Meet Todd Slater
I’m Todd, a pharmacist, husband to Margaret and father to Scarlett and William.
I’m the part owner of a pharmacy that has been in my family since my father, Bob, opened it in 1979. Once I qualified in 2011, I joined him to work there and bought a stake in the business in 2017.
The pharmacy has become a pillar of our community here in Brisbane and I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to buy into the business and to have learned so much about cost management and financial literacy from my father.
Why I decided to trust Stockspot with our investment portfolio
I have always had an interest in saving money. When I was younger, I would always offer to go to the shops for my parents and buy milk or the paper – they would very rarely see the change!
As I grew older I started to read magazines like Money and books like The Barefoot Investor.
I was always a good saver growing up. I would do chores around the house and wash the cars to make money. I would save as much as I could and always kept my costs quite low.
I was quite fortunate to be able to buy a townhouse in my early twenties and, although it did not turn out to be a great investment in terms of capital return – I lost about $20,000 after 10 years – I learned a lot about managing expenses early on.
I think, like many people, I would think of ways to build wealth quickly.
But the more I learned from the books and magazines I read, the more I realised that wealth is rarely created quickly and is generally accumulated through long-term investing.
Initially, I didn’t have a large amount of money to invest and though I was always very interested in buying stocks, I didn’t have the knowledge of the stock market.
I came across an article on Stockspot and the founder, Chris Brycki, and found his approach to investing to be really enticing.
“Stockspot, to me, seemed to genuinely want to help people gain exposure to the stock market, without the huge fees some other companies were charging.”
My investing experience
I have two Stockspot accounts with two different goals.
The first is an account for myself and my wife which we would like to remain untouched until our retirement age and which will help ensure a stress-free retirement.
The second is an account for our two children, which we would like to remain untouched until they are in their twenties.
We hope to be able to teach our children about the importance of good money habits and I feel this account will be pivotal to achieve that goal.
What I like about Stockspot
I like the philosophy of Stockspot – and everything they do stays true to that philosophy. Each year, the team sends out Christmas cards to the kids which is a really nice touch.
The Stockspot goal tracker is a brilliant tool to keep us engaged and excited about what our account could look like in the future.
I found the signup process to be very simple and easy to do. Overall, I really enjoy the experience of investing with Stockspot.
My money tips for those considering investing with Stockspot
My biggest tip would be to automate. As soon as you get paid, automate an amount to go straight into something like Stockspot. You won’t miss it and, over time, it’ll change your life.
My wife and I currently contribute weekly to both the accounts and we get an email telling us each time that funds have been received.
Stockspot has always been very transparent about any change of investment strategies which is really appreciated.
I think it is important to have some money in the bank for emergencies, however you won’t be getting the long term returns that you could be, by investing money in a low cost share portfolio.
