How This Single Mum Purchased 4 Properties on a Basic Salary

It's coming out of a very difficult situation where I had no control over my money. But not having access to your money, not even having a bank card to your name is a huge learning curve. Again, how you've got yourself that you said, come home, now trying to invest as well, 'cause we're sitting at three properties at the moment and ready to pull the trigger on the fourth. There were single parents listening to this going, how did she do it and can this be me? And I'll say this single parent working for the government in living in Southwest Sydney. So I am your very average Australian person. I don't have partner, I am the backup plan. So for me, I had to look at the options of, if I don't do this, what is option BCND? And they weren't looking very nice. - Good day everyone, welcome back to another built a different podcast. I love, love, love, love when we get clients that come on. First of all, there's a huge amount of bravery and vulnerability that comes in with sharing your own personal story as well. But today is an absolute, it's one that's very due to our heart. Lauren got Lauren from our team here in the studio as well. Renuka, Senfee, welcome on. - Thank you very much. I'm excited and grateful to be here. - Excellent, I was hoping you weren't gonna say nervous 'cause you were saying nervous before. Absolutely not, excited's what we want. - And grateful, I'm grateful for the support that Atelier always gives me so. - And back at you, I'm grateful that you've chosen us and we can only do great things when we go - Great clients, yeah, absolutely. - We're gonna cover a fair amount as you probably want to see in from the title today. But before we do start, this episode will touch on a few topics and issues which may for some people, at least at a response. So what I'm trying to say here is if you've gone through any type of abuse, financial abuse and any type of hardship in your journey, support is around the corner. 1800 respect is the number we're gonna say. And if you do need someone for a confidential chat, this is not us angling for business, but just to say anyone that wants to lend an ear, we are here. We're obviously not trained professionals, but Rena, you're gonna share your story. - Yes. - What's an all and it's, that's why I say it's a brave of you to do this because many of you've got a story that needs to be told. - That's very kind of you. - No, not at all, not at all. So for people obviously we've been privy to your journey. - Yeah. - For people new to your story, what they need and all about you that's got you to hear today. - So I just wanted to start with, I'm a 43 year old single mom to a primary school-aged son. And at 34 years old, I had to re-learn how to basically manage my finance, coming out of a very difficult situation where I had no control over my money. And at 34, after having a permanent stable job, I've always worked in the government, but not having access to your money, not even having a bank card to your name, is a huge learning curve. And in the past almost decade now, I've managed to really re-learn lots of basic habits and important skills that make me budget really well, hold my ability to be brave really well and also advocate for myself and my son really well. And that's really gotten me to where I am today in terms of having a roof over my head to call my own, not being dependent on anyone, but the number one thing which I really want to share today is using my money intentionally to keep me and my family safe and secure and going and allowing us to thrive in our future. But that's my journey in a nutshell. - It already feels a little bit heavy, doesn't it, Lauren, in a sense that? - I think as we know, yeah, sort of, yeah. - But it's also, I'm not sure how you go personally, but I think trust and finances for your increase goes hand in hand for Bernie and I, like I'm signing documents, I don't know what I'm signing sometimes, but it is a huge amount of trust that comes with your partner and finances in that relationship. For people that aren't aware, and again, when I preview to what happens, what does financial abuse look like on a day-to-day basis? - So I think it's just not knowing what happens to your money and for me, it was not even realizing that my salary wasn't going into my account. It's to that point where you don't have any access to be able to use your money to go and do whatever you want and really you often go and laugh at about leasing and things like that and don't get a callies. Erin, a callies actually saved my life. I didn't even have a car in my own name, but because I was a government employee, I was able to actually go out in a very difficult time, get a callies organized and get my first car in my own name. And that's why for me, sometimes it really depends on your perspective and I didn't get a fancy car, trust me. I was, I had a 17-month-old and I got a very basic car, but a callies allowed me to get a car to be safe for myself. So that's what some of these things really look like. And 10 years on, I must say that you can move on from that, you can learn and it really is growing with who you are and how you are, but also maintaining civil and makeable relationships with everyone in your past. And that is for me the most important thing. And just moving forward from that because you have to, you can't live in the past with what's happened because when you know better, you do better. I see, how do you reconcile that? You said obviously we've moved on to a point that there is, we're a makeable, that's not everyone. Civil and a makeable, 100% that's my motto. What work have you done behind the scenes to get yourself to this point, where you can stand up on your own defeat and not harbor any type of resentment, what? That's because I went through five years of failed infertility and I've never ever been pregnant until my child. I am so grateful to be a mom and regardless of the issues, I respect the position of that person in my life. And they've given me the greatest gift of all, which is to be a mom. I've always wanted to be a mom and my son is the most important thing to me. So for me, it doesn't matter what has happened in the past. I respect you in terms of the position you are in my life. Wow. It's incredible. That attitude, yeah. Is that all right? Absolutely, that's all right. Maybe honestly, this is your story. And Laura and I have been very fortunate, and I say fortunate because people have picked up the phone, taken that leap of faith to contact us. And the stories that we generally hear that we've got a lot of clients that have gone through, yeah. I won't say failed relationships 'cause it gets them to the next level in life. It's relationships that haven't worked. The financial they've been set back as well. And they're just, they don't know where their money's gone. And they feel that, yeah. So what's that turning point for you where you go 10 years of rebuilding? How much is involved in this rebuild process of say, it is so much. And I was just having a chat. It is so much because I've now, you know, my son was 17 months when