important Number to Know

The end of the year is probably one of the busier times, it is not called the crazy season for nothing, but if you look and prioritise, you will find a few pockets of quiet. Time where you can set out for reflecting and most importantly, understanding where you are RIGHT NOW!

When it comes to understanding your wealth and understanding whether you are improving it or losing it, there is no more important number to know than your NET WORTH!

Before we go into how you can easily calculate your net worth, it would be pretty poor of me not to go through a few housekeeping rules surrounding your net worth first.

Rules to understanding Net Worth

1. Your Net Worth does not define YOU and who YOU are!

Your net worth is just a number, and when it comes to understanding yourself, there is so much more to you than just a number. Therefore, when you go to calculate your net worth for the first time, you may feel nervous, or even ashamed, but I want you to take a deep breath and just relax.

YOU are not defined by a number, you are not a bad person for having too much wealth or too little. Our happiness is all based on perspective, some will be happier with more, and some with less. Hence, when you calculate your net worth, just remember, it is just a number.

2. Your Net Worth is a Metric

Your Net Worth is a great way to see where you have been and to measure your wealth building over the years. A great example of this would be if you sit down each year and calculate your net worth, you can see how much your wealth has been building over time.

An exceptionally good way to do this is by using a graph, once you have calculated your net worth over a few years. Check out the below for an example;

Liv and my own Net Worth over the last two and a half years, since I have been tracking it!

3. Leave a Legacy

Everyone should know how much they are worth, if not for the very reason that it will make leaving your legacy to your kids, grandkids or family members that much easier.

(Sure, if you are in high school and you have $5,000 to your name, you know what your net worth is straight away, as long as you have no car loans or debts to family members, you will just have $5,000 in net worth.)

Understanding your Net Worth is truly important, because when you make a will, you need to understand all the intricate details or your assets v. liabilities, not to mention insurances and a few other details. Your net worth will be the legacy you leave behind to loved ones, so why wouldn’t you want to know your Net Worth?

4. Do not compare your Net Worth to anyone else, you are playing a solo game!

I deliberately left out the $ figure in our own net worth graph above, so that you would not be able to compare, because there is no point leading your life in comparison to others. For your own happiness and sanity, it is best to be in the game without looking at the other players.

Social media has truly made our lives a lot more superficial and highlighted judgements, comparing to each other and even more dangerously, an us vs. them, or you vs. me, mentality.

We are all playing our own game, we are all just journeying through our lives at our own pace and you do not need to compare your own net worth to others. See an article that states the average net worth for your age? Don’t read it, we are all in this together, experiencing things in our own way, with our own history and perspectives.

The more you compare, the more likely you are to move into dangerous territory, like “keeping up with the Jones’s” territory, where you will take on more risks like getting personal loans and increase your liabilities. Of course, it all comes out in the wash, once you have calculated your net worth, you will know whether you are trying to “Keep up with the Jones’s”!

So, how do you calculate your Net Worth?

There are a heap of great Net Worth Calculators online, but I must say, one of the better and more simple ones has been created by the Australian Government.

The Money Smart : Net Worth Calculator

I have been using the Money Smart calculator for the last two and a half years to track our Net Worth and it has been working a treat, it is simple to use and will take you less than five minutes.

All you need to know is your bank balances, super balances, investing balances, loans and approximate value of your cars/boats/furniture etc.

During this day and age, you can come up with most of those figures at the click of a button and then once you have calculated your net worth, you can simply print the page or save it as a PDF on your computer like I do.

You have to do the work though or Hire a Financial Planner!

The hardest part of calculating your Net Worth comes down to discipline, doing it every year!

A lot of people would struggle to sit down at the end of the year or end of financial year and actually calculate their Net Worth. Which is why having someone to be accountable to is truly important, someone such as a Financial Planner who can do the calculations for your and review it once every year.

A Financial Planner will be able to reassure you and keep you on track with your strategies of wealth building, so that your Net Worth never goes backwards.

If you are one of those people that don’t like money or don’t like numbers, or you have a much more complex situation with investments, trusts, self-managed super funds etc. Hiring a Financial Planner will save you a whole heap of time, keep you accountable and make sure that you don’t so anything silly along the way that could affect your Net Worth.

Now you know what to do, so you just need to TAKE ACTION!

If you have any questions on calculating your Net Worth or need any help with it, please reach out to me - can do so via LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook etc.

I would be more than happy to help where I can,

Until Next Time,

Take Back Control

The World is Full of Turbulence Right Now- Creating Opportunities!

“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful,” a quote from the great value investor, Warren Buffet, the owner of Berkshire Hathaway.

Even if you have not heard of Warren Buffet, even if you have heard of him and you don’t like his methods of investing, you must admit that he has built up some wisdom over the last 57 years since taking over Berkshire Hathaway and building it into the holding company that it is today.

Currently, at time of writing, the ASX 200 (the top 200 listed companies in Australia), is down 13% year to date [1], the S and P 500 (the top 500 companies in the US) is down 25% year to date [2], displaying the fear that we are seeing across the world.

The fear is well-founded, we have no idea what is going to happen next, just look at last week, whereby the British Pound crashed and the central bank had to step in to buy up bonds (bonds are like a loan, being handed out to the government) to save the UK from certain financial catastrophe. [3]Which would have reverberated around the world, even hitting us here in Australia.

Investors are uncertain about what the future entails, and when investors are uncertain, they become fearful, it is known that humans have “loss aversion,” whereby we experience more feelings and emotions from losses than we do from gaining something. [4]

Which generally speaking, losses compound on each other to the point where more people become fearful and will sell down on investments, so that they don’t lose more on their portfolios. Some investors are in need of the cash, therefore they are selling down, due to a myriad of reasons, however most would be selling due to fear of loss right now.

Moving cash from equities/shares to the safe haven of bonds and cash, especially as the cash rate increases.

But, and this is a big but, the companies that people are selling down are still performing, still running their business as usual. The companies are still making money, some are still profiting and handing out dividends, some companies are still pumping into research and development to improve products to become the next Tesla.

All this fear of losses and selling down of assets, it is finally creating opportunities for those willing to do the hard yards and research the companies that are doing well, to understand the companies that are going to do really well in an inflationary environment.

Now, this is not an article to tell you that you should start buying the S and P 500, because it is down 25% this year. No, it is an article just stating the facts, because no one knows just how bad things will get. Or whether the fear is founded on nothing at all and we will see the share market bounce back quickly, as it did in 2020 due to COVID-19 (the bounce back came due to the massive amounts of money that has been pumped into the system, called “quantitative easing”).

However, if you are interested in doing the hard work, and being greedy when others are fearful, you could find some absolutely great companies that are on a fire sale right now.

The worst may not yet have come, we could see further falls in the share markets, but depending on your circumstances and your risk tolerance, there is no reason why you should not be doing your due diligence right now and sifting through the wreckage to salvage some gold.

And just for your knowledge, across time, the share market has always done well, the great companies of the US, Australia, China, Europe, Africa have continued on and forged ahead. Even through wars, famine, droughts and other natural disasters, because nothing can stop human nature. As long as there are still humans on this Earth, there will always be a push for the advancement of the human race, HOPE is what keeps us moving forward.

Hope of course will not see a company or the share market do well, but history shows even after Black Monday, where the Dow Jones crashed by 22.6% in a day, that it will recover. And generally speaking, will do better over the long term, because human progression still keeps marching forward. In the case of Black Monday, half of the losses on that day were made up in just under two days, and it surpassed its previous highs two years later. [5]

Which is why understanding this one fact, that owning a stock is owning part of a company, will help you in these turbulent times. Owning a company or the S and P 500/ASX 200, it is not a gamble if you understand the company and history, if you do your research and hold for the long term, short-term fluctuations will not concern you.

