This post is based on an interview we conducted with Dave in September 2021.
Real Money Talk is our series where we interview Australians from all walks of life about their personal finances. The views expressed are those of the interviewees, based on their experiences with money, and as such are not necessarily representative of Spaceship's views.
We have changed the name of the interviewee for their privacy.
Overview
Name: Dave
Age: 43
Where do you live? Rural South Australia
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Married, six kids, live in rural South Australia, work for an irrigation company and have a small citrus farm.
What's your current net worth?
$802,000.
How does it break down?
- House: $400,000
- Boat: $35,000
- Spaceship Voyager: $12,000
- Farm: $100,000
- Cash Savings: $115,000
- Super: $225,000
Do you have any debts?
- Mortgage: $85,000
How did you build your net worth?
Slowly saving, farm profits, being smart with the money we have.
Earn
Tell us a bit about your career.
I work for an irrigation equipment manufacturer as a sales and technical support rep. I deal with filtration, automation and agriculture irrigation systems. I cover a lot of SA and have a dealer network in metro Adelaide.
Do you have any income sources outside your job? How much do you earn from each and how did you develop them?
Our citrus farm currently earns about $20,000 but we've replanted new trees so the income will grow in coming years.
We live in a rural area and this block of land became available around our house. Decided to give farming a go and it's been great so far.
What advice do you have for other people who want to earn more money?
Find other ways than just your regular job.
Often a hobby can turn into a money earner and if you can build it up on the side, it can turn into something quite profitable.
Save
What's your savings rate? How has it changed over time?
I don't have a rate, but I manage our money closely.
Saving as a teen was non-existent for me, I spent every cent every week, but as I've gotten older, married, kids, etc, I see I wasted a lot of money and could be in a far better financial position now if I had saved and worked on extra income earlier.
Do you have a budget?
No.
How much do you spend per year?
About $80,000… Kids are not cheap.
Do you make purchase decisions carefully, or are you loose with your money?
Carefully.
How is your work-life balance?
Perfect.
What's your favourite thing to spend money on?
My wife would say the house, I say the farm.
Invest
How do you invest?
Putting money into my farm, (ie. new trees, water etc.) Spaceship Voyager and time with my kids and family.
What's been your best investment?
Marrying my wife.
What's been your worst investment?
Having kids haha… Hmmm, probably a few old cars I've had, planned to restore, spent money but then had to sell for less.
What's been your overall return?
Not sure exactly. Overall everything is going up but I don't know the percentages.
How are you building wealth?
Farm improvements will see greater yields in the next few years and also bigger crops as the new trees come online.
Spaceship Voyager is my saving place and that's ticking along nicely.
What are your main roadblocks to building wealth? How are you addressing them?
The cost of water for farming is ridiculous. It has increased 500% in the last 5-8 years. Other than that, not really any roadblocks, depends how you look at things, more so speed bumps.
Do you have a target net worth you want?
Nope, my goal is to be able to retire and have a steady income from my farm in retirement.
Behaviour
When did you make your first significant behavioural shift towards wealth building?
About 10 years ago, I just one day sat and thought about life and figured I didn't have much happening, so decided to start making plans.
If you could start again, what would you do differently? What advice would you give your younger self?
Invest earlier into things that will generate money long-term.
Don't spend money on unnecessary things that depreciate fast.
What mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?
Procrastinating and not having faith in myself. If you have ideas, just give them a go.
Do you have any worries about retirement? If so, how are you planning to address them?
None at all.
How are you learning about building wealth?
I research a lot of topics online. With my farm I talk to other growers (it's amazing how people love to share their knowledge about things they are passionate about), study manuals and online tools.
Do you give to charity? If so, what percentage of your time/money do you give?
Yes. We have disabled children, we give to charities that have helped us as our children grew up. Percentage, not exactly sure, approx 5%.
We want to hear your Real Money Talk
At Spaceship we’re big believers in sharing our money stories. We want to hear yours, too. In our ongoing Real Money Talk series, members of our community share what they’ve learned about managing money. We’d love you to take part. Here’s a link to our Real Money Talk survey where you can share your story.
