She's On The Money - Going All In On Property Investing

Episode Date: November 10, 2024

Who knew that selling Cadbury chocolates could be the first step toward building a property empire? Today we meet a Money Diarist who started her hustle by selling chocolate bars to fund school band trips and eventually went on to run her own business. After being told she’d never qualify for a property loan, she proved everyone wrong by securing not one, but two properties in just seven months! With a story that’s equal parts sweet tooth and savvy saving, she’ll take us from her $10 drum lesson days to running a fashion business—and now setting her sights on a ten-property portfolio. This one’s a goodie! Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

hello and welcome to she's on the money the podcast millennials who want financial freedom Welcome back to another one of our Money Diaries where we get to talk with one of our incredible She's on the Money community members all about their journey. Now let's dive straight in because this week we got a letter and it sounded like this. Dear She's on the Money, I was told I'd never qualify for an investment property loan, but I proved them wrong and bought two in just seven months. Growing up, I was taught early that money is hard to earn and quick to lose. By the age of 13, I was teaching drum lessons for $10 a session, which taught me the power of saving. Now at 24, I'm self-employed with two positively geared properties and I'm just getting started.

My goal, to build a 10 property portfolio and secure a financial future on my own terms. With a mix of savvy, hard work and inspiration from the She's On The Money community, I'm showing the big dreams really can come true. um money diarist from 10 bucks for a drum lesson to having two properties and the plan is 10 that's a bit of a financial glow up yeah well i'm on the way but yeah it's a bit crazy to think of it like that i love this so much i am so excited let's dive straight in but before we get there money diarist what grade would you give your money habits if i asked you to give them a grade from a through to F? I would probably give myself a solid B. Oh, a solid B. All right, let's dive

into it. I want to know, tell me a bit more about your money story. Yep. So when I grew up, my parents had two government jobs and we had everything that we needed. I was very fortunate to live in the home that I lived in and have the family who are super supportive. We all grew up, all my siblings were doing music. So my parents paid for us to do our music tuitions, but we also did a lot of extension bands. When I went to high school, my primary school band conductor asked me to tutor a student. He actually said it was going to be 20 bucks an hour. And I thought, yes, that's a good deal. I know. I thought I was going to be getting more than what people at Maccas get. Yeah. A hundred percent. But then I realized it was only 30 minutes a week.

oh but still you know what you get what you get yeah yeah but still it was fantastic because I just would hop off the bus on my way home from school do my lesson and then head home so it was super easy when I was in year eight my brother and I were in an extension band for the region and we went to our band rehearsal and the idea was kind of propped to us that there would be an international tour to both Hong Kong and China you're gonna have to tell me I'm sorry what is an extension band? It's like outside of school. So if you were a dance at your instrument, you would then audition for an additional program to do outside of school. Oh, you're an advanced musician. Yes, some might say. Yeah. So we came home and we told my parents that there was this

option for us to go overseas on this tour. And my dad said, yes, that sounds awesome. You can do it, but you have to pay for it yourself. Oh my gosh. And you were like, oh, this is not how I saw this conversation going. Yeah. And I'm thinking I'm earning $10 a week doing one lesson a week. How am I going to afford a trip to China? So my mum had this idea of us getting those Cadbury chocolate boxes and selling them at soccer games and netball matches. Smart. And that's the route that we went down. Yeah. So we ended up going every weekend, and going to netball courts, soccer games, taking them to school, taking them to band. And honestly, the amount of chocolates we sold, it was ridiculous.

But everyone loves a giant Freddo. Like, I mean, the second you offer me a giant Caramello Koala, babe, like, say less. And you know what? The Caramello Koalas were the ones that would sell the most. We had a lady who would buy them by the box. Yeah, because she's a genius. Yes. And so we would go and sell them at school and we would sell like Toblerones as well. So Toblerones and like Twix bars and all the different kinds of Cadbury chocolate. And my mom,

she was like, you should sell the Toblerones for $2 because they're a bougie chocolate. Yeah. Smart woman. She's a business lady. Yeah. We'll get a bit more profit. So we started selling them at school, but we noticed that there was another kid selling chocolate at school, but his Toblerones were only a dollar. Oh, you've got some market competition. Yeah. So what my brother did, and this is, I think, where the light bulb moment went off for me on how to be savvy with money. He went and bought all of the Toblerones off

him and chucked them in our boxes. And we went off and sold them for $2 each. Honestly, you are business moguls. You were born for business. That's actually iconic. He won, you won. Exactly. Exactly. And it just was like a light bulb moment of, you know, you can still get your cake and eat it too. You can, you know, everyone can win. I adore that. I think it's so funny in my mortgage broking business. I don't think that's going to work for me, but in a product based business could potentially be a great strategy. Yeah. So then we ended up going on that tour. We raised eight grand total. What? $8,000 from Cadbury chocolates.

