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| Peter H - From Chooks to Piggy Banks |
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"It was easy to pick up. I'd never had any financial training, I didn't even finish grade 10 to be honest. Now I'm getting a return on my money in excess of five per cent a month, rather than getting that a year" The inspirational story of a local farmer and his finances just goes to show you reap what you saw, a little knowledge goes a long way on the stock market. Peter Hatchman's name may be perfectly suited to his current vocation as a chicken farmer but his dreams are not. They involve activities more along the lines of golf, fishing and spending time with his kids. Up until just a few years ago, however, even these goals seemed too lofty for a happy-go-lucky Glasshouse Mountains bloke who clocks up around 90 hours a week working on his farm." I didn't think it was going to happen. I just never thought I was going to get there" Peter says. These days it is a different story. ‚"I think we'll seriously look at retiring in no more than three years and just trade the marke" he says with confidence. Two years ago Peter enrolled in a course with ACOFE to learn how to increase hi s income by investing in shares. By sitting through a few lessons in the air conditioned ACOFE classrooms at Sippy Downs approximately one weekend every couple of months and once a fortnight on a weeknight, Peter garnered the skills to personally earn more money on the stock market than many of the banks managed funds provide. "It was easy to pick up. I'd never had any financial training, I didn't even finish grade 10 to be honest", he says. "Now I'm getting a return on my money in excess of five per cent a month, rather than getting that a year." It's hard to believe isn't it? The stock market has such a scary reputation and the average person goes through their life thinking it is no place for novices, suspecting it is far safer to put hard-earned savings into the hands of a stranger and hope they crunch the numbers correctly. But Peter's story seems to be saying just the opposite. Is he one of the lucky few who manages to make the market work in his favour, or does he spend his days glued to the computer screen watching values rise and fall? As a matter of fact, neither. "I usually spend about 20 minutes a day on it, when I go in for breakfast or at night after dinner" he says, "I download the information and make a decision and that's it. It's quite easy really." In fact, Peter actually has fun doing it. "It's just an enjoyable pastime really, and making money doing it doesn't hurt either" he says. Retirement here he comes. ‚ÄúI was just looking for better education and training so I could invest and get better returns than the portfolio returns I was getting‚Äù, he explains, ‚ÄúI learnt how to trade, how to pick the right stocks, how to get profits into a decent spot and when to take them. |