This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: How to Overcome your Fear/Uncertainty in Taking The Next Step.

You’ve got a steady job. You’re paying down the mortgage. There’s money building up in the offset. Your finances feel under control.

So… why risk it?

Why take on another property, another mortgage and another layer of financial responsibility when, by most measures, you’re already doing pretty well?

That was the question put to Ben and Bryce in this week’s Throwback Tuesday: “Why risk it by extending to another house?”

And it’s a question that goes right to the heart of investing.

You can be financially comfortable today… but what about later?

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with focusing on paying off your family home. In fact, owning your home outright can put you in an incredibly strong financial position.

But there’s another question worth asking: What happens when you eventually stop working?

As Bryce points out, even the safest and most predictable job doesn’t provide an income forever. At some point, most of us want to stop trading our time for money. And when that happens, simply having a paid-off home may not necessarily provide the income required to fund the lifestyle we want.

That’s where having a clearly defined end goal becomes important.

Rather than starting with: “Should I buy another property?”

Start with: “What do I want my financial position to look like when I no longer want — or need — to work?”

  • How much passive income would you like?
  • What sort of lifestyle do you want?
  • And what assets will eventually produce the income required to support it?

Investing isn’t about taking unnecessary risks

Taking on more debt can understandably feel uncomfortable — particularly when your current financial position already feels safe. But investing doesn’t have to mean throwing caution out the window.

As Ben explains, the goal is to manage and mitigate risk through defensive strategies while giving yourself the opportunity to build assets that may provide a future reward. The aim is to make a considered investment decision that moves you closer to the life you ultimately want.

So… why invest when you’re already doing well?

Maybe you shouldn’t.

Ultimately, the answer depends entirely on what you want your money to achieve. For some people, paying off the home and building superannuation may be enough to fund the retirement they want. For others, reaching their desired level of passive income may require building a larger asset base while they still have employment income and borrowing capacity available.

Because doing well today is fantastic. But as the thumbnail for this episode rather neatly puts it: You can’t work forever.

And the financial decisions you make while you’re earning an income can have a very big say in what life looks like when you eventually decide not to.

Want to see what the numbers can actually look like?

We’ve just released our brand-new Case Study Series where we model a range of different households, goals and property strategies to show how the numbers can play out over the long term.

So if you’re wondering whether investing could make sense for your future, this is a great place to see what different paths can actually look like.

And right now, you can get FREE access.

Simply leave The Property Couch an honest review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, take a screenshot and send it to [email protected].

We’ll send you free access to the full Case Study Series, normally valued at $197.

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