I had to leave and I've now been single for four years. I tried to get back into a doubling into a relationship and that ended up going even more poorly because for me, I just didn't realize how important. You always talk about having the same blueprint. I really know that I want to be financially stable and having the same values is really important. And for me, going into a situation it might be a good word for it. With someone who really didn't have my same advocacy for being independent, going and really putting aside things for a rainy day, making sure like, I don't have any, I don't have a credit card. I have no debts, there's no after-pay loan because I'm very intentional with what I spend my money on. I don't buy coffee outs. I don't do any of those things because I know where I want to go long term. So 2.0 means knowing where every dollar goes, being very intentional with my money, going and having a plan but still having fun. But for me, the biggest thing is I'm raising a boy in this environment today. I want to make sure that I'm raising a son who is respectful, kind, resilient. No manosphere here. I really want to make sure in the day I need to have a hearing so many scary stories that I want to go and bring him up to be a good man to speak out for what's wrong, to not go in indulgent behavior which is really illegal, things like that. So that's always been my focus. So 2.0 is having money to give me the time to spend with him, to then raise him to where he needs to be. And that takes time and I don't have the ability to have like a wife or partner to be like, oh, can you do the laundry? No, I still have to do the laundry and do the lunchboxes and do the life at me. - Do I feel like when Bernie goes away for like one day, I'm like, whoa, you want to do all this? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Your fur babies and you take care of yourself on top of that. - So take me through. You've gone through survivor mode, you've gone into a rebuild mode. And even then you've had a few setbacks on the way as well. So it hasn't been smooth sailing. Take us through that rollercoaster of the highs and the lows from a financial perspective and again, how you've got yourself there. You said, got my own home? - Yep. - Now, trying to invest as well 'cause we're sitting at three properties at the moment and ready to pull the trigger on the fourth. - Yes, we are. - Excuse me, there'll be single parents listening to this going, how did she do it? And can this be me? - And I'll say this, single parent, working for the government in living in Southwest Sydney. So I am your very average Australian person where don't have a private job. I can't go and ask the boss for a raise like my salary is fixed. So what it was and two of the properties are in my SMSF I was listening to a podcast of yours maybe two years ago where you were talking about SMSFs and I didn't even know what that was. And you had a financial advisor [BLANK_AUDIO] Amanda Thompson and she's somebody who I use now but talking about an SMSF maybe 15, 16 years ago and I was a classroom teacher my desk buddy was an older gentleman he was like in his 50s and 60s and he was like you know you should do salary sacrifice I'm like I have no idea what that is and back in the day we're talking about pen and paper got this form for me and he was like I will do your lunch duty for a week if you put away 25 dollars of fortnight and this is when I first started and so I just signed the form and this is like no electronic stuff and things like that and 25 dollars a week for 15 years allowed me to go and build enough in my superannuation account to transfer it into an own SMSF to then be able to have an SMSF by myself compounding interest and wealth over time just let money grow and I want to say this about superannuation and often we talk about statistics women often have much less in super than men and superannuation is the one thing that if you feel that you can't save anywhere else depending on where you work I work in the government superannuation is pretext something you can put in save and grow and that has really allowed me to start building my property journey and it's given me the strength to be able to say wow I can do this and I can maybe retire with dignity and not have to worry about living on the government pension and having to worry about breaking a heap or being cold yeah as I age so to get the confidence then because obviously money is in super yeah so don't get the confidence to then roll that into an SMSF to think that confidence then go and pull the trigger and buy two properties take us through the decision making oh so what's the other option what is I don't have family in Sydney family for me my mom and sister who are my family they live in Malaysia my dad passed away very suddenly at 63 my mom was widowed at 59 so nearly 17 18 years ago and I know that some of the things that they did together as a couple has allowed my mom in her retirement to live comfortably I don't have partner I am the backup plan so for me I had to look at the options of if I don't do this what is option BC&D and they weren't looking very nice so I was like let me just have a go at this and I think one of the big things for me is after my very difficult journey I got some money from my settlement and I chose to go and buy a property in south west Sydney and the reason why I did that is that's what I could afford at the time a lot of people might say oh why did you buy that it's not a blue chip server in Sydney it's not one of the fancy tools you got on a soft spot for it because this is the anywhere I grew up as a boy but something that I realized the property that I bought and I bought it because I could afford it on my salary and I never wanted to be stretched that has doubled in value in eight years and I could see that in real time and for me it was well I can do that there and I can't really do it in anywhere else why don't I try it in my SMSF and I used one of the brokers that came on your podcast and they were fantastic in the process as well and no one else that I know in my immediate circle has done it in SMSF but I'm still young enough to have a crack and I and I have that mindset a little bit as little bad share friend gives me I can do hard things sometimes I have to remember that I can do hard things and if not me then who then she got to kick out again that and speaking out of language I know it's like can do you want to come and co-host with Aaron like I mean you're talking and we can tell you happy to name some names of the partners that you've used yeah so I was running search with search property and I don't mean to be mean but I actually used his wife's brokerage for that particular deal and they were fantastic and they introduced me to my accountant you talk about a team so you have helped me create my team so Amanda holds me accountable in terms of my financial planning and when I set up my SMSF you needed to have a financial advisor to sign off I will say this in camera I went to five or six different male financial advisors who basically scoffed and said we don't deal with anything under a million