# $120K Mortgage Paid Off In 1 Year | Grant & Belinda | CHANGING LIVES | Season 4 Ep 24

An episode of [Money Mentor Podcast™](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1632604767), 16 Apr 2026, 1 h 13 min.

Audio: https://episode.flightcast.com/pt4ozon7huv2ibof88s0z027.mp3

Grant and Belinda were a financially disciplined family, no debt, consistent savings but lacked a clear strategy, leaving them feeling stuck and unable to grow their wealth; after initially hesitating, they committed to a financial program that helped them restructure their money, create a budget, and use their savings more effectively, allowing them to pay off their home loanwithin a year and begin investing, while also transforming their mindset and lifestyle by becoming more intentional with spending, strengthening their communication as a couple, and raising their daughter with healthier financial habits, ultimately showing that true financial progress comes not just from discipline, but from clarity, strategy, and purposeful living.Excited to change your future? 👉 Start by watching the FREE webinar and see what's possible: https://bit.ly/43V2jKN

## Transcript

[0:00] We want to explore the world with our daughter and as a family and I guess having a budget and having that structure within our finances allows us to do that.
[0:12] This is where Grant and Belinda started.
[0:14] No debt, no credit cards.
[0:16] They paid cash for everything.
[0:19] They were doing it right, but getting nowhere.
[0:22] But discipline without direction isn't a strategy.
[0:25] They had the savings, but didn't know how to make their money work for them.
[0:29] Like so many Australians, they wanted more.
[0:33] Then they attended the Infinity Masterclass and everything clicked.
[0:37] For the first time, their savings had a strategy.
[0:40] Their future had a structure.
[0:43] Within 12 months, their home loan was paid off.
[0:46] And today, a growing property portfolio.
[0:49] The whole family shifted, more conscious, more intentional.
[0:53] A positive money mindset they're now passing on to their kids.
[0:57] This is the story of Grant and Belinda Adams and how they changed everything.
[1:06] Welcome back to another episode of The Money Mentor on the changing lives financially theme.
[1:10] And we have another very special family and guest, beautiful family, who have also, strangely enough, paid their mortgage to zero.
[1:20] Go figure.
[1:21] Good morning, Grandma Linda.
[1:22] How are you?
[1:23] Very well, thank you.
[1:24] Good morning, G. No nervous at all?
[1:26] A little bit.
[1:26] A little bit.
[1:28] A little bit of shriek the pucker.
[1:29] A little bit.
[1:31] So give us a bit of background first because I wanted to start with that, that today you sit here home loan free, which is a huge achievement.
[1:38] So maybe explain to everyone that doesn't know you guys, like whereabouts are you based and family dynamic and jobs and all that sort of stuff.
[1:46] My name is Belinda and this is my wonderful husband Grant.
[1:51] We live in the southwest suburbs of Melbourne.
[1:54] We have a family of four.
[1:57] We have one beautiful little girl.
[1:59] She's seven years old.
[2:00] Her name's Ella.
[2:01] And we have a Labradoodle and his name is Bear.
[2:05] Bear.
[2:06] And he's pretty much our second child.
[2:08] Is he a big bear or a little bear?
[2:10] Medium-sized.
[2:11] Medium-sized Labradoodle, yeah.
[2:14] And we, for work, I'm a primary school teacher.
[2:19] And I work in the racing game.
[2:22] Racing game?
[2:22] Sports racing game.
[2:23] Oh, okay.
[2:23] Yeah.
[2:24] Okay, very interesting.
[2:26] So tell us, so family, I love that Bear is included in the family dynamics.
[2:32] He's not just a fur baby, he's an extra child.
[2:34] No, extra child there.
[2:36] Tell us a little bit of background of how you found us, why, who, were you both like, yes, let's go, or one of you like, oh, who's this?
[2:43] Give us a bit of background on that journey and when was that?
[2:47] Yeah, so one Tuesday afternoon, I was walking my dog and for a few months now, or back then in 2023, we were talking about how we could get ahead with our mortgage and how we could
[3:00] We wanted to invest but we weren't sure how and I think my phone was listening to me at the time because I was walking my dog and up you popped on socials.
[3:11] I'm creepy like that.
[3:12] Like I'm about our interest and all of a sudden I was like hello.
[3:15] Absolutely.
[3:15] Absolutely.
[3:16] I was out walking my dog and I started listening to you on socials.
[3:21] Yeah.
[3:22] And I basically went home from there and I said to Grant, the moment our daughter goes to bed, we're hopping onto this free webinar.
[3:30] Right.
[3:31] And he was like, what are you making me do?
[3:32] Yeah.
[3:34] And I didn't have a choice either.
[3:36] Yeah, yeah.
[3:36] No, we never do.
[3:38] I was like, just trust me.
[3:39] Just come and hop on this webinar with me.
[3:41] So he had a beer in his hand.
[3:44] We're on this webinar.
[3:46] And I was instantly drawn to everything that you were saying.
[3:49] Right.
[3:49] It's everything that we kind of...
[3:52] wanted to achieve for ourselves but didn't know where to start.
[3:57] That being said, I don't think I was overly interested at the time.
[4:00] Nah, beer in hand.
[4:02] Who's this idiot with a head like a drop-boot pie?
[4:06] Maybe as the more beers, maybe you're more interested in the night.
[4:10] Did I yell at anyone on that session?
[4:12] You swore a lot but I loved it.
[4:13] That's why we had to wait until our daughter went to bed.
[4:16] Oh, yeah, yeah, true.
[4:17] I was like, I love this guy.
[4:18] This is great.
[4:21] And I just thought you were really genuine and what you basically were teaching us, it was very honest, it was very raw, quite authentic.
[4:29] Yeah.
[4:29] It's actually quite simple.
[4:31] It is.
[4:31] When you break it down, it's like taking you back to school and compound interest and one-on-one.
[4:36] And I think that's why most people that bother to listen resonate because they go, oh, this makes so much sense.
[4:42] What have we been doing?
[4:43] Yeah.
[4:44] So that was in, I believe, July 2023.
[4:47] That was a long time ago.
[4:49] It was.
[4:49] It was a while.
[4:50] The joke's on us now.
[4:50] We did nothing after that.
[4:51] We did nothing after that.
[4:52] Oh, really?
[4:53] We did nothing.
[4:54] However.
[4:54] You were like, oh, yeah, what a load of shit.
[4:57] Yeah.
[4:57] I was a little bit of a skeptic and then the following year came and we started talking about it again.
[5:04] Yeah, we were talking about we needed to get ahead and we always knew that a weekly wage wasn't going to be a way that you build anything meaningful.
[5:13] And I was actually driving to Sydney with my daughter to see the grandparents.
[5:17] From Melbourne?
[5:17] From Melbourne.
[5:18] And so I've got a good eight hour drive there and back.
[5:21] Started getting on the podcast.
[5:22] Did you give her some earplugs?
[5:24] Yes, yes.
[5:25] Her headphones, her iPad or something.
[5:27] Yeah, exactly.
[5:28] And had the Wilson Weekly on there and listened to you and Dr. Wilson, God knows how many times.
[5:33] Okay.
[5:34] And then just realised, hang on, what are we doing?
[5:37] We're not doing anything.
[5:38] Right.
[5:39] Property was moving up, moving up.
[5:41] And all we were, well, personally, I was thinking at the time, I'm just missing out.
[5:45] Gotcha.
[5:46] So a bit of scarcity kicked in like FOMO.
[5:48] Yeah.
[5:49] It really did.
[5:50] Because there's that phobia, as Doc says, the fear of being involved for most families.
[5:54] Yes.
[5:54] It's that fear of being involved in something going wrong.
[5:57] Correct.
[5:57] And then that 23 into 24, then it becomes the FOMO.
[6:01] Correct.
[6:02] And I think it was the fear a little bit at first for us.
[6:05] I wanted to jump in.
[6:08] It took Grant a little bit longer.
[6:10] And then in 2024, when we went back on the free webinar, we instantly was drawn to learning again from you.
[6:19] Everything that you said, we put into perspective and we understood.
[6:23] Right.
[6:24] And we wanted to jump on board immediately once we listened to that webinar the second time round.
[6:30] From there...
[6:31] So that was late 2024.
[6:33] It was September 2024, yeah.
[6:35] And then we, obviously as Belinda said, we jumped straight into it.
[6:38] You're a long-time listener, first-time caller.
[6:40] Yeah, basically, yeah.
[6:42] Slow burn.
[6:43] So we missed out for 12 to 14 months.
[6:46] We did and we do regret that.
[6:49] But obviously we're here now and we're...
[6:52] We're mortgage free now.
[6:53] We're mortgage free now.
[6:54] I don't know how much we regretted.
[6:55] It was just a little bit slower.
[6:57] And that's not a bad thing, especially now you know my personality, because when you're ready, you're ready.
[7:03] When you're half ready, it just ends in tears.
[7:07] And I think, and we'll get to this point shortly, but in our process, because we were ready, we were balls to the wall at ready.
[7:16] We were ready to actually commit fully.
[7:18] And I think that was an important thing that we spoke to each other about actually the commitment.
[7:23] Yeah.
[7:24] Yeah.
[7:24] So from the webinar in September, we signed up to the masterclass in January of 2025.
[7:32] We did want to do the December one, but it was our daughter's dance concert that weekend.
[7:36] Priorities.
[7:37] Yeah, so we had to attend that.
[7:39] That's still a big commitment, but to outlay the financial investment in September and hang on and wait until January.
[7:45] You're pretty committed.
[7:47] Yes.
[7:47] Because we're making this investment before we miss a ticket and that's the date we're going.
[7:52] You're very committed in that aspect.
[7:53] We couldn't wait for the master class.
[7:55] We were counting down on the calendar on the fridge.
[7:57] We were so excited.
[7:59] And then you got there and had to listen to me.
[8:01] What a letdown.
[8:04] No, it was fabulous.
[8:05] That weekend just changed our world.
[8:07] That was a Gen 25.
[8:09] It was.
[8:10] Okay.
[8:11] Yeah.
[8:12] Okay, so just over a year ago.
[8:14] Just over, yeah.
[8:16] Okay, I'm trying to think of that gen masterclass, how cranky or happy I was.
[8:19] But anyway, did we boot anyone?
