Spend money on the things you truly love.

Hi all,

what do you spend most of your money on?

For a lot of us it is not what we love doing the most, for most of us it is all those constant bills and obligations we have to obey with!

Now, I have managed to eliminate a large chunk of my "obligations". Be it the monthly internet bill or simply the dinners out and about. By streamlining my expenses I have managed to save pretty much half of what I earn. Yes 50% of all the money I earn I save.

How did I do that you may ask?

I got rid of my television and my internet bill. I bought my phone outright and no it's not a $1500 Iphone!

I got rid of my phone plan and I saved about $35 per month just by doing that!

Most of us subscribe to a bunch of things that we don't even know we've subscribed for in the first place, but we still pay for some of them!

So I streamlined all my subscriptions and culled them!

I have changed banks and eliminated banking fees altogether.

All of those things were a little time consuming and a bit of a change but more than worth it.

You tend to get creative once you've built up some saving momentum and it is actually a lot of fun.

Start with some simple things like your morning coffee. I'm not saying don't have your morning coffee from your favorite cafe, but maybe limit it to once or twice a week.

Once you have mastered your expenses you will soon have freed up a fair bit of "spending" or "fun-money" you can out towards your favorite hobby or save up for an amazing holiday trip.

Put that money in a separate account so you a) don't go overboard with your spending and b) don't feel bad for actually spending the money, since that's what it's there for.

Let me know if you've got thoughts or questions on any of the above, I'd love to hear from you.

Also share my stuff with everyone you think could benefit from it!

Thanks

Until next time - be bloody awesome!

How to protect your downside.

Hello people,

welcome to today's post on how to protect your downside.

I can almost hear you say: "What do you mean by that?"

Well, what I mean is how to protect yourself from either paying too much for something, say a car or a TV or that guitar amp you like.

But it also means that when you buy something, you will always be able to sell it for at least the same amount.

For instance: Say you want a new car and you go to the next dealership to look at a brand new car. While it's probably an amazing feeling to drive off in your brand new vehicle it is also true that as soon as you drive off the yard, you've lost somewhere between 10-20% of the buyprice!
To keep things simple, let's say you buy a $50.000 car.
You're happy as Larry and drive off the yard. On your way home you change your mind and turn around to drive back to the dealer who now offers to pay you only $40.000 because it's a used vehicle now.
Instant loss of 20% that is! In other words you haven't protected your downside!

Next example:

Let's assume there was a demo vehicle parked next to the new one you were going to buy, same model same features for only $40.000 instead of the $50.000. Why not buy the cheaper one  and protect your downside?

In fact, you could even sell it to a private buyer and make a gain on it...

This is how you protect your downside.

I often call myself 'the second hand guy' because I buy the majority of the things I would  like to buy second hand, be it clothes to computers, music instrument and equipment, cars and other things.

Matter of fact I even pick up stuff off the side of the road, fix it up and sell it or keep it myself.

As the saying goes "one man trash is another man's treasure"

How to effectively protect your downside in three easy steps:


1: Do your Homework:

When you decide you want to buy something like a car, do you research and don't rush it. Thorough research will pay it value in gold! Before just buying any car find out what the weaknesses and potential faults of the car are. Find out how much fuel it consumes and how much it costs to run it.
Talk to people who know what their talking about. In other words, do your homework.

2: Be flexible:

Don't get caught up with little things. When buying anything really, there are always details that are 'nice to have' but rarely a make or break. Think about the thing most crucial to you and be prepared to make a compromise. After all, you don't always get all the bells and whistles for cheap.

3: Make sure you don't buy overpriced:

When you buy anything you want to make sure that you don't pay more than what it's worth.
Sure that sounds pretty obvious but we often do exactly that. Sticking with my example car purchase, you must know exactly what it is worth and do not pay any more than that. You want to be able to sell the car, guitar, (fill in the gap) for more than what you've paid for it.
That is important as it is the mentality of WINNING.

