Van Morrison is said to have echoed the thoughts of Jiddu Krishnamurti when naming this great album back in 1986 – after 38 years, it still stands up!
“…there is no teacher, no pupil; there is no leader; there is no guru; there is no Master, no Saviour. You yourself are the teacher and the pupil; you are the Master; you are the guru; you are the leader; you are everything.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian Philosopher (1895 – 1986)
At the time, Van was influenced by his teachings and, in an Eighties interview, Van said “I feel the meaning of Krishnamurti for our time is that one has to think for oneself” . This is just the way that Slack Investor feels about the whole world of finance – and one of the defining reasons for this blog.
The ultimate aim for Slack Investor readers is to fund your own retirement, but for most Australians, there is still work to do. The latest available ATO statistics (FY2021) indicate that the median superannuation balances for ages 65-69 are $213,986 (Male) and $201,233 (Female).
According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) estimates – the minimum Superannuation balances required to achieve a comfortable retirement are set out below – and these figures rely on a couple of big assumptions. You need to own your own home and have access to the aged pension, or part-pension, to make this sum work.
| Couple | Single |
|---|---|
| $690,000 | $595,000 |
To retire independently (i.e. no government aged pension), a greater lump sum would be required! Things are slowly getting better with recent increases in compulsory superannuation. By 2050, the expected percentage of “comfortable retirees” should be 50%. This is outlook shows promise – but there is a need for more Australians to take action for themselves – Right Now!
Currently, (only) around 30 per cent of couples and singles reach or exceed the ASFA Comfortable Standard (in retirement savings) – ASFA Update – November 2023
No Guru
Slack Investor is no guru, the steps to financial independence are no secret – and are set out by many well known financial educators. There are so many great resources, for example: Rask, Aussie Firebug, Equity Mates, Making Money Made Simple, Strong Money Australia. For a step by step guide, nobody does it better than The Barefoot Investor. Buy his book, or try the The Barefoot Steps or, read Rask Media – The Journey to Financial Independence.
Slack Investor would add to this wonderful guidance:
- Educate Yourself in the ways of finance – The internet and financial independence books are your friend here. No-one will represent your interests better than you
- Take charge of your Own Financial Independence – Ride Your Own Bike
- Automate your savings – Into superannuation and your own investments – What you don’t see, you wont spend
- Your Savings Rate is a very important number – my savings rate while working and raising a family fluctuated between 20% and 45%. Far more heroic rates are documented by F.I.R.E. enthusiasts e.g. Strong Money Australia – this will accelerate your journey
- Have a plan to buy your own place to live
- Pay full attention to fees for financial services
- Let time be your partner in long-term investing – start as early as you can.
The Slack Investor path was more of a climb up a cobbled street than a path. It involved lots of different strategies. Trying to maximise my superannuation contributions, buying a house to live in, using home equity to gear into individual stocks and ETF’s. In the last 10 years, I have been trying to invest mostly in growth stocks, without too much trading. This has been a good fit for my temperament.
Long term Investing
The real business is to be invested at least somewhere in appreciating assets – and let time do its work. Below is an extract from the Vanguard 2024 long-term investing chart. The numbers on the right are the results of investing $10,000 in the Index funds of the indicated asset classes for 30 years. It is Slack Investors favourite chart.
August 2024 – End of Month Update
Slack Investor is IN for Australian index shares, the US Index S&P 500 and the FTSE 100.
The S&P 500 (+2.3) continues its enthusiastic progress. Slack Investor is pleased to go with the flow but remains nervous for the US markets.
For the ASX 200 (+0.0%) and the FTSE 100 (0.1%) – things have ended up dead flat. Although, all markets have shown a lot of variation this month.
All Index pages and charts have been updated to reflect the monthly changes – (ASX Index, UK Index, US Index).
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