[8:22] Oh, there's always someone booted early on.
[8:24] Yeah.
[8:24] The last couple have been good.
[8:26] No.
[8:26] Because Rach runs it all with me now.
[8:28] Okay.
[8:28] And I think maybe the feminine, a little bit softer side, like Rach is firm like me, but people tend to behave a little bit better now.
[8:36] Yeah, comments, maybe.
[8:40] That's still how it drives me nuts.
[8:41] I've got to like step away from the computer.
[8:43] It's like, oh, but yeah.
[8:45] Okay.
[8:45] So Gen 25, all in.
[8:48] All in.
[8:49] Okay.
[8:49] I think we're all in before we started.
[8:51] We just needed to get to the end of day two so we could pay you the money to sign up.
[8:55] All that all in.
[8:57] That's an interesting comment too because a lot of people do, and we've checked this, right?
[9:02] Like...
[9:02] More for internal purposes of like where do the families we help come from?
[9:08] Like what is our – people go, what's your average client?
[9:10] I'm like, oh, I don't know, like over the years because they're all so different.
[9:14] So we started collating that and a lot of people are like, oh, I watched you for two years on socials or I watched you for three or I did a thing in 23 and then did it again in 24, 24.
[9:23] Like I think with money for a lot of people because so many things go wrong,
[9:29] It takes us time to go, I'll extract a bit.
[9:32] Yeah, it makes sense, but I'm still not quite there.
[9:35] Extract a bit more.
[9:36] And then there is some event or pain or some equal frustration where you're like, all right, I've checked this out for so long.
[9:42] It must be legit or not.
[9:43] Let's go figure it out.
[9:44] So it is a slow burn for most people.
[9:47] So Gen 25, all in, signed up.
[9:50] What were some of your key learnings from the two days?
[9:55] Well, yeah, personally I think everything that we learnt, it was contrarian as you put it out.
[10:01] It's different to what we've been brought up.
[10:03] As we'll explain, I'm sure, that when we got brought up, money, cash was king.
[10:08] You put everything in the bank.
[10:10] You save as much money as you possibly can.
[10:13] You buy cars with cash.
[10:17] And, yeah, so I think by trying to utilise our money, and we knew that because, as I said,
[10:23] we weren't going to get anywhere just on a weekly wage.
[10:25] We needed to try and use our money more purposely and effectively.
[10:29] And so I think the way you explain structuring the waterfall effect, like everything for the two days, I think it, yeah.
[10:39] A lot of things I probably still don't know.
[10:41] That's okay.
[10:42] That's what you pay us for.
[10:43] That's right.
[10:43] And you're the... You're the experts in your field.
[10:47] Yeah.
[10:48] And I look at it like that from that perspective.
[10:50] It's hard to let go of you, especially your money.
[10:52] Yeah.
[10:52] Yeah.
[10:53] So, you know, we walked away from that weekend with new knowledge, a little bit of financial literacy that we didn't have before.
[11:00] A couple of uppercuts along the way.
[11:03] Absolutely.
[11:04] Absolutely.
[11:04] And then when we had to sit down and work out what we were spending each week and what we spent our money on, that's when it really stood out to us.
[11:16] We don't have a budget.
[11:17] Like, what are we doing?
[11:19] Where is our money going?
[11:20] Let's go back a sec.
[11:20] To give everyone context, because obviously you paid your home off in full, which is a huge effort.
[11:25] Congratulations.
[11:26] And...
[11:26] You joined in January 25 and you paid the home off in full 120 grand when?
[11:32] In December.
[11:33] Just around, yeah, after Christmas.
[11:35] So like 11 months.
[11:37] Yeah.
[11:37] Now to give context, but when you said before that you didn't have a budget and this and you always told pay cash for cars and all these sorts of things, obviously we did a lot of restructuring there.
[11:47] Did you have any cash at the time, toys to sell?
[11:51] What did you have in your world today?
[11:52] when we started with that $120,000 mortgage, just to keep it real for people.
[11:56] Yeah, so no toys.
[11:58] We didn't sell anything to gain money, other than I think you sold a handbag or two, which got a little bit of cash for it.
[12:05] Marketplace.
[12:05] Marketplace.
[12:06] It was our friend for a little bit when we first started.
[12:08] We had, I would think about nearly eight to ten bank accounts within our own.
[12:13] So our daughter had a bank account.
[12:17] Every week she got $100, $150 in that bank account.
[12:21] So that was for her future.
[12:22] Yep.
[12:23] So that's like her house deposit or college uni or whatever.
[12:26] Yeah, university, whatever she would need to use that for.
[12:30] We both had a splurge account each.
[12:31] We both had a splurge account.
[12:32] Oh, you were wrong footing.
[12:34] Like I think Grant had an account called Grant's Golf.
[12:38] Like this is what we are talking about.
[12:40] And we just changed the subject or the title, just whatever we're trying to say for our time.
[12:45] So golf, holiday, car, whatever it may be.
[12:48] We had money spilt out across different accounts.
[12:50] Yeah, okay.
[12:52] So when you scooped all that up.
[12:53] Frank Kennedy.
[12:54] Because I think people get stuck in the saving money, but if you owe $120,000 to the bank at, call it 6%, but you've got $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, whatever it is, at 3%, and you pay tax on the interest you earn.
[13:10] Yes.
[13:10] It doesn't, like we're literally professionally losing money every day.
[13:13] But I don't...
[13:15] It's right in front of us, but for some reason from school and education to when we get into the... That knowledge gap just, like, it's gone.
[13:22] Correct.
[13:23] It looked good on paper that we had all these accounts and we had money everywhere and we're thinking, oh, how good are we going?
[13:28] But we're not going very good at all.
[13:29] So how much did you scoop up in that 8, 10 accounts and pay straight off the loan?
[13:34] About $30,000 So $120,000 drops to $90,000 Yes And then we smacked the $90,000 on the head in like 11 months We did And no toys to sell Just moving the money around Dump that in there and then attack
[13:50] Yep.
[13:51] Yeah, he went hard.
[13:52] Okay.
[13:53] And there was no budget prior?
[13:54] No budget.
[13:55] No budget prior to injury.
[13:56] But you had savings, so you obviously weren't overspending horrifically.
[14:01] Like, you obviously weren't being bad with the money?
[14:04] No, we weren't being bad, but we could be better.
[14:06] Okay.
[14:07] I think before Infinity we would go out and if we wanted something, we would buy it because we had the money to.
[14:14] Okay.
[14:15] But having a budget after joining Infinity gave us some structure.
[14:21] Yep.
[14:22] And, you know, we actually started to kind of – it changed our mindset to, you know, live – you know, we're quite simple people.
[14:33] But to basically live and not always want, you know, just do we really need those new pair of shoes?
[14:41] Do we really need that golf set?
[14:43] Do we really need to buy that for our daughter?
[14:46] That's what we really started questioning.
[14:47] So how hard was it to set a budget?
[14:50] It was really hard at first.
[14:52] Okay.
[14:52] Yeah.
[14:53] For everybody?
[14:55] Harder for you.
[14:56] Harder for myself.
[14:57] See, that's what happens when you go and instigate these webinar things.
[15:01] I know, but I'm so glad I did.
[15:03] Good, good.
[15:05] Yeah.
[15:05] It was definitely harder for you.
[15:07] It was definitely harder for me than Grant because we've never had one before.
[15:11] Yeah, okay.
[15:12] And I can eat two-minute noodles.
[15:14] Okay, I've got a few good recipes for that.
[15:17] But even when we first started the budget, it's a funny story when Belinda actually said, I'm not going without my coffee every day.
[15:25] Yeah.
[15:25] Yeah.
[15:26] Fair enough.
[15:26] I work hard.
[15:26] Put it in the budget.
[15:28] I did say that.
[15:29] Yeah.
[15:29] Yeah.
[15:29] And you were a bit like forceful with that?
[15:32] I was a bit stubborn at first in the first month of having a budget.
[15:36] Yeah.
[15:37] After joining Infinity, I was like, I'm not going without my coffee and I'm not going without this and –
[15:43] You know, first few months in I kept buying the coffee.
[15:45] Yep.
[15:46] But then I got to the realisation of like, well, if I spend so much on a coffee and buy them over multiple days across the week, I'm going to spend –
[15:57] $100 just on takeout food.
[16:01] And I could spend that $100 on us as a family and it could go to our entertainment.
[16:07] It could go to other areas.
[16:08] So you had a mindset shift.
[16:10] So total mindset shift.
[16:12] Of your own choice at some point.
[16:13] Of my own choice.
[16:14] How many months in do you think that was?
[16:16] I think that was about the second or third month in that I turned around to Grant and said, for example, with the coffee, I'm not going to buy coffee anymore.
[16:26] I'm going to make my own coffee at home and buy the beans.
[16:31] Did you check the temperature?
[16:32] Yeah, exactly.
[16:33] I would like that.
[16:35] But I make a coffee in the morning, so...
[16:37] So we have a...
[16:38] Very sweet.
[16:39] Put in a little cup for it.
[16:40] Exactly.
[16:41] Good husband.
[16:41] Extra hot, so I'll pass a little bit of a husband.
[16:43] Gran is an extremely humble human being.
[16:45] He does a lot for me.
[16:46] He's very kind.
[16:50] But I just went without and I don't notice the difference.
[16:54] And I can't tell you the last time I brought...
[16:57] a coffee from a cafe on a consistent basis.
[17:00] I might just buy one a week on the weekend.
[17:03] Can I ask, what was the trigger a couple of months in?
[17:06] Was it like, do you remember your first couple of sweeps or the battle?
[17:09] Like, are you reporting, talking to the RR?
[17:12] Like, what triggered that change?
[17:14] Something must have triggered it.
[17:15] Well, I think after the first two-day masterclass, we had that transition period between late January to April when all our accounts got fixed up.
[17:27] Discharge the old bank, get new products, paperwork.
[17:31] So through that period of time, we were working with the new strategy anyway.
[17:34] So probably not as deep as what we are doing now.
[17:37] And we kind of got to that point in April where everything was set up.
[17:41] And then we had our first sweep in April.
[17:42] Right.
[17:43] And I think we just looked at each other and we saw this figure and we'd gone, like, really?
[17:47] You think?
