# Struggling Buyers to Strategic Investors | Brendan & Chantal | CHANGING LIVES | Season 3 Ep 88 Pt 2

An episode of [Money Mentor Podcast™](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1632604767), 25 Jan 2026, 48 min.

Audio: https://episode.flightcast.com/p0ghv477ee93kab431fa92x5.mp3

In this special two part episode of Changing Lives Financially, Brendan and Chantel share how they turned a series of financial setbacks into a structured, confident plan for their family’s future. After struggling to buy a home despite strong incomes, facing loan rejections, and being placed on an unsuitable interest rate product, they were pushed into a stressful financial position. Their breakthrough came from Infinity's free webinar that introduced them to a more strategic way of budgeting and debt management. Over the next two and a half years, they reduced their home loan from $200,000 to just $42,000 through disciplined planning while preparing to expand into investment properties. Their story also highlights the personal challenges that shaped their drive: Chantel’s spinal surgery, Brendan’s lifelong liver condition, and the weight of wanting stability for their daughter and extended family. With the support of a financial community and a clear strategy, they’ve transformed their outlook and are now focused on long term security, generational wealth, and even new opportunities abroad.👉 Follow the link https://bit.ly/43V2jKN to watch the free webinar and start your Infinity journey now!

## Transcript

[0:00] don't like the suggestion of a 40-year mortgage and this really popped off it was on the agenda for years like yeah nah yeah nah and then blackrock came out in australia this year and went hey we're going to help you with 40-year mortgages and i went no you're going to ruin australian families lives and that was it for me i was done money isn't rude of all evil and lack of it is not money the lack of understanding money
[0:26] When I put that into emphasis, when I realised that psychological effect and how it hit our family, I have to be in the same way.
[0:32] You are now watching the Money Mentor podcast with Graham Holm.
[0:36] Graham Holm.
[0:36] Graham Holm.
[0:37] Graham Holm.
[0:41] Graham Holm.
[0:42] So my parents divorced early on.
[0:46] Mum did it tough.
[0:47] Yep.
[0:48] So we moved around a little bit between living with different family members.
[0:53] And so...
[0:56] Mum's always been there and she was willing to sacrifice herself and everything for the kids.
[1:04] After I graduated from uni, I moved to the Gold Coast.
[1:08] I wanted to be the first one to make a difference and get out of the house because we were all living together.
[1:16] So I have an older sister and a younger brother and we were all living together in the same house.
[1:21] So I've graduated, moved to the Gold Coast to make a difference.
[1:25] Yeah.
[1:28] Found it hard because I have some ongoing health issues.
[1:32] I'm not afraid to talk about them.
[1:33] I have a rare liver disease, which I was told I'd never play sport again.
[1:39] I'd require transplant by the time I was 30.
[1:42] Wow.
[1:44] This is generally a disease that only comes out in old people.
[1:47] Right.
[1:48] So I was stuck in the system of Centrelink.
[1:53] I was not allowed to work a certain amount of hours.
[1:56] If I went over 30 hours of work in a week, they would remove my disability pension.
[2:02] The disability pension subsidized my medication, which was $5,000 a month.
[2:07] Wow.
[2:08] And as a kid out of high school, I couldn't afford that.
[2:11] Yeah.
[2:12] So I was stuck in the system and I had to move back home and move back in with mum.
[2:19] this was after the degree or during?
[2:20] Yeah, this is after.
[2:21] So I came up to the Gold Coast and I was up here for a number of years.
[2:27] I just couldn't make it work.
[2:29] The cost of living and what I was earning stuck at those hours.
[2:32] It just didn't work.
[2:34] So I had to move back home.
[2:37] At that stage, my sister had a child and she'd broken up with her then partner.
[2:41] So she'd moved back in.
[2:43] Everyone's back in the house with mum again.
[2:45] Everyone was back in the house.
[2:46] Mum's done her job.
[2:46] She's worked the guts and it's like got everyone home again.
[2:49] Yep.
[2:50] So we'd all ventured off and we all came back.
[2:54] So yeah, she's just, she's my rock.
[2:57] Yep.
[2:59] I hear.
[3:00] And she's at the retirement age now.
[3:02] And I asked a couple of questions not long ago about how we can support through Self-Managed Superfund and that sort of stuff for retirement because she doesn't want to go down the low dock loan ways.
[3:18] She's fortunate enough that she's paid off her house, but probably not enough financially to survive until...
[3:28] Yeah.
[3:30] Right.
[3:30] So that's my why.
[3:32] So you want to be able to help supplement mum's retirement a bit?
[3:35] Yep.
[3:35] Okay.
[3:37] And what about ongoing medical now?
[3:40] So you've got a clear focus on health and diet and all those sorts of things.
[3:44] That's obviously helping?
[3:46] Yeah.
[3:46] Casey's whipping you into shape?
[3:49] I, 100%.
[3:50] Yeah.
[3:52] 100%.
[3:53] And the harder she hits me, I've had two calorie drops now.
[3:58] Right.
[3:58] So she's dropped me down to 1,600 calories a day.
[4:02] Wow.
[4:02] And I'm smashing it.
[4:04] Like I said, I want that monkey on my back giving me targets.
[4:07] But we're actually starting to uncover through these nutritional changes and exercise changes.
[4:15] um, some deeper underlining issues with my liver.
[4:19] Um, I've always given back, um, abnormal liver function tests, um, and always been high in these areas of visceral fats and, and whatnot, but we I'm a bit higher than you in visceral fat, mate, but just saying, um, well,
[4:36] I know there's not much of me.
[4:37] Yeah.
[4:37] There's more visceral fat than there should be.
[4:40] Yeah, it was astronomical numbers and they never budged.
[4:44] So it's like, there's no fat on me.
[4:46] How do I start attacking this?
[4:49] Yeah.