dollars that's crazy and I was like okay and then I just moved on some people didn't even bother applying yeah but that's a credit to you when you get a no you just go okay bang onto the next one and then onto the next one the fact you moved on a lot of people wouldn't just go oh okay I can't do it yeah yeah when I get a no I say let me show you how yeah you're listening this is I'm telling you this is what these top one percent of investors do this is what top echelon I'm not a top one percent what are you talking to me please are you getting to four with we're okay if you're not top one percent your top ten percent let's be generous at that point that's very gracious of you so even then your top ten percent of two million plus property investors in the country that puts what 200,000 yeah come on man give yourself some credit here yeah just because you refuse to take no for an answer start building the team I got nothing but love for Ravi and and the team and his wife and he fantastic really excellent and that's why we always get very protected about who we bring onto the potty because they do generally get people at least sit and reach out at the back of them and we don't want fly by night shy says why I never had goose in the team because I never trusted them right well I would need to say thank you to Lauren as well because unfortunately talk about setbacks I thought after Ravi there was a very something that was too good to be true sometimes is and I paid them money up front and then they passed one of the deals through and Lauren had to look at it and she was like she called me up and she was like do not sign this deal and I was like okay if she says no and it was fishy something was fishy really fishy what got your seat your seat you can't name them but we definitely know this entity I can tell you now they haven't been on the podcast so yeah yeah yeah the role of decks of past is they haven't been on yeah they haven't been on they're not from here I haven't even heard of them to be honest if I'm completely honest with you I think land size was like 200 yep meter squared block it was a new build in this subber saw many red flags just a lot of red flags and I just I think I called you and said just don't pull the tree right now just do some due diligence ask them this this and I did I get back to on that when I started asking more questions it was then a very aggressive response and for me that is like oh no thank you and I had to go through a lot of different ways but I've managed to go and get out of the membership get a bit of do you recall the questions what questions do you reckon you asked you push back on how long the build will take it was one of those house and land packages but also the size of the property versus the they hadn't even gone and done some of the approvals yet was very very early but they wanted some ridiculous amount like seven hundred thousand yes yeah it was I have to look I'm sorry I have to look at the email I can't remember yeah just watch you get that I want people to go yeah yeah from the other world if it smells fishy looks fishy yeah and I think you can ask questions and then they come back with you need to do it now within 24 hours that was a big red flag for us because it was Lauren had asked a couple of questions with a big joint email and it was you must sign this in this time but then three days later it was oh you can still sign it it was like yeah what is this about very pushing I mean that's the that's almost where we're trying to get to is like when people are being pushed it just reeks of commission breath yeah and I think we're being around for long enough is not as you where we go we can see what really good bays are doing we can see what really good partners are doing and when they come out of that it's very quick to go man that that's not a line to how we work and so many clients of you know probably save themselves a few dead deals by going into these like really pushy sales tactics got to take the deal right now I'll change and as soon as you don't sign they're like but you said they get really aggressive and that's what we talk about commission breath and I think just as you were speaking I think I remember just a lot of a lot of these bays maybe the smaller guys have team up with these builders and get kickbacks and I just something I just thought asked the question what what fee you're getting from from the builder like what what are we talking and I just think they just didn't they weren't happy about that either do you know do you know how much I'd probably get paid on that deal I have no idea they probably get nearly close to 50 grand you see all my emails as well and now at times you get like wow off the plane deals and opportunities and up to 50 grand in comms I'll pay and we've never we've never done a deal like that at all because where's that 50 grand that's baked into somewhere yeah and then the time lag there's a there's an investigation I was watching is about the property group yes the the cinema. - They did a really good piece. - Yes, I was feeding that too. - Delays on it, people asking questions when they're gonna be done, the investigation to the quality of work and build a race. - One of these ladies became a widow, like she had lost her husband and she was trying, yes. And it was just horrific, I'm like, oh my God. It's so sad. - Yeah, and so people can, people like you can have the right intentions to find the right team, but then such good sales professionals are trained to find weak links. - Yeah. - People are just, yep, they're so susceptible. Pay me the upfront on the membership. Pay me here, sign here, hustle, hustle, and then they just go absolutely MIA when they need a deliver, which is why I say choose a BA, choose a partner, look at the Google reviews, ask for a client reviews, for example, most good professionals, if you say, hey, give me a client that I could contact that can advocate for you, should have no hesitation in doing that. - True. - Yeah. - So take me through the two SMSFs, and your home, for example, and now you're looking to keep moving forward. - Correct. - Again, choppy waters you've gone through the setback there as well. Working with Lauren, and I've got to sing your praises Lauren here 'cause you've really taken the lead from a strategy perspective. So credit to you. What are you both working on to get the plan how to move forward and keep scaling? - So I have a very clear plan in my head. I would like to pay off my PPLR, my principal police of residence, by the time I'm 50, and the reason why I really want to do that is I would love to work in the not-for-profit space. So I am currently on a board for a not-for-profit organization for disability services, and being on that board and being able to advocate for people who can't advocate for themselves is one of the biggest joys in my life. I also work in the public sector, in the health sector, so a lot of my work is community service-based anyway. And so many of the not-for-profits, unfortunately, their budget is very tight. And in the spaces I want to work in the domestic family violence space, in the migrant refugee space, in the call space, I can't afford to pay my mortgage and work in that space. But if I have my home loan paid off by 50 and Lauren, I know we'll get me there. I can then really spend my time. Sun will be finished high school, but I can spend my time going and working in those spaces and having impact on community when they can't advocate for myself and bring my background from teaching and health care to be able to support people who can't always support and advocate for themselves. So that's my why. And I really want to pay off my home loan by 50. That's the north star for me, but not too, I can't imagine not working. I would get so bored. - Too not yet. - I love working so, yeah. - You, the brand, and do not. - Yeah, but I'd like to work in that space. - But I'd like to work in that space. - I'd like to work in that space. - Maybe what are you doing? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - You're a board, I agree. - Yeah. - But yeah, find something I'd like to. Is this, have you used the calculator? - You were in property accelerator groups. So, yeah, you have, and I think you were playing around with. Were you playing around with dollar amount? I think you were in one of them. - Dollar amount, yes. - Yeah, you were using different ways to use it. But, yeah, we're looking at, I've literally just put in my task to submit your pre-approval prepared with the lender. So, yeah, that's very exciting. - Yeah. - Because I don't necessarily want to move out of the area where I live in, I really am proud to live and work there. And there's so many things within the community that because of my knowledge and skills and experience that I know I can continue to support and work in so many spaces there. But to not have to worry about, I need to earn X amount of dollars to pay off my home loan and to be able to have the freedom to go and support people in communities would be amazing. That's the plan. - And it goes, you're going to be people listening going, how on earth is she going to be paying off her mortgage on a single income before the time she's 50? And for someone listening, - Yeah. - You've obviously put it out to the universe. I have no shadow of a dad's going to happen. Lauren's PPI pay down calc is the tool to then use to help someone visualize it. But in your mind, how are you so galvanized on this goal? - So I think for me, I know that it has to be a double strategy in some way. People talk about swim lanes. I use the swim lane analogy quite a bit. The PPLR with us and Atelier is one swim lane. But the second swim lane, which I'm really focusing on, is my actual career and my health and my relationships. But in terms of my career, I make sure that even though I'm in the government, I try to go and ask for opportunities to relieve at higher duties, to get the comments in other places, put my hand up. Is there something I can do and build the skills so that if I want to go to the next level, I've already got the skills to set myself up hopefully for a promotion position, to then increase my income that way. So I'm not just sitting there and saying, oh, I'll just go and wait for the yearly tick over. No, it's, do you need this done? Yes, give it to me. Let me see what I can do. Email my CVs out to a couple of people to say, happy to go and learn in this space. What would you like to do? But in the meantime, and Lauren's going to freak out a little bit, I would really like to do my masters. So I'm not going to get a heck stat. My plan is there's a couple of scholarships coming up to do an MBA and things like that. So I'm actually going to try and apply for a couple of scholarships. That's what I'd really like to do. So if I increase my study, increase the opportunities in terms of my work, hopefully I'll secure a promotion, build up my skills in other ways. So I will work on going and increasing my income as well as doing this. So it's a two way thing. And then the most important thing is the help. So I'm a big advocate for being healthy. Excellent. Two things that come up, one is you are the cash flow. But people are looking to properties for cash flow. In the amount of times, lots of people are like, the yields are compressed, whatever it's going to be. And the next one is when you talk about, I'm investing in myself for my career. There's a concept called talent stacking. So you are stacking. Everything that employer is looking for. The attitude, the education, the ambition. And so if I can learn that, then I become more valuable in the market. If I learn that, I become more valuable in the market. If I've got that, and I see that within the team, people want pay rises or whatever it's going to be. I'm like, you have to unlock level one, to get to level two, to level three. And there's a great concept called talent stacking. I think they use the example of Jay Z, where Jay Z was a rapper. And there's so many rappers out there. Then he has a production. Then he has other artists. Then he goes into merchandise. Then he goes into alcohol. And it's almost like you've just created this pyramid for yourself that you come unstoppable. And there's, with a pyramid, there's only so many rewards and the rewards are generally the top. So anyone, any captain of industry is probably earning the most, or they're attracting the most opportunities because they're putting themselves at the top of the food chain, where it's hard, you can't compete with that. You almost become the no-brainer candidate, because next to the candidate B, she's taking boxes and more. But it's hard. I think that's something that doesn't often come across from your podcast. My alarm goes off at 4.45 every morning, even on the weekends sometimes. And that's because I need to, I will out-hard work you. I know, that's what you say. I won't do that, but it does come at a cost. So my son's bedtime is 9.30, so it's mine. We are both in bed. And I don't drink alcohol. I'm very conscious of doing all those things. But it is sometimes exhausting to go and perform at that level all the time. But what is the other option for me? And I'm very clear that I am choosing not to go into the private sector. That's something that I am not interested in. I am very proud of where I work. And I have very, very supportive executive. I'm in a very supportive work environment, and I really do love where I work. I want to stay there. But how do I grow? I can't just be like, oh, give me a promotion, because I'm amazing. And I bake cookies. No, they're not going to do that. You have to deliver the output as well. And that means being responsive, being proactive, problem-solving, and going above and beyond. And sometimes it's sending emails on a Sunday and saying, I know it's a Sunday, but I just need to clear my inbox. Just let's just go with it. We should just end it on that point, man. Honestly, this is speaking the same language. And anyone that's listening to be built different-- this is what we're talking about. This is what build different looks like from our work perspective. This is what build different looks like from a properly perspective when you don't get things going your way. May you do not take