[17:47] We think we're like, it's like we've done this weird deposit to your account or something.
[17:53] And nothing changed for us.
[17:54] Life-wise.
[17:55] Yeah.
[17:56] So we had really two to three months of a different strategy or change in our behaviour.
[18:01] And then we had this sweep and we're like, how?
[18:04] I think we just looked at each other and said, did we just sweep that much across?
[18:07] Do you remember how much it was?
[18:08] It was close to $16,000.
[18:09] About $15,000, $16,000.
[18:10] Wow.
[18:11] And that's probably a carryover of two months maybe or a month, like in that changeover period.
[18:18] And then what did the sweeps normalise?
[18:20] Do you remember?
[18:20] Did they sort of start sitting at eight or ten?
[18:22] Yeah, I think six to eight was probably the common one.
[18:25] And then obviously if we get the month with three pays through that, then they're the higher one.
[18:30] And then every quarter you cop like your rates and your insurance and then it's like, shit, we didn't sweep anything, right?
[18:35] And it's like, oh, you get more aggressive.
[18:37] So that was the trigger.
[18:39] It was.
[18:39] Okay.
[18:41] Yeah.
[18:41] It was a huge win for us and we haven't looked back.
[18:43] Okay.
[18:44] Well done.
[18:46] So 90 grand really after we move all that savings and that gone, you actually did a bit quicker because transitioning into April for that first big sweep.
[18:55] So that's the fourth, 11.
[18:56] You really did it in half a year nearly.
[18:58] So that's pretty powerful.
[19:00] Yeah.
[19:01] But you're saying not much has changed?
[19:04] No.
[19:04] No.
[19:05] Obviously, you get up a bit earlier, you make coffee, little gestures, which, mind you, these are all great things in a relationship and a household.
[19:13] Yeah.
[19:13] Yeah.
[19:14] Like, I think people sometimes...
[19:17] Oh, I'm trying to think.
[19:17] I know.
[19:18] We get a bit lazy.
[19:19] So it's like we sleep a bit longer.
[19:22] We get up without food prepping or meal prepping.
[19:24] We get the drive-through brekkie and coffee.
[19:26] Then we buy the lunch.
[19:27] It's like if one of us got up or prepped it once or twice a week, the food would be there to just grab.
[19:33] Yeah.
[19:33] The coffee you could make.
[19:35] I mean, I've got the most epic coffee machine at home because then I get up in the morning and I can do that.
[19:39] I can make the coffee and I love the coffee beans I have in my machine.
[19:43] It's great.
[19:43] Yeah.
[19:44] Yeah, we prep all our meals.
[19:47] Before Infinity, we used to buy some takeout and drop $50, $60 on takeout.
[19:53] Once again, not knowing where our money's going, but we had the money to spend.
[19:57] Still doing a grocery shop, but also the Uber Eats or the takeaway all the time.
[20:00] Correct, but now I can't remember the last time.
[20:03] It was probably before Infinity that we brought takeout.
[20:06] But we prep all our meals.
[20:09] We plan out everything.
[20:10] We're very structured with our grocery shop.
[20:12] Okay.
[20:13] We cook really nutritional meals.
[20:15] We did a little bit of research of how we could go about meal prepping so that we could have dinner and lunch leftovers the following day so we could save a bit of money.
[20:25] And all of that structure has helped as well within our budget.
[20:30] How did you go...
[20:32] I'm just curious for the families tuning in here.
[20:35] Yeah.
[20:36] Was there any change there to start saying no to Bear but as well to your daughter?
[20:41] Was there any change or pushback there when you were asked for something and you started to say no?
[20:46] Yeah, definitely with Ella.
[20:48] Yeah.
[20:49] He doesn't know any different.
[20:50] He just gets the same thing every day.
[20:51] He gets the same people every day.
[20:53] He gets the same snack, the same walk.
[20:55] In fairness to Bea, he actually gets walked more because we've got more time.
[20:58] Oh, true, true.
[20:59] He's loving life.
[21:00] Exactly.
[21:01] Definitely with our daughter because we would give her everything.
[21:04] Right.
[21:04] And, like, we still give her everything but we give it in a different way now.
[21:08] Yep.
[21:08] Where back then we would walk to the shops and just for a matter of interest for her, we'll take her to Kmart.
[21:15] She'll have a look at the toys in Kmart.
[21:17] There'll be...
[21:18] Tori in the corner, do you want?
[21:19] No, $20, yeah, okay.
[21:21] If she's been a good girl over the weekend, we'll buy it for her.
[21:23] That kind of thing.
[21:24] So she had an expectation every time she went out she was going to get something.
[21:28] Could have been an ice cream, could have been this.
[21:30] And when we changed, we slowly – and we spoke – she's only seven years of age.
[21:34] We spoke to her about what we're doing.
[21:36] So she's fully aware of what's happening in the household.
[21:39] Yeah.
[21:39] And her – she's changed –
[21:42] She's changed completely, her daughter.
[21:44] This is interesting because I had another family yesterday sharing and their daughter was seven when they started.
[21:50] She's nine now.
[21:52] Same thing.
[21:52] She's grown and changed and matured with mum and dad.
[21:56] Yeah.
[21:56] And it's even to the point now where Ella would say to us, like school holidays is a difficult time because two weeks when they're not going to school, we need to try and entertain.
[22:06] And they should do things in that time.
[22:07] Correct.
[22:08] And she loves tennis so we can take it down to the local tennis courts.
[22:11] Yep.
[22:12] And Belinda said to her one day, oh, do you want to go to the zoo?
[22:14] And she's like, oh, mummy, zoo costs a lot of money.
[22:17] I'm just happy to go and play tennis.
[22:19] Wow.
[22:19] So these are words that came out of our daughter's mouth.
[22:22] At seven.
[22:22] And she was only six at the time when she made this comment.
[22:25] Wow.
[22:25] And for a six-year-old to make that comment, that's quite mature of her to turn around.
[22:29] And it's her choice.
[22:30] Like I said, I would take her to the zoo in the school holidays.
[22:33] Yeah.
[22:34] And she's like, mummy, I'm sorry.
[22:36] you know, I'm just happy to just go down the road, play some tennis, and if you could take me to the swimming pool as well, that would be great.
[22:44] And these are all free activities in our local community.
[22:46] But she's also negotiating to get two things in one day now.
[22:48] She switched on.
[22:50] She even said, Mummy, it's not going to cost any money.
[22:53] This is free and I'm going to have so much fun doing these two activities.
[22:57] And I'm like...
[22:58] And I couldn't believe it.
[22:59] I looked at Grant and I said, did that just come out of our daughter's mouth?
[23:03] So it's really a...
[23:04] So it's transformed her mindset as well.
[23:05] It's a transformation for the whole family.
[23:08] Yeah.
[23:08] And, Grant, you said something, she said, I think you said you used to give to her all the time, but you give him different ways now.
[23:16] Yeah.
[23:16] That's a very important statement for families listening in to say like, and I always say stop buying your kid shit you never had and start teaching the things that you were never taught.
[23:25] And I think that's so – because that's clearly rolling downhill into, well, no, I think this would be better and this would be fun and I'm still happy with this.
[23:33] Correct.
[23:34] Like having those dialogues with a child of that age to me is for life to get goosebumps.
[23:38] That's awesome.
[23:39] Yeah.
[23:40] You can't ever – you'll never take that knowledge from her in her life.
[23:43] Yeah.
[23:43] That's right.
[23:44] And like even as a family, we do a lot more together.
[23:46] Yeah.
[23:47] Like you would think that we're not spending as much money, so we're going to stay at home a lot more, but we're actually doing more.
[23:54] We're doing more.
[23:55] So we have a ritual every Sunday we'll go for a long bike ride.
[23:59] Take us two to three hours to go down to local shops and come back.
[24:04] We'll get a coffee there.
[24:05] Sit out in the sun.
[24:06] We take our dog.
[24:07] Yeah.
[24:08] She gets her little baby Chino and she loves it.
[24:10] Yeah.
[24:11] And it's not an expensive exercise.
[24:13] So you're doing...
[24:14] You're spending more time as a household and a family together.
[24:17] Correct.
[24:17] Absolutely.
[24:18] More experiences, more memories, just blowing less money.
[24:21] Correct.
[24:22] Absolutely.
[24:22] Yeah, that's exactly what we're doing.
[24:24] And then when we go out, they're meaningful.
[24:26] Yeah.
[24:27] So like it might be once a month we'll go out for a family dinner and we do that now.
[24:31] And we involve our daughter in that decision.
[24:33] Yep.
[24:33] Like she gets to choose where we go.
[24:35] Okay.
[24:35] And everyone gets a choice each month.
[24:37] Yep.
[24:38] And then there's the odd occasion where we'll surprise her.
[24:41] Yep.
[24:41] So we're taking her to the ballet this Saturday because she dances.
[24:45] Yep.
[24:46] But that's not something we would do all the time.
[24:48] Yep.
[24:48] That's an extra special occasion.
[24:50] Yep.
[24:51] Yep.
[24:51] Whereas before Infinity, we would probably just go and do that.
[24:55] It's interesting because that's how I, I mean, my grandparents helped bring me up.
[24:57] Mum worked a lot.
[24:59] That's how I remember probably your era.
[25:00] That's how we were all brought up.
[25:02] Yeah.
[25:02] It was such a, for me, like to go to McDonald's or to go to the club or a restaurant, it was such a rarity.
[25:10] You know, people made their clothes.
[25:11] They, like, it was a different era, but now everyone's like, oh.
[25:15] We work so hard, we deserve it.
[25:17] Tap-ta-fer-oo.
[25:18] I know, I know.
[25:19] But back in the day, I think when we had physical cash, it was a big difference too, right?
[25:22] Because they go, all right, here's all the bills, here's the mortgage.
[25:25] And I remember Nan and Pop had this briefcase and the envelopes in it.
[25:28] And it was like, it was old school, right?
[25:30] But that's what they made.
[25:31] And Pop always got clipped on the way home because he used to have the old pay packet.
[25:35] And he'd come home and it'd always be ripped open already and he'd smell like he'd had it.
[25:39] I only had one pint.
[25:40] Yeah.
[25:42] I worked hard.
[25:43] Yeah.
[25:45] But I think it's changed a lot and people get stuck in that.