Yeah, I know. It's a lot. It's a lot. My mum was saying, we're selling so much chocolates that soon we're going to become chocolates. We're just, we're the chocolate family. Yeah, I love that. I love that. Side hustle queen.

Yeah. So we went on the tour and it was fantastic. And then two years later, we were offered the opportunity to go on another international tour and this one was to Europe. So guess how we got us there? Hey, Cadbury, you heard of us before? Yeah, we called up Cadbury and we sold another eight grand worth of chocolate. Oh my God. I love that. And I love that it was like, you guys were so involved in the

fundraising for that. So like it totally benefited you, but you learned a lot about financial literacy, about negotiating, about like putting in the work. I'm obsessed with that. Bring back the Cadbury chocolate sales. Although, do you reckon that they're like $5 a chocolate nowadays? Because I feel like it used to be like a dollar for a giant Caramello Koala. Yeah, they're pretty expensive now. I don't know what the profit was like, but when we did it, it was, I think we're making about $20 a box. So you purchase the box for $30 and then you sell the whole box for $50. So we'd make a $20 profit, which is a lot of boxes to sell. A hundred percent. To get us going. Yeah. And then the following year, my brother was in year 12 and

he was in a different band to me, but they were going to America. So being the good sister I am, I pulled out my sleeves and I started selling chocolates with him. I love this. Another four grand for him to go. And then the following year, it was my turn and my band was going to America. So we sold another four grand worth of chocolate. So total throughout my high school life, I sold $24,000 worth of chocolate. Oh, my God.

Cadbury, you're welcome. Because if you're spending $30 to buy that box, we all know it costs them $2 to make. you've basically kept Cadbury in business. It's absolutely crazy. I can't believe that we sold that much. But when I go past the netball courts, I thank goodness I don't play netball. I go past and I get a little bit of like, oh, I don't want to be here anymore. I've spent too much time here. Yeah, no, that's fair. That's fair. I feel like you'd be a bit triggered. But for twenty four thousand dollars, I'll take that feeling any day. That's absolutely fine with me. And I think growing up and having my dad be so adamant, like you can do it, but you have to put

the effort yourself has put a really strong worth ethic especially in all of us kids because we love what we do and we put a lot of effort into our jobs and it really shows like we're happy to put in that time because we know what the outcome will be I love that I feel like it's teaching work ethic really young yeah and it was for a bigger cause it wasn't just you getting a whole heap of cash and then seeing what to do with it like you had a purpose you had an outcome you got to see that be achieved. I think that's just, it's really cool. And we valued it so much more because we spent all of those hours going and putting in the hard work so that we could go on these trips. 100% and they are not cheap. Like those trips are expensive. And imagine if your

parents had to cough up $24,000 for you to, you know, pursue your band dreams. It just is not feasible for the average family. Like that's just not an option, but you still got these opportunities because you guys got involved. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But yeah, I went on and I ended up doing a design degree. I didn't go down the music route. I wanted to kind of stray away from my brother. We already played the same instrument and he was already going down the music route. So I changed my direction and I ended up doing a Bachelor of Design. And throughout my work, I was still tutoring. I had about 20 students, drum students at the stage, and I was charging a bit more. I wasn't at the $10 per half an hour anymore. Yeah, very nice. Very nice.

and my grandparents ended up getting quite unwell my grandmother had dementia and my granddad had alzheimer's and they were at the stage where they started to need someone to care for them and so I volunteered I popped my hand up and I would care for them oh you are so special honestly it was the best experience it was in their last three years of life and the connection that you build when you're seeing especially a grandparent who you view in a certain way when you're young and then being an adult and having to care for them and help them eat and help them walk and do exercises it has taught me a lot of people skills but also it's given me a lot of reflection that life is so short and you don't know which way it's going to turn yeah and those diseases

are heartbreaking like those diseases are things that I would never wish on anybody because they're just slowly chipping away at who you are and what you were and like watching that as much as I can see that you're so grateful for the experience, it would have been heartbreaking at the same time because they're losing themselves. And that is, you're such a special person for stepping up and doing that because as much as you're saying like, oh, it was such an opportunity, like it also would have been a really rough gig. Yeah, it was tough. But I have been brought up in the most exceptional family. We are a huge family and we are always there for everyone. Everybody has a place. And if I needed help I know anyone would drop a hat to be there. I love this. Yeah it wasn't even a

