The Pony Principle –  A short story on building a balanced financial future

 Told by Damon S. Craig with thanks to Brian Evans 

 published online in 2016 with rights reserved by the Author.

Chapter 1

An Introduction

Perhaps a quick read of my bio will tell you how I got here. My financial story is not pretty, but it is now solid and stable. This story is an extension of a very old sales pitch given to me by a financial advisor, whose company I remain a customer of.

So I am not a financial advisor, nor have any accreditation in the field. But I am a mainstream single educated male, building my financial life back up after a divorce. I hope that I can share that with someone, but most importantly, my son needs me. Both as the leader of our pack, and hopefully that I can leave our little slice of the world in a better shape for him when he becomes the custodian.

There are countless ways to get and stay wealthy. This book does not tell you how to get the cash, but it tells you how to protect it and nurture it so that, if long term financial stability is your goal then you can facilitate that

In this story, that financial wealth is a Pony: A simple animal representing your financial standing. You may start to dream of a bigger stallion, or perhaps you want chickens. I will cover that later, but for now, we will just stick with the pony

READER ACTIVITY. Why are you reading this book? Write down three to five reasons as to why you are reading this book.

Chapter 2

Why the Paddock

It is our goal to keep the pony safe, we want to feed him. But most importantly we need to stop him from running away and stop other animals getting into his paddock. We also want to keep the cattle rustlers and thieves away from our pony.

We will need to build him a paddock. This paddock has 4 fences and for the moment they are all equal length or 4 hundred meters and forming a square. The fences are 4ft tall and not yet painted.

The first fence is Cash flow. This represents your income stream, perhaps your first job.

The second fence is a long term investments. In my first job and in most career plans superannuation is compulsory. So even at small amounts, we are looking long term already

The third fence is short term investment and savings. In our first job we generally live to our means and saving is very rare, so I have left this later in my story,

Our final fence is the more morbid, but essential discussion of life insurances.

I’ll then cover a section on what happens if our pony goes missing. I will also talk about changing the construction and size of the fences and also talk about different types of animals we can transpose or replace the pony with. I have a very short section on real estate. There are plenty of books on real estate and investments in that space. My opinion is rather cynical if not radical in that space so it is left later so you at least get most of my opinions before you toss the book aside.

Chapter 3

Cash flow

This fence is all about income and money coming into your space from another source. It is a fence that is simple posts and wire and needs to put function well ahead of form.

In general this is from a job or career. But it does not always have to be from there. You may have an income stream from an idea that generates royalties or commissions. This also holds for the Rats industry where you are paid a cut of royalties for the use of your work.

Some saving also generates interest. Effectively, the bank uses you money to work on the financial markets and this generates an income. This money is given back to you as an interest payment. In general there is also a rate we call the inflation rate. It is the amount of increase in the costs of basic items. A loaf of bread in any given year should be the same as a loaf of bread in any other year. But each year you will need a few more cents to trade for that loaf of bread. So inflation is often linked closely to the cost of basic commodities.

Some economists will look at inflation as the devaluing of the dollar. Imagine this on summer you have a single dollar in your hand and want to buy lollies or candy, you can buy 10. But you decide to put that dollar in your pocket. The following summer, 12months later, you find that dollar and go to the same store to buy lollies. The dollar now can only buy 9 as the price per item as gone up by about ten cents. In this example, the power of your dollar has gone down as the lolly is still just a lolly.

Later we will look at investments. It is quite common to make investments in your early working life that basically grow in size as you both add tot hem and they build financial wealth. As your working life slows down, some of these investments may then become an income stream. Generally you have fewer costs so skimming the interest off these accounts is just fine for income.

There is however a delicate balance here between living off the interest and actually allowing the principle investment to stagnate. It may say the same cash value, but as we spoke about with inflation, this fixed number of dollars is actually loosing value.

So cash, you need some income stream, it needs to be coming from a source outside you paddock for a while. You will have a variety of costs both in basic housing, transport and utilities bills. There will also be food and entertainment costs. And as we cover more fences in this book they also will be a drain on your cash flow to get them set up and maintained.

