Ironically, minimum wage workers in Australia have earned almost double what I have this year.
Maybe I should go and flip burgers at Hungry Jacks? 🤔
This is the toughest part of what I do and the path I’ve chosen.
Most of the hours I put in are unpaid. The newsletters I write, the podcasts I produce, the networking I do, the hours I put into refining my speaking abilities – all unpaid.
When your rent is $1,300 per fortnight and you’re averaging $557.51 per week in income, well – you do the math…
You’re probably thinking, how on earth do you and Kaci get by?
Kaci receives about $1,150 per month from the Government for parental support, and earns around $500 per month doing a few hours of social work supervision under her own ABN.
This helps cover a few necessities like food shopping and petrol.
But there is a gap.
During these times of low cashflow, I have to get creative to make things work.
So this is what I’m currently doing.
Attached to our 6-figure share portfolio is a ‘line of credit’. I strategically draw on this each month to help close the gap between our income and expenses.
It’s not ideal, but it’s tax-deductible debt (rather than high-interest consumer debt).
My thinking is, the growth of our portfolio will be far greater than the rate I need to draw down on the line of credit. So the debt I’m using can be paid off in the future from portfolio profits or dividend payments.
Because we invested aggressively in our 20s, it’s given us the flexibility to employ strategies like this to help us navigate these lower cashflow times. We can operate like our own bank. We have plenty of options.
The great thing is,
Even while our cashflow is tight, our investment property is still building equity and producing positive cashflow. Our share portfolio is producing dividends that are being reinvested and the capital base is growing. And we continue to invest and save a portion of our income every month.
I know these low cashflow times won’t last forever.
There will be a time in the future when Kaci is back working full-time, and the thousands of unpaid hours I’ve put in to develop my skills will pay handsome dividends.
Until then, we must embrace the uncertainty of the uncommon path we’ve chosen.
But here’s the most important part:
Even though our cashflow is tight, we feel rich in something far more valuable – time.
And that’s because Kaci gets to be at home full-time with Clifford and enjoy these precious and pivotal early years of development that far too few women get to enjoy because of financial pressures.
(Side note: it’s an absolute disgrace that women feel forced to go back to work and put their kids in childcare so they can pay their bills. Society would be far better off if mothers [and fathers] were better supported to be able to raise their young families without the added pressure of financial stress).
And I get to work from home doing work I love whilst being close to my young and growing family.
You can’t put a price on this stuff.
Have you ever felt “wealthy” and “broke” at the same time?
Hit reply – I’d love to hear how you’re navigating your own version of this.
