# BONUS EP – Relationship Manager & Client | Chantal with Brooke & Brent| CHANGING LIVES | Season 3 Ep 35

An episode of [Money Mentor Podcast™](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1632604767), 29 Oct 2025, 20 min.

Audio: https://episode.flightcast.com/debzy2veki9zw05sju38c13w.mp3

In this episode, Chantelle from Infinity sits down with long-term clients Brooke and Brant, who share their six-year journey from living paycheck to paycheck to owning multiple properties, creating a self-managed super fund, and moving into their dream home on the water. With four kids and the chaos of family life, they reveal the budgeting strategies, meal prep hacks, and mindset shifts that helped them cut back on wasteful spending, teach their children financial responsibility, and build real wealth. Their story shows how sticking to a plan and trusting the process can create financial freedom that lasts generations. Watch the free webinar to start your Infinity journey today!!!! https://bit.ly/43V2jKN

## Transcript

[0:00] I look at a sunset and I just go, in a million years I couldn't have ever pictured myself here.
[0:06] And not just that I'm there, but I'm there and we're killing it.
[0:10] We're not even struggling.
[0:11] We're killing it.
[0:13] Everything's got a purpose.
[0:16] There's a strategy in place.
[0:17] There's a plan in place.
[0:19] And we know we're going to be okay.
[0:21] It's just such a good feeling.
[0:23] And it's the financial freedom that everyone talks about.
[0:27] It's from...
[0:28] following the plan, sticking to the budget.
[0:32] It will come.
[0:33] It'll come.
[0:34] But it's just such a good feeling.
[0:36] Money isn't the root of all evil.
[0:37] The fucking lack of it is.
[0:38] Not money.
[0:39] The lack of understanding money.
[0:41] When I put that into emphasis, when I realised our psychological effect and how it hit our family, I have to be in the fucking way.
[0:47] You are now watching the Money Mentor Podcast with Graham Holm.
[0:51] Graham Holm.
[0:52] Graham Holm.
[0:52] Graham Holm.
[0:53] Graham Holm.
[0:56] You're fucking gone.
[0:57] See ya.
[0:58] Hey guys, I'm Chantal, Relationship Manager here at Infinity and I have some of my awesome clients here, Brooke and Brent.
[1:04] They have been long-term Infinity clients.
[1:06] So we're just going to have a bit of a chat today about budget and about their journey.
[1:10] So super excited to be here with them.
[1:12] Welcome guys.
[1:13] Welcome.
[1:14] Excellent.
[1:15] Hey, tell us a little bit of a snapshot about yourselves, your family size, where you live and what your journey has been like.
[1:23] Okay.
[1:24] Okay, so my name's Brent, wife is Brooke.
[1:30] We started with Infinity almost six years ago.
[1:32] We were living up in a bit of a decent sized house up at Tanamira, and currently we've moved through the Infinity process, and currently living on the water at Kurumbin.
[1:45] And in the meantime, we've relocated the business.
[1:48] We've done work within the business.
[1:49] We've got a self-managed super fund as well that we operate through the business as well.
[1:56] We have a family of six.
[1:58] So in our little house is four kids, Diesel, Max, Jagger and Storm, which is always chaotic.
[2:07] Chaotic, yes.
[2:09] And yes, we...
[2:12] We enjoy the infinity and it's been good for us.
[2:17] It's helped us financially and we're here for the long haul and loving the journey so far.
[2:24] You guys have kind of done all of the facets of Infinity, the refinances, the buying property, selling property, selling your own home that you lived in, upgrading.
[2:36] Where are we at at the moment with properties?
[2:38] So we are in our own home, which we've been in for about 12 months.
[2:43] It's just a new home.
[2:44] Is it the dream home?
[2:45] It is the dream home.
[2:48] one that I am now emotionally attached to.
[2:51] Uh oh.
[2:53] And we have two properties in our SMSF and we have three properties which we own personally, which will go down to two because we settle on one of our properties tomorrow.
[3:09] Excellent.
[3:09] That's super exciting.
[3:10] And what are we doing with the cash fall or the windfall from the sale of that one?
[3:15] Well, we don't know yet.
[3:17] We just jumped out of a podcast with Graham and as we've experienced with the Infinity Journey, things change almost on a yearly basis with us.
