Today’s my birthday and I can’t help but think about the journey that’s led me to this point. 

🎂 I Brought a House with a Stranger at 18 

It’s been 33 years since I bought my first investment property. 

I was 18. 

Eighteen. 

Most people at 18 are figuring out what to wear to a party. 

I was figuring out how to buy a house. With a man I’d met twice… and his mate I’d never met at all. 

LESSONS: 

👉 Building wealth is a long game. 
👉 The sooner you start, the further ahead you’ll be. 

The $5,000 House

A lovely older couple in Brisbane wanted to knock down their family home and build two new ones – one for them, one for their son and grandson. 

So I teamed up with a friend of my dad’s and one of his mates – and we bought the house.  

For less than $5,000. 

Not the land… just the house. 

Then we trucked it out to Forest Hill, near Gatton Uni, and turned it into a rental for students.  

At 18. 

Looking back… 

That one decision didn’t just buy me a property. 

LESSONS: 

👉 It bought me a path. 
👉 It bought me confidence. 
👉 It showed me what was possible. 

💸 12 Years Later…

I held that property for 12 years. 

Then sold it. 

And more than doubled my money. 

At the time, I thought I was pretty clever. 

(Spoiler: I was just getting started.) 

LESSONS: 

👉 Time did the heavy lifting. 
👉 The market rewards patience, not panic. 
👉 The magic is in holding, not flipping. 

🇬🇧 The London Chapter (a.k.a. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?!)

Fast forward. I’m living in London. 

I accidentally adopted a Jack Russell. 

Jack Russell

My one-bedroom flat in Greenwich suddenly didn’t cut it. 

London flat

I sold it and bought a 150-year-old house instead. With a garden. 

London home

What could possibly go wrong? 

A dog 

A renovation 

In a foreign country 

With a tight budget 

I got myself into a bit of financial strife… 

£28k budget turned into £100k. 

I created a beautiful home, and while the GFC left me with serious debt, it also taught me some of my greatest financial lessons. 

LESSONS: 

👉 You can always rebuild. 
👉 Financial discipline creates freedom. 
👉 Timing isn’t everything – resilience is. 

🏘️ The Rentvesting Strategy

I landed back in Australia on Christmas Eve 2008. 

The GFC was in full swing. 

I took a role in a property investment company in Brisbane and slowly cleaned up the financial mess from London. 

Once I got back on my feet, I wanted back in. 

But here’s the thing: 

As a single woman at the time, on a $55k salary I couldn’t afford a home loan on my own. 

I bought a duplex on Brisbane’s south side. 

Why I loved it: 

  • Rental income helped cover the mortgage 
  • Tax benefits improved cash flow 
  • Less pressure, more control 

Then a few months later… 

I bought another one on the north side. 

I targeted an area where a train line was planned.  

Not built yet. 

Not even approved. 

But I knew: 

👉 Infrastructure drives growth. 

That area? Mango Hill. 

Today? Two train stations. 

(Always nice when the plan works out.) 

LESSONS: 

👉 There’s always a way – you just need the right strategy. 
👉 Think ahead of the market – the best opportunities are often before everyone else sees them.  
👉 Don’t wait for the perfect situation – work with what you have now.  

🏡 When Life Outgrows Your Plans

Next, I bought a 3-bedroom home in Balmoral. Walking distance to Oxford Street in Bulimba. 

Time to start a family but it wasn’t one baby. 

It was three. 

Triplets.  

Because apparently, I don’t do things in halves. 

20240512_090835008_iOS

That beautiful home? 

Suddenly not so practical. 

  • Sloping block 
  • No backyard 
  • Three tiny humans with energy levels of caffeinated squirrels 

So, we turned it into a rental and rented ourselves a bigger place to live for the next 6 years. 

LESSONS: 

👉 Your strategy has to adapt as life does. 
👉 What got you here won’t always get you there.  
👉 Adapt quickly or feel it slowly.  

🏠 The Dream Home (and a Tough Decision)

More recently, I sold Balmoral and I bought my dream home. And honestly, it was a challenging decision.

Balmoral home

Because I’m a big believer in: 
👉 Good debt (investment debt) 
👉 Leverage 
👉 Using someone else’s money (the banks) to create more money  

And this? 

A mortgage with no tax deductions. 

A different kind of responsibility. 

But it gives me stability. No landlord, no limitations – it’s my space, exactly how I want it, with the freedom to change anything. And with young kids, having just started school that was important for me. 

And naturally, I still made a smart move. I bought in an area that’s doubled in value over the last 5 years, with significant growth expected. With 15 developments happening within a 2-minute radius, the fundamentals are strong. 

LESSONS: 

👉 There are 3 kinds of debt – good, bad & ok debt 
👉 Good debt opens doors – when leveraged well, it accelerates wealth creation. 
👉 Always use someone else’s money to build wealth. 

💡 So What Have I Learned in my 51 Years?

  1. Your first deal may not be comfortable. Do it anyway. 
  2. You don’t need to know everything to start. 
  3. Start before you feel ready. 
  4. Action beats overthinking. 
  5. Property is a long game. 
  6. Time IN the market beats timing the market. 
  7. Stay in the game. 
  8. Wealth is built over decades, not months. 
  9. Small decisions compound. 
  10. Big decisions shape direction. 
  11. You will make mistakes going it alone. 
  12. You don’t need to do it alone. 
  13. Surround yourself with the right people. 
  14. The right advice changes everything. 
  15. The wrong advice costs years. 
  16. ‘I’ve met him twice’ is not due diligence 😊 
  17. Leverage is VERY powerful. 
  18. Debt isn’t bad. Bad debt is bad. 
  19. Good debt builds wealth. 
  20. Debt can be a tool – or a trap. Learn the difference. 
  21. Infrastructure drives growth. 
  22. Follow the train lines (seriously). 
  23. Buy where people want to live. 
  24. Diversification isn’t just for shares. 
  25. Property cycles are real. 
  26. The GFC didn’t kill property. It created opportunity. 
  27. Fear in the market = opportunity for the brave. 
  28. Fear often shows up right before growth. 
  29. Luck favours action. 
  30. Waiting for certainty is expensive. 
  31. Momentum beats perfection and creates opportunity. 
  32. Confidence comes from doing, not thinking. 
  33. Growth happens outside your comfort zone. 
  34. Resilience is built through challenges. 
  35. Your strategy should match your stage of life. 
  36. Life will change your plans – and that’s okay. 
  37. Flexibility is a superpower. 
  38. Homes and investments serve different purposes. 
  39. Don’t let emotion lead the deal. 
  40. Rentvesting is underrated. 
  41. Property is simple… but not easy. 
  42. Play the long game. 
  43. Dogs influence property decisions more than logic. 
  44. Your biggest asset is your ability to keep going. 
  45. Back yourself. 
  46. You are more capable than you think. 
  47. Progress beats perfection. 
  48. Consistency beats chasing the next shiny thing. 
  49. The longer you stay in, the easier it gets. 
  50. Starting early? That changes everything. 
  51. Help is given to those who ask. 

🎉 Final Thought

If there’s one thing I know for sure after 33 years of investing, it’s this: 

👉 You don’t need the perfect plan. 

👉 You don’t need perfect timing. 

👉 You don’t need to have it all figured out. 

You just need to start. OR continue. 

It’s worth it. 

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