question like I just knew yes I and especially because I was kind of finishing up my degree I had part-time work I had a bit more time on my hands compared to everybody else working full-time. You're like well that fits me no worries. Yeah but it was also the time around COVID so I was having a hard time finding a job in like a corporate world to do design so spending my time with them was much preferred, but also it was a lot more valued to me. And because I cared for them, I was then able to start thinking, okay, what do I want to do? Like I had a bit more time under my sleeve, kind of like a gap year, but for a few years. And I decided I'm going to start my own clothing brand. Oh, okay. Yeah. And I had a chat to my dad. I said, dad, I'm going to start

my own clothing brand. And he said, that is the dumbest thing you could do. You can always trust your dad to give you some brutal honesty, can't you? Yes. And he said, do you really want to be self-employed? You're going to have to do your own super. You're not going to have any leave, no maternity leave, no holiday leave, no sick leave. Trust me. It's just put it in the too hard basket. You don't want to do it. Just go get a normal job and work for someone else. And I just was like, oh, that sounds boring. You're preaching to the converted. Like I'm at a point in my career now where if I worked for somebody else, I'd be fired the same day that I started employment with them. So like, yes, not for me, but also it's definitely the safer option.

At the end of the day, having a consistent paycheck coming in is so valuable. Like the amount of stress that you carry as a business owner, insane. But tell me, what did you do? Did you listen to your dad's advice? No, I did not. And I went off and I started my own brand and I had the best time. I woke up every morning and I loved what I was doing. But also keep in mind I was self-employed since I was 13 I was teaching music lessons from a very young age I knew how to talk to clients I knew how to you know have those people skills to run your own business and I just had finished my degree and I was ready to give it a crack so I had my own brand I was selling online I was selling in stores I was doing runway shows oh my god yeah it was thriving

it was going quite well but I just was starting to feel a bit burnt out from doing the marketing the sales negotiating with the manufacturers there's so many different hats that you need to wear and I listened to a podcast of she's on the money one of the earlier episodes and you were talking about freelancing and it was like a light bulb moment and I thought oh my goodness I can do all of this for somebody else as a freelancer still work on my terms and I kind of chose the roles that I liked the most and the ones that I was best at. So now I am a freelance designer and I do that for clients instead of doing it all for me. What? That's so cool. I love that I get to be a tiny little part of that journey and that you're like, oh, you planted a little seed and

then that grew and now I'm thriving. I love this. I mean, you would have thrived anyway, but like, I like that I got to be part of that. That is legit. So cool. So tell me about what you now officially do for work and how much money you earn? So I am a freelance designer and I'm also a music tutor. And the last financial year that we had, I earned $109,000. What? A hundred grand and you're just doing your own thing? Yes. And the year before I had earned $70,000. And then the year before that, when I had just started only in the last few months, I earned 30 grand. That is really good. I love that. So are you paying your own super is a very good question because your dad turned around and said, oh, you'd have to pay your own super.

Yes, I do my own super. And sometimes I pay a little bit more because I know that it's very important. Sometimes I put 15% in. Oh, an icon. How's that going for you, dad? So my super is currently sitting at $32,400. How good is that? And how old are you? I'm 24. That is an epic amount of superannuation for someone who is only 24 to have. Like you're, I mean this in the most non-condescending way ever. You're just a baby. Like you are starting your career and you're earning six figures. Be for real. What other 24 year old is out there paying their own superannuation, running their own business and earning six figures? That's so cool. I'm so proud of you. I adore this so much. Yeah, it's absolutely crazy. And I drive in between my

jobs to different schools. And I just think like, I'm so lucky that I get to do this for work. Like I have the best job. I work with the best people and I'm loving my life. Like I'm so grateful that this is how everything's turned out. And the crazy thing is no one's given it to me. I've just pushed and pushed and pushed and have made it happen for myself. I adore that. It's the tiny little things along the way that end up not being tiny and little, like selling Cadbury chocolates and teaching you that you can run your own little business and it doesn't have to be complicated and you can raise funds in a way that makes sense. And then from there, you're like, well, it's not that hard. Like I could definitely, you know, do some music tutoring and charge some money from

