A lot of people know that Al Lewison and I are business partners, we invest together, are obviously good mates but one of the other things that people don’t often realise is that we are actually brothers-in-law as well!
There is a saying I live by and have taken with me since I first started investing, about giving up something initially, to gain something much greater down the track. That came up as Al and I were sitting around talking about investing not long ago, when Al reminded us about a friend from work who way back when, hit him a little bit hard to the core.
In order to buy an investment property Al did what he needed to do to save enough money to get it across the line. At the same time his friend Simon had told him, “I was talking to my wife, and we decided that we would like to spend our money on memories” insinuating it was a waste of time, scrimping, sacrificing and saving in order to build his portfolio. Al admitted to me at the time it was a little bit hurtful what his friend was saying, as he knew at that point in time there was a definite disconnect between what he wanted to do and what he knew he needed to do, to get where he wanted to be.
Every investor asks themselves can I do this? I’m not sure if I can or can’t. Throughout your life there will be points when you need to make a sacrifice in order to achieve your goals. It may not be related directly to investing it could be whether to quit smoking, overseas travel, move to a different suburb. There are so many small things that you can sacrifice, to get you where you want to go, that will allow you to put those extra dollars into investment and give you much greater return later on.
When I first started investing I had the latest model SS Ute, which I sold and brought a 10 year old Commodore, just because that was good enough to get me around. Selling that Ute – although it broke my heart – saved me enough that I could invest in two investment properties.
One of my work colleagues, who owns seven properties, made the comment that he knew in 10 years he would be able to drive any car he wants, but right now he is driving a Subaru. He made the decision to drive a car that his ego can handle, that’s comfortable and works for his family, but he knows that he’s got a strategy to do what he wants.
So your homework today is to go out and write down what you can sacrifice to get you to where you want to be, with the knowledge that a small sacrifice now, can result in a big return down the track.
Happy investing!
Cameron McLellanDirector of OpenCorp, Cam McLellan is committed to sharing his passion and property investment knowledge with everyday Australians.
After thriving in the telecommunications, technology and recruitment sectors and making the BRW Fast Starters list twice and the Fast 100 list three times in 8 years, alongside accomplished OpenCorp entrepreneur and brother-in-law Allister Lewison, founded OpenCorp eight years ago.
Cam started investing in real estate at a young age and quickly mastered the art of building sustainable wealth. He has used the same wealth building strategy to develop a multi-million dollar business, sharing his knowledge and skill with ordinary Australians. Cam has personally bought, sold and developed numerous properties and has an extensive residential and commercial investment portfolio.
Disclaimer: while due care is taken, the viewpoints expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Your Investment Property.
