Sunday Mail have released the Top 100 Queensland Rich List yesterday.
At the bottom of the list (#100) is Terry White, founder of Terry White Chemist. So what is the net worth of someone at the bottom of the list?
$45 MILLION.
There you go. None of us will be able to even get to the bottom rung of a rich list. I hope you feel much better about your life now! 
However, if you’re like me and actually got motivated by the whole list then read on.
Halfway through the list is the Saragossi family, net worth $195mil.
The king of the Queensland’s rich this year is Clive Palmer, the mining mogul. Net worth, $6.23 BILLION.
Yes. BILLIONS. Want to know something interesting? That billion that he’s got, is $320mil LESS than what his net worth was last year.
The man loss $320mil but is still sitting pretty? Top that!
Notable mentions: Number 38, net worth $232million is Malaysian-born geologist Sammy Chong. Putting two and two together, I’ve decided to quit my Masters and just stay home and wait for the wealth to come, seeing that I’m a fellow Malaysian. Something tells me that’s not gonna work but hey, it’s all about thinking and getting your brains working. At 6am.
So, to us hoi pollois, what does this list mean to us? Aside from making us more depressed than we have been before you read this? (I’m sorry!)
It means that us—yes, us—as in you and I, us—can do it too.
Why do I say that?
Despite some people in that list inheriting their wealth or built up an inherited company and gained wealth in the process, more than half of the people in that list started out as normal people. Or as the case of the Tony Quinn (number 51, net worth $194mil) he started out dirt poor.
Spunk, guts, intelligence, right place at right time, call it what you want but there’s no saying you cannot achieve it.
Now, let’s have a bit of fun. Let’s do some calculations!
Oh wait, I’m sorry. Maybe that’s not fun for you guys. Which is why I’ll do it for you. Cos my Banking and Finance degree says I can.
I’m going to calculate how you and I can get to our first millions, solely depending on my big brain’s mechanism.
Heh. I joke. I’m using this calculator. These are all in Australian dollars. Assuming that interest rate is 5% p.a and America doesn’t do any further damage to our world’s economy (I joke! I joke! Don’t flame me.)…
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if you save $400 per month, which is doable because it’s only $100 per week, you’ll reach your first million in 48 years 10 months. Which is very good news if you’re reading this at 18. Not so good if you’re 50 years old. I’m sorry, old geezers.
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However, assuming you old geezers are in beneficial employment, and thus not a starving fat student like moi, and thus can afford to put away $1000 per month, it’ll take you 32 years 11 months to reach your first million. Not too bad, that’s only $250 per week!
But let’s say we have a set time that we want to reap our $1mil. Say that we want it within 20 years: with zero savings, you will need to save $2,432.89 per month.
That’s not too bad!
Of course, my calculations is grossly simplified because I did not take into account mortgage repayments, car loans, recurring bills, that money you owed on dad’s credit card when you were a wild partying student (who me? Never!), and all the other financial commitments that will come later. But still, that figure gave us a glimmer of hope and hopefully anyone reading this will be motivated enough to find a calculator that will correspond to their currency and budget.
You can still use the Australian Government Savings Calculators, and play around with the variables. Change the interest rate (if applicable). The currency should not be an issue because it is calculated based on numbers, not denominations. Meaning to say if you put pesos, dinars, rupees on it it’ll still work. As long as the monthly amount corresponds to your earning abilities and whatever it is you can afford to set aside. For example, I always say weekly because in Australia you’re usually paid weekly or fortnightly, and $100 per week is not that hard to come by. However, this number might be irrelevant to others who are paid by the month or whose currency value is different (100 Japanese yen and 100 Swiss francs are totally different from 100 Australian dollars!).
So go ahead, use the calculator and start squirreling away money. Your goal don’t have to be 1 mil, it could be anything and knowing how much to put aside to get there is always a motivator.
If $2500 per month can yield you $1mil in 20 years, imagine what $1000 or even $500 per month can do?
With that note for thoughts, I bid thee adieu as I prepare to head to uni. You know, all in the name of gaining a paper so I can slave this rich-in-fat self with any of these rich people.
Har har.
Filed under: money
