PHOTO: SUPPLIED Martin Hawes says he’s a natural optimist.
Financial adviser and author Martin Hawes.
What’s your biggest money mistake?
I think my biggest money mistake has been selling things. I look back over my lifetime and a couple of properties in particular that I’ve owned and I made a good profit on quite quickly and sold – I look at them now and one would have given more than 14 per cent return a year on investment over the past 35 years. I should never have sold it. But it’s easy to see that in hindsight.
What are you most proud of?
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve helped people, through books, seminars and one-on-one financial advice. I’ve given a lot of help to people with their finances. I could have earned a lot more with a different business model. But I’m happy to have had a slightly reduced income because it’s meant I’ve helped a lot of people with all aspects of money.
What do you wish you’d known when you were 18?
Patience. I wish I’d realised that compound interest would do its work. I think a lot of people get into their 40s and they’re not really getting ahead but they have got the gravy years coming when their children have left home and they’re at the top of their careers earning a lot of money.
What’s your most cherished possession?
My health. I would say my most prized possession is that I’ve still got my mind. Of material things, I have a 1798 grandfather clock that was bought about 50 years ago.
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