that. And it just starts to grow. It's like these tiny little seeds. And I love it. I love it. I feel like you're in this position where if I said hey money diarist can we check back in in you know a year or two years you're gonna be like yep so I'm earning 150 like it's just gonna grow from here on in especially as your reputation increases as a freelance designer right yeah it's actually insane because I don't have to market myself anymore for example I just finished with a client last week and already an old client has come back ready to do their next range with me So people are constantly coming back. I love that. So tell me, what does a freelance designer do? Because that sounds cool. Are you going in and helping clients create ranges for their businesses

or like, I need to know, it sounds so fun. Yeah. So a brand or an individual, usually it's individuals who have other jobs. Maybe they're a stay at home mom or they work in accounting and they just need a creative output. They come to me and they say, hey, I'm wanting to start up a brand or I'm wanting to develop a range or come out with a product and I work with them on developing that product I then do the technical documents so that it can be sent to a factory to produce it I also do logo design and print design and all the graphics for their brand and then I send them on their way and they can go and produce it what and you get paid to do the good bit of business and then hey guys you run it I don't want to do the accounting I don't want to have a thing

to do with your accounting software or like the clients or the issues, like have fun, bye. And then you get to go do it again. Yeah. And every project is different. You are a genius. I love this. That sounds so fun. Yeah, it is fun. And I've done so many different things. I feel like my scope of work has changed from if I had just gone and worked with a singular brand. I've done dog apparel, swimwear, activewear, menswear, bridal, everything, like so many different areas. I'm going to snoop you later. No one else can do that, but I get to you. I'm going to snoop you later. I cannot wait to see more about this because I didn't even know that was a thing. Like I just assumed that, you know, if you were starting a dog apparel business, right,

that you would have to be the designer and create these products and you wouldn't really have the support, but then that's your literal job. Yeah. And a lot of the time, the people that are starting these brands are more analytical. They want to do the business and the selling and the marketing. They don't want to do the design and the construction and chat with the manufacturers. So I'm able to just slot in and assist where I'm needed. Oh, I love that. I want to make a product-based business now. So we will have to talk. I have no idea what I want to do, how I want to do it, but that just sounds so fun. And even getting to collaborate with people over exciting ideas of something new starting. It's like when I'm

sitting down to write like a new course or something, I'm just so high on life because I'm like, oh my God, like we get to create this brand new product and it's all of those dreams and wishes at the start. Yeah, it is a lot of fun. So tell me money, Daris, what are your big money goals? What are you currently working towards? I am working towards owning 10 investment properties. Okay. Where does that come from? Why 10? I just think 10 is a nice round number and I just think like it's just out of reach, but I've already kind of started snowballing and I think I will be able to get there. You're already 20% of the way there.

Yeah, which is kind of crazy to think. It's actually insane. Like you're 20% of the way there and then the next one will be 30. Like it actually starts to snowball. Why property? Why not the share market? Why not, you know, building business that you can sell given you're actually very good at that? What about property is so sticky for you? Well, I never actually thought that I was going to go into property. My parents didn't have investment properties. They own the house that we live in, but there was nothing externally. No one I really knew had like multiple properties. And I was on Instagram, I was scrolling and I saw this guy's agent and he was a 20 something year old who had six properties.

And I thought, what? How can this 20 year old have six properties when I'm also a 20 year old? Like what makes him so special? And I had a chat to him and he had talked to me about his strategy, positively gearing, negatively gearing. What even is strata? Like I live at home with my parents. I'm so fortunate that I don't have to pay rent. I've never had to pay any of these things. And I wanted to learn more about it. So I started reading, I read a few books and I just realized, I think this is the asset for me. Also knowing that if something happens and I need to go live somewhere, or if I decide to move to a different state, I can do that. I have that freedom and that flexibility. Yeah, I love that. And I feel like that's, you've nailed it, right? Like you've nailed

it in terms of you've worked out that that's the asset class for you that works the best. Because at the end of the day, I think so many people want to look at a spreadsheet and go, oh V, what asset class returns the most? And if we compare the four main asset classes in Australia, cash, fixed interest, property, and the share market, the share market returns the highest on average, right? But that doesn't mean it's the right asset class for everybody. That just means that on paper, it returns the most. Whereas you sound passionate about property, you're driven, you're motivated, like you can't pay someone to be passionate and motivated and driven about the share market. Whereas when it's property, and if that's the right asset class for you, you're going

to go, no, no, no, V, I'm so motivated to get to my next investment property. Whereas if I said, oh, are you keen to get another 50 grand into the share market? You might go, not really. Like, that's not for me. So you just don't have the same commitment. Yeah, definitely. And I think another thing that is pulling me towards the property market is when I wanted to go self employed, my dad listed off a bunch of things that I wouldn't be able to do. One of them was you'll never be able to own a home. Okay, dad, I don't know where you're getting your information from, but I would like to show you my two investment properties. It's so good because I say to him oh really I'm looking for my next one he's like yeah good keep proving me wrong