Still, you need to do your due diligence, not just put down money on some company because it has been doing well over the last twelve months, that is when gambling really does come into play.

**If you are unsure of how to value a company and don’t know what to search for in a companies annual statement, that is when talking to a financial advisor could truly help you, or talking to an educated fund manager or investment broker.

I want to leave you on this note, on the 2nd of January, 1950, the S and P 500 opened at 16.660. [2]

Just 72 years later, the S and P 500 is sitting at 3,587, which means you would have $219,309.34 in terms of 1950 dollars if you invested $100. [6]

Not a bad return for just $100. Not to say that historical returns will replicate again, but still, we can learn from history and understand it better, to put ourselves in a position to make better decisions.

Until next time,

Take Back Control

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[1] - Yahoo Finance- search asx 200 (charts)

[2] - Yahoo Finance - search s and p 500 (Charts)

[3] - https://www.barrons.com/articles/bank-of-england-federal-reserve-rate-hikes-51664403126

[4] - https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2015/01/gains-losses

[5] - https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/stock-market-crash-of-1987

[6] - https://www.officialdata.org/us/stocks/s-p-500/1950#:~:text=If%20you%20invested%20%24100%20in,%2C%20or%2011.19%25%20per%20year.

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Disclaimer:

The information on the Take Back Control Website is intended to be general in nature and is not personal financial product advice. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided and the nature of the relevant financial product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. In particular, you should seek independent financial advice and read the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or other offer document prior to making an investment decision in relation to a financial product (including a decision about whether to acquire or continue to hold).

How To Be Wealthy and Change Your Life Right Now!

We all wish we could wake up one morning and all our problems would be gone, (I don’t, how boring would life be then…) however unless winning the lotto, a 1 in 8 billion chance, there is nothing that can significantly change fortunes over night.

Therefore, rather leaving life to chance, I have drawn on learnings from some of the wealthiest people in the world, from Jim Rohn, Anthony Robbins, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos, to share with you how you can take action on changing your wealth right now!

The only difference between the women and men who are significantly better off than you right now is simply their mindset and how they look at the world differently.

Let me tell you a quick story on how someone was able to change their fortunes over a year and going from being in $11,400 in debt to paying down that debt and owning a house within the next four years.

The catalyst for that person came down to two things, one of which was the shame of seeing -$0.07 in their bank account and two, being unable to help a friend start a venture and supporting that friend.

So what changed? What changed from that person spending $12,000 per year on eating out, partying and getting themselves into $11,400 into debt, to owning their own home and successfully taking a step on the path to greater wealth?

Simply, it was a mindset shift, a shift from being the victim to being a person who took responsibility for their lives, their income and spending.

(If you have not guessed it, that person from above was myself, I got into a few car accidents that accrued nearly $5,400 in debt from the insurance companies and then also borrowed $6,000 from a family member to start a business.)

The difference between the wealthy and the poor is simply their mindset, yes other factors do come into play, such as where you grew up and the family environment. However, if you are stuck in a scarcity mindset, you will never be able to move into a mindset that can handle one of abundance.

Therefore, here are the top 3 mindset shifts and belief systems that you need to work on, to start changing your life, improve your wealth and your lifestyle;

Pay Yourself First!

That seems like a pretty simple one, but you would be astonished at how many people tend to pay the big fashion companies, or shoes stores, or car companies first…

As soon as you get paid, you should be paying yourself first, meaning taking a percentage of your wage and transferring it into a savings account or investing it for the future.

You just need to do a little bit of math, work out how much you roughly need to pay out in debts, food, bills, etc. And what you have leftover, pay into a savings account that you cannot touch. Becoming wealthy is just a mindset shift from being a consumer, to being a creator, a creator of your own wealth through self-discipline and giving back to your community.

Take Back Your Time!

Every day, you should be prioritising your time towards tasks and activities that will take you closer to your goals and ambitions. Not only that, but also delegating tasks and activities that is below your hourly rate. The rich get richer because they delegate roles and responsibilities that need to be done, to free up their time for the tasks and activities that are more important.

For example, you could be working full-time, however, you do not earn enough from your full-time job and therefore want to start a side-hustle or sole trader business. But, you have a family, two kids, a partner that also works full-time and house chores that need to be done.

If you could earn $100 per hour from your side-hustle, why would you not just pay a cleaner $35 per hour to clean your house?

You are still up $65 per hour!!

Therefore, take back your time, by delegating roles and responsibilities, if you are worth $300 per hour, don’t waste your time on tasks that you hate doing that are worth much less!

Finally, the most important mindset shift: You MUST Become Obsessed with Improving Your Income Streams

The really wealthy do not become wealthy just by doing one job well, they diversify the risks of losing said job or failing said business by putting earning their money from different streams.

Starting with your job or business!!

First, if you need to earn more money, look to asking for a pay rise or if in business, look to set some targets to grow the business more efficiently. Once you have developed this income stream, to the point where it has no more growth apart from inflation, you should look elsewhere for a second income stream.

The key is knowing when to do this, if you have a business, it may take a bit longer to grow your income, or it could grow really quickly, depending on the type of business, consumer sentiment and many other factors. If you have a job, it is as simple as asking for that pay rise and either getting it or not.

Once you develop a second, third, fourth and maybe even fifth income stream, you go back to the first mindset shift of paying yourself first.

Hopefully that has given you a few things to think about, as it sure changed my life and helped me to Take Back Control!

So until next time,

Take Back Control

How to Stick To Your Budget: Budget Series-part Two

Have you created your budget? If not, and you need help, make sure to check out part one of the series by clicking HERE!

Make your budget and then come back to this article to read how to stick to your budget!!

Made budgets before, but been unable to stick to them?

If you have struggled to keep to a budget, fear not, you are not alone, my wife and I sometimes go well over our budget every three to four months as well. Firstly, I want to make this clear, there is no shame in going over your budget, do not feel guilty about it, it has happened and you can do nothing about it. The past is the past, the only thing we can take from it, is to learn from it!

Feelings of shame and guilt is going to help no one, in fact, the more shame and guilt you feel, the more you may sabotage yourself moving forward. I have seen it all the time when clients put themselves on “diets” when trying to lose weight, over the last ten years as a coach and personal trainer.

A budget is much like putting yourself on a diet for most people, but it does not have to be that way, because most studies on diets, and budgeting in fact, deem that it does not work when you try restrict yourself excessively.

In fact, I don’t believe that you should be restricting yourself when you go on a budget, which is where most people make the first mistake!

As soon as you look to making restrictions on yourself and your lifestyle, it is just human nature for you to follow along for a short period of time, but life will happen and it is bound to blow out disproportionally soon enough. Therefore, to make sure your budget is set up for success you need to follow along on these basic guidelines when setting up your budget;

Once you have completed a full audit of your bank statements spending over the last 3-6 months, ask yourself, are you happy with where you are at financially? Happy with the amount of savings you are making (surplus cash)? And happy with your ability to pay down debt?

If you are happy, that is great, continue along with what you are doing and just review your spending every month to two months to make sure you are still on track.

If you are not, however, the first thing you would need to do is set yourself a goal. Make it a goal that is going to improve your life significantly, something that will truly make you sacrifice a little in the short term, for long term gain.

It could be saving for a house deposit (that is why my wife and I started budgeting), it could be saving for a round the world trip for a year, it could be saving to get a ticket to Elon Musk’s first inter-planetary trip and colonisation to Mars!! (Apparently will be roughly $100,000-120,000US.)

Whatever it is, make it something that is going to be worthwhile for you, your partner if you have one, or your dog, whatever your situation is.

Got your goal? Great, now it is time to do what I like to call, reverse engineer the goal, by breaking it down into small and manageable steps!!

