# In 2 Years, They Reduced Their Mortgage By $220,000 | Clare & Stewart | CHANGING LIVES S04 EP66

An episode of [Money Mentor Podcast™](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1632604767), 23 Aug 2026, 51 min.

Audio: https://episode.flightcast.com/01M0KDVYTZXW60B2130NHS3TTP.mp3

Clare thought the age gap meant she'd have to work long after Stewart retired. 2 years on, that's changed. Clare and Stewart started with an $855,000 home loan, a credit card maxed out at $12,000 most months, and repayments that barely dented what they owed. Because of the age gap between them, Clare had quietly made peace with being the one still working long after Stewart stopped, funding a retirement that wasn't hers yet. A free webinar during a storm on holiday cracked that open, though she spent the next six months convinced it might be a scam. Two years on, their mortgage term has gone from 28 years to nine, and retiring together is finally on the table. Want to improve your own financial future? Our free webinar is where to start: 👉 https://bit.ly/43V2jKN #ChangingLivesPodcast #MortgageFreeAustralia #FinancialFreedom

## Transcript

[0:00] You would retire and then I would have to keep working to keep funding it.
[0:04] Whereas now we will have the option to retire together.
[0:07] You're maxing out a $12,000 credit card pretty much every month.
[0:11] Yep.
[0:11] And there were months where we didn't pay it all off.
[0:14] We had car loans.
[0:15] Over $100,000.
[0:15] Yeah.
[0:16] Your home loan balance was $855,000 when you had Infinity.
[0:20] What's the home loan balance at now?
[0:21] $630,000.
[0:22] It's been two years.
[0:24] It's nuts.
[0:25] And the investment properties are just going so well.
[0:27] We're at four.
[0:28] It's amazing.
[0:29] Yeah.
[0:29] Talk me through the light bulb moments, biggest takeaways.
[0:36] Welcome back to the Money Mentor Podcast.
[0:38] I'm your host, Rachel Howlett.
[0:39] We have another episode of Changing Lives Financially.
[0:43] Today we have the lovely Claire and Stuart.
[0:46] How are we?
[0:47] Hello.
[0:47] Good.
[0:47] Thank you.
[0:48] How are we feeling?
[0:49] A bit nervous.
[0:50] I know.
[0:50] A bit nervous, but that's all right.
[0:51] You've just hit one year with infinity, so
[0:54] It's, um, no, actually two years.
[0:56] Sorry.
[0:57] My God.
[0:57] Why am I sitting here thinking it was 2025?
[1:01] No.
[1:01] Wow.
[1:01] Two years with infinity.
[1:03] So that's where we're going to start.
[1:04] We're going to start back before you met infinity where you're at financially, where the family was there, what the home loan balance was.
[1:11] I want to know everything.
[1:12] Before, we were pushing week to week, month to month.
[1:16] We were figuring out how we're paying those credit card bills.
[1:20] So we had credit cards.
[1:21] Yeah.
[1:23] Yeah.
[1:24] $12,000 credit card that literally every month was maxed out.
[1:28] The pay would come in.
[1:29] Credit card would be paid off if we were lucky.
[1:33] Mortgage done.
[1:34] But our mortgage pre-infinity when we started was just under $900,000.
[1:39] It's a big one.
[1:40] Yeah.
[1:40] Yeah.
[1:41] Yeah.
[1:42] Um, yeah.
[1:43] Yeah.
[1:43] That was a lifestyle thing.
[1:44] We wanted to be in the location we were in or we were moving to, to be closer to other family and so on, which, so it was a conscious decision, but we paid for it.
[1:53] Yeah.
[1:54] Yeah.
[1:55] And how long have you had that house for?
[1:58] So we'd been in it two years.
[2:00] So by 2024 we were in it for two years.
[2:02] Yeah.
[2:02] And had paid minimal off it.
[2:05] Yeah.
[2:06] Because we went right to the limit with what we obviously could afford at the time to get into that area.
[2:12] And, yeah, I think in the first year we'd only paid off $16,000.
[2:17] That's it.
[2:18] And the second year we only paid off $22,000.
[2:20] And our repayments were over $100,000.
[2:23] Oh, nearly 6,000 a month.
[2:24] Wow.
[2:25] Yeah.
[2:26] And so to only, yeah, pay minimal in those first two years.
[2:31] So when we joined Infinity, it was 8.55.
[2:34] Yep.
[2:35] Yep.
[2:36] It was high.
[2:37] And living, yeah, literally our pay comes in every month.
[2:41] So we'd kind of get to that, you know, third week where we hadn't had any pay, obviously, and it was just, it was tight in the red every month we were in the red.
[2:52] Yeah.
[2:53] Wow.
[2:53] So it really was that paycheck to paycheck living.
[2:56] Yeah.
[2:57] Yeah.
[2:58] But now it's also like.
[3:00] We were living as well.
[3:02] So we were buying the takeaway.
[3:05] We were buying the clothes when the clothes needed.
[3:08] We had the cars.
[3:09] Saying yes to the wants.
[3:10] Saying yes.
[3:11] A bit too much.
[3:11] To the wants.
[3:12] Yeah.
[3:13] End of a hard week.
[3:15] Yeah, we deserve takeaway.
[3:16] You know, Friday night takeaway.
[3:18] Yeah, that sort of stuff.
[3:19] Tap it on the credit card and deal with it at the end of the month.
[3:23] But you're maxing out a $12,000 credit card pretty much every month.
[3:26] Yep.
[3:27] And looking to extend it.
[3:29] Like we got the letters to say, do you want to increase it?
[3:31] And we were like, yep, we need to.
[3:33] That happens so quickly and easily, doesn't it?
[3:36] They were going to offer us another $5,000 like that to take it up to $17,000.
[3:39] They're very generous.
[3:40] Yeah, aren't they?
[3:41] Yeah.
[3:42] But that's quite scary though, isn't it?
[3:43] That's how a lot of people get into trouble because those letters and those offers just come so freely and easily without much assessment of whether or not it's a really good idea for yourselves.
[3:53] Yeah, because I wasn't really working.
[3:54] Like I was casual working at the time.
[3:56] I was still at home with our son.
[3:58] I wasn't on a full-time wage.
[4:00] And they still were going to give it to us.
[4:04] And no assessment as to whether or not this was really a good idea for you.
[4:08] And they don't consider the emotional side as well.
[4:11] They see, oh, they're maxing out $12,000 a month.
[4:13] That's making us a lot of money.
[4:15] And, yeah, they pay it off.
[4:16] They don't default.
[4:17] But...
[4:18] What does this do for the family long term in terms of will it make them spend more?
[4:22] What does that mean for them?
[4:23] They don't care about that side.
[4:24] No, I think I personally think that they do it so that they then keep you in for longer is the go.
[4:30] Yeah.
[4:30] And because there were months where we didn't pay it all off because there wasn't the money there to pay it all off.
[4:35] So it went into the next month and the interest was actually being charged.
[4:39] Yeah.
[4:39] Do you remember what the interest rate was on the credit card?
[4:42] It was like 21% or something.
[4:44] Would have been big.
[4:45] Yeah.
[4:45] Huge.
[4:46] Yeah.
[4:47] Yeah.
[4:47] And what else was going on financially at that time?
[4:52] We had car loans.
[4:53] Two car loans.
[4:54] Yeah, two car loans.
[4:55] Yeah, yours as well.
[4:56] Car over $100,000.
[4:57] Yeah.
[4:57] Yes, yes.
[5:00] And we got solar on the roof, so we had a loan for that.
[5:03] We had, yeah, well, we had plenty going on.
[5:05] Yeah, it was pretty much the credit cards, the cars.
[5:07] Yeah.
[5:09] Caravan.
[5:09] Yeah, caravan.