no for an answer. I love having people like you that I get to talk to, and that people then get to listen to going. There are other people like me out there chasing bigger and better things. So what happens if it was not 50? What happens if it's 49 that you pay off your mortgage? I think it's amazing. How good is that, really? So what else are you doing to invest? And how are you going from a property journey? Because other people going, well, Renika, why don't you just pay off your mortgage quicker rather than buying an investment property, which probably going to cost you some. Why don't you just focus on doubling down a smashing down your mortgage instead of going by investment properties? Because you can't do that. The numbers don't stack up. Why? Because when you actually do the mats behind it, if anyone has extension to mats, you will know that in nine years, I cannot physically pay off with the interest. How much is left on my mortgage versus going and buying one or two investment properties, the growth in that versus selling it off? I am living example, my. PPLR has doubled in value in eight years. I see it because of that, we can go and draw equity from it. I cannot physically pay off that much. If you look at the New South Wales salaries, there is no amount of salary that I can get to in the next nine years that will get me to that amount. It is not possible for me. And if I wanted to smash my goal, maybe I could, but I need to go and get a job which is the salary so high, well, then it takes you further off course because you're not spending quality time at your son. - 100%. - And you're not being able to train or health wise because all that's going to happen is just the employer will own you financially. - Yep. - So you get one outcome but you've lost what your true values are as well, right? - And it's a big thing about values because I really advocate for the fact that I want to be a good mom. It took me so long I only have the one child. And I'm so conscious of he needs to in a day and age where we see kids fall apart. How do I teach him to be resilient? We play in three separate basketball, comes my life is basketball. Oh my God, we train so much. I score it's everything. But it is those skills that allow him to realize that's okay if I don't win. I play with different people. He's favorite thing we talk about money and finances. He's favorite thing in the world is to write his bike. Just go to the park and write his bike, go for gold and love kicking a ball around the house. That's what brings him joy, it's not money per se. There's some money things, but like he's in primary school. - They don't realize man, they're so innocent at that point. - Yeah. - They do not realize if you have money or not. - They realize if you have time or not. - Yeah. - But they don't realize if you have money or not. - My biggest expense on a week though and anyone who has kids liking bubble tea, he gets two to three bubble teas a week, a bubble tea is nine dollars four teas a day. - Is bubble tea more expensive than Yoshi? 'Cause I'm a golden, I'm a golden driver. - So we don't do Yoshi, we do bubble tea, but this is where you talk about budgeting and finances. I never buy myself a bubble tea because I know that I'm not gonna spend another 30 dollars on myself. He gets three bubble teas a week and that's 30 dollars and that's what I can afford. So it's always in the back of my brain, it is what is the give and take. And for some people they might think oh that's a really rigid lifestyle, but gives me the flexibility to do what brings us joy. - You're gonna watch the Lion King musical this Sunday, that will be good. We watch Spider-Man in D-Box, he loved that, but I don't need to have my own popcorn and my own drink in the movie. Just take a bottle of water, I'm fine. He had that, he enjoyed it and that brings me joy. - Excellent. Laura, I wanna go to you and say, when you've worked on Rene Cause Numbers and we've had a few other, quite a few single mums or single parents of all that have come through, what are you doing that other brokers have missed for example? 'Cause it's not, we're not the first brokerage that's gone to, what are you doing, what are you saying that's one instilling confidence and to giving a very clear road map? - So I think our first conversation was you'd been to a fair few brokers, multiple brokers coming to us. So that was part of the initial conversation, but we do multiple valuations with all different lenders. The fact you're a single parent wasn't a barrier for us. It's okay, well how are we gonna make this work? We managed to extract enough equity to put towards a pretty decently priced property that we're arranging the pre-approval for. But from memory, I think a previous broker told you that you're a single parent, I can't help you. There's nothing you can do. And we've managed to pull the equity out. We're getting a pre-approval. You've bought another property in your SMSF, which was actually meant to be for the property where we're renewing the pre-approval for, but because of the SMSF, changes we pivoted to put that in the SMSF so that we can still go ahead and get this next property. - And shout out to Artilia on the day of the changes because I already, I was getting this property for this called me and they were like, oh these changes are coming through. And we literally had to think on our feet and I was like, why don't we just use this property and try and pivot it to my SMSF? We got it in between the two lines. - Credit back to you, let me tell you. I came in one day to the office and there was this big box, big box waiting for me. But you have my name, I have my girls' names on it. And I said, what's this? We opened it up and there's two dolls in there that you've got. I think they're made by, was it? - They were made by, they were made by women in India. So I took my mom on a trip to India. My mom's got early stages dementia. So we're trying to experience things with her while she can still remember and we can still remember. But I got those two dolls because they were made for women from India who had gone and experienced domestic violence. And one of the big things is a lot of these women, when they don't have skills, they often resort to other means to go and find money. And this particular organization brought these women's in started a small food cafe, started a textile business, started a doll business all in this one community. And obviously when I went there had to support them. But Atelier has given me so much and I didn't just want to give you and Bernie can go and buy your own things. But this is something, and it's a very culturally, the dolls are culturally representative of people who look like us, which you don't often get in this day. - And doll and tea, great. - Thanks. Probably times when my girls like what? And I explain to them like, you know, obviously we've worked together, this is a massive impact. And they still play with it. And I'm glad you got two not one, 'cause I was there very hard to share. - Yes. - I mean, it started there. And then I'm sure Lauren, you got, did you get something as well? - Oh. - A