[4:49] So we've starting to attack it from a nutritional point of view.
[4:55] And so much so that the liver transplant specialist reached out to me and is thinking of doing a clinical study
[5:03] Because no one with this disease at my age has ever...
[5:07] So her ongoing studies of me is helping future.
[5:12] Right.
[5:14] And so at the moment, nutrition's helping that.
[5:16] Yeah.
[5:18] The turnaround...
[5:20] So I live with abdominal cramps for the last... Well, it's genetics.
[5:24] So I've had it since birth.
[5:25] Right.
[5:26] But it came out when I was 17 and my liver exploded.
[5:29] Oh.
[5:30] Yeah.
[5:30] I put on 13 kilos in under a week.
[5:34] Wow.
[5:35] Yep.
[5:37] So, um, uh, so you're really focused then as well, like health wise, lifestyle, nutrition, activity.
[5:45] That's, that's not just, uh, cause you can do two things.
[5:47] So you can sort of lay down and roll over and go, well, I'll be done.
[5:51] Or you can actually look after yourself and look to improve it and fix it and all those sorts of things.
[5:57] Or do you have to get a transplant at some point in time?
[6:00] At the moment we're reversing the effects.
[6:03] Really?
[6:04] So she's booked me in for some more ultrasounds and blood tests and it's looking very positive.
[6:14] wow that's pretty powerful so lifestyle nutrition take care of yourself and it's reversing the the effects of that that genetic biologics i mean i've got hemochromatosis right nothing that serious but the only way to treat it is i have to get a bloody massive needle every month or two and they just drain a bag of blood and i feel like we're in the
[6:35] the medieval ages right it's like just put leeches on me or something like and they drain the blood and apparently all the iron escapes and my ferritin level drops but if i get busy and i forget or i reschedule i get really sick and really lethargic because all the iron builds up and your body just shuts down on you not nowhere near you but but even just that i'm like if i don't manage my health in that aspect it's very very dangerous right so for me to be able to reverse it
[7:05] So they talk about your liver as supposed to be as smooth as a baby's bottom.
[7:10] Yeah.
[7:11] Mine looks like the surface of the moon.
[7:13] Right.
[7:14] It's severe cirrhosis.
[7:16] Right.
[7:17] So, yeah, that's my why.
[7:23] Ultimately, that's why I'm so hardcore focused on budget.
[7:27] For me to have a family, I want to live for as long as I can.
[7:32] And I feel like I started 20 years after everybody else because of those health issues and starting from scratch with nothing.
[7:43] So for me, I push as hard as I can because I want to make up for that time.
[7:50] Whew, alright, we're getting deep today.
[7:52] It makes me really happy, him joining 60 Strong.
[7:56] I've just seen him starting to take care of himself a little bit more.
[8:01] We haven't touched on this, but recently after joining Infinity, I actually injured my back.
[8:07] So I ruptured my L5-S1 disc.
[8:09] You guys are going through it.
[8:12] And Brendan stepped up and was super dad because he had to take care of our daughter and myself.
[8:19] And I owe him a lot.
[8:21] And it's just been nice to see him making some changes for himself and looking after himself.
[8:29] And also his mom during the time that I was injured.
[8:32] I was stuck in bed for three months.
[8:35] Wow.
[8:36] So bonded with Adam and Sinead, Adam with his surgery.
[8:41] So I had spinal surgery March of 2024.
[8:44] It would have been a good help to talk.
[8:46] Oh no, yours was before him.
[8:48] Before, so I sent him a few messages encouraging him, but he knows all about mindset and it's all in your head.
[8:56] So we stuck that out.
[8:59] I was off work for a little while.
[9:01] Our daughter was three at the time.
[9:04] She wanted mum.
[9:05] Mum's laid up in bed.
[9:06] Yeah.
[9:07] We were scheduled for our first REM just as that happened.
[9:10] Yeah.
[9:12] And we canned REM.
[9:14] Yeah.
[9:16] It was once we got word that she could have surgery.
[9:20] Yeah.
[9:20] It was 20 grand up front.
[9:24] and out of pocket because it wasn't covered by insurance.
[9:27] Yeah.
[9:29] So your numbers are even better than what we talked about.
[9:32] Yeah.
[9:32] Because you've had surgery.
[9:34] So you'd almost be debt free.
[9:37] Yeah.
[9:37] And you've had that time off work and used all your leave.
[9:40] Yeah.
[9:41] Yeah.
[9:42] Credit to you guys.
[9:43] So for anyone listening at home, we've all got shit going.
[9:47] Spinal surgery, laid up in bed for three months, a borderline illness that if you don't look after yourself, you can really end your life.
[9:56] We're going through all of these things and everyone thinks they've got, this is some real shit.
[10:01] And yet here you are, sticking to a budget.
[10:04] dropping the numbers as costs go up, you're reducing your expenses.
[10:08] You're finding ways to treat it like a sport and improve that little one or 2% every week or day.
[10:14] I don't really hear any, I don't think excuses exist in your household.
[10:18] No, no excuse.
[10:19] I don't even think you know what the word excuse means.
[10:21] No.
[10:22] And I'm sort of piggybacking on the 60 Strong challenge.
[10:26] I can't do the one-hour gym
[10:28] Of course, yeah.
[10:29] You know, workouts to that extent.
[10:31] But I'm doing the healthy eating, so loving Casey's meals.
[10:35] Getting steps in together.
[10:36] Getting steps in.
[10:37] Cora's coming along.
[10:38] Good.
[10:39] So it's exciting.
[10:40] Good time together.
[10:41] Yeah, family time.
[10:42] And it's given me a bit of confidence back because...
[10:45] After surgery, you get really anxious.
[10:48] You know, what if I bend down and something goes wrong and I re-herniate my disc?
[10:54] And, you know, picking up my daughter, I couldn't pick her up.
