Warren Ingram - Become Your Own Financial Advisor

Published by Zebra Press
an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd
Reg. No. 1966/003153/07
Wembley Square, First Floor, Solan Road, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001
PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

www.zebrapress.co.za

First published 2013

Publication Zebra Press 2013

Text Warren Ingram 2013

Cover image iStockphoto/malerapaso

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.

PUBLISHER: Marlene Fryer
MANAGING EDITOR: Ronel Richter-Herbert
EDITOR: Lisa Compton
PROOFREADER: Ronel Richter-Herbert
COVER DESIGNER: Monique Oberholzer
TEXT DESIGNER: Jacques Kaiser
TYPESETTER: Monique van den Berg

ISBN 978 1 77022 618 0 (print)
ISBN 978 1 77022 619 7 (ePub)
ISBN 978 1 77022 620 3 (PDF)

Contents

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my wife and best friend, Vanessa Ingram. I could not have wished for a better companion you make me a better man and I am grateful to you every day.

I would also like thank my parents, Bruce and Sarah Ingram, who had the patience and care to love a troubled child when he needed it most.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my teachers and hostel masters at Rondebosch Boys High School. The proceeds of this book will hopefully enable a few boys to have the privilege of attending Bosch.

To the three men who gave direction to my career, anything that I have achieved is to your credit. Martus Claassen, who had faith in a young man when everyone else doubted. The late Nigel Scott, who gave me a vision of what financial planning should be and the courage to realise that vision I miss your guidance every day. Lastly, to my business partner Theo Vorster, who has always treated me with integrity, patience and wisdom you are a rare human being indeed.

To all the financial professionals who put their clients first, you know who you are and you know what we face every day. Please keep going, because you are making peoples lives better.

There is no more knowledgeable, hardworking or ethical financial journalist in South Africa than Bruce Whitfield. Thank you for supporting this book and our fundraising efforts.

I have always wondered why writers acknowledge their editors, but after writing this book, I finally understand! To Mandy Collins, thank you for your help and motivation all writers need someone like you. Lisa Compton, who was the editor appointed by the publishers, took a very rough diamond and shaped it into something better. To Marlene and Ronel at Zebra Press, thank you lets hope our efforts are successful.

My colleagues at Galileo Capital, who epitomise everything that is good in financial services, you make me proud.

To Daniel R. Wessels, Dr Jannie Leach, Reg Thompson and John Campbell, thank you for always taking the time to share your ideas about our industry; I hope I have always reciprocated.

Lastly, to all my wonderful clients and industry friends who have spent time with me over nearly two decades you allowed me to learn my craft with you and hopefully we are all better off as a result.

WARREN INGRAM

Foreword

Common sense, my grandfather used to say, is not that common.

Warren Ingrams book is full of common sense. In many ways it is about the stuff you already know, but dont always apply in your everyday life.

You know that spending more than you earn is a bad idea. You know that you dont need a new car just because the motor plan has expired. You know that it is not necessary to upgrade the lounge suite just because its not as trendy as that of your new friends the Khumalos. But you do it anyway.

As South Africans we are far too often focused on the short-term feel-good rewards of our labours. Our society tells us that we need to show our value through the cars we drive, the homes we live in, the watches we wear and the designer clothes that adorn our children. Those things make us feel good about our place in the world, but we fall into the trap of visible consumption at our peril and ignore the longer term in the mistaken belief that the future will somehow take care of itself.

If it was that easy, then this book would not be necessary. But this book is necessary.

I was fortunate to grow up in a home where the concept of money as a tool was discussed. We were far from rich, but the discussions of the importance of savings, the power of compounding, and the value of working hard to acquire assets were all had around the dinner table. The more people I meet, the more I realise how lucky I was to learn real-life lessons from people who were learning from their own successes and mistakes.

Warren has included these sorts of lessons in the pages that follow. This book is full of real-life examples and clear, no-nonsense guidelines that will open your eyes to the magic of making your money make you money.

There are many so-called gurus of financial enlightenment. Most of them happen to be American, and while the principles they espouse may be universal, they are too distant from our everyday reality to be truly relevant. In fact, there is no one size fits all philosophy that will ensure that you have a solid financial future, but the principles described in this book can help guide you and your family to a greater level of financial prosperity.

If you could hold down two jobs, imagine how much better off you would be! Well, rather than work yourself to the bone, why not make your current income work for you? In so doing, you will find over a period of time that your money is making money while you are getting the much-needed sleep you require to stay sane in our increasingly demanding world.

There are no short cuts. No one I know has become sustainably rich by following fads and trends. People who develop wealth over time do some incredibly boring things with discipline and repeat the process over and over.

Warren Ingram is not a guy to sugar-coat the truth. He will tell you inconvenient truths you may not want to hear. But he is a rare individual in that he speaks sense about money without relying on jargon.

For years I was an avid reader of Mens Health magazine but I didnt become any healthier. It turns out that working out vicariously doesnt do the job. Similarly, this book will not make you rich. The opportunity to grow your wealth and achieve financial independence starts with you. Become Your Own Financial Advisor is a guide for you to follow, with solid principles for you to apply. The application and the hard work are for you to do.

Back to my grandfather: Never give advice. Wise men dont need it and fools wont take it.

The choice lies with you.

BRUCE WHITFIELD

SANDTON

For Vanessa

Introduction

Money is central to all our lives. For better or worse, we all need money to operate in this world. And inevitably, those who can use and control their money wisely lead better lives than those who are enslaved by their money problems.

This book aims to help you understand how money works and, more importantly, what you should do to ensure that you control your money. Most people live their lives being controlled by their money problems. Taking control of the way you spend, save and invest your money is critical if you want to become financially independent.