No more bottled water and take away coffee?

I remember in the eightees when the news kept saying that we are in a recession. Nothing changed (my parents were investors) except for the fact that that period was labelled as a "recession".

If you are cashed up and ready it should be the best time to buy properties!

Hey Birddog

I am not worried about a recession.  I have a stable job in an industry not affected by ecconomic climate.  If this was not the case then I would be concerned and a bit more cautious.

From the investing perspective I am continually looking at the market place and adjusting my stratedgy to suit the market so from this aspect I am also not concerned about a recession as each ecconomic condition creates it's own opportunities.

In relation to the coffee and water, I reckon it's essential for a good coffee in the morning, I often seek out a good cappuchino. I have a rain water tank at home and for water there aint nothing better.

Don

I remember the 80's recession very well. Our sailmaking business was doing badly, even though our business was 75% percent reliant on export. We designed and made hang gliding sails with Bill Moyes. So we started buying property with my brother as partner.  In fact, we bought our first PPOR on the Central Coast. We struggled, and lived in a caravan onsite for about 12 months. We were owner builders, so saved a bit of money. A block of land below the cliff top we still live on, came on the market, shortly after we moved into the house. They wanted $10,000, which at the time we thought was a bargain. We paid $26,500 for our PPOR block. So we offered them $8,000 and got it. We also picked up a block of three townhouses on the Gold Coast for a bargain, which in time and some good tenants, have grown dramatically in value. Huh!!  I remember the joke at the time about Gold Coast units. It was easier to get rid of VD, than sell a property on the Gold Coast. Gradually, with a bit of personal spending restraint, and time, which is on every ones side, thousands turned into millions. Were we scared? At first…sure…but, if you work as a family, in a disciplined way, then it eases the burden of making money over time easily achievable. 

Hey Emptypockets

I think you've got me wrong.  Not only do I think things can get worse, I expect that they will and I activley plan for a large number of adverse advents within my investing stratedgy and am naturally a cautious investor.  My point is that if it wasn't for the industry I am in then I would be even more cautious.

I think everyone should plan for things going "pear shaped" at some stage on their journey.

Don

Hi Marc,
Yes they are expensive! Third one is just 2 weeks old so does not go to school the other 2 are costing us a fortune in tuition fees plus uniforms plus lunches plus excursions etc… We calculated over $1million spent on education until were done for all 3.
Makes my $3 coffee seem insignificant (there I don't feel so bad now for having one!).

We find it very difficult to "save" money, just dosen't fit in with a busy lifestyle where convenience is a must. We do however have a strong focus on "making" money which kind of offsets the lack in saving it. Hope that even makes sense!!!

I was watching Sky News on Foxtel a month or so ago and they were speculating on the RBA increasing interest rates. They had a poll using the interactive feature of Foxtel and the question was; how much do you think an interest rate rise would affect you? Something like 20-odd percent responded with seriously. My question is; if you can’t afford a $50 a month rise in your mortgage, what the hell are you doing subscribing to Foxtel.

To me this says it all. Gen X and Y appear to have a warped understanding of what constitutes a basic standard of living. It’s like they regard luxuries as necessities. I think the problem of housing affordability is more to do with education than it has to do with genuine hardship (this includes attitudes towards money and “stuff” in terms of status).