[25:49] Well, you're stuck in that cycle.
[25:51] Yeah.
[25:52] I think we're quick to jump to society and what society's doing and keeping up with the Joneses and, you know, oh, that family's doing that for the school holidays or maybe we should as well.
[26:03] Yeah.
[26:04] But, yeah, if you sat down and asked our daughter, she would say, I'd prefer the free activities over...
[26:11] And we still have such a great time together.
[26:13] We enjoy that family time.
[26:15] It means a lot to us.
[26:17] She goes to school telling her friends about what she did on the weekend.
[26:21] It's those memories that you create.
[26:23] It's not how much something costs that we truly value now.
[26:27] I think it's safe to say every child can tell you what they did on Christmas Day last year, but they can't remember what they got.
[26:33] Correct.
[26:34] Casey and Lenny crushed me with that on a podcast because they actually asked and only one of the children could remember, but they all remember what they did.
[26:42] Yes.
[26:43] So it's – but anyway, that's up to society to fix.
[26:46] We try one household at a time.
[26:47] That's right.
[26:48] You guys should be really proud of where you are.
[26:50] Like it sounds like we're in a bad position but you definitely – it sounds like there's this new mindset and focus and everyone's in the boat together.
[27:01] Everyone's rowing the boat.
[27:03] Well, not bad but everyone else is rowing the boat together.
[27:06] Yeah.
[27:06] But –
[27:07] Does it feel good?
[27:08] It does.
[27:08] Yeah, it feels really good.
[27:09] Yeah.
[27:10] And I think it feels good because we are doing it together.
[27:12] Yeah.
[27:13] And all three of us, Ella included, we had a goal in mind and we were focused and we achieved it.
[27:20] Well done.
[27:20] And I think as a family, like we've always had a very strong relationship, Grant and I, but I feel that we've gotten stronger after joining Infinity because we communicate about every little detail in our life, including money.
[27:35] Yeah, which is usually the taboo thing, right?
[27:39] Until one of you tap and there's a problem or you can't pay a bill and there's stress, right?
[27:43] Yes, yes.
[27:44] Let's jump a little bit to investing.
[27:46] Did you guys have any investments when you started?
[27:49] Nothing.
[27:49] It sounds like that was the trigger for you when you were in the car.
[27:51] You were like, I'm going to go listen to this idiot again.
[27:53] And you were like, hang on a minute.
[27:55] So you obviously felt like you were maybe missing the boat on that drive to Sydney.
[27:59] Is that the main instigator?
[28:02] Yeah, look, as I said, I think we always knew we needed to do better with our money, but not knowing how to do it.
[28:09] Like my idea of investing was to go back to one of the banks that's been ripping us off for so long and saying, how much more money can you give me so I can buy something wherever and then my mortgage is going to be a million dollars again.
[28:24] And not knowing the structure.
[28:25] But I think on that trip it's like there's clearly a different way.
[28:30] These guys are the experts.
[28:31] We need to try and get in here.
[28:33] Right.
[28:34] Okay.
[28:34] So no investments before we started.
[28:36] What about today?
[28:37] How are we going today?
[28:37] So home loan's gone.
[28:38] Yep.
[28:39] Yeah.
[28:39] Any investments?
[28:40] Got three.
[28:41] Three?
[28:41] Three.
[28:43] Oh, jeez.
[28:44] Yeah.
[28:44] And that's all in like just over a year, just on a year.
[28:48] Not even.
[28:48] Yeah.
[28:49] Really, we're March now.
[28:50] Technically, really, your structure started in April.
[28:52] We're about to hit an anniversary.
[28:53] That's right.
[28:55] Wow.
[28:55] Is that a bit scary?
[28:57] uh exciting okay yeah really exciting actually yeah exciting how hard how hard on the journey was it to absorb all the information because i mean obviously it was a bit of a slower burn for you guys to get the information yeah it makes sense warm to it we like it but then sort of put on the back burner and get busy
[29:19] You then come back, reabsorbed it and gone, yep, this is for us.
[29:23] You've executed.
[29:24] Then there's that journey of, okay, what knowledge gaps do we have as a family?
[29:28] Okay, we can start attacking the mortgage.
[29:30] Great.
[29:31] Where did all this money come from?
[29:32] How good?
[29:33] Then there's, for anyone, there's always those knowledge gaps.
[29:36] So to listen to Doc Wilson and myself and Rach and the team, how hard was it to absorb all the information for the investment side of it?
[29:45] Actually, and the lending.
[29:46] How hard was the lending?
[29:47] Or the lending just made sense.
[29:48] It was just math.
[29:49] Yeah, look, it made sense.
[29:51] I don't think it was hard because I think we understood that we engage with you.
[29:55] Yeah.
[29:55] And you're the expert.
[29:56] It's like we're not going to go home and read a contract that's 400 pages long.
[30:01] You're just going to give it to your lawyer.
[30:03] Yeah.
[30:03] We're there.
[30:04] We're committed.
[30:05] You're the expert.
[30:06] We trust the process.
[30:07] And I think once we got in our minds that we needed to trust the process, we're fine.
[30:12] Right.
[30:13] We had a great team here at Infinity working for us behind the scenes as well.
[30:18] Um, and we couldn't have done what we've achieved without them.
[30:22] Uh, our relationship manager has been incredible, Ella.
[30:26] And she's been with us every step of the way.
[30:28] Hasn't beat you up too bad.
[30:29] No, we've been good actually.
[30:30] She's been amazing.
[30:32] Um, but yeah, I feel like our Infinity team has been with us every step of the way along the journey.
[30:38] And because of that trust that we've put in our team, it was easy from day one for us.
[30:42] How much do you rely on the team or is it pretty cruisy for you guys now?
[30:47] Cruisy for us now.
[30:48] Yeah.
[30:48] At first we were receiving all this paperwork and I remember I was at work and I was receiving all these emails and I'm like, I don't even know what that means.
[30:59] I'll get a text message from Belinda and she's like, we've got to sign.
[31:02] I said, just sign it.
[31:03] It'll be fine.
[31:03] Just sign it.
[31:04] Yeah, he'd get text messages from me while I was at work.
[31:07] Grant, I think we need to do something quick.
[31:08] Act.
[31:09] And he's like, what do you mean?
[31:10] And the best part, you only have to press a sign.
[31:14] Oh, the docusigns.
[31:14] Yeah, the docusigns.
[31:15] So you don't have to find them.
[31:16] I get so many of them every day.
[31:18] I'm like, oh.
[31:19] Yeah.
[31:19] And then if we were ever in doubt, we'd just hop on the phone to Ella.
[31:22] Yep.
[31:23] Ella would provide us with the direction or the answer in five seconds and then we'd go back to work.
[31:28] Yep.
[31:28] So had you had advisors and teams previously or you just got the loan and just on your merry way for years and years?
[31:36] I'm surprised you got, obviously you had a fairly low mortgage balance by today's standards, which means, and obviously equity in the home.
[31:44] I'm surprised you guys hadn't dabbled or done something prior in the last few years prior to meeting us.
[31:50] No, like even when we were growing up, I had a house with my brother.
[31:54] We sold that, this is a long time ago, where you were paying minimum repayment, so we never got ahead at all.
[32:00] When I met Belinda she had a unit which she ended up selling.
[32:04] Again, minimum repayments, never got ahead at all.
[32:07] Maybe made a little bit of money on there.
[32:08] We made a little bit of money from our previous properties before we were married.
[32:13] But only our parents advised us.
[32:15] Yeah, okay.
[32:16] Yeah.
[32:16] And again, the advice would be make sure you work hard.
[32:20] Yeah.
[32:21] Earn as much money as you possibly can.
[32:23] Yeah.
[32:24] And save it.
[32:25] Yeah.
[32:26] Which we'll kind of do in that as well but spending and not utilising the cash where we should have been.
[32:32] What's been the hardest thing on the journey in the last 12 months?
[32:38] I think changing our mindset.
[32:42] I'm not going to get rid of my coffee.
[32:43] Yeah, pretty much.
[32:45] Okay, whatever.
[32:45] It's your budget.
[32:46] I laugh now and I'm just so honest about that.
[32:49] I tell people about that and they just laugh at me.
[32:52] But just, yeah, you know, having a budget was really hard at first for me, more so.
[32:58] A little bit hard for our daughter to begin with, but we sat her down and we explained everything to her.
[33:06] and just, yeah, making sure that...
[33:10] You know, we put our foot on the pedal and do as best we can.
[33:14] Okay.
[33:15] And I feel that we did that quite well.
[33:17] Like once we're invested in something, we fully commit.
[33:21] It's hard initially from the budget perspective, but now it's like let's go.
[33:25] Yeah.
[33:25] Let's go.
[33:25] Yeah.
[33:26] Yeah.
[33:27] And I think from personal perspective, we saw the finish line really, really early in the journey.
[33:33] So we got to April and we did the first sweep and we looked at the numbers and we're like, oh, God.
[33:38] And then I went home, did all the figures.
[33:40] I'm like, if we keep on trying to go hard, hard, hard, we could get it.
[33:45] And I don't think when we first started, you see the testimonials and you see all the success stories.
[33:52] And you think, you know what?
[33:54] That's great for them.
[33:55] Yeah, but that's not us.
[33:56] We're not going to get in.
[33:57] We're not going to be like that.
[33:58] You don't realise that pretty much every single family we have has results that good.
[34:02] Exactly.
[34:03] I could do thousands of these every year.
[34:05] We just don't have the time.
[34:06] But we thought to ourselves, you know what, we'll get results, but we're not going to get results like that.
[34:11] Our journey is not going to be a special journey that anyone's going to be.
[34:14] Here we are.
[34:15] Fantastic.
[34:16] Exactly.
[34:17] I think we got to our October sweep and we said, we can do this.
[34:20] Like, let's get to the finish line.
[34:22] I thought after April we could have got there.
[34:24] And Grant said, I reckon we could have this done by Christmas, you know.
[34:28] And we just kept going.
[34:30] And we were so determined.
[34:31] Is that what you were plugging in at home after April?
[34:32] You're like, we can do this at Christmas.
[34:34] That's what I'm thinking.
[34:35] I reckon we're pretty good here.
[34:36] And October was like a reality of weekend.
