Mum-of-five with a net worth of $2million shares her best short and long-term budgeting tips

An Australian mother of five has revealed the exact list of things she’s done to go from nothing to a net worth of over $2 million.

The savvy saver achieved her financial goals in a ‘hard slog’ of 20 years despite enduring five costly years of fertility problems, making a modest salary and raising five children, some of whom had complex medical conditions.

She offered her tips and tricks for saving big, from buying your first home early and under budget to saving as little as $5 whenever possible and never getting the latest phone or investing in beauty and high-end brands.

The woman, who is in her early forties, shared her story anonymously in a popular Facebook group. Moms on a BUDGET – Australia and had many members ‘inspired’ by his budget stunts.

A money-saving mother of five has shared how she went from nothing to a net worth of $2 million over 20 years from scrimping pennies and making smart financial decisions (file image)

“Thought I would share how I/we went from nothing to a net worth of over two million dollars (more if you include super that would be three),” the mom wrote.

“I’m not trying to brag, I thought some people might find it helpful or inspiring to know that persistence and hard work will get you places in life and the difficulties you might be experiencing now don’t have to be forever.”

The woman has been married to her husband for 18 years and together they had no parental help, paid off HEC debts and raised five children, often on one income.

The woman now works part-time for the government, while he is a full-time manager of a small business, and said the couple’s salaries have ranged from average to “slightly above well paid.”

The mom’s biggest piece of advice was to make sure you and your life partner are ‘on the same path’, have the same financial goals, and feel comfortable sharing funds.

“Start the journey early in life, we got married in the early twenties and bought a house that same year with a five percent deposit,” he said.

“Obviously not everyone finds a good partner that young, or can stay in that partnership, so it will push the timeline back a bit.”

The couple bought a house that was half what they could afford in a ‘cheap’ and ‘not ideal’ area half an hour away from family friends who, the woman said, are still paying off their mortgages.

The savvy woman and her husband of 18 years bought a well-under-budget home in a “cheap area” as soon as they could. Now they have no mortgage and live in a nice suburb (file image)

They renovated the ‘old’ house over a five year period doing much of the work themselves and have since been able to move to better areas without mortgages.

‘Cars have always been second hand, only what we could afford, most of them worth around $5,000. Never a loan and learned how to do most basic repairs from YouTube or asking friends for help,” the woman said.

‘We didn’t have children until we had a good amount in compensation so we could get by on one salary. Earning a little money before you have kids goes a long way.

The couple struggled with fertility issues and endured expensive rounds of IVF, but now have five children who all went to public school.

Vacations were rare for the family during the boys’ “difficult early years,” the mother said, and if they did go away, it would be a weekend at a cabin in a trailer park.

“Lots of free activities and friends’ houses to visit and we don’t feel like we missed out on most of the time,” he wrote.

“There was a period where we weren’t going anywhere, not because of finances as such, but because of how difficult the kids were.”

She said shopping for the bargains, finding the best discounts and buying second-hand furniture and clothing will also keep everyday costs down.

“The cars have always been secondhand, just what we could afford, most of them around $5k worth,” he said, adding that they learned how to do repairs themselves from YouTube (stock image)

“I don’t believe in buying once and spending more, I’d rather buy twice for a quarter of the price and hope I get lucky and it lasts as long as the expensive item,” he explained.

The mother said her family never had the latest technology and advised against signing up for a plan to pay for a phone, saying: “Justifying that you can afford the monthly payment is not the same as actually being able to afford something.”

She said to use free apps from the library, YouTube, and podcasts as educational tools for tasks including renovation, repair, and investing. She suggested recycling things around the house like furniture instead of sending it to the trash.

Finding small ways to make money can make all the difference and the couple would take paid surveys, babysit and even go to auction houses, buy big boxes of stuff and sell individual items on eBay.

Beauty treatments were always at home and DIY for mom and high-end brands were out of the question.

The mother said her family never bought the latest technology and advised never to sign up and get locked into a plan to pay for a phone.

‘If I can’t paint my toes or shave my legs at home, there’s something wrong. My $20 purse does the same thing as a $300 purse,’ she said.

“We took a risk and were left without private health insurance, pet insurance, etc. until we were thirty, luckily it was worth it for us. I don’t have pet insurance yet and I’m doing fine (knock on wood!)’.

The mother said to ‘never pay for convenience’ and to plan ahead so you don’t get caught, eg have extra toothpaste in the cupboard that you bought at half price instead of paying in full when you run out.

“Invest money early on, even just a spare $5 to get into the habit, make it an automatic transaction where you’ll never see that money,” the woman said.

Beauty treatments were always at home and DIY and high-end brands were out of the question. “If I can’t paint my toes or shave my legs at home, there’s something wrong,” she said.

‘Salary sacrifice to super is great for that, and then a similar setup out of super. Then compound interest takes over, small amounts at first will earn more than large amounts later in life.’

His other money tips included making an all-budget spreadsheet to track spending, checking insurance policies regularly to make sure you get the cheapest, setting goals and a life plan with ballpark targets, and making super contributions. as taxable income is reduced.

The ambitious mom reminded readers that she was able to build up her savings, but she didn’t have an “easy life” and had periods of financial trouble, children needing multiple doctor visits, and car accidents.

“Our life is not easy, it’s never been perfect, I went through without… where we are now, I never would have dreamed it was possible when I was at the time,” he said.

‘But I’m here to tell you that it’s possible if you’re where I was 20 years ago. It just takes time and effort, you can do it if you take the steps to make it happen.’