keep showing me that you can do it that's the dad strategy yeah and so like well at first too I was actually told that I couldn't borrow money from a broker so a few years ago I had 70 grand saved and I went to a broker that my dad recommended and he said come back to me in four months at the end of the next financial year because my previous financial year I had just on 30 grand and it was coming to the end of the next one. So I had four months and I saved and I saved and I saved. And I ended up having a hundred grand in savings and my second tax return of 70 grand. And I just thought like, I'm ready. I'm going to get a place. Who has this amount of money saved? At 23, 24, be for real. I know. And so I had a chat to him and he just said,

look, I am so sorry. You haven't earned enough in the last financial year. Just keep saving. come back to me at the end of the next financial year when your income has gone up? No, you find a broker who's going to find a bank or financial institution that will accept 12 months instead of 24 months of financials. As you probably know, this is my space. Like, you find a bank that, you know, the interest rate might be slightly different because there's different levels of risk taking on someone who's self-employed. But like, we've gotten loans for people who have only just started their businesses and are 12 months in. Like it's not about, yeah, anyway, I've just got a lot to say about that because so many times we get clients who have

been told no. And the reality is the broker didn't want to dive too deep into the reality of other options. Yeah. And I mean, me starting out, I just thought like, really, are you serious? I didn't understand that he was using two years of a tax, like two tax returns. Oh, well, why would you, it's not your space. It's literally not your space. And that's why you're meant to go to a good broker so that you just trust what they're saying. Because like you shouldn't have to question it. You shouldn't have to be doing a heap of your research on your own. What should happen is your broker should put everything on the table and explain why all of these options exist so that you go, oh, sick. Like that makes the most sense to me. Otherwise, why aren't you doing it yourself?

Exactly. So I was feeling super disheartened and I dropped a few swear words. I was not happy. I would have too, don't worry. Because I thought I was ready to go. You had a hundred grand, be for real. Yeah. And I was doing work for this client who actually was a broker at the time. And I sent her a message and I said, I know that this is a bit off topic from your designs, but you know, I just spoke to a broker. He said that I couldn't, are you able to check my borrowing capacity? I sent her all my details. And within a few hours, she called me and she was like, oh my goodness, you can borrow up to $750,000. dollars. And you're like, look, I felt that deep in my bones. Like I knew that that was meant to

be for me, but someone had been saying no. Yeah. And I was so happy because I already had a buyer's agent under my belt. I now had a broker ready to go. I just needed to find the right property. And in November of 2023, I purchased my first investment property. Oh my gosh. That's so recent. That's literally 11 months ago. I know, not even a full year. It's actually crazy. So I purchased a two bed, one bath, one car apartment in Perth and I purchased it for $320,000 and I had a deposit of $75,000 and it is positively geared. That is such a money win. Let's go to a really quick break. On the flip side, I want to dive into the properties that you own, your property strategy

and how you knew that property was the right one for you to purchase. Guys, don't go anywhere. All right, Money Diarist, we are back and we are starting to talk about your investments. So before you told us about your first house, can you just quickly recap your first property and then let's talk about your second? Yes. So my first property is in Perth. It is a two-bedroom, one-bath, one-car apartment and I purchased it in November of 2023. I paid $320,000 to purchase it. My deposit was $75,000. Mortgage repayment's about $420,000 a week and my rent is $540,000, making it positively geared. Tell me more. How did you find that property and how did you go, this is for me? This is the right deal. I should absolutely be

purchasing this property because you don't live in Perth. That could be really scary, buying literally on the other side of the country when you live on the East Coast. yeah it was kind of scary and I spoke to my buyer's agent and I said should we go over and check it out and he was like no you do not need to go it's okay like we're getting building and pest inspections and you'll have like a lot of information sent your way regardless I like that he was like nah you're fine you're fine yeah that would give me anxiety like I need to see it I know I wanted to see it I wanted to be there but he had done it so many times and I thought just trust the process like people come to me who need my help my specialty and I'm going to him

because I need his specialty. So I'm just going to let him guide the way. But yeah, so we found the six in the complex and I purchased number six, but number five was currently up for sale and I saw it. It didn't have any photos and I looked it up online and I looked at the exterior of the building. I looked at number one, two, three, four, because they had also all just been sold. So I was having a look at all of them. Another buyer's agent was actually purchasing them all for their clients. And that's kind of what happened. But number six hadn't been put on the market yet. And I didn't know this. I spoke to my buyer's agent. You're like, hello, that sounds really interesting. Yeah. He's like, is there any others available? And he said, look,

