All Topics / Opinionated! / Group for investor newbies

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 39 total)
  • Profile photo of vivartovivarto
    Member
    @vivarto
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 33

    Fellow neophytes…

    Is anyone interested in getting together to start a New Investors group? I’m ready to take the first step on this journey and I’d like a few fellow travellers to share the trip with. I believe that good planning and the sharing of burdens will make the whole enterprise so much more enjoyable. I’m not (at this stage) looking for investment partners rather a group of peers to work with (though a mentor or two would be most welcome!)

    I envisage a project management type style to the exercise, meet on a regular basis, formulate plans, set goals, define deliverables and work to the plan agreed on.

    Suggested agenda items for the first few meetings:

    1) Define and document personal goals
    Why are you doing this?
    What do you want to achieve?

    2) Define and realistically document current financial position
    Assets, liabilities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

    3) Create and document personal budget
    Cash flow
    Savings plans
    Debt reduction plans

    Only once the foundations are in place would I then expect to move on to investing issues per se in the subsequent meetings. I believe all of the above items are pre-requisites before even thinking about property / shares / etc.

    This will require commitment, discipline and not a little vision – anyone interested?

    First meeting 10am Saturday 22nd November somewhere in the Newtown area of Sydney, the degree of interest will pretty much dictate the venue.

    Please contact me at [email protected]

    Cheers, Tom

    PS Posting this represents the achievment of the first goal I’ve set myself in this enterprise – talk about the longest journey starting with but a single step…

    Profile photo of riffraffriffraff
    Member
    @riffraff
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 68

    Hi Tom,

    This sounds great. I am in Exactly the same boat. I have been looking for mentors and people at my level for a while now and have had little luck before finding these forums! (I read more than anything!!!)

    My wife and I are 25, have one IP in Brisbane that we bought to live in but then moved to melbourne – we now rent in St Kilda and renting sh*ts me to tears… all that wasted cash!!! :(

    We are now looking at starting our journey and have recently commited to each other that we want one of us to stop working in 5 years time.

    I have just started on the other points you raised such as defining goals and reasons etc.

    Where do you live? I think it would be great to mix with people of the same fibre as all our other friends spend all their money having short lived fun! we want to spend ours on getting rich forever! :)

    Cheers,

    Steve

    What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

    Profile photo of burbonbillburbonbill
    Participant
    @burbonbill
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 16

    this is just what we need all the more to bounce thing of. with all the fun of seeing others doing it too count me in we have 2 ips one in tas one in nsw and on the lookout for more with the intent to start a few wraps [email protected] ps.[8D]we live in sydney

    Profile photo of Still in SchoolStill in School
    Member
    @still-in-school
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 1,844

    Count me into. 21 years old 11 IP, aim for 17 IP before the year ends, only been investing for about 8-9 months as well.

    Profile photo of riffraffriffraff
    Member
    @riffraff
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 68

    Hi S.I.S.

    WOW!! are you for real! thats amazing how did you do it!

    I have emailed the guys above my details… for your info my email is [email protected]

    would like to ask you more!

    Where are your IP’s ?

    what kind of price range are they?

    How did you find them?

    How did you make your descision to buy?

    What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

    Profile photo of vivartovivarto
    Member
    @vivarto
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 33

    RiffRaff,

    Firstly thanks for replying to the post, I haven’t had a a huge response and I was begining to think I must come across as some kind of weirdo!

    As I said in my post I’m a complete raw beginner, just starting out. However I recognise this and I’ve decided to take a structured approach rather than just take stabs at different things. Every time I look at something I get fired up but then realise I don’t know how to start. I could just jump in at the deep end and see what happens – I’m sure many people do just this – but this is not me.

    So, I believe there is a well worn path through this investing thing and the logical thing to do is to follow where others have gone and have been successful. I see two main stages –

    * create the foundations
    * build the structure

    What I want to do is put down some very solid foundations before jumping into any asset class. All the books I’ve read stress planning, budgeting, saving plans, debt reduction plans and all the other boring things that in our hearts we know have to be done.

    I’ve been working for a short while as a project manager and it suddenly dawned on me that this was an ideal approach to the ‘foundation’ stage and I would be very surprised if it wasn’t also a great vehicle for the second.

    Project management is nothing more than a disciplined approach to tackling a body of work. You set goals, allocate resources, define deliverables and most importantly hold people responsible to deliver by a mutually agreed time.

    I’m looking to get together with a group of people here in Sydney to start this process. The first deliverables will be documents such as a Statement of Goals and Personal Budget. As I said dull stuff but necessary. Once all of this is done it may be easier to decide which path to head down in the second stage.

