I bought 0 to 130 about six weeks ago now, and started reading it immediately.
I must say at the time it both excited and disappointed me.
Why did it excite me?
As a child growing up, and always being reasonably good at maths, I just assumed that when you buy a property, you rent it for more than it costs you to keep. After all how can something that costs you money be an investment?
As an adult of course, I “learnt” that this was far from the truth and that –ve gearing was the way most investment properties are bought.
Steve’s book showed me that it really is possible to run things the way my “childish” imagination always pictured it. Not only that, if owning one +ve cash flow property is smart, than owning 100 must be genius.
Why did it disappoint me?
The book gave me an idea of how +ve gearing works, but while reading it, it didn’t give me the detailed answers to the questions I had.
How do I arrange my personal finances?
Do I go with P&I or IO loans?
How do I turn my spare $50 per week into a fortune?
How do I do this with the minimum amount of effort?
And many others.My other problem was, here is a DINK (double income, no kids) telling me how he made money at a time when interest rates are at long term lows, prices have been increasing every day, and any idiot with spare cash can make money in real estate. Where is his twenty five years of experience at times of high interest rates, property crashes, and low occupancy rates to back up this good news story? Where does he have teenagers asking for cash every week to go to the movies, buy clothes, or go on school excursions that put big holes, in his carefully worked out, and very tight budget?
How does it relate to me when I have one income, one wife, three kids, and almost no spare actual cash?
Further, if I want answers to my questions, than Steve is prepared to sell them to me in his other products for considerably larger sums of money, when I was expecting them to all be included in the book.
The book promised details, but didn’t give the details I wanted.
Sounded like a bit of a con to me.
I was disappointed not because of what it did say, but because of what it didn’t, and if I am honest with myself that was how I could get rich quick with no effort and no money.
I must say that it did get me thinking though.
Since then I have decided the following.
It’s up to me to learn about financial structures and make an informed decision on what is best for me.
The type of loan I chose depends on the level of debt I am comfortable with.
I need to find other ways to maximise the amount of cash I have to invest.
If I want to secure my future, than I have to work for it, and I mean work for it, not rely on some one else to do it all for me.
Further, Steve’s story is his story, not mine. He shows a way it can be done, one that worked for him. I have to write my own story, and find a way that will work for me.
Steve’s book is like a holiday travel guide. It tells you where the interesting places are, some ways to get value for your dollar, and what things to avoid, but it can’t take the holiday for you.
Thanks Steve for inspiring me to start my own journey. My life, for better or worse, and I believe better regardless of the financial results, will never be the same again.
Now if anyone would like to give me money to start…..
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Ok, summary of my last, very long post.
$30 dollars is a lot of cash for me to invest in a book that I may or may not get any value from.
Buying a book on investing is not the same as buying a novel. It is an investment, not only in money, but more importantly in hope. If people don’t understand the message, or it tells them something they didn’t want to hear, then it is only natural that they will be upset.
I bought and read the book, but I felt it didn’t tell me what the marketing lead me to believe it would. I can therefore understand why some people are disappointed and post negative comments.
It did however open my eyes to several things, and has acted as a catalyst with many of my other life experiences to show me a new direction that my life might take. For that, it was $30 well spent.
Now I just have to learn to do and see things a different way.
Thanks again for giving me a different point of view, even if it took me a little while to see it.
Dino
“If you don’t know where you are going, every road will take you there.”
Hi mate, sorry to hear about that.
I’ll tell you what though. I’m 25, and making my 1st investment is one of the hardest things I have done. Havent made one yet, but I try to read as much as poss.
I think I’m of to one of thoses seminars..
Hi Dino,
Upon reading your post, I was quickly coming to Steve’s defense. However, you have provided a balanced and honest summary of your experience from that offered.
I have sensed here before a feeling of some people missing the point of Steve’s book. Hey, he’s a businessman. The book is another stream of income for him. As he says, he’s just telling a story about what he did and fortunately continues to do, as a result of his proactive method.
Sure his timing was fortunate, and had we all bought 3-5 years ago we all would be millionaires through capital appreciation in addition to the positive cash flow flavour this season. Then again, we might all be paupers, if everyone did this, then who would be making the money? Something else will surface next season. I might even join the band wagon with you then.
