Changing my Money Habits
My Story
During my younger years, I think I actively rejected the idea of improving my financial IQ.
I was going to live life my way: supercharged with debt, credit, and zero safety net. A twisted protest against the financial system.
After all, what had the system ever done for me? Apart from adorning me with credit since my 18th birthday, when I generously received a credit card in the post from HSBC.
Free Money!
I was a student at the time who loved the nightlife. What could possibly go wrong? I supported the Occupy Wall Street movement against pure greed and the leveraged risk-taking of the financial industry before the GFC in 2007. Those swine took the money from Main Street to line their corporate pockets. This is where my attitude remained for a long time.
Where Did This Get Me?
By the time I was in my late 20s, I had a terrible relationship with money.
I had a new car on a terrible finance contract, with the classic crippling balloon payment in the final year where you had to pay a third of the purchase price off in one lump sum.
I had a 103% mortgage, back when housing was cheap and credit was free.
I had debts, no investments, and zero savings.
But I had many nice shirts and a new neon sign above the bar I had installed in the spare room in the house.
Classy. But alas, I was drowning in a sea of debt and blissful ignorance.
Exploring The Root Cause
I was unable to see the true value of improving my financial knowledge. I did not have a desire to read a single book on personal finance.
Where’s The Education?
At school, I was never taught a single lesson about how to manage money. I had not been shown the value of this sort of education. I did learn basic accounting rules as part of a computer science diploma at a polytech. But again, no practical money management tips.
Money was also a taboo subject around the family dinner table. As far as I can recall, I have never had a single conversation with my parents regarding money management.
This pretty much continues even to this day, despite the fact I have had a successful career in financial advice and retirement planning.
Taboo
My folks, who are coming up for retirement as we speak, have never asked for a single word of free advice. This shows how difficult we can find it is to open up and talk to each other about money. It’s hard to put my finger on why I made an active choice not to learn anything that would help my predicament.
Maybe it was the words of my Irish friend Dave, that constantly reminded me “I’d be a long time dead”. So why not spend it all now? Either way, deep down I know I had to change or sink under the weight of strain.
What Changed?
With extreme circumstantial luck, I managed to extricate myself from my financial sinkhole.
My property increased in value at a rapid rate, and I was made redundant from my fairly well-paid I.T. job due to the company relocating to another city in the UK.
Enough Is Enough
I canceled my car contract, and in the end, that turned into an expensive lease which I gave back.
I then decided that was enough of that lifestyle for a while — the mortgage, the career job, and the new car. I took what was left of the sale of the house and redundancy payout and took a gap year at 29 years old.
I had never tried that before. I’d gone straight from college to full-time work and had never taken more than a two-week holiday in nine years.
I would make the most of everything and head to Southeast Asia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia with a round-the-world ticket.
Very aware I would have to start again nine months later when the money ran out. But I figured, what the hell? “I’d be a long time dead”. At this point, the thought of saving money or investing it was not in my mindset. That would come much later.
The Come Down
I had the time of my life traveling during those nine months. The inevitable come-down was horrific upon my return to the UK. However, to try and capitalize on the confidence you gain from being a solo traveler.
I moved to London, got a job as an I.T. contractor, took an apartment on the river, and tried to ignore the fact I was heading down a very familiar road.
My desire to live in the moment still felt like having forward momentum, even if in the wrong direction.
To cut a long story short I managed to hang in there for two more years before I’d had enough again and applied for a working holiday visa in Australia.
I continued to work in I.T. in Sydney. I was very much living by the seat of my pants though.
Then I made another move, this time to Queenstown, a beautiful ski resort town on the South Island of New Zealand. By this time I’d had enough of I.T. and had changed into sales.
The Breakthrough
It was at this point something changed. I’d become interested in trading stocks. I had no clue what I was doing, but it sparked an interest in learning about money.
Self Education
I read the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and the light bulb went off. I can get money to work for me. I
didn’t have to be a slave to it anymore, and I could make money while sleeping. I became obsessed which learning as much as possible by reading, watching YouTube, and listening to podcasts.
Gaining Momentum
Things started to turn around for me. Small wins are built into bigger wins. I saved more and invested more. Simple concepts like paying yourself first, reducing expenses, clearing debt, living a more minimalist lifestyle, learning about index funds, and compounding interest.
It was a total attitude change. My relationship with money became healthy. I felt relieved and at the same time disappointed I’d started so late.
I became so interested and passionate about these subjects I wanted to share the knowledge and help others make the same changes.
Starting Fresh
I decided to retrain in the financial advice industry, starting at the bottom and working my way up. I’d never been afraid of hard work, and I pushed myself.
Through sheer force of will, within four years I was working for the largest institutional fund manager in New Zealand, dealing with million-dollar clients daily. Within six years I’d built a good nest egg, an emergency fund, bought an apartment in central Auckland, and put money away in a pension.
All by learning the lessons we want to teach you at Slower Travels.
Final Note
At Slower Travels, if only a few find our page and decide to make a change, we’ll be very happy.
Track your spending, reduce it, and invest. It’s never too late to start. I was 37 when things turned out for me.
Never give up, keep learning and growing. Dave was still right that “I’ll be a long time dead” but at least I won’t have the financial stress as a burden on my future.