[34:38] Oh, it was just like, we can really smash this out if we really wanted to.
[34:43] Yeah.
[34:44] Um, but yeah, it was, yeah, what was hard for you besides the budget?
[34:50] Look, as I said, when I, when I saw the finish line, it was so close.
[34:54] Yeah.
[34:54] I think what we didn't do with the family together is probably we didn't celebrate those victories as much as we should have.
[35:01] Okay.
[35:02] Which is very important.
[35:04] Correct.
[35:05] Because there needs to be some delayed gratification of significance.
[35:10] Otherwise, it's easy to fall off the horse.
[35:11] Absolutely.
[35:13] And back to that point, we kind of saw it and we're like, oh, we won't go out.
[35:18] We won't do that family thing together.
[35:21] And we won't have that family holiday this year, but next year we will.
[35:24] And I think reflecting back, it's great how quick we've come, but I probably would say to myself, I'd rather get there in February of this year and then have that family holiday together.
[35:36] I've got a suggestion.
[35:38] What are you doing this year for Easter?
[35:39] Easter.
[35:40] for Easter, probably working.
[35:43] Well, I've got school holidays coming up.
[35:46] Some leave up your sleeve?
[35:47] Yeah, I've got plenty of leave.
[35:48] I reckon you should do a little family trip for Easter.
[35:51] Yeah, good.
[35:52] In fact, I insist.
[35:54] Yeah.
[35:55] Uh-oh.
[35:57] I think it's really important.
[36:00] Like you said, and hindsight's a beautiful thing.
[36:02] Like you said, it would have been great to maybe have set a target and go, you know what, we're going to get to this by December.
[36:10] But we're also going to then go push it out to General Feb and we're going to go to Fiji, Bali, some sort of trip or somewhere in Australia.
[36:17] I think that's really why I know.
[36:19] I know it's really important.
[36:20] I push people in challenging that all the time.
[36:23] It's good that you've been honest about it.
[36:25] I'd highly encourage if it's not, say, through Easter with some time off as a family and definitely all together make it work.
[36:32] Whether it's a weekend or overseas, whatever you guys like as a family, please go and do it.
[36:38] Because you know whatever you spend, you'll annihilate it next month anyway.
[36:42] Yeah, exactly.
[36:42] And now you have this knowledge and this structure and this skill.
[36:46] You're like...
[36:47] Okay, we can create a beautiful two-week memory, 10-day memory or something, and we'll smack that out in two weeks anyway and have covered it.
[36:55] It's a different mindset, right?
[36:57] People don't believe it.
[36:58] You're like, oh, that'll never be us.
[37:00] So I think that will be really special for you guys.
[37:03] And we've got a trip planned at the end of the year already.
[37:05] We're going back to Fiji in January.
[37:07] Good, okay.
[37:08] Our daughter had a lot to do with that decision, didn't she?
[37:10] Yes, she loves it.
[37:11] We've been there a few times now and she loves it.
[37:13] It's a good relaxing holiday.
[37:14] Yeah, I think if you can in the interim for that celebration, try to plug something in really soon.
[37:21] Yeah.
[37:21] We will.
[37:22] And the reason being as well and maybe make it a surprise, but if you know what she loves, make it a surprise so you can explain to her in this journey again as you're teaching her because you're obviously doing a great job of this is a reward for what we did over the last 12 months.
[37:36] Yeah.
[37:36] Because then she gets to go, hang on, if I continue this through life, there is something at the finish line.
[37:42] Correct.
[37:42] That's really special at their age.
[37:44] Yeah.
[37:44] Yeah, absolutely.
[37:45] Otherwise, we can't afford it.
[37:48] You can go too far.
[37:49] Yep.
[37:50] And if you go too far, it can start creating a little bit of scar tissue at a young age as opposed to they live this way because they get it and they're structured human beings.
[37:59] So that's really important.
[38:00] So definitely it's good to hear you acknowledge it.
[38:03] Let's do something together.
[38:04] Yeah, absolutely.
[38:05] Sure.
[38:05] Yeah.
[38:06] Not stuff, something.
[38:07] Yeah.
[38:07] That's, you know, oh, I'll get the kids new iPhones or we'll get a car or, you know, like do some memories together.
[38:14] Yeah.
[38:14] Do some cool stuff.
[38:15] And I think that's what we want to do.
[38:16] Like we really want to start travelling with Ella as well.
[38:18] Yeah.
[38:19] She learns French at school.
[38:21] So she comes home with a new word that she's learning.
[38:24] She wants to go to France.
[38:25] And we're like, oh, yeah.
[38:26] So I think we're – honestly, we're trying to plan that.
[38:28] That might be a bit tight by Easter.
[38:29] No, definitely not Easter.
[38:31] Probably when she gets a bit older, we'll take her there and go to Europe and see that when she can appreciate a bit more.
[38:37] That would be awesome.
[38:38] Make those memories and have those opportunities now that the mortgage is paid.
[38:42] Yeah.
[38:43] So for people listening in, once you pay your mortgage, because people think, okay, the mortgage is gone.
[38:50] You don't have that hanging over your head.
[38:52] You don't have the payment anymore.
[38:53] Why wouldn't you buy the coffee, go to came up, buy the toy, eat it?
[38:58] I mean, you've got no liability responsibility anymore.
[39:02] Why still continue with the budget?
[39:06] Because I think for us, you know, we don't need the coffee to make us happy.
[39:11] We don't need the thing that we say at Kmart to make us happy.
[39:15] But we love structure.
[39:16] And with a budget, we're going to be able to create those memories, go on those days.
[39:21] You're aroused by the budget and the structure.
[39:25] And just, yeah, have some opportunity there for our future that...
[39:31] Perhaps Grant and I didn't have as children as well.
[39:34] You know, we want to explore the world with our daughter and as a family.
[39:40] And I guess having a budget and having that structure within our finances allows us to do that.
[39:47] So three investments right now.
[39:50] So obviously staying strong, three investments.
[39:52] What's the – 12 months ago did you think you'd have three investments and no home loan?
[39:57] Absolutely no way.
[39:59] No.
[40:00] Has that become real yet?
[40:02] It has.
[40:02] In the last month or so, it has.
[40:06] When we paid our mortgage off, we kind of looked at each other and went, what just happened?
[40:10] Well, there are a few other words.
[40:12] Yeah.
[40:12] Yeah.
[40:14] Family show, of course.
[40:15] Yeah.
[40:16] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[40:17] Yes.
[40:18] But, yeah, the last month or so, yeah, we're on cloud nine.
[40:23] We're really happy and we're happy with our achievements and we want to keep going with it.
[40:29] Is there a big – I mean, it sounds like travel.
[40:32] I love it because it's like travel, time as a family unit, experiences, moments, memories.
[40:37] Is there any other big picture goal now?
[40:39] Because obviously everyone wants to pay their mortgage off if they've got a clue, right?
[40:42] So tick, investing tick, three.
[40:45] Is there any big picture goals now besides the travel, the memories, the moments?
[40:49] Have you got more investment goals or career?
[40:52] Where are you guys heading now?
[40:54] I want to do a part two to this in, say, 12 months' time.
[40:58] Sure.
[40:58] Because it's really cool when people see it and go, oh, yeah, paid actors, whatever.
[41:01] But then they get to see a part two and a part three.
[41:05] And I think it's really helpful for people that have been watching from the sidelines for free for a year or two.
[41:10] They go, oh, they went from here to here.
[41:13] We could do that.
[41:14] Absolutely.
[41:15] Yeah, look, I think our property portfolio, we want to build that and we want our money to be the best for us.
[41:23] Yeah, we want to travel but we always talk about generational wealth and we want that.
[41:28] But I think personally what I want is that we have no regrets.
[41:32] We don't get to like I'm 41 and Belinda's 38.
[41:36] We don't get to 60 and we say, oh, I wish we went to that holiday to France.
[41:41] Yeah.
[41:41] or I wish we had this amount of investment properties.
[41:45] Yeah, I don't want to get to the point where we say, I just wish.
[41:48] And I want to give our daughter the opportunity to chase her goals.
[41:52] She's only seven, but in 10 years time she'll be a young adult, 17, 18.
[41:57] And what does she want to do?
[42:00] And we want to be able to support that as well.
[42:02] And I think by starting now we've got time to get there.
[42:06] And obviously Grant and I don't want to be working forever.
[42:10] We want to get to a certain age where we can wind down with work and just enjoy the finer things in life.
[42:18] But yeah, having our money work a little bit more for us.
[42:21] This is a really interesting answer from both of you because...
[42:25] The average person in society listening in to this... ...and they comment on all the social media things... ...we're just ignoring them now.
[42:32] Their woe is me, victim mentality, all of that.
[42:34] You said something interesting.
[42:36] You're like, we don't want to wonder or what if... ...or die wondering, you know, that sort of stuff.
[42:40] And I wish we took the trip, I wish...
[42:42] Most people respond on these posts and comments and go...
[42:45] Yeah, you only live once, just spend it all, go now, get a credit card.
[42:50] But you have the same desire, the same outlook as them as, yeah, let's not die wondering, let's have these experiences.
[42:59] But you're approaching it in a very different way and being able to do it.
[43:03] Talk to that a little bit because I think there's a disparity between those two.
[43:07] Same desire, same outcome.
[43:09] It's just one can afford it and one can't.
[43:12] Yeah, absolutely.
[43:13] Like if we could do that now, but our mortgage would still be $120,000, $140,000, even more.
[43:19] You could owe $20,000 today instead of zero.
[43:22] Absolutely.
[43:23] So we understand that you can't do this without money.
[43:26] Yeah.
[43:27] And you've got to build that.
[43:28] And we're not flipping without money.
[43:31] Like we understand that it's important.
[43:33] It's the way that the world works.
[43:35] Yeah.
[43:37] So we will get there.
[43:38] Like we've always said, we've been very good savers.
[43:41] So we can save money.
[43:42] We do respect money.
[43:45] So it's about having that goal and setting that goal and actually achieving that.
[43:50] So not being, as I said, flippant with money.
[43:52] Just we'll get there.
[43:53] But we don't want to be taken back or restricted by a lack of it.
[43:59] Right.
[44:00] So you're being very structured in the approach.
[44:02] Yes.
