# BONUS EP - RM Ella with Rose & Peter | Series 4 Ep 33

An episode of [Money Mentor Podcast™](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1632604767), 27 Apr 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://episode.flightcast.com/v8sghy611ao9v89ed02xkl3o.mp3

In this episode, Ella sits down with Rose and Peter to share their journey from big spending habits and no clear plan, to becoming mortgage free in under 6 months. Before Infinity, they were living comfortably but without structure, spending on takeaways, holidays, and day-to-day expenses without real awareness. Everything changed once they implemented a clear budget and gave every dollar a purpose. By staying consistent, they reduced their weekly spend from $650 to $500 and created a system that allowed them to pay off their home fast and invest in their future. They also open up about a major health scare early in their journey and how being mortgage-free removed financial stress, allowing them to focus purely on recovery.This episode highlights the true power of structure, support, and having a plan, not just to build wealth, but to create real security when life throws the unexpected.👉 Watch the free webinar to start your journey: https://bit.ly/43V2jKN

## Transcript

[0:00] I had a health scare, so I had to go and do rehab, recovery, that type of thing.
[0:04] And by that stage, prior to that happening, we'd already paid the house off.
[0:09] So we just sort of knew you didn't have that extra stress of, okay, I'm lost your payments.
[0:15] you know, have I got enough, you know, sick leave and can I do what I need to do?
[0:18] I just focused on my recovery and the team here, if any were brilliant, you know, they came, they'll just focus on your recovery, do what you need to do, come back and talk to us a little bit later and see what we're doing.
[0:28] And having that, I guess, no stress at all.
[0:32] We've paid the house off.
[0:33] We could just, you know, I could focus on my recovery.
[0:35] That was probably, and that happened, you know, within the first six months.
[0:39] So it was a bit of a whirlwind, bit of a rollercoaster.
[0:42] Money isn't rude of all evil, the fucking lack of it is.
[0:45] Not money, the lack of understanding money.
[0:48] When I put that into emphasis, when I realise our psychological effect and how it hit our family, I FDB in the fucking way.
[0:54] You are now watching the Money Mentor Podcast with Graham Holm.
[0:58] Graham Holm.
[0:58] Graham Holm.
[0:59] Graham Holm.
[1:02] You're fucking gone.
[1:03] See ya.
[1:04] Well, I am here with Rose and Peter today, and I am your relationship manager.
[1:09] So excited to have you guys here and looking forward to diving a little bit into, you know, how we work together as well.
[1:15] So I'd love if you guys could tell me a little bit about yourselves and how you found Infinity.
[1:20] Sure.
[1:21] So we did the webinar in mid-2024 and then pretty much in a few weeks did the Masterclass.
[1:30] And so once we sort of went through all that, it was sort of a no-brainer that we were really keen to sort of join up and see what this was all about once we sort of sat through that process.
[1:44] Yeah.
[1:44] Well, at first Pete was talking on Masterclass and listening to Gene and I was in the kitchen.
[1:49] I'm like, is he still in there?
[1:51] What is going on?
[1:52] So it was those two days.
[1:54] It was a full on two days, but I got to listen to probably three or four hours of it and then realized, okay, I can see what's going on here.
[2:01] I can see why we got cooked pretty quickly.
[2:04] Yeah, we're 18 months into our journey now.
[2:06] Yeah.
[2:07] I'm absolutely loving it and just really looking forward to what our future sort of holds with everything that we're doing.
[2:14] Yeah.
[2:15] And I guess like prior to Masterclass and joining Infinity, what did life look like for you guys in terms of finances and budgeting if you had one?
[2:23] Well, we didn't really have a budget.
[2:25] Rose didn't have a budget.
[2:27] Not that we were big spenders.
[2:28] I didn't think we were big spenders.
[2:29] We don't sort of drink or smoke or anything like that, but we were big foodies like takeaways and that kind of thing and like going on holidays and restaurants and things like that.
[2:36] So our weekly budget...
[2:38] It could look like a takeaway Friday night as well as, you know, we normally go for our family walks on Sundays and that'll mean then going out for breakfast.
