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541 | How to Align Your Financial Plan with Your Partner

By in Podcast, Property Investment, Q&A

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These are the questions you’re thinking… but haven’t asked yet. 

This week’s Q&A Day is a goldmine for anyone navigating the trickier parts of property investing — especially when it’s not just about the numbers, but the people involved. 

🏠 Jason’s got a long-term strategy (and a property plan to back it), but his partner’s worried about short-term costs. How do you bridge that gap when you’re not on the same page financially? 

💬 Monty (aka Ross) wants to know — should you release equity from your investment property or your home… and what does that mean if you’re planning to upgrade your principal place of residence in the next few years? 

💸 Tom asks us a fantastic question that we think will clear up a common misunderstanding about offset accounts and P&I loans. 

From communicating better with your partner to understanding the real mechanics behind your loan structure — we’re covering it all. If you’ve ever thought, “Surely, I’m not the only one confused by this,” then this episode is for you! Listen now.   

Free Stuff  

  • Pre-Order Now! How to Retire on $3,000 a Week
    Folks, our book is OFFICIALLY open for pre-order! We also charted #1 for pre-ordered bestselling book – Thank you to all those folks excited for our latest book, we can’t wait for you to read it! 😊
    You can preorder the book from these retailers:

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  • Have you faced the same challenge as Jason — or do you still have questions after this episode? We’d love to hear from you!
    If you’ve found a way to bridge the gap with your partner around financial planning or property investing, share what worked for you! Your story could really help others in the community.Or if you’re still feeling unsure about something we covered — whether it’s equity release, offset accounts, or anything else — let us know what’s unclear. Your question might be the one someone else is too afraid to ask. Head to our SpeakPipe and record your message today!  

 

  • Give the gift of sight for just $100! 
    To celebrate his 50th birthday, Bryce is partnering with the John Fawcett Foundation to restore sight to those who need it most. Together, we’ve already made a huge impact with more than $50,000 raised — but we’re not done yet. We’re aiming to hit $60,000 by 27 May! As Jeff, a TPC listener put it best: “It just felt so real — giving sight to unsighted people. I signed up and donated in 10 minutes.” Every dollar goes directly to sight-restoring surgeries. Here’s what your money can restore!

    • 👁️ $100 = Sight for 1 person
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    • ✋✋ $1,000 = Sight for 10 people
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Questions We Answer

Q1) Bridging the Gap on Property Investment with My Partner from Jason  

“My partner and I have different perspectives on property investment. While I’m following our Empower Wealth property plan that considers our long-term strategy with our lifestyle by design, she’s concerned about the initial negative gearing and short-term costs. This recently came up when we purchased an investment property. 

Her background as a Chartered Accountant makes her very detail-oriented, and the initial financial outlay understandably worries her. I believe there’s a way to bridge this gap by clearly communicating our overall financial goals and the long-term benefits of property investment.  

However, getting her engaged in these conversations is proving difficult. She is the plumber who doesn’t like doing their own plumbing. 

What I’d like to know: 

How can I effectively communicate the long-term benefits of property investment to address her short-term concerns? 

What strategies can I use to encourage her to participate in financial planning conversations?” 

 

Q2) Investment Properties vs. Principal Place of Residence from Ross 

G’day guys, it’s Monty here.  

Thanks for the amazing work and the great content you produce each and every week on the podcast. My wife and I are very fortunate to have 3 properties. We have our principal place of residence in Sydney with roughly $300,000 owing on that.  

We have an investment property up in Brisbane, which we’ve had for roughly 10 years, and our second investment property is in Perth, which we’ve had for 3 years. All three properties are in separate loans, and they’re not linked at all.  

Obviously, the last couple of years we’ve seen significant growth across all three properties, and we’re looking at purchasing our 3rd investment property sometime this year. The question I had was, is it beneficial to release equity from either of the investment properties, or is it better to release more equity from our principal place of residence?  

Over the next 5 years or so we’re looking at upgrading our principal place of residence, and I wondered that if we released equity from our Sydney home, would that have implications down the track when we actually sell that Sydney home to upgrade our principal place of residence?  

Being teachers, my wife and I, we’re always interested to learn as much as we can, and that’s where you guys have been amazing over the last 10 years or so. It would be great for any information you could provide.  

Obviously, we want to do the best for our 3 kids, and hopefully we can help them out in the future. So any information you have on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the great work you do and up the mighty Swannys in 2025.  

Thanks guys. 

