Sydney family earning $250k—upgrade home, renovate, or invest? What would you do?

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PixelRift

New Member
Seeking advice. Family of four. Kids are 5 and 12. Wife works from home four days a week.

Combined salary: $250k. Plus another $30k cash.

Home: 3 bedrooms, pool. Worth $1.1m. Sydney. Mortgage: $620k.

Savings: $15k. Cash: $10k.
Shares: $10k.
Car debt: $30k.
Credit card: $4k.
Super: $260k combined.

We’ve outgrown the house. Five-year-old’s stuff is everywhere.

Sell and upgrade? Bigger mortgage. Sydney is expensive.
Renovate? The house needs love. Garage → room/office? Adds value.
Refinance? Lower rate. Clear car and credit card debt.
Invest in the home? More life, more storage.
Investment property?
Investment property through super?
Talk to a broker?
See a financial planner?

Open to discussion. What w ould you do?
Leaning toward home improvements + investments.

Any advice appreciated. Thank you.
 
People often ask for investing advice without stating their goals. You cannot build an investment strategy without clear goals.

Begin by writing down your goals. List your short term, medium term, and long term goals. Estimate how much money you will need for each.

Next, use a reliable source to learn about different investment types, or asset c lasses. Examples are cash, bonds, property, equities, and crypto. Each type carries a different level of risk and suits a different time frame.

Choose low risk investments for short term goals. Consider higher risk investments for long term goals. Usually, higher risk offers the chance for higher returns.

Think about the effort involved. For example, directly investing in property requires more work than investing in equities through ETFs. Property is also less liquid and less diversified.

Also, research the tax rules for different investments. For long term goals like retirement, investing through a super fund can offer the best tax benefits.
 
It sounds like you're on the right track.

You're thinking of two separate strategies.

First strategy:
Consolidate your debt into your mortgage.
Do a small renovation in the garage and add an extra bathroom.
Then get finance to buy an affordable investment property.

Second strategy:
Buy a property using your SMSF.
The maximum value might be around $650,000 to $700,000.
The final amount will depend on a more detailed look.
 
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