This month's FMA Investor Profile features Bradie Claydon, a wife and mum of three who is a Registered Legal Executive by day and runs the social media platform Kiwi Girl on a Budget in her spare time.
Imagine reaching your goal of becoming mortgage-free. What next? For mum of three Bradie Claydon, who paid off her mortgage before the age of 50, the answer was simple: to invest.
Bradie’s journey into becoming a debt-free investor started in January 2016. A family tragedy prompted her and her husband to take a closer look at their financial situation. They set out to clear their loans and managed to pay off $566,000 in 39 months. By giving their finances a complete overhaul and selling their car and a rental property, cutting back on expenses and working extra shifts, they reached debt-free status in April 2019.
Along the way, the Legal Executive started the Instagram account @kiwigirlonabudget to keep herself accountable and share her journey. Today, she has amassed almost 16,000 followers.
Much like Bradie’s journey into becoming debt-free when it comes to investing there’s no doing things by halves. She and her husband are investing so they can retire early in the next five years. A late starter – it was only after becoming debt-free that Bradie started investing – she’s now hooked.
“I started reading books, listening to podcasts and then took the plunge! The first book my husband and I read was ‘Total Money Makeover’ by Dave Ramsey. But my favourite book of all time is by JL Collins, ‘The Simple Path to Wealth.’ His advice is gold – investing doesn’t need to be difficult, just keep it simple.”
She also follows a number of Instagram accounts, joining what she calls the “debt-free community.”
“The account that particularly stands out for me is @PersonalFinanceClub, run by Jeremy Schneider. He shares great information and illustrations.”
Between her and her husband, they aim to invest 50% of their income and invest each month using online investing platforms including Sharesies, Kernel and Smartshares. While they take a DIY approach to investing, they are selective in where they put their money.
“We invest in what we feel comfortable with. We don’t invest in single companies - it’s index funds all the way for us to cover our risk. We are long-term investors so we realise there will be ups and downs.”
Both Bradie and her husband have KiwiSaver and her husband also has a State Sector Retirement Savings Scheme. Once they have enough to retire, they intend to be “work optional.”
“We’ll use our time to treat ourselves with domestic travel, hiking, looking after our health and spending more time with our grandchildren.”
But Bradie says she won’t ever stop investing – even when she’s retired.
