b'ROI Taking a putt on investingRoss Greenwood explains.THINKFORAMOMENTHOWITWOULDSo,letslookatinvesting.TocoinanotherTakingtheWestpacMIsurvey,consumer FEEL TO BE GOLFER JASON DAY in the formsportinganalogy,thisisthetimeforpre- confidence is measured by telephone surveys of his life. That as you stand over a drive, or aseason practice. Its time to look at a lot ofof 1200 adults aged over 18 years, selected putt, you are certain it will go exactly whereproperty,toassessthebusinessmeritsofat random, from around Australia. Each time you want. Or AFL star Buddy Franklin, at thea lot of shares and to get your debts underthe survey is conducted, different people are peak of his career, knowing that he can changecontrol to the point you can take advantageselected. Now I understand these statisticians the course of a game and lift his team matesof the opportunities when they come alongknow what theyre doing with these surveys, with his personal effort. (rememberthosemissedchancesbecausestandarddeviationandallthat.Butjustas Thats confidence. you werent organised?). there is no one housing market in Australia, Thekey,asalways,whenspottingagoodIalsoknowthatconfidencelevelswillbe For all of us, confidence and form are mostlyinvestmentistowatchcashflow,includingdifferentdependingonwhereyouliveand elusive. But as Arnold Palmer (among others)your own and that of your potential targets. Thewhere you work, because the most important famouslysaid:ThemoreIconfidence is your own. practise, the luckier I get. THE KEY, AS ALWAYS, WHEN SPOTTING ADuringAustraliaslast AndthatluckorconfidenceGOOD INVESTMENT IS TO WATCH CASHrecession28 years agoI comes with missing a shot orFLOW, INCLUDING YOUR OWN ANDcan remember mates of mine losing a game. That experienceTHAT OF YOUR POTENTIAL TARGETS. THEdoing it tough, not being able makes you better the next timeOTHER THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT,to find work for months. Theyd you confront a similar situation. AS A POTENTIAL BUYER, YOU HAVE THEsay: Its really hard out there. BasketballlegendMichaelId nod and agree that it was ADVANTAGE OF BEING ABLE TO SAY NO,tough. But at the same time, I Jordan once said: Ive missedWHICH YOU SHOULD SAY AND OFTEN, AShad never done better because morethan9000shotsinmyYOU ASSESS YOUR TARGETS. of my personal circumstances career.Ivelostalmost300 games.Twenty-sixtimesIveand my confidence.been trusted to take the game-winning shotother thing to remember is that, as a potentialIts the same now. The first thing in making and missed.buyer, you have the advantage of being able tothe most of dull markets is an understanding say no, which you should say and often, as youof the markets around you plus a heightened That said, on 24 occasions, he won a gameassess your targets.with a buzzer-beater, a basket hit within theawareness of your own circumstances. It also final 10 seconds, including in major play-offs.Some might say that whats been holding backhelps to have a banker who has confidence in Theyre the shots that people remember. growth in the Australian economy is the lack ofyou at the right time.confidence. The problem is that this argumentThatll certainly help you when you need to Thesamementalitygoesforinvesting.Theistryingtodeterminewhetherconfidence more you practise, the more experience youdroppedbecausetheeconomyormoremake a clutch shot!have. And the more experience you have, thespecifically house pricesstarted to fall, or more confident you are when you make anvice versa. But there is little doubt both are investment decision. connected. For now it has fed into business Whilemanybemoantheiradvancingyears,confidence, to much vaunted animal spirits thegreatadvantageistheabilitytohavethat Reserve Bank Governors like to encourage seen this all before. In your 20s or 30s youfrom time to time.mightmissopportunitiesbecauseyouareOn this subject, its worth pausing and working starting a family. You may not be able to getout what consumer confidence really is. Apart aloan.Perhapsyoureworriedaboutyourfrom your own personal straw poll of family or career or youre not confident enough to takepeople at your local golf club, its measured the plunge. The more you see, the more youbytheANZBankandRoyMorgan,and experience, and the better you are at summingseparatelybyWestpacincollaborationwith up a situation and taking the shot. the Melbourne Institute (MI).URBANDRIVER29'