4: Resist your emotion:

Do not let your emotions get the better of you. You must crunch the numbers and know exactly what you can afford and what is too much.
You know you've paid too much when you can't sell the XXX at least for what you've paid for it.

5: Be patient:

I have found patience to be the ultimate winning strategy. If you are bound by a deadline you tend to overstretch your financial ability or budget. If have found that the ability to postpone gratification does wonders. It's almost like putting your desires into the universe and the universe somehow receives it and eventually delivers on your wishes. I know it sounds cheesy but it works for me. Bargain pop up as if they are there just for you.

So there you have it.

I hope you get a ton of value out of this post and would love to read your feedback.

Until then - stay awesome!

I've got 400 ounces of pure gold!!!

Me holding a 400oz bar of pure gold!

Hello people,

I've been on the 2019 Gold and Alternative Investments Conference at the Sofitel Hotel in Sydney this weekend and I must say it was an impressive experience to see and talk to so many high level individuals (in an Investing and monetary sense) and also learn so much during the back to back presentations.
Basically the entire event was all about precious metals like Gold, Silver, and others and what role they all play within the global economy, now and in the future!
Another big topic has been of course, crypto currencies like  Bitcoin and others and what their good and bad at.

I have had the utter pleasure to hold a huge 400oz Gold bar worth around AU$890000!!!

Boom! Mind blown!

Me before the conference in front of the Sofitel Hotel Sydney.

Also have I learned of an entirely new precious metal, namely Osmium!

This stuff is so bloody beautiful that I would've liked to write out a check immediately.

Other big companies were the Perth Mint (they do all official government Silver and Gold coins and bars) and ABC Bullion who hosted the event.

In my own personal opinion I think that precious metals like Gold, Silver and others have a significant potential upside in the years to come. As a rule of thumb you can say that Silver and Gold create a pretty decent safeguard in times of economic upheaval which is precisely what were in at the moment.

Expert Q&A at the close of the conference.

As far as Bitcoin and other digital currencies go, I think they are definitely here to stay, but I am personally not confident enough to make a move and put any money towards them as the volatility at the moment is just too unpredictable for me.
But again that's just me. If you are comfortable with the potentially huge losses of your investment money, go for your life!

Just remember, those who spent their money on 'investments' they don't understand are not investors but gamblers.

It was a great experience and a great place to pick the brains of very intelligent people.

The best way to get better at what you do is to actually do it. This was probably one of the main reasons for me to attend this conference.

If you'd like to discuss some of my points of view regarding investing in precious metals and why I think it's a good idea, please get in touch as I'd love to answer questions and shed some light on how and why to do it.

Until next time - be awesome!

Mario

What do you life by? Feelings or Principles?

Hello lovely people,

do you life by feelings or do you life by principles?

What a weird question, right?

It's an important one though, here's the thing:

Those who life by feelings will never get anywhere financially.

These people are always buying stuff to satisfy their desires and give them pleasure, but pleasure is not beneficial at all.

Don't believe me? Ask a drug addict how beneficial pleasure is to his overall life goals!

If you feel the constant urge to buy stuff and spend most of your money on things you do not really need and end up saving little to nothing of your income then this may be you!

This was definitely my way of life for a long time. And my finances were evidence.

Those who life by principles are financially often a lot better off than those who don't.
This is in part because of their ability to delay gratification (this is to postpone spending money) and also because of the habits and methods they have developed when it comes to money management.

Those people more often than not have a certain saving amount deducted from their wages and have their investment strategy in place and most importantly - they stick to it.

They realize that the pleasure of having plenty of cash which ultimately enables them to life the live they really want to life far outweighs the short term pleasure of the latest gadget they may feel tempted to buy.
So they won't buy it.

If you have a certain goal for retirement like I do (retire by the age of 40) you have to realize that this is anything but impossible. There is a road that leads to where you want to go, but you have to take the necessary steps to get there.

You are the only person to blame for your shitty bank balance, realize that and take 100% ownership of it!

Hope that helps.

Leave your questions and comments below. Also, make sure to subscribe to get regular updates.

Until next time - be awesome!

