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Greg is a proud husband and father of two young women, all living in Victoria, Australia. He has a long history of playing local cricket (poorly) and being involved in the volunteer effort required to run several cricket clubs. He also heads up the local chapter of Tough Guy Book Club, a great global organisation that aims to get men to read more, talk more and have more friends. Formerly a mechanical engineer working in the industrial sector, he has more recently opted for a slightly slower pace of life, managing automotive and small engine workshops.
Comments
Thanks Howard. I love the term "non-plan plan". Agreed with your take on luck - I will gladly confess that a whole lot of where we are at is due to our incredible good fortune.
Post: Locking it in
Link to comment from September 9, 2026
Oh my goodness. Personalised socks and hangers would just blow my feeble mind! Good luck Mark, I hope it all goes well.
Post: A Wedding Too Far
Link to comment from September 9, 2026
Agreed Dick - spending money on family and friends is a wonderful thing.
Post: Wedding Cost is just the beginning
Link to comment from September 9, 2026
Dick, I'm a pretty simple character so won't pretend to know all the details. But I don't think that the loan term extended out when the money was redrawn. Just don't quote me on this! All I really knew was that paying extra off the mortgage was good, redrawing from the mortgage was bad. And that drove our behaviour.
Post: Locking it in
Link to comment from September 9, 2026
Dick, our mortgages in Australia are setup such that any payments above the minimum can be redrawn. We paid down our mortgages as aggressively as we could, then used those over-payments as a fund to tap as required. Now debt free also, so we have tap into investments from time to time.
Post: Locking it in
Link to comment from September 7, 2026
Thanks for a great piece. I reckon that I have a slightly different slant on comparison. I quite like to be a step below the "Joneses". I embrace the idea of being neat, tidy and functional, but deliberately less than the Joneses. I take a certain backwards pride in having an older car, smaller house and cheaper clothes. I suspect I'm not alone in the HD community.
Post: The Economy of Expectations
Link to comment from September 7, 2026
I quite like the phrase "violently executed", but agree that it might not be appropriate for personal finance.
Post: Locking it in
Link to comment from September 7, 2026
Jeff, I think the term "intentional spending" sums up the core of success for lots of people. Nicely put.
Post: Locking it in
Link to comment from September 7, 2026
What a joy to tap into your home equity to .... fix up your home!
Post: Locking it in
Link to comment from September 7, 2026
Marilyn, I see some personal finance experts with quite elaborate sets of buckets. I think that for many people they work well, but I always find it a bit complex and overwhelming.
Post: Locking it in
Link to comment from September 7, 2026