Hmm Kind of hard to rate this book, it was good and everything, but different people will find it useful in different ways. Having read the first book, Your Mortgage: How to pay it off in 5 years (by a woman who did it in three), it was mostly same-old-same-old: an awesome way to make a budget and stick to it. There is also a heap of easy investing at the back but we're not quite at that point. BUT I got out of it exactly what I was hoping. A refresher, and a kick in the financial pants. It just reinforced principles I already use, and re-inspired me to focus on our financial goals.
For example one of our major goals is to buy a second property (ideally a house). Right now I can't see how that's ever going to happen. Especially as we also have a short term goal of starting a family, if there's a choice to be made, which side will we fall down on? We already made a choice some time ago that we wouldn't sacrifice family for another path. In that instance, it was living and working overseas. We knew we didn't want to have babies away from our families, but we wanted to have babies within the first few years of marriage. So working overseas for a couple of years doesn't work with that plan and we weren't prepared to sacrifice our desire to have a young family for "the experience" . There's plenty of people who make the choice differently, a couple we know are similarly placed but her parents are in the UK. They're now considering having the babies overseas with her mum for the first few years. Of course everyones different and we don't begrudge anyone elses choices either.
We leave for Europe in a scant 2 weeks, and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm really hoping we don't come home with too much debt, as I can't see how we're going to make our (financial) dreams reality right now.
4 / 5
For an interesting insight into how Anita Bell "fell" into having a financial book published, have a quick squizz at her bio here
For example one of our major goals is to buy a second property (ideally a house). Right now I can't see how that's ever going to happen. Especially as we also have a short term goal of starting a family, if there's a choice to be made, which side will we fall down on? We already made a choice some time ago that we wouldn't sacrifice family for another path. In that instance, it was living and working overseas. We knew we didn't want to have babies away from our families, but we wanted to have babies within the first few years of marriage. So working overseas for a couple of years doesn't work with that plan and we weren't prepared to sacrifice our desire to have a young family for "the experience" . There's plenty of people who make the choice differently, a couple we know are similarly placed but her parents are in the UK. They're now considering having the babies overseas with her mum for the first few years. Of course everyones different and we don't begrudge anyone elses choices either.
We leave for Europe in a scant 2 weeks, and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm really hoping we don't come home with too much debt, as I can't see how we're going to make our (financial) dreams reality right now.
4 / 5
For an interesting insight into how Anita Bell "fell" into having a financial book published, have a quick squizz at her bio here
6 kindred spirits ~ This bugs them too!:
What avoids me from reading books like this is the fact that I will be buying in Sydney. If H and I put our entire salaries towards paying our future mortgage (as in, not eating, no cars, nothing) we'd just be able to pay it off in 5 years incl interest.
Its just not possible unless we buy something that isn't what we want. I'd rather have what I want (and we're low scale just decent suburb)
@ K~
Ahh yes, I know what you mean. Even if we didn't eat, and used our ENTIRE combined salaries, we would not pay off our mortgage in 5 years.
That particular calculatio is based on having a $100K mortgage. Not 4 or 5 times that.
Some of it is already outdated, like where she says your "sanity allowance" should equal a tank of fuel or thereabouts.
Well my car hold $80 full now, with fuel prices, but she uses an average of $30-40. Hmm.
I know exactly what you mean, and we have sacrificed a "small" mortgage for where we want to live. We could have a Four bedroom house in Glenhaven for the price of our Northern Beaches unit, but its a lifestyle choice.
Who has a $100k mortgage if you're not living in the country?
I wish!
Luckily my car only holds $60 full tank at the moment - but give it time!
@ K~
Indeed, hence the flaw in her plan.
I think its also meant to help as a bit of a guide in how to knock over the last little bit of your loan too.
Her first mortgage was on a block of land, so thats a bit of her perspective.
@ Reanan~
Hahahaha you're pants'd.
Yes quite so... financially pants'd hehe
Perhaps I could borrow it from you?
Ha! You wish!
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