Solo Mum Shoots For Semi-FI at 50 | Strong Money Stories #9

Welcome to the latest Strong Money Story!

In these posts, I chat with real members of the community about how they’re putting this stuff into action – building wealth, creating freedom, and living life on their terms.

While I enjoy writing, what really matters to me is seeing results.  That’s why I created the Freedom Tally and added it to the homepage – to measure the impact in years of human freedom (we’re over 700 years of freedom now!)

Today we’re hearing from a solo mum from Queensland who’s aiming to semi-retire at 50.  She’s well on her way and, as you’ll read, has made plenty of tradeoffs while also keeping her son front of mind.

If you’re new to these stories, you can find all previous editions here in the content library.

OK, let’s get straight into it and meet our reader 🙂

Can you share a bit about yourself?

My name is Tina and I’m a 45 year old solo mother (had my son via a donor).  He’s now 5 and in his first year of Prep.  I live on the Coast in QLD and I work as a nurse full time.  We have 2 cats and 6 guinea pigs who free range in the garden.

When did you discover the idea of financial independence?

Only 6 months ago.  I went down the rabbit hole of FIRE after bouncing around in the property investment space for a while as I was trying to work out a financial plan for my future.  It was certainly a new concept for me as had no previous exposure or knew anyone in a similar situation of retiring early.

What were your initial thoughts? Did you latch on straight away, or did it take a while for you to believe it was possible?

I really like the concept as I had just been working part time while looking after my young son for 4 years which had been a nice balance.  I had to return to full time work when he started school in January this year, so the juggle of full time motherhood and the “side hustle” of my full time Mon-Fri job was overwhelming at best, and the “mummy guilt” was compounding.

I fully appreciate that my time with my son is limited and being a solo parent has greater responsibilities in both finances and time.  It took me a while to get my head around the possibility that I could actually do it.

What is your goal (FI, semi-retire, etc) and how far along are you?

My goal is to semi-retire in 5 years at 50.  Currently, my net worth is over $930k but it’s not liquid (it’s mainly in property).

The next 5 years I am working on debt recycling the mortgage on my place to invest in ETFs and also targeting my Super, so that I will just have to work enough to cover my basics and my investments will continue compounding.

I would like to point out that in 2020 my net worth was $150k.  I do not come from wealth and haven’t had inheritance/gifts etc.  I’m sharing my story to show that choices in life can have big long term impacts, both good and bad.

What does your ideal lifestyle look like?

For me, it just involves being able to take my son on the bike to school and pick him up afterwards so we can ride to the beach for the afternoon.

Currently, I drop him off at before school care before 7am and don’t see him again until after 4pm.  It breaks my heart a bit every day.  I also want to be available to help my parents in old age.

Stories like this are exactly why I write about financial independence. 

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What excites you most about the path you’re on?

The thing that excites me the most is that I have this as a possibility.  I appreciate that so many people do not have this as an option, so it’s a privileged position to be in.

The money is a means to an end.  But to be independent has been what the vast majority of us have been taught from childhood, eg. look after yourself, learn to do things by yourself EXCEPT for the work part, where we have been taught to make financial choices that make us dependent on an income (buy an expensive house, car, lifestyle choices).

Can you share your income and expenses and how that’s changed over time?

I have been a firm believer in keeping my overheads low since moving out of home at 18.  My family were very poor – we moved 13 times before I was 6.  We lived in caravan parked on people’s properties before my parents bought a small house in a very dodgy area with an 18% interest rate.

My parents remain in this house but still financially struggle as they are reliant on the pension, having continued with the “debt is bad” strategy and the lack of access to financial knowledge that we have now.

My income is $140k pa before tax, only reaching this amount this year as I’ve been part time with my son and got a promotion into a management level nursing role.  My expenses have always been as low as possible.  I have a 50% savings rate now that I’m back full time.  When part time it was a real struggle with child care fees etc, and at times I was living pay to pay as my investment property needed a bit of investment (hot water system died, new flooring, new fans, the list went on and on).