I also believe that +ve cash flow props are becoming more scarce in Aus. That’s why people here discuss NZ so much.
Yep, -ve props do work for some. If you are still working, invested for growth, then you can still use equity to +ve gear as you reach your chosen retirement.
I’m glad to hear you say that the concept has made you think, as it has I. I am currently looking at +ve cash flow alternatives which are double that of residential property investment.
Risk equals return .. it depends on your circumstance and aims.
In thought, thanks for your honest post
Phil
Hi Dino and everyone,
not jumping to anyone’s defence just yet – but over the last couple of years, I spent….
$30 rich dad poor dad
$100 various ‘get your financial sh&^&^t together’ books
$70 robert kiyosaki live
$800 robert kiyosaki pack including board game, CDs, books, etc
$30 real estate riches book
$140 dolf de roos live (shouted a friend)
$500 dolf de roos audio CD set
$1000 at least (can’t remember exactly) Steve McKnight SeminarCall me a course/book/junkie, call me a spendthrift, but I didn’t know *anything* about *anything*. I didn’t even know how to calculate a percent. i didn’t know anyone with an investment property who wasn’t whingeing about it.
SO. OK. After Steve’s seminar (by far the most practical – and relevant to this market) and after listening to the seminar tapes and looking at the notes again, I finally felt like I ‘got it’. Started looking. OK, there were +ve cashflow deals in Australia. Bathurst, Qld, Ballarat. Traralgon. etc etc. Places where Steve bought. I could have got one property for the $$$ I had. but i thought i’d look in NZ, where I’m from, and found I could get three properties for the price of one, with double the yields, and cheaper closing costs. So I went that way. +ve cashflow investing means that i could already retire right now if I wanted to…!!!!! (provided i could live on $230 per week, and live in a small regional town… hehe….i don’t think so, but you must agree, it’s possible! if I had to! welfare families survive on less!!) …anyway, the bottom line is, anything that happens after that is just toast!! That three smaller-than-small deals could do that much blows my mind.!!
The psychological difference between the old me (which equals most of my friends now, still- not investors, spending all they earn and a bit more, never read any of the books,) and the new me is astounding. My friends are starting to ask LOTS of questions. “Go to the seminar”, I urge. “Too expensive”, they say.
So do I have to offer 24 hour phone support and be their ersatz free seminar? Sure. I’ll do it, as well as i can. I’m no expert though…just a beginner on rung 2 of the ladder. Still, i’ll help….and yet, only a couple of friends will actually do it. The rest will bring up another excuse why not. (but they all want to….)I’m not even saying necessarily property. Just investing in general. property, shares, businesses.
And all I did was read some books, go to a seminar or several, get comfortable with the numbers, went and found some deals, and bought some deals. Steve and Dave went to a seminar too before they sprang into action. Tony Barton of Lease options fame says he spent 20K on his financial education first.
How can you begrudge 30 bucks? I so don’t get that! If that throws you into paroxysms of fear, then you are so not ready to *risk* – because it is a *risk* – though one you can mitigate –
investing in property. Seminars and books can help you learn quicker and smarter. A bit like guitar lessons. Yes, it’s possible – totally possible – to learn guitar from a book. A $30 book. It might not tell you how to get the Kylie Minogue gig in a year, even if the author did. And yes, you can teach yourself guitar all buy yourself, just by figuring it out. ‘live’ lessons are the best. it’s possible to get quite good fairly quickly.I hope you get what I mean by the analogy – that going to seminars and getting books is not the be all and end all or the only way. it’s just a quicker way, especially if you know little.
I think the amount you want or need to spend on education depends on the amount of knowledge you already have, and what it’s worth to you to get the knowledge you need to move forward. Some people would call Rich Dad Poor Dad (for example) overly simplistic (like my dad, who’s a chartered accountant, for example – ) and others would say ‘spot on’.
(like me.!) I needed to read ‘simple’ before i could move on.I think Steve – by writing in an accessible style as well as including financials from various deals covers a wide market.
i don’t think it’s possible for one book to be all things to all people. I continue to buy or borrow or read other ‘wealth creation’ books now and then, and I get something out of all of them.