[5:10] Didn't have a loan for that, but it was just a little caravan, but.
[5:16] all the things that we wanted.
[5:17] It was just tap and deal with the problem later.
[5:21] But you're very honest also in telling us too that we were borrowing money from mum and dad too.
[5:26] Yeah, true.
[5:28] And there were months where fortunately mum and dad, you know,
[5:31] would top us up a little bit.
[5:33] We'd always pay them back, but we wouldn't have got by.
[5:36] I mean, even in COVID times, like we drew from our super.
[5:39] Like that's how desperate we were is, you know, the government said you can take it and we had to take it to survive.
[5:47] Otherwise we wouldn't have been able at the time before we bought the property that we're in, we were renting because we had the other property left
[5:55] just because we wanted to move a little bit closer to the older kids to see how it was.
[5:59] Because we're a blended family.
[6:00] Yeah.
[6:01] And so we had the mortgage, we had the rent, and it was just, yeah, COVID hit, I wasn't working, and so it was just like we need the money.
[6:11] Otherwise we didn't know what we were going to do.
[6:14] And how much did you take out of Super?
[6:16] $20.
[6:19] And do we think about the – I mean, look, you've done it at the time because you felt you needed to, right?
[6:22] Yeah.
[6:23] And a lot of people felt that way during COVID, which is why they did it.
[6:26] But, you know, did anybody ever explain to you what that meant on a compounding level, taking that money out of super and the loss of returns?
[6:33] No one explained it.
[6:34] I think –
[6:35] We were keen to keep my super.
[6:37] It had more in it.
[6:39] We took it out of Claire's super.
[6:42] We knew, but we needed the money.
[6:44] Yeah.
[6:45] And same with restructuring the previous home loan from a previous property.
[6:52] Just restructure.
[6:53] The banks were very nice.
[6:54] Let us redo that.
[6:55] Yeah, very nice again.
[6:58] The amount of times that we put it back to interest only on the loan or put it on hold.
[7:02] Yeah, put it on hold.
[7:04] So you deferred payments at some point too.
[7:06] Deferred payments and yet switched back to interest only and so obviously the principal wasn't coming down at all.
[7:12] Yeah.
[7:14] Because just for our listeners who might be wondering what that actually means, when you switch to interest only on your home, you're only paying interest.
[7:22] That's it.
[7:22] There is no mandatory principal payment you have to make.
[7:25] So regardless of whether you have a debt reduction strategy or not,
[7:29] that interest only is just interest.
[7:31] Yep.
[7:31] That loan stays exactly the same.
[7:33] Yep.
[7:34] And what it means though is lower repayments.
[7:35] So it gives you that breathing space from a budgeting perspective or cashflow perspective, but longer term, not great.
[7:42] Yeah.
[7:42] Cause we're not paying our home off.
[7:44] And then that cashflow was just willy nilly.
[7:46] So yes, the extra money was there, but we weren't, it didn't feel like it was purposeful, right?
[7:51] It just, whatever needed to be purchased at the time was purchased.
[7:56] Yeah.
[7:56] And do you feel like it was too easy to get that interest only term?
[7:59] It was pretty easy.
[8:00] Yeah.
[8:01] It was just a phone call.
[8:02] It was scary.
[8:02] It was a phone call.
[8:04] Yeah.
[8:04] Just wander around on my phone at work.
[8:05] Just, you know, find a spell for a quiet spot and you can just do it.
[8:08] They did it over a phone call?
[8:10] Yeah.
[8:11] Oh, wow.
[8:12] Not through the broker.
[8:13] Not through.
[8:13] No assessment.
[8:14] No.
[8:14] No.
[8:15] No, no, no.
[8:16] Wow.
[8:17] You could just do it.
[8:17] It was just we're struggling at the moment.
[8:18] Can we switch it to interest only?
[8:20] Yep, no worries.
[8:20] You can have every year.
[8:21] And then we got to the year and we're like, call them back up, ask to extend it, got another year.
[8:26] Wow.
[8:26] And did they explain to you what that would mean longer term in terms of your principal payments?
[8:31] You get the letter that said confirming this has been the change and, you know, the life of your loan and so on, where it will finish getting paid off.
[8:38] A letter.
[8:39] A letter.
[8:39] Yep, that's it.
[8:40] Yeah, it was a letter.
[8:41] Yep.
[8:41] And that stated when the end point was.
[8:46] That was like miles away.
[8:47] Yeah.
[8:47] It was a 30 year problem, right?
[8:50] Yeah.
[8:50] We've got plenty of time.
[8:51] Yeah.
[8:52] But then obviously as we're getting older, that 30 years is getting closer to, we don't want to work right up until we're, you know, seventies.
[8:59] Yeah.
[9:00] Being forced into that as a decision.
[9:02] Exactly.
[9:02] You want to, yeah, make a change.
[9:04] So what do you both do for work?
[9:05] Both teachers.
[9:06] Yeah.
[9:07] Yeah.
[9:08] Yeah.
[9:08] Both work in secondary school and so school holidays are great.
[9:14] Yeah, both teachers, which has been good.
[9:15] So steady income and all sorts of things.
[9:18] So conditions are...
[9:19] Yeah.
[9:20] And have you tried to work with any other advisors before you found Infinity?
[9:24] Yeah.
[9:26] We had an accountant who you'd visit once a year to do your tax.
[9:30] We had a financial advisor who, again, you'd visit once a year to sign off on the super plan.
[9:36] Yeah.
[9:37] But in terms of advice,
[9:39] oh, that wasn't really advice.
[9:40] It was sort of, you know, sign here, are you happy with this, this is going as it's going sort of thing.
[9:44] You'd get the picture as to how it was tracking.
[9:48] But it was just an annual, you know, you get the email or whatever.
[9:51] A big bill for half an hour meeting to say, yep, your super looks good, could maybe increase it a little bit.
[10:00] Your insurances are fine.
[10:02] And that was it, half an hour in and out.
[10:04] And that was it.
[10:04] Five grand later.
[10:05] Because you'd talk to them about, you know, oh, this salary package, you know, should we salary package?
[10:10] Yeah, you can do that.
[10:11] You know, there was no, yeah, you can do that, but if you do.
[10:13] Here's what you need to consider, yeah.
[10:15] There was no, no, I don't think you should because of, you know, it was just you'd come out of there going, okay, we'll keep doing, I suppose.
[10:22] And that's the thing, the cars were salary packaged.
[10:25] And then when we tried to find out what the interest rate was, like the guy on the phone would not tell us.
[10:29] He would not tell us what that interest rate was.
[10:33] And it ended up being up.
[10:34] Like it was in the 20s, wasn't it?
[10:35] It was there.
[10:36] It was just nuts.
[10:38] And so people think that they're saving all this money, but the interest rate that you're paying on it,
[10:44] For the convenience, I guess, you know, of having your tyres.
[10:47] Because everything's included in that payment.
[10:49] Everything's included.
[10:50] Yeah.
[10:50] But then that's money out of… Oh, and you're saving tax.
[10:53] Yeah.
[10:53] But then that's money that's not sitting in your mortgage working for you.
[10:56] Exactly.
[10:56] Yeah.
[10:57] And you didn't really get an explanation of any of that.
[10:59] No.
[11:00] Except you were sold on the tax saving.
[11:01] Sold on the tax saving and then it was the last one that I looked at doing and it wouldn't give us any detail.
[11:07] And I just went, no, I'm done with this.
[11:09] This is…
[11:10] um it was you know where's the quote coming from what's the interest rate you know well you've put a quote in there there must be an interest rate attached to that couldn't tell us you know um three sets of ties in that the life of you know i don't never go through that many like that's but it's still built into the car so you pay for it yeah and again it
[11:29] You're almost like, give me the tiles or put them in the garage.
