The question I ask is simply this; “Has Christmas lost it’s meaning?”
I happen to live across the road from the Doncaster Westfield Shopping Centre and therefore can see the comings and goings from my study window, where I do spend a bit of time. I can tell you that many weeks prior to Christmas the traffic build up was very noticeable and now today being ’Boxing Day’ it is a madhouse out there, with the stream of cars unabated since early morning and still going at midday.
So why does this bother me, you might ask and that is a fair question. Perhaps I feel that there is a strong element of people being controlled by advertising and marketing and that we have become a consumer society. So what is wrong with that, you could ask.
Well, there is no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘good and ‘bad,’ because as Buddha said “It is what it is,” my question is simply this. “Is there a better way?”
This consumer madness costs money. Plenty of money and is this the best way to spend it! Do people stop to consider the fact that most Australians spend 110% of their income, which is why credit card debt is so high, which is mostly around 20% interest? Do people realise that 85% of Australians retire on less than $35,000 p.a.
We live in an affluent country with good incomes compared to many other places and yet people retire on a pittance and have to surely modify their lifestyle from what they were used to. And the sad part is that it does not have to be like this.
If they thought about it and considered what they were doing; spending money on ‘stuff’ instead of looking after their future, would they still be doing this?
What I do know is this; if they saved money and instead of spending 110% of their income and spent only 90% and saved 10% they would have the opportunity to invest in the steadiest property market in the country; Melbourne! (Anyone read the book ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’?)
According to the ABS only 15,000 people own more than 7 investment properties in Australia. This is crazy. Even if we tripled that figure to 45,000 it is still crazy.
The fact is that property in Victoria or more particularly Melbourne doubles every seven to ten years and has done so for the past 100 years. So why not take advantage of this?
I guess this is why it bothers me; because after over 40 years in the real estate and property business I know that it is so easy to be wealthy by investing in property and it pains me to see that so many people waste this opportunity and blow it on ‘Things’ and waste that chance to do what I help and assist people to do and that is; ‘Create Wealth through Property.’
Cheers
Bertram
