Having already purchased two investment properties before the age of 25, David Pye realised that he would need to do even more if he wanted to reach his goal of retiring by the age of 40.
"I’ve been told that I’ve probably set myself some pretty crazy goals compared to other people my age.
I’d like to be replacing my income through investment by the time I’m 40. If I can be earning as much through my investments as I am through my day job now, then that will leave me with the option of doing what I actually want to do with my life. Whether that be volunteer work, or if I get a part-time job doing something that I enjoy – who knows. But I want to have that freedom to be able to choose what I want to do.
I’d purchased two investment properties, in neighbouring suburbs near my home town, in my early twenties, after learning about property investment on the internet. I’d become frustrated with the prospect of working in a mechanic job until I was well into my sixties, and so I turned to other wealth generation options.
Once I got my first property, and then that started working from a cash flow perspective, that got me really excited. I thought ‘Oh, this is beautiful, it’s actually working’.
It was exactly like what I’d read on the internet that other investors were experiencing. That’s why I got the second one and from there I got more involved in investments, shares, managed funds and things like that.
And then I was talking to my own financial planner and he sort of hinted that he was looking for someone else and I asked him what I had to do to get into that sort of job and he said ‘Well, you have to be studying to get a diploma in it’. I went home that night and signed up for an online course. I had it done in a couple of months and then I actually got a job with that financial planner.
The job pays a little better than a mechanic’s wage, but that’s not the main reason I decided to switch careers.
I got into financial planning because I thought being exposed to the industry I’d be able to learn a lot more about different investments and different strategies, and that’s certainly happened. The main thing was to get exposed to a lot more information about investment, to learn from other people’s journeys and channel that into my own property investment plans.
There’s only so much you can learn via the internet, and the opportunities to discuss and research investment strategies are fairly limited in a mechanic’s workshop – so the new job has been really liberating in that sense.
I need to bide my time before I can apply for another loan but now that I’m better informed, I’ll likely be looking further afield for my next investment locations, perhaps interstate.
For me, it’s now all about chasing the best cash flow opportunities – wherever they may be. Positively geared properties mean steady, reliable income, which is the key to replacing the income from my day job."
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