[10:58] You would have been petrified initially, yeah.
[10:59] I couldn't, just scared to do anything.
[11:02] And I think our first REM, the flight here, it was just, yeah, it was just a little bit
[11:08] They flew us up a day early because she needed the hour's rest.
[11:13] I needed to lay down.
[11:14] It was the first time that she'd left the house post-surgery.
[11:16] Right, yeah.
[11:18] So landing, you know, probably myself up on the armrest.
[11:21] Yeah, yeah.
[11:22] But your staff so lovely, you know, offering, do you need a seat cushion?
[11:26] Yeah.
[11:26] Yeah, just great people.
[11:28] But getting out of the house, you know, after that and coming back.
[11:33] But it was, I was sort of at a plateau of just being really cautious.
[11:39] don't want to overextend myself, don't want to do anything to hurt myself and end up back in that place.
[11:44] But now it's just been really encouraging to work as a team together.
[11:48] I'm getting my confidence back and I'm feeling a lot better in my movement.
[11:53] But yeah, I owe a lot to his mum as well.
[11:57] She helped whilst I was in bed, coming over and helping looking after our daughter and
[12:03] You know, all the years that she had me living with her.
[12:07] So when I first moved to Australia, I moved in with Brendan.
[12:09] Everyone was in mum's house.
[12:11] We're all together.
[12:12] Super mum.
[12:12] Was it seven adults?
[12:14] Yes, yeah.
[12:15] Wow.
[12:15] One home.
[12:16] Yeah.
[12:16] And mum's still working at the moment?
[12:18] Just retired.
[12:18] Just retired.
[12:19] Yeah.
[12:19] Congrats to her.
[12:22] Just got rid of her caravan too.
[12:23] Did she?
[12:25] Yeah.
[12:25] But now she's looking at getting a new one.
[12:27] Oh, f***.
[12:28] I was about to say good on her.
[12:29] Oh, f***.
[12:30] I got so excited.
[12:31] I got so concerned.
[12:32] I got so excited.
[12:33] I got so concerned.
[12:35] But, yeah, not only helping Brendan's mum, I would love to be able to help my family.
[12:43] It's a big, big driver.
[12:46] As you said, your mum getting dental surgery, just anything that I could do to help my family if something came up.
[12:54] My mum, you know, my parents...
[12:59] both did the best they could growing up.
[13:01] And I'm really fortunate that I had someone in my family to help us as kids and to help my parents.
[13:08] And I want to pay that back to them too.
[13:11] But mom, she's currently in a family shelter.
[13:15] So she's experiencing homelessness.
[13:21] And just to be able to
[13:23] help in that sense.
[13:25] Yeah.
[13:25] It's almost, you know, I look at our numbers and it doesn't seem real.
[13:31] We want to celebrate it.
[13:32] I want to celebrate it.
[13:33] It's hard.
[13:34] But you feel a bit of guilt.
[13:35] Just bring home to Australia.
[13:36] Yeah.
[13:38] With her health.
[13:39] Harder than you think.
[13:40] Okay.
[13:40] With her health, I just have to be conscious, you know, of that.
[13:44] And just ongoing health expenses.
[13:47] And I want to be in a position where I can do that.
[13:49] That would be the ultimate dream.
[13:51] Yeah.
[13:52] But I need to make sure we're in a position where we can do that, but still provide, you know, that knowledge and that life for our daughter.
[14:01] And it's going to stop with us.
[14:03] So you've got to find a balance, really.
[14:06] Balance.
[14:08] You want to help family, but you've also got to help yourselves first.
[14:10] You've got to apply your own oxygen mask first.
[14:12] Yep.
[14:13] So we want to get you to the point where we can, because it doesn't seem real.
[14:16] We've got these assets we're building, but they have debt as well.
[14:18] But we want to get to the point where you can, like, you know what?
[14:22] I can pay mum's rent on a little unit or condo for her and she's, she's good.
[14:27] And I can, and I can pay mum's this or help with her retirement.
[14:31] Like, so it sounds like we've got some deep wise here, but you've got your, your immediate family and then you've got, yeah, it's an immediate family, but it sounds like we're well on our way with our results to be able to help with these things.
[14:45] We understand that we've got to build our foundations first in order to support and help out.
[14:51] So we feel guilty at times because of our position, but I feel like we're doing it for the right reasons.
[15:01] In saying that, that $42,000 is going to be gone soon.
[15:06] And then the balance debt obviously is all deductible debt.
[15:10] So that really is a key financial metric we want to sort of forward plan for, because that will give you a really strong cash flow position to go, well, are other debts deductible?
[15:21] Yes, we want to continue to build, but you'll be blessed and fortunate to be in a position to actually really consider helping then.
[15:28] So that's a bit of a six-month time plan.
[15:31] Yeah.
[15:32] And just since being with Infinity, just knowing that some of those possibilities can become reality, just forever grateful.
[15:41] Well, that would be a sort of a two and a half hour, two and a half, two and a half year, two and a half hours would be miraculous, two and a half year journey to debt free and be able to really support family and give back.
[15:53] That's wild.
[15:55] Because I always say to people, it takes somewhere between three to five years of your life.
[16:01] of having a structure a plan being with and seeing it through and you can be set for the rest of your life because it only takes that three to five years where it just becomes meticulous methodical it's that you wake up and you almost robot your way through those things it becomes your new norm but you guys are living walking breathing perfect example of two and a half years of hard work to be able to support those around you and yourselves you should be really bloody proud
[16:29] thank you so we're gonna have to do a part two to this in six months time i think yep just after easter i reckon like a may june uh do a where are they now
[16:42] What would you, because some pretty, and this gives a lot more context and makes a lot more sense for people tuning in to go, wow, these guys have been through it, going through it, but I can see why they're so regimented and structured.