[2:47] So it could be sort of $200 a week just on takeaways, let alone coffees that we would have during the week as well.
[2:54] We cooked lunches predominantly during the week anyway, so that was no different.
[2:57] But the takeaway budget was the big thing.
[3:01] And we're not seeing anything.
[3:02] We still do all that.
[3:03] We just put it as part of our overall budget.
[3:07] you know, budget for the week.
[3:09] And stick to it.
[3:09] Pretty, pretty good.
[3:10] We're on a pretty tight budget, I think, family history.
[3:13] But yeah.
[3:14] And if we do miss it, that's okay because we kind of, you know, plan for a bigger dinner to go out or a function that we need to go to.
[3:22] We'll still do that.
[3:23] That's not a problem.
[3:24] But most of the time we would stick to that budget.
[3:27] Yeah.
[3:27] Yeah.
[3:28] And so tell me a little bit, what is your current FFF?
[3:30] Yeah.
[3:31] So currently we're on 500.
[3:34] We were on 650 when we first started.
[3:36] Yep.
[3:37] I think we dropped a pretty quick within a couple of months.
[3:40] Within a couple of months we're like, right, we can actually really.
[3:43] Once we started getting the flow of really watching the
[3:47] money with that FFF, even though the savings account was separate, but the FFF was like, right, we don't have much money left by the end of the week.
[3:55] There'll be no more coffees and no more takeaway.
[3:57] So yeah, it did really actually just make us realise how much we were just tapping away and not really taking account of what we're tapping away.
[4:05] Yeah.
[4:06] You know, how much we were just wasting really.
[4:09] And do you think that has been one of the biggest mindset shifts is just seeing how your money can work for you?
[4:15] Yeah, I think just putting a plan to every sort of dollar so that we've got now, we know we're structured and we put a plan in place for everything that's coming in.
[4:24] We're both on sort of a fixed income, so we sort of know what we've got for the month.
[4:28] And in the past, I wouldn't have been able to tell you, you know, like I'd go over if you had credit cards and you'd probably go over for the month and say,
[4:35] I'm having, you know, the dashboard now, which you can follow.
[4:38] So, yeah, I'm going really, really well.
[4:39] So it's from that perspective, it's, yeah.
[4:44] You just have just a lot more accountable for it, you know, where it's actually going and then making our 12-year-old daughter accountable for what she's spending as well.
[4:51] Of course.
[4:52] You know, so bringing the whole family into it.
[4:54] Yeah, absolutely.
[4:55] Yeah.
[4:55] That was a big shift in the beginning, but now it's second nature.
[5:00] It's, you know, that's what we've got in the budget this week.
[5:03] That's what we've got.
[5:04] Yeah.
[5:04] Awesome.
[5:05] And what would some of the biggest wins be since you guys joined Infinity?
[5:09] What have been some of the highlights?
[5:12] Without a doubt, the strategy that we had to, you know, the idea, you know, to pay the house off quickly.
[5:20] And we were able to achieve that in, you know, pretty much in the first six months with Affinity by, you know, selling a couple of existing investment properties.
[5:28] So I think the biggest win and take of being mortgage-free very, very quickly where we looked at it and said, well, we could either, you know, continue to pay well into our retirement and then it'll come out of our super or we can, you know, make some changes, which we did and become mortgage-free.
[5:43] And yeah, just under six months, which was brilliant.
[5:46] It was a big, big win for us.
[5:48] And then investing in three properties once we did that.
[5:52] Pretty incredible.
[5:53] With our own home paid off as well.
[5:55] So we were stoked, you know, and moving forward, we can sort of see what the future is for us in our next step.
[6:03] So, oh, guns in blazing.
[6:06] We're good.
[6:07] Yeah.
[6:07] And always kind of looking forward to those next steps, right?
[6:09] Like constantly planning, really trying to bring that budget in and being intentional with our spending so that if we can make more work, you know, we can get there.
[6:18] Absolutely.
[6:18] And having that plan, knowing what the next step is that, you know, well, if you do this and…
[6:22] And you're accountable each month and, you know, you're doing what you need to do, then it'll help you progress to the next goal that you want to do.
