Early Retirement Journal (NZ)

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smaching
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon May 16, 2016 3:35 am

Early Retirement Journal (NZ)

Post by smaching »

Hello everyone!

I am a twenty-six year old male living in Auckland, New Zealand with a goal of being “retired” within seven years. Retirement to me means having the finances to choose whether and when and where to work. I am just getting started towards financial independence but hope this journal will be a useful place to track progress and share my learnings with you.

As of today, I am working full-time as a lawyer, have a bachelor’s degree in law with honours and bachelor’s degree in commence majoring in accounting, and a keen interest in investing. While I build my nest egg I will be investing in index funds for diversity. I am always keen to talk to people about early retirement, aspirations, and goals so hit me up!

My finances as of today (16/05/16) are as follows:

Debts

Student loan ($23,422.34). This is 0% interest so long as I remain in New Zealand but interest is payable if I leave for 183 consecutive days or more.

Assets

Cash assets ($1,928.54). These are my cash assets, currently spread across a chequing account at 0% p.a. interest ($167.90), an online savings account at 0.75% p.a. interest ($760.00) and a term deposit ($1000.64) which is set up for 1 month at 2.30% p.a. interest. The funds here are partly earmarked for monthly expenses, whereas the funds kept in term deposit have been put away for safekeeping and to remove access.

Kiwisaver ($21,647.84). This is a superannuation account which can be accessed when buying a first home or after I turn 65. I can contribute 6%, 7% or 11% of my after-tax pay to this scheme. The first $1,042.86 I contribute each year is matched $521.43 by the Government. Funding this beyond $1,042.86 a year does not have an advantage over standard investing, and I am currently on a “contributions holiday” meaning no repayments until 1 July 2016, the beginning of the next Kiwisaver year.

So in the round that makes my current net worth $154.04 as of today. By no means impressive, but fortunately I have been able to steer clear of credit card debt, hire purchases and other loans which would make that easily negative. I suppose for you all that means I am well and truly starting from ground zero, so feel free to follow along.

In my next post I will be setting out a budget for the remainder of this month and next and outlining some goals.

2Birds1Stone
Posts: 1596
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:20 am
Location: Earth

Re: Early Retirement Journal (NZ)

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

Very interested to hear about your expenses vs. your income.

I am new here as well, but welcome none the less :)

dShiznit
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:04 am

Re: Early Retirement Journal (NZ)

Post by dShiznit »

Hi smashing,

I'm also new to the forums and was pleased to see your post.

About me:

26 m
Auckland
Lawyer
60k student loan (studied in Dunedin)
30k cash (ASB fastsaver)
8k Kiwisaver

I want FI in the next 10 years so I can choose my own work. I still don't know what that may be, but I do know that a career in law will not fulfil my desires. It's not that I dislike practising law - it just ain't me.

I started saving in 2015 and my saving rate is roughly 50% of my take home.

I work for a barrister sole so my salary is less than those in the big firms but I am fortunate to be involved in some high profile commercial litigation which I hope will convert into ducats when I decide to get a new job.

I'm new to investing so just taking baby steps for now. I recently moved my Kiwisaver to Superlife which is set to a mix of 80% NZ 50 ETF and 20% US S&P 500 ETF. I know that I have too much idle cash but am reluctant to make any decisions yet as I need to do more reading.

Would be keen to talk further as it seems we have a little in common.

:ugeek:

Did
Posts: 693
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Early Retirement Journal (NZ)

Post by Did »

Big advice to you young lawyers is to avoid lifestyle inflation. Big risk for millionaire next door poverty cf that tradie mate who left school at 15 and is now worth 20 times what you are.

SalutNounou
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun May 08, 2016 2:45 am

Re: Early Retirement Journal (NZ)

Post by SalutNounou »

Hello Smaching and welcome!
Did wrote:Big advice to you young lawyers is to avoid lifestyle inflation. Big risk for millionaire next door poverty cf that tradie mate who left school at 15 and is now worth 20 times what you are.
+1. I can confirm this is also the case in the financial sector where I work. Last exemple in mind : a colleague paying >30$ for a basic sport tshirt. "After all, we're making good money, right?"

Did
Posts: 693
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Early Retirement Journal (NZ)

Post by Did »

@sn exactly. 16 years ago for me it was the inner city lifestyle including beachside pad, expensive beers and dinners out. I'm a flash lawyer aren't I? Truth is I didn't have a pot to piss in, and was in fact going further and further into debt. As Mr MM has stated, your debt is a flipping #emergency#. It comes ahead of everything : even if you have to camp at the local river to save on rent. If you're serious, not having enough cash invested for basic FI is an emergency also. Think of every single purchase in that light. Question absolutely everything.

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