  

Q3) Principal & Interest (P&I) vs Interest Only (IO) Offset Cashflow Feedback from Tom  

Hi Team, 

I’ve been debating whether to bother you with this or not as it may be a very rudimentary misunderstanding of mine, but after Thursday’s episode nearly addressed it and after doing some consulting with Opti to see if you had in a different ep, I wonder if I’m not alone in a knowledge gap I had before working with Joel. 

I’ve only ever had IO loans and as a result know very little about the mechanics of P&I loans (as I imagine many first home buyers or maybe other investor only, non owner oc’s like me may have too).  

During the planning with Joel I learned that an offset against a P&I loan doesn’t change the monthly repayment amount, just the proportion of P&I paid each month. i.e. improves the debt position but not monthly cashflow. 

Admittedly, I have not cut a full lap, I’ve not listened to 273 through to 494, so excuse me if it’s mentioned in these eps. Asking Opti, it pointed me to ep 448 where you skirt around it but not explicitly mention it. 

So to summarise, before being corrected by Joel, even after listening to nearly 300 eps, my previous naive understanding was that offsetting any debt improved cashflow AS WELL as lowered interest paid, So, I had grand plans where I could park company money into a home offset from time to time to improve cashflow, which I realise now is silly but again if i’m thinking it then maybe others might be too. 

For clarity, I am not explicitly looking for an improved cashflow position (paying a future home loan off earlier is fine by me) I was just so accustomed to the cashflow benefit of offsets on IO loans, and never really bridged the gap of how P&I worked in practice, I felt adequately foolish after we finished the meeting that day but at the same time validated the choice to pay for the big guns. 

I’ll leave you to do with this as you wish. 

Thanks again for all you do.

Tom

 

Timestamps  

  • 0:00 – How to Align Your Financial Plan with Your Partner
  • 1:47 – How to Retire on $3K a Week: Pre-orders now OPEN!  
  • 3:13 – Our service dedicated to owner-occupiers?! 
  • 4:37 – Moorr Mobile Update: Historical tracking now LIVE! 🎉  
  • 5:29 – Bryce’s 50th: Give the gift of sight for just $100!  
  • 7:46 – Mindset Minute: “Listen to the people closest to your goals!”  
  • 8:22 – Q1) Bridging the Gap on Property Investment with My Partner from Jason 
  • 10:20 –  But… the properties are making a net loss?  
  • 14:34 – “A human convinced against their will, remains unconvinced still…” 
  • 15:41 – Solution #1: Low-pressure conversations 
  • 16:55 – Solution #2: Let them choose their lane  
  • 17:43 – Solution #3: Neutral third-party 
  • 19:24 – Solution #4: The opportunity cost 
  • 20:00 – Why you need to understand the rate of return calculation  
  • 22:35 – The dilemma of residential property investing  
  • 26:14 – Why you want 9% gross property return  
  • 28:31 – Experienced the same problem? Send us a SpeakPipe of your solutions!  
  • 29:35 – Q2) Investment Properties vs. Principal Place of Residence from Ross 
  • 31:43 – Let’s take a moment to honour their achievement!  
  • 32:49 – What is the goal? Do you need a third investment property?  
  • 37:35 – Ben puts on his “investment-savvy mortgage broker” hat 
  • 41:56 – Summary   
  • 43:19 – Q3) P&I vs IO Offset Cashflow Feedback from Tom 
  • 47:08 – EXPLAINED: Amortising loans  
  • 49:39 – Solutions to recalibrate your loans later  
  • 52:15 – What if you have a substantial amount in your offset?  

And…

  • 54:15 – Life by Design hack: Cost-effective camp hack  
  • 56:40 – WMPN: What do Trump’s tariffs mean for Australia, rate cuts and property?

 

TPC Gold | Can You Use Your IP’s Equity to Pay Off Your Home Loan Early?

By in Podcast

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This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: Q&A – How to Avoid Poor Loan Structure 

It’s a question we get all the time from property investors: “Can I use the equity in my investment property to pay off my home loan faster?” 

In today’s TPC Gold soundbite, Bryce and Ben unpack this exact scenario—and explain why it’s not as straightforward as it seems. 

Spoiler alert: It all comes down to how the ATO views the purpose of your loan. 

In this short but powerful episode, you’ll learn:
💸 What the ATO considers a private (non-deductible) purpose—and how that affects your tax deductions
⚠️ How redraws and lines of credit can accidentally “pollute” your loan structure
✅ Why having separate splits and clean offsets is crucial for clarity and compliance 

Want to Avoid Costly Mistakes in Your Property Finance Strategy?