gift card. - You are far too generous. - So Lauren got so amazing. - A gift card. And then I came in one Monday and you've delivered this big, I think it was three boxes of like, the most insanely delicious Vietnamese food. It didn't last very long, 'cause the team got such fresh. - Shout out to the Southwest. - Yeah. (laughing) - And I was like, - Oh gee, Lauren. - When it came in to drop this off, like yes. And I had to like ask the question two or three times. I was like, this is the most generous thing I've seen. And I don't, one was insanely delicious too. We don't really look for the doll of ale. We don't care. It's just the thought. And that was insanely good. - And you didn't get a personal ice card, but Lauren got a very nice ice card. - I got a very lovely card and your son's hand, I was just so beautiful. Yeah, very, very kind. And I think Nick got a card. - Yes. - Yeah, just so kind. Like just the thought, not many people are so selfless. - I like writing cards. I love writing cards and showing and appreciating what people do for me. So funny you say about card writing. I love baking, baking is my love language, but my sister thinks it's because when you bake something, you can control the whole process. So I work in government where sometimes things don't go to plan and every day is really manic. But when I bake something, I can start with four things. Do this and I end up with a product and it can be completed in two hours. It's a really good sense of control for me. And I like gifting baking. And so people often know me even at work for, oh, what cookies do you get to do? What do we do? But I like writing cards and appreciating what people do. So in the morning, when I'm on the treadmill, there's a lady and me and her always on the treadmill next to each other. She's like 71, wrote a little card today because I was going through something tough last week and she just was really nice and we were like walking into talking. But that's people are important. And I work in a sector where I see a lot of really challenging situations and it's the people who get you through money is great. Please don't get me wrong. I am here on a podcast because I want to be financially secure. But at the end of the day, there's certain things money really can't buy. And I know that first hand because the thing I want most in the world, no amount of money can buy for me. What's the one thing I want most in the world? Oh, my dad passed away at 63. I would have loved my son to meet him. And that will never happen. And my son has so many characteristics of my dad. And like all the money in the world won't bring that back. So-- Spot on well said. Yeah. It's a real credit to you, honestly. We get humbled by your generosity. Because again, people have a lot. We have a lot. And we know how you run a very tight budget. I do. You run a very tight ship. And the fact that you found that within that budget to say thanks to us when we have no expectation on that. And when I talk about this even, we're not expecting it from anyone. We do our job. You guys get the outcome as well. I don't do it for expectation. I do it because I want to. Speaks volumes of character. We speak volumes of character. And I think the other part for me, for people listening, is quite often we'll find and interview people that have made it. People that make, you know, ain't probably portfolio. 10 probably portfolio. You have Eddie DeLine and Sammy Gordon and Nathan Birch that I've got through for finger portfolios, right? So scary. And so what happens? That's what happens. You get to the point. It's like, why aren't you intimidating? Two, they've made it. So you don't see them on the start all the way through. But what we're getting with you is a very raw story of how you're starting and going on the way through. And then we'll be able to kind of circle back and go, how's it going on the way on the journey? And then when you've mission accomplished-- Oh, from your lips to God's ears, Aaron. No, I don't-- these are questions. It's not a matter of-- not a matter of if, but when. - When, yeah. - So always get that wrong. - It's gonna happen. - Yeah. And that's the, I think that's where we get, we get this bounce back of energy going, but we're working with clients that wanted us bad as we do, right, Losey? - Yeah. - How many times actually we want it more than some of our clients do for them? - Yeah, I was talking about it to Nick the other day actually. A few formal approvals came through, and you just hear in the office, yes, or you know, fist palm for like high five, and then you know, you call the client and like, okay, cool, thanks. And you're like, oh man, like. - I'm like slime. - Well, I've heard like, what, you know, give me some energy. But yeah, we're just as excited as, you know, or sometimes more than the client themselves, because we care, we genuinely care. - In the team chat, I've got a Google chat, and every time a loan's submitted. - Yep. - It goes into the chat, and there's celebrations. Every time it's approved. - Approved in the chat. - Settled. - Settled. - And there's like fireworks going off in the chat. - Yeah. - And it doesn't matter how we scale, that will never go away, because every single person means something to us, because it doesn't matter if it's submitted, approved, settled, their journeys are milestones. We've got a set that we celebrate internally. It's like, I love getting a kick out of your journey. So for someone listening, that's, you know, maybe, slightly the same, same, but different circumstance. Single parent has been burnt by professionals, been told no, just is lacking in that direction at start, for example, doesn't know where to go. What advice are you giving someone? - If you want to take control of your finances, there's never, it's never too late to start, but the key is, and it's just the fundamentals, have a budget, know where your money goes, and be really intentional with your money, and do the basics well first, which is always make sure you spend less than you earn, put a little bit away for savings, and then depending on your capacity, reach out to people and get lots of opinions. I get lots of opinions, and I choose the ones which align closest to me, or with people who I trust the most. I'm getting better at trusting my gut a bit more, but also really realizing what red flags are, and how to learn from that, but it's just about starting, and doing what is right for you. So I know for myself, I don't have a very lofty goal of getting a 10 million dollar house in a blue chip suburb. So for me, the journey to where I want to get to, which is to pay off my home loan by 50, will look very different, but if you have your goal, it's literally just backward mapping, to how you want to get to it similar to, I was just telling them in the office when I was walking in, I would love to be able to run five kilometers in under 40 minutes. I'm currently sitting at 44 minutes, trying to ask Claude how I could do it, and he was like, "You're not there yet." I was like, "Oh, you're not helping." But it's the same thing, if you have a goal. - You're enjoying this team run