For the purpose of this post I will be referring to this man as 'John'.
John is in his late 30s
John was taught how to save for a rainy day.
John is a multi-millionaire.
John is a Maori man who has worked on working towards financial independence.
He is working on growing generational wealth for his tamariki, and grandchildren.
John has been a consistent follower of Maori Millionaire. He has been following our twitter since back in the day when we had 3 followers.
John believes that there is a financial vehicle out there. He is passionate about our people getting on the investment ladder.
He has some core beliefs which drive and guide him:
"It's not about being the richest man in the cemetery"
Children are important and the time we spend with them will contribute to who they become as adults.
Through financial independence, If you wanna have a day off work and go walking through the ngahere, to cleanse the wairua - then you can do that.
John grew up with a blended whānau, humble upbringing, and parents who were hard workers. He now lives in Manurewa. He has learnt the skills of leverage to grow a portfolio for himself and his family.
This is his portfolio:
1. He brought a property in 2008 for 490k. He was given 200k from his dad. He had a 290k loan. He worked long and hard hours to pay down his loan.
2. Once his house became freehold, he brought another property. It had 2 dwellings on it and he was able to rent both of these out. It costed 820k, he received $830 per week for both properties. It's now worth $2,000,000 and he can rent it for $1150 per week.
3. In 2018 he repeated the process. For $910,000 he brought another property which has 2 dwellings on it. It is now worth $1.5M and he receives $1185 for this each week.
He noticed that the peak of his income was also the peak of health issues for him and his wife. As they worked more and spent more time and energy at work, other areas of their life became neglected. Today, he only works 3 days a week so that he can spend more time with his family.
He does a paper run with his daughter and she invests 50% of her money in to hatch. She's only 13 but she will be able to get in to the property market at a very young age if she continues to behave in this way.
Today, John has borrowed 2.83M, and has 2.75M in equity.
The reason I'm sharing John's story is because he is living proof that when you are mindful about how you spend money, good things will come from it. Some people will spend their inheritance on a new car which will offer no gains for them. Others, who take the time to research this won't and they will be better off for it in the future.
Why? I think that an important thing to consider is why financial independence is important. I love the idea of financial independence because:
Financial literacy leads to financial freedom.
With financial freedom you have a tool to access higher quality living:
Education
Housing
Health
Community
Some people reading this may be thinking what? What I mean is that with more money you can access better education. Through passive income you can take the time off work to 'expore the ngahere to feed your inner wairua'. The most important thing that money provides is not the 'social status' of having money, but rather - the choice it provides you.
Choose you.
Choose your kids.
Choose freedom.
Choose peace.
How many times have you been in a toxic workplace where you wanted to quit? How many times have these toxic work environments contributed to your mental health? How many times could money have given you better health opportunities? (Think - personal trainer, gym membership, higher quality food). For how much longer will we have to see whanau struggling with money before our message is shares - there is a way out of this struggle. It's not through pyramid schemes, get rich quick schemes. But rather, it's through long term investing, increasing your income now.
If you haven't invested at all, read this article here. This will show you how to invest in shares in Sharesies. ETFs are Exchange Traded Funds. If you want to see what these are, look here.
Here is a post about all of the investment options which are available in New Zealand. If you are in need of a 'How to Guide' for beginner investing - take a look at this.