What's your MOJO???

Hi Loveley's,

What's you Mojo?

Or let's start with what I actually mean by Mojo. Since reading the book "The Barefoot Investor", I have started to acquire quite a significant amount of Mojo which is Scott Pape's way of saying "Emergency Fund".

So the basic idea is to save some percentage of your income (say 10%) and put it away for a rainy day for when that emergency comes.

Now while it is great to a $1000 saved up, but the reality is that when that emergency hit's it is likely to cost a lot more. Say a car accident or a layoff  and you need to bridge the gap of lack of income with your emergency fund. How long would you be able to live the same way you live today without any money coming in?

If you answer is forever, congratulations! (Why are you even reading this)

If your answer is not for too long. Keep reading!

I have started with about $0 in my Mojo account. That was 2 years ago.

Now my emergency fund would be able to sustain my life as it is today for about 8 months.

This gives you that extra bit of reassurance 'just for when' it's needed most, hence "MOJO"

You can just open an high-interest savings account with your bank and setup your regular payment with the app (no end date for transactions).

This is an easy way to set and forget your saving and you'll be surprised how much money you will soon have......

NOW!
A word of warning: If you feel the strong urge to always look at how much money you have and what you can spend it on, you should probably open that account with a different bank to kind of isolate it from you normal bank account. This makes it less likely for you to look at and also reduces the temptation as this money is not in you face all the time and you tend to forget about it...


With that bit of financial safety behind you things tend to seem a lot less frightening, like that layoff or the fact that your car just died. It's fine, you'll be fine.
The emergencies that do occasionally come up will not be as problematic as they used to be and won't have on impact on your lifestyle.

Now go and set up your own Mojo!

Until next time - be awesome!



PS: I am not affiliated in any way with Scott Pape's Barefoot Investor and will not receive kickbacks of any kind! I just love his style and what he has achieved in helping millions of people boss their finances! I highly recommend his books!
If You read this and you are Mr. Scott Pape, feel  free to get in touch with me! I'd be honored.

Do you really need it?

Hello lovely people,

you know what it's like, we all want that new car and the new phone or that sick curved TV, right?

Wrong!

I may be different in a lot of way's, admittedly, but one thing has and still does stand out to me!
Since we have gotten rid of our TV about three years ago, it's gone very quiet.

I loved it so much that have also deleted the facebook app from my phone.

Whilst I know that I am loosing most people right there I can tell you what that has achieved for me.
It has significantly reduced the amount of NOISE in my life!

It has also reduced my exposure to ads on either of those, trying to do only one thing - turning my money into theirs!

While it always seems that buying the things we see and hear advertised left, right and centre are supposed to make us all happier and make life that much more convenient it really is about getting the money from our pocket into theirs -and it's big business!

Now I am not opposing tech and all other stuff, but here's the catch. If I was to buy a phone for say $1500 that can do almost everything but making coffee I likely end up doing almost the exact things I am doing with my old beat up phone right now, taking snapshots, making calls and texting.

What does that $10000 curved TV do? It plays the same ads the old one did.

I know I know - these items have their place and a lot of people get a lot of value out of them, I am not one of them. So each to their own of course.

The point I am trying to make is that these ultra awesome new items that are supposed to make us look just as good as the people in the ads do not!

Matter of fact, that new I phone that you had to have last year is outdated now and has become the source for frustration and a feeling of insignificance, because the new Iphone 23 has just come out and it has all those new features!

These days, we don't see a lot of ads or news, which means the first thing in the morning is not an impulse to buy such and such or the latest terror news from where ever, but I get to decide what my mood for the day will be, without distractions.

Most things we think we need, we don't! We just want them really bad, and we come up with all sorts of reasons why we need them so bad!

When I want something really bad I usually wait for about a month or so, and if I still want it real bad I buy it.

More often than not though, after a month I have forgotten all about the thing and I won't be getting it.

Just honestly ask yourself before you buy something "do I actually need it?"

And also ask "what happens if I don't buy it?"