    So why don’t I just go and do this on my own? Well I’m pretty gregarious by nature and enjoy working with others plus there are some pragmatic reasons for working in a group:

    * Larger body of knowledge;
    * Larger network of contacts;
    * More brains to analyse opportunities;
    * More people fishing for opportunities;
    * Devil’s advocates to kill dumb ideas;
    * Opportunities to get in to joint ventures;
    * More clout when dealing with RE agents, mortgage brokers etc;
    * Group discounts;
    * Diverse and complimentary skill sets; and, most importantly,
    * The sharing of knowledge

    Plus I get to go to the pub with people with similar interests…

    So that’s my (hopefully somewhat coherent) rant. Having a formalised structure will impose an external discipline which, quite frankly, many of us need.

    Cheers, Tom

    Quote:
    Hi Tom,

    This sounds great. I am in Exactly the same boat. I have been looking for mentors and people at my level for a while now and have had little luck before finding these forums

    Profile photo of Matt PMatt P
    Member
    @matt-p
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 645

    Hey,
    This meeting idea is just what us Newbies need. I graduate in a weeks time, but I am very interested in property investing. I have read a heap of books on investing, but Steve’s has been the most informative. I am having a year off next year and then doing a Bachelor of Business at Griffith Uni on the Gold Coast. I have the money to look at about two IP. Is there anyone on the Gold Coast or mabye brisbane who is interested in the meeting idea.

    quote:


    Count me into. 21 years old 11 IP, aim for 17 IP before the year ends, only been investing for about 8-9 months as well.


    What city do you live in S.I.S

    Cheers Matt

    Profile photo of 2muchmoney2muchmoney
    Participant
    @2muchmoney
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 15

    hey phobia
    i am in the same boat as you i live on the gold coast and have the enough resources to buy 1 or 2 investment properties and are very keen on meeting like minded people to create a plan doing the same thing. is there anyone else on the gold coast or brisbane.

    simon

    Profile photo of Still in SchoolStill in School
    Member
    @still-in-school
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 1,844

    Hi guys, i live in Rydalmere in the inner west of Sydney, which is about 2 suburbs away from Parramatta.

    Profile photo of JohnbJohnb
    Member
    @johnb
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 15

    Hi Gang

    I would love to be in buttttttttt I’m in Vic. Maybe this could happen in Vic, preferably CBD or western side. I’ll be moving to Geelong in December. Any takers out there.

    John

    Profile photo of vivartovivarto
    Member
    @vivarto
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 33

    Ok,

    Got a few takers for Sydney, (and a lot of interest in the rest of the country) just a week or so before we get together so I’ll re-extend the invite; if you’re a raw beginner, still on your training wheels or on your way but realise there’s a few basic issues that still need to be addressed in a formal-ish manner – then get in touch – NOW!

    Looking forward to meeting as many of you (us) as possible

    Cheers, Tom

    Profile photo of kay henrykay henry
    Member
    @kay-henry
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 2,737

    vivarto,

    I’d love to meet up :o) I’m just concerned I’ll turn up to the cafe and you’ll all look like a keyboard! [8)]

    Vivarto, I haven;t called the Green Iguana- sorry :o( I still haven’t done my essay and life is a mess. Is that a good excuse?

    Are we meeting up this weekend coming? I am going to qld the weekend after that, so won’t be in sydney.

    kay henry

    Profile photo of vivartovivarto
    Member
    @vivarto
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 33

    Newbie Investors group

    Venue
    I’ve booked a table in a quiet part of a cafe in Newtown for 10AM this coming Saturday, November 22. (Email [email protected] for venue so I can keep track of numbers) I’ve had this recommended by one of our number, I haven’t been there so I can’t vouch for the place! They only ask that we spend about $5 per head, say two coffees.

    Agenda
    As I’ve said in the various posts I’d like to have a bit of structure around what we do rather than have it simply become a talking shop – not that it can’t become that as well!

    I want to draft:

    A statement of goals
    A balance sheet
    A budget

    On Saturday I’d like to sit down and sketch out a template for each that can be compleated in the next week or two (starting to sound like a school teacher now…). No doubt the more serious amongst us may have already done this if so you input would be valued (your first opportunity to mentor). If you have any material that you think would be useful plase bring it along.