I have never considered myself in a high income, but I have always kept a buffer or gap between my cost of living and what I earn, this allows a little surplus or room to move. Sometimes, even the very wealthy forget that they need to spend less than they earn, no matter how much you earn to stay wealthy.

It is quite a good idea to write out a budget. It is totally up to you how granular this budget is, if you lump it into groups of expenses, or break it down to the muffin and coffee expenses. I always remember that ‘if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves’ sadly I am more of a broad brush manager so whilst this concept guides me, it is rarely used…

READER ACTIVITY. What is you cash flow like? Write down the sources or you income and the expenses you have. A sample of monthly expenses is below

 

Chapter 4

Super and Long Term Investments

This fence is about your long term financial security, it is robust and a balance between form and function. Perhaps built as wood rails and painted to stand out from the paddock.

Most first world economies have some form of government legislation to cover the contribution to, running of and withdraw from a superannuation fund. Some countries have run it more as a centralised provident fund for the country that is paid into. This creates a very large and powerful financial resource for the country to use on the foreign market and also to bolster internal growth. It is a very high risk option, but has a simplicity of fees that makes it a win-win for the country and the stakeholder. Other countries allow a more rich tapestry of funds, fund managers and the style of product that can be used under the superannuation banner.

In this story, I am referring to superannuation as a system of regular payment made into a fund by an employee towards a future pension that can be drawn down on after a variety of exit conditions from the work force are met. Simply, this is usually a contribution made as a percentage of wages or income and drawn down at a fixed rate after reaching a certain age. There are many variations to this concept.

The fund is designed to perform better than a savings account and often has a series of long term benefits and bonuses that are not available in a cash savings account. Some superannuation schemes have some insurance coverage for certain events that may strike the employee such as death and disability.

The key part to choosing a superannuation scheme is the style of investment that the fund uses. This will give an indication of the growth rate of your account within the fund and also give you an indication of how much of the fund returns are being skimmed off to run the fund and pay the financial advisors that move the money around on the global financial market.

Superannuation allows you to make small payment to a fund that will provide you with in an income after you leave the working force. It is a general idea that your contributions across you working life will create fund that will support your retirement. If you intend to retire early, you may need to build more in this fund. Alternatively, if you retirement years are planned to be rather lavish, then you may need to work a few more years to boost the fund and delay retiring.

It is not expected that your fund will replace your income dollars for dollar. But it is also not expect ted that all the costs you incur in your working days will need to be funded in retirement.

Items such as the mortgage, work expenses and super contributions will drop so not are a drain on your retirement cash flows. Looking back at the cash flow you prepared in chapter 3, perhaps outline the ones that will still be a drain on your retirement lifestyle, these are the ones you must pay, others may be optional and some will disappear

With Superannuation you should get some choices. If you have not made a choice, your member benefit (including any ancillary amount) will be invested in the default option which is the balanced option. Each option was developed with the assistance of independent investment experts. Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, trustee of the fund, appoints experts to help define the asset allocation and investment objectives for each option. Before you make any investment choice, you should seek professional advice and read the Product Disclosure Statement. Here is an outline from a noted Australian government fund of things you should know about investment choice:

1. Your investment choice gives you the flexibility to decide how to invest your member benefit including any ancillary component.
2. It only applies to your member benefit and any ancillary component; the larger part of your benefit, your employer benefit, is fully funded by the Australian Government and is not affected by investment performance while you are a contributing member.
3. You do not have to choose; your member benefit will be automatically invested in the balanced investment option, which is the default investment option.
4. You can choose one or a combination of five investment options.
5. You can choose one investment option for your current member benefit and a different option for your future member contributions.
6. You can switch how your benefit is invested at any time, free of charge.
7. Your investment switch will be effective the date your switch request is.
8. Seek professional advice for your own situation, goals and needs.
9. Find out more in the Investment Options and Risk

Members can choose one or a combination of four investment options:

