‘YOU CAN’T GO WRONG WITH BRICKS and MORTAR’

THE TRUTH: The family home won’t necessarily turn a profit.

The house you live in is not a path to income. Many people spend 25 years paying off the family home and, by the time they’ve done so, they will have paid several times the value to their lender, says Julian Noel, founder of social change organisation Shine Global. ‘I believe we are programmed to fail financially by believing that this is the best and only path to happiness. A lot of successful people don’t actually own the house they live in; they invest in rental properties and have tenants help pay them off instead.’ Most of us reach retirement underfinanced, says Noel – a situation that could be remedied by rethinking our attitudes towards investment and getting financial advice before signing on for a lifetime of debt. A good financial advisor can demystify the concept of investment so that while you work for your money, your money is also working for you.