I think the most outrageous thing you said dino was “30 is a lot of cash for me to invest in a book that I may or may not get any value from.”
pick as many answers as apply….
a) you got ripped off! You could have borrowed it for free!
b) sell it and recoup your loss – get back 50-80 percent of your financial investment, and write the rest off as ‘what the book was worth to me’.
c) learn never to risk buying any more books, seminars, or CD sets.
as for a quick answer to your questions “How do I turn my spare $50 per week into a fortune?
How do I do this with the minimum amount of effort?”time and compounding interest. the simplest and slowest (because inflation eats a percentage of cash investments each year) – being a savings account with automatic payments going in. right up to more sophisticated investments with higher yields (which move along faster) but still continuing to reinvest the returns. It’s kind of like if you buy something on a credit card and don’t pay it off for a few years you might have ended up paying double, what with compounding interest working against you. it’s that, but in reverse.
I got that idea from a book called’ money secrets of the rich’ by john burley. buy it, if you’re feeling like making a ‘risky’ 30 dollar investment some day….
Agree Mini.
Dino, thanks for being honest, but also for being inspired to do more, rather than just say, ba@#$#d, he didn’t give me what I wanted. As for having no spare cash (I’m there too!!), have a read of John Burley’s Money Secrets of the Rich. He offers some good ways to save money, and not really foregoing anything you need now.
Jaffasoft, I honestly think you expect way too much from a $30 book. However, you don’t have to spend the money to attend Steve’s programs or buy the extra material he offers to sell to help.
To get the same value yourself, you are going to be spending a lot of hours talking with your solicitors and accountants – at up to $250 or more PER HOUR, and unless they’re spot on with what Steve is doing, you’re still going to be making mistakes.
I don’t dare calculate the amount I have spent on seminars (it’s around $100K or more in the last 3 years – not to mention my bookcase) – but by far the best money I spent was $12K on Tony Robbins seminars. He teaches you about your psychology.
Robert Kiyosaki says himself that he could tell you exactly ‘how to’, but many people still wouldn’t do it. You need to understand yourself, and what you’re willing to do, and how you think etc., rather than just be given 10 steps to follow.
You could have everything handed to you on a platter, but where will be your satisfaction in that? yeah, you could just be after money, but it would be nice to know that you had earned it, and that if you needed to, you could go out and do it again, or help others by teaching them.
I’ve not been to any of Steve’s seminars (I’m still paying off the above mentioned education, which by the way, has earnt me more than that in equity in that time, but I can’t access all of it just yet), but would if I had some spare dollars and time. He does not have to provide these resources, I doubt he makes anywhere near as much money providing them as he does in his investing business. This forum is free too, for us anyway, but somebody has to pay to run it – guess who that is, and how he funds it?
Cheers
Melmelbear – yeh totally.
Did anyone actually buy Steve’s book EXPECTING to become a millionaire by spending $30 ?? [
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If so, you have got to be kidding !! It’s a toe in the water so to speak, and outlines what is required and a smart way to go about it…If after reading the book you are prepared to push on then you pay for the knowledge you will gain by attending seminars etc… Anyone who whinges about having to spend money with Steve to gain some of his information should consider how much their accountant / financial advisor would charge to give them the same sort of knowledge –
Then ask yourself has your accountant actually gone and bought multiple positive cashflow properties ?? Will you get the right advice ??I don’t go to see a butcher when i need to tile my bathroom – i go to and pay an expert in the field i need… Same goes for Steve in this case.
I’ve only just started getting serious about property and looking at early retirement, attending one of Steve’s seminars is high on my list of things to do asap… [
]Just my thoughts anyway…
Cheers,
Paul…“The only thing you get from looking backwards is a sore neck…”
If Steves book is a dud, then so is “Everest” (the book)… [8D]
Steve was only sharing his real life experiences, at the time he was investing… there is no clause stating that you will do the same…
The information in the book can be used in your own interpretation, if you can use information from it and progress your life for the better then its a bonus !..If I read Everest, and then said, “I cant climb that mountain”, would that be a DUD book too… LOL [
][]Regards,
Arty.[
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“Why work to the age where you cant enjoy
what you have worked for !.” (Author: Me)Hi Arty
Did the everest book say that you could discover and use the authors proven approach to be able to climb everest yourself?
From the front cover I can understand how people were under the impression that the book would contain everything they needed to know to become financially free. People are always under the impression that you will get something without working hard or paying for it. That is why most people never become financially free.