Want a $100,000 home deposit? Want to be able to get into your first home in two years time?

Firstly, you need to work out whether you can do that or not with the current budget you have just created…

Simple math makes out that you need to be saving $50,000 per year, or $962 per week. Does your budget say that it is possible?

If not, don’t get disheartened, there is three things that you can do, make a few sacrifices if you are not far off saving that amount each week and just make it work. Or, if you are too far off, say you are $500 per week off, you will need to make the timeline a bit more achievable.

By making it more achievable, you will set yourself up for success, rather than set yourself up for failure. The worst thing you can do is drastically change your life and go to the extreme where you are spending absolutely nothing at all, remember how I said a lot of studies say that most “diets” and budgets fail. That is why!!

So, lets say that you are saving roughly $400 per week at the moment, which is the most you can do. That works out to be $20,800 per annum. Which means, your two year timeline is not really achievable, but a five or six year timeline might be a bit more realistic.

You just need to do the math and break it down into bite size chunks, think in terms of weekly or fortnightly savings goals to get you to the bigger savings target at the end.

Think about the SMARTER goals I mentioned in part one of the budget series!

Not happy with the timeline, that is ok, because you don’t have to actually just restrict spending, you can also work on Earning More Money!!

One thing my wife and I did to save for our house that a lot of people don’t really know too much about, is that we decided that we wanted to build our first home and wanted to do it within two years. However, what we were earning was not really enough, so instead of just saying oh well, its not feasible, we will just lengthen our timeline…

We decided to sacrifice a little bit more and worked harder to earn more money for eighteen months. We had to get a deposit together of roughly $90,000 to build our first home, we had $18,000 between us at the time. Which meant we needed $50,000 saved in just over eighteen months. (First home owners grant was $10,000 and we got a small loan from Liv’s parents, which we paid off before we moved into our home)

Our savings rate was just over $640 per week that we needed. And we made it happen!!

We scrimped and scraped, we worked harder, built up side hustles and earnt more money that way as well.

The one thing that I hope you take out of this, no matter how hopeless it feels, there is always more you can do, you don’t just have to restrict spending.

Which brings me to the the Most Important part of achieving your goal and sticking to your budget, it comes down to Pure OPTIMISM and HOPE for the Future!

You cannot go out of your way to make life harder right now, if you do not have any belief in being able to achieve what you want to. It is humanly not possible for you to make sacrifices and stick to them, if you do not believe that what you are doing is going to work.

That is why you need to set a savings goal that is achievable, you need to be able to hit that savings goal for a long time and you need to make sure that you are 100% invested in making your DREAM a REALITY!

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Budgeting is hard, life is hard too sometimes, but being able to have a budget that thinks of all the things that might crop up, such as car accidents and other emergencies, holidays, bills, rent/mortgages, groceries, birthdays/gift giving, charity, pets/vet bills, insurances, rates…

Having a budget is not made to reduce your spending or restrict your lifestyle, it is made to bring you FREEDOM in your life. A budget is made to give you the life you want!

A true budget will make your life easy and will set you up for success in anything you would want to achieve. If you get the budget right, your 30, 40, 50 and especially 60 year old self is going to love you for it so much more.

If you can make a budget that you can stick to, you will be able to save and achieve your goals in the long run! And I reckon it is one of the first major steps towards Taking Back Control of your Wealth, your Health and your Life!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

Without Health, what is the point in Wealth?

As a personal trainer of 10 years and also a business owner within the health and fitness industry, I know a thing or two about health. I also know that without health, there is no point to having an exorbitant amount of wealth!

Therefore, today’s blog is dedicated to improving one’s life through your health and fitness, which after 10 years in the industry, you could say it is my bread and butter.

Firstly, I have seen a numerous amount of people who have neglected their health over the years, they got busy with work, had kids, and they forgot about themselves and did everything for others.

Which is great, however, also has led to a series of issues they do not even see as issues, such as;

+Becoming overweight, which leads to more health problems down the track (Nothing against being overweight, unless it is detrimental to your health)

+Hormonal changes and therefore heightened emotional fluctuations.

+Increased inflammation due to a neglected diet, which again causes more problems down the track as you get older

+Sleeplessness or insomnia, which again leads to more health issues as the problem persists

+Mobility issues, which leads to dysfunctional movement and muscle contraction, again leading to more problems down the track.

When I say they do not see the above as issues, we have grown to accept that putting on a few kilograms is okay, especially through COVID-19 and being locked down so consistently here in Victoria.

However, it is not the actual increase in bodyweight or few extra kilograms that is the problem, it is the increase in unhealthy habits that have been formed thanks to lock downs that is the main issue!

1. The increase in use of technology, for kids, as well as adults, which incorporates more sitting down and sedentary behaviour.

2. The increase of “convenience” foods, as we lost motivation and became flat due to a decrease in energy, which led to not wanting to cook wholesome meals at home.

3. The ability to actually go to a gym was lost to us through lock downs and as COVID cases persisted, people did not want to go out as much.

4. The ease of which we became entangled in unhealthy habits, which will only lead to more unhealthy habits.

The habit cycle can be a vicious one, whereby you get stuck in it without even knowing, hence the term getting “stuck in a rut.”

I want you to know though, that lockdowns were not your fault, that COVID-19 was not your fault, and that you were set up to fail with the ease of which you could simply click on an app and order any take-out you wished upon, at the time.

What you need to do now is become aware of it, become aware of all the unhealthy habits that you have picked up over the last two to three years.

And once you become aware, you simply need to make a choice…

Do you want to continue along these unhealthy habits and end up like a lot of older people my wife sees most days who are struggling to perform simple every day-to-day tasks?

My wife is an occupational therapist you see, who works with a lot of older people who need help with coming up with strategies to perform simple every day-to-day tasks. And also making their life easier as they move on to the next great beyond in palliative care.

I hear all her stories of all these older people losing the ability to just go to the toilet by themselves, and yes, some of these unfortunate people just have bad genetics and bad luck.

However, a lot of these older people could have potentially avoided all of their health problems by simply leading a slightly healthier life.

Or…

Do you want to choose to be a bit better, just slightly healthier, and potentially lead your kids to a healthier lifestyle as well?

Avoiding all that pain and suffering for yourself and your family as you get older!!

Because I can guarantee you, if you are feeling horrible a lot of the time, if you have no energy, if you feel bloated and gassy, if you feel that you are angry with the world or if you are struggling mentally with anxiety or depression…

You are most likely struggling in one or more of these four core areas of health;

1. Physical Activity

2. Nutrition

3. Stress

4. Sleep

I have some key performance metrics that I give my clients on these four core areas in every introduction session I have, and I have never had anyone rate themselves perfectly in any of these core areas.

Which is fine, because shit happens in life, things happen and we get stressed, we lose sleep, we prioritise things differently.

However, you should always fall back to these four core areas and simply work towards these performance metrics…

Physical Activity

• Work towards getting 7,500 to 10,000 steps everyday

• Train 2-3 times per week or get your heart rate up at the very least for 10-15 minutes, 2-3 x per week.

Nutrition

• Eat healthy, wholesome foods 80% of the time, the other 20% you can have a few treats

• Eat more Protein, whether that means eating more meats, fish, nuts, legumes, poultry etc.

• Eat a heap of vegies EVERYDAY!!

Sleep

• Sleep 7-9 hours EVERY Night

• If unable to, get a 20 minute power nap in the middle of the day

Stress

• Don’t take everything personally, everyone has stuff going on, therefore you need to take every situation with a grain of salt.

• Take in 5 DEEP breaths when you feel overwhelmed

• Most things that happen today, won’t matter in 10 years, so why stress about it?

