by Erika Jonsson As the father of four young children, Marc Bullen knows he needs to think ahead when it comes to money.
“I’ve always wanted to invest for the kids’ futures,” he says. “We were putting a few dollars a week into individual accounts but now we’ve combined that in a family trust to make sure we’ll be able to help them in the future – whether it’s buying a car, education, or helping them with travel, which I didn’t really get to do. Instead of getting 1% in a bank account, we wanted to put that money to good use in the future.
“It’s only a small amount, but it all makes a difference when you continue to reinvest. We’re making regular deposits and then putting in extra payments when we can, from things like football payments or tax returns.”
Marc is a former AFL footballer who now works in human resources as well as coaching Western Region Football League powerhouse Deer Park. He has led the club to six successive premierships – an accomplishment that makes him exceptionally proud.
“It was an amazing relief to get the sixth premiership – you never go into coaching expecting to achieve these things and it’s amazing to hold the metropolitan record for coaching in my sixth year in the job. It’s definitely a relief for my wife when footy season finishes – she’s an amazing support for me and for my side passion, which I don’t think will ever leave me.”
Marc wanted an investment option that wouldn’t take too much time to manage and chose Six Park after seeing the company’s performance returns on social media.
“I’m a bit time-poor – I work 50-60 hours a week, I have four kids and coach a football team, so it needed to be easy and it was,” he says.
“The team made it very simple, and the feedback and communication were terrific; I can see how it’s tracking at the click of a button and I feel like I’m in control rather than just getting an annual summary in the mail. It’s easy to follow; you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to follow it and track where your money is.”
He says teaching his kids about the fundamentals of finance is prominent at home.
“The kids earn their pocket money from a chores point of view and we’re trying to educate them slowly on the importance of money and managing it well,” Marc says.
“We want them to be aware of what things cost and how lucky we are compared with a lot of other families.”