[44:02] And when you're enjoying creating the moments and memories, because I've spoken to a family recently, reached out for help, and they're like, they're constantly traveling, but it's on credit cards and personal loans.
[44:13] Yeah.
[44:14] And then they're getting a balance transfer on this card to cover that card, and same outcome as you.
[44:19] They want to travel and experience your family and blah, blah, blah.
[44:23] but they just don't respect the process and money.
[44:26] So it's like everything and then how do we figure it out later?
[44:30] So there's a big difference there.
[44:31] The guys are really respecting the process, but then when you go and enjoy it, you go, okay, we'll take it to Europe when you're 15, say, and your French is a bit more advanced, but you'll really enjoy it guilt-free.
[44:45] Absolutely.
[44:45] You can buy things.
[44:46] You can do tours.
[44:47] It's not like, okay, we're here, but now we've got to load up at the buffet because we can't buy lunch when we're on the tour.
[44:53] Yeah.
[44:53] It's a different experience.
[44:56] Okay.
[44:58] what for someone tuning in that like okay i've watched the free webinar can't afford infinity but like i really need some guidance here what what tips and tricks or what what words of wisdom could you share with someone i always say ask the patient not the doctor yeah you guys know you've been through it what's hard what's easy what words of wisdom could you guys share for someone listening
[45:22] ...you know, family as well, Melbourne, fur babies, kids... ...like what words of wisdom could you share with them from your experience... ...because you've done it really quick.
[45:30] Yep.
[45:31] I think first of all be accountable for what you do.
[45:35] And you've said it in many of the podcasts before... ...go back and have a look at what you're spending.
[45:40] Get your highlighters out, that's shit, that's groceries, that's shit, shit, shit... ...and be accountable for what you're actually doing.
[45:47] And make sure that you're both on the same page...
[45:50] Like we wouldn't be able to do what we've done if we were rowing in a different direction.
[45:54] Gotcha.
[45:55] We both had a goal.
[45:57] We both spoke about that.
[45:59] It was an achievable goal and we worked together for that.
[46:01] So get on the same page together.
[46:04] Budget clearly is... And I think the budget, the FFF budget...
[46:10] Like at $10, if we went over, and we haven't gone over, but if we went over $10 a week here or there, it doesn't seem like a lot of money, but it's a mindset change.
[46:19] And what I've felt is that it actually stops that big purchase because, yeah, we're doing it each week.
[46:26] We're mindful of what we spend each week on that $5 here, $5 there, but it stops that big purchase that we would one day or previously have done.
[46:34] And I think being accountable, just living within your means and not...
[46:39] you know, tapping that card if you know that you can't.
[46:43] And if you're in a position where you are watching the free webinar and you can't afford to go to the next step, maybe, you know, sitting down together as a couple, really narrowing down and taking accountability and saying, okay, well, I'm going to, if I really want this and I really want to go to that next step, I'm going to sit down and say for it so I can make it happen.
[47:06] Do you think, so if I go back to 2023 when you said it together, beer in hand and whatever, I get a lot of people like one spouse will try to do the whole thing and you guys know I don't even accept that as a client.
[47:21] No.
[47:21] Like you can go all the way to the end and pay and we'll refund you, right?
[47:23] Yeah.
[47:24] Do you think it can work for something?
[47:27] They usually say, oh, I manage all the money, I do this.
[47:29] Do you guys think it can work if only one partner's trying to do it all?
[47:33] Absolutely not.
[47:34] It'd be very hard.
[47:35] Yeah.
[47:35] You need to work together.
[47:37] You're a team and you need to communicate because that's how it works.
[47:40] And we need to, you know, as a couple we're followed every step of the process together.
[47:46] If you're not going to do that, it's not going to work.
[47:49] And then there's the get the children on board as well.
[47:52] Absolutely.
[47:52] If there's a family, not just mum and dad.
[47:54] That's important too.
[47:55] And teach your children as you go along, no matter what age they are.
[47:59] I think that's really important.
[48:02] because they do listen even if they're young they take on board everything that you're saying sometimes they'll also watch what you do and they'll decide what they want to do off observing exactly that's right yeah they're very very sharp
[48:22] How do you guys go with, do you share with friends and family that you've paid the mortgage off?
[48:27] Does anyone ask?
[48:28] Do you keep it really private until today?
[48:30] Yeah.
[48:31] No, we're pretty private people.
[48:32] Like, I'm not sure anyone really knows what we're doing.
[48:34] They do now.
[48:36] They do now, yeah.
[48:37] And it's not because we're not ashamed or like don't want to get people involved.
[48:43] It's our journey.
[48:44] If people asked us what we do, we absolutely, we will tell them.
[48:47] Yep.
[48:47] We would definitely tell them.
[48:49] But I think everyone has their own journey as well with their finances and you can only do what you can do as a couple and work together to do that.
[48:59] Whether someone wants to follow your lead, that's totally up to them.
[49:05] But there is a process involved.
[49:09] We're just glad that we're here and we followed the process through and we fully committed.
[49:13] And what do you find – like how do you find being involved in this weird community?
[49:21] We love the community.
[49:21] Yeah, it's good.
[49:22] It's really good.
[49:23] We don't think it's weird.
[49:24] No, neither do I. I mean, I kind of built it.
[49:27] But like I pinch myself now when we wake up every day because we're just having so much fun, right?
[49:32] We had Luna Park the other day.
[49:34] We stole all the photos.
[49:35] And it's like – we used to do little community events with 20 people.
[49:39] Now it's like 800 or 12 – like they're wild, you know what I mean?
[49:42] Yeah, yeah.
[49:42] How do you guys find that sense of community?
[49:45] Have you met any cool people or is it a bit weird or how do you find it?
[49:49] No, like, yeah, you go.
[49:50] At the REM, like, we loved REM back in June.
[49:54] We met so many people.
[49:56] And you just get talking to everyone.
[49:58] You hear each other's stories.
[50:00] And it's just inspiring.
[50:01] And we're often on the podcast every few nights listening in.
[50:06] And that is something that inspired us as well throughout the process.
[50:10] Listening to your words of wisdom as well has inspired us and you've been along the journey with us.
[50:17] But, yeah, you just meet some amazing people and then, you know, you're down at the shops and you see someone in an Infinity shirt and you're like, wow.
[50:25] You're all excited.
[50:27] Like they're famous.
[50:30] But, no, they're just real people.
[50:31] They're genuine people like you and I.
[50:33] So, yeah.
[50:34] All right.
[50:34] Did you guys do the Chrissy party?
[50:37] No, we were planning to come, but we... We had our flights booked and we had a family circumstance.
[50:44] So unfortunately, we weren't able to make it.
[50:46] We have to come this year.
[50:47] But we will be here this year.
[50:48] Because Bec started planning it the next day.
[50:50] Yeah, right.
[50:51] And I was like, uh-oh.
[50:52] That's commitment.
[50:53] Yeah, we looked at the phone and we were like, oh, really?
[50:55] We missed a lot.
[50:56] I know.
[50:56] It was pretty cool.
[50:56] We were devastated.
[50:57] The last two, three years have been pretty cool.
[51:00] But SeaWorld was big the other year.
[51:02] But this last year was big.
[51:04] Yeah.
[51:04] And then this year's bigger.
[51:05] It's a lot of fun.
[51:06] They ended up, I think they needed three extra trucks to bring the presents out the next day.
[51:11] Which was so cool.
[51:12] You know, I said to them, bring a present each.
[51:14] People brought...
[51:16] Bags of presents.
[51:17] I was like, wow, that's cool.
[51:18] That's incredible.
[51:19] And that's just showed you what the company is, the community.
[51:21] Like the amount of money you raise, the amount of presents that like, that doesn't happen.
[51:27] It's not normal for any finance, banky investment, anything.
[51:32] But again, yes, it's a really successful business, but I think most people can hope, you guys and everyone can sense and feel it's not so much a business to us.
[51:42] It really is something that we enjoy, that we're passionate about, and the team as well.
[51:46] It's taken years to get where we are.
[51:49] The people we have now are phenomenal.
[51:52] Like they fight over going to a community today.
[51:55] It's like, hey, can we go?
[51:57] And it's like we have to, oh, okay, we'll take this many people.
[52:00] Like they're not fighting, but they're like, they're all chomping at the bit to get to a community anywhere in Australia and to ram.
[52:06] That's incredible.
[52:07] Like, and it's their weekend, you know, like they're like, no, no, we want to come, we want to come.
[52:11] So that's taken years, but.
[52:13] Yeah.
[52:13] Just like walking through the front doors, how many people came up to us this morning just to meet us?
[52:17] We just felt like family.
[52:18] Yeah.
[52:19] It was really nice.
[52:19] Did you see Steve at all down there today?
[52:21] Or Craig and Kim or Megan?
[52:23] No.
[52:24] Oh, we saw Megan.
[52:25] Yeah.
[52:25] And Jeremy.
[52:25] Yeah.
[52:26] They just hugged us like instantly and said, hi, welcome.
[52:30] And.
[52:30] They've got the best job in the world, honestly.
[52:32] We see them on socials.
[52:34] I'm like, I'd love that job.
[52:35] Yeah, such a cool gig.
[52:36] Yeah.
[52:37] Such a cool gig.
[52:38] Yeah.
[52:39] Okay.
[52:39] Hey, any questions for me while you got me in the hot seat today?
[52:43] Yeah, we do have a couple.
[52:44] Good.
[52:45] If you don't mind that we ask.
[52:46] I've got to get my phone out.
[52:47] No, go for it.
[52:48] I thought I'll leave us five or ten minutes so you can pick my brain today.
[52:51] Our first one is as infinity continues to grow –
[52:56] Where do you see infinity five to ten years' time, both nationally and globally?
[53:02] Yeah, it's a really good question.
[53:04] And will, I guess, Australia have anything to do with that global aspect of infinity?
[53:10] Yeah.
[53:10] Yeah, so as we're like going global and partnerships and that sort of stuff... ...it's pretty cool.
[53:16] Australia's interesting.
[53:18] We're being really picky.
[53:21] So I think we had like 1240 something in a masterclass the other month.
[53:26] 950 odd paid, like paid to apply to be a climber.
[53:29] It was a big one.
[53:31] We said no to over 350 and refunded them in full straight away.
[53:36] On the weekend, I think we had about 800, 550, 600 have applied.
