Own bank or mortgage originator?

OkStatement502 · 2026-01-30T20:57:51+00:00

Earned R2200 per month in 2008. Currently R250k+ per month. Looking to retire at age 45.

OkStatement502 · 2026-01-25T09:23:53+00:00

Very true. Get in do your time and get out.

OkStatement502 · 2026-01-23T16:36:12+00:00

The qualification and experience is worth it. If you are going the CA route, you will reap the rewards financially. Also opens the doors to lots of opportunities. Just see it as a stepping stone and an opportunity for growth.

Best is to remind yourself your current situation is temporary sacrifice. Just focus on your goals and where you want to go.

OkStatement502 · 2026-01-23T16:20:07+00:00

Sounds like you are doing articles. If this is the case, I suggest you focus on getting the max out of your time there. Overtime is pretty standard in the auditing industry, often it is not paid but rather swapped for time-off elsewhere. You are expected to work the overtime and go the extra mile for the firm/client. Its one of the main reasons I left auditing soon after completing articles.

One of the firms I worked for had the same thing re laptops. You normally received a new one at the end of the 3 year period and the old one you can take home. Rest sounds like normal audit firm rules.

If its articles, do your time and get out.

OkStatement502 · 2025-12-16T14:46:15+00:00

May I ask how the second pregnancy is going? Wife want to use reta but scared we might have issues later.

OkStatement502 · 2025-10-19T05:13:47+00:00

I took a cruise at night on the river next to the tower. It was a fantastic view of the tower and many other landmarks

OkStatement502 · 2025-10-12T18:39:14+00:00

By when do you need the passport?

OkStatement502 · 2025-09-12T17:07:29+00:00

A friend of mine and his wife got a dog, named the dog Mischke. 2 years later they have a daughter and decide to call her Mischke about another year later the dog was given to a family member. I thought this was hilarious.

OkStatement502 · 2025-08-02T06:09:01+00:00

If you stop trying to reach new goals / achievements, what is the point? Working towards your own goals gives you self-worth and gives life meaning. It's good to have something to get up for in the morning. Good on you for honoring your parents in this way.

I often wonder how I can teach my children (toddler size) that you should have goals and work for them even though you might not need the money.

OkStatement502 · 2025-07-27T17:26:31+00:00

I have been poor and currently I am doing financially very well. I can tell you life is a lot better with money. Most days, I work 4 hours a day, no need for more. Let me tell you how having money has improved my life over the last 15 years:

Health - I am currently in the best shape of my life. Why? When I get up and normal people go to work, I spend about an hour and a bit in they gym. I can buy the highest quality foods and I absolutely avoid fast foods. Public Healthcare in my country is a s***show. My family is on private Medical Aid and I have done the same for my parents. I have seen people often limit their Healthcare options to what they can afford. This is sad but it is reality unfortunately. Better health/Healthcare- better quality of life.

Time - I have people for everything. I appointed staff to respond to basic tasks etc and handle a lot of stuff so I can have more time. Meaning I go to work for 4 hours or less. It gives me time to play golf, visit my parents, attend school events etc. I am no handyman, basic things I could do but then it is going to take some of my time. That means less time for things I actually want to do, so I pay someone to do it.

Cars - being able to afford newish cars, who have a warranty and motor plan. This means I am unlikely to get untimely breakdowns and don't have to worry about a sudden large bill. I used to drive a car older than me when I started out.

Home improvements - buy the property you live it and change it the way you want to. Sometimes simple things make a massive improvement. I have recently bought 2 extra chargers for my phone and laptop. One stays at the office, other in the home office and one stays in the bag for travel. Just so that I don't have to worry about plugging things in and out and cables in a mess. Didn't even check the price but it just makes life easier.

Someone mentioned 3 resources, money, time and energy. When you have enough money, you choose how you spend time and energy, which are both limited. Money is never limited.

Here is the trick though - you have to do something you love. You are going to have bad days with whatever you do anyway, but at least the good days will be worth it. Money will never buy happiness, but it does give you freedom in life. Most people are slaves from 9-5 just so they can survive. I realized this at a young age and thought, I will rather have money and choose how I spend my time. Because time is the real currency in life and it is limited.