[3:26] So apparently there's something in the pipeline that we're not privy to yet, but yeah, we'll be made known of that very shortly.
[3:33] But yes, there'll be a little windfall for that.
[3:36] That'll either go on the mortgage or potentially some more properties as well.
[3:40] It'll certainly be working for us.
[3:41] Absolutely.
[3:43] Well, that all sounds pretty exciting and mysterious.
[3:46] Who knows what G's got up his sleeve for you.
[3:49] It's always something interesting.
[3:51] It's a very complex brain he's got there.
[3:53] Indeed.
[3:53] It's crazy.
[3:54] It's crazy.
[3:56] So talking along the journey with budgets and what was budgeting like before you joined Infinity?
[4:03] It was... What budget?
[4:05] We spend until there's nothing there.
[4:07] Right.
[4:07] That was what it was.
[4:09] And it's whatever you can fit in a week, you fit in a week.
[4:12] And if you get to the end of the week and there's only a few bucks left, well, then that's all there is left.
[4:18] So that was the budget.
[4:18] It was just whatever was in the account.
[4:20] Yeah.
[4:21] And what do we do now?
[4:22] How do we run our finances now?
[4:25] So we now have an amount.
[4:28] So we put an amount that gets given to us from our bank accounts or from our wages.
[4:34] We get it directly put into our account, which is our $750.
[4:38] And it's been $750.
[4:38] So that's family of six.
[4:40] Family of $750.
[4:41] Yeah.
[4:42] And we've had that for a few years now.
[4:46] And that's what we live on.
[4:47] Yeah.
[4:48] Yeah.
[4:50] A lot of our clients have families so four kids is chaotic as you said Brent.
[4:55] I can only imagine that costs pop up every now and then that are unexpected.
[5:00] How do you balance running a budget with looking after the family and keeping everyone happy as they can be?
[5:09] Weeks, it's different from week to week.
[5:11] Different demands, different bills to pay.
[5:16] So it is different from week to week.
[5:19] But we still maintain that $750.
[5:23] We've got little ways which we save money as such.
[5:28] We do spend money.
[5:29] But we take our budget all the way to the $750.
[5:33] And as the kids have, as we've noticed over the years,
[5:40] considerable years now and it's getting harder and with the living costs are also getting harder but we've just got to be inventive and come up with little strategies and ways to to deal with that
[5:50] Can you tell me any that you've used?
[5:52] So we, obviously if it's anything sporting or unexpected costs, so medical or anything like that, that doesn't come out of our FFF.
[6:02] It is purely food fuel fund.
[6:05] We used to be avid fast food consumers.
[6:11] We don't do that anymore.
[6:12] We, it's very rare for us to go and get fast food.
[6:15] So that's,
[6:15] been a really huge, huge saver.
[6:19] And now that we don't go and we can say to the kids, you know, this is how much we're saving.
[6:25] Have a look at how much everything is.
[6:27] It's not as cheap as you think it is.
[6:28] It really is an expensive venture.
[6:30] So that's been really good.
[6:32] We did buy a bulk amount of meat from a farmer and we got I think a quarter of a beast or half a beast, something like that.
[6:43] And once you work it out, it worked out all of the cuts of meat we got for $20 a kilo.
[6:46] So we did save a lot of money with that.
[6:49] Little tips and tricks.
[6:52] Look, I'm really big if I buy a cheap cut of meat.
[6:55] It sounds really weird, but I crush up kiwi fruit and you marinate it for 10 minutes in kiwi fruit and it doesn't matter how tough it is, it'll be tender.
[7:03] So there's just little things like that that I, you know, I can buy cheaper meat and get away with it in some recipes.
[7:11] I don't know, I've got my series of, you know, my menu is pretty much the same week in, week out.
[7:16] Every now and then we try and change it up a little bit.
[7:18] But we stick to what we know.
[7:19] We stick to the meals that I know they're going to eat, that I'm going to have leftovers for lunches the next day, and that's going to make everyone happy.
[7:28] Sounds like you're prepared.
[7:29] Food prep.
[7:30] Food prep is massive.
[7:32] Yeah, being organised, not going to the shops without a list.
[7:35] I hate going to the shop without a list.
[7:36] And if I am forced to do it, I feel really...
[7:40] panicked.
[7:41] I don't like it.
