Nothing profitable in forking over $6000 course fee
DON’T pay out $6000 of your hard-earned money for an Australian company’s course of intensive trading programs, advises Scott Pape.
Barefoot Investor
Don't miss out on the headlines from Barefoot Investor. Followed categories will be added to My News.
QUESTION A wealthy workmate of mine learned how to profitably trade after doing a training course with an Australian company. It offers intensive trading programs that show you, over a few months, exactly how to trade. The program costs about $6000 but you can start with a small account and trade up. Have you heard of this firm?
Barry
ANSWER Yes I’ve heard of them — but not for years. I assumed they’d been run out of the country, were now flipping burgers at McDonald’s, or at the very least, had gone bust.
W.D. Gann infamously made his trading decisions partly based on the Bible, astrology and weather patterns (which, funnily enough, is how my grandmother chooses her outfit each morning). Barry, don’t be drongo. If you give these clowns $6000 of your hard-earned, you deserve to be hit with a cream-pie right in the kisser.
TIME TO SAVE
Q My brother and I are looking to buy an apartment in Melbourne. We are just short of having a 20 per cent deposit. Should we wait 9-12 months to have a 20 per cent plus deposit or would it be best to get into the market now? Lenders Mortgage Insurance (and the market not being very friendly for first homeowners) is my biggest concern.
Rach
A Depending on your lender, you may be able to get around being charged LMI even with less than a 20 per cent deposit. However, unless you find a great deal, my advice would be to sit back and save up the extra dough. As someone who owns property in the Melbourne CBD, I can tell you that right now, there’s a huge number of apartments being built, meaning there will be an oversupply. So over the next 12 months, I think you should be able to negotiate a good deal.
LOOK TO FUTURE
Q My husband and I are in a pickle as to what to do with my share of my late father’s estate.
My dad’s wishes were for me and my brothers to keep the house. I have the opportunity to buy them out, as they want to sell, but that would mean borrowing about $300,000. We own our primary home and have three rental properties with $310k owing, plus a small share portfolio. If we sell we would have about $200,000. We just had our first baby five months ago and don’t want to be under mortgage stress. What would you advise?
Helen
A I’d sell the house. I don’t think any father wants to see their child in mortgage stress, especially with a young family to look after. So I’d follow your brothers’ lead and sell the house. You can then use your share to pay down some debt, and free up some cash while you’re raising your kid(s). Think of it this way: your father will be helping you spend less time at work servicing debt, and more time with his grandchildren.
ASK YOUR QUESTIONS AT BAREFOOTINVESTOR.COM
Originally published as Nothing profitable in forking over $6000 course fee
Why all that glitters is not gold
The price of gold may be on the rise but it’s not quite as shiny as it seems. When it comes to long-term gain, it pays to follow the golden rule — only invest in things that regularly put money back in your pocket, writes the Barefoot Investor.
Don’t get high on the short-term sugar hit
Despite the COVID crisis, money questions have been flooding in from readers about how to buy and trade stocks, or even gold. Maybe it’s down to raiding super, or the government stimulus, but the key to financial control is first to get out of debt, writes the Barefoot Investor.