And Finally, Be GRATEFUL for what you have, this goes a hell of a long way. I myself will take a step back in a stressful situation or if I am feeling overwhelmed, and think, “I have my health, my family are healthy and we have clean water and food to eat, therefore I have everything to be grateful for!”

If you can work towards improving these four core pillars of health and do these easy things everyday, you will be right on track to living a much healthier lifestyle.

It just takes a choice and a decision to do it, that is all.

Will you choose to be healthier for yourself? If not for yourself, for your kids, your partner or even your dog/cat?

I leave you with that to think about and I hope you do choose to be just that little bit healthier today!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

The Ultimate Investing question… Passive or Active?

Over millennia, we have seen debates around the world about whether you should be an active investor, whereby you have a pretty active role in choosing the assets you buy and sell in your portfolio. Or whether to be a passive investor, whereby you follow the market or a trend you believe will be big in the future.

Over the course of the last few decades, we have seen a pivotal change in the overall consensus of investing, with more people moving into the passive camp.

Today, I want to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of both and to educate you on why I have decided that I shall be an active investor for my own portfolio.

Once you have read through it all, it is up to you to make up your own mind about what style of investor you are going to be.

Passive Investing: “Passive investing is an investment strategy to maximize returns by minimizing buying and selling. Index investing in one common passive investing strategy whereby investors purchase a representative benchmark, such as the S&P 500 index, and hold it over a long time horizon.” - [1]

Advantages:

• Diversification, being able spread risk broadly, such as when you invest in the broader market, such as an S&P 500 index.

• Lower fees

• Tax efficiency

• Less time needed for research, simplicity: You do not need to research into every stock or financial product.

• Can dollar cost average, instead of timing the market: You can decide to invest a small sum of money every month, three months etc. Rather than trying to time the market, you consistently invest for a set period of time.

Disadvantages:

• Subject to total market risk: Whereby if the broader economy is not doing so good, the markets will correct/crash.

• You will not see returns higher than the market: As most passive funds, ETF’s etc. They only track the overall market performance.

Seems like a pretty good idea, rather than doing all the work to research the market, just follow the overall market trajectory and returns. You spend less on fees and it is much more tax efficient to put all your money into one index. In fact, for 80-90% of you who are reading this blog right now, it is probably the most effective way to start and continue investing for the long term.

However, with the current market climate and with interest rates on the expected rise, I suspect that active investing will get bigger again over the next few years…

Let’s see why!

Active Investing: “Active investing refers to an investment strategy that involves ongoing buying and selling activity by the investor. Active investors purchase investments and continuously monitor their activity to exploit profitable conditions.” [2]

Advantages:

• Flexibility: Active managers aren't required to follow a specific index. They can buy those "diamond in the rough" stocks they believe they've found.

• Hedging: Active managers can also hedge their bets using various techniques such as short sales or put options, and they're able to exit specific stocks or sectors when the risks become too big. Passive managers are stuck with the stocks that the index they track holds, regardless of how they are doing.

• Tax management: Even though this strategy could trigger a capital gains tax, advisors can tailor tax management strategies to individual investors, such as by selling investments that are losing money to offset the taxes on the big winners.

• Risk management: Active investors and fund managers can select stocks based on the prevailing market conditions.

• Short-term opportunities: Active investors can make use of short term (3 months or less) opportunities, which in turn gives them a range of tools to choose from when investing.

• Have more opportunities to invest in different asset classes: Active investors and funds are more likely to be able to delve into different asset classes, therefore diversifying risk away again.

• Can meet specific needs of ethical and moral criteria: With most passive funds, a lot of them do not meet a lot of investors criteria, such as not to invest in mining, or child slavery. When you invest in the top 500 companies in the U.S for example, you have no idea what these companies are doing with your money.

Disadvantages:

• Very expensive: The average expense ratio is 1.4 percent for an actively managed equity fund, compared to only 0.6 percent for the average passive equity fund. Fees are higher because all that active buying and selling triggers transaction costs.. All those fees over decades of investing can kill returns.

• Active risk: Active managers are free to buy any investment they think would bring high returns, which is great when the analysts are right but terrible when they're wrong.

• Poor track record: The data show that very few actively managed portfolios beat their passive benchmarks, especially after taxes and fees are accounted for. Indeed, over medium to long time frames, only a small handful of actively managed mutual funds surpass their benchmark index.

• Minimum Investment amounts: Some Actively managed funds in fact need a minimum to invest in that fund, such as $10,000. Or some brokerage platforms need a minimum of $100 per trade etc.

As you can see, the age old question of Active versus passive comes down to a few things, whether you have the time to do the research, whether you are ok taking on more risk for more specific investments, and also whether you can take on some more complexity regarding tax etc.

At the end of it all, it mostly comes down to whether you also believe the wider market will do well over the long term or whether you have the confidence and knowledge to beat the markets over the long term.

Majority of the time, you won’t beat the market, so it is truly up to you to decide whether you are a passive or active investor.

I have decided that I want to follow along the path of active investing, to test my own knowledge and because I believe that the overall markets will not increase significantly over the next ten years. I do not see a lot of growth to be had, however I may be entirely wrong and therefore you need to make your own decision on what you should do as an investor.

Let me know in the comments below what path you will choose,

Until next time,

Take Back Control

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

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References List:

[1] - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/passiveinvesting.asp

[2] - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/activeinvesting.asp

How to Begin Investing with as Little as $5 Today!

Wow, we are already halfway through the Beginner Investing Series and I have thoroughly enjoyed writing about some of the things I have learned along the way from my own investing journey.

Of course, this particular series was always meant to be simple and basic, but it was meant to get right to the crux of what I wish I had known before I started investing.

Today though, I will go through how my investing journey began, to give you a great picture of how you to may be able to to start investing with as little as $5.

First of all, my investing journey began after reading “The Barefoot Investor- The only money guide you will ever need.” [1]

Not unlike what you are doing right now, by reading my blog series, I started by just simply seeking to understand how I could make myself more financially savvy and also so I could save up a deposit to buy a house with my wife.

Reading the book, produced a spark that led to me taking action and implementing the steps to help my wife and I to save a deposit for our house, start investing outside of Super and to truly set ourselves up financially.

The spark gathered momentum and I started delving deeper into understanding finance, reading Tony Robbins, “Money: Master the Game” [2] was taking it to another level again. (For a more basic and stream-lined version, check out “Unshakeable.” An amazing read and a must if you want to start investing.)

I can hear you saying, ok but where can I start investing right now, for as little a $5?

Well rest-assured, here it comes…

I want to introduce you to the world of micro-investing!

Yes, if you believe it, you can actually invest your money in an app starting with as little as $5, some may even be as little as $1.

I started my own investing journey using the micro-investing app called Spaceship [4] and I invested using Spaceship up to the point where I felt finally comfortable and knowledgeable enough to take on the markets myself.

Why did I do it and therefore why should you consider it as well?

1. Time in the market is more important than timing the market

What do I mean by this, I mean that over the long-term, you are more likely to earn a good solid return by having your money in the markets than if you were to try and time it by waiting for everything to dip.

I learned that its better to start investing now and micro-investing apps actually make it possible, rather than waiting to save up $2,000-$5,000 to invest into an ETF, you can start NOW!

2. You can learn by putting some skin in the game!

Learning about your own behaviour whilst having some money in the market was probably the most important aspect I learned and what you can learn with small amounts of money, rather than risking big amounts to start with.

You can learn how you behave when their is a correction in the market (when shares drop by up to 10%, meaning you lose 10% of your money) which is vital to your investing career. Do you pull out because you don’t want to see yourself losing more money? Or do you wait it out until the market goes back up, no matter how long it takes?

Learning this early on has been vital to my own investing success so far. In the last year alone, my own portfolio has grown by 20% and retracted by 10%, but if you do the math, it means it is still up!