[7:41] I don't like the feeling of wandering around and just putting stuff in the trolley.
[7:45] I always spend more than I intend to spend.
[7:47] And then I get home and I'm like, I really haven't achieved much because I haven't got what I need.
[7:51] So always have a list, always sit down and write off my menu plan, what I need to get, check the cupboards first.
[7:58] And yeah, it's worked well for us.
[8:00] It's really simple, but it's actually, it puts you in the position of power of...
[8:05] knowing what you're going to buy and spending and you actually feel better, less panicked, like you say.
[8:10] I totally get that.
[8:11] Any time I go to the supermarket and I'll leave with one bag, it's like $70.
[8:15] What on earth?
[8:15] It's so much easier also to do where you order it and you pick it up.
[8:21] Best ever.
[8:22] Don't take the kids to the shops.
[8:23] It's...
[8:24] Always a bad idea.
[8:26] Sometimes you don't take your husband to the shops either because, you know, he will always go, oh, I haven't seen this.
[8:32] We haven't had this in ages.
[8:34] And it goes in the trolley.
[8:35] And that's what the kids are like.
[8:36] Oh, we haven't had whatever ice cream.
[8:38] We haven't had this, whatever.
[8:39] And I just like, well, that's why we don't have it because it doesn't last.
[8:44] It's not.
[8:44] Or gluttony.
[8:45] Yeah.
[8:46] One kid will come and take all of it.
[8:47] Yeah.
[8:48] So sometimes it's better just to not have it.
[8:50] Yep.
[8:50] Absolutely.
[8:51] I think that's definitely one of our biggest tips is having a meal plan, be prepared, shop online where you can click and collect.
[8:58] Absolutely.
[8:59] And, you know, you've got everything sorted because that question, I bet you get it all the time, what's for dinner?
[9:04] All the time.
[9:04] Drives me mad.
[9:05] It's on the list.
[9:06] Yeah.
[9:07] We actually are trying to transition now.
[9:09] Like what I want to do, because the boys are getting older, Diesel's 17, he's about to finish school, I'm trying to transition the boys into cooking.
[9:17] Amazing.
[9:17] Once a night, well, one night a week, and everyone have their turn.
[9:20] That way they get to choose what they want to have, but I want them to be able to look at a recipe, work out what they need, check the cupboards first, and then let me know, and I'll make sure that the food is there.
[9:29] But I just think just to teach them that they need to be prepared and they need to be able to...
[9:36] create a menu and stick to a budget.
[9:38] Some life skills.
[9:39] I mean, we're trying to help you guys be responsible and accountable for your financial journey and you can pass that along to your kids.
[9:47] That's incredible.
[9:48] It's an important step.
[9:50] But in different avenues as well.
[9:52] Yeah, it's a good skill.
[9:53] Not only just the financial side of things, but life skills.
[9:58] Changing track a little bit,
[10:02] Is there a point that you can remember that you kind of looked back, took a step back and went, wow, look at where we are.
[10:08] Did you ever think you'd be where you are now with the properties that you have?
[10:12] And, you know,
[10:14] what what's that been like just understanding how different life is because before you were spending everything yeah absolutely I think for me um it's just a feeling of power it feels it feels good to know that I don't want for anything um I don't need to have designer labels that's just me I don't need to have designer labels I'm pretty happy with what I get um and I think the
[10:39] is, and it just for me, sitting in my backyard, just knowing that I'm okay, knowing that everything's okay.
[10:47] I sit and I look and I can't believe where I'm sitting.
[10:50] I look at a sunset and I just go, in a million years, I couldn't have ever pictured myself here.
[10:56] And not just that I'm there, but I'm there and we're killing it.
[11:00] We're not even struggling.
[11:01] We're killing it where everything's got a purpose.
[11:06] There's a strategy in place.
[11:07] There's a plan in place.
[11:09] and we know we're gonna be okay.
[11:11] It's just such a good feeling.
[11:13] And it's the financial freedom that everyone talks about.
[11:17] It's from following the plan, sticking to the budget.
[11:22] It will come, it'll come, but it's just such a good feeling when you get there.
[11:28] Me?
[11:28] Okay, so when I have a bad day at work and
[11:33] You're the boss, right?
[11:34] Yeah, unfortunately.
[11:36] Yeah, sometimes I wish I wasn't.