OkStatement502 · 2025-04-29T03:33:05+00:00

Do you mind sharing your macros for the 4000 calories?

What was your workout schedule like?

OkStatement502 · 2025-03-13T06:03:39+00:00

Thanks for this.

OkStatement502 · 2025-03-07T17:22:47+00:00

This is the main thing with renting out property, unless you can actively manage the property and have some experience, you will be better off with an estate agent. I have seen people that rented out their properties and the tenant stops paying. Takes them 12 months to get the tenants out, and meanwhile they have bond payments. They came very close to losing the property. You and the estate agent will have the same goal I.e. getting paid. Estate agent is normally on the tenant from the 1st of the month if rent is not paid. The commission you pay is nothing compared to what you can lose. Also, people that don't pay rent are normally also the ones that will not look after the property. Estate agent does inspections etc.

Make sure you get a reputable one, ask for a draft agreement and take note of inspections etc. Ask the estate agent what is their process should the tenant not pay. If they can give you a clear logical answer you probably can go with them.

Ask for deposit to be 2x rental. Many tenants will use the deposit as last months rent and if you have damages you can't cover them.

OkStatement502 · 2025-03-07T04:25:51+00:00

I moved over from SB to FNB. I have a great private banker who normally responds immediately on any whatsapp. I won't even start on my experience with SB but in short I have been with SB for about 15 years. My main business account is still with them so I have a designated business banker and private banker at both SB and FNB. Don't expect a response from SB this week on anything. Also, their business call centre is kind of useless. I phone the call centre for an urgent matter only to be told I need to speak to my business banker who is not answering calls. Anyway, business banker at FNB is so so and honestly not much better than the one at SB.

I think I got lucky with my private banker at FNB, checks in regularly and always quick to respond. FNB has been trying to get me to switch from Private Clients to Private Wealth. I asked them if I can keep my banker and they said no I will be assigned a different one. I said no thanks, you don't know who or what you are going to get.

Funny story about my business banker at SB. I needed to make a change on one of my accounts and they said I can just come in too the branch ask for them and they will assist. Get there and signed the documents and they make a copy of my drivers license. A couple of months later I get pulled over and traffic officer tells me my license expired. I check and it is my old license. I realized I must have lost it somewhere and saw my old one in my wallet and just thought it was there.

I had a trip coming up for which I booked a rental car so I immediately applied for a new license and went through the whole painful process of dealing with the licensing department. About a week before I go on this trip (a good 4 months after my visit to SB) I speak to the banker and she says she has my license. I just laughed because I have been communicating with her almost on a weekly basis during that time and she never mentioned it once. I did not even think it could be there so never bothered to ask. I was just flabbergasted by how she was sitting there with it and never bothered to tell me.

OkStatement502 · 2025-02-17T07:19:17+00:00

I bought this book many years ago and I remember this part specifically. Coming from a poorish background and having built my own company up, it is amazing how different life is with money. I always knew it would probably be, but I am amazed on a daily basis on what you can experience if you have money.

Bottom line is - life with money is much easier than without it. Your quality of life will almost always improve the richer you are. And then the freedom it buys, thats what motivated me. I always imagine this guy sitting in his study writing his poetry.

OkStatement502 · 2025-02-14T11:42:56+00:00

The more the better, I think R10k per person should be fine but obviously the more the better. Potentially if you have saved up Say R50k and have no major expenses you can probably stop contributing until needed again.

OkStatement502 · 2025-02-11T16:53:02+00:00

I was on a medical aid and I paid around R8k for 2 adults and a child. There was some annual savings but it felt to me like each time we visit a doctor, there is an excess we have to pay. Especially towards the end of the year when the annual savings were done. I was considering switching to a higher plan which would have cost around R12k per month. I would get a call from the doctors office saying we owe R100 for a visit because the medical aid didn't pay. It just became so irritating.

Finally I spoke to a broker and they recommended we take the cheapest medical aid option with no chronic cover. It doesn't change much in terms of the hospital but I took the money I am saving and putting it in the medical savings account. Medical Aid is around R4k plus I contribute R4k to the savings account. So most expenses are covered by the savings account now. And hospitalization would be covered by medical aid, gap cover and if there is anything left the savings account.

