We as a married couple, decided on goals which were achievable, commensurate with our income. It worked out well, in 1996 we both moved to a sea-side town, built a house before we retired, and we were totally debt free. We have never looked back. We taught our kids that the high life just doesn't happen, it is a gradual process if that is what they aimed for, however, all three kids when married settled on buying old State Housing homes, from thereon, they purchased better homes as they had children. They all live within their means and none of them have to stress over mortgages, etc. They are able to pay their way(s) through life. They also know that happiness doesn't come with materialistic dreams, it is being content with what they have in life, no debt, good health and happiness.....trust me, it works.The best 'investment' these days is a house. From what I have observed, the McMansions, 4x4's etcetera are the things which destroy young hopefuls.

NSB

Hay Rehctub, what is land at Airlie worth these days?

When I first sailed in there, Shute Harbour, [the island port], had only 6 moorings in it. I could have bought a house/weekender holiday cottage in the main, drag at Airlie, for A$3500. The people who did, removed the house by truck, & built a 6 room fibro motel.

Mooloolaba was the same. The kids Sabot sailing dinghies were stored on the ground floor of the yacht club, & their races were held where the marina fills the river. The canal estates were cow paddocks. Vic Myers old Solo, & my yacht both went aground on spring low tides, anchored there, for a few days each month.

The prawn trawler men were members, & some would bring a crate of prawns in for snacks most nights. I hope they all bought real estate, as it would have made more than fishing for them.

If we'd just had a decent crystal ball, Bill Gates would look like a pauper compared to us. No wonder people invest.

Hi noisy, I agree you should cut your cloth well, but some luck in timing can help.

My eldest daughter, & her husband bought a quite nice suburban brick veneer house in the Gold Coast middle suburbs, about 18 months after she was married. The market was booming, & they jumped in at $160,000.

Less than 3 years later, needing more room, they sold it for $390,000, & built themselves a really nice, larger but not Mcmansion, house. This has also appreciated about 25/30%. They are smiling.

My son, 3 years younger, paid over $450,000 for a home similar to his sisters first home, & although not struggling, finds the cost of his mortgage rather restricting in his life choices.

The youngest one, 6 years younger again despairs of ever being able to afford her own home.

In the mid 80s I bought a 2.5 acre river front block, near Maryborough, & put a house, shed & jetty on it, all for less than $100,000, doing a lot myself. I noticed recently it was on the market for something over a million. I really think it was easier for us oldies.

Has been, I agree it was easier fo us, but mainl because credit wasn't so readily available to so many who really can't afford it.

Now as for land in airle, well, wher do I start.

I invested ther myself.bought on block, di quite a bi of dough, bought smother an cleaned up, then, I felt the wheels were about to fall off, so I pulled out, all but on unit.

Land went from $90K to $450K in the space of 6 to 7 years, now it's back below $200K.

Timing and reading between the lines ar very important if one wish to do some speculative investing. Knowing what drives the market ar very important.

Imfind that when times are tough, capital cities are generally sound investments.

I think some people approach investing with the wrong perspective. Many think it's all about buying and selling and making a capital gain. While growth is always nice, I approach it from an income point of view. The most important thing is to educate yourself about financial matters. Read books. Get them from the library and study some of the basics. Understand the magical power of compound interest, read biographies of people like Warren Buffett and his mentor Benjamin Graham and see their attitudes and advice. Nothing is simple straight forward and easy and making money in any field takes time unless you want to take risks and gamble. It takes time and as long as you research your investment and don't just rely on hunches or tips from a mate, you should progress comfortably.

Everyone is too keen on making quick profits, because they don't want to put the time and energy into looking after their investments. I have nothing against real estate investment, but from a personal point of view, I avoid it because I find the yield is not high enough, it is not liquid enough, there are too many taxes attached to it, too many ongoing expenses and can be a real hassle looking after it and getting good tenants. That is not to say that the stock market is less time consuming as I probably spend a couple of hours a day reading and studying. I am conservative, only look at large established companies with fully franked dividends that give me imputation credits and a minimum return on equity of 15%. A couple I am looking at at the moment are Westpac and Telstra with grossed up dividends of over 10%.

Continued....

I like to diversify, (that is my problem with real estate as too many eggs are in one basket) so one can't just forget about things you put money into. Mistakes are made, but you learn from them and hopefully, don't lose too much at any one time. I also avoid all derivatives. Warren Buffett famously said they are "Financial weapons of mass destruction" While the financial downturn has affected the value of my portfolio, My income effect is little changed as banks and large companies such as Woolworths, and BHP continue to make profits which they distribute.

Think long term, start early and make sacrifices to build a nest egg and be patient while keeping to the same strategy. It has worked for me.