[11:38] But, yeah, you have a bad day at work and everything's gone pear-shaped.
[11:43] You lay in bed, and it's happened a couple of times lately, and Brooke just goes, just think of where we are.
[11:50] Think of what we're not that bad.
[11:52] We're not that bad off.
[11:54] We've achieved this.
[11:54] We're sticking to a plan.
[11:58] Just got to trust the process, and the process is working.
[12:01] And when you actually think back, and think, oh, OK, yeah, well...
[12:06] what I've actually got and guess what we've achieved.
[12:11] I look at what we've achieved in the last six years as opposed to what I've achieved to that point growing up.
[12:17] And you think, yeah, I'm not doing too bad.
[12:21] You think you're doing bloody good.
[12:22] Absolutely.
[12:22] You guys are killing it.
[12:25] So if you could start your infinity journey again, would you do anything different?
[12:28] Yeah, that's an easy one for me.
[12:30] I would have done it 20 years earlier.
[12:31] Yeah.
[12:32] Yeah, but no, I wouldn't do anything different, knowing the processes we've got in place now.
[12:38] But yeah, the biggest thing is I would have done it 20 years earlier.
[12:42] Yeah, I would second that.
[12:43] I would have done it sooner.
[12:45] I mean, what we've done in five years is incredible.
[12:49] Multiply that by another five years.
[12:51] It's just mind-blowing.
[12:53] Having a plan.
[12:54] Yeah.
[12:54] You've got that comfort level because the reason you're doing things, there is a reason behind it.
[13:01] And you've got experts behind you.
[13:03] You've got experts with you, beside you.
[13:05] One phone call away.
[13:07] It's such a big security blanket to know that you're dealing with the best in the business.
[13:13] That's awesome.
[13:13] And it's exciting to know that what we're putting in place and what we're learning is that our kids will have that at the start of their lives.
[13:22] Yeah, that's awesome.
[13:23] I wish my father had done that with me.
[13:27] as I'm going to do with my kids as well.
[13:29] But that's a generational thing.
[13:32] And that's the exciting part.
[13:33] I'd love to see the kids in 20 or 30 years' time as to where they are, where I am there now, to where they will be in 20, 30 years' time.
[13:42] And that's exciting to see the growth in them.
[13:45] Oh, look, the, what's the word I'm looking for?
[13:48] The progress from generationally, like you said, you've relearned things.
[13:54] They don't have to do it the wrong way.
[13:56] Yeah, it's just going to be second nature to them.
[13:59] And even when the kids said, you know, we don't really have takeaway anymore.
[14:03] We don't get Maccas anymore.
[14:05] And I'm like, it's a good thing.
[14:06] This is not a bad thing.
[14:07] This is a good thing.
[14:09] and you know they they see it as well they understand they they start to make little comments that you're like okay they've picked it up yeah yeah that's fantastic um i was just going to ask you a couple of rapid fire questions so just off the top of your head um coles or woolies
[14:30] I probably, this sounds silly, I probably do a mix of all three.
[14:34] I will do Aldi as well and I try and check the brochures out.
[14:40] I have...
[14:42] been known to put something into chat gpt and say using these brochures what is the best specials at the moment and i just try and take advantage of all three we've lucky enough to have a shopping center that has all three in one complex so it's easy to walk to one to the other it's a it's a big help chat gpt being able to get some meal plans together and and filter through some of those catalogs it's something i talk to so many clients about um what's your worst impulse buy ever
[15:13] ever or regularly there should be an impulse buy regularly um ever when i walk into a service station and fill up my fuel you got the smell of hot food or so lately it's been um potato scallops did brooke know about that
[15:34] Yeah, she buys me.
[15:35] I know he buys potato scallops.
[15:38] I would say my worst impulse buy that I have stopped now was for the kids.
[15:46] It would be, oh, the kids would love that.
[15:48] The kids would love the football cards, the buying at Woolies or Coles when they had their giveaways.
[15:56] I would actually look at the posters at the end of the aisles that would say, if you buy this, you get a bonus, whatever.
[16:01] So I'd go and buy it to get a bonus.
[16:03] And I would have of, or she's or whatever, whatever it happened to be at the time, I would have bucket loads of them because the kids would want them.
[16:12] always thinking of the kids and thinking I was making their life better by filling it with crap.
[16:18] So that really has stopped.