3. Finally, it gives you time to research how the market works!

The most important aspect of micro-investing, at least what I got out of it the most, was that I had time to put some money in the market, whilst researching and learning more and more.

You have first-hand experience and you can delve even deeper again by researching into different investment funds, listening to podcasts and learning as much as you can about investing.

If you don’t want to do this, you probably are not cut-out to do active investing, as you need a sound amount of research and knowledge to actively invest.

You may be better off, when you have built up enough money in your micro-investing portfolio, to either seek an advisors guidance or to sink most of your portfolio into ETF’s (exchange traded-funds) that follow a specific index.

I will actually be running through the difference between ETF’s and managed funds in my next blog, as I believe it is really important to understand.

I hope that helped you and if you are interested in micro-investing, it is best to do your research, as Spaceship is not the only app you can start investing with. Another product you could look into is Raiz, but I would highly suggest reading through the PDS and understanding what each investment in the app entails.

At the time of writing, I do not hold any funds in any micro-investing apps.

Until next time,

Take Back Control.

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

_____________________________

References:

[1] - To check out Scott Pape’s book, click the link - https://www.amazon.com.au/Barefoot-Investor-2018-Update-Money/dp/0730324214/ref=asc_df_0730324214/?tag=googleshopdsk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=341744699688&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7682030752416799449&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9072139&hvtargid=pla-407488791778&psc=1

[2] To check out Tony Robbins, Money: Master the Game, click the link - https://www.catch.com.au/product/money-master-the-game-7-simple-steps-to-financial-freedom-book-by-tony-robbins-796952/?offer_id=37134769&ref=gmc&gclid=Cj0KCQiA15yNBhDTARIsAGnwe0VRyuWdatGHDWjUxavDFYUbByQnFrcymYiK0YJQ-0sLIv240boZhYUaAlxxEALw_wcB

[3] To check out Tony Robbins, Unshakeable, click the link - https://www.amazon.com.au/Unshakeable-Your-Guide-Financial-Freedom/dp/1471164950/ref=asc_df_1471164950/?tag=googleshopdsk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=341744699688&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14442430285955173354&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9072139&hvtargid=pla-672857091020&psc=1

[4] Spaceship website - https://www.spaceship.com.au/

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Disclaimer:

General Advice Warning

The information contained in this blog is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.

Taxation, legal and other matters referred to on this website are of a general nature only and are based on Take Back Control’s interpretation of laws existing at the time and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Those laws may change from time to time.

Where should You Invest your Money?

Once you have decided to start investing, it is really hard to actually decide on where you should invest your money. There is so many different investment vehicles and markets to invest your money that it can get a little overwhelming.

That is why I came up with a simple list (I am a bit of a list maker if you haven’t noticed already) that will help you to start deciding in what investment products/vehicles that could help you achieve your dreams.

1. Invest in what you know!

2. Understand your risk tolerance and how you may act if there are any market corrections

3. Understand that there are multiple investing vehicles out there, such as the bond market, term deposits, REIT’s (Real-estate investment trusts)… It is not all just shares, crypto and cash in the bank.

4. Consider talking to a trusted advisor who may be able to align your dreams, personal values and financial situation with the investing vehicle that is a right fit for you.

First thing, you need to make sure that you are investing in something that you understand!

The Great Oracle of Omaha, or better known as Warren Buffet, potentially the greatest investor of our time, states that he “Only invests in what he knows and understands… the business has to be simple”

Warren Buffet is a world renowned investor and has an amazing track record of beating the S+P 500 index (An index that tracks the top 500 companies within the USA) over a very long period of time, by doing what he knows best. By buying businesses, because he knows business!

Therefore, what you should do is invest in what you know best too. You should understand what you are investing your money, because if you don’t understand it and your investment decreases in value considerably, you may sell at the wrong time.

In fact, the great Peter Lynch, another long-time investor that I admire said, “You can outperform the experts if you use your edge by investing in companies or industries you already understand.”

Secondly, you should understand your risk tolerance…

One really easy way to do this is by investing a small amount of your hard earned cash in the markets, cash that you don’t need or you are happy to never see again.

I used this simple method of putting money into a micro-investing app (whereby there are no brokerage fees and you can invest as little as $5) to start to understand my own risk tolerance. Sometimes, you just need to have some skin in the game and take a little risk to see what you are like when the markets are going up or coming down.

Thankfully, I was able to see a bit of both, as I had money invested last year in March 2020, whereby the market corrected by a bit over 30%. Meaning I saw my investment and hard-earned money decrease significantly, but I was not phased by it due to my own education, in fact I saw opportunity to buy in even more.

But there were some that did not actually do this, in fact some took money out of their super and sold at the worst possible time.

Which is why understanding risk tolerance is so important to understanding where you will invest your money!

Thirdly, Shares, Crypto and real-estate are not the only investment vehicles out there!

In fact, there is a whole world of financial markets out there…

Ranging from Bonds (whereby you loan money to a bank, government or business and receive interest on that loan essentially) to the Foreign Exchange markets (whereby you can exchange currencies etc.).

You can even buy into Real-estate investment trusts, if you don’t want to buy and hold a physical warehouse or factory, you could buy a portion of it through the REIT.

Which brings me to my final point.

The financial world is a jungle, full of predators, poison ivy and dangerous products/investment vehicles that could leave you disoriented and full of dismay.

That is why having a local guide, such as your trusted Financial Advisor, who is a professional in navigating said financial jungle, can show you how to not only navigate through the jungle. But can show you the plants that you can eat that won’t kill you financially, show you a clear path through so you can reach the other side and also reduce any stress or anxiety you may have about getting lost along the way.

Investing can be scary, it can be exciting and it can truly help you to attain all of your dreams…

And having a trusted advisor who can guide you into the right investment vehicles is worth more than anything you could ever dream of.

If you follow these four simple steps, your investing journey will be smooth-sailing and you will know exactly where to invest your money that is not just right for you, but will help you sleep better at night!

Which is probably the most important thing when it comes to investing and finance.

Until next time,

Take Back Control

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

Understand these 3 Investing Secrets before You Invest your first $1…

Before you actually begin investing your hard earned money and look at putting your money into businesses and assets, you really need to understand a few things about yourself!

If there is one thing that I have learned from my Financial Planning Degree so far, it is that your emotions get in the way of making sound investing decisions for the future. Behavioural Finance is an interesting topic which delves into the deep recesses of your mind to understand the psychology of people’s spending, investing and saving decisions.

Three well known economists and psychologists laid the frame-work for what is to be known as behavioural finance today; Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky and Richard Thaler. All three of these academics wrote papers that has led to our understanding of how investors and even the markets, can make irrational decisions when it comes to managing their portfolio’s. (1)

I won’t delve into Behavioural Finance today, however I will delve into the three cornerstones that should be driving all your investing decisions from here on in. You need to leave emotion (mostly fear of missing out, herd behaviour, greed) at the front door and make every investing decision based on your;

• Risk Tolerance

• Personal Goals for investing and Time you have to put into it

• Personal Values (Environmental Social and Governance)

Understanding these three core things about yourself and why you are investing will help lead your decision making process in all of your investments. Including the investments you make in yourself, such as potentially starting up a business, doing personal development etc.

Firstly, understanding Risk Tolerance is really important.

I am going to use the example of my wife and I, as we have very different risk profiles, where I am seen as very aggressive in my investing and my wife is a little bit more risk averse.

My wife does not like losing money, in fact, she would rather look out for all the savings in the supermarket and is very much of the mind that losing money, no matter the potential upside in the future, is not worth it. She would get anxious and even pull money out of the investments early if she saw a sharp decrease in value.