I am a second hand shopper and regularly go to the dump shop for things (fencing, doors, furniture).  All my son’s belongings to date have been second hand – clothes, pram, cot, toys, bikes, school uniform – all our furnishings are second hand, my clothes are second hand.

I bought our “new” kitchen off gumtree second hand.  We have a simple life that involves bike rides, local pool, local library, playgrounds – “mostly free activities”.

Out of my expenses, I cover an investment property mortgage/expenses, and my mortgage.  Out of savings I add to super, shares, and build my emergency fund up.  I’ve never had a credit card, paid my HECS off within a year of finishing studies, and my only debt has been a mortgage (at one point $730k worth).

What’s your wealth goal or FI number, and has this changed over the years?

To be honest I don’t have an FI number right now.  I’m working across 3 different investment areas to get them all working as hard as possible:

Investment property: tenants will pay down for as long as possible and then I will move into it as my principal place of residence (save CGT).

My property: use debt recycling and then eventually sell as I have a lot of equity to either put into super if near 60 or for share market if before and move into the investment property or a rental.

Shares: only just starting in this space but hope to have $200k in 5yrs from savings/debt recycling and will use this to support semi retirement.

Super: have been adding in currently as want to get to $500k (only have half of this currently) by 50 so that it compounds.  I have it invested in all international stocks and I’ll use it to pay off my investment loan if needed as well as property repairs/upgrades (will need a new roof at some point)

How would you describe your overall journey and strategy to this point?

I have always been frugal and avoided lifestyle creep.  At Uni, I was self funded with no family/government support, so got together with some like minded students.

We divided a 3 bedroom property to house 7 students (using temporary dividing walls) – we each paid $35 each per week including overheads.  From then I was hooked on the idea of your main accommodation must be lowest cost possible.

I spent my 20’s travelling for 4 years overseas.  No investments or stable income as my career was contract work.  I was a big believer in spending money on my education and invested big in that, involving 3 degrees so far, which has paid off 10 fold as I am in a secure well-paid government job.

After deciding in my late 20’s that I needed stable employment to get a mortgage, I finished my nursing degree (while living in a converted nursing home that was super cheap) and decided my best financial move was to move rural.

Property prices in Brisbane were going up and up.  I got a job in outback West QLD that included accommodation and a pay rise and spent a year saving hard ending up with $80k.  At this point, I was 35 so I got another rural job but a bit closer to family (3.5 hours drive instead of 10hrs).

I purchased by first house for $160k in 2014 with a low mortgage thanks to my savings.  I paid it down and sold it 5 yrs later for $170k in 2019 (had done renos so certainly did not make any profit).  At this point I had spent $25k on donor services to be able to conceive my son who was born in 2019.

I then purchased a 1 bedroom unit – 34sqm (tiny with no balcony/outdoor space) that was a block from the beach for $149k with a small mortgage, but was basically debt free by 40.

My son had the bedroom and I slept in the lounge on the fold down bed (had to push furniture around to make the bed fit).  The novelty of this wore off when my son started mobilising and the property market started going crazy on the coast thanks to COVID.  So I purchased a duplex sight unseen as it had a listed price (all the others had offers over) and seemed a decent size with a small yard for my son for $429k in early 2021.

I used my savings as a deposit and kept my unit which I rented out (learning curve being a landlord for sure).  On the day I inspected my duplex I got talking to the owner of the other side duplex and he said he was looking to buy elsewhere so I said to please let me know if he wanted to sell as I’d be interested in purchasing.

10 months later he had found a property and was willing to sell.  So I sold my unit near the beach for $250k ($100k profit on paper but considering the renovations etc, really not that good), and used 5% deposit to purchase the other duplex for $565k in 2022.  I put leftover money into my mortgage keeping my repayments low.

I locked in low interest rates on both properties as I was still only working part time.  I ploughed as much money as I could to get my LVR to 20% so I would be able to refinance my investment property to a different lender (had both properties with the same bank).