[16:56] This makes a lot of sense.
[16:57] You would have had overseas travel.
[16:59] You've had medical expenses.
[17:01] Put a bow on those things, you'd be debt-free today, right?
[17:03] And these things will continue.
[17:05] We hope not, but think travel continues.
[17:07] Medical will pop up through our lifetimes.
[17:09] We hope not, but it does.
[17:12] What are some practical things you could share with people at home to be aware of?
[17:16] We talked around budget and structure, but what are some things people really need to be aware of?
[17:21] Or what have you found hard?
[17:24] Has any of this been hard at any time to be like, oh, that's difficult.
[17:28] 100%.
[17:30] There's been a ton of times where we've been challenged mentally for myself.
[17:40] I was going through the stresses and anxiety of managing finances and making sure that we were reaching our targets on top of stresses from work.
[17:54] So...
[17:57] Being able to work through those processes, those times, knowing that we were supported with the community and talking about it openly, those benefits that come from that.
[18:14] Rather than myself at that time, I was holding it all in and bottling it up and things started spiraling.
[18:22] And I felt like maybe I didn't have the knowledge or the understanding to sort of participate in that.
[18:28] But since joining and, you know, the ethos of your company of couples coming together as a team, it's involved me in the process.
[18:36] I feel like we can now have these conversations, but we also have our team who we rely on and, you know, we love them.
[18:44] We have the best team.
[18:46] It's good to be able to bounce off your team.
[18:48] But I think the challenge is just challenging that quick, you know, first thought of,
[18:57] that was just a reflex like, oh, just go and get it.
[19:01] Just go and buy it.
[19:02] And we started, we worked really hard to get the land, we worked really hard to get enough money to build the house.
[19:09] We started to, you know, have our money start to work for us and it was easy to slip into, we'll just get those things and to pull back and to be a little bit contrarian and not sort of buy everything automatically and, you know,
[19:27] But a lot of those simple things that anyone can do, if you want to buy something, wait a day.
[19:32] Yeah.
[19:33] Just wait a day.
[19:35] See how you feel about it tomorrow.
[19:37] Like, no, cut down on that impulse, that instant gratification, which, you know, as educators, we deal with kids all the time looking for that dopamine hit, that instant gratification.
[19:49] Yeah.
[19:50] So it's just learning along the journey, I guess.
[19:57] And like you said, things go up and things come down.
[20:00] And it's going to happen.
[20:03] And if you can apply your knowledge and your learnings each time, it gets easier and easier the next time it happens.
[20:10] Love it.
[20:12] You guys should be really, really, really bloody proud of yourselves.
[20:16] I hope you really take time to stop and smell the roses and understand you're doing bloody well, you're smart people, but how far you've come and all of the things you've overcome climbing the mountain that most people just roll over and go, oh well,
[20:31] This happened to me, I can never work again.
[20:34] This happened to a lot of people.
[20:37] Most people give up.
[20:38] And you should be really bloody proud of yourselves that you persevered in all of these aspects.
[20:43] And you're continuing to.
[20:44] So make sure you celebrate that together as a family.
[20:48] Make sure you take time to stop and realise how far you've come.
[20:51] It's easy just to be...
[20:53] laser focused and not celebrate the wins.
[20:56] I know I'm guilty of that through business over the years because it's just, we've had so many successes and results that sometimes it's just like, oh yeah, I've ticked another.
[21:06] You gotta take time to stop and really celebrate those wins.
[21:08] It's small, big, whatever it may be.
[21:11] We're definitely going to do a part two to this because I want to hear the 42 going on.
[21:14] I want to see what the plans are for family and the next evolution of, because the strategy is always evolving and that's the joy of this process.
[21:21] It's like we start here and then we end up here and we end up here and we can go that way or that way.
[21:27] And you've got to, it's kind of a choose your own adventure.
[21:29] We'll do the work.
[21:30] You've got to choose which way you want to go.
[21:31] Like those books when we were kids, right?
[21:33] So I remember those books anyway, showing my age here.
[21:36] Dean's been wonderful.
[21:38] um we've had multiple strategy changes across the journey so you know as we hit those targets or exceed them it's like oh well we were going to do this but now something else has come up so now that you're in a different position there's different opportunities i love it before we wrap up what questions have you got for me while we're here what do you want to pick my brain on
[22:04] I wanted to start with the fun one.
[22:06] Our daughter Cora had a question.
[22:09] Oh, okay.
[22:11] Our daughter loves dinosaurs.
[22:13] Yes, I love dinosaurs.
[22:15] After listening to the podcast, and I know Beck is a big Jurassic.
[22:18] Massive Jurassic.
[22:19] I don't know how many times I've watched the Jurassic Parks.
[22:21] So on her behalf, she would love to know what yours and Beck's favorite dinosaurs are.
[22:26] I don't know if you know off the top of your head.
[22:28] Velociraptor.
[22:29] Velociraptor.
[22:29] Yeah.
[22:30] Like blue in Jurassic Park.
[22:32] Yes.
[22:32] Yeah.
[22:32] Velociraptor's cool because they're so smart.
[22:35] Yes.
[22:35] Yeah, definitely.
[22:36] I don't know.
[22:37] I've never asked Beck her favorite dinosaur.
[22:40] I don't know.
[22:41] I'll ask her.
[22:42] I'll message her.
[22:43] I'll have to send it to you.
[22:44] I'm not sure.
[22:44] Let us know.
[22:45] She would love to know that.
[22:45] I think Velociraptors, yeah.
[22:46] I think they're pretty just because they're so smart.
[22:49] Yeah.
[22:50] Yeah.
[22:50] But Beck's, I don't know.
[22:52] Or maybe I'd be like a stegosaurus or something.