Cash Account

Return – Since inception annualised net return is 4.46%

Net return target – UBSA Bank Bill per year over a 10 year period

Level of investment risk – Negative returns expected in zero out of every 20 years

Statement of fees and other costs – $70 per year

 

Income focused Account

Return – Since inception annualised net return is 4.74%

Net return target – CPI + 2.0% per year over a 10 year period

Level of investment risk – Negative returns expected in 1 to 2 out of every 20 years

Statement of fees and other costs – $250 per year

 

Balanced Account

Return – Since inception annualised net return is 5.61%

Net return target – CPI + 3.5% per year over a 10 year period

Level of investment risk – Negative returns expected in 3 to 4 out of every 20 years

Statement of fees and other costs – $400 per year

 

Aggressive Account

Return – Since inception annualised net return is 5.79%

Net return target – CPI + 4.5% per year over a 10 year period

Level of investment risk – Negative returns expected in 5 to 6 out of every 20 years

Statement of fees and other costs – $435 per year

 

Products and Services

Not everyone gets this, but not all bank accounts are the same. We often try to cut down on the number of accounts we have, often this also happens when we change our relationship status. But this is not always the best move. I remember having a conversation with a potential partner and she had said she had at least six bank accounts. But when I asked if they were products or services, she could not tell me. So here is the short answer. A service is something we pay to have. It is like paying for service in a café it is the mechanism that brings me the thing that I have ordered. We do not get any long term benefit for paying for services. We may get loyalty points and this is similar to in the café as we may get extra side dishes the longer we chose to dine at that franchise. Now a Product is a thing we buy, it does on the other hand retain and hopefully grow in value. Stock, shares, long trem savings are all Products. Transactional accounts, card (credit/debit) are services. Sometime they are linked, sometimes they are separate, but you need to know what they really are and how they benefit you and how the profit for the bank.

READER ACTIVITY. What is you superannuation account like? Get a copy of your member statement and Product Disclosure Statement.

Chapter 5

Short Term Saving and Investments

This is the fence that saves your pony from a storm. Perhaps it is a fence made of trees and bushes. They can provide shelter or maybe provide firewood to keep warm. It is perhaps the highest maintenance of any of the fence lines.

It needs to be planted regularly and if harvested, the regrowth should be planned before the first axe swings. I am not saying that we can never draw down completely on this fence; it may be a holiday fund that is designed to build up and then be depleted for an activity. Just that if we are also experiencing multiple breakdowns in the work car, or the dishwasher is not washing, we may need to leave a bit of resource to cover those.

There are a variety of style to this fence, Term Deposits, Cash and savings accounts and even short term investments in the share markets. Other investors may choose the geek economy of stamp, coins, collectable and rare items. I must stress here though the difference between a hobby and the investment. If you are buying items to collect then they are not part of this fence. If you are buying items to hold and sell at a profit, then they can be included in this line item. The line here is blurred and for collectors and hoarders like me, this line is very blurred. It must have value and you must be prepared to sell it to add it to this fence line.

A managed fund is a professionally managed investment portfolio that individual investors can buy into, purchasing ‘units’ rather than shares. Each managed fund has a specific investment objective. This is usually based around the different asset classes (cash, fixed interest, property and shares). The money you invest is used to buy assets in line with this investment objective.

When you invest in a managed fund, you are allocated a number of ‘units’. The value of your units is calculated on a daily basis changes as the market value of the assets in the fund rises and falls.

1. It’s easy to diversify your investments – you have access to different asset classes, companies, industries, sectors and countries.

1. Experts manage your money – the qualified investment professionals managing your money have access to information, research and robust investment processes not easily available to individuals.

1. It’s easy to reinvest your investment earnings – and take advantage of compounding. Over 20 years, this compounding effect could mean a huge difference in your investment returns.

1. It’s easy to set up a regular investment plan – you can choose small monthly or weekly amounts and transfer your payments on the day you get paid – a strategy also known as ‘pay yourself first’.