Currently my strategy is to just hold/maintain.  Both properties have had growth, mine 50% and investment 20%, which have contributed to my financial position.  To be honest, it has been extremely stressful having so much debt by myself.  At one point I had to get a loan from my Aunt as so many things broke at once, but I just held on and kept going and the more I learned, the more I realised that it would hopefully be worth it in the long run.

Will you pay off these loans before you semi retire? And how do you plan to (partly) live off your portfolio?

I will still have debt on both properties, which is why I am going to have to keep working, so I can refinance and pay the mortgages.

If I sell my property, then I could rent elsewhere and probably live off the dividends.  But the risk is unsettling my son, with having to move and the distance from his school.

Where does super fit into your strategy?

I’ll use it to pay off debt when I fully retire.  It’s important for me as a safety net. My parents are just on the pension and it is really tough going and I do not want to be in this position.

What are your plans once you do reach FI?

I plan to take a year off when my son finishes primary school to go travelling through Asia for 12 months – a “coming of age” concept for him and probably the only real opportunity I will get with him before he moves into high school phase.

Travel for me is important, but I am willing to put it off until I get my time back to give to my son.

Has anything about the journey been easier or harder than you expected?

I have definitely done things the hard way, but that is where I have learnt the most.  The surprise is the growth over such a short space when you get focused.

When I was debt free at 40, I was so unfocused and spending on stupid stuff.  I’m someone who needs a goal and direction.  I definitely believe in writing out 5 year plans – your thinking really can equal outcomes.

In my goal book I found a goal in my 20’s to buy a duplex to live/rent, and can never actually remember thinking about that again until next thing you know I’m buying one 15+ years later.

What actions or lessons have made the biggest difference to your life?

Do whatever you have to do to get your overheads lower to accelerate your savings.  Short term pain for long term gain.

Taking calculated risks is so important.  All life involves risk and if you are not taking them with your finances then you are missing out on lots of possibilities for learning and financial growth.

I used money to buy my family.  It’s an interesting concept but basically I would not have my son if I did not have money.

Any other thoughts, lessons, experiences you want to share?

Don’t let the focus on money take over your life.

I have learnt not to talk to people about my goal to semi retire.  It seems to trigger other people in all kinds of ways.

Make super work for you as hard as possible.

You don’t need to be in a couple to make this work – just work smarter, not harder.

My son and I also talk about investing, saving and giving all the time so it will be a part of his life.

A big shout out to Dave for all he has done to the community.  It really helps to have a community, as it can be lonely working towards financial freedom when the vast majority are still on a different path.

Dave’s thoughts

Wow, what an amazing story.  Through it all you can hear a strong determination to not only build a better financial future, but to prioritise the relationship with her son.

I loved that she’s created her own strategy around what fits her needs, goals, and preferences.  She took action, learned, took action, pivoted, kept going, and adjusted her approach over time as she gained more experience, information, and her goals became clearer.

There’s also an amazing lesson here in solving the housing issue, making life a lot easier than it otherwise could be.  Being willing to keep your accommodation costs as simple as possible, using creative strategies while you’re young can make a massive difference over time.

Not only financially, but also mentally – because you aren’t wedded to a certain standard of home.  Once people go ‘up’ they can’t go back down.  So if you can delay the most expensive forms of lifestyle creep, it’s massively valuable.  And you won’t even feel the difference, because by definition, you’re used to it.  Your ‘tastes’ haven’t yet elevated to the next price bracket.

She’s a passionate second-hand shopper, and I imagine doing this across all categories has saved her tens of thousands of dollars over time.  She was also willing to move several hours away to put herself in a better position.  This is what I was trying to get at in my housing post. 

If you’re not on a high income as a single or household, and you’re wanting to buy in an expensive market – which many are these days – you NEED to look at alternative options, at least in the short term.

Thanks for sharing your story Tina – keep doing what you’re doing! 🔥

Resources you might find helpful:

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