[22:57] I'm definitely not a plant eater so but I bet it's interesting actually because Bec and I both love dinosaurs when I was a kid they actually for a period of time this is going way back um each of the newsagent you could get these magazines and they had like a little plaster Paris I don't know if you remember it and you could like chip away at it and we both both absolutely growing up like I'm going to be an archaeologist and like really really both frothed on that whole sort of
[23:24] genre absolutely like somebody gave me a um a zen garden as a present you know rake the sand and and it's got little rocks and stuff and here i'm digging around so i still love it so good on her she loves dinosaurs so i love velociraptors that might be a little bit scary for her no she loves i think i'm a stegosaurus but i love velociraptors i'm gonna find out what beck i'll let you know so you can tell her yeah i'd love to know yeah um
[23:52] Do you want to...
[23:53] The other question we were wondering is we know that you're thinking of venturing into the US markets.
[24:00] Yep, we are.
[24:00] We absolutely are.
[24:02] And obviously with Chantel's family being in the States and us...
[24:08] kind of aligning in terms of wanting to support and help them.
[24:11] We would love to know if there's going to be learnings for us that we can.
[24:16] Absolutely.
[24:16] Yeah.
[24:17] So, um, infinity will be global.
[24:20] Um, we could have sold the business 10 times over.
[24:23] We could today, every day, you know,
[24:26] It would change too much, so it's not something that's really on the cards.
[24:30] You know, we get approached by PE firms and finance, all sorts of different people that are interested in it, because the sense of community just makes this business wild.
[24:40] And we're very conscious of that, that's why we don't try to cross-sell anything into it or sponsor pod.
[24:45] You know, we're very protective of that community and that's what keeps it so strong.
[24:51] so the US will launch in Q1 next year there's a lot going on behind the scenes I'll pretty much be here US here US here US that will be our life moving forward for the next couple of years as we settle in and kids and stuff like that but again the business is really self-sufficient like your deans and your teens I kind of don't
[25:18] I still run the business in the background, but I'm more operational, strategy-licensed sort of stuff.
[25:24] I'm sort of really slowly but surely just taking a back seat out, and it will be a brand.
[25:29] It won't be Graham.
[25:31] It's always traditionally been Graham and Beck.
[25:34] Those learnings globally will be available for people globally in the near future.
[25:39] So when you log into the private Facebook group, you're going to have members everywhere.
[25:45] we feel.
[25:46] We'll have national ones, but we'll have global ones, and also in school.
[25:51] So the learnings will become cross-border for people.
[25:55] And I think it's something that a lot of people shouldn't venture into and confuse themselves with cross-border regulations, rules, et cetera.
[26:03] But a lot of people may want to buy a condo for mum because, I mean, let's face it, you can get an apartment for 50 grand, a nice apartment for 50 grand a door in parts of the US.
[26:15] You know what I mean?
[26:16] And so there's real opportunities there as well around cross-border lending.
[26:21] So we can do loans for Australian families for US properties.
[26:25] So you can use your Australian income to buy an apartment in America.
[26:30] So that's stuff we're looking at.
[26:31] Phase one of America is nothing to do with real estate.
[26:35] It's only rapid repay Healock line of credit product, which they have in the US.
[26:40] They just forgot they had it because the banks kind of ignored them.
[26:44] But it literally, firstly in Healock, it's our product, right?
[26:48] So we've already gone and got four lenders in America that are funding that.
[26:52] We've got a great business partner.
[26:54] They're licensed in 48 states.
[26:56] They're not licensed in Hawaii or New York because New York has a 3% refinance tax.
[27:01] Tell me you don't want competition without telling me you don't want competition.
[27:04] Imagine having to pay 3% of your debt to refinance it.
[27:07] It's wild, right?
[27:08] So you just get your loan and keep it.
[27:10] Refinancing isn't a big thing in the States.
[27:13] But yeah, so sure, I'll get, there's all these things I wanna tell you.
[27:17] So US is number one, there's a couple of other countries popping up as well.
[27:21] Initially, US is just lending, phase two will be investments and stuff and other licenses as well.
[27:29] We're delivering it through with a trusted business partner.
[27:32] We already have US staff here in training and our team's been going backwards and forwards as well as people have probably seen on socials.
[27:39] And that's going to be really cool because I don't like BlackRock.
[27:44] I don't like any of those organizations like that that own everything.
[27:49] And I don't like the suggestion of a 40-year mortgage.
[27:54] And this really popped off.
[27:55] It was on the agenda for years like, yeah, nah, yeah, nah.
[27:59] And then BlackRock came out in Australia this year and went, hey, we're going to help you with 40-year mortgages.
[28:04] And I went, no, you're going to ruin Australian families' lives.
[28:07] And that was it for me.
[28:09] I was done.
[28:10] Bec's like, you're not going to let this go, are you?
[28:12] I'm like, no.
[28:13] As soon as we heard Infinity was heading to the US.
[28:16] It's exciting.
[28:17] Yeah, because obviously it aligns with us wanting to support Chantel's family, aunties, uncles, cousins.
[28:22] Yeah.
[28:24] So that'll kick off in the new year.
[28:27] um q1 will be in the market with a whole heap of just free value and brand so the u.s will be like oh who's this crazy aussie you know what i mean he swears a lot and you know so that all sort of we'll do a very strong value add you know here's a book here's the podcast free webinars look all that sort of stuff all the podcasts
[28:49] And all of a sudden, all the U.S., all the Yanks will be seeing us crazy Aussies and podcasts and books and this and that.
[28:55] And we're really just going to flood their market with a, hey, you guys don't know what you know and you're being lied to.
[29:02] Please listen.
[29:03] And I'm really confident that that free info is going to create some mass market disturbia and watch this space.
[29:10] Okay.
[29:11] That's exciting.
[29:11] Because you're talking about eight or nine million mortgages in Australia.
[29:17] 85 million in the US.