[53:41] We'll say no to 150, 200 of that.
[53:45] And that's just to maintain integrity in the service delivery and also in the brand.
[53:53] You've seen people in the masterclass and what they type in the chat.
[53:55] It's like that repeat offender, if I haven't booted them, you know they're not going to follow the process.
[54:01] You know they're not in it to get like they want a quick fix and that band-aid, right?
[54:07] Yes.
[54:08] We've worked really hard to not work with those people... ...because they consume 80% of your time.
[54:13] It's that 80-20 rule.
[54:15] So people get...they're in tears and they're devastated.
[54:17] We need the help.
[54:18] And I'm like, you're not ready.
[54:20] So nationally at the moment... ...we're working really, really hard on only taking the right people...
[54:27] And not saying the ones we say no to aren't the right, but also working really hard on if we can't do a transformational life-changing job for you, I'd rather do no job.
[54:37] Yeah.
[54:38] You can take what you've learnt and you can apply those yourself.
[54:41] And I'll tell you what you need to do.
[54:43] We'll pop you an email and go, do this, this and this.
[54:46] Come back in six months or nine months or 12.
[54:48] Yeah.
[54:49] That's been instrumental in like literally people are coming back in the droves now.
[54:54] Like it's like the momentum is really big.
[54:57] So we've been really picky on that.
[55:00] So that from the Australia perspective scale like we bought the office, we fitted it out.
[55:04] I'm like yay, we'll never leave here and now I need a whole other building the same size as this just on the Gold Coast.
[55:11] Yeah, right.
[55:12] Which is crazy, right?
[55:13] Like Melbourne and Wollongong and Sydney.
[55:15] The growth has been really wild.
[55:19] We're not stopping that.
[55:20] We're just trying to simmer it a little bit and just manage that.
[55:25] And it's in a really nice spot now where I think it delivers really well.
[55:29] As we go globally, multiple countries, you know, there's a thought process for multiple countries.
[55:35] That will give a lot of opportunity globally for everybody once we get it right.
[55:40] A lot of compliance and framework and –
[55:42] I don't necessarily know that, you know, Australian clients want to go and invest in the US or, you know, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Canada, UK, whatever, and vice versa.
[55:53] But it will bring up some cool opportunities.
[55:56] So we're going to start getting some clients to come over and share at events overseas and vice versa, get clients from overseas come to Australia.
[56:03] We're going to start to do some really cool stuff.
[56:05] Wow.
[56:06] And I'm tired.
[56:08] I'm very tired.
[56:10] A lot of travel, a lot of weird hours.
[56:14] But I'm excited by it because it's global.
[56:17] Like it transcends borders.
[56:20] So that when we first started exploring this years ago, because Beck and I are pretty comfy.
[56:24] Do you know what I mean?
[56:25] Like we're good.
[56:26] And it's like.
[56:28] What do you do?
[56:29] Like, we could sell.
[56:31] The business wouldn't be the same.
[56:32] Yeah.
[56:33] Like, if we were to go sell to an equity firm or never a bank, but, you know, go and sell to someone.
[56:38] Like, it's like, oh, cool, we're really rich now.
[56:41] Like, the business would change so much.
[56:43] Like, all you've got to do, I mean, I know people can't say it's private, but...
[56:46] You look in the group and you see what we're sending to people.
[56:48] Like our team have no budget.
[56:50] Yeah.
[56:50] So it's like if they're really at the birthdays, anniversary, somebody's sick, somebody hurt, there is no budget.
[56:57] Like I expect when we take on a client and they pay us professional, I expect to be a loss leader.
[57:04] When you go to REM and you experience REM.
[57:06] Yeah.
[57:06] Like I looked at the bill for gifts in the room the other month at REM.
[57:08] I'm like, are you kidding me?
[57:11] Yeah.
[57:11] And then they go, oh, like people's flights were coming in at weird times... ...and I'm like, you hire a bus and you sit a bus... ...and that bus waits and goes every half an hour... ...and they're like, people were getting transferred in Bloody Miss... ...and I'm like, who's paying for this?
[57:24] They're like, you are.
[57:24] I'm like, stop.
[57:26] I'm a tired ass.
[57:28] But I think that genuine care and saying to people like... ...we don't have a budget for care... ...and we don't have a budget for retention, all that sort of stuff...
[57:38] And I know like down in the pits for the team to have that in a job where we say, you run a business within this business.
[57:47] And I think 99% of our team do, they're appreciative for that.
[57:50] They tell us, they're like, be able to just go boom and do this for my client and boom and do that.
[57:55] it's not going to be easy like i've got i've planned for the next 12 to 24 months 36 months to put myself in the most uncomfortable business positions i've ever been in my life and give it a red hot crack yeah but we made the decision either just to be really comfortable comfy and boring yeah or to go crazy and beck kept saying to me she goes you're gonna die wondering mate like and i'm like
[58:18] no no and i'm like yeah like my brain's just not wired that way to sort of yeah like playing golf or go and do but i just i'm not wired that way to do nothing yeah um and it's also really cool you'll see now like the team like the rachels and the ben's and anthony's and travel all these all these awards and acknowledgements like the other day the top 29 of them are our team yeah so it's actually nice for me to step back
[58:44] You know, even podcasts and Doc Wilson.
[58:46] Now, Rach does Doc Wilson all the time.
[58:47] Like, it's really nice to be able to step back and go, right, Bec and I had all this amazing acknowledgement and success, but it wasn't just us.
[58:56] It's not unique to us.
[58:57] It's what we do.
[58:59] And now we can put forward the next generation of that.
[59:01] So that's really cool.
[59:02] That's very exciting.
[59:04] It's exciting to hope that we've seen, we've tested, we believe it transcends borders.
[59:11] Now the proof will be in the pudding by the end of the year.
[59:14] I think you'll crush it.
[59:15] Absolutely.
[59:16] I can't wait to see.
[59:17] I think so.
[59:18] And follow you along the journey.
[59:19] Yeah, I think so.
[59:20] Then we're going to have to figure out where we do a global Christmas party.
[59:25] That could be cool.
[59:26] That could have some serious charity impact as well.
[59:29] I don't know where we'll do it, but we'll figure it out.
[59:31] Sign us up for it.
[59:32] Yeah, yeah.
[59:33] We'll be there.
[59:34] We'll be like, all right, we've got these countries.
[59:36] We're all going to meet here.
[59:38] Yeah.
[59:39] But hey, that could be the good family holiday for everyone as well.
[59:41] Yeah, true.
[59:42] Except I cop the bar tab in the entertainment.
[59:44] Anyway.
[59:44] Yeah.
[59:45] What else do you want to know?
[59:46] Do you want to ask your question?
[59:47] Yeah, I can ask mine.
[59:48] I'll just...
[59:49] It's a good one.
[59:49] Yeah, it's going to be interesting.
[59:50] It will be.
[59:51] And credit to the team because there's so much work to be done before we can execute to figure it all out and get it right.
[59:58] My question is, is there something that you have learnt from a client that you continue to apply in your professional personal life?
[1:00:04] Something that I've learnt from a client?
[1:00:10] Mentors, yes.
[1:00:13] um oh yeah actually i'd say there is yeah there is um actually learned it from kerry stevenson and she said many many years ago um i i'm a bit of a people pleaser so even people i don't randomly know but once i meet them i want to help them and it's like and i don't have enough minutes in the day for beck and i as it is already yeah
[1:00:37] And Kerry said to me a long time ago, not everyone are your people.
[1:00:44] All right.
[1:00:45] So, and she's like, not everybody is your person, your people, and you can't take everyone on the journey with you.
[1:00:54] So and that was really interesting that she could see and acknowledge that I was trying to help people so much or so deeply and so invested in their life and their journey and not everyone's going to follow the journey.
[1:01:06] Yeah.
[1:01:07] And not everyone's going to even be thankful or appreciative.
[1:01:09] Like I've made some people $5 million in three, four years and they frigging hate me.
[1:01:14] Yeah.
[1:01:14] And I'm like –
[1:01:15] Okay.
[1:01:16] Do you know what I mean?
[1:01:19] Like so we've had all sorts of experiences over the time... ...where people really don't acknowledge what you've done for them... ...how you've achieved it.
[1:01:25] So definitely something I've learned over the past few years was from Kez... ...was that you can't force people.
[1:01:33] You can't... ...and not everyone's your people.
[1:01:35] And you can't take everyone on the journey.
[1:01:38] They have to want to do it.
[1:01:39] And also they have to be a good human being that appreciates it, enjoys it, all that sort of stuff.
[1:01:47] Very good.
[1:01:48] So as Infinity continues to grow, what's the key for you and Beck in building team culture within your staff so that you achieve successful results?
[1:02:03] Yeah, so... For your clients.
[1:02:05] And I already feel like we have this weird cult, you know.
[1:02:09] I had to look up the word recently because everyone throws it around, right?
[1:02:11] And it's like, well, culture sort of thing, but it's got a bad connotation.
[1:02:16] Until about, I say this a lot, until about two years ago maybe, we didn't have the right culture and the right team.
[1:02:24] Okay.
[1:02:24] Like, I had a situation where I had somebody come into the business and they were destructive and toxic to culture.
[1:02:32] And I didn't know, I didn't realise, I was a little bit detached.
[1:02:36] And that takes so long to repair and sometimes it can be irreparable.
[1:02:41] So, you know, those sorts of examples can be really, really bad.
[1:02:44] We don't tolerate that anymore.
[1:02:46] So we've made a lot of those examples very openly public to our team.
[1:02:51] It's openly public.
[1:02:52] So if somebody does the wrong thing, our team are aware of it.
[1:02:56] They're all aware of it because it affects everybody.
[1:02:59] It affects the clients.
[1:03:01] So we've made that a very public thing.
[1:03:03] We also introduced a new level of standard where if – and making that – if someone does the wrong thing, we tell everybody it's now a training exercise.
[1:03:12] Hey, this is unacceptable.
[1:03:15] Besides making that very public, we then implemented some really strong measures of, you know, you're sitting next to two people all day for eight hours a day at least.
[1:03:24] If you see someone do something that you don't feel aligns with our values and ethos and –
[1:03:29] ...call them and like, hey, we don't do that here.