[11:31] Exactly.
[11:32] Exactly.
[11:32] Yeah.
[11:33] Yeah.
[11:33] But no, it was a lack of detail.
[11:35] And whether it works for some people, plenty of people do it, so good on them.
[11:38] But for us, it was, we realized it was not the guy.
[11:41] Yeah.
[11:42] Yeah.
[11:43] And did your financial planner at any point know about you taking money out of super and explain to you how we might be able to recover that?
[11:49] What's the strategy around that?
[11:51] No.
[11:52] No.
[11:52] No.
[11:53] No.
[11:53] No, it was a very, the conversations weren't extensive.
[11:56] Yeah.
[11:57] It was pretty much, you know, here's the paperwork, flip through this, so we have with that sign there sort of thing.
[12:01] Yeah.
[12:02] I mean there were slides on the screen show, you know, how it had been progressing.
[12:08] Yeah.
[12:08] But at the end of the day it is what it is, sign again, if you want to keep going.
[12:12] Yeah.
[12:13] So, yeah.
[12:15] Without many of your questions answered.
[12:17] No.
[12:17] Yeah.
[12:17] No, no, no.
[12:19] I mean, thank you so much for sharing all that because I know it's quite vulnerable to be open about things like that.
[12:24] And that is a very tough place to be in.
[12:26] But what I do love about all of that is you were constantly trying to look for answers.
[12:30] And that, I suppose, is what eventually got you to infinity.
[12:33] So talk me through how you found infinity and what that process was like.
[12:39] That was me.
[12:39] Always, yeah.
[12:40] Like I've been quite on like reading and finance-wise and interested in investing.
[12:48] So I had built multiple properties before.
[12:51] Yep.
[12:51] Got nothing to show for it because clearly I was building and selling and building and selling.
[12:56] I'd move into them to avoid the capital gains tax.
[12:59] Yeah.
[12:59] So it was a bit of that mindset was already there.
[13:01] Yeah, so I was already heading that way and then I think through that reading lots of books,
[13:08] different strategies from different people, you know, multiple accounts here, there and everywhere and trying to budget.
[13:13] Are we talking about barefoot investors?
[13:15] Are we talking about... You know, and so I'd always come to Stu and go, oh, we could do it this way.
[13:20] And then so, you know, we'd open up multiple accounts and try and like, it was just moving money that we didn't have anyway.
[13:26] Yeah.
[13:27] But it made it feel like we had extra money because there was...
[13:31] We were working our own strategy.
[13:32] Yeah.
[13:33] So it was sort of like we were in control because that money is going to be for that.
[13:36] Yeah.
[13:36] And before we got married, like I had two investment apartments that were just, you know, 1970s buildings that were just falling apart but just kind of hanging on to the house.
[13:46] hope that something happened.
[13:49] And then, so it just started, geez, podcasts and things kept coming up in my feed.
[13:54] So ones like this, like testimonials?
[13:56] Not quite ones like this yet, just more him advertising Infinity.
[14:01] Yep.
[14:01] I think we saw the Megan and Jeremy one as well.
[14:04] Yep.
[14:06] I said to Stu that, you know, this just keeps popping up.
[14:09] Maybe we should do it.
[14:11] This is for the mass, no, the free webinar.
[14:14] Yep.
[14:14] Webinar, yep.
[14:16] So we were on holiday down south.
[14:19] It was a massive storm.
[14:21] It was a Tuesday night that they used to be run on.
[14:24] It was only that live Tuesday night rather than the pre-route.
[14:28] So you had to dedicate that time.
[14:30] We had to dedicate that time.
[14:32] Like we signed up.
[14:33] It was like thunderstorms.
[14:34] We were in this tiny little caravan.
[14:36] Our son, we're like, you just get a little bit of iPad time, put your earphones on.
[14:40] We kind of knuckled in and, yeah, watched the free webinar down south on a January night and, yeah, went from there.
[14:49] Well, had major regrets.
[14:51] Yeah.
[14:52] Afterwards, I think like we signed up to do the masterclass that night because what we saw resonated with us.
[14:57] Yeah.
[14:58] But like the next day I was like, no, I need to call them.
[15:00] This is a scam.
[15:01] Oh, wow.
[15:02] So you slept on it and you were like freaking out about it.
[15:05] Well, and because we had no money, right, we were, you know, that money went straight on the credit card.
[15:10] And then I'm like.
[15:11] we've got these bills that have just come in, like that money should actually pay for these bills.
[15:17] And it was you that said like this is less than what our home, like our rates are or water rates or a bill that's come in.
[15:24] Let's just stick it out and do it.
[15:26] And I'm like, no, it's a scam.
[15:28] Like what have I done?
[15:30] I've like ruined everything but we stuck with it.
[15:34] But it was six months from our webinar to masterclass, which was I think a bit of fear, a bit of having our son looked after for the weekend so that we could fully commit.
[15:48] But like in that six months we started making mistakes
[15:51] the changes because we started watching like the Both Sides podcast and just basically researching every single Google ad that we could about G. To try and find where it was a scam.
[16:01] To try and find where the scam was.
[16:03] Like I even on through Instagram like I would like find the hashtags of the podcast and then I would look to see who had followed it.
[16:09] Wow, you really like went into it.
[16:11] I messaged people that were already in Infinity going like, I see that you're in it, like –
[16:16] What can you tell me?
[16:17] And so it was just all those sorts of stories that like actually made it, okay, this is real.
[16:23] Yeah.
[16:23] And then when we saw the difference happening within that, you know, four or five months before we actually did the masterclass was just crazy.
[16:31] So you're almost like proving it to yourself.
[16:33] I think so.
[16:33] From a free webinar, you're like, I'm going to pressure test this.
[16:37] Yeah.
[16:37] And gave yourself that time where you're like, it actually is working.
[16:40] Yeah, it works.
[16:41] And the numbers just, it made sense.
[16:44] Yeah.
[16:45] If this story has inspired you to take control of your financial future, your journey starts with our free educational webinar.
[16:52] Click the link below this video to get started today.
[16:54] I think as well, because we were pushing it month to month.
[16:58] Yeah.
[16:58] So if you're going to commit some money to something, you don't want to commit that money that could be paying that other stuff that you've done for it on to commit to that and then lose it.
[17:06] Yeah.
[17:06] So it's, yeah, it was a commitment.
[17:10] Yeah.
[17:10] And we had to trust that.
[17:11] And what were your biggest takeaways or light bulb moments just from the webinar alone?
[17:16] I think from the webinar was the daily interest.
[17:20] Like when G brought up a normal mortgage and then broke it down into, because, you know, you just see it as your payment is $5,000, right?
[17:28] You just look at the contract, right?
[17:29] I've got to pay this and, yeah, the bank will take interest.
[17:31] Yeah, and so when he used an example,
[17:35] of, yeah, it was around the full $5,000 mark and broke that down into a daily interest where you're like, this is what we're actually giving the banks every single day for this.
[17:46] And then when we worked out, and that's when we worked out what we had paid off principal for our first two years of having the home was only $16,000 in the first year and $22,000 in the second year.
[17:57] Because do you remember what you'd actually given the bank though?
[17:59] Oh, it was over $60,000 both years.
[18:01] Yeah.
[18:01] Yeah.
[18:02] Yep.
[18:03] To only, so like, it just makes me angry.
[18:07] Yeah.
[18:08] When it's like $40,000 of our hard earned money is just.
[18:12] More than half.
[18:13] Yeah.
[18:13] Yeah.
[18:14] Well, yeah.
[18:15] 40,000 was to interest and only 16 off the principal.
[18:18] Yeah.
[18:18] It was even more.
[18:20] I think it was like 50 in interest.
[18:22] It was.
[18:24] Yeah.