club? - No, we love a bit of a run lately. - Oh, that's really something, yeah. It's how do I backward map what I want to do, but I think you have to get very clear in your mind what you want as your end goal, and I was talking to my son last night, while I was ironing, he was kicking the wall, I was like, "I'm going on this podcast. What do you think I should talk about? What have you learned?" Because he only gets a lunch order once a week. I cook and eat at home all the time. We might go out maybe once a fortnight, but when I say we go out, we go to like a very normal restaurant where it's not expensive. We don't eat out, like that's not what we do. So he's not seen anything different, this is his life. And he said, "Mom, you need to be honest with the people. You only have me, and you have a very good job. You always tell me you have a good job. And you have really good bosses who are nice to you, and they are very nice to my son as well." So your perspective is really different. What happens if you had to go and work at Macgers and your boss was horrible? You have a nice boss. So I'm very conscious that I have a very good job, very flexible job, excellent bosses, and I only have one child. You have two or more children. It becomes expensive, they are expensive. And there's only that much you can cut, especially when you have fixed cost, like my insurance is also expensive. Electricity, petrol, I can't cut those. How much more can I cut? I tried to actually switch my Wi-Fi, my internet provider. That was the biggest disaster because everything just kept dropping out. So I had to go back to the higher cost. But there's only that much I can go and squeeze in. At some point you just have to. Yeah, you go down. So anyway, I just budget, and I find a lot of people just in that lemming mode, which is paycheck, sleep repeat. It just goes on that merry-go-round. How do you budget? I have a notep in my phone. And so my notep in my phone is right next to my shopping list app. And literally, it has all the lists of all the bills that I have. And in terms of all my fixed expenses, and I do very old school, I do cash envelops. So I get paid every fortnight. The day after I get paid, I pre-pay all my bills. Pre-pay my electricity, council, water. So I don't have to worry about that. I never get stung by a big bill once a quarter. My bills are always paid. I take out a certain amount of money in cash envelops. And that's what I use in terms of my grocery shopping and things like that. So that's how I go and budget for myself. And then whatever's left over, I obviously pay my mortgages, pay put some away in savings. But that's what I do. And I have it on my notep which is next to my shopping list. Simple things like I never would buy something that's not on the list. So if my son wants something, put it on the list. If I want something, I put it on the list. So I would never go into a course of Woolies aimlessly. I would go in maybe once a week and get the things off the list if it's on offer. Perfect. If it's on offer, wait till it's on offer. Never bought dish washing liquid or clothes washing liquid full price. It's all those simple things. But that's how I budget. I literally have a notep on my phone with how much it is, what I need to pay, and then what my spare is. It's quite all school. But it works. Mate, that's what I think we need to go back to, which is that old school style of budgeting. Because the taps and everything, yes, there's convenience. And you go, man, just go on to Woolies and click, click, and collect or-- and as I can see it, the amount of people that just don't know where their money's going. Well, if you don't go with your money, someone else will go with your money. They'll take the whole point. It's to take money out of someone else's bad and put into yours in this topic. I have to be good at budgeting. Because there's no magic money coming from any source. So I get paid once a fortnight. And there's no bonuses every year. I work in the civil sector. So my earning capacity is structured, which is good and bad. But I like the structure. Because then I know exactly what I get in and what my outputs are. Cool. Just to build that confidence around, how do you-- trust lozzy and then the whole pulling the equity to then gone by the next investment will be-- that's a part that we get a lot of people get stuck out, like the mechanics around that as well. How did you self-educate? Or how did you get to learn around the mechanics of stripping the equity, gone by the investment property? Are we buying this through a company? Yeah, we are. So trust the company. So then to get ahead around that, how have you educated or self-taught? When I'm on the treadmill, I listen to a lot of podcasts. That is being my bread and butter. I've also gone every time there is an offer-- or you know how sometimes they're like, oh, give us a free 30-minute call. Let me do that. So even though I know I've already got good people, always take the free 30-minute call. Ask the questions you want to ask. And I've had a couple of really good experiences with going in, for example, Ravi and search. But with a few other people who have done something similar. So I just ask the questions. And my accountant is very proactive, but also very clear. And they just educate me. I often find if you ask people nicely and respectfully, they will give you the answer that you want. Like, no one's not going to help you. Most people want to help you. Just ask the question nicely if you don't understand. And so many times I'll be like, I'm so sorry. What is a bear trust? Is this like a bear in the genre? I'm really a Georgia. Because that's probably one of the biggest search terms that we had driving traffic to our channel. That's right. But I had to explain. So there was a colleague at work. We were on a team's meeting talking about something else. And I shared my SMSF purchase. And he was doing the numbers. And I tried to explain the SMSF structure to him. His brain was baffled. He was like, what do you mean? And I was like, no, he said this up and then you that. But you just have to one step in front of the other. Have trust, have faith. Do a little bit of research yourself. But you will gain confidence in the act of doing something. You won't gain confidence after it's done. You'll gain confidence in the act of doing it. So yeah, figure it out. If you've never asked your age, but you got back to where you-- I'm 43. 