A young single mother hit rock bottom when she took just $5 and turned it into a $17,000 stock portfolio and three investment properties.
Courtney Lorking, from the Central Coast of New South Wales, relied on Centrelink to survive after the birth of her daughter, Jordyn, in 2019.
So poor that she couldn’t afford diapers, Ms Lorking scrambled to make ends meet, working as a personal trainer and even a mechanic – before landing a full-time job in marketing.
The young mother then started educating herself about investing and embarked on a journey that saw her buy her first home in 2019 and start her stock portfolio by investing just $5 in the stock market.
Young mother Courtney Lorking (pictured) bought her first home in 2019 and started investing in mid-2021. Now she has $17,000 in shares and three properties across Australia
It wasn’t that long ago that Courtney was at a low point, trying to make ends meet and working numerous jobs. Courtney said she ‘didn’t have time to worry’ and ‘just had to take action’ to build a better life
Over the past two years, she has invested $14,000 and her portfolio is currently worth $16,988.
Her stock portfolio consists of various company shares, such as large banks and supermarkets.
When Courtney was younger, she assumed it would take at least $10,000 to start investing, but after doing her own research, reading books, and listening to podcasts, she quickly learned that wasn’t the case. was: she had registered with the New Zealand share platform Sharesies.
‘I signed up and it was so easy to use and not scary. I started investing small amounts and over time became more confident,” Courtney told FEMAIL.
‘By investing I have the feeling that I am really building a financial future and working towards something. It’s so empowering.’
Now she is also the proud founder of her own marketing agency that she launched four months ago. She invests at least $100 per week.
Today, Courtney’s portfolio consists of a variety of company stocks, such as major banks and supermarkets. Now she invests at least $100 a week in stocks
Reflecting on 2019, Courtney said she “didn’t have time to worry” and “just had to act.”
‘I tried everything to make a quick buck. I hunted and worked. I prioritized learning about investing and building my portfolio,” she said.
‘Sometimes I couldn’t even afford diapers. It was a very difficult time and I never want to go back to that point again.’
Instead of saving money, she now invests it and researches companies that align with her morals before purchasing anything.
“I know now that if I hadn’t gone through those initial struggles, I wouldn’t be where I am today, so I’m grateful for that,” Courtney said. Four months ago she opened her own marketing agency
She also dabbles in real estate, even though when she was younger she thought a house was “where you lived, not an investment.”
In 2019, she bought her first three-bedroom home on the Central Coast for $530,000 and now lives there with her daughter.
Two years later, with the help of a buyer’s agent, she purchased another property in Melbourne for $530,000, which is still under construction.
Last year she secured her third property for $480,000 in Perth, and it is also under construction.
“I know now that if I hadn’t gone through those initial struggles, I wouldn’t be where I am today, so I’m grateful for that,” Courtney said.
In terms of advice for others, Courtney suggested “starting small and making it a priority,” along with “working on an investment mindset” and “setting up automatic transfers.”
In terms of advice for others, Courtney suggested “starting small and making it a priority,” along with “working on an investment mindset” and “setting up automatic transfers.”
Sharesies founder Brooke Roberts told FEMAIL that the brand started with a mission to “make investing more accessible to everyone.”
Since 2017, more than 600,000 investors have joined the platform, collectively investing more than $2.3 billion.
New data collected by Sharesies shows that 64 percent of investors are women and Gen Z is the ‘fastest growing generation’ of users.
“Since launch I have seen a steady increase in conversations about money and investing,” Ms Roberts said.
“I especially love hearing stories about women who talk openly about their portfolios and trading notes about their investment strategies. That used to be unheard of, so it’s so exciting to see how women are empowering each other.”
Ms Roberts said that before you start, it is ideal to understand the two main ways of investing – buying specific company shares or ETFs (exchange traded funds) – and then choose what is right for you based on personal financial objectives.