Forum Replies Created
Only 1,000-1,500 out of 3,000 having full time employment from this project. What does such a number really mean?
Using the ABS figures for the last census, 18.5% of employment in the local Gladstone area is in Manufacture. It is generally considered that most other employment, particularly in areas such as Gladstone, is provided by the manufacturing base. IE All construction, eduction, retail etc jobs either directly or indirectly sevice manufacturing and it’s employees.
This means that the 1000 long term jobs will actually provide another 4000 service jobs or a total of 5000 extra jobs in the region.
45% of the total population in Gladstone is employed. If this level is maintained these 5000 jobs actually represent 11,000 people.
The mean household size for Gladstone is 2.7 people per dwelling. 11,000 people represents a need for an extra 4000 dwellings.
Given that there are currently 9800 dwellings in Gladstone, you are looking at a potential long term increase in the number of properties required of over 40%.
If you want to be really conservative, halve this number or even quater it, and it still represents a potential growth in the area of 10-20%.
Suggesting that this is a bad investment because only 1000 long term jobs will be created does not seem to make sense to me.
If you’re worried, wait till the construction phase of the project is finished, when there will possibly be a short term glut in the market, and invest then.
Of course other factors need to be taken into account. When/will the smelter actually go ahead? How much growth will this have in Rocky itself? How long will it take for all this growth to actually take place? Do you want to invest in an area that will be heavilly reliant on just one employer?
If anyone has any details for reasons not to invest in the region, I’d certainly be interested in hearing them.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
I am not a religious man but do firmly believe in God.
From Steve “The Bible is clear that you cannot serve two masters, and that you must choose between serving God and serving money.”
At the moment I work for money. That makes me it’s servant.
I want my money to work for me. That makes me it’s master.
By this logic, and this is what I beleive, trying to gain financial independence can not therefore be frowned on by God, as long as you do it in an ethical way.
Equally important though, why do you want to be financially independent? Yes, I want to be able to “retire” as soon as possible, but the over riding reason is that I really want to be able to give more, primarilly to my family, but to the community as well.
If I can be more generous by being more financially free, then I don’t see how this can possibly be a bad thing.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
To sell or to hold?
I, or should I say my family, had this exact same dillema only three weeks ago.
In the end we chose to sell.
Why?
Because we needed/wanted to spend some of the cash.
After doing the sums, I figured we could spend the amount we needed to, put the rest into our PPOR loan and still be better off by at least $10 per week due to the saved interest over and above our rental income. The good thing is, the more interest rates go up, the more I actually save by doing this.
Of course, when we find a new IP, we will still have the money, and hopefully more, available for redraw.
Long term, I may have been better off refinancing my IP to use the increased equity, but for here and now I feel my family is better off with our choice.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
Ten years ago, “big city investors” drove the price of local properties up 50-80%.
After 18 months the boom subsided, and prices stalled.
Within 2 years, prices had dropped by 10-20%, although some people still managed to get good prices from “big city investors”.
Over the next 6 years, prices stayed roughly the same or went back marginally, although some of the better areas increased slowly.
6 months ago, a flood of “big city investors” started to drive prices up once again. In that 6 months, the value of my own two properties have risen 50%.
In my view, this increase is simply a long overdue catch up in value.
I expect that within 2 years, prices will have dropped again, and more bargins will be available.
In the meantime, I am not going to go out and buy property for capital growth, because I know that “it just aint gonna happen” short term.
If I can find +ve cash flow properties great, but if I can’t, I’ll just put my money in my house loan, which saves me 6% interest tax free, and wait till I can find more bargins again.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
How come they’re always guy couples on these shows, and not lesbian?
Amazing Race has had 4 series and four gay couples, the block had a gay couple, and I know that there are others that I just can’t think of at the moment.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Come on people!
I didn’t start this thread to make fun of “McLeods Daughters”, as fulfilling and easy as that may be.
Start another post on that topic if you want.
I want to know what TV shows really get up your nose.
