What school should teach us

Posted by Erin Williams

When I was growing up, I remember my parents discussing investing a lot, especially at the beginning of each school year, when we were investing in a good pair of Grosby school shoes for the year ahead. We would make the trip on the train from NSW’s Central Coast; it was a family event where all the decision-makers were there, even Nanna with her pocket full of lollies.

Needless to say, my family didn’t talk much about property.

Mum and Dad have always rented. Mum says it’s because she gets bored of houses, which sounds about right because I lived in 12 houses in 21 years! But in reality, she always wanted to live next to the beach and financially, renting has always been the best option for her, especially as prices kept rising. She felt owning property was always out of her reach.

While I remember enjoying looking through the new houses and spaces to play in – I hated moving, especially as I got older. I would do anything in my power to not be involved, mostly due to how stressed everyone was. Packing everything into labelled boxes, unpacking, and not being able to find the damn red spatula!

Everywhere we lived was in a pocket of the Central Coast, so the areas were always familiar, and I was happy to be at the same school all the way along. Just after I graduated in Year 12, Ms Owen, my English teacher, pulled me aside and made me promise never to stop learning. She was my mentor through my HSC and the first teacher to show me how to study. I didn’t know it at the time, but starting at Blue Wealth almost two years ago has helped me keep that promise. Sure, in all jobs, you learn new things, like how to use the coffee machine, but at Blue Wealth, I’ve learnt more than how to make a killer iced oat milk latte – I’ve learnt some pretty important life skills that I can now pass on to my family and friends.

What people usually don’t mention is that school doesn’t teach you about investing or personal finances. Unless you happen to come from a family that knows about budgeting and investing and things of that nature, you’re probably going to be left in the dark. While my family doesn’t have a background in finance, I have been fortunate to have access to people who talk about it non-stop – literally.

Being in the office with our team is the place I learn the most. Listening to their conversations is so valuable, and I love watching the team present our educational events. Recently, I helped out at one of our benchmark education events called Wealth Through Property. Thanks to Rona, this was the FIRST in-person education event I had been to since starting at Blue Wealth. It put into perspective how much I have learnt and now take for granted.

Ms Owen was right. Taking every opportunity to learn means that I understand what it means to invest – the pros and cons of different situations. It also means I am more confident in what I know, and it’s easier to speak to clients, friends and family about investing, whether they want to listen or not. I’m very proud that through my knowledge and access to information, two of my family members are now property investors when they never thought they could.

While I’m still a bit away from purchasing an investment property myself, the power of education and knowledge has changed how I think and view investing and property altogether. I find a lot of comfort in knowing that when it’s time for me to invest, I will actually have a clue about what’s going on! And I have learnt to make my own plan, so one day soon, when I’m ready, I’ll be one of the 8.7% of Australians that owns an investment property.

So, thanks to Ms Owen, I haven’t and won’t stop learning, and you shouldn’t either. If you’re like me and want to continue learning, make sure you check out our events; with a huge choice of locations already locked in you’re bound to find one that you can come along to.

Posted by Erin Williams, on 13th Jun 2023