[6:30] Because it's not to, yeah, we've paid the house off now.
[6:32] Now we've got another set of goals.
[6:33] The next set of goals to go, yeah.
[6:34] And it's great to catch up with you every month, even just to check in.
[6:38] Now we're kind of at our holding phase at the moment.
[6:40] So we're just saving until our next step is ready to go.
[6:44] So, you know, we just check in with you to...
[6:46] see how things are going.
[6:47] You ask us how things are going.
[6:49] Yeah, you make it seamless, easy to do.
[6:51] Yeah.
[6:51] You know, if we have any questions, we'll reach out.
[6:54] And you guys are always really responsive.
[6:56] And even in the early days, you know, you've got everyone sort of set up and there to set, you know, a team there to help you, which is brilliant.
[7:02] Yeah.
[7:03] Yeah.
[7:03] And you touched on it a little bit before, but how does the portal and having access to kind of that, that overview of your accounts, how does that help you guys stay accountable?
[7:12] It just keeps you on track.
[7:14] I think I sort of look at it and touch in and have a look at it, you know, every week and then every fortnight.
[7:19] And then at the end of the month, I'll just have a look and I'll run through all the expenses.
[7:23] What are the essentials?
[7:25] You know, what could I cut out?
[7:27] You know, make some tweaks.
[7:29] But it just keeps you accountable and you can actually see how you track it.
[7:33] I was able to, you know, save another $3,000 or another $4,000 and whatever it might be.
[7:39] Um, but I go in and I'll dig a little bit deep and just say, you know, have we gone and had some discretionary expected that we shouldn't have.
[7:45] But most of it is all, every part that we've got on our budget has a plan, you know, and doesn't stop us from having holidays.
[7:51] We're off to Thailand in September.
[7:54] And, um, so we're, we're just putting that in the, in the budget and we just budget through it and, uh, for each month and, um,
[8:00] The good thing is of not having the mortgage though is that the mortgage repayments that you were paying is now being saved, you know, so that's a big thing.
[8:07] Plus we're still saving on top of that as well.
[8:11] So, yeah, it does make peace like, right, we spent this this month.
[8:16] What happened here?
[8:17] I was like, oh, there was that big bill that we had and, you know.
[8:20] And you've always got it there.
[8:21] That's the thing.
[8:22] Before, you'd probably have to go, you know, dip into the credit card or to do whatever.
[8:27] Now that you've sort of got the savings, that it's all just sitting there.
[8:30] So, you know, you do have the car bill that comes in or something that happens, that the funds are there for you to do what you need.
[8:36] And you're not reliant on a credit card.
[8:38] Whereas, you know, at first when you guys said tear up your credit card, it's like, what?
[8:41] What do you mean tear up the credit card?
[8:43] Big change.
[8:44] Yeah, it's a big change, but it's all doable.
[8:46] It's the money that you've got in your account.
[8:47] You just, you know.
[8:48] Yeah.
[8:48] And you think about it more when it's a debit card, you know, it's coming out of your budget, out of your fine.
[8:53] Yeah.
[8:54] Okay, I'm tapping that, but do I really need that?
[8:56] Yeah.
[8:57] Yeah.
[8:58] Absolutely.
[8:58] It's clear.
[8:59] It's really clear, isn't it?
[9:00] All it's good.
[9:01] And so on that, I guess, you know, lots of highlights over the last year and a half, two years.
[9:07] Have there been any challenges for you guys in your journey?
[9:10] Yeah, probably early on.
[9:12] I had a health scare, so I had to go and do rehab, recovery, that type of thing.
[9:17] And by that stage, prior to that happening, we'd already paid the house off.
[9:21] So we just sort of knew you didn't have that extra stress of, okay, a lot more did you pay, but it's...
[9:27] you know, have I got enough, you know, sick leave and can I do what I need to do?
[9:30] I just focused on my recovery and the team here in Philly were brilliant.
[9:34] You know, they came, they looked, just focus on your recovery, do what you need to do, come back and talk to us a little bit later and see what we're doing.
[9:40] And having that, I guess, no stress at all.