number six is about to go. Somebody's already negotiated the price down, but they don't have a buyer. So if you want it, you can take it. And it was below market value. Market value at the time was about $360,000 and I ended up purchasing it for $320,000. What the hell? That is actually elite. I know. And I made profits straight away. Oh my God. I am so excited for you. And this is during a time. So you were purchasing in 2023. So when you're purchasing, and I want to just give people a little bit of context because not everyone's been through that property journey. And I mean, we're all pervy, my love, like we need to know. But if you were purchasing at the end of last year, you weren't getting COVID interest rates. Like you were getting high

interest rates. So what were your interest rates on these properties? Because so many people over the last 12 to 18 months, like, no, don't want to buy it. Interest rates are way too high. Like that's really scary. I'm going to wait for them to come off. Why weren't you thinking like that? I was thinking it's more about time in the market rather than timing the market. Oh, you are a she's on the money dream story. I just wanted to drop that. I've been listening for a little bit. No, I love that. But what were your interest rates? And did you go, oh, is this a good or a bad idea? Are you fixed or variable? What does that look like? So I'm variable. And my interest

rate when I started was 6.45 and it has gone up to 6.6. And I'm not too stressed about the interest rate because the yield is so high. My property has a yield of about 8.8%. What? Yeah. What? I know I'm so fortunate and it's because we purchased the property before the market was peaking and then the rent has obviously skyrocketed in Perth I could charge a lot more from rent but I don't want to do that to the tenants I would rather have tenants that value the property and look after it rather than charging them everything that they've got yeah you're an icon and that's a really sustainable model like a lot of people will be listening to this and they're like that's so greedy. I can't believe you'd buy property and hoard it. There's a whole heap of conversation

to be had around this. And I would actually like to see more ethical landlords because in our current economy, in the Australian economy moving forward, there is not going to be a situation where people are not renting. People need to rent at the end of the day. And I would much prefer ethical landlords like you who are like, I would prefer to buy the house. I'm getting great rental yield, this property is helping me, but also the people that live there are valued and they aren't getting charged extortionate rent. And I think that that's where we need to sit. And even if you have 10 properties, that's 10 families that you could be helping by not taking the mickey. Yeah, that's what I always think because I've had this conversation with friends

and family and I know that the government doesn't have enough housing for everyone and who houses versus majority of the renters. It's individual landlords like myself and we're giving people a place to stay. Plus when something's broken or something isn't right and my tenant says it, immediately I get it fixed. Yeah, you're a good landlord. Not everyone is the same as you though. Some people are insanely greedy and don't want to do that and I think that there needs to be a balance. Like if this is going to be part of your wealth creation strategy, like how do we do good and be good along the way? There's been a lot of conversation. You've probably seen it in she's on the money community. It's not involving me, but I do let them have their time to, you know,

share their opinions. But at the end of the day, like we need rental properties on the rental market and they're only going to go on the rental market if they are bought as investment properties. Yeah, exactly. So I'm really fortunate that I've worked hard enough to be able to assist these people in where they're able to live. I know like when I was looking for a place to purchase, I was talking to a few agents and they said that people are living in their cars and these are not just like anyone, like doctors and lawyers and people that are having these high paying jobs. They're still struggling to find a place to live.

There's not enough housing. Yeah, 100%. And you buying more investment properties is not going to stop that problem, but it is going to open it up because if we're all just waiting for first home buyers to purchase their first homes and then move into them, that's actually not helping us with a housing crisis. Yeah. On a lighter note, I was then able to use the equity from that first property to help me purchase the second one in June of 2024.

Oh my God. So tell me about this second one. You used some equity. How did you use equity and what did that process look like? It was quite seamless for me because I didn't do any of the money side of it. Yep. Your broker was a legend. Yes, she was a legend. And she pulled money out of my first property to then put it into the next. So we pulled out $34,000 worth of equity because the property had gone up and we didn't want my first property to go into LMI territory. Yeah, no, that makes sense. And so did you have to cough up any cash at all for that purchase? Yeah, I had 20 grand already to go. so I paid 20 grand of my own plus $34,000 of equity. That's really cool though. Yeah I was

