A terrible mistake but it worked out well
Continuing our series on wealth insights, entrepreneur Samantha Gadd shares some life lessons, including a scary property experience.
What’s been your biggest money mistake?
Putting an unconditional offer on our current family home before selling our previous property! We were banking (literally) on selling our previous property for a certain price which we didn’t get and it was an incredibly stressful time to settle our current property. We managed to settle, after begging and borrowing from multiple sources and now look back with a ‘‘that was a crazy risk we took’’. At the time I would say it was a terrible mistake, but now five years on and in our dream family home, we wouldn’t change a thing.
What are you most proud of, financially?
To be in control over my own destiny – owning two businesses can be very stressful and high risk but ultimately our financial success is in our own hands – it is an exciting and rewarding journey.
What do you wish you’d known when you were 18?
How to set up good saving strategies early. I wish I had got into good habits with money – putting a little away regularly and not touching it!
What’s your most prized possession?
I honestly couldn’t say I have any prized possessions, my family are what mean everything to me – a gorgeous husband and three beautiful boys mean more than any amount of money possibly could.
Are you a spender or a saver?
Definitely a spender. Given I have been self-employed or a business owner for over 11 years I have always been able to control (to a certain extent!) what I have earned – by just working that little bit harder! I even remember this when I was working as a student, taking on extra shifts if I needed more money.
This means I have always had a tendency to figure out a way to earn what I need – so I can spend rather than be patient and save. I don’t have a patient bone in my body.
Are you a KiwiSaver member?
Absolutely – it is the only saving I do – a no-brainer really.
What is your approach to teaching your kids about money?
We really need to pick up our game here. Our boys are 10, 9 and 6 and although they aren’t spoilt, they could do with a few more lessons around money. We certainly teach them they can’t have everything they want and money comes from hard work but I would love to instil some thinking around saving and investing. Being a business owner I don’t do any investing outside our own enterprises, I would like to teach the kids about how to use their money wisely as they grow up.
What money lessons did your parents give you?
Money doesn’t grow on trees. I have always known from an early age that money comes from a lot of hard work and also perseverance – essentially, nothing worth anything comes easy.
Samantha Gadd is the founder and managing director of human resource consultancy Humankind and a director of its sister company, Kin (talent business focusing on reshaping recruitment).