[18:24] Yeah.
[18:25] Mind-blowing.
[18:26] So that was just from the webinar, which obviously is just that free, you know, one hour on a Tuesday night.
[18:30] Well, now it's, you know, on demand.
[18:34] You pressure tested us.
[18:35] You went through that six months.
[18:37] You know, didn't find where it was a scam.
[18:39] There was no scam.
[18:40] There were no holes.
[18:41] There were no holes.
[18:42] You're like, wow, it's actually working.
[18:45] I'm saving money.
[18:46] But then you've eventually done the masterclass.
[18:48] Yes.
[18:49] So talk me through that process, what the two-day weekend looked like for you guys, the light bulb moments, biggest takeaways ever.
[18:56] That was amazing because it was, I mean, we, as part of work, you go through these, you know, professional development days and they're like, oh, my goodness, come on, just wind it up.
[19:03] Yeah.
[19:04] I thought a whole weekend of talking about finance, you're joking.
[19:08] But it was you glued in there.
[19:11] And those, you know, and so generous with the time.
[19:14] It would go, you know, the nights, the later nights sort of thing.
[19:18] And you just, no, we're not stopping for dinner.
[19:20] Like this is, we're locked in here.
[19:22] This is big.
[19:23] Yeah.
[19:25] Just so much information and so much that was like legit and real and you're working your own numbers and what the impact's going to be.
[19:33] That's the coolest part of the weekend I think.
[19:35] And you're seeing real people with a real impact and you go, this can impact us.
[19:42] We can have a completely different story.
[19:46] We don't have to be working until we're too old to be working.
[19:50] We can enjoy our life later on as well.
[19:52] Yeah.
[19:53] Yeah.
[19:53] It was the out of debt calculator I think was the main one.
[19:56] Yeah.
[19:57] And then the stories like the cherries were on, Steve and Sue Ann were on, Casey and Lenny.
[20:04] And it was just like real people that are in our situation as well.
[20:07] They've got, you know, kids, kids,
[20:09] And they're just working on the budget, just everyday people like us.
[20:14] Yeah, real jobs, real bills.
[20:18] Yeah.
[20:18] You know, you're not flashing around in a Lamborghini in a designer suit.
[20:22] It's legit people that are humble and just living life.
[20:26] And we're happy to answer questions.
[20:27] Yeah.
[20:28] You know, like –
[20:30] Everyone's always so like hush, hush about finances or whereas, you know, even when we went to our first REM and she was on the bus with David Cherry, you know, he opens up his phone and shows us his bank statement and like just real numbers that you can't.
[20:46] You can't not believe.
[20:46] Yeah.
[20:47] And so when people are so open and honest, it just, you had that connection.
[20:52] And yeah, so between the out of debt calculator and the stories, that's just, it sold us.
[20:59] And we're like, we cannot not do this.
[21:02] Yeah.
[21:02] Yeah.
[21:02] And we were coming up for our meeting for our $5,000 financial advisor as well.
[21:07] And it's like, well, let's just give this a shot for a year.
[21:12] Let's just cancel him for this year.
[21:13] Yep.
[21:14] Let's give infinity a shot.
[21:15] Work hard, work our butts off for that year and see where it gets us.
[21:19] Yeah.
[21:20] And.
[21:22] Yeah.
[21:22] And it was like, because obviously pay, went to pay credit card.
[21:26] Oh my goodness, we're going to max that out on this.
[21:30] It's usually the last approved transaction.
[21:32] Yeah, and that's the thing.
[21:33] We were like, I even messaged Louis, I think, because we want our course feedback as well, which like, gee, is so generous with,
[21:41] paying some of those back.
[21:42] And so we got the course fee back, so that obviously brought it down a little bit for us.
[21:46] But we were like, I can pay a little bit on our credit card.
[21:52] You know, it's the whole segment of you don't have a credit card anymore and we're like, how are we meant to function though without this credit card?
[21:59] It was like our kind of safety line.
[22:00] It was a foreign concept at the time.
[22:03] But hang on, that's what we've always used.
[22:05] Yeah.
[22:07] Yeah.
[22:08] It's just the way you do it, isn't it?
[22:09] Yeah.
[22:09] You know, chatting to friends just the other day, completely different.
[22:12] But, you know, and saying, you know, oh, she needs to be able to get a credit card.
[22:15] No.
[22:17] You don't.
[22:18] You're like, there's a whole different story.
[22:19] That's a conversation for another day.
[22:21] It's a different conversation.
[22:22] But it was, as it was then, that's what we had to do to be able to afford to really click in.
[22:27] So it was scary, but it was, oh, you've got to do this.
[22:31] Yeah, yeah.
[22:32] And your home loan balance was $8.55 when you found infinity.
[22:36] Do you remember what your out-of-debt results were when you crunched those numbers on the Saturday?
[22:40] It was nine years.
[22:42] Yeah, nine years.
[22:42] So we're taking it from 28 down to nine.
[22:45] That is absolutely wild.
[22:47] Look at that graph.
[22:48] It was like, oh, my goodness.
[22:49] Yeah.
[22:50] You know, not long before that I'd just been having a conversation with a good mate of mine about, you know, where we're living and what we're going to do and...
[22:58] I'd said to him, we will never pay this house off.
[23:00] Yeah.
[23:01] We won't pay it off.
[23:01] Because how old would you have been if we stuck to just the status quo in the 30 years?
[23:05] You've been nearly 80.
[23:06] Yeah.
[23:06] Yeah.
[23:07] And I said to him, the reality is, because we'd been talking about, you know, investing or buying somewhere else, you know, for each of us sort of thing.
[23:15] And I said, no, we won't pay this house off.
[23:18] This house will be paid off when we're old enough that we need to downsize, sell it.
[23:23] It'll be paid off when we sell it.
[23:25] So that was your strategy, was downsizing.
[23:27] Survive, live, get to that point that it sells and then we pay it off and we buy something cheaper and hopefully the difference will be
[23:35] get us through retirement and we can enjoy ourselves.
[23:37] Are we happy about that being the option?
[23:39] That was stupid.
[23:40] What are you doing?
[23:42] But it's the area that we wanted to be in for family, for lifestyle, for whatever.
[23:47] And that was the strategy.
[23:49] And the bank would give us the money.
[23:50] We're like, hey, cool.
[23:51] Yeah.
[23:52] And it was going to be that you would retire, like, because there's a bit of an age difference, you would retire and then I would have to keep working to keep funding it.
[24:01] Whereas now we, like, we will have the option to retire together and actually...
[24:06] Enjoy life a bit.
[24:08] Yeah, and have that choice, right?
[24:11] And we won't have to downsize?
[24:13] We probably will anyway, but it's a choice.
[24:17] So if we want to stay exactly where we are, we can stay exactly where we are.
[24:21] Yeah.
[24:21] And we don't have super as having to pay off whatever's left.
[24:25] as well yeah that's usually a lot of people's plan is oh well i'll just and that's what the bank will also see as your plan because you know with the retirement age being about 67 and you're looking at a 30-year loan going i'm going to be 80 the bank's going to go oh well we're just going to take you super yes that that's their regular strategy for you yep yeah it's just it wasn't okay
[24:46] No.
[24:47] Yeah.
[24:47] So, yeah, the graph that showed when we could pay it off, this is not even a decision.
[24:54] Yeah.
[24:55] This has to be done.
[24:56] And even if it didn't line up to exactly that, like even now it's less than that nine years,
[25:04] But we even said like even if it's 15, like that's still that retirement age for Stu.
[25:10] It's still better than 28.
[25:13] It's still better than 28 and a whole lot more money in our pocket than in the bank's pocket.
[25:17] Yeah.
[25:18] Do you remember your interest saving?
[25:21] So we, well, in that kind of.