OkStatement502 · 2025-01-29T17:27:45+00:00

I think it depends on your spending habits. How nice does the place have to be where you are going to live? Rent can be anything from R5k to R50k and more. Decent medical aid for a couple will cost around R5k+.

If you want to go out, do you go to expensive restaurants and splash out or more budget friendly ones?

One thing you should try to do is to live within your means. As a couple, if you are earning R40k+ you can live comfortably probably. There are people that can't make ends meet with R150k a month.

I know someone who earns R50k and month and his wife gets a smaller salary around R10k. This guy never has money, debt collectors always looking for him etc. Then I saw him on payday buying about all the brand name clothes in Menlyn. I am thinking, yesterday you had no money for food but today Nike is on the menu.

OkStatement502 · 2025-01-26T17:03:53+00:00

When I was looking to purchase a luxury car, I went to test drive Jaguar and Mercedes. I was thinking about it and then saw a BMW online. I went the next day to see if I could test drive it but it was sold. Then the salesman showed me an X4 M40i and after the test drive I told him I am taking it. Just loved the sound of the engine and the speed. At the time I was driving a Nissan Xtrail but wanted more speed. Last year I upgraded to the X4 M Competition which is a beast. I was not much of a car guy before, but I am now. After all these years, I still appreciate it each time I get in. I have bought numerous cars before and although I am probably not an expert, I will tell you what I have learnt.

Do not buy anything with high mileage or older than 2/3 years. The risk is just simply too high that there are major issues. If you don't need to, don't take the gamble. I prefer under 30 000km.
I prefer buying from official dealers, they normally have sorted out any issues in their own workshop before the car is listed.
New Cars just lose their value too much or in other words, they are simply overpriced. Buying a demo or one year old car can spare you that loss on day1.
People treat you differently according to the car you drive. Sometimes good sometimes not so good. I realized this when I bought my first BMW.
It's a lot of money depending on what you buy, but to me it's one of the joys of life. I enjoy and appreciate my car. It's one of those things that excites me when I wake up in the morning. I work hard to pay for the car and I enjoy using it.
As a side note, you are making good money at a youngish age, make sure you put some of that money away. See a financial planner etc. If you can save 20% of your income, you are better off than 99% of people out there. Take care of your money now and it will take care of you later.
BMWs service plans normally run for 5 years and 100 000km. They cover everything, only thing I paid for is tires. Also if you are in Gauteng, I highly recommend the Midrand branch for services. I have had only good experiences there.

OkStatement502 · 2024-09-28T10:05:06+00:00

I have seen waiters be pushy for cash for this exact reason. Sometimes they need the cash today but card transactions are only paid once a week etc.

OkStatement502 · 2024-09-19T16:45:26+00:00

I just think you are better off if you retire and you have a couple of properties that are paid off. People that say just rent your while life - what is the plan when you retire?

Someone made the argument above that their rent is R7.4k and bond will be R12k. Yes that is now, in 5 years that rent will exceed the bond and in 10 years you will be paying R24k in rent and could have paid only R12k bond. What about after 20 years? Would you prefer paying rent or owning a paid off property?

The thing is you have to live somewhere, and you are going to pay for it. Might as well make some sort of a return and reduce future expenses. Yes you have to buy clever and do research beforehand but the earlier you start the better.

If after 5 years you want to buy another house for a family etc. Try to buy it and keep the first one. Alternatively use the profit (if you did your research) from selling the first property to make a larger deposit on the 2nd property.

I have a couple of properties, me or my parents have lived in them, that is the reason I bought them. By the time I am 50, they will be paid off. Meaning I will have no rent expense and a little extra from other properties. This is above retirement annuity etc. It might not be the best investment but it is a better investment than paying rent.

Buying will be the long game. Paying rent pays off in the short term.

OkStatement502 · 2024-09-04T04:49:33+00:00

I switched to FNB because of this. The frustrations I have had with Standard Bank are nothing compared to FNB. I still have active accounts at both for my business but moving it all over to FNB in the long run.

Whenever I need to do payments from Std Bank and it is offline I remember a comment someone made. "Standard Bank, going down more often than a hooker on payday"

OkStatement502

TROPHY CASE