Renovations and Repayments.

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

Each to their own, I don't like BTL, but I know that a lot of other people do. I suppose the main draw of more conventional investments like S&S is the fact that they are far more liquid. If I wanted to, I could sell the lot and have cash in about 3 days. Properties would just become a millstone.

I see not being able to easily release cash as a good thing - it cannot be spent that way. However, I can see the benefit in a profile of investments, general savings, business interests, appreciating assets and property.

I'm currently flicking through a PDF of "Investments for Dummies", yes this is about my level.

edinburgher wrote: »

Seriously - why on earth would anyone *need* 20 properties? Perhaps the worst thing you can do for someone is to make it so that they never need to work a day in their life.

GG was on to something, read the Millionaire Next Door, even if you do so gradually

It is not a case of needing 20 properties, I wish to provide my son with an income that he can always rely on. Why it is a bad thing to want to provide for our children?

I will have a read of this book. The last one recommended on here was Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I did enjoy that one.

edinburgher

I see not being able to easily release cash as a good thing - it cannot be spent that way.

It's like pension freedoms - you could use the money to buy a Ferrari - or you could keep it because it provides you with financial security

Why it is a bad thing to want to provide for our children?

It's not, but gaining an income from 20 properties without having to work to do so is completely OTT. There is every chance that it will leave your son worse off in terms of earning power and his ability to manage money. You could argue that he may never need to do so, but again, is that healthy?

Ps. If you would like to read The Millionaire Next Door, you're welcome to have my copy, you can PM me your work address or similar if required

Debsnewbudget

Someone put a link to a free copy of The millionaire next door on one of the forums which I could read as a PDF
Will have a look and see if I can find it

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

It's like pension freedoms - you could use the money to buy a Ferrari - or you could keep it because it provides you with financial security

It's not, but gaining an income from 20 properties without having to work to do so is completely OTT. There is every chance that it will leave your son worse off in terms of earning power and his ability to manage money. You could argue that he may never need to do so, but again, is that healthy?

Ps. If you would like to read The Millionaire Next Door, you're welcome to have my copy, you can PM me your work address or similar if required

My problem is the [STRIKE]Ferrari[/STRIKE] Aston Martin DB4 and many more would win. Unfortunately, my parents hadn't quite realised I wouldn't be careful with money like them without them teaching me to be responsible with it. They didn't grow up with much, so I suppose they had no choice but to be careful.

Thank you for such a thought provoking statement regarding the properties, I'm really not sure I know what is "healthy". I feel under an immense pressure to ensure my son has a better quality of life than I. It's the reason I make sure I am there, the reason I want to have him attend my old schools or somewhere better and the reason I want him to grow up calling my parents' house "home". Above all, I want to ensure he doesn't end up questioning whether or not life is worth living.

Also, thank you for the offer of the book. I have found a PDF copy, had to smile at the chapter called "You Aren't What You Drive" as my parents have said that to me before! Should the PDF get taken down before I've finished the book, I'll send you a PM.

Debsnewbudget wrote: »

Someone put a link to a free copy of The millionaire next door on one of the forums which I could read as a PDF
Will have a look and see if I can find it

I've found a copy but thank you anyway.

cazmanian_minx

Alex, save the PDF to your computer, then you can read it at your leisure

AlexLK

Thursday 23rd April, 2015.

Dear Diary,

I'm pleased to be able to start this with some financial news. My wife is also on holiday but has tonight phoned to tell me she is also credit card free. Really very pleased about this as it means Mrs. K. and I will be going back to our original arrangement of completely joint finances but with no debt (apart from mortgage) for the first time since we married, almost 9 years ago.

Unfortunately, apart from that I'm not in a good state of mind.

Yours Faithfully,
Alex.

AlexLK

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

Alex, save the PDF to your computer, then you can read it at your leisure

Thanks, will it not be taken off the computer if the link gets taken down, though?

edinburgher

If you use 'save as' and save the PDF to your desktop as a file, no. If you save the shortcut and the link moves/changes, yes.

newgirly

Hi Alex, just wanted to come in and confess my history of being useless with money . We bought our "stepping stone" house 14 years ago for £120k with the intention of moving to a nice big semi with a garden a couple of years later. We are still here, we added to the mortgage many times over the years until it had grown from £93k when we bought it to £173k.

A combination of overspending on food/toys UK holidays and cars (sounds silly , nothing extravagant!) Also having three kids and one not very high wage.

I also have fairly well off parents and did spend a lot of my time feeling guilty that my kids would not have such an "easy" childhood as I had , in house with a tiny garden to play in etc. But they are nearly15\15\18 now and are all good with money , don't get spoilt (except Xmas and birthdays) and my 17 yr old is fiercly independent and trys to pay her own way all the time.

I will try and give them a helping hand with deposits for their own places in the future , but they won't get an income from us as I feel it would dampen their desire to succeed and take away the satisfaction of looking after themselves.
The safety net is our home is always here if they need it, if they have fnanacial\health \relashionship problems they will have a bed and food until the are ready to move on again. (Finger crossed this won't be needed :rotfl:)

Joining mse 5yrs ago has turned our lives around and we only have 7 years left on a mortgage that was 33 yrs, we don't earn a massive wage and it's been hard work ,but on here you feel part of a small little gang doing something others don't seem to do. The support has been amazing and is the only reason why we have achieved so much.

Maybe wanting the best for your child may mean doing things differently, providing a lot of money for their future is a big pressure to put on yourself and is only one element of trying to be a good parent anyway.

I would defiantly read the millionaire next door and although very extreme maybe take a look at Mr money mustache blog. Not so much for the frugal tips but there are some interesting posts on there about the benefits of not making life too easy for yourself and your kids by using money to provide happiness, a bit heavy maybe but thought provoking stuff.

Sorry to hijack your thread, I hope you are feeling a bit better about things today

edinburgher

I agree with newgirly, you are putting yourself under undue pressure by seeking to achieve an arbitrary goal of x houses.

While I'm painfully aware of the vomit inducing schmaltz at the end of this sentence, the future happiness of your son depends on the confidence that he will gain from growing up in a loving household, not the number of bricks he inherits

Money is not a panacea for all the troubles that we will face over our lives and it won't cushion him from stresses etc.

In fact, there is clear evidence that happiness does not increase beyond a certain point, no matter how much money you have.