[29:20] So just that mortgage market alone of people.
[29:22] And American culture is very pay your minimum, fixed for 15 or 30 years, pay the minimum.
[29:29] And if you've got $400 cash flow at the end of the month, put that into the market.
[29:34] And that's it.
[29:35] They don't refinance, they don't run, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.
[29:38] Let's destroy the debt, pull 50 grand out and put the 50 grand into the market.
[29:43] Like, oh, how do we create 50?
[29:45] It's a weird concept, but I've done a couple of little presentations in America already, and it was like hair stand up on your arm and the back of the neck, and Beck was there and Michael was there and our team, and it was like, whoa.
[29:59] Like, the way it hit in the US is stronger than it hits here when I do a mark.
[30:05] And you see that.
[30:07] I watch the chat, but you see that?
[30:08] Mm-hmm.
[30:09] light bulb moment day one people like shut up and take my money and help me you know what i mean they see the value it hit even stronger there because the us are um we have a big tall poppy syndrome in australia the us are much more entrepreneurial and want to see people win and want to so our community want to see people win and do well but generally the public social media no but the us are much stronger and more vocal about that so
[30:35] And yeah, we'll pop those in and we'll have a bit of that cross-border of, hey, here's your Aussie education and lessons.
[30:41] Here's your US and other countries to come watch this space.
[30:45] But then we will be giving joint access to that and letting everyone interact.
[30:48] And I'm sure people are going to start bloody having holidays and sharing bloody swapping houses.
[30:55] It's going to be wild, actually.
[30:56] It's going to be really cool.
[30:57] So I'm really excited for that.
[30:59] It was a big decision because we're about to start a family hopefully next year.
[31:04] So we're looking at the data starting like, right, we've got this much time and then things will vary.
[31:08] They'll change for us.
[31:09] So, you know, I mean, masterclasses is partly me, mostly Rachel now.
[31:15] If anyone jumps on a masterclass for refresher, it's mostly Rachel.
[31:19] And, you know, a lot of the materials say it won't be me as much.
[31:23] Yeah.
[31:23] So which is interesting.
[31:24] It's exciting.
[31:26] But it also created a whole heap more work.
[31:29] oh you'll love it yeah i the conversation we has is if i was on my death but do i want to die wondering why didn't you have a crack at helping families in the us or the uk or anywhere else and it's always eaten away at me because i've been thinking about like retiring retiring and like i'm pretty good position we've got everything we need when's enough enough and like just really enjoying life and family
[31:54] And I was like, I don't think if I was sick, sick tomorrow, I don't think I could be laying in that bed going, I should have tried to help more people.
[32:02] And it's a big market.
[32:04] And it's not for the revenue.
[32:05] It's not for anything.
[32:06] It's that American families are getting even more fucked than Aussie families.
[32:11] A lot of people struggling.
[32:12] Yeah.
[32:13] Yeah.
[32:13] So hopefully they embrace that.
[32:16] They like to learn as well.
[32:17] And they want to get it.
[32:18] Everyone wants to get ahead in life, no matter where you are.
[32:20] Right.
[32:21] Hey, we're blessed.
[32:22] We're in Western civilization.
[32:24] So they're here.
[32:25] The learnings are cross border.
[32:27] They're global.
[32:27] It's it's you know, it's the same, same.
[32:30] different languages different terminology but i'm excited yeah so yeah and you guys will yeah be one of the probably one of the first cross-border families to jump on board i mean taylor obviously taylor and chris here her family's in the u.s we presented to one of her family members they were like we're in sign us up we're your first client so um the first batch of
[32:53] of us clients are starting in the new year in sort of jan feb and they are family friends etc so that as we go to market we have our first proof of concept of hey here's our first three months of following rapid repay whoa so that that will be kicking off as well so you'll sort of see the real first um it'll be really prominent after a lot of free value and education and people absorbing it
[33:20] Q2, you'll see it just as big and strong and crazy as Australia.
[33:26] It's amazing.
[33:27] Yeah.
[33:27] Stay tuned.
[33:28] I had one last question, if you don't mind.
[33:31] Yeah.
[33:32] Just for my own crazy peace of mind and my love of challenges.
[33:38] As you said, we have a plan outlined with Dean for another property soon.
[33:45] Yep.
[33:47] Do you see their...
[33:51] any changes that we can make or another a push or a challenge for myself to um to move forward yeah the challenge is always when is enough as when is enough enough
[34:07] um for me i'm not wired that way to stop or slow down but i'm considering not retirement but considering sort of stepping out and having all people in the roles and being more owner than operator if that makes sense because i've done a rough long 13 years of 25 years in the industry
[34:27] um it it's never easy you know every day there's something new to deal with um but the challenge is when is enough is enough is enough if you're wired to continue to grow and continue to be a little bit better and a little bit better the next thing for you to consider would be a chronological strategy
[34:48] And what I mean by that is for anyone who's not a client and listens to this, but for you guys, is where I draw up and say, right, we have a timeline of a 10-year plan, say, or a 15-year plan, whatever it may be.
[34:59] And then you map that and say we have these four transactions here right now, and we can add a fifth.
[35:05] And then that's your borrowing capacity, and you just need time in the market, not timing the market, right?
[35:12] And over the next 10, 15, whatever years, you hopefully make some decent amount of money.
[35:17] Now, you can't go any further than that based on what the bank will give you and your circumstances.
[35:23] But you can.
[35:26] So what, and there's risk attached to it, what I have done very well for myself, very aggressively, but for clients not so aggressively is go, right, how do we get transactions six, seven, eight, nine, ten?
[35:39] Okay.
[35:40] We have liquidity right now.
[35:42] We have deposit sitting there because we've paid off our loan and we could redraw it.
[35:46] but the bank will only let us get number five.
[35:49] Okay, after number five, we're stuck.