in LMI for that. I think I had 18% or just under the 20% deposit but with the higher interest rate it still became beneficial for me because my yield was so high. I love that. Tell me about how much debt you have now. So I have $284,000 on my first property in debt. My second property is $254,000. And I have a HECS debt. It was originally $60,600, but I've windled it down to $37,800. Wow. That is so cool. Yeah. I'm not stressed about the debt because it's still, you know, my HECS will go like slowly. It hasn't stopped me from borrowing. And my two properties, they're paying themselves off. Yeah. So you said the property you purchased in November, 2023,

three, you are paying on your mortgage about $450 a week, but you're getting $500 a week in rent. Is that the same for the second property? Yeah. So I'm paying $420 for the second property and I'm getting $550. What? That's an even better deal. What's the rental yield on that? That's also 8.8%. Oh my gosh. I am honest to God, so proud of you. You are a little hustler. yeah and to be honest I wasn't even looking for a second property I well I was looking for a second property but I didn't want to get it in Perth yeah I was looking in Brisbane or Gold Coast you want some diversity yeah I wanted to change it up I know that like if I just stuck with the one market it could crash and that's all my assets there I wanted to spread them out but my buyer's

agent contacted me because somebody had just pulled out of this property the second one I got Yeah, no, I'll snap it up at 8.8% yield. Like I would have said yes before he'd even finished the conversation. Yeah, it was a no brainer. I was like, get me in. I will take it. Yes, please. I will sign now. I love that. But I love that along this journey, a lot of it has to do with your good savings ability because you couldn't have seized that opportunity if you didn't have that additional $20,000 in cash sitting to the side. So it's not as though you can just be super passive about property along the way, like, and just go, oh, well, I got into my first and I'm going to wait until there's equity for the second. Like you could, but it'll take a lot

longer, but you've been saving along the side, which meant that when he said, oh, one's just been put to the side, you were like, yeah, no worries. I'll take that. Thank you. Like what a way to seize an opportunity. I know. And because I had that cash, I was able to get in the market sooner. And my broker has done a valuation on both of my properties. And I'm now able to pull $121,000 out of both properties to put towards my next three. All right. Tell me about that. What's the strategy? What's the plan? What are we doing moving forward? So the plan is to purchase in high growth areas that also have a reasonable yield that cover all, if not majority of my repayments so that my overall portfolio is positive. I'd rather overall positive. I can

have a few negative properties in there. Yeah, because those ones over time are probably, I guess, wealth builders because they're going to increase in value rather than just have good rental yield. Yeah. And the ones that can grow faster or grow slower but larger amounts of equity for me, that means I can then go and purchase more properties down the track without using cash that I've had to save. Oh my gosh. And is your broker just on your team to make sure that this is always being checked in on, always having your interest rates reviewed and like knowing at what point you can purchase again. Yeah, she's fantastic. We even had a big phone call. I said, I want to get 10 and I don't want to stop. Like I don't want to like be unable to service these

loans. So we've set up a company and a discretionary trust to purchase my future properties under. Iconic. I was about to say, so how is this structured in the background? Like have you seen an accountant to make sure that, you know, the cashflow is going through your property portfolio? Yeah. So it's all been set up, which is fantastic. I'm obsessed. So I now own a company and a trust, which is just crazy because I feel like this stuff just goes over my head a little bit, but I'm so fortunate to have the best team who's able to explain everything and make sure all the I's are dotted and all the T's are crossed. Yeah. Adore, adore. I'm so obsessed with this for you. Congratulations. Literally, that is honestly so impressive. Tell me, what can we learn from

you? What's your best money habit? Well, I never buy anything full price. That is just not something that happens. I look on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, op shops, sales. I go to the gym and I go to one of those major gyms and they always have sales, but I don't want to pay the price. My gym membership is usually $32 a week, which for me, I think like, yeah, okay. But it's a little on the higher end. It's an investment in your health, but I get it. So I called around because they're all individually owned. I'd call around and say, Hey, like what's the best price you can do? Okay. I'd get that price. Go to the next one. Hey, so-and-so can do this price. What can you do? And I ended up getting my membership down. You were a legit hustler. I love it.

I just love a deal I love a good deal but I got my gym membership down to $19 a week oh my god don't ask don't get though yeah you're saving cash like and if you don't ask the answer is immediately no and if you ask like no one's gonna judge you because usually the people that you're talking to are just like you and they're like oh this girl's savvy but they even go wow like I appreciate what you're doing like you're smart you're trying to beat the system yeah I see what you're doing. I respect it. Here you go. 19 bucks a week. Money win. Yeah, exactly. So that's probably my best one. You know, always asking, always trying to get the best deal, negotiating. I love that. Tell me though, are you bad at anything? What's your worst money habit?