[16:20] We really don't do anything like that anymore.
[16:22] There's no impulse at the servo or at the cafe or as we're driving past, it doesn't happen.
[16:29] That's awesome.
[16:30] That's one of G's favourite sayings.
[16:31] Don't give your kids everything you never had.
[16:33] Teach them what you were never taught.
[16:36] What would be the first thing you would cut if things did get tight?
[16:40] What's the first thing you could cut out?
[16:46] Wow.
[16:46] I don't know.
[16:51] God, what could we cut out?
[16:53] I'm just trying to think.
[16:56] Oh, I know what it would have to be.
[16:57] It would have to be the streaming, TV streaming.
[17:01] I try and rotate through them.
[17:04] So I try, we seem to always have KO because it's sport, which I hate because it's the most expensive one.
[17:11] But I always try and can it at the end of the season.
[17:14] But yeah, I would cut those.
[17:16] They add up really quickly.
[17:18] And there was a point in time where I realised that,
[17:22] I had probably three or four going at the same time.
[17:24] When you add it up, it's ridiculous.
[17:26] So if I had to save some money quickly, I would can.
[17:30] Yep, that's a pretty easy one.
[17:32] You can jump back on and resubscribe later.
[17:35] Yeah, and you know what?
[17:36] Whenever you cancel, you always get an email.
[17:38] One of them I'm on at the moment.
[17:40] I'm on six months for free.
[17:42] because I had it for a while and then I cancelled it and they said, we're going to give you a six-month free offer and I've just put a reminder on my phone.
[17:49] This is when it cuts off.
[17:50] I'm to cancel it before the free period ends.
[17:53] So I use my reminders all the time.
[17:55] If I try an app or if I try something and I get a week free, I always put a reminder on my phone to cancel it before that.
[18:02] Important so that we don't see that charge come through.
[18:05] Yes.
[18:05] Absolutely.
[18:06] Is there a splurge item that you definitely wouldn't go without?
[18:13] We sacrifice a bit.
[18:15] I don't think we have any splurge items.
[18:18] I haven't even been buying ice cream lately because the kids were going through it too quick.
[18:23] So I said, that's it, I'm not buying it anymore.
[18:25] So, no, maybe I would say chocolate, but we don't even really get that much chocolate.
[18:30] No.
[18:31] It's so expensive.
[18:32] It's crazy.
[18:33] $8 for a block of chocolate is out of control.
[18:35] So some people might hear this and think, oh, it's miserable, but it's not miserable.
[18:39] I just don't know.
[18:40] Like the kids...
[18:41] manage don't they because they see your calm in the whole process like going without little things like that it's no big deal expensive coffee probably be mine i don't drink coffee i'm a tea person but we take i you take your coffee everywhere i take my flask my coffee cup my tea cup everywhere so that's never ever been an expense but um yeah i've even started i've
[19:05] which I'm not really a baker, but I found a recipe that was really good and it takes 10 minutes for me to make a cake.
[19:11] So if the kids are really wanting something that's sweet or they want a dessert, we've got that.
[19:17] The other night we made the chocolate puddings in the cup.
[19:21] Everything was in the cupboard.
[19:22] It was easy.
[19:23] They got their fix of sweet sort of stuff.
[19:25] It's all doable.
[19:26] It's all doable.
[19:27] Just have to be prepared.
[19:28] Use Google.
[19:29] Yeah, yeah.
[19:30] Be prepared and show the kids that we don't need to go out and buy more things.
[19:35] Yeah, and honestly, and that's probably the one thing that I want to get across with regards to our budget, even though it seems like it's tight, we don't go without.
[19:43] We really don't.
[19:45] have anything that we pretty much want.
[19:47] It's just that as we've cut different things out, the kids have stopped wanting them.
[19:52] They've just, I think, I've read something once, the greatest indicator of what you're going to eat today is what you ate yesterday.
[19:59] And I think just cutting that out has stopped them really needing it all the time.
[20:05] I think you're teaching them and showing them some excellent lessons.
[20:08] So, hey, thanks so much for coming in.
[20:11] And, yeah, looking forward to seeing what G's new plan is for you.
[20:16] Yes, me too.
[20:18] Me too.
[20:19] Thanks, guys.
[20:20] Thank you.
[20:20] You're fucking gone.
[20:22] See ya.

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