All too often the envious comments are heard over a nice lunch, how someone at work has just bought an investment property, and how lucky they are. Really, it has very little to do with luck, rather than choice.
By simply cutting out the lavish lunch here or there, and perhaps bringing home-prepared food to work, you can not only save considerably on your weekly expenditure, but eat healthier too. This, like so many other little ways can actually make all the difference when it comes to funneling some of the many small expenditures toward one big purchase – an investment property.
What about those climbing ATM fees charged at non-bank machines, parking fees, and other small expenses? Even buying bottled water, for example, adds up to more than one thinks, and are expenses mostly left unaccounted for. These small purchases and unconscious leakage can actually get you into an investment property, if managed differently.
Considering that a well-researched and bought investment property may only cost as little as $70 per week to maintain, this equates to only a couple of lunches with friends or a few glasses of wine at a bar down the street, whereas an investment property is certainly a more rewarding and beneficial investment. And, most would surely agree that an investment property goes a long way further and is worth doing without a few lunches, glasses of wine or impulse purchases.
Taking a whole wealth approach and mindset, you can reduce unnecessary spending without restricting your lifestyles by much, yet make defined steps toward building wealth through property investing. By employing simple yet effective financial wealth building principles it can be quite easy to transition to more self-supportive habits around spending wisely.
Often by introducing a more personally valuable reward like treating yourself to a massage rather than a 6-pack of beer, we can change the way we spend give to ourselves, and save significantly. Such savings can easily add up to be sufficient to maintain the shortfall on an investment property, if bought well.
Of course, buying a property takes a little more than just a few saved lunches, but with low interest rates and high rental demands, financing of an investment property is highly achievable and the market is rich with good deals – if you know how to find them.
~Novel Serialisation: Heavens Fire~
Looking at the most common points of leakage or where costs can be reduced are obvious but little thought of. Small things such as re-assessing insurance premiums for home and cars, reducing bank fees and credit card charges, re-evaluating subscriptions and memberships such as the gym you have not attended for months, can add up. Another great idea is to have a garage sale or put things on Gumtree where you can transform your unused goods stored away in garages and attics into cash. These can add up and could easily be put toward your deposit.
It really is surprising to see how some people have literally gotten their deposit together by reducing expenditure and de-cluttering, and are now affording their investment property by maintaining slightly different spending habits.
While you need to have of course some savings available to invest in a property, between drawing on assets, existing equity, liquidating others and putting the assumed funds of a lunch here and a couple of cocktails there into a saving account, you be surprised how quickly this can accumulate.
If you then look at your lending power right across your existing banks and perhaps other institutions vying for your custom, perhaps look at your superannuation, which can be turned into a self-managed super fund that can invest, you be surprised how quickly you could be ready to buy.
It is usually more about our beliefs around money and property investing and the spending habits we have, than our actual income or the savings we make, that stop us from buying an investment property. Once you put your mind to it, you can achieve it.
Marion Mays founder of Thalia Stanley Group
About the author
Marion Mays the founder of the Thalia Stanley Group, a wealth creation mentoring firm based in Melbourne. Marion comes from a background of over twenty years in finance, lending and asset recovery, holds qualifications in marketing, real estate and finance. She is a professional life coach and has been an avid property investor across commercial and residential property for two decades. Marion uses a progressive active mentoring and whole wealth approach assisting her local, national and international clients to build wealth through property. www.thalistanley.com.au
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