Your New Year’s Resolution: How it relates to property and finance

Posted by Jack Guthrie

The first seven days of January can be a testing time for all, as budding new year resolutions call for a period of optimism, self-discipline and perseverance. Australian’s all over the country are now vowing to achieve their 2019 goals by cutting down on those extra carbs and saving their money. The unfortunate truth uncovered by a previous study finds that 80% of these resolutions are broken by the time February rolls around.

The Christmas period gives us a time to reflect on what we would like out of the new year, which often leads to landing on the vision of having more money. Consequently, the majority of resolutions come in the form of financial goals. Being Australian, we love property by proxy. Leaving many of these financial goals to take the form of saving for a deposit or, gaining a better position with our assets. Whether the goal be financial or not, there are a couple of golden rules that must be abided by to achieve them:

Be realistic about your goals

There is no sense in vowing to save 90% of your income or, going for a run 7 days a week until 2020. To achieve an end goal, you must set realistic personal benchmarks that are reachable on a regular basis. The same is true for investing in property – the aim of investing in 8 properties by the end of the year is far out of reach to the wide majority of the country. So, find out what is a rational saving plan for you and invest within your means. If you set a task that isn’t achievable, your resolution/investment plan will be doomed from the start.

Seek patience for success

It is all too often that we start going to the gym to shed the extra Christmas kilos and after 2 weeks of no change, we give up and settle into old habits. Unfortunately, the same principle applies to investors. Those who buy into a market which doesn’t skyrocket within the first 2 years can fall into the trap of a short-term, pessimistic outlook of their property and opt to sell. In today’s fast-moving tech world, we expect instant results – this is impractical for something that is a long-term outcome. As the old cliché goes, fortune favours those who wait and the same can be said for achieving your financial goals.

Build a strong plan around achieving your vision

Once you are equipped with a solid set of goals, you should set out a succinct plan for yourself. This may include small incremental milestones to achieve your savings plan or aligning yourself with industry professionals to allow the best financial results. Whether it be fitness or savings, a plan will help you understand whether you are on track.

You don’t have to be earning a six-figure salary or running your own business to get serious about achieving your own financial goals. The start should be just figuring out what you want to achieve in 2019. After you have created a clear plan, executing will become substantially easier. At Blue Wealth, it is our resolution to aid as many clients as possible to create wealth through property in 2019.

Posted by Jack Guthrie, on 8th Jan 2019