[9:44] We've paid the house off.
[9:45] We could just, you know, I could focus on my recovery.
[9:48] That was probably, and that happened, you know, within the first six months.
[9:51] So it was a bit of a whirlwind, bit of a rollercoaster, so.
[9:55] And for me, it was just the comfort of knowing that I could pick up the phone and call you and go, hey, this is what's happened, you know, and I've got the backup of you and the rest of the Infinity team if I needed.
[10:08] If something horrible happened to Pete or vice versa, we've got you guys as our...
[10:15] our backup, our community, our family, you know, to actually help you see it through.
[10:19] Because if we didn't have infinity and something happened, I would have to, or he would have to do things on his own to be able to, you know.
[10:26] Yeah.
[10:27] I think it's the table place.
[10:29] You know, you've got your accountant, you've got your lawyers, you know, you've got your RM and you've got your financial strategist, your property strategist.
[10:35] That's, you know, look, if you've got any questions, it generally gets answered.
[10:39] And if your hiccup happens, you know, you guys fix it without, you know, without question, which is brilliant.
[10:44] Yeah, I think having that community makes a huge difference.
[10:47] And obviously, internally, we've got a community and, you know, a family for you guys supporting your journey.
[10:53] But there's also a huge part that the Infinity community plays in, you know, supporting each other as well.
[11:00] I know that obviously, we caught up when I was over in Perth through our community event.
[11:05] How are those events for you guys, you know, attending REM, attending our community events?
[11:09] How does that impact, I guess, your journey and how you connect with others?
[11:14] I guess it's because you're meeting people that are on a similar pathway to you.
[11:19] You know, everybody's got different circumstances, but they all want to pay off the mortgage, they all want to get ahead.
[11:24] They all want to have investment properties.
[11:26] They want to look after their family.
[11:27] You know, there's young families with babies that joined as well as people that were older than us that joined.
[11:31] It's never too late.
[11:33] And you meet some brilliant people.
[11:35] And so those community events, it just actually makes you feel comfortable and walking up to a total stranger and saying, Hey, I'm Rose.
[11:42] And you just kind of just open up that conversation.
[11:45] So we met some really good friends along the way as well and just met some really, really great people.
[11:52] And everybody's positive.
[11:53] There's no negativity.
[11:55] There's no, no one's trying to knock you down.
[11:58] Everybody's actually celebrating, you know, and it's quite exciting when you kind of see how.
[12:04] It seems you're connected to, like, you know, you look forward to, oh, there's a community event coming and, you know, your kids are, you know, it's kid-friendly and the kids can come.
[12:12] I think you also had, like, I think you had a movie night, you had a bowling night and we attended the main event and everything.
[12:18] And, like, now seeing it, oh, no, what's the next one?
[12:20] I said, yeah, whatever it is, you know, you can bring kids, she can meet and network.
[12:25] And that just keeps you, you know, engaged on your journey.
[12:29] You know, you might not be arranging a holiday for the next 12 months, but you've got a community event to look forward to or you've got an end-of-year, you know, party.
[12:37] Wiccan Christmas parties.
[12:38] Wiccan Christmas.
[12:40] Don't have to dip into the FF.
[12:42] So that's exactly right.
[12:44] Yeah.
[12:46] No, the community is actually, second, like you don't really hear about it anywhere else.
[12:51] You kind of do feel like you're in this little place
[12:54] bubble, big bubble, getting bigger bubble.
[12:57] But it's, you know, we've got quality relationships with you and everybody else as well as building some great friendships and they're great, the community events you guys do and you put on.
[13:08] Yeah.
[13:10] Yeah.
[13:11] It's pretty awesome.
[13:11] Pretty awesome.
[13:12] Nothing like it.
[13:13] No, nothing like it.
[13:13] And the vibe is just unreal.
[13:15] Yeah.
[13:16] You know, what kind of brokerage really does that for their members?
[13:20] Yeah, it's huge.
[13:21] Yeah.
[13:21] And so I guess for you guys, obviously, amazing experience and, you know, super exciting things to come as well, planning for those next steps.