    In the following weeks I’d like to address issues such as

    * Setting up a trust as an investment vehicle
    * Setting up a self managed super fund

    In both cases, working out the pros and cons of each and, if worthwhile, getting on with setting up one or both. Obviously each of us will be at a different place in our lives and it may be that one or both of these vehicle may not be appropriate, but we’ll never know if we don’t investigate. I’d like to get some input from people who’ve gone down this path, probably by seeing if we can entice someone from the forum to come along.

    I’ve had some interest from an individual who already has a number of investment properties. He may not be coming along on Saturday but has expressed an interest in meeting others so hopefully we will have a somewhat ‘blooded’ investor in our numbers.

    I think the best approach on Saturday would be to

    1) meet up, have a coffee and put names to faces; then
    2) decide what we want we want to achieve by meeting – schedule a second one if there is enough interest
    3) Split into those that want to draft the budget / goals documents and those that just want to network

    I’ll post some or all of this on the forum under General Investing / Group for Newbies and we may get a few others turning up. Looking forward to meeting you all.

    RSVP: [email protected]

    Cheers, Tom

    Profile photo of kay henrykay henry
    Member
    @kay-henry
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 2,737

    So Tom, you’ve booked the cafe?

    kay henry

    Profile photo of vivartovivarto
    Member
    @vivarto
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 33

    Sorry guys

    If you’ve already emailed me about coming on Saturday, I have just had my invite email bounce as our server is down. I posted before it bounced back – you should have had a ‘personal’ invite before seeing on the forum – bloody technology…

    I re-send the emails tomorrow

    and yes, I’ve booked the cafe…

    Profile photo of riffraffriffraff
    Member
    @riffraff
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 68

    Anyone in Melbourne interested in doing this?

    I will organise if enough interest is raised.

    My email is [email protected] or post here!

    What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

    Profile photo of MonkeyMagicMonkeyMagic
    Member
    @monkeymagic
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 90

    Tom I thinks what you’ve got there is a great idea, unfortunatly living rural means that I won’t be taking part.

    However whilst I think it’s a great idea for property you must be really careful about investing in the stockmarket with a group. You will find that too many things start to influence your choice and you may get emotionally attached to shares and thats when you can get into serious trouble.

    Josh

    Profile photo of vivartovivarto
    Member
    @vivarto
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 33

    MonkeyMagic (now where did that name come from!)

    I’m not proposing investing as a group – though that is always an option if the right thing comes along (I’ve always liked the idea of JV’s). The group is a cheer squad, a sounding board, a way to beat procrastination, a spur to keep moving forward, a bolster for the timid, a brake for the reckless. It does not however remove personal responsibility and it is not a free ride.

    As for proprty vs shares (or what about bus shelters for that matter – they were hot for a while!), I know that I don’t know and that I have a lot to learn. Setting goals, working out what is feasible and what is not will help me (and others) to formulate a personal strategy, i.e. plan the work then work the plan.

    I think we all have weaknesses and the smart thing to do is to recognise them then compensate. For me its procrastination, talk too much do too little, it’s time to address the issue. I need a retinue of personal bum kickers – thats what I’ll get out of a group and that’s why I’ve started down this path.

    What may also come out of this exercise down the track is a formulated methodology, if it does then great, who knows I might even make some money out of it…

    Drop me a line next time you’re in Sydney and we’ll see if we can meet for a coffee. I’ve been thinking about posting minutes from the meeting so if I do you’ll be able to see how we’re tracking even if you can’t get along.

    Cheers, Tom

    Quote:
    However whilst I think it’s a great idea for property you must be really careful about investing in the stockmarket with a group
    Profile photo of vivartovivarto
    Member
    @vivarto
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 33

    (Email sent to new investor group mailing list. If you’d like to come along this weekend email me for details)

    Hi Guys,

    Neither Saturday or Sunday are going to suit every one so I’ll do both and you turn up to which ever suits you best. Given this split let’s keep it simple this week and just:

    1) Meet up put and faces to names;
    2) Decide what we want to achieve by meeting;
    3) Schedule a mutually convenient date for those that want to do the goal setting / budgeting; and
    4) Decide what specific areas we’d like to look into (for example get someone to talk to us about their experience of wraps or day trading whatever)

    Same venue and time for both days:

    (If you haven’t already done so, email me for details at: [email protected] so I can add you to the mailing list)

    Looking forward to meeting you all

    Cheers, Tom

    PS I’ll post this on the forum

    Profile photo of tadinetadine
    Member
    @tadine
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 9

    I’m intersted in meeting up in Melbourne, wish that i could make it to Sydney but a bit far to go! I am also a newbie looking into IP’s but still at the gathering info stage, so would be happy to talk to others that are like minded.[:)]

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 39 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.