I think in my case I have easily saved a couple of thousand dollars by asking those questions and continue to do so!

Just remember this:

It's not about how much you earn, but how much you keep.

And also, you do not have to keep up with anyone! The ones that invest that much money into buying stuff and looking as if they had money often don't!

You are better than that!

Please like, share and comment below.

Until next time - be awesome!

I want it now!

Hi all,

there seems to be one common issue in today's society. I feel that modern day people have something I like to call an Insta-mentality.

Now what do I mean bu that?

To me it means that we are so conditioned to instant gratification these days via (anti) social media, facebook and instagram. We post something and then we spend the next couple of hours waiting for likes and comments, who liked first, second, third, and who commented what.

It gets to a point were social media bullying has become a thing, it's getting to a point where beautiful young woman have plastic surgery to make them look perfect on their selfies!

I think this is crazy and sad at the same time!

Now, I do not think that Instagram, Facebook or Tiktok are generally bad - their not. But they have helped create a culture in which a lot of us are more concerned with what happens on social media than what happens in real life. It creates the illusion that everybody lives a million dollar life but oneself.

Of course a whole lot of all that is fake!

We have been conditioned to get instant gratification the days. We cannot wait until we have saved up for what ever it is that we want to purchase. And we don't have to either! Why not just afterpay it or use your credit card to "own it now".

Instant gratification right?

How much does this car cost. Sir?

Only $99!

A WEEK!!!!!!!!!

What about it costs $25000?

You take cash, mate?

Few people realize that this is a trap.

It's a debt trap!  A trap that enslaves the borrower to the lender!

But wait! Didn't they say I have the "freedom" to buy the things I want now? Didn't they say "own it now, pay later"?

They sure did! But the only thing you really own is a bunch of liabilities!

This amplifies the advantages of my way of doing things!

 Advantage no.1: 

By having to save up I have to delay my gratification, which means I have to wait. By having to wait I have the time to reevaluate my desire to buy the thing, more often than not I don't even want to own it anymore by the time I have the money for it!

Advantage no.2

Obviously if I have to save up to pay the thing outright, I do not have to use the at least questionable "services" of the credit industry.
In short I buy it, pay in full and actually own the thing!



What's your opinion?

Let me know in the comments below!

Love you all.

Until next time - be awesome!


Picture Credit: https://hackernoon.com/instant-gratification-a21913eacda

What is wrong with Grandma 's way??

Hi all,

often when friends and co-workers talk about buying things I just can't get my head around how they're able to afford all those things.

Be it that $800 handbag (ridiculous in my view) or the new cars a lot of 20 year old boys and gals drive around in. I always stop and think "how can they afford all those nice things?"

The truth is, that more often than not, they can't! They pay outrageous amounts of interest for the car they drive and they afterpay their way overpriced gadgets like that Gucci belt or the Luise Vuitton (is that even spelled right???) handbag.

Way too many people spend money they don't have to impress people they don't like with stuff they don't need!  

And then there is old Granny who lives a modest lifestyle with the money her small retirement brings in. And yet old Granny has no debts, has cash in the bank (or in her pillowcase) and has paid off the house or unit she lives in!

A lot of people these days inherit a fair bit of money that Pop and Nan have worked their butt off for...

The thing is that future Grandson and Granddaughter might not be so lucky with their inheritance because these days everything is bought with Afterpay, Zip pay, Credit Cards and ultra convenient personal loans and car loans....

In Germany we call this "buying on pump" which basically means that the money gets pumped your way by means of borrowing....

On the upside I think that more and more people are waking up to realize that old Granny isn't that silly after all with the way she handles her financials!

And this is why:

How my generation buys stuff!

-Afterpay (own now pay later)

-Zip pay (own the things you love now and pay them later)

-Credit cards (15%-20% Interest - hell yeah!!!)

-Personal loans (10%-20% interest - hell yeah!!!)

How Grandma buys the things she needs!

-Saving up

-Comparing prices to make sure she gets the most "bang for her buck"

-Buying the things she wants outright (Own now and  pay now!)