One question I have for all these seminar and book junkies, have you sat down and written your own business plan on how you are going to get rich.
By the way we have also been to other people seminars and bought lots of books but along the way we realised we needed to write down our own plan.
ErikaErika.. well everyone is in a different financial position. Im a Double income Double kids … and many many animals… [
][][]People with double income no kids, would be quicker at getting there… etc..
Or you may be an accountant that knows the tricks.. etc…
But it all comes down to “will power” and forcing yourself to push harder to get what YOU want out of it… [
]Regards,
Arty.[
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“Why work to the age where you cant enjoy
what you have worked for !.” (Author: Me)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.”
Dino, next time you go shopping go to bi-lo and buy a pack of 10 icy poles (thats what we do… we have 2 daughters), you can save money in buying in bulk… invest in the book, and increase your knowledge… [
]Regards,
Arty.[
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“Why work to the age where you cant enjoy
what you have worked for !.” (Author: Me)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.”
Dino, no problems .. >> smiley [
]We even when through the buying loaves of cheap bread ie 5-10 loaves and freezing them.
Bulk meat, and freezing it.. etc..
Making my own sandwiches for work a week at a time and freezing it.. LOL [
][]Thats when we were a single income family, its easier now with 2 incomes though.. [
]Regards,
Arty.[
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“Why work to the age where you cant enjoy
what you have worked for !.” (Author: Me)Dear Dino – try sourcing investment books through a library – it shouldn’t cost you anything!
Shirley, good idea.. and you can use the WEB to search for pages with investing tips … there is a heap… !!! [
][][]Regards,
Arty.[
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“Why work to the age where you cant enjoy
what you have worked for !.” (Author: Me)Dino
I can sort of understand your dilemma regarding the kids ice cream and the book. (I don’t have kids) At the moment I am living at home as I cannot afford just yet to live on my own and pay rent (I’m 28[
]!!). I don’t really want to pay someone else’s mortgage, but I can’t afford to live in a house I’ve bought either (wrong words, I DON’T WANT to live in one of my houses and have to pay the mortgage myself, I’d much rather rent it out). Plus I have two dogs, which will make it more difficult to find accomodation.I remember as kids (four of us, with Dad being AFP, and Mum going back to work to help pay for our education), Mum and Dad sat us down, and said Dad had just been moved to a job that was 8-4, so no overtime, shift work etc. We were told that we would really have to cut back on things we wanted, cos the money just wasn’t there. I must say, I didn’t really understand it, or the reasons, but we dealt with it. Upshot of it was that to get out of that job, Dad put his hand up to go to Cyprus for six months. Tough D, as he was leaving us all behind for that time. Kids ages was 9, 10, 12, 13. Tough on Mum too.
I presume he got extra money while he was there – in fact I’ve only just thought of that. Mum and Dad used to borrow money from my grandparents to pay school fees, and pay it back to them over time.
If you’ve got heaps of extra equity in your house, and you’re worried about the redraw fee every time, think about getting a second mortgage with the same bank (often the exact same interest rates), as LOC, or similar, so that there is no fee to access the money when you wish to. It will also keep the loans separate – a must for accounting purposes when a PPOR loan and Inv Loan is involved.
I wish you luck in starting out. I believe you have the money in your equity, but it depends on your risk factor what you wish to do. Again, it comes down to the psychology. My Mum and sister don’t like debt, but a couple of million doesn’t worry me, as long as I know there is more than enough assets to back it up.
Erika
Every course that I have done gets you to write your goals down and share them with others to reinforce them. Tony Robbins also gets you to write down time frames, and a plan. I just listened to a Personal Power CD while driving around today, and the entire thing was on goal setting, with a plan.
Cheers
MelShirley,
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.”
Hey Dinoweb, heres a suggestion, anything i purchase say books stationery for uni and for my IP businees i claim it all on my tax, steves book can be claimed on tax if you want.
Claim it under stationery and also doing this you can maximise your tax return.
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]!!). I don’t really want to pay someone else’s mortgage, but I can’t afford to live in a house I’ve bought either (wrong words, I DON’T WANT to live in one of my houses and have to pay the mortgage myself, I’d much rather rent it out). Plus I have two dogs, which will make it more difficult to find accomodation.
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