She would probably rather invest in assets that have a lot less volatility and have consistent income, such as bonds or term deposits.

Whereas I have already ridden waves and corrections previously, in fact, just last year, when we had a 30% decrease in the stock market, I saw the sales stickers that my wife normally sees in the supermarket and decided to buy more, my wife on the other hand would have just seen red.

Therefore, I am more prone to investing in different asset classes than my wife, I also am in what we call the accumulation phase of my life, where I am accumulating wealth. Your risk profile may change as you age, potentially as you stop earning income from a job and retire, you may need to re-assess your own risk profile.

Which comes down to understanding your Personal Goals and the Time you are willing to invest in making your investing decisions.

You truly need to understand why you are investing, I delved deeper into this in one of my Vlogs that you can check out here .

To know your personal goals and why you are investing in the first place will help you to make those key decisions of whether to BUY, SELL or HOLD your investments.

An example is you want to earn capital gains from a company and you find a really great growth company, with revenue increasing by 20% year on year for the last six years. Other than wanting to earn money from that company, what is the reason you would invest in it in the first place?

To save for your future kids education? For an early retirement? So you can see great growth over the next 10 years and then use the capital gains to help create a home deposit?

Investing with an end in mind is super important, which means you need to know your personal goals first. The other thing that goes hand in hand with your goals is understanding how much time you want to be able to put into your investments.

Do you want spend less than an hour per month on your investments? Maybe you have more time and want to spend 1-2 hours per week. Either way, you need to know your goals first and foremost, to then be able to understand how much time you will want to put in.

An example for this is, you may want to set yourself up with no financial worry or stress in the future, that is your goal. Therefore, you won’t want to be watching the markets or spending hours researching for the next up and coming company every week.

Your goals and the lifestyle you wish to live will determine the time you spend on your investments and finances, make sure you understand this along with your risk tolerance and you will know the best assets and investing products to park your money!

** If you are not too dissimilar to the example above, you may want to reach out to a Financial Planner to truly understand your risk profile and personal goals. They can guide you into the right investment vehicles and products for you and your goals!

And finally, understanding your Personal Values is just as important as Risk Tolerance and your Personal Goals.

Do you believe in Free Speech? What about equal rights? Or are you super passionate about climate change?

Would you put your money in a company and support them to grow and become bigger, if you knew they were an arms company?

You need to know where your money is going if you are going to be an investor, because the worst thing that could happen is you start investing in a company or ETF (exchange traded fund) that supports mining or arms manufacturing, but your personal values are against those particular things. Imagine learning that your money helped create guns, or fossil fuels?

These were the two things that my wife specifically said she didn’t want me to invest our money by the way. Therefore, I have only invested our money in companies that I have researched extensively that have nothing to do with mining, the creation of fossil fuels or manufacturing of weapons.

Now, you may have a difference in values and don’t care if you invest in those things or not, however it is best to know what your values are and do your research, or hire an advisor to help you to do so.

So, those are the three secrets you need to understand and know before you start investing, so this and you will be leagues above the average investor, I can assure you!

Until next time,

Take Back Control

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

______________________

References:

1. https://streetfins.com/intro-to-behavioral-finance/

When Should You Start Investing?

I always say, the best time to start investing was twenty years ago, the next best time is Now…

But, there is no point starting to invest and start working on accumulating wealth if you have not done the following!

1. Paid down most commercial debts (ie; car loans, BNPL payments, personal loans, credit card loans)

2. Grown an emergency fund or save-your-ass fund

3. Have developed an automated cash flow/budgeting system that means you can sleep at night.

4. Set-up your Superannuation and review it every 12 months

You could potentially add, buy your first home, to that list if that is a goal of yours in the next three years as well. Essentially, to take a phrase from the well-known Dr. Jordan Peterson, you need to “set your house in order” before you can take on bigger goals, such as investing for the future.

What does, “set your house in order” mean?

Well, it is quite simple, it means that you need to open up the financial closet and clean it out, dust for cobwebs and put your brave pants on to see if there are any nasty creepy crawlies hiding in there.

Which is why you need to complete steps one to four from above, and potentially add step five of buying your first home as well.

Once you have completed all of the above, that is when you can start looking at investing and taking your wealth more seriously. The best part is, you are already investing inside of your super. As long as you are employed, your employer has an obligation to pay you superannuation in Australia, which has tax benefits to you and will be an automated way for you to invest for your future. I would suggest that you check your Super balance and make sure you have been getting these contributions, and if you have not, ask your employer immediately!

(I will not delve into Super in this article today, however I will have a Superannuation series later down the track where I will go through all the Do’s and Don’ts of Super.)

Another reason for setting your house in order and cleaning out your ‘financial closet’ is to make sure that you are not losing sleep at night over money. A survey was complete by the Financial Planning Association of Australia and they found that 20% of men and 27% of women are somewhat stressed about finances.

Which means almost a quarter of those surveyed were most likely losing some sleep at night due to money, which should never be the case, not if you clean out your closet and “set your house in order!”

And finally, the most important reason to not start investing until you have done the above is because you don’t want to lose out on your investments.

Investing to accumulate wealth should be a mid-long term endeavour, meaning you should be holding an investment for seven to ten years. That means, if you have an emergency pop up, you do not want to have to sell that investment, and potentially make a loss, because you didn’t have your house in order.

Investing money in the share market, crypto or any other volatile investment vehicle, that you need today or over the next twelve months, means you increase your risk of losing some or all of that money.

You need to make sure that if you are investing any money, you should be investing money you do not need. I take the mentality that I may even lose all of that money, not that it will happen, just so that I never have to think or worry about having to dip into my investment and potentially lock in losses if something came up.

So, when should you start investing?

When you have been able to set your house in order and cleaned out your financial closet.

Once you have been able to do all of steps one to four and potentially step five, you will be free to use the excess money that you do not need to invest. That is when you could set up a meeting with a professional, such as a Financial Planner, to help you with your investment choices that is specifically tailored to your goals and dreams for the future!

Over the next article, I will be delving into understanding where you could start investing, based off of what risk tolerance you may have and potentially based on your own personal goals, values and the time you want to achieve these.

Until next time,

Take Back Control

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

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References:

1. https://fpa.com.au/fpa-community/financial-planning-week/

What I wish I had learned 10 years ago about Investing!

Put simply, if you want to know what the number one thing that I have learnt the most since undertaking my studies as a Financial Planner at university is that the best time to invest was 20 years ago, the next best time is TODAY!

A lot of people have used the planting of a tree analogy, where if you want a tree to grow to maturity, the best time to plant it would have been 10, 15 or 20 years ago, the same is for investing. Which is due to one of the most powerful tools you need to have if you want to set yourself up for the future and finally break from financial stress and worry.

The mathematical concept and the greatest wealth creator of all time comes down to one simple concept…

Compound growth and compound interest!

I touched on this a little bit in my earlier article, “What is investing?” However, I want you to truly understand the power of compounding when it comes to investing, because it truly is the game-changer.

Firstly, what is compound growth/interest?

“Compound, to savers and investors, means the ability of a sum of money to grow exponentially over time by the repeated addition of earnings to the principal invested. Each round of earnings adds to the principal that yields the next round of earnings” - Investopedia.com (1)

I daresay, this definition is great, however its best to truly understand compounding by going through a real-life example. I am going to use two people and two different scenarios, one started investing/saving at the age of 18 years old, one started investing 10 years later at the age of 28 years old.

I love graphs, I am a bit of a visual person and it was not until I actually started playing around with some compound interest calculators that I started really understanding what I had missed out on over the past 10 years…

Let’s have a quick look at the two scenarios in the graph below; (2)

Two scenarios of investing, whereby one investor started at age 18 years old, the other started at the age of 28 years. They invested for 32 years and put in $100 regularly every month for 32 years.