I really really like the way our Grandparents work with the money they have. They might not be the most literate when it comes to investing their money wisely and stuff like that, but they sure as hell know how to use their money to get them the things they want!

I have been brought up using the old fashioned way of purchasing the things I want. Never have I been in debt nor have I ever had a loan of any kind!

The thought of buying things I cannot afford is foreign to me!

This is how I buy things!

-I don't buy shit I don't need!

-I don't buy stuff to impress anyone, I do not care what any debt laden wannabe thinks about me when I drive an old car that is mechanically sound but maybe not as shiny as theirs (or the banks for that matter)...

-I do not use any of those Afterpay or equivalent debt traps (designed to lure young people in)

-If I want it but cannot afford it, I won't buy it!

-Before I buy something, say a car or a computer I do my research. I want the best my money can buy. Also I want the things I buy for as cheap as possible! The most bang for my buck!

-I buy most things second hand. Let other people pay crazy prices for brand new cars, accessories and other stuff!

By doing things this way I have a number of advantages:

-I get the high quality stuff at wholesale prices!

-The downside is protected, meaning that if I decide to resell the item, whatever it may be, I am likely to make most or all of my money back. Sometimes I even make a profit!

I am so grateful by having this kind of mentality about money. My parents and grandparents have done a great job! 

How does this sound to you???

Let me know in the comments below or get in touch with me directly (contact tab)

Until next time - be awesome!

From Zero to Hero

Hi all,

today I'd like to elaborate a little bit on yesterdays post regarding Minimalist Finance that Works.

To prove that I am not only talking the talk but actually walk my talk I'd like to tell you all that not too long ago we had absolutely no money left in the bank.


One could say we were officially broke!

In fact, when we moved into a different apartment back in January 2016, we barely had enough money to pay for the rental bond (4 weeks worth of rent).

After that very humbling time, we have worked our way through adversity, ate shit for a while and dug ourselves out of a whole!

Note that there is no self pity here, quite the opposite is true as it was those days that most shaped me as a person, but also us as couple! You learn how to deal with it and make it work. 
Later on, when you encounter similar situations or adversity again, you can say "Oh, it's just another one of those!"

Back on track, Mario!

We started out by setting up our bank accounts like I have described in yesterdays post (read it now),
setting our savings targets and adjusting them over time.

Say we had an amount X going into the account that covers all expenses and we'd always run out of money on that account, we'd have to increase it accordingly, etc.

We eventually found our equilibrium which works pretty well, but we always try and squeeze a little bit more savings out of it...

Since we have been chipping away saving and saving and adjusting as we go, we have been able to save up an amount of money that is approaching our combined annual after tax income!

We have saved up almost

 our combined annual  after tax income.

CASH!!

CASH IN THE BANK!

I love this song "I got gas in the tank. I got money in the bank. I've got news for you baby - you're looking at the Man!"

The crazy bit is this: It took only about 3 years!!! That's what I call from zero to hero!

The things you can achieve with only a little bit of dedication and discipline are stunning!

We will most definitely continue with this and are looking for ways to make our money work for us (other than a high interest bank account).

I hope you guys get some value out of this and subscribe, comment, ask questions below!

Also, feel free to share with everyone you know!

Until next time - be awesome!

Minimalist Finance that works!

G'day lovely people,

today is another wonderful day and I'm pumped to be able to put out another bit of information that might actually change your life!!!

This is finance for dummies or as I like to call it "Minimalist Finance" that actually works!

The following is how my lovely partner and I handle all of our money related affairs and I can tell you that it has changed our lives!

There are a number of advantages that really stand out to me:

1: It has minimized a lot of "friction" in relation to money!
2: It has made our situation crystal clear and easy to understand - no room for misunderstanding
3: It has created the capital to do a lot of things we wouldn't have been able to do otherewise

Ok! Lets get started shall we?

As I have mentioned before, we have our bank accounts with ING-Australia which does have a few very sweet perks for us frugal people!