1. You can invest for income, growth or both – the returns you get from a managed fund usually come in two forms. Income (paid to you as a ‘distribution’) and capital growth (achieved only when the unit price increases in value).

1. You can start investing with as little as $1,000 – depending on the fund. Investing in a range of shares or a property often involves large sums of money, and sometimes a large loan. Managed funds allow you to access certain investments at a fraction of the usual cost. This is because you share these costs with other members of the fund rather than having to pay the minimum investment fee on your own.

READER ACTIVITY. What is the status of your saving? Write down where it is and detail what controls you have on money in and out of this.

Chapter 6

Insurances

This fence is about the long term financial security beyond your life span, it is for your family and your estate. It is a robust fence and places function over form, viewed in this story as a stone wall. It may have been built stone by stone by a generation past, but still does the job.  Life insurance is a product that pays out a sum of money either on the death of the insured person or after a set period. There are a variety of products in the market place, but they can generally be divided into two styles:

Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance which provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period expires, coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaranteed and the client must either forgo coverage or potentially obtain further coverage with different payments or conditions. If the insured dies during the term, the death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary. Term insurance is the least expensive way to purchase a substantial death benefit on a coverage amount per premium dollar basis over a specific period of time.

Whole life insurance, or whole of life assurance (in the Commonwealth of Nations), is a life insurance policy that remains in force for the insured’s whole life and requires (in most cases) premiums to be paid every year into the policy.

Term life is often advertised on TV and allows for a cheap fixed payment to provide support to your estate on your death or disability (if included) it is a bit like car comprehensive insurance, where you pay a premium and if your car is damaged or destroyed you get some money back. If you stop paying your premiums you get nothing back from the company, either as a bonus or in the event of the insured incident.

Whole of life is a bit different in that it has some investment and pension styled benefits. You are insured for the same incidents as with the other policy type, only that your premiums are considerably more, and often for less overall coverage. BUT should you need to stop or surrender the policy, you can get some of the money you paid back. There is a very intricate formula, but generally about 10 years in you get the premiums back almost dollar for dollar. But taking into account previous notes on inflation, this is a bad idea, because the dollars you paid in ten years ago are now only buying half a loaf of bread, where ten years ago the same dollar could have bought the entire loaf.

Whole life insurance typically requires that the owner pay premiums for the life of the policy. There are some arrangements that let the policy be “paid up”, which means that no further payments are ever required, in as few as 5 years, or with even a single large premium.

All is not lost though, theses policies often have a maturity date. This is a time pre agreed when you started the policy that the policy has come of age. It is neither cost effective for you to keep paying in, nor is it effective for the company to continue to insure you against the insured incident so it is common to be able to cash the policy in and use the funds in you living legacy prior.

READER ACTIVITY. What is you Insurance account like? Get a copy of your member statement and Product Disclosure Statement.

Chapter 7

Phantom Fences (What Are My Fences Really Made Of?)

Phantom fences are a very obscure concept, event for this story. These are fences that perhaps act like a dome or could fall into one or more of the categories listed above. I suppose without covering some phantom fences, it would destroy my entire pony principle; or at least only be able to state that you need to put a fence around your pony and that is all….

So the key phantom fence is in the insurance and superannuation market. There are sooo many products that they have components of all the financial products. Put look at the ain reason that you have the product. If it is to cover you on death, then it is more like our stone wall. If it is to cover you in retirement, then it is more like our superannuation fence.

So with that crack in my analogy nicely patched, I can safely say…

Shut up and build your fences!!

I am happy to discuss with you your opinions on the various products but you need to build something. Your have your first job and your new pony. He is nicely groomed and currently tied to an old tree stump watching you build fences. Lay down your lines, gather you materials and start building. This is perhaps the hardest bit. Each fence is a different style, so start with your cash flow fence. Band a post or three into the ground and string up some wires.

