Anissa Cavallo was always good with money.
But when her seven-year marriage ended, she was so broke that she had to move back in with her parents to survive.
Anissa, then 43, was in shock: she had worked her way up the corporate ladder in the financial services industry, owned two properties and a healthy share portfolio. By the time she was divorced, she had nothing.
The mother admits that she was hyper-focused on her corporate career and making her clients richer by the day. And in the evenings she was busy taking care of her children.
This meant she paid less attention to her own family’s finances and had given up her trademark “total control.”
Speaking to FEMAIL, Anissa, 48, explained how she managed to find her way back to financial independence and now has 15 properties to her name.
Anissa Cavello reveals how she rebuilt her wealth after her marriage ended
She recently took her family on their first real vacation since the divorce
The mother of two always considered herself a businesswoman — and that didn’t change when she met her now ex-husband at age 36, or when she had her children.
“I brought a certain amount of wealth to the marriage,” she said.
‘While we were together, we bought an investment home for our children. This was the only asset to get through the divorce.
“Everything I had before marriage and everything else we made along the way was gone by the time the relationship was officially over.
‘As a family we spent too much, we always had the best and latest of everything.
“Despite my healthy income, we had to sell assets to pay off debts and survive.”
THE HARD YARDS
Anissa said she was still the breadwinner and “parent of the family” after having children, describing the mental strain as “ridiculous.”
“It was a really bad way to become a mother,” she said.
The juggling started early when Anissa did not take substantial maternity leave after both births.
Just weeks after her son was born, she was back in the office while her bosses were transforming the copy room so she could care for him when needed.
She started dropping him off at daycare when he was just three months old.
“I remember the educators cooing around him, he was the youngest baby they’d ever had in that center. And it ripped my heart out,” she said.
Anissa returned to work even sooner after her daughter was born.
‘I started working the day I got her. Everyone had come to visit, I had fed her for the first time and she was sleeping when I picked up my laptop.
Anissa’s entire life revolved around work: she was both the breadwinner of the family and the main caregiver
“I saw an email and called the fund manager and he was shocked and said, ‘Didn’t you just have a baby?’” she recalls.
But Anissa said she “didn’t think twice about it” as she was the one “funding” the family’s expensive lifestyle.
As the months turned into years, Anissa began to worry about the time she spent without her children.
And the cracks started to show.
“I felt like I had everything together, but I was burned out. And I didn’t want to be the mother who didn’t see her children,” she said.
Her children began begging for her attention.
“They told me they didn’t want the toy, they wanted me,” she said.
Anissa decided to take a break from work so she could see how she could improve her family relationships.
Anissa moved in with her parents, where she could save money and rebuild her life. In the photo: Anissa and her mother
It was then that she noticed the impact her overwhelmingly busy life had had on her family finances, which she ‘managed’ with her then husband.
She had hoped her assets would be mature enough to replace her salary, but realized she wouldn’t even get close to a part-time job or a decent break from work.
Determined to build a better work-life balance, she decided to start a property management business after noticing that her properties were making more money than her other investments.
The mother of two knew she could handle the tough real estate market and that being her own boss would give her the flexibility to be with her children.
“The fact that I turned all my attention back to the home front and our dwindling family finances was the beginning of the end of the marriage,” she explained.
Anissa said her heart broke when she sent her three-month-old son to daycare
MAKING THE MOVE
Anissa said she knew for two years that she had to leave her marriage.
‘By the time I walked away there was nothing but a building in my super left. It was quite a shock.’
Anissa was afraid to end the marriage, but said it was ultimately best for everyone involved.
“I had moved out of the family home into a rental property and was struggling to keep it,” she said.
‘My mother came to see me in a café and told me to move in with her and father, with the children.’
Anissa had left home and been independent since she was sixteen, but swallowed her pride and accepted help.
‘I had nothing left, but in a way that was a good thing because I had nothing to lose. Everything was taken away and I said to myself, this is as bad as it can be, but it’s fine,” she said.
Anissa spent two years with her parents to get back on her feet and started the ‘current version’ of her real estate investment company: EDA Property.
“The key is to buy good quality homes at the right price,” she said.
Anissa also praised the ‘rentvester’ model.
“It’s a better option financially: rent where I want to live and own elsewhere,” she said.
Anissa recently purchased her 15th investment property.
She is also going on a family holiday with her children again.
Anissa said she learned the value of having ‘mood-killing’ conversations about money when her marriage failed – she now has a new partner (pictured together) who is on the same page
‘The whole situation made me think twice about the old lifestyle. My family always has the best of everything. I don’t need the newest car, I have a 10 year old car and honestly don’t see the benefit of buying a new $150,000 car. Not when I can buy a $600,000 property with my own equity instead,” she said.
Although she still treats herself every now and then
‘I love fashion, but instead of buying a new bag every few months, I buy a really nice one every year, and I still buy clothes, just not as much. “I’m not that wasteful,” she said.
Anissa, who is now with a new partner, said it was important to have difficult conversations with your significant other beforehand.
“It can be a buzz kill, but it’s super important,” she said.
‘There must be agreement and that must be in writing. Both parties must be financially literate and have certain goals in mind.
‘I also recommend keeping any pre-relationship assets completely separate.
“These conversations should be accepted in a healthy relationship.”
Anissa added that she and her partner are on the same page financially and have kept their assets separate.