What did you wish you had started doing sooner when it comes to money?

DALE GILLHAM

Dale Gillham is chief analyst at Wealth Within. Dale says: “This is pretty much a no-brainer for me, as it is not how much money you get, it is what you do with it that counts. So for me it is investing sooner in the markets and in my knowledge.”

VITA PALESTRANT

Former editor of the Money section of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Vita says: “Having a mortgage and kids makes you careful with money. You treat ‘specials’ as if they were a tarantula: 28% off energy, zero-interest credit cards, discount insurance, etc. But it’s better to check the downside and do the sums.”

NERIDA COLE

Nerida Cole is head of advice, Dixon Advisory. Nerida says: “In my early 20s I’d been a bit intimidated by shares. As I gradually worked through each stage – researching, buying, seeing the dividends reinvested and account grow – I got more confident and realised I could do this and should have started earlier.”

SUSAN HELY

Susan has been a senior writer at Money for more than 10 years. Susan says: “I like to keep my finances fairly simple. Buying an investment property sounded tricky: an extra mortgage, maintenance costs, finding good tenants, etc. It never appealed but – with the benefit of hindsight – I missed out on the breakneck boom.”

TERRY RYDER

Terry is the founder of hotspotting.com.au and author of four real estate books. Terry says: “I wish I’d understood earlier the importance of accumulating real estate assets, rather than trading them. The first house I bought in Brisbane cost $50,000 – I sold for a strong capital gain, but today the property would be worth over $1 million.”

RODNEY HORIN

Rodney is an aged care consultant at Joseph Palmer & Sons (Vic). Rod says: “I should have started putting away super contributions earlier. It’s only now, at age 60, with hindsight and understanding of the power of compounding interest, that I realise how much capital is required to sustain a lifestyle in retirement.”