Why you don’t need to be a ‘bazillionaire’ to invest
An investor who spoke on The Smart Property Investment Show has called out the common misconception that in order to invest, one must have wealth.
Michael Henry told host Phil Tarrant that while there were many reasons behind property procrastination, he believed a low income should present no obstacle for those looking to begin their investment journey.
He added that his career in the fitness industry proved to be no barrier to building a nine-strong property portfolio on a yearly income of $50,000, and noted that the key to his success was in finding properties within his price range.
Echoing Mr Henry’s sentiments, Mr Tarrant explained to listeners that investors didn’t need to be “bazillionaires” to purchase property, as there were many people “finding stuff for $150,000 – $200,000” and “identifying assets which aren’t a million dollars”.
Mr Henry noted that by not looking at the situation “as if it was a barrier”, his wife was also eligible to begin her own investment journey as she balanced part-time work with studying at university.
“Until we got married our finances were still quite separate… She was like, ‘You know what? I'm going to buy some property too’,” he said.
“So she jumped in and bought a couple and showed me and everybody that she could do it as well – even while being a student.”
Mr Henry explained, however, that while many buyers restricted their spending habits in order to save for purchases, saving didn’t have to be synonymous with sacrifice.
“I’ve heard other people say the same thing about going out partying [and] holidaying – we had a chance to do all of it,” he said, adding, “It was just not overspending when I didn’t need to, having the clear goal of the next steps and what I had to do to be ready.”
Mr Henry concluded by saying he believed the successful property investor was someone who was “happy” and had “achieved their goals”.
“Did you meet the objective that you wanted, are you satisfied [and] are you happy with it? That’s the end goal right? We want to be happy,” he said.
[Related: How this investor learned from a property blunder]