Based on the graph above, which is using a pretty conservative 7% annual return over 32 years, (Australian shares on average returned 8.8 per cent annually over 20 years to December 2017) (3) we can see that starting investing 10 years earlier makes a huge difference on the compounding effect.

You can see illustrated in the graph that person 1, who started investing in the share market at 18 years old with an initial deposit of $10,000 and depositing $100 monthly until the age of 45 years old, has been able to accrue $219,414 by the end of the 32 years.

On the other hand, person 2, who started 10 years later, has only been able to accrue $103,111 by the same age of 45 years old.

That is an astounding $116,303 difference…

And here is the rub, the 18 year old person only had to invest $48,400 over the 32 years that they invested, working out to be a measly $1,512 per year. Whereas, person 2, who started at 28 years old, had to invest $36,400, working out to be $1,654 per year over 22 years.

For an extra $12,000 invested from person 1, they were able to get an additional return of $104,303 overall.

I know who I would rather be…

That is just one scenario between two hypothetical people, however imagine if you had started investing when you were 18 years old, I wish I had. However, I started at age 25 years old and I probably lost out on nearly $100,000, but that is ok, I am alright with that, because the teacher does not appear until the student is ready to listen/learn.

I just hope that I can appear in time for you to take action and start investing TODAY, so that you don’t make the mistake of losing out on all those returns that myself and person 2 would have lost.

Going back to the tree analogy, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the next best time is right NOW!

So go out and…

Take Back Control

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

References -

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1. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/compound.asp

2. https://moneysmart.gov.au/budgeting/compound-interest-calculator

3. https://www2.asx.com.au/blog/investor-update/2021/evolution-of-income-investing-on-asx#:~:text=Australian%20shares%20on%20average%20returned,per%20cent%20in%20that%20period.

What is Investing?

I wanted to start off the blog with something that is trending and quite exciting right now, with major asset classes booming at all time highs, I feel like this would be a great place to begin our journey.

To be honest, even though it is not where I started, I wish it had been, because if I had started investing earlier, I would be a lot wealthier. Of course, with the power of hindsight, we would all change something, so it is best not to dwell on it. That is why I want to start with teaching you a little bit about investing, what it is and just why I wish I had started investing when I was 13 years old!

First of all, the definition of investing is “the act of allocating resources, usually money, with the expectation of generating an income or profit.”- [1]

I like the definition taken from Investopedia, which is a great tool to use if you really want to learn about investing in a lot more detail than what we will be covering in the article today. Now, what does that mean?

Well first of all it is probably best to understand a little bit about Money and also a little bit about the different assets in which you can allocate your money to and why we should do this.

Over the years, I have come up with my own definition of money, which we use as a tool to find a middle-ground between buyers and sellers.

Money is the subjective tool we use to find value in the products and services we wish to attain or buy. It is nothing more than a concept we created to make buying and selling easier, a middle-ground that everyone can accept.

Much like salt, sugar and gold, we used these as mediums of exchange to barter and trade in the past, however it meant that for those that had more knowledge, they could rip more people off. Not to say this doesn’t still happen, but we have a much better system that creates a fair market and opportunity for all.

Thanks to the improvement of this money system, we live in a much more sophisticated and intricate world of economics and globalism, where supply and demand, as well as the overall market, is what sets the prices. I will not bore you with the details here, but just understand, that you as a buyer and seller in the market is needed for prices to be set.

Which is correct for all markets, from food, to real-estate to bonds and shares. Now that you understand, money is nothing more than a tool to make buying and selling easier from person to person, we can delve into the world of investing.

Based on the definition of investing, you need to be able to park your money somewhere, in the hope that the money you invest will make you more money and that newly earned money will also make you more money. (Therefore, $1 becomes $2, that $2 becomes $4 etc.)

That is the beauty of what Albert Einstein called “the 8th Wonder of the World,” yes I am talking about compound interest/earnings.

I won’t get into the details of compounding today, however, compounding is the main reason I would have started investing earlier if I could have.

Now, all this talk of investing is great, but where do you invest your money?

Well, there are plenty of different assets classes to choose from, but today, I will go through the five main asset classes.

Firstly, what is an asset?

“An asset is a resource with economic value that an individual, corporation, or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide a future benefit.” [2]

Again, I like the definition from Investopedia, which explains an asset perfectly, it is essentially a resource, like an investment property, a painting, an NFT (non-fungible token), shares in a company/business, etc. That you hold/own in the hope of future economic benefit.

So what are these five main asset classes I was talking about?

1. Shares/equities

2. Bonds/coupons

3. Commodities

4. Cash

5. Real-estate

Of course, you could put Crypto in there, but I guess that would fall under commodities, as crypto is very similar to gold, however it could also fall under cash, but we won’t go through that today.

These five different asset classes have been proven to, over the last three hundred years, to make returns consistently. Of course, the asset classes have markets of their own, and these markets go up or down (cycles), but for the majority of the time, they have increased over time.

We can prove this through what we call the S+P/ASX 200, which use to be the Australian All ordinaries index from 1980, before it was replaced with the ASX 200 in 2000. Essentially, the ASX 200 is what we all an index, which is just a group of the top 200 companies in Australia when it comes to their Market capitalisation. Don’t worry too much if you don’t know what this means, just remember that the ASX 200 is a group of the biggest 200 companies in Australia.

Now, if we look all the way back to the year 1938 and the ASX 200 was roughly around 50 basis points, which means you could own 1 unit of the ASX 200 for $50 in 1938. [3]

Now, fast forward to today and the ASX 200 is currently, at the time of writing this article, 7272.7 (bps).

That means $1000 invested in the ASX 200 (Share market) in 1938 would be worth $144,454 today, which does not include dividends paid from investing in the index either.

That sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it, invest $1000 and make an extra $144,454 on top of your $1,000. That is what investing is about, it is looking to sacrifice in the now, for the hope of future financial returns.

I don’t believe I will have to explain the reason as to why we should be investing, the numbers speak for themselves, but I just wanted you to understand a little bit about investing and the history of it, as I have found this quite helpful in my own investing journey.

I will be going through how to invest, and also what the reason will be to invest in a future article, so please make sure that you subscribe to the blog and our newsletter by clicking the subscribe button.

If you do have any investing questions, or are looking to start your investing journey, I would love to know what your questions are or how you are starting through the comments below;

But until next time,

Take Back Control.

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

_________________________________

References:

[1]- Investopedia- viewed 12/10/21- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/investing.asp

[2] Investopedia- viewed 12/10/21- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/asset.asp

[3] Market History - viewed 12/10/21 - https://www.marketindex.com.au/history

Let Me Give You the Freedom to Dream!

“Finally live a little, finally laugh a little, just let me give you the Freedom to dream a little, it will wake you up and cure your aching, take your walls, start’em breaking, now that’s a deal that seems worth taking, but I guess I leave that up to you…”- Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman.

Before I go into my origin story and how I come to be writing this blog, educating, and hopefully inspiring, you to take back control of your Life, your Health and your Wealth…

I wanted to ask you a question, a question that changed my life and a question that made me who I am today.

We are asked a similar question when we are children, and we came up with some wacky and amazing answers. I know I did, I told my parents, my teachers and anyone who asked that I wanted to become one of three things.

1. I wanted to be an AFL player (Australian Rules Football, for all those outside of VIC, SA, NT etc.)

2. I wanted to own my own games shop, I loved playing Golden Eye 007 on the Nintendo 64 with my mate at his house.

3. I wanted to become a writer/editor

Of course, there was many other things that I wanted to do, I wanted to go to space and be an astronaut, I even wanted to go back in time and meet a dinosaur.

We are asked this question as kids and the answers are fantastical, bordering on the impossible.

