South African Mr Money Mustache?? early retirement guru

[hj007]

financial independence in SA

Definitely possible to do this in SA. Achieved FI recently after wife and I saved and invested two-thirds of after-tax income&bonus since varsity. MMM is a great resource.

Now work is because it's interesting/challenging and to look at building up the asset base to build up a few other buffers, namely for parents to retire, some capital for businesses I'd like to fund, fun stuff, and just because.

 

[d0b33]

If retirement means still working but from home (or anywhere I see fit) at my own pace and at any time of day... then I guess I have retired early.

 

[hj007]

FI/retirement for me is at a minimum investible net assets * 4% (SWR) > annual expenses. And Investible net assets excludes house value and is after all debt.

 

[cerebus]

If retirement means still working but from home (or anywhere I see fit) at my own pace and at any time of day... then I guess I have retired early.

I'm not sure that really qualifies as retired.

 

[supersunbird]

If retirement means still working but from home (or anywhere I see fit) at my own pace and at any time of day... then I guess I have retired early.

No, it means not having to work if you don't want to, and still being able to support you current lifestyle, IMO.

 

[cerebus]

No, it means not having to work if you don't want to, and still being able to support you current lifestyle, IMO.

Retirement means that you actually don't work to earn an income. You can be FI and still not RE, like hj007 up there. However there is some grey area here as it's likely that RE's will still occupy themselves somehow, and that could bring in money.

 

[d0b33]

No, it means not having to work if you don't want to, and still being able to support you current lifestyle, IMO.

Yes, that would be the correct definition.

Retirement means that you actually don't work to earn an income. You can be FI and still not RE, like hj007 up there. However there is some grey area here as it's likely that RE's will still occupy themselves somehow, and that could bring in money.

Also true.

 

[pboy]

oops saw patrick here already.

 

[saturnz]

I stopped working two and half years ago, having worked for 7 years in total. I have no intention of ever finding another job again.

I consider myself these days a social entrepreneur, and in the past three weeks I've managed to find two other like minded people and we'll see where that leads.

 

[Thor]

I stopped working two and half years ago, having worked for 7 years in total. I have no intention of ever finding another job again.

I consider myself these days a social entrepreneur, and in the past three weeks I've managed to find two other like minded people and we'll see where that leads.

Explain.


How do you make money then?

 

[saturnz]

Explain.


How do you make money then?

only the reserve bank is allowed to make money

before I was working, I wanted to see if it was possible to create wealth through simple trade on my computer. So I would buy and sell cars, lighters, turntables, music, just about anything I had an interest in I would be trading (on my computer)

I did this for about four years before I was offered a job (I did not apply for it). At that time I had already accumulated an asset portfolio as such (although not in the orthodox sense).

While working my mom passed away and things changed, I decided to basically stop working as I saw no point in doing so. Infact in the seven year period I worked at the place I left the job 4 times. I also liquidated most of my portfolio and together with my salary I purchased two properties.

Both are debt free now and and I live in the one and rent the other. I have other assets and projects I play with but more as a hobby and to draw lessons from.

Currently I'm trying to come up with co-operative solutions to problems in a (croney) competitive environment, I've already succeeded in a rich area and now I'm trying to do it in poor areas. I generate absolutely no income from this, my only goal is to undermine inefficient companies that price items so that it does not clear the market.

edit: I finally decided to leave my job because they (ironically) offered me a permanent post, having left four times after my contracts expired they wanted some certainty. However the consequence of agreeing to this was a pension deduction which they were non negotiable on, I then left.

 

[hj007]

before I was working, I wanted to see if it was possible to create wealth through simple trade on my computer. So I would buy and sell cars, lighters, turntables, music, just about anything I had an interest in I would be trading (on my computer)

Sounds interesting, care to share any other details? was this through classifieds or some such?

 

[saturnz]

Sounds interesting, care to share any other details? was this through classifieds or some such?

yup originally started with the Cape Ads when it was paper based and then online, then gumtree appeared and then forums.

I remember advertising a turntable for a year in the Cape Ads before selling it. I paid R1200 for it and sold it for R3500.

 

[akescpt]

only the reserve bank is allowed to make money

before I was working, I wanted to see if it was possible to create wealth through simple trade on my computer. So I would buy and sell cars, lighters, turntables, music, just about anything I had an interest in I would be trading (on my computer)

I did this for about four years before I was offered a job (I did not apply for it). At that time I had already accumulated an asset portfolio as such (although not in the orthodox sense).

While working my mom passed away and things changed, I decided to basically stop working as I saw no point in doing so. Infact in the seven year period I worked at the place I left the job 4 times. I also liquidated most of my portfolio and together with my salary I purchased two properties.

Both are debt free now and and I live in the one and rent the other. I have other assets and projects I play with but more as a hobby and to draw lessons from.

Currently I'm trying to come up with co-operative solutions to problems in a (croney) competitive environment, I've already succeeded in a rich area and now I'm trying to do it in poor areas. I generate absolutely no income from this, my only goal is to undermine inefficient companies that price items so that it does not clear the market.

edit: I finally decided to leave my job because they (ironically) offered me a permanent post, having left four times after my contracts expired they wanted some certainty. However the consequence of agreeing to this was a pension deduction which they were non negotiable on, I then left.

so you inherited from your moms estate?

 

[saturnz]

heres an example of where you can gain with gumtree

you can buy two chairs for R9000 and sell one for R7000 for example, you will then have bought a chair R2000 that would have otherwise have costed you R4500 and is brand new for well of R10 000.

http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-chairs/observatory/herman-miller-mirra-chairs/1001660611480910012966609

 

[saturnz]

so you inherited from your moms estate?

nope not significantly, it was distributed

 

[hj007]

heres an example of where you can gain with gumtree

you can buy two chairs for R9000 and sell one for R7000 for example, you will then have bought a chair R2000 that would have otherwise have costed you R4500 and is brand new for well of R10 000.

http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-chairs/observatory/herman-miller-mirra-chairs/1001660611480910012966609

I have a few friends that do similar trading - a few with cars and they do slight mechanical work to add value, and another group that does a lot of selling via Facebook group buying/import and earn commission.
How do you go about finding suitable stock?

 

[saturnz]

I have a few friends that do similar trading - a few with cars and they do slight mechanical work to add value, and another group that does a lot of selling via Facebook group buying/import and earn commission.
How do you go about finding suitable stock?

I only sell things I am willing to buy, so if I don't sell it I still have a use for it.

So in that way things which interest me I trade in so as to finance the interest. So I like fast cars, they expensive to maintain, so I trade in them and that way simply purchase faster cars, strip some for parts etc

The trick is to identify value and to be able to extract it. You can apply this to anything, I just do it to things I have an interest in.

 

[airborne]

I only sell things I am willing to buy, so if I don't sell it I still have a use for it.

So in that way things which interest me I trade in so as to finance the interest. So I like fast cars, they expensive to maintain, so I trade in them and that way simply purchase faster cars, strip some for parts etc

The trick is to identify value and to be able to extract it. You can apply this to anything, I just do it to things I have an interest in.

So you watch Guntree/Olx etc and auctions?

 

[saturnz]

So you watch Guntree/Olx etc and auctions?

I used to spend quite a lot of time on these things, but not anymore.

As I said my focus has tended to social initiatives.