[25:24] six months in between, we were at about $150 a day and then it dropped to like $106 per day.
[25:34] And then I think our first, like after joining Infinity, $850 something per month that we were saving.
[25:43] Just at the beginning.
[25:44] Just at the beginning by moving money that we didn't really have around.
[25:48] Isn't that crazy?
[25:48] Yeah.
[25:48] It's unbelievable.
[25:50] Yeah.
[25:50] And you look and you're like, it's simple, but nobody explains this to us.
[25:54] Yeah.
[25:54] Yeah.
[25:55] And I think that was it.
[25:55] Between both the webinar and the masterclass and the both sides podcast were probably the main ones that like really drove it home for us is that it makes sense, but you don't know any, like you just think you get your mortgage, you pay your minimum payments, you're
[26:11] and you carry on.
[26:13] Yeah.
[26:13] We're not making it go faster by, you know, getting another three jobs or, you know.
[26:17] Yeah.
[26:17] And there was no, yeah, scope to get extra income.
[26:20] You know, we're both teachers.
[26:22] You know, I was doing a little bit of, you know, side hustle sort of, you know, little low-key business stuff.
[26:27] But other than that,
[26:29] You know, by the time we get home and you do sports in the afternoon with our son, it's just there's not a lot.
[26:33] You're not even thinking of that.
[26:34] Yeah, income can't increase.
[26:36] But that's usually the first thing people think is, oh, I've got to get another job, pay this down really quickly because one job's not cutting it.
[26:41] But it really just came down to the restructure.
[26:43] Yeah, exactly.
[26:44] And how we actually manage our money as well.
[26:46] Yeah, exactly.
[26:46] And we thought we were good, you know, like every now and then we'd like up the payments a little bit, you know, so instead of the, you know, set fee to be five, 200, it would bump it up to, oh, let's go five, five, you know, so that little extra every month, but it did nothing because then it would build up and we're like, oh, there's money there.
[27:03] Yeah.
[27:03] Don't spend it.
[27:04] Yeah, that's usually the mentality, right?
[27:07] Did it take much convincing to sign up?
[27:09] Did we wait six months in between this time?
[27:11] No, no, it was at the end of the phone call, like at the end of that second day when we could put it through.
[27:16] We won the course fee back and we're like, let's just do it.
[27:19] Yeah.
[27:19] And we signed up that afternoon.
[27:21] Yep.
[27:22] Awesome.
[27:22] So it was much easier.
[27:23] Yes.
[27:25] And I think because we'd done so much research and like it just sealed the deal for us.
[27:30] I think we were sold before it really.
[27:34] But, yeah, then it was that afternoon.
[27:36] Yeah.
[27:36] And the decision of do we just go the rapid repayment or do we go and we go on the REM one?
[27:44] We want to fully immerse ourselves in the whole thing.
[27:46] Yeah.
[27:47] If this little change can make this difference,
[27:50] We want the full package.
[27:51] Yeah.
[27:51] And really get back in front.
[27:53] Yeah.
[27:53] Yeah.
[27:54] And talk me through what your first 90 days with us looked like.
[27:59] That was a whole lot of changing accounts and things like that.
[28:02] We were quite lucky in our loan was already structured in that we had the redraw, which we didn't know.
[28:10] So, yeah, it was phone calls.
[28:12] It was paperwork.
[28:14] So much paperwork.
[28:15] Lots of paperwork.
[28:16] But then we even had, so we, that was.
[28:19] the last weekend in June that we did the masterclass.
[28:23] And by September we were at our first REM.
[28:25] Like Louis was like, you need to come over.
[28:28] You're good to go with.
[28:32] What was it?
[28:32] Our first one was through Super.
[28:34] So we started organising our own Super.
[28:39] It was just lots of paperwork.
[28:40] It was hit the ground running.
[28:41] It was phone call.
[28:43] Yeah.
[28:43] And that was, again, like super keen to hang on to our Super.
[28:47] We were very keen to hang on to our Super because that was going to keep us surviving.
[28:52] Yeah, that was the retirement plan.
[28:54] That was the retirement plan.
[28:54] So I think that was hard for us.
[28:56] So to hear that, you know, SMSF, I'm like, man, I can't manage my Super, you know.
[29:01] Yeah, people get scared by that self-managed part, don't they?
[29:04] Yeah, no, I'll pay someone else to self-manage, that'd be cool.
[29:06] But it was conversations with real people who were saying, hey, look, this is what happened to me, you know, and showing being prepared to be vulnerable with their own story, their own numbers.
[29:17] Um, and, uh, and got us into our first investment property through, yeah, through, cause we didn't have enough equity in our own to be able to.
[29:25] Yeah.
[29:26] But the two apartments that I had, so they were put on the market.
[29:28] Yeah.
[29:29] Cause we had those before infinity.
[29:30] Yeah.
[29:31] They were before infinity.
[29:32] And so our strategy basically came out to let's sell them.
[29:36] kind of the, you know, sell one to buy two sort of thing.
[29:39] So, yep, they both went on the market, which I was kind of happy to see the back end.
[29:44] So you were fine with that part of the strategy.
[29:46] And we were heading towards that anyway.
[29:48] Yeah.
[29:50] to sell them to buy caravan and update the cars and things.
[29:57] And they sold really quickly.
[30:00] But the mindset prior was we're going to sell to then go and buy cars and stuff and the caravan.
[30:06] Yep.
[30:06] Yeah, we wanted a nicer caravan.
[30:09] Yeah, like we had this little 15,000, you know, our son would sleep on the floor and, you know, but it was great.
[30:14] It's memories.
[30:15] It's what we do.
[30:17] But our strategist at the time said like,
[30:19] what you're spending on insurance, maintenance, rego.
[30:24] We really break it down.
[30:26] Yeah.
[30:26] For the four or five, potentially six trips that you do a year, hire the van, hire the
[30:33] Yeah.
[30:35] And that's what we do now.
[30:36] So you don't have to get rid of the memories.
[30:37] It's more about making sure we're doing this strategically.
[30:41] Yes.
[30:41] So they're 100% spot on.
[30:43] Yeah.
[30:43] Yeah.
[30:44] And they did say to us like because the apartments did sell for more than what our strategy.
[30:48] So obviously they gave us a strategy.
[30:49] Yeah, because we always like to be a little bit under.
[30:51] Yeah.
[30:51] Yeah.
[30:51] And they obviously sold for a little bit more so we're like, oh.
[30:54] maybe like we can still do the caravan.
[30:59] And our strategist.
[31:00] Come on, we've got access to all this stuff.
[31:02] We know.
[31:03] And he was like, well, you can.
[31:04] And that's the thing with infinity.
[31:06] Like it's never a no.
[31:07] Yeah.
[31:07] But it's like, well, if you do this.
[31:11] You could have a, you know, $60,000 caravan sitting in driveway that depreciates or you can get another investment property that increases and we're like, I think we'll go with the extra investment property, thanks.
[31:23] Yeah.
[31:24] But you were given the information.
[31:25] That's right.
[31:26] That's what you lacked before.
[31:27] Yeah.
[31:28] You didn't have the conversations, you didn't have the information, you didn't have the numbers run for you in a way that you guys would understand it and you guys then make the choice.
[31:36] Yeah.
[31:36] Exactly.
[31:37] It's up to you to go A or B.
[31:38] Yeah, that's right.
[31:39] And when you break it all down and you go, if we hire a van, that's an expensive weekend.
[31:44] Yeah.
[31:44] But you know what?
[31:45] It's like four or five, as Claire said, it's a stretch six times a year.
[31:50] When you multiply that out and then you look at your, you know, as I said, like regional insurance, you know, storage could be bigger, all of those sort of things, everything that goes into it.
[32:00] We're coming under now.