[13:30] What would you say to someone that is on the fence about joining Infinity?
[13:35] Get off it.
[13:36] Get off your fence.
[13:39] Jump on in.
[13:39] Give it a go.
[13:40] Give it a go.
[13:41] And I think there's lots of content out there that they can, you know, you can have a look.
[13:46] And then if you get the opportunity to do it and the circumstances allow for it, don't hesitate because, you know, it could be a life-changing decision.
[13:56] So I would say give it a red hot go.
[13:59] So, yeah, and it's trusted advice, you know, that's G and Beck have built this community, but the advice is free and you join the free webinar anyway.
[14:09] But they actually just care about getting you mortgage free and, you know.
[14:16] caring about your family, they're not just about their back pockets, let's say, you know.
[14:22] So they do really care about everybody that actually does enjoy the Infiniti team.
[14:26] You won't regret it.
[14:27] You won't look back.
[14:28] You get a plan and you can set your goals, whether it be short-term, long-term, and, you know, the simple thing is you just –
[14:37] get yourself a discipline for a budget and do what you need to do and you pay your house off, well, that's a massive win, isn't it?
[14:43] Because, you know, to achieve that in today's… Prepare to put in a little bit of work in that budget, really.
[14:50] But then in the end it doesn't… Once you start it, it's pretty easy to achieve it.
[14:55] Yeah, and I think sometimes, like you said, you're not having to cut everything out.
[14:59] There's still room for fun to enjoy.
[15:02] It's just in moderation, and I think it makes you appreciate those little splurges every once in a while a lot more.
[15:09] I wouldn't say anything like that has changed from that perspective that, you know, that we've tweaked what we have, you know, but really, are you still able to have your holidays just budgeted in, just do what you need to do and just plan for it and not, you know, overindulge in that, you know, I guess, delayed gratification?
[15:29] Yeah.
[15:30] Yeah.
[15:30] Yeah.
[15:30] You know.
[15:31] Because it will come in time as once those investment properties come into fruition and you can sell them to them, then your money will come in.
[15:37] Yeah.
[15:38] Then, and then you can go splurge if you want to.
[15:41] One day.
[15:42] Absolutely.
[15:44] And I guess one little fun question for you guys, or a bit of a confessional, who would you say is the weak link in terms of spending?
[15:53] Oh, that'd be me.
[15:54] Yeah.
[15:55] That's just, it's got to be one.
[15:57] It's me.
[15:58] It's me.
[15:59] Always me.
[16:00] I guess when Pete was younger, he used to spend a lot on, you know, your nice memorabilia and his nice tag watch and all that kind of thing.
[16:10] Labels is the word I'm trying to say.
[16:11] Label stuff.
[16:12] Whereas now it just doesn't really, he doesn't really do any of that.
[16:16] He's always looking in the portal.
[16:18] So he doesn't want to see his spending.
[16:22] You see how much I'm spending.
[16:23] Yeah.
[16:25] No, that's awesome.
[16:25] I would have said Siena's a spend.
[16:27] No.
[16:27] They are expensive, aren't they?
[16:30] That's right.
[16:31] No, they are.
[16:33] But even then, getting her through high school and like we had, the money was there, like we had to pay.
[16:37] get the laptop and then pay the fees.
[16:39] And we chose to send it to a city private school.
[16:42] And I said, but the funds were there to do us.
[16:44] We just built it in the budget.
[16:45] And that means, you know, you don't go and, you know, get the new car or whatever it is or have the bigger holiday.
[16:51] You might have to sacrifice one or two years and then have that holiday a little bit later and do what you need to do.
[16:58] Yeah, awesome.
[16:59] Well, it's been so nice catching up with you guys.
[17:01] No, thanks so much.
[17:01] Thank you for being here today.
[17:02] Thank you.
[17:03] And can't wait to see you guys continue to smash it.
[17:05] Yeah.
[17:06] See you at the next Christmas party.
[17:08] Absolutely.
[17:08] Must be no weird.
[17:10] I hear it's going to be bigger this year, G. It will be absolutely always bigger.
[17:16] Thank you.
[17:17] Thank you.

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