Jack’s a registered nurse who’d rather spend time with his family than obsess about work.
This post is based on an interview we conducted with Jack in September 2023.
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: Jack
Age: 29
Where do you live? Tasmania
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a registered nurse living in Tassie (Australia’s best kept secret). I’ve been married to my beautiful wife for nine years and we’ve created four mini-humans. I love to brew beer, play golf and run! I also try to surf – in the summers mostly! I love to travel, last year we took off in a caravan for nine months around the big island and it was the best thing we’ve ever done!
What's your current net worth?
$661,000.
How does it break down?
- Home: $850,000
- Cars/contents: $49,000
- Savings: $40,000
- Shares: $85,000
- Superannuation: $43,000
- Crypto: $7,000
Do you have any debts?
- HELP debt: $13,000
- Home loan: $360,000
How did you build your net worth?
I’ve always been lifestyle/family focused rather than work and career advancements.
I’ve worked a few different jobs over the years and don’t get me wrong – the work is rewarding, nursing can be a great career and can offer lots of diversity and skill development. It can allow you to literally travel anywhere (and sometimes get paid for it too!) but I choose to work stable hours in a local facility which allows me to spend most of my time with my family.
I decided long ago that I didn’t want to be working all my life and the only way ‘round that was to begin investing and building wealth early to allow the eighth wonder of the world: compounding, to take place.
My wife and I busted our butts off to secure and build our home back in 2015 which is where most of our net worth is. I’ve been investing for the last 5 or so years consistently.
Earn
Tell us a bit about your career.
Nursing can provide so many opportunities! But all of them are solely focused on caring for other people which is super rewarding! I’ve worked in psychiatry, surgical and aged care nursing predominantly! Once the kids grow up and if I’m still working I’d love to try some rural remote stints in outback Australia!
Do you have any income sources outside your job? How much do you earn from each and how did you develop them?
Not really! I invest for the long haul!
What’s been important for you to learn about money?
Be patient, smart money isn’t made overnight!
Take your emotions out, think logically.
Make an investing plan, and consistently stick to it, it’ll work out!
Save
What's your savings rate? How has it changed over time?
$0.
I don’t tend to add to my savings, we have a generous buffer zone of savings which we try to keep at in case of emergency or loss of work, and the rest is dollar, in dollar out, whether that be invested or spent on general living or experiences.
Do you have a budget?
Yes! Budgeting is the vital first step! Live within your means, allocate your money – some to share, some to splurge, some to invest, and the rest to these inflated living expenses haha!
How much do you spend per year?
About as much as I earn!
Do you make purchase decisions carefully, or are you loose with your money?
A little bit of both! I don’t buy unnecessary items or wear fancy clothes etc. I drive a cheap car. Most of our ‘splurge’ money is spent on experiences – holidays; nice food and drinks etc.
How is your work-life balance?
Has always been my number one priority! Very good!
What's your favourite thing to spend money on?
Ooh! Probably my kids! They have little sense of monetary value or such but the excitement and joy they get from receiving gifts is priceless! That or my craft beer, love a good West Coast IPA!
Invest
How do you invest?
$300 a week is direct debited every week into a mix of ETF’s and individual stocks. I’ll also randomly invest extra if stocks are taking a beating, who loves a good discount! I max out my concessional limit ($27,500) into my super each year also.
What's been your best investment?
My home!
What’s been your worst investment?
Some random meme-coin (crypto).
What’s been your overall return?
Positive! But hard to quantify – most of net worth is in property or in shares that I intend to hold for a long time! The house appreciates by itself and the shares portfolio (by paper returns and own deposits) will do its thing over time too!
How are you building wealth?
Regular weekly deposits into my shares, and maxing out my concessional superannuation contributions through salary sacrifice each pay.
What are your main roadblocks to building wealth? How are you addressing them
Wage! And tax… I could work more – or do silly hours for penalty rates but that would impact my family and social life, can’t have that! We’re young and in able bodies once! In saying that we can still invest relatively aggressively in hopes to achieve some financial freedom in the next decade or two!
Do you have a target net worth you want?
Hard to put a number on it - I would love to get to a point where work is optional/gives me freedom to explore other avenues! And I’d like to be at that point at around 40 years old - then coast it ‘til 65 where we can start accessing super.
Behaviour
When did you make your first significant behavioural shift towards wealth building?
I’ve stomached some big downturns in the market (crash in COVID, and also tech being down for most of 21’/22’). It claws back like it’s historically always done - just be patient and have some money set aside to make use of what is a huge opportunity when the market dips!
If you could start again, what would you do differently?
Start NOW! The best time to plant a tree was yesterday, the second best time is today. Don’t let emotions control your investments. Do your research, invest in a mix of solid performing companies or property and let time do the rest.
What are some mistakes you’ve made along the way?
Checking my portfolio too often. If you’re invested for long term - don’t give the balance of your portfolio the opportunity to change your emotions. I used to check it daily. Now, I probably check it once every couple months or so.
Do you have any worries about retirement? If so, how are you planning to address them?
Not financially, more health related - hoping my retirement body is able! Keeping fit and healthy in the meantime should do the trick!
How are you learning about building wealth?
Never been much of a book-reader! I love to research things and keep up to date with the evolving world of technology and try to seize opportunities within the space.
Do you give to charity? If so, what percentage of your time/money do you give?
Yes! I get a lot of joy from sharing money with those who need it more than I do! It goes a lot further (overseas) than it would in Australia and I think everybody’s goal should be to be generous and fruitful with their giving! The more you have, the more you can give!
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.