[32:01] We're coming in well under where we were before.
[32:03] And we get oceans with different vans.
[32:05] Yeah.
[32:06] Oh, yeah, true, bigger trips, you'll splurge a bit more, maybe small trips, you go small.
[32:10] Yeah.
[32:11] Yeah.
[32:11] But it's still conscious, right?
[32:12] Like it's still now we're like, well, if I can get this van at this much and this van at this much, I'm going to go this one because then that's more money that...
[32:18] Yeah.
[32:19] It stays in our account.
[32:21] So more mindfulness.
[32:21] We still have the memories, still have the holidays, still do what we do with our friends who that's what we do.
[32:27] Yeah.
[32:28] But we're… Hand it back at the end of the weekend and not your responsibility.
[32:32] No responsibility.
[32:33] No maintenance, none of that.
[32:34] Yeah.
[32:35] So much, much better plan strategy.
[32:38] Yeah.
[32:39] So got rid of that, got rid of the credit card.
[32:42] Got rid of the credit.
[32:42] Yeah, that was.
[32:43] Eventually that was gone.
[32:44] Yep.
[32:44] That was pretty much straight away within the first couple of months.
[32:48] Yeah.
[32:49] And then there was just money sitting all of a sudden in the redraw.
[32:52] I'm like, what have we been spending our money on?
[32:56] Yeah.
[32:57] Yep.
[32:57] And sorted out the budget.
[32:59] So we got the, you know.
[33:01] Locked in on, well, we were kind of locked in on the triple F beforehand.
[33:05] Yeah.
[33:05] Cause you were doing that from webinar days.
[33:07] Yeah.
[33:08] But it was higher.
[33:09] I think on the masterclass we came at about 750 and then, yeah.
[33:14] That's not too bad for you.
[33:15] The family size you have.
[33:17] Yeah.
[33:17] But our RM was like, I reckon you could get it down to 600.
[33:19] And I'm like, okay, let's do 550.
[33:21] Yep.
[33:22] Um, so we're at five 50 for quite a while.
[33:23] Cause you don't always have the older boys with you guys.
[33:25] It's just, yeah.
[33:26] Yeah.
[33:27] So we have the, um, she's old daughter.
[33:29] She lives with us.
[33:31] Um, and then obviously our son.
[33:33] So it's pretty much family full.
[33:35] I mean, she looks after herself for a lot of things.
[33:36] Yeah.
[33:37] Um, so yeah, we're like, let's do it at five 50.
[33:40] Yeah.
[33:41] And then we set a challenge for ourselves to drop it by a hundred.
[33:44] So we did 450 for quite a while.
[33:48] But both being teachers, school holidays were a little bit trickier.
[33:51] So we would bump ourselves back up in the school holidays just for that added extra little, if it was the movies or something like that.
[33:59] But now we're back to a consistent 500 a week.
[34:02] And how's that feeling following the 500?
[34:04] Easy.
[34:04] Fine.
[34:04] Yeah.
[34:04] There's usually money left as well from that 500.
[34:07] Oh, wow.
[34:07] You're coming under.
[34:08] Some leftover of your 500.
[34:09] Yeah, we're usually coming under.
[34:11] Again, school holidays, yeah, because, you know, you entertain the kids and stuff and ourselves.
[34:16] But that's okay.
[34:17] You pivot with life.
[34:18] Yeah.
[34:18] And that's, again, that's another thing that we're –
[34:21] It's okay to be up and down.
[34:23] Yeah.
[34:23] But our week to week, yeah, we're undone and it's not a problem.
[34:28] And we said to each other, how do we have this extra money?
[34:33] We were struggling before.
[34:34] Well, our food shop, I was spending $1,200 to $1,300 a month on food, which I think is what most people sort of do.
[34:42] Now I do not go over $200 a week.
[34:44] Yeah.
[34:45] for our grocery shop and people are like, how do you do it?
[34:49] But we were going to the shops as well every second day.
[34:53] Yeah.
[34:53] I would say like, you know, need this for dinner, need that for dinner.
[34:56] Oh, this is on special.
[34:57] Grab that.
[34:58] Yeah.
[34:59] And I think that's what, but now I click and collect every Saturday.
[35:03] what we need for the week.
[35:04] Which is so good because you've got visibility of what you're actually buying before you even get to checkout.
[35:09] Exactly.
[35:09] Yeah.
[35:10] And if it's getting a little bit high, I was just like, no, we don't need that this week.
[35:14] And just less snacks.
[35:15] And I think 75 hard helped that as well.
[35:19] Oh, have we both done 75 hard?
[35:20] Both did 75 hard.
[35:21] Did it together.
[35:23] Which just for our listeners, that's something you do through Infinity.
[35:27] Infinity, yep.
[35:28] Because...
[35:29] you know, we're a financial health company, but yet we're also getting you guys motivated to do your physical health challenges as well, which is really cool.
[35:37] And we, you know, do it in a way you can win money and motivate you.
[35:39] Well, I did.
[35:40] Yeah.
[35:41] You won about with us.
[35:41] Yeah, I came third.
[35:43] So...
[35:44] Yeah, money straight into the mortgage.
[35:46] We just keep giving you money.
[35:47] I know, right?
[35:49] Yeah, no, but it was a hard 75 days, hence 75 hard.
[35:53] But, yeah, we smashed it and I think that helped with budgeting and just building everything up.
[35:59] Yeah, giving you that extra bit of structure as well.
[36:01] Yeah.
[36:02] Oh, that's phenomenal.
[36:03] I'm so proud of you guys for doing that.
[36:05] That was really good.
[36:05] Lost 20 kilos between the two of us.
[36:07] That is incredible.
[36:08] Yeah.
[36:09] Yeah.
[36:10] Would you have expected when you signed up with Infinity you'd be doing something like that?
[36:13] No, we were looking at the financial side of things, the investment side of things and being in a better place.
[36:20] Yeah, no, not the – and I think that's the thing is Infinity cares about the whole package.
[36:27] So it's who you are and, you know, you can still enjoy yourself.
[36:31] We care about the family and so on.
[36:33] I was reading something that came up in the Infinity page yesterday and through last night.
[36:38] And just the genuine care for the Infinity family.
[36:41] Yeah.
[36:41] It's deep.
[36:42] So for us, yeah, the 75 hard certainly wasn't on the radar.
[36:47] But, you know, the encouragement that you get through, you know, through the updates and through, you know, this is what I'm doing, exercising in the rain tonight or whatever it is.
[36:56] We had one, we came home from it.
[36:57] A school ball that we got away early and we got in at that little just after 11.
[37:03] So we'd been at the Year 12 ball and then, yeah, got in at 11.15 and we did our 45-minute outdoor walk because we hadn't done an outdoor activity for that day.
[37:12] And just got it done.
[37:14] Oh, my gosh, I'm so proud.
[37:15] We do them so often because now we're doing the 60 strong, which is Infinity's version of the 75 hard.
[37:20] And we're just doing them so often.
[37:22] I can't even, like, keep up with how much money we've given away.
[37:25] It's so amazing.
[37:26] Yeah.
[37:27] Which is absolutely amazing.
[37:29] Do you guys know what your average sweep is per month now?
[37:33] Well, ours is a little bit like kind of different because ours stays in the redraw.
[37:36] We were one of the accounts that got.
[37:38] So you've got the actual transactional home loan.
[37:40] Yeah, the home loan.
[37:40] So everything goes into that.
[37:42] So our income, any money all goes into that.
[37:46] And then we have our separate offset, which is just for our triple F. Perfect.
[37:49] Yeah.
[37:50] So ours isn't necessarily a sweep because we, well, we sweep out what's left over from the triple F. Yep.
[37:55] But ours is more about the mortgage reduction.
[37:59] It's kind of between the three and five every month.