[35:51] Okay, we pay down debt, we save up more equity.
[35:55] Well, we can put a deposit on number six, but the bank won't give us the money to settle it.
[36:01] Now, why I talked about chronological timeframe is we can put a deposit on six, but we have to design a strategy that says to settle six, you must let me sell number one, realize it's gain, and then you open up the lending capacity you had from one to settle six.
[36:23] So you'll only be maintaining five facilities and assets at any one time.
[36:28] But by realising the gain, hopefully, or the debt reduction and gain in asset one, that liquidation should provide the serviceability for not just six, but also seven.
[36:40] Does that make sense?
[36:42] Yep.
[36:43] And one of the tricks for our client community, and I do this myself, so I understand it intimately to become a sophisticated investor, is...
[36:52] Holding forever is a strategy.
[36:54] I don't really consider it strategy.
[36:55] It's just buy something and never sell.
[36:57] I don't think that's actually a strategy.
[37:00] Leveraging the equity against those assets is a strategy attached part of buy and hold.
[37:06] However, cash and equity are not the same thing.
[37:09] You can borrow up to 80 or 90%, but when I sell, I get 100%.
[37:15] So I unlock unusable equity and I only pay tax on part of it because 50% of it is CGT free.
[37:24] Now, meaning getting tax-free income.
[37:27] So imagine if we get to property six and seven or six, seven, eight, knowing we're going to sell one, two, and three, but then we get six, seven, eight, not.
[37:36] You see where I'm going?
[37:36] Yep.
[37:37] So there's a way to, there is risk attached because
[37:40] We cannot get lending for those sixes and sevens unless we sell the ones and twos.
[37:47] We have to be very confident in the progression and performance of one and two, or maybe it's four, right?
[37:54] We have to be very confident in the progression of that.
[37:56] And this is why I have so many clients that have been with me from 2012, 13, 14.
[38:02] You meet some of them like, yeah, look, I made a million bucks last year because I sold these two houses because...
[38:08] We don't want to be one and done and transact.
[38:11] We're not transactional.
[38:12] It's transformational.
[38:14] So there's risk attached, but you can build, and you guys are pretty smart.
[38:17] We build a chronological strategy that's a little bit more aggressive.
[38:21] The risks are still being employed, still having our health, still having our ink, still following the strategy that we're underway with.
[38:30] and knowing we have to liquidate x to settle y c to settle d and as long as we understand the risks and implications of that that would be the next evolution that's fantastic i'm very visual so i like to reverse engineer things so now that i can see what our future ambition or future goal is in my mind i'm going to start working backwards and you can whiteboard that out now and go okay
[39:00] if we were to liquidate a and it provides x amount of capital less to now tell me my capacity dean so it's like a futuristic it's very complex to work out because it's all la la la make believe pie in the sky but it works yep and that's what a lot of people been with me a long time are doing so you'll talk to the steve and sue ann's the megan and jeremy's the crate they're selling down assets
[39:26] from four, five or nine years ago now that have had a return luckily in the market, there's no guarantees in anything.
[39:32] But when you've got that performance, let's take the money off the table.
[39:35] And that's where I say sell one, buy two.
[39:38] Sell two, buy four.
[39:41] Because that clearance of debt, and oh, that property's a bit older now and I've got to fix things and it's, you know, nah, and then go start again, reset, and off we go.
[39:51] that's the stuff i get excited by now that's where sort of my head plays now i sort of play in that space of how people can grow and that's where i have a lot of fun because that's beck and i are doing every day so you can map that out now and you can go right okay there's my my timeline
[40:07] Okay, here's what we have.
[40:09] This is where we cap out as we add the next one.
[40:12] Oh, but that one there, I can see what that's doing.
[40:14] You know, we had one the other day that they bought it years ago.
[40:17] Took years for the land to register in COVID, build the house, da-da-da.
[40:22] I think it was 7.30 or something.
[40:24] And they're selling it for like a million and 50.
[40:26] And they've only had tenants in it for like 12 or 18 months.
[40:29] It's like a couple of hundred grand.
[40:32] And they can sit on it and it might be worth 1.2, but it's like $300 grand off their home loan.
[40:37] So it's working those numbers to get to a...
[40:43] Think Airbnb, control a bigger asset base, but you don't actually have to own it all at the same time.
[40:49] But that, again, the risks of buying, putting a deposit on land that doesn't yet exist, they're pushing dirt around or buying...
[40:56] you know, beachfront apartment off the plan and they'd built, you know, there's those risks then in that model because otherwise here and now we can't get online and just buy the house around the corner today because our serviceability is capped.
[41:11] But right now, sadly, in the housing crisis we're in,
[41:14] I've been able to make good money by putting a 10% deposit down.
[41:18] I've been getting a hundred percent return on investment Because I'm putting down a separate down a hundred grand on a million dollar unit And when it finishes it's gone up more than a hundred grand I feel like people are hindered by ambition sometimes and wanting that forever home up front yeah, the forever home is
[41:39] is a one day, someday, I thought we'd bought our forever home.
[41:44] Then we got the one next door, I'm like, ooh, and then we were gonna reno, and then they said, no, it's cheaper to knock down.
[41:49] I'm like, I'm not knocking, this is wild.
[41:51] So we've actually just bought our forever home and we moved next year, so, and it's a forever, ever, ever.
[41:58] So yeah, so I think it's something that you work your way to, just because you can afford payments doesn't mean you should do, you should be really conscious of, can I just do it with cash and all that sort of stuff.
[42:08] And it's a journey, you know, it takes years and years, but if you stick at it, eventually sit back and go, oh wow, look where we are.
[42:15] And you feel like you blink and you miss it.
[42:21] Anything else?
[42:24] Did you want to ask that last one?
[42:26] The backyard.
[42:27] So we had, when we moved in, an alfresco and the bank knocked us back because it was going to add too much to extend it.