I have two. My first one is that I have become a willing victim of lifestyle creep. Yeah. And I'm enjoying getting my nails done and, you know, having a personal trainer and going out for more dinners. And I know I could be spending my money better to reach my goals. Like my goals are big goals. And I know I need to put a lot of money aside. And because I've now earned over $100,000, everything's just like, I'm not saving as much. And I need to pare it back and pretend that I only have $70,000 of income to save more. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. And I do know what I feel like that's so common in the first few years as a small business owner, when you start to earn more and have a little bit more financial freedom, you really utilize that and then give it

another 12 months and you'll be like, nah, I'm going to crack down again because like, you know, I'm not achieving the big goals as fast as I want to. Yeah, exactly. I mean, like, do I really need hot pink nails every week? Probably not. Oh, sorry. Wrong answer for me. Whoops. Whoops. Maybe I could paint them myself. Okay. Like I do do that and I really enjoy it. Like I always do my own nails at home and it's kind of become like a little bit cathartic. Like I have a fun time doing it, but that's over time. Like I used to be the girlie that got her nails done all the time. In saying that, I can't do my own lashes myself. And like, that's something I'm not willing to give up. So I think that there needs to be some level of balance of enjoying the now,

but also creating wealth into the future. And I think that it's, I'm just never going to be one of those financial independence retire early girlies. That's okay. I think I will also love the luxuries of life a little bit too much too. I don't think there's any shame in that. I think it's just like, no, this is how I like allocating my money and I'm very aware of my values. Exactly. But my second worst habit would be like, I feel like I need to buy things because they are such a good deal. When I see a deal, I can't walk away. I was at an op shop and I saw the ugliest dress. It's so ugly. It was a Dionne Lee dress with boning in this weird greeny blue color with pleating and it looked terrible on me but it had brand new tags on for $750 and I bought it for 15

so how could I not okay well but also if it looks terrible on you like you could sell that like for 15 bucks like you're gonna get 50 at least like you know what I mean like you're a hustler what are you doing with the dress though have you just put it in your wardrobe yeah it's just sitting here are you gonna sell it you're gonna wear it like if it doesn't look good on you get rid of it yeah I know I need to do something but the thing is I have so many of those things like they all just accumulate I need to go to and set up like a market stall no you don't you need to just become a depop girly yes take a photo of it chuck it online if it sells go back to your wardrobe pull it out pop it in a post pack send it off so easy yes exactly Jess from she's on the

money she's a depop queen but I feel like it just does the hard work for you like in a market stall I feel like they're fun but like that's a lot of work whereas snap a picture of you in the dress pop it online and when it sells, it sells. So good. I should give that a go. I want to hear about it. Money Dyrus, this has been elite. Like I am obsessed with your money story. You said though that you're a solid B, but even your like, quote, worst money habits are things that you were like, no, no, no. It's like not something that I want to change. Like, you know, quote, worst habit, but also like best outcome for me. I'm enjoying life and really happy with the way I'm spending money. You're self-employed, you have two positively geared

properties and you're going to buy 10. Literally, you said earlier that you have $121,000 worth of equity that you can use literally today to get you into your next three properties. Do you think that sounds like someone who's just a B? I think knowing my money mindset of me being so money hungry and constantly working I have a hard time of having a break and giving myself that like a six day or a float like I will always work because I am self-employed so I don't think I'm at a level yet maybe a b plus I will upgrade myself too but there's always room to grow and I think I won't be at an a until I get further along my goal yeah that's fair that's fair and I mean if we look at your goal pragmatically you're 20% of the way there I know crazy yeah but that's cool that's

20% you didn't have before 2023. That is very cool. I'm so excited about this and I am hoping that at some stage you're willing to do an updated money diary because we need to know where you have gone and what this looks like. But till then, money diarist, we have run out of time. So it has been a pleasure. I have loved this. This is so fun. I feel so motivated to make sure that we are all finding our own journey. I loved what you said early on in the episode was that you looked into property and picked the right asset class for you and whether people pick property or shares or fixed interest or cash like I don't mind but I love that you deep dove into working out what worked for you and now you're going for it like it's just so cool I'm so proud of you thank you of course oh my gosh

well thank you for being on the show it has been an absolute pleasure thank you so much for having me and I love your podcast thank you now you're on it crazy the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances she's on the money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision if you do choose to buy a financial product read the pds tmd and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs victoria divine and she's on the money are authorized representatives of money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.