Now maybe get a handful of pine seedlings and run them in a straight line for your savings fence, they will take a long time to grow, stick a few dead logs in the ground, it may not keep the pony confined, but should at least stop him from stepping on or eating your seedlings. I thought about telling you how to train your pony, but this is a bit like taking your bank manager out to lunch, a considerable waist of time and money right now…

Your prettiest fence is the palling fence of superannuation. It is similar to your post and wire. But it needs a little more work and you need to keep an eye on it. Paint it and every few years go back and paint it again. By this I mean check your super statement and make sure that it is being the best it can be for you. Be prepared to change the fund or if you can change the style of use in the fund

Finally, start looking at your Insurances fence. Start slow and just get all the rocks you find in the paddock into a line and build up on it. This wall is a long term project but the sooner you start the better this is. I am quite sure that the concept of life insurance in your twenties is rather foreign, but your premium will be low and you are young and fit to so your premiums should be low, jump on this, start your wall and watch it grow. Your friends will take out policies later in life, but they need to catch up in payments to you, so the premium will be much higher and they also run the risk that by health and other lifestyle choices they may not be able to get this cover at all.

READER ACTIVITY. Review the information you collected on each fence and decide if you have any Phantom Fences.

Chapter 8

Real Estate

I have left the real estate market out of the story for now; it is certainly not a mistake but a deliberate act. My view of the real estate market is somewhat obscure. I think it comes down a lot to having a varied upbringing with respect to housing. We had a nice family home. This was sold when my parents got divorced and we had another smaller lovely home with mum and my step father and a lovely old home with my father. Dad moved into a gorgeous home with a lady, but that all went south and he lost the home and eventually sub divided that back yard to pay all her costs (or make money) and ruined a lovely parcel of land. My parents moved overseas and we just lived in a big open plan home and they eventually moved back to a simple and stunning home on a cliff top overlooking the beach. Location, Location, Location.

Eventually, post divorce, I would buy a home it is in a simple small town on the Mornington peninsula, served well by roads and rail. My home is old but comfortable and has a great shed and entertaining area. I bought based on location. I had chosen this town as it was near work, near future work and nestled amongst wineries, café and antique shops. It is not a flashy home but the purchase price was on my budget. I wanted to spend enough to get a good foothold in the market, but not extend my mortgage beyond reason.

So we move back to my story and the pony. It is clear your pony needs somewhere to live so sure, buy a house. Buy something nice, buy something you like and can afford. There are a few great blogs and papers on the battle between renting and buying. You an also get investment only loans where you only pay the interest on the loan and then sell the property to cash in on the capital growth (if any) there are many strategies. You can negatively gear properties where rental losses are deducted against income to minimise tax (but this does not minimises income with respect to child support and alimony or other income assessed payments so beware and be informed).

But a house is not a fence and you need to be clear on this. The house may be built on one side or a corner of your property, but it is not a complete fence. I think this is better explained by the perils of having a home viewed as fence. Again viewed with respect to each style of fence:

The family home is not Cash flow. It does not supply an income. It can be rented out either partially or totally, but this still needs to provide you somewhere to live and after fees and taxes, this may not help. The second fence is a long term investments. Ok, this is a fence you can join your house to. In your retirement, you may sell and downsize, using the cash/equity to live off or fund other projects. But the house as purchased does not provide a retirement income.

The third fence is short term investment and savings. Our house can’t touch this fence, you may be able to sell some lemons from the tree or start a B’n’B in the fourth bedroom, but that is then end.  Our final stone insurance fence again could be attached to the house, when you leave the planet, you estate can cash up the home and distribute the income across your family. This is a general rule for elderly singles, or where they just want to stay in the family home and leave it all up to the local branch of the guide dogs to sort out. There is nothing wrong with this approach; it makes no sense insuring you against death when there is no realistic carer or beneficiary.

READER ACTIVITY. Why are you reading this book? What is your view on real estate, review your answers from earlier as to how this chapter may have impacted on that. Write down three to five additional reasons you are reading this book.