1: It's FREE!! How good is that right!? No fees for banking or anything!
2:It rebates all ATM charges! Even for the dodgy pub ATM's or the ones you use on your overseas holiday! Again, another nice FREEBY!
3: You can open a number of online saver accounts, joint accounts and nickname them as you wish!

I know, some online saver accounts call themselves "high interest online saver" or something along those lines! At the moment the maximum savings rate for your nominated account is 2.3% which is about two thirds of bugger all, but I guess it's tough economic times after all. I rather take a little of something than all of  nothing!

I rather take a little of 

something than all of  nothing!

This is how we have arranged it for us!

Note: The percentage amounts for each account depend on your expenses and how much you can afford to put into each account. Obviously the more you'd be able to save, the better.

Is this simple or what!?

Now with most bank accounts theses days you can automate recurring payments between your own accounts which makes everything sooo easy! 

All you need to do is set it all up once, and never touch it again!

The beauty about all this is, that all your expenses are paid for without you having to touch anything, because there is always enough money there. And if there is not enough money there, you'll notice right away because you will overdraw your account, which in turn will eat into your savings ( which hopefully hurts) so you may streamline your expenses too!

Before you know it, you'll have a sizable amount of dough stashed away to do the things that are worth the wait!

Now I hope this pose brings a lot of value to you guys and changes at least one life!!

Please leave me your thoughts, comments and questions below and feel free to share this postwith your friends and family!

Until next time - be awesome!

If you want more money this is what you need to do....

Hi all,

I hear people say all the time "I want more money..."

Yeah I know, but don't we all...?

So here's the deal!

Many of us (and I have been doing this plenty) just spent way more than they should be.

I think it's sensible to save at least 10% of what you earn in order to build financial muscle over time.

So a lot of us are spending almost every cent they earn for various reasons, which will never result in any sort of wealth of course, so in order to change that we all need to make it a natural habit to spend less that what we earn ( yes, that includes afterpay and your credit card too ).

Once this habit has been successfully established you probably still want more money.

What's the easiest way to have more money? 

SPEND LESS OF IT, AND KEEP THE REST!!!

Sounds cheesy right - but it's true!

I remember going for lunch to that Thai place up the road with workmates relatively regularly, until I tallied up what I'd spent the last month (no wonder the shop owner was excited to see us nearly every day)

I'd spent about $300 on lunches that month!!!

That over the course of a year would mean that I would've spent $3600 on lunches with my mates.

A fair chunk of dough, right!?

Put that money aside for a rainy day or invest it in whatever, a stock portfolio, ETF, or maybe to pay for your well deserved holiday! 

Now I'm not against going out for lunch and other pleasantries, but you might want to think about what you spend your money on, because after all every dollar you spend equates to an amount of time you spend working for those dollars - it's up to you to decide weather that lunch every day is worth that time.

This is merely one example among many others, but you get my drift.

If you think about what you spend your money on and ask yourself weather it's really worth it, you may find yourself a lot better off after some time.

And home made sandwiches have their own charm too...

Please leave your ideas, questions and comments below.

Until next time - be awesome!

Baby steps to cash in your pocket!

Hi all,

when it comes to money we all have different ways of dealing with it.

A lot of people save really hard for a while and get some money to their name and then go on a massive spending spree which gets them back to start without getting the $4000 bucks.

Truth be told, to be diligent and save money and then actually keeping is hard and requires willpower and persistence. If it was that easy everybody would have plenty cash in the bank and not a money worry in the world.

Unfortunately social media and the advertising industry both do an amazing job when it comes to making your money someone else's and so the detriment starts...

I do not own a television, nor do I waste my most precious recourse on (anti)social media to see what new gadgets there are and what the Jones's are doing (couldn't care less) and how I do not need money to "own" it now , when I can just afterpay it.  How convenient!

I often listen in disbelief when some of my mates say: 

"I want this and that and the other thing..." 

to which I often say 

"Yeah but how can you afford this when you haven't got any money to your name at all or are in debt??" 

the answers often leave me baffled...