I won’t be surprised one bit if the most popular choice is McLeods (’cause it really is bad), but can we at least get a concensus first.
EXCUSE ME – MADAM MODERATOR. People are getting off topic. Can you do something about it?
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
I can’t believe I am doing this because I hate the show, and frankly have not been impressed with the quality of talant on display. Untill last night I didn’t think any of them had much talent at all.
How on earth Cossima has got so far is just beyond me. She misses way too many notes.
Pualini is hot and cold, but did well last night. She did look fat and terrible in that outfit a couple of weeks ago, and did need to be told, but looked much better last night.
I was majorly dissapointed with Shannons first song, but his second was quite good. I don’t think his voice really has the right timbre for that type of big band song. He seemed to lack the punch to belt it out like it needed. On the whole though, he isn’t too bad and seem’s to have the confidence that Paulinni is lacking. That combined with his “sex appeal” puts him ahead of her.
Guy just blew me away. I had always thought he was the pick of the bunch, but last night proved he was in a class above. That boy really can sing.
Just had to mention “Millsy”. Not a great singer, but a real performer. It’s not all about singing, and with confidence like his, I’m sure he’ll do well at what ever he chooses (as long as it is people related).
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Sorry, but the RWC has been a bit of a dud to date.
Where are the upsets (no, Samoa losing by 13 points to England is not an upset)?
Can anyone name one match where the favourite has not won?
I’d even be happy with more close matches.
Average winning margin 39.4
Average winning score 51.3Games won by les than 10 points – 4 in 30
Australia 256 points for, 16 against.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love seeing Australia win as much as anyone, but really, wake me when the semi-finals start.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
My top three shows
3. Survivor
2. The Amazing Race
1. West WingAlso used to be any Star Trek series, but Channel 9 does sucha pitiful job of showing them, I got frustrated and gave up.
At least 7 is getting better at showing Amazing Race, though its usually several weeks behind the US, and I find out who won on the Internet.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
I don’t know, leave work for the weekend, and when I come back I find out I’ve missed out on the BSS investment deal of the century.
Am I too late to get involved?
Have all the prime BSS’s been sold already, and how do I get started as a newbie?
Can any of the experienced BSS investors please help me out?
I also received an email telling me of a wonderfull investment oportunity on the Gold Coast where plans are afoot to build the tallest BSS in the world. Some big name celebrities have already purchased.
Do other people think this is a good deal?
Is SE Qld a better place to invest in BSS’s? This seems to be one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, and obviously there will be an increasing demand for them.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
I started this thread because I beleive it is unfair that some people are entitled to a benifit when others aren’t simply because they chose to buy rather than rent.
That is totally different from arguments about “dole bluddgers”. I was one myself for about six months, and it gave me a new perspective.
Yes, there are people who rort the system. Yes there are people who would rather stay on the dole than work. But having been on the dole, I can totally understand why many of them end up this way.
For the most part, it is the system which fails, not the people in it. The fact is, there is no incentive for people on the dole to try to get anything other than good paying jobs, which many of them are not qualified for.
While unemployed, my father offered me casual work, which paid up to $1000 per week nett. Unfortunately, this was only available once every 2-3 weeks, and generally required me to work hundreds of km’s from home, working 10 hours per day.
In the end, I had to turn it down because of the effect it had on my dole payments and benifits, my availability to search for full time employment, and the limited amount of extra cash it gave me for 60 hours of extremly difficult work.
People would not hire me for lower paid jobs, because I was obviously over qualified, and likely to leave if I found better paid work, and I was not prepared to work full time for less than a certain amount, which was the minimum I needed to provide the most basic things for my family.
Until the social security system changes to provide real incentive for people get out of the system, I am afraid things are never going to change.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
I’ll be happy to sign.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Do you people do ANY work during the day?
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Shirley,
I did that last weekend with “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”.
Loved it so much I’m going to go and buy a copy.
“0 to 130” isn’t in our local library yet.
I already spend as much time as I can scanning the internet. I can only do it from work though, and I actually do have to do work some time.
