This post is based on an interview we conducted with Jake in August 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: Jake
Age: 39
Where do you live? Perth
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a 39-year-old male nurse with a relatively new family, wife and 2.5-year-old.
I’ve been a cancer nurse for 10 years and spent the last few years in a corporate management position specialising in a clinical field.
I had my mid-life crisis in my mid twenties completing a Bachelor of Commerce specialising in IT management.
I lasted less than six months realising I hated it and made the change to study nursing – a much more rewarding job.
Finances have definitely changed since getting married, buying a house and having a child all in the past five years! I love sport and still play social basketball once a week.
What's your current net worth?
Approximately $270,000.
How does it break down?
- Home: $520,000
- Shares: $20,000
- Super: $120,000
- Car: $20,000
- Savings: $5,000
- Comics: $50,000
- Sports trading cards: $20,000
Do you have any debts?
- Mortgage: $460,000
- Car loan: $25,000
How did you build your net worth?
I travelled a lot until my mid thirties. Saving was always for the next holiday so it wasn't a priority then. I wish there was more education around finances during high school, I had to learn a lot myself.
Earn
Tell us a bit about your career.
I started working from the age of 15 and spent seven years at Woolworths in every department imaginable.
When I finished my Bachelor of Commerce, I worked for four months and realised it wasn't for me, so resigned and signed up to study Nursing all in the same day.
I’ve worked with cancer patients for most of my career, giving chemotherapy and stem cell transplants.
Now I manage an area in the corporate government sector.
Do you have any income sources outside your job? How much do you earn from each and how did you develop them?
I buy and sell comic books. Started out as a hobby during my early teen years, stopped for a decade and then got back into it as a hobby, but realised that you could pick up bargains, resell or hold for the chance of an increase in value. I do something similar with basketball trading cards, but on a smaller scale.
Sometimes I could buy a comic for $5 when it first came out, then a year later sell it for a few hundred dollars. With comics that don't take off you can almost sell for the price it was bought at, not losing much.
What was important for you to learn about earning more money?
Educate yourself as much as you can on compound interest, superannuation and investing, but at the same time enjoy life doing things you love and travelling. A good balance is tough, but achievable. Use your skills and hobbies to find a way to earn more on the side.
Save
What's your savings rate? How has it changed over time?
No idea, try to put 50% of our pay into the offset account, the rest goes on bills, general living.
Do you have a budget?
We probably should have a budget, but we tend to wing it. We're not penny pinchers, but sometimes we probably spend money we don't need to.
How much do you spend per year?
Wow, tough question when you don't keep a record. I'd probably say we could be more frugal.
Do you make purchase decisions carefully, or are you loose with your money?
I always do my research before buying anything, and I rarely buy anything for myself unless it's on 'special'. If we want or need something we tend to just go and get it as long as we have the money.
How is your work-life balance?
Very good, I have a bit of flexibility to work from home. My job is also low stress. Since having a child our priority is with him.
What's your favourite thing to spend money on?
I guess it's things that I don't lose money on? Speculating on comic books that increase in price. We are foodies too so don't mind the regular meal out. I also like to spoil my boy by buying him presents, but I should rein it in to teach him good habits.
Invest
How do you invest?
Since buying our house we don't have big chunks of money to buy shares, the ones we do own go back into a reinvestment plan. I regularly put funds into my Spaceship Voyager portfolio and buy comics as an investment.
What's been your best investment?
Probably the free shares I received from all my time at Woolworths.
What's been your worst investment?
Buying some shares a mate's dad said was a sure thing, it was only $1,000, but we basically lost it all. I wouldn't like to know what he lost…
What's been your overall return?
I don't keep track except look at the balances of my share portfolios so I'm not entirely sure, but it's definitely in the positive and they are there for the long term so I'm not too worried.
How are you building wealth?
Investing in shares where I can, and using my comic side hustle to pump extra funds into the offset.
What are your main roadblocks to building wealth? How are you addressing them?
Not having more funds to invest, but that's ok. We enjoy our life so will continue to plug away to help in our retirement and for our kid’s future.
Do you have a target net worth you want?
Not really, but I would be happy if I could retire early and have enough for a passive income.
Behaviour
When did you make your first significant behavioural shift towards wealth building?
Probably 5 years ago when I started venturing into the share market, mainly with ETF's.
If you could start again, what would you do differently? What advice would you give your younger self?
Set my superannuation to high growth at an early age instead of learning about it when I was in my thirties. Have a better balance between saving and travelling instead of 90% towards travel.
What mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?
Not learning about finances earlier, but I don't really have any regrets, I've had a wonderful life up until now.
Do you have any worries about retirement? If so, how are you planning to address them?
Slightly worried that I won't be able to retire earlier than I'd like, but continue to invest as best I can to help.
How are you learning about building wealth?
Reading blogs, talking to people with experience and listening to their advice.
Do you give to charity? If so, what percentage of your time/money do you give?
I used to give to a few charities regularly, but always felt off about the way they got me to sign up, so I cancelled them all and donate here and there as one off donations. I don't like hearing about big chunks of donations paying overheads, it doesn't sit well with me.
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.