Chapter 9

Different Animals

I don’t mind what animals you choose to put in your paddock, perhaps the giraffe will need taller fences? Or the snake could be a little tricky to encapsulate. The lion is stunning but may be hard to control regardless of your fences, sure rabbits will bread well but will dig up your paddock and the dog is lovely, but will just get bored and need to be walked every day. They all are valid, but alter the model somewhat. It is a traditional model with traditional livestock type animals. So if you can picture it in a John Wayne western movie, put it in the paddock and run with it, otherwise we need changes to the model.

I offer this only as an exercise in soul searching and self analysis. I provide the following from a swift network search and have edited down the text from http://www.gobankingrates.com/savings-account/chinese-new-year-animals-sign-your-saving-money-habits/

It’s fun to examine the signs associated with Chinese New Year animals, particularly when looking at financial personalities. If you find that your personality is similar to that of your animal sign, it’s good to know there are ways to ensure your ability to spend, save and grow money responsibly is always intact.

Which Chinese New Year Animals Are Good with Money let’s take a look at the 12 Chinese New Year animals represented in the zodiac, along with the characteristics that could dictate their financial personalities:

1. Rat/Mouse The rat is the first sign in the Chinese calendar and represents progress, exploration and insight. Financial Personality: Thrifty. The rat is among the thriftier signs on the Chinese zodiac.
2. Ox As the second sign in the zodiac, the ox is considered the stabilizing force that perpetuates the life cycle. Financial Personality: Cautious. The ox believes in security and therefore, does not believe in taking wild financial gambles.
3. Tiger The tiger is one of the more adventurous signs in the zodiac. It loves to blaze new trails and seek the unattainable. Financial Personality: Spender. The tiger is known for being a sign that loves to spend money and take financial risks.
4. Rabbit/Hare The rabbit is said to be in tune with the pulse of the universe, continuously aligned with harmony and inner peace. Financial Personality: Security Seeker. Rabbits enjoy seeking security through their finances.
5. Dragon The dragon is fired up about life, carrying energy and a heroic heart. Financial Personality: Non-Saver. There are people who save and people who don’t. Dragons fall into the latter category, never really caring about accumulating money.
6. Snake The snake is known for showcasing wisdom and continuously seeking purpose. Financial Personality: Risk Taker. On the financial side, the snake is considered a bit of a risk-taker, not afraid to jump head first into a financial deal — or even a shopping spree — without thinking about what’s at stake.
7. Horse The horse loves to run free in its beautiful pasture. Financial Personality: What Money? Horses don’t think too much about money since it doesn’t constitute happiness or well-being to them.
8. Sheep/Ram/Goat People born as sheep are known for being sincere, gentle and compassionate, while showcasing tremendous creativity and artistic ability. Financial Personality: Money/Beauty Lover. Sheep have a love affair with beautiful things and enjoy spending money on material possessions like clothing and accessories to ensure they always look good.
9. Monkey Known for being brilliant and able to achieve the impossible, individuals born under this sign make great inventors, motivators and even magicians. Financial Personality: Spender. Like the tiger and dragon, monkeys are not big on saving money.
10. Rooster The rooster is known for clockwork and precision (much like the actual animal). Financial Personality: Advisor. As you can imagine, being so precise, the rooster is not only known for managing money well, but offering others fantastic financial advice.
11. Dog The dog is the protector of justice and champion of equality, always living from a place of honour and never succumbing to cowardice. Financial Personality: Secret Saver. On the whole, they are hard workers who save for the future, making their money management capabilities very sound.
12. Boar/Pig The boar is known for honesty, simplicity and courage, and is bonded to all mankind by goodwill and fellowship. Financial Personality: Thrifty/Spender. Boars can be both thrifty savers and big spenders.

READER ACTIVITY. What animal best describes you?

Chapter 10

Crisis (What to Do If Your Pony Has Gone)

It is not impossible to wake up one day and find that your pony has gone. There are a variety of ways this can happen, both in the analogy and in the real world. I’ll just summarise them fence by fence and outline how other fences can be raided for resources and raw materials to re-build the new fence.