"Don't worry Mario, I just afterpay it...!

WHAAAAATTTT?

Here's  my opinion on afterpay:   "Afterpay is for poor people!"

Intelligent people would've bought afterpay shares instead of using their at least questionable "service".  

By not having a telly and not really using social media a lot I managed to cut out a lot of the temptations from ads and the urge to having to keep up with what I "supposed" to have and what not.

I tend to keep my money in the bank and watch it grow (this is more satisfying then watching any tv-show I can assure you!

Bottom line is this: If you want to save more you first need to work on how you treat the money you make. 

It is not about how much money you make, but how much you keep!

I have multiple bank accounts (all fee free accounts) into which a fixed portion of my income get transferred every time I get paid. I do not have to do anything and every week my money stash grows and grows.

I also make sure that I don't overdo it. I leave a predetermined amount of money in my normal account for me to just spend on whatever. But once that "spending money is gone, that's it! 

I can recommend an ING bank account. To set one one up takes about five minutes and you can do it from you phone. Also you can setup I believe up to ten online saver accounts as well in which you can deposit money for what ever purpose (Emergency fund, Holiday fund, Fun fund, etc)

Note: there are no kickbacks or anything as I recommend this as a private and independent dude and nothing else.

If you have other recommendations or questions, please leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer your questions.

Until then - be awesome

What's Your Savings Rate?

Hi all,

most of us have to get up in the morning, do our little morning routing and then hurry off to work to earn a paycheck...

we have bills to pay after all. And then there is Christmas right around the corner too....

But how much of  money is left after we have paid all our bills and other obligations?


For a lot of us it is hardly anything since living expenses and rent are sky high.

A 2015 report by Suncorp found that the average savings by Australians was $427 per month ($5,124 per annum). Not too shabby. 

Those aged 25-34 were the best savers with an average saving of $533 per month ($6,396 per annum).

How about yourself??

How much are you stuffing into your pillowcase each month? Is it 10% of what you earn?

Is it 20%, 30%, 40% or even more?

In our case it is about 60% of all we earn! 

It is an amazing feeling to know that if something is ever going to hit the fan, you will have enough stashed away to get yourself out of trouble, at least for a while.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Until then - be awesome

Immigrant style

Hi all,

today I'd like to talk about the way us immigrants live and how we buy the things we need.

Myself and Gary Vee like to call it living life IMMIGRANT STYLE!


To put that into context, that means that for me and my wonderful partner in crime Alex there is no safety net and no soft mat to land on in case we screw up (i.e. Centrelink or wealthy parents)

For us it's very simple:  IF I DON'T WORK -- I DON'T EAT!!!

This has changed now since we are permanent residents in Australia now but the mindset that's behind that has not!

In daily life that means that we have to make sure that every single dollar we earn must travel as long as possible to get the maximum out of it!

It means that by shopping smart we have been able to reduce our food cost per week to about $100 per week for two people!

(and those of you who know me know that I am a rather hungry guy... :))

It means that we have canned our internet connection and use our prepaid phones as a hotspot which works us just fine.

It means that we make sure we have enough dough on the side that enables us to continue to pay the bills for minimum six months without having to get a loan of go to centrelink and ask the govenment for money.

It means that we are to proud of what we've achieved to even think about centrelink support even if we could...

Not too long ago we were literally at rock bottom financially - now were not - because of what I call our biggest asset, our Immigrant Style lifestyle.

P.S. Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below!


Until next time - be awesome!

Why you are broke!!!

Do you ever think you are not getting anywhere financially?

I certainly did and sometimes still do.

But the truth is this: More likely than not, you are the reason you are not getting ahead!

It's very simple: If you only earn a $1000 you must not spend more than that $1000!

Our principle is this: Out of every $1 we earn we can only ever spend $0.70 which means that you automatically save 30% of what you earn!

Do this and give it some time and you will find yourself with a not too shabby bank account in the not too distant future.

Becoming financially independent has a lot to do with your daily decisions!

Let me know what you think in the comments section!

Cheers
-- Mario