This year in particular, we’ve had to go through so much change after the pandemic. No one predicted interest rates were going to rise this soon, and no one really predicted that inflation was going to hit this high. Alongside so many unknowns, these are the top lessons we’re taking out of this year…

No one can control external factors. The only thing we can focus on is our personal economics.

A lot of people procrastinate or fear the next step because they’re worried about uncertainty. But in reality, there’s always going to be external factors in the world. No one would have predicted the Ukraine and Russia war. And, no one predicted that China was going to go back into lockdown, that would result in further supply chain issues. Instead of worrying about what’s going on outside, savvy investors will know to focus on what they can. Personal economics, and our personal finances. So long as you have that under control, then you can make better decisions.

Because after all, successful investing is about managing risk, not avoiding it.

You want to understand what the risks are, and be calculated about it. Build a contingency plan and put buffers in place, so you have a backup plan. And, importantly – still proceed. If you avoid risk completely, you’re missing out. It’s actually more risky, not to do anything. This applies to anything in life. The people who managed the risk this year will be rewarded when the market turns. Because when the market gets better, what happens?… Everyone else jumps in.

Resilience and adapting are what will get you through, and have you showing up differently.

There’s so much change all the time. Anticipating what might come up and adapting to your market, will keep you ahead of the curve, and showing up differently to your competitors. This mentality applies for a lot of things we’ve done this year. We knew that it was going to be a challenge for a lot of people with interest rates and also inflation. So, what we did as a business proactively, was to contact customers and let them know that their interest rates may be increasing. Giving them at least a heads up in that way, and planning for it rather than to tell them last minute. That was something we did really differently. To proactively contact our customers and let them know. That’s what consistently makes us stand out. In that, we’re actually trying to educate our customers and inform them. Because you don’t get paid for that. But it’s what sets you apart.

Self-belief we’ve seen is the common theme all the most inspiring people in life share.

Even the most successful people have really big doubts in their mind. But it’s their unwavering self-belief that overrides these fears. They’re not looking for external validation and I think that’s such a good trait to have. To focus on yourself… believe in yourself… and back yourself in what you believe. And, if you truly believe that is the right thing, good things are going to happen.

2023, I think, is going to be exciting because we’ll start to see normalisation of interest rates.

We’ve already had a really big year of increases and I think next year we’re going to see a bit of normality, with some return to normal life. We’re two years out of the pandemic now, so I feel like things are going to settle down a bit. Supply chain issues will probably drop to more normal levels, and overseas economies are largely easing. Alongside this normality, people can have less fear, giving less of their focus to uncertainty.

As the bulk of fixed rate loans come off next year – there’ll be higher interest rates to face, but more opportunity overall. Banks will undoubtedly be doing lots of interesting things to boost their numbers and attract customers. It’s going to provide a great opportunity for people to regain control over their finances, by really knowing their numbers. A lot of people were flying blind over recent years as debt was so cheap. People were just taking on debt for no reason. While some people will be in stress next year, more people taking control of their household budget is a good thing. You want to be able to carry those traits into the rest of your life.

The exciting part is the property market will probably recover towards the mid-end of next year. As interest rates stabilise it will give more confidence to people. Investors will return as well as rent is going up quite a lot. When people realise the cost of renting is almost the same as buying, more people are going to start buying. Buyers seeing their wealth growing from their properties, only further underpins the property market, from which most of Australia gets its wealth.

Technology will be really big next year, changing many industries with working from home quite normal now. There are some great things coming for the mortgage broking industry in this respect, so I’m really excited for that as everything is moving digital (e.g. digital loan documents, greater digital process for customers, where they don’t need to really visit physical branches anymore). Saving more and more time for the customer.

If I was to sum up the learnings from the year, with respect to everything we’re still excited to learn – “What I know will fill a book, what I don’t know will fill a library.”

And on that note, a reminder for us to always be learning and soaking up information – oh, and happy holidays!