[42:35] They told us it wasn't worthwhile.
[42:37] Yeah.
[42:37] Right.
[42:38] So then after a few years, we had saved up and we went ahead and got a builder and extended the alfresco, but there's lots of issues.
[42:47] So now it's sort of,
[42:48] So it was a $30,000 alfresco through the builders, which got shut down by the bank.
[42:55] Yep.
[42:56] Cost us $45,000 to go after handover to get a builder to do it for us.
[43:04] Right.
[43:04] And $75,000 later, builders gone under and disappeared, and we're left with a massive, shonky, shitty job.
[43:12] So you need to claim against the home warranty insurance.
[43:15] So you should have had a contract for that.
[43:17] Mm-hmm.
[43:17] Okay.
[43:18] That contract, when the builder does any works over a certain amount, depending on the state or territory, in that contract, there's something called the home warranty scheme.
[43:26] They have to pay when they're building any or doing any job, they put an amount of money into a fund for that.
[43:31] So I'll be making it.
[43:33] How long ago was it?
[43:35] It was through COVID.
[43:36] Yeah, it was during COVID.
[43:38] Oh, okay.
[43:38] You need to talk to the lawyer about that.
[43:40] It might be too late.
[43:41] But all those sorts of things when you've got that, there's that home warranty scheme where then there's a remediation to get a good license builder out to fix it and make a claim.
[43:51] We can talk to the lawyers about it, but they won't charge you because we use one of the lawyers you've used on your other transactions.
[43:56] Just get some advice if it's too late to claim or not.
[44:00] um because if the builders disappear it's not them but we can look at the home or any scheme and claim against that if not then yeah we need to look at the remediation get like a pest build like a building defect report look at it all uh and and then yeah fix it because you can't it's not safe we were just torn between you know paying down or spending so
[44:24] Look, if it's safe and not pretty, you could leave it.
[44:28] If it's unsafe for yourself and your daughter, then I wouldn't leave it.
[44:32] Safety is the biggest thing, right?
[44:34] Is it safe?
[44:35] Yeah.
[44:36] At the moment, yeah.
[44:37] It's fenced off.
[44:39] And not being used?
[44:40] No.
[44:41] Well, that's not safe.
[44:42] Yeah.
[44:43] So if it's structurally and we've had to fence it off and no, let's, let's get it fixed because the longer you leave it, the more issues that could be caused.
[44:52] If it starts to get water ingress and then that filters into the main dwell, like all these things, it does collect all these things that could happen.
[45:00] Not safe.
[45:01] So I would say, yeah, we need to fit.
[45:03] And could be rip it down completely and start again.
[45:08] Could be, no, it can be fixed and it costs X because some of it's okay.
[45:12] Um,
[45:13] Could be, you know what, rip that down, but instead of spending 80, 100 grand, it's not so, rip it down and put a vergola in.
[45:21] Like on our reno we've done down in Port, and it had some stuff that was a bit shoddy because it was an old, old property.
[45:28] we've just sectioned off out on the balcony on one side just for the like southerly breeze and that barbecue and put some shutters in there to let some air in and we've just done a vergola and it's just colourful opens closes rain sends all that heat but structurally when we were going to like render in this and that was like i looked at the bill i'm like no way you know what i mean so there's always options and it's about the practicality of the oh well we've extended the undercover area
[45:57] and you know you might do a vergola with bistro blinds and it still gives the enclosed weather feeling but you can open it up if you want that might be heaps cheaper than structural stuff yeah we'll listen to the bank next time when they say it's not worth it well yeah i mean they might have been saying from a valuation perspective yeah it was like yeah guys you're being charged x and it's worth y
[46:19] That's something they have data on.
[46:21] They know.
[46:21] They're usually conservative and they have different opinions.
[46:25] But in saying that too, fortunately, depending on the area you are, we've got a really cool, large community of infinity family.
[46:34] So I know like Dave Cherry, he's a chippy.
[46:37] right and i know other people in your area that are plumbers and sparkies and it'd be interesting to have maybe put a post up and see if anyone's near your area like some of these people like i know paul and jess right i know they're not near you but there's plenty of people that might be in that area to go mate i'll come and have a look at for you and tell you an honest opinion and an honest cost to fix it
[46:59] And they might even know someone if they're not.
[47:01] They go, well, look, I actually work with a builder.
[47:04] I can ask him to do that for you without charging you a huge margin.
[47:08] I reckon we could get it fixed at a reasonable price or replaced.
[47:13] Power of community.
[47:14] Yes.
[47:15] If we can raise 730 grand in a couple, two weeks, right?
[47:19] I reckon we can get that fixed.
[47:21] Yeah.
[47:22] So I reckon we do a post and put some photos up and go, hey, long story.
[47:26] But we've got to make a decision to go find a whole nother bill.
[47:31] Who could come and have a look?
[47:32] Who knows someone, you know?
[47:34] Hey, I'm happy to pay you for your time.
[47:35] If it's a couple of hundred bucks to tell me what you think, I'm sure there'd be 20 people that would come out and look for you and give you a bit of an opinion.
[47:43] Yeah.
[47:43] At least it's someone that you can know and trust.
[47:45] Yes.
[47:46] Oh, look, I own my mistakes.
[47:48] I bit off more than I could choose setting it up, so.
[47:50] Yeah.
[47:51] Well, let's do that.
[47:52] And we're going to do a round two of this.
[47:54] as we clear the debt and fix it all.
[47:56] And, yeah, you should be really, really, really proud of yourselves and really appreciate you being so raw and honest and sharing with everyone.
[48:03] Thank you.
[48:04] Thank you.
[48:05] Well done, guys.
[48:05] Thanks for having us.
[48:06] Cheers.
[48:08] You're f***ing gone.
[48:09] See ya.

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