And then… We grow up, we get put in our box and we start to understand the real world little by little, experience by experience. We get put through school and get told to hand in that homework, wear that uniform properly, you must conform and understand your limits. We get told to start thinking about what you want to become, but it has to be realistic, it has to be achievable. You are expected to either go to trade school or university to fit in to a society that is in high demand for trades and professionals, and there is nothing wrong with that. I am currently studying at university right now.

But, it was not until I was outside of high school whereby I met one of my first mentors, in which I am extremely grateful for. My first mentor was the one that asked me this question, and ever since, a variation of this question seems to come up in one form or another from successful people I have heard talk at conventions, to mentors and even some friends.

The question was simply, “if you had no limits, no restraints. Money was not a problem and you could make anything happen, what would your life be like in 5, 10, 20 years?”

Think about that for a minute…

Now, when I was asked that, I was young, only eighteen I believe, and I still had no idea what the real world was like. Now, ten years on, I have grown up a bit, I understand how the world works a lot more and I know that people are not all given the same opportunities I have been give. Nor have they been given the experiences I have had and therefore, that is one of the main reasons I want write this blog and create the Take Back Control show on YouTube.

Take Back Control is all about helping you to do just that, to taking back control of your life and help improve your mind, the growth of your physical and mental health and teaching you the steps I have taken and learnt to help you create wealth.

Now you may not know me, but do know this, I am in your corner and I want to help you no matter where you are in your life to start dreaming again, to start taking small steps to achieving again and creating the life that you want to build. Because if you don’t take the steps to plan and build out your own life, who will?

I use to think that I could rely on others to do so, you think your boss is probably that person, but I guarantee you, that no one, not even your partner, has the ability to create the life you want. You can gather people around you to help build that life, to share in the success and to celebrate when you win, to support you when you lose. In fact, I recommend doing this, otherwise its going to be a really lonely life, however, you are the only one that has control of your future.

You may not know what you want just yet, nor have a purpose, and I want you to know that is ok, my main purpose is to teach and help you to find it, lets take a journey together to find your purpose, to get you back on track with creating the legacy that you can be proud to leave on this world.

Let’s break down the walls that have been your prison and start to take that first initial peek outside, where your dreams are plentiful and anything can happen, if you are brave enough to take the first step.

Just think back to when you were a child, what got you excited about life and what was it that you wanted to do? I will leave that with you to have a think about…

In the next article, I will be writing about what qualifies me to be able to help you get you back on track with your life, health and wealth. Please make sure you give this a read, as I will be delving into the hardships I endured and the situations and experiences that have led to me thriving during a pandemic.

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

Until next time,

Take Back Control

Life-Health-Wealth

They say that a triangle is the strongest 2-d shape, and that a pyramid, with triangles for sides, is the strongest 3-d shape. I understand why, if you think about most good stories, they have a trio of heroes, our lives are broken up into childhood, adulthood and old age…

As our lives are broken up into three stages, so are the key fundamentals of our lives when it comes to living a successful and balanced life, or so I believe anyhow.

The three pillars of Taking Back Control is Life-Health-Wealth. Without these three pillars, we would not be able to keep suffering at bay, we would fall into mental health issues and we would definitely fall into physical health issues as well. I do not believe that we can escape suffering in life, as the Buddha once said, “life has inevitable suffering.” However, I do believe that we can reduce and mitigate suffering by living by a certain ethos.

The first thing that you need to do, as I did when I started my own journey, is to realise that you only have one physical body. Only one body for a lifetime of happiness, pain, laughter and crying. Which means that you need to look after this body, you cannot neglect it and think that everything will be alright. You cannot strive to be rich and on top of the world, if you are sickly and unable to enjoy this world properly due to not looking after the body.

My journey started with fitness, it started with my drive to improve my body, which helped me to build up an inner strength as well. With every training session, with every physical achievement, I was able to prove to myself that I can do it. Therefore, your HEALTH is the first pillar to work on, now physical training is not the only thing you need to focus on when it comes to your health. Mental training and your environmental health is also just as important.

You cannot expect to improve your health overnight, much like most things in life, it is a journey that needs to be taken over the course of a lifetime. However, I can give you a few hints that can help you to improve your health, physically and mentally. Exercise, movement and momentum is the key to health, a recent study that had been completed suggested that your overall fitness mattered more than your bodyweight when it came to longevity of life.

Which means, even those that were overweight, as long as they committed to a weekly regime of training and exercise, they lived longer and happier lives. Of course, I do not want you to think that over-indulging on chocolate is ok either, as nutrition is also a really important aspect of health. You are literally what you eat, as your body over the course of a week, makes new skin cells and replaces the old with the cells from the foods you eat.

There has been many an older person who, on their death-bed, regretted not looking after their bodies and after their health more, don’t let that be you.

The second most important pillar of the triangle of Taking-Back-Control, is LIFE. Without it, we would be nothing and the main spark of life is what keeps us going, no matter the hardships we suffer, no matter the heart-ache, we continue on because of three pillars that make up life.

Hope for the future, it is one of the key aspects of humanity that has been the only reason to keep moving forward. Hope was the only thing that got people through wars, through the worst of times, even most recently, through a pandemic.

Without Hope, we would have given up a long time ago, because what would the point be if we did not hope for a better future?

That is why, LIFESTYLE GOALS, is the first thing you need to work on to creating a good life, if I didn’t aim to achieve things or have goals of travel and raising a family, I probably wouldn’t go out everyday to work hard on growing myself.

Which brings me to PURPOSE; it has taken me years of hardships, successes, failures and fumbling to realise my purpose in life. For some, it takes a year, for others, it could take a lifetime. However, I know that my true purpose was born from trying new things and putting myself out in the world and meeting heaps of different people. Understanding more of the world, of other people and understanding your true purpose will make you a stronger person, more resilient and will take you far in life.

Which brings me to the final aspect for life, which is GIVING BACK, giving back to your family, to others, to the unfortunate and to your community. All of these will make your life more wholesome, but there is still one thing that will enhance your Life and your Health…

The last pillar of T-B-C, WEALTH…

Wealth will not only enhance your life and health, it will enhance your ability to give back, to have a higher purpose. Wealth and money is not inherently bad, nor is it inherently good, however a lot of people feel guilty about earning and accumulating a lot of wealth. It is not something that we talk about a whole heap, most parents don’t teach their kids about money, the failings or the successes. Most schools teach economics and how money flows, how to buy things etc. But they do not teach about how to create and compound on wealth, and they definitely do not teach about how to protect your wealth.

As a student of financial planning, I have learnt a lot over the last four or five years since I truly started to learn more about money, investing, asset classes and the markets.

Even further back, I was thankful for my mentors on teaching me how to create wealth and earn money, which started when I began my very first business when I was 18 years old.

When it comes to Wealth, there is three things you need to learn and it is very simple knowledge, there is no secret ingredients or magic pills to swallow. I hope over the course of our journey, you will be able to learn some things from myself on how to successfully coordinate and achieve doing these three things that will help you Take Back Control of your Wealth.

If you can learn to Create Wealth, Invest your Wealth to accumulate and grow, and finally, Protect your Wealth, you will be able to surpass more than 95% of people that reside on this Earth.

Over the course of our journey together, I plan to help you and teach you everything I have learned, as well as give your perspectives of other successful people that have been able to build on these three pillars.

For now, I just want you to start thinking about the three pillars and how they may affect your life right now. How would improving one of the key aspects, LIFE-HEALTH-WEALTH, change you and help you?

If you have found this Blog valuable, I would love it if you shared it with friends and family. The more the merrier, as I want to see each and every one of you learn to Take Back Control of your Life-Health-Wealth !

Until next time,

Take Back Control