43. That's cool. The same age. There you go. Oh, 82. Oh, so you're going to see it. Just a little bit on it. Go back. You went through-- I was 34. Yeah. What are you telling your 34? Your old self about where you'll end up at 43? It will all be OK. You've got this. Yeah. And that's very scary. But you do got this. Do you ever think like that whole adage of people overestimate what they can do in one year, but underestimate what they can do in 10 years? Because you are closing on that 10 year. [BLANK_AUDIO] at this going that's a massive decade of heavy lifting. I sometimes tell the universe please don't give me any more lessons I have done all my lessons in the past decade. And then your universe is going to do is going to give you the universe is going to hear that going I'm not done with you. You know what's been really hard and I'm talking from a cultural background of someone from myself sometimes in our culture there's so much of expectations of what we should look like and what good looks like and looking at your values and what you should have drive a fancy car do all these things. The hardest thing for me was to quieten the outside noise and figure out what's important to me. So I'm not going to run faster in a pair of Lululemon tights. And that's what I say through it right? I don't know but it's quieting the outside noise and as you would know sometimes in our culture it's about the car you drive and about what you wear and about where you live and I need to be proud of the fact that at 43 I'm doing things by myself and raising a good human and that's the value that I have and just not worry about the outside noise and be proud of what and that's a very very hard thing that I'm still learning in this decade. I think for people like and it's not exclusive to our culture because obviously we're shrinking background, shrinking Malaysian, it's not exclusive to Sriankans because I get it with my friends at Italian, my friends at Vietnamese, my friends at a brazilian. So every culture has their own little nuances but the whole that there's always an element of a flex. Yeah but you said suburb car career watch jewelry whatever it's going to be like pick your poison overseas holidays business class. Here's where I was taking the kids private schools it just never ends. I have zero issue with people chasing for the pursuit of potential that's my that's my metro life and if that lights you up do it with the right intention and could you attain that without telling a soul? So would you be happy driving the beautiful car that no one ever knew about and I think if the answer is yes then that's your chase in the right dream. But if you need people to know about it that's where I feel that's a misaligned goal because you're doing that for the flakes. It's like when people are trying to build these portfolios and they're asking them and they don't know why but you're living someone else's dream. Yeah. Some people want the number but it's like is this number like you might only need three properties to pay off your home not the ten that you want this number to tell you know your friends and family and the world about. And it's just that's one thing that I really want to take out of your story which is you have got so crystal clear on what you want and why you want it which is then giving you the clarity to go after your dreams for no one else but for you and your son. That's what it is. And that's that's amazing essence of your story and all the setbacks that you've had have got you to this point so you can't not wish that it didn't happen to you and you've accepted I think it's always when I get your vibe it's you've accepted it you've actually bounced back from it. You have to learn the lessons like what is this lesson teaching me and how do I learn from it and not make the same mistakes again have to do it right yeah because otherwise the lessons will keep coming back you don't learn it. So for people listening what's the one what's the other part of your story that you feel you want people to take away. Just be very intentional in your living and do what is right and what is best for you and that can be really hard sometimes so we were talking a bit early I think about high schools and things like that and my son was accepted in scholarship for a few private Catholic schools but he's choosing to go to our local high school next year where he can write his bike and maybe get a couple of bubble teas after school because that's what's right for him and I need to be comfortable with the fact that I am raising a child and I am doing what's best for him and me and it's only you at the end of the day you really quieting the outside noise and that's been so hard for me to do and I'm still learning that and just be intentional with what you want. It's your life. Powerful Laura said that Laura I want to say thanks obviously you work very close to it we're in a car I want to say thank you for choosing us but thank you for being so brave to jump in you know jumping on your bike. It's very exciting but also nerve-rating but I'm so grateful to the two of you and your podcast and I don't think you realize this and you talk about doing it consistently I just listen to it while I'm at the gym it's my trademark podcast I just have a couple of podcasts and sometimes I listen to something over and over again it's like no I've read the book I've got your book and you sent me a free copy of your book and I read it and why can't I do it let me just try just just try it it doesn't work it's okay you can learn again you can build up just have a crack. That's life man like if it's not gonna be you it's gonna be someone else and then do you really want to watch someone living your life? Nope. No I refuse to accept that you can be happy with someone else living your dream life. Does it mean what your dream is? Yeah yeah I think we sat down yesterday as a team and went through the goals with team and I almost challenged that team going I think you're not thinking big enough and your success is Renika I'm not coming at the expense of someone else's. No. That your wins your success isn't coming at the even other governments say investors are not coming at the cost of first time but it's absolutely not. I would just like to point out in so ironic right I am doing this so that I will not have to rely on the government for health care for an aged pension I want to be a financially independent older woman as I age women over 55 have the highest rate of homelessness in Australia and growing I do not want that to be me I'm very conscious of the fact that I am very single I am I am it and I want to make sure that my son and myself are well looked after and I don't want to go and be sitting at 75 saying oh it's too cold I can't turn on the heat I haven't prepared I want to be able to live in a nice warm house as I'm older all of those things are important to me so you have to prepare now. Love it. Love it if this story is connected resonated with you and you need someone in your corner advocating for you backing you believing you I genuinely believe that we are we are the partners for you and like I said you got to vote with your feet so if you're not getting the answers just keep knocking on doors till you get a yes and that's what we're talking about always at built different Renika I want to say thank you so much thank you for your vulnerability share for being so authentic and genuine as well and yeah what's an all-man this is all right you love it so thanks everyone like I said if there any part of that story has kind of brought to the surface anything that you're struggling with there is plenty of resources and help please do pick up the phone and kind of move the needle on your own life as well if you've loved it please let us know we love your comments and feedback and we'll talk to you next time