[1:03:32] So we really set in some principles and buddy systems, etc... ...that everybody holds themselves to a very high account.
[1:03:41] They are running a business within the business.
[1:03:43] So our relationship managers have a book of clients...
[1:03:47] They don't treat them as clients.
[1:03:49] As long as the client makes the effort and takes the time and energy to build a relationship and vice versa they will, they're not clients.
[1:03:58] They all become quite friendly.
[1:04:00] They're doing a lot of things for each other.
[1:04:02] So that sort of accountability measure of if somebody's doing something really, really well and someone's not, they'll call them out live.
[1:04:10] hey man you got a sec you want to come for a coffee yeah hey i just want to like i sent 38 hampers this week because i had client birthdays and i noticed you sent none yeah yeah it's like oh i didn't know i could send hampers they're like dude what do you not listen in your induction do you not see us also do you not look in so it's like it's a really simple little example was recently someone's like
[1:04:32] how much am I allowed to spend?
[1:04:33] And they're like, dude, you shouldn't work here.
[1:04:35] And they were like, what do you mean?
[1:04:37] And they're like, if you've not heard Beck and G or any of us like celebrating wins and sending gifts and on calls, think, oh, you're welcome.
[1:04:46] It was just a small, you know, like to be here for a month or two and not know like that's just standard for us.
[1:04:53] So we work really hard at that.
[1:04:57] It's only been the last two years where we made a rule.
[1:05:01] We won't hire the skill, we'll hire the will.
[1:05:04] Right.
[1:05:05] You can't train the will.
[1:05:09] The will can be absorbed if it's partly there.
[1:05:12] Yeah.
[1:05:12] So what we identified is no more external senior, no more big appointments, no this, I don't hire a financial strategist broker off the street or bank or whatever.
[1:05:21] No.
[1:05:21] You start in the relationship management team.
[1:05:25] You prove your value, your worth, your care, your integrity there.
[1:05:29] Then you go from there to broker support and trainee.
[1:05:33] Then you do your apprenticeship there.
[1:05:34] Then you go into broking finance strategist.
[1:05:38] And they work their way through a particular career path now.
[1:05:42] And that's proven to be a game changer.
[1:05:46] We also stopped putting any senior appointments externally.
[1:05:51] And we appointed a couple of people like Zaki and Chris and Janae that have been with us sort of seven to ten years.
[1:05:57] Who started from very, very junior entry level positions back in the day.
[1:06:02] And they're all now our senior leadership team.
[1:06:04] Helena, our CEO.
[1:06:07] So sort of those, I guess, managerial and cultural sort of things that we've done, we do a lot of off-sites.
[1:06:14] They cost a fortune.
[1:06:15] So we fly our whole team into a location, usually every quarter if we can fit it, depending on all the events, for six months.
[1:06:22] And we spend a week together.
[1:06:24] And that week is sport, training, compliance, culture, role play.
[1:06:32] Like, you name it, we jam it into that week.
[1:06:36] And even when we're going globally, we've already planned to do that and mingle that and intermingle it and go, right, we'll start to have people from America or UAE, for example, and they'd all come together at a global event like that.
[1:06:53] We call them off-site.
[1:06:55] We've invested in it heavily to the point now, like I started wearing my blue and red shoes and I didn't wear my Nikes all the time.
[1:07:03] All of the team have a pair of Infinity branded blue and red Nikes, which are bloody expensive, right?
[1:07:10] But it's like here's your clothes, here's your merch, but also here's a pair of really cool expensive shoes that some people wouldn't buy for themselves and they've got Infinity on them.
[1:07:19] That's so cool.
[1:07:20] So there's sort of...
[1:07:22] They're all taught and trained.
[1:07:24] You run a business within the business.
[1:07:27] Treat it as if it's your own business.
[1:07:29] If you do something wrong, own it.
[1:07:31] We can fix it.
[1:07:32] People are human.
[1:07:33] They make mistakes.
[1:07:34] Own it.
[1:07:35] Fix it.
[1:07:37] Love your clients.
[1:07:37] Care.
[1:07:38] Look, all these things.
[1:07:39] And it just, I don't know, it seems to be working.
[1:07:42] But it costs millions of dollars a year.
[1:07:44] Yeah.
[1:07:45] Because to invest in culture isn't...
[1:07:48] shoes or water bottles or a gift pack when they start you know it um it starts and stops at the top yeah um for example when i'm in the office and i work remotely a lot just because of distractions and stuff and when i come in the office and i walk in and i sit down and chat to jean for 20 minutes at reception and then i work my way through
[1:08:08] sometimes it could be two o'clock before I get to the desk right because it's a big right yeah um so like things like that where when I'm here and outside of meetings I know the days I'm here in the morning or the afternoon or the middle I walk through the entire business I go through every department and clients will know because you've been on a zoom and I'll come and get on the zoom you know sometimes I get around and get to jump on 20 or 30 zooms and people are like
[1:08:34] It's okay.
[1:08:34] Yeah.
[1:08:35] Yeah, I'm here.
[1:08:36] Yeah.
[1:08:37] So it's just a lot of little things that I don't think – I talked about this in the Both Sides podcast back when we had like 189 staff and now it's like 230 or 250.
[1:08:48] Like it's just growing so much.
[1:08:50] I don't really have systems because I'm so manic.
[1:08:52] Yeah.
[1:08:52] The team do.
[1:08:53] Beck does.
[1:08:54] Everyone else does.
[1:08:55] But for me, it's like it's just who I am.
[1:08:57] It's how much I care.
[1:08:59] It's how much we want to give.
[1:09:01] And I know whatever I do will come back tenfold one way or another.
[1:09:03] Absolutely.
[1:09:04] All right?
[1:09:04] So I just know just to keep doing the right thing, putting it out.
[1:09:08] And I don't know.
[1:09:09] The team tell me I'm weird because if they spend enough time around me, there's a certain energy, usually chaotic.
[1:09:18] But they tend to – I don't know.
[1:09:19] They say that they absorb a lot of that energy, right?
[1:09:21] So if we're doing –
[1:09:22] training or i'm walking around the pit and i chat to they tend to absorb that and bounce around as crazy as me yeah um so it's a big investment um i know it's a big long-winded answer but it's something we're really conscious of because we've got it to a good place yeah now if we see anything wrong it usually doesn't have to come to us because their co-worker will call it out
[1:09:43] That's been one of the biggest changes.
[1:09:45] And the way that the team are now remunerated, they run a business within the business because it ain't fun unless the whole team wins.
[1:09:52] So you can't have someone in a role that isn't remunerated for retention, for incentivized to help.
[1:09:59] You know, like the way you remunerate somebody has to be reflective of the business's core values.
[1:10:05] It can't just be commission, which is notorious in financial services.
[1:10:10] For us, it's about retention, service, expectation.
[1:10:14] And we've changed our remuneration structures as well to reflect the core values of the business.
[1:10:20] That's another big one, actually, to put a bow on it.
[1:10:22] Sounds like you can weed out the bad eggs pretty quick then.
[1:10:26] Yeah, I asked the team to do it now and then we don't have to.
[1:10:29] It's not like we have to performance, manage or counsel.
[1:10:32] And the last big thing I did was implement a thing when we were at these big off-sites and I said, look, you're either our vibe and our tribe or you ain't.
[1:10:39] And it's Survivor.
[1:10:40] It's like the tribe has spoken.
[1:10:42] And we've done that as a joke.
[1:10:44] But it's like, and if you do get through the process here and you come into this tribe and this vibe...
[1:10:50] and you realise you're not the right fit, I don't want you to sit in that chair for three months on seek and not deliver for my clients and my brand.
[1:10:59] I want you to just stick your hand up and say, hey, this isn't the right fit for me.
[1:11:04] I'm sure I'll go be my best version of me somewhere else on the basis that Beck and G will write me a cheque and allow me to feed my family for a couple of weeks.
[1:11:13] I'll resign if you give me a cheque.
[1:11:16] And that was a big thing too because then I've allowed people to self-select.
[1:11:21] So I say to business owners, the last thing you want is someone disgruntled, upset, floundering, not caring, no attention to detail, like helping families with money.
[1:11:32] That doesn't fly.
[1:11:34] So I realised that.
[1:11:37] Probably only 18, 24 months ago as well.
[1:11:39] Okay.
[1:11:39] I was like, there's people sitting in, or maybe a bit longer, there's people sitting in chairs that shouldn't be there.
[1:11:43] Yeah.
[1:11:44] How do I incentivise them to get out of the chair?
[1:11:46] Yeah.
[1:11:47] Money.
[1:11:48] Yeah.
[1:11:48] Because otherwise you're like, well, I've got to get another job.
[1:11:51] How do I pull a sickie to go have a job interview?
[1:11:53] So I'm like, hey, you let me know.
[1:11:55] I'll write you a cheque.
[1:11:56] You can go do all the job interviews you want.
[1:11:58] I'll pay you for a few weeks and it's up to you.
[1:12:00] Yeah.
[1:12:01] That was a big shift because we did have people self-select and then put the right people in the right chair.
[1:12:06] So, yeah, it's going to be interesting.
[1:12:09] Very.
[1:12:10] You're working with it now.
[1:12:13] Yeah, it feels right.
[1:12:15] Like the energy, the level of detail, the care.
[1:12:19] The care factor is the big one.
[1:12:21] We really see it.
[1:12:22] yeah good it's good feedback good question but good feedback and if if it shifts and it's i've got a good temperature and pulse check but yeah no we're pretty happy we're pretty happy excellent
[1:12:35] Well, thanks for sharing, guys.
[1:12:36] Yeah, thank you very much.
[1:12:37] And if it's okay, we're definitely going to do a part two.
[1:12:40] And whenever you guys get some time off, you might want to come and share at REM.
[1:12:44] Absolutely.
[1:12:45] Get you up on stage.
[1:12:46] Why not?
[1:12:47] Let's do it.
[1:12:48] We'll do a part two to this maybe in like six or 12 months.
[1:12:51] Okay, thank you.
[1:12:52] We'll plan our little weekend away.
[1:12:54] We will.
[1:12:55] Done.
[1:12:56] Look forward to it.
[1:12:57] Thank you so much.
[1:12:58] Thanks, Jake.
[1:12:59] You're fucking gone.
[1:12:59] See ya.

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