Cash flow Fence – This is likely that your income stream can dry up. In your early working years it is common, but in you later working life it can be very difficult to recover from. In short you need to re-establish your income stream and find another job. But you also have a saving resource that may be able to help. You also have some longer term resources aligned to super that may be able to be accessed. And finally over in the insurance world, you hopefully have some income protection insurance. Now, this is not a stream I have, it is not needed under my conditions of employment, but either for sickness or for general loss of income, these insurances will replace your income stream.

Short term saving and investments – it is expected in this model that this fence will come and go in size and appearance. Generally as long as you have an income, you can rebuild this fence. Perhaps though look at it as a short term slush fund for holidays and stuff, and then perhaps have a longer term fund or pool for capital purchases, medical costs or car and house costs.

Super and long term investments – It is very unlikely that this fence will go. There is however always a risk with funds on the global market that there is a wipe-out. But you should have discussed your appetite for risk with you financial advisor and either be prepared or shored up against this type of loss.

Insurances – It is very unlikely that this fence will go. There is however always a risk with funds on the global market that there is a wipe-out. But you should have discussed your appetite for risk with you financial advisor and either be prepared or shored up against this type of loss.

There is one other event that I would like to cover and that is the one that lead me to writing this book, my pony just left. My marriage failed and I saw my pony disappear. In my case, my pony had no financial value, but represented my hopes and dreams. It was my pride, my reason for living and working. It was the mascot of my family who I loved with my heart….

In our situation, we both knew how the pony principle worked. I had tried to build my fences some years back for a very small pony I was given as a gift, and she was given a lovely paddock for a slightly more mature pony by her family some years ago and had a good head start on me.

When the pony walked out, in effect her paddock nicely a joined we kind of shared some fences and just re allocated some others. This kind of falls over in the analogy, ‘because two squares can’t adjoin each other on all sides, but is kind of how it worked.

We took a few rocks out of the insurance wall and made two fences. We both took cutting off the saving branches and replanted, we went palling for palling along the super fence and there was plenty of posts and wires in the cash flow fence to build two new paddocks. Sure none of the fences were great, they all needed heaps of work, BUT I had my cash flow, I had my main fence and these resourced the repairs on the other sides. My savings were gone, but I just had to water those cuttings to grow my hedge row and soon the pony would be back in the paddock.

Now not all stories are that simple, some are much uglier. But I doubt you will get out without cash flow and at least the building materials of your other three fences. Please don’t anyone, of any demographic have a whinge about Child Support or alimony. It is the cost of raising a child. My Son is brilliant, he eats well, excises well and has an active mind fed on Lego and computer resources. I would pay that money anyway, under my roof or his mothers. In a way, it makes it easier to budget sending that payment to her, and any extra I have in my balance sheet we can spend for fun as essentials are largely done. I also do not condone or suggest that you try to minimise the amount of money you spend on your kids under your care or that of the other parent. Minimise Tax if you can cut down waist, but do not rip of your kids.

I think in this book I have told my readers a few time to just shut up and get on with it, but again…. The pony has bolted, repair the fences and get on with it. I have another book on Divorce in general called “I had to loose my wedding ring to improve my golf swing” otherwise called a casual 18 holes after separation that I commend to your reading.

READER ACTIVITY. Why are you reading this book? Are you in a crisis or do you need a few notes on a crisis first aid plan.

Chapter 11

Photos in Your Pony Paddock

This is the end of the story; I have hopefully passed on to you something of value. But in summary, it really is just a framework. The key is to start building, get those fences in order.

Perhaps you will build only three of them in an odd shaped triangle. Perhaps one of your fences will curve a little and look more like a five or six sided paddock. This is common when some of your phantom fences in effect get there own life.

But in the long term, your aim is to have a healthy happy pony, in a safe paddock and well cared for.

Perhaps you will have your home built in or near the paddock, enjoy it, take photos of it and continue to care.

At the start of the book, I did outline that this is my story, it is my philosophy, but it is not, nor doe sit replace professional accredited financial advice.

~ The End ~