How my husband and I tripled our wealth in 10 years (Part 2)
After Part 1 What Rich People Know About Debt That Most People Don’t, I had quite a few people reach out—some curious about what we did differently, others asking how to get started with their own plan.
So here’s Part 2: a deeper look at the personal financial strategy Greg and I used to triple our family’s wealth in just ten years
Over the past ten years, Greg and I have quietly tripled our family’s wealth.
Our goal? To have the option of retiring before 55, while building long-term family wealth to support the life choices we care about most for ourselves and our kids (Greg want work less to play more Golf!).
It wasn’t luck. And it wasn’t about chasing the next big thing. It came down to mindset, clarity, and consistent action. And now we are ahead of our age 55 retirement goal.
Here’s how we made it work:
We used “good debt” to grow We sold two former properties (that we owned before meeting each other), built our current home debt-free, then geared it as much as possible with investment-focused lending. That freed up capital to invest in a large, diversified portfolio including managed accounts, ETFs, and investment properties in growth areas (outside Canberra). We’ve always been comfortable using debt to build long-term wealth—and we’ve done it with purpose and structure.
We maximise every opportunity We’ve made the most of Greg’s work benefits, including vested shares and RSUs (and planned for the tax bills!$$$). Every year, we maximise our super contributions. It’s not always exciting, but it worked for us—especially when paired with the right investment mix for our stage of life.
We’ve built a strong team around us We don’t do it alone. We have a close relationship with our mortgage broker to get the right debt structures in place. Our accountant works closely with us on long-term tax planning and asset protection. And we’ve updated our estate plan twice already—once pre kids when we started investing together, and again when our family (and wealth) grew. It’s the same team-based approach we use for our clients through the Family CFO service.
We use a combination of family trusts, super and investment bonds—strategies we often use with clients—to hold our investments in a tax effective way that supports both growth and protection.
We invest based on timeframes, not hype We’ve always focused on the big picture regardless of Trump tariff announcements - what we want life to look like in 10, 20 years, not what markets are doing this week. We regularly invest monthly for dollar cost averaging purposes and don't try to time the market but topped up our portfolios when markets were down and 'on sale'.
We track our finances through our MyProsperity wealth portal. It gives us a real-time view of our cash flow, goals, and net wealth—which is the same tool we set up for our Family CFO and long term clients.
We set up smart systems early We implemented the same automated cash-flow system we use with clients at Thomson Wealth—multiple offset accounts with clear purposes. One of the simplest but most powerful tweaks? Allocating automated ‘play money’ to each of us each week. It keeps our spending in check without the guilt—and leaves more to invest.
We're comfortable talking about money. At home, money’s not a taboo topic. We talk about it openly, share responsibility for our cash flow, and make decisions together. That mindset has helped us stay aligned and reduce stress—especially during big life transitions. Of course, every relationship is different. That’s why, at Thomson Wealth, we create space for busy couples to pause, tune out the noise, and have the money conversations that often get pushed to the side. Whether it’s over Teams or a cuppa in our office, we help you focus on your future together.
I want to share this with you because at Thomson Wealth, we don’t just advise hundreds of clients on how to grow and protect their wealth—we live by the same principles.
Of course, every financial plan is different. The strategies and investment structures we used may not be the right fit for you. That’s why we always tailor the plan to your financial goals, cash flow needs, and stage of life.
But here’s the thing—timeframe matters.
The sooner you start, the more you can do with what you have.
Let’s not wait until retirement is around the corner to realise it’s too late to act.
And if you needed one more reason? Ongoing investment advice and tax (financial) advice are now tax deductible, as recently confirmed by the ATO—so there’s never been a smarter time to get advice.
In this week’s short video, I share exactly how we used good debt to get ahead and how you could apply the same thinking.
Watch the 3 minute video here.