[38:01] Yep.
[38:03] We did have a big trip to Japan, which was amazing, which we couldn't have done without Infinity and the support from our RM to, yep, you've got to do this.
[38:14] Yeah.
[38:14] Yeah.
[38:15] Um, so that was, that held us back a few months, but you know, it comes in waves.
[38:20] Yeah.
[38:21] Um, so we had, yeah.
[38:22] But you've got to do that sometimes, right?
[38:24] You don't want to resent the process.
[38:26] You want to know that you're also not just working towards paying the home loan off really quickly, which that holiday is not going to set you back years.
[38:32] No.
[38:32] We're talking a couple of months.
[38:33] Yep.
[38:33] Yeah.
[38:34] Um, yeah.
[38:35] We're working towards that, of course.
[38:36] We're working towards the investment properties, but we've also got to enjoy the big things too.
[38:40] Yeah.
[38:40] Yeah.
[38:41] Yeah.
[38:42] Yeah, for us it was, oh, we heard, you know, Gee encouraging one of the other Infinity Families about.
[38:47] Did you see Casey and Lenny's podcast?
[38:48] Yeah.
[38:49] Oh, we were there.
[38:49] We were at the REM when they talked about having their white Christmas.
[38:53] Yeah.
[38:54] And we were going to go to, we wanted to do Europe as well and take our son to have a white Christmas, but it was going to be double the cost.
[39:00] And we're like, that's silly.
[39:01] It's not the right time for us.
[39:04] And so, yeah, Japan worked and we took him skiing and, yeah, it was really good memories.
[39:09] It was great.
[39:09] And so I think for us, you know, that you can still enjoy life, you can still have these sort of experiences and,
[39:18] But it's the cutting down on the, you know, the extra couple of coffees a day.
[39:22] Yeah.
[39:22] Those sort of things.
[39:23] You know, the mindset change is where the difference is.
[39:27] But you can still enjoy yourself.
[39:29] You can still or you should still have a gym membership.
[39:32] Absolutely.
[39:32] You should still, you know, do things that benefit you personally and for your health and for the family and all those sort of things.
[39:39] It's still super important to enjoy.
[39:41] to enjoy yourself but the goal is still the goal.
[39:44] It's still there.
[39:45] And then when you get home you just knuckle down and yeah.
[39:47] We just go again.
[39:48] Go again.
[39:48] Yeah, because what's the home loan balance at now?
[39:51] 630.
[39:51] 630.
[39:51] 630 from 855 in two years.
[39:52] Yeah, 225.
[39:53] Amazing.
[39:53] Yeah.
[39:54] It's nuts.
[39:54] I don't even have a word.
[39:56] It's amazing.
[39:58] Yeah.
[40:03] Yeah.
[40:03] Yeah.
[40:04] I'm like, what's my next question?
[40:06] Like how does that make you feel?
[40:07] Like because you guys were struggling so much before, deferring payments, going to interest only, taking out a super to now be years ahead in two years.
[40:18] Yeah.
[40:19] And hopefully we'll have the rest of it done in the next five years.
[40:21] That's the plan.
[40:22] Yeah.
[40:23] So we've gone from nine to, well, we're going to say seven.
[40:26] Yeah.
[40:28] Yes.
[40:28] Yeah, from infinity time.
[40:29] Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
[40:31] Yeah.
[40:32] Yeah.
[40:33] And we're very keen for that to happen.
[40:35] Yeah.
[40:35] So because it's a total mind shift from pre-infinity where we'll never have this paid off to we're getting it done.
[40:43] And along the way we're building.
[40:45] Yeah, and the investment properties are just going so well.
[40:47] Yeah.
[40:48] Because how many did we get total with infinity?
[40:50] We're at four.
[40:51] We're at four at the moment, yeah.
[40:52] Yeah.
[40:53] So you've got two in super and two outside super.
[40:56] Yes.
[40:56] Did you expect that?
[40:58] Not at all.
[40:58] Not at all.
[40:59] No, it was even like so we got the first one in our super at the first REM and then we were back in once the properties sold, the apartment sold, we were back in the December.
[41:09] And we were thinking maybe one or two more.
[41:12] And then, yeah, we sat down with Brenton and he's like, so.
[41:15] And then he went through the first two and we're like, yep, cool, ready to get up and go.
[41:18] And he's like, there was another tab open.
[41:20] He's like, I'm not done.
[41:21] He opens up the tab and he's like, and this one as well.
[41:23] We're like.
[41:24] It was just nuts.
[41:27] Unbelievable.
[41:28] We first needed to be offered to come back again so quickly, which was, that was, oh, really?
[41:34] Okay.
[41:35] But then to have so much opportunity, I suppose, given to us at that one, it was like, wow, this is unbelievable.
[41:44] It's like, no, no, you can do this.
[41:46] We had some discussions, but it just, it was so encouraging.
[41:50] But that's the community.
[41:52] Like we came out of that meeting going, oh,
[41:55] Oh, crap.
[41:56] Yeah, yeah.
[41:57] But then like you just talk about it with everyone and it's just, everyone is so uplifting and so encouraging and, yeah, more than open to share their stories as well.
[42:06] Yeah.
[42:07] And it just gives you that and like our team around us, which is what we love about Infinity is, and that's what we didn't get with the other people, right?
[42:13] It's just one person that you see, whereas everyone talks to.
[42:16] Your whole team talking to each other.
[42:17] Whole team between the RM, the finance strat and our wealth strategist.
[42:20] You know, we've got Mark as our accountant now and it's just,
[42:24] Everyone talks to each other so we don't have to worry about filling everyone in and going, oh, we're doing this, what do you think the tax implication is for that?
[42:33] Yeah, and you don't have to be the middleman either.
[42:35] Like we can go straight to the source and go, you're always CC'd in the emails.
[42:39] It's all about the CC.
[42:40] Yeah.
[42:40] We just – All about the CC.
[42:42] It's all about the CC.
[42:43] Yeah, and when you're talking to – like Brenton's giving us these options and you're seeing, you know, Mayank and you go, well, this is what we were told here.
[42:50] Yep, yep, no, this is the part of the plan sort of thing.
[42:53] Let me talk to them about that.
[42:55] Yeah.
[42:55] And you know that you guys can talk to each other and it's all for us.
[42:59] And we'll just come back to you when we're ready for the answer.
[43:02] And it all goes through, like one of them, like G came up while we were having our meeting as well and Mayank, our super guy, was saying, you know, or not sure about this one.
[43:11] Then G was like just straight out the door, went and chose a different property
[43:15] that suited everything for what everyone wanted between, you know, our wealth strategist and super and it just done.
[43:22] Signed the dotted line and here we are.
[43:25] Look at you.
[43:26] Look at us go.
[43:27] Unbelievable.
[43:27] I know.
[43:28] Yeah.
[43:28] Because it's just crazy that we've started this journey of you guys saying, I need to get my $1,500 back for the masterclass.
[43:36] This is a scam.
[43:37] It's not even $1,500.
[43:38] It's $1,497.
[43:39] Yeah.
[43:39] This is a scam.
[43:40] I think it was even a little bit less.
[43:41] Oh, no, it was $1,400.
[43:42] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[43:43] Yeah.
[43:43] To now where you are today where it just seems like money is not even a concern anymore.
[43:49] It's more, it's only a concern when it, like we see it as a game.
[43:52] Like, and so I really try and keep that budget down, but we still go and do things like we don't say no.
[43:59] And that's what everyone says to us.
[44:00] Like, oh, you're on a budget now.
[44:02] Like, do you find that you have to say no?
[44:03] Yeah, they have that word, don't they?
[44:04] Yeah.
[44:05] It's just, it puts a purpose on the money rather than just spending willy nilly.
[44:11] It puts a purpose on it.