Melbear, thanks for the kind words, your sincerity just pours through.
Despite the impression I might have given, I don’t mind taking risks as long as I understand the risks I am taking. I have to force myself to stay away from race tracks and casinos, because I get to greedy, and the risks are too great.
Property investing is another thing though. I’ve already had some success at it, and am iching to have more.
But I truly believe outlook is the key to success.
I know that I can do it, I’m sure that I will do it, now it’s just a matter of figuring out how I’m going to do it.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Jee,
Kind of make you wonder how we all got here in the first place before people were paid to have kids.
I don’t think people should be paid to have kids. Too many already are. The more you give peopele the more they will think it is there right to receive it.
There is also scientific concern about maximum sustainable population levels due to fresh water limits, agricultural land usage rates etc. There are finite levels on what we can sustain as a country, and I’ve seen figures that suggest we are already above that.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Thanks Arty,
We actually came up with that idea after I bought the book, although the book had nothing to do with it. Ice creams for the whole family for less than one was going to cost!
I’m sorry if I came across as angry in my last post, I’m not.
I have many friends with no kids who basically spend money however they like. I used to do that as well and didn’t understand how tight money is in a single income family.
Every dollar is important to me now. I’m still learning how to use them more effectively.
My last post was just trying to explain my point of view a little better. I felt that some people didn’t really get the $30 bit.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
I’m glad to see most of you have got what I am talking about.
One thing I would like to expand on though is the issue of the $30.
Cash flow is king!
I do not have a lot of spare cash to spend.
Most of my money is tied up in my mortgage. It is currently on a no frills loan deal, and to redraw against it costs me $50, so I am not going to dip into this money for petty expenses. The recent rise in property values (last 12 months where I live) have given me an unexpected increase in equity, and hence an opportunity to invest.
I have always been interested in investing, but like most never done anything about it. My experiences over the past four years in particular have made me seriously re-examine my financial priorities.
I see Steve on TV, and think I would like to learn more about what he has to say, so I visit a book shop. I look at the 50 or more “How to Invest” books on the shelves, all at around $30 each, and wonder which I should buy.
I’ve just told my 6 year old that I can’t afford $3 to buy her an ice cream today, but here I am ready to fork over $30 for a book, which may or may not be of use to me. The pleasure I would get from giving my daughter an ice cream, compared to the disappointment of telling her once again that she can’t have it, is something I know I would definitely like to have.
I want to invest so that I can buy my daughter the ice cream when ever she asks for it.
So yes, for me spending $30 on Steve’s book is a big deal. Is it better than any of the ones next to it. Will it tell me something I can use, or is it just another long on rhetoric, short on detail waste of money, and I have bought those in the past.
To me, it is a bigger deal than spending $20-30,000 on an investment, because I do have the equity available to do that, but don’t have the cash or the time to waste buying 50+ books that may or may not have any real value to me.
In hindsight, yes Steve’s book was worth the money. In hindsight, I wish I had done any number of things differently over my life.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of being able to do or buy things with hindsight.
The real point is, don’t judge me because I wonder if parting with $30 for a book is better than buying an ice cream for my daughter the next ten times we go shopping.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Mmmmm…..
Chocolate!
I think I’ll go and buy a Mars Bar right now.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Just some numbers re the above.
In my area rents have increased on average 14-16% in the past three years, while the mean sales value has increased 25-30%.
If values stop increasing today, it will still take 2-3 years for rental prices to catch up.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Mel
Re – structure, I don’t know all the ins and outs yet, but from what I hear, the trust structure seems to be the way we will go.
As for the loan, my understanding is this.
First of all I will put the money in my PPOR loan, then re-borrow it to give to the company/trust. This makes the interest on the borrowed amount from the house loan tax deductible.
The money given to the company along with any income generated from investments or other sources will need to go into an account somewhere until it is used.
Having this account linked as an offset to my PPOR loan helps me to pay it out faster.
Am I just going around in circles, can I do it, or am I missing something?
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