[44:13] this is for our food, our fuel and our fun.
[44:15] You know, if we need clothes or new shoes or something, you know, for school, things like that, that's separate.
[44:20] You know, our son's going through some dental stuff at the moment and it's just...
[44:24] We have the money.
[44:25] You're good.
[44:25] It's covered.
[44:26] Yeah.
[44:27] Like I'm still doing the research to make sure that we're finding the best dentist and, you know, we're not paying crazy amounts at one.
[44:34] It's making sure that we're finding the right deal for the right problem, but the money's there.
[44:39] Yeah.
[44:39] And so I hate that it's coming out of the mortgage, but at the same time it's there so we're okay.
[44:44] Yeah.
[44:45] So the decision isn't yes or no.
[44:47] The decision is what's the best.
[44:49] And it's not, oh, get the credit card out again.
[44:51] Exactly.
[44:52] Yeah.
[44:53] You know, and when that, yeah, the credit card bill comes like, oh, my goodness.
[44:56] Yeah.
[44:57] You can do the things you have to do and it's the day-to-day stuff where you're making the smart decisions.
[45:03] Yeah.
[45:04] Everything's a smart decision.
[45:04] But you're making, yeah, the budgetary decisions in the FFF and, yeah.
[45:11] That's where we were blown away was how can we have this money and we were struggling before.
[45:15] Yeah.
[45:16] And then even with the properties being built, like obviously towards the end of it before the renters come in, like the payments are high.
[45:22] It's like how did we survive before paying our mortgage and everything and now we're also paying all this money in interest payments and stuff for these other loans?
[45:33] Like what?
[45:33] Where was that money before?
[45:35] And we're still sweeping.
[45:37] And then still paying down the home loan.
[45:39] As well as paying, you know, yeah, I think we're up to nearly five before the renters were in, $5,000 in extra payments, which was tight.
[45:46] But infinity knew that what our limit was.
[45:49] Yeah.
[45:49] And so we never felt...
[45:51] Like we were stretched, like the money was there, it was tight, but we never.
[45:56] And we were encouraged in that.
[45:58] Yeah.
[45:59] When we spoke to, you know, RM or whoever, they could say, oh, yeah, this is going to happen.
[46:03] Don't worry about it.
[46:05] It's fine.
[46:06] Yeah.
[46:06] We know where you're at.
[46:07] It's okay.
[46:07] Yeah.
[46:08] Or we'll be like, oh, we didn't sweep anything or, you know, there was no reduction.
[46:11] It's like, yeah, but all your money at the moment is going towards those investments.
[46:16] The rent is going to come in soon.
[46:18] And it did.
[46:19] And now the one in Brisbane that we've got, like if we were to, we haven't even had it a year and if we were to sell that, it will halve our mortgage already.
[46:28] You've already made a gain on it.
[46:29] Yeah.
[46:30] It's incredible.
[46:31] What does the future look like for you guys?
[46:33] Yeah.
[46:33] Oh, it's bright.
[46:34] We're keen.
[46:36] We want to progress as much as we can progress, you know, with infinity.
[46:41] We want to sort of build our own base, I suppose, so that we can retire when we want to retire, that we can retire and enjoy our time together.
[46:53] Because that's what I love what you said when you said you've now got the option to retire together.
[46:57] Yeah.
[46:57] Yeah.
[46:58] Despite the age gap.
[46:58] Yeah.
[46:59] Yeah.
[46:59] Yeah.
[46:59] I think that's beautiful.
[47:00] Yeah.
[47:01] So we, yeah, we, we wanted, yeah, do that together.
[47:05] You know, and who knows what it's going to look like when our son's, you know, at the age where he needs to.
[47:09] you know, get out and buy property and if we can set ourselves up and, you know, have that time to, you know, choose older kids, you know, having their own families and be able to spend time with them more and help out.
[47:21] Exactly.
[47:22] Yeah.
[47:23] Yeah.
[47:24] Yeah.
[47:25] So, and, you know, being the example to them as well, you know, a couple of them are, you know, getting into the or are in the property market and so, you know, you want to be the right example and be able to give some advice, not necessarily tell them what to do, but...
[47:38] You know, they can also get on because it's tough for kids at the moment.
[47:42] Yeah.
[47:43] Young people at the moment to get into it is hard.
[47:47] Yeah.
[47:48] And so as much as we can support them, we want to be able to support them.
[47:53] And whether they're the older kids or younger, like you want to be able to support them.
[47:58] Yeah.
[47:59] Yeah, so that's great.
[48:01] That's all a part of the story.
[48:02] I definitely think you're set up for that for sure.
[48:04] But it's all come down to you guys putting the effort in.
[48:07] We give you the tools and you've gone and, you know.
[48:10] That's right.
[48:10] You can make your choice.
[48:11] You've got to trust the process.
[48:12] We could see all that money in the read room and go, hey, cool.
[48:16] But that'd be dumb just to shoot yourself in the foot.
[48:19] So it's – but the encouragement's there and, you know, and as Claire said before, you know,
[48:24] We have been told, yeah, you can do that, but then this will be the.
[48:27] Yeah.
[48:28] So I think having a deeper understanding is actually, that was the game changer, that you're actually understanding what the process is and what there's an impact to your decisions.
[48:39] Yeah.
[48:39] So, but you've still got the freedom to make a decision.
[48:44] Yeah.
[48:44] So, yeah.
[48:45] That's awesome, guys.
[48:46] I'm so proud of you guys and how far you've come and really appreciate you coming to share your story.
[48:50] Is there anything else you wanted to add before we wrap up?
[48:53] Oh, look, we're just keen to keep it going.
[48:55] You know, we're so excited by it.
[48:57] We, you know, we love the family sort of side of things, you know, as in the community.
[49:01] So, you know, we were blown away.
[49:02] That first one that we went to and then it was the same, you know, for round two, it was just you go into these meetings and you come out of it with your package and people are genuinely excited, you know, and you're sitting around the table, oh, what did you, you know, how did you go?
[49:14] And it doesn't matter whether you got this one or you got that one or whatever.
[49:18] People are genuinely excited.
[49:19] Yeah.
[49:20] And that transfers and we're genuinely excited for other people.
[49:24] And, you know, I think in the broader community, speaking finances is a bit taboo.
[49:31] Oh, totally.
[49:32] You said that at the beginning.
[49:33] Like nobody talks about finance but in our community, everybody's so ready to share, not from a boasting perspective but just to genuinely help each other.
[49:41] And I think that's because we all just want to see each other win.
[49:43] Exactly.
[49:44] Yeah.
[49:44] And we've had family and friends now that have also joined up and it was just purely by just telling our story and saying, this is what works for us.
[49:51] You guys need to make that conscious decision for yourself, but just look into it.
[49:56] And like they've been blown away as well, you know, just property is now...
[50:01] a light at the end of the tunnel really um yeah and i think we're keen to if we can amp it up anymore to make that you know five years less then we are all in and keen knocked in took another goal
[50:16] Bring it down further.
[50:17] If we can bring it down further.
[50:18] If we can, yeah.
[50:19] Yeah, if we can add to the portfolio, whatever.
[50:23] Obviously bringing down the mortgage helps to add to the portfolio.
[50:25] Yes, absolutely.
[50:26] But I think to be able to, with the end goal being, you know, how's the retirement package look?
[50:32] You know, how can we positively impact our family?
[50:38] All of that is, it's all in the goal, yeah.
[50:42] Amazing, guys.
[50:43] Thank you so much for coming in.
[50:44] Thank you.
[50:44] I'm sorry it's going to help someone.
[50:46] Hopefully keep knuckling down because I want to definitely have you back for a part two and you're going to tell me you've done it in five years.
[50:52] That's the plan.
[50:53] Yep.

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