If you’re thinking about refinancing, using equity, or paying off your mortgage sooner, make sure the structure is right from the beginning. 

Book a free initial appointment with an investment-savvy mortgage broker from our sister company, Empower Wealth.

Need Personalised Tax Advice?

Tax deductibility depends on your personal circumstances and how funds are used. For advice specific to your situation, book an appointment with a qualified tax accountant from our sister company, Empower Wealth.

Remember: No mortgage broker should be giving tax advice. Always speak to a registered tax professional to get it right. 

__________________

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | Can You Use Your IP’s Equity to Pay Off Your Home Loan Early? You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
We’ll go on to another sort of related question as we get all these segues. This is from Dean. “Hi guys, my question is can you use equity in your investment property to wipe out your principal place of residence mortgage? Cheers, Dean.” I’ll have a go at that. 

Ben Kingsley
Yeah. 

Bryce Holdaway
I’ll have a go at the answer, and you’re the mortgage broker, so you come and tidy up the edges…but the answer is you can do it. This is a common question. So people say: If I secure against an investment property and then pay off a non-tax deductible debt like a principal place of residence, can I do it? The answer is you can do it, Ben. But the tax department looks under and they go: What was the purpose of the loan? And if you secure against your investment properties to use a loan to pay off a private non-tax deductible debt, the tax office just goes “I see what’s going on under here. The purpose of the loan wasn’t for investment. It was actually for a private purpose, therefore we will not allow the interest to be deductible.” So to answer the question, you can do it, but it’s not gonna give you any benefit.  

Ben Kingsley
No, effectively you’re going to have the same debt and it’s still going to be in the same position where it is effectively non-deductible debt. The other classic one that people do here, Bryce, is they release equity from their investment properties or their family home or whatever it may be, and then turn that into an investment property and then say: oh, no, no, no, that property’s an investment property now and I release the equity out of that to put a deposit down for my new upsized family home. Surely I can claim that because it’s against that investment property. No, purpose of funds test – in terms of what it does, that money is still non-deductible. So be very careful. People just think that they can pay loans down and then release the money against all that, and that’s going to be deductible? Not true.  

Bryce Holdaway
Love it. Ben, beware of pollution. So this is often something that people don’t think about. So for example, let’s say you do everything by the book. You set up a loan, it’s for investment purposes only. You’ve got a redraw facility Ben, and what happens is you think: well, with that redraw facility, I’m going to put all of my income into the redraw facility, and for five days, I’m going to have all the interest benefits of that. And then on a Thursday, I’m going to pull my cash out and pay for the groceries.  

Problem: The pulling out of the money just changed the purpose of the loan. You have just fully polluted that loan. So it was initially set up with an intent for investment, and the fact that you parked some money there and pulled it out for groceries at the end of the week; you have just polluted the loan. You’ve just made that loan very complicated, which is why an offset facility is cleaner and avoids the pollution over a redraw facility.  

Ben Kingsley
And while we’re at it, Bryce, and we’ve talked about this before, the other great pollution killer, or basically the interest deductible killer, is lines of credit. I get $100,000 line of credit, I use $80,000 for investment purposes, and $20,000 to buy a car. 

Bryce Holdaway
Ooh I like this one. 

Ben Kingsley
I then start paying off that car thinking that I’m paying off that portion that I took out for the car. Tax office doesn’t see it that way at all. The first $20,000 that you put in there is actually paying off the $80,000 investment debt. So this is another example of where an investment-savvy mortgage broker will separate out potentially a small amount for personal use and separate that in a different loan split for investment use. You can have multiple splits. It obviously requires a little bit more understanding and management, but ultimately it’s as simple as using your MoneySMARTS. Everything goes into that primary cap.  

Doesn’t matter if you’ve got a hundred loans under that; if one of those loans is for personal use, you’ve obviously got to pay that off. But it’ll be drawing that money from the primary account, exactly like all of the rental income you’ve got coming from all your properties will be going into that primary account. So there’s one central transactional account in which all of that money is going to be serviced from.  

Bryce Holdaway
Don’t pollute, Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
Don’t pollute, Bryce. At the end of the day, no mortgage broker should be giving tax advice. And here, we’re not giving advice, we’re just sort of saying these are the pitfalls. These are the challenges around that, so no one should be sitting here saying I heard this and I’m going to action this without actually seeking independent advice from a tax accountant. 

Bryce Holdaway
Foundational underneath that discussion Ben was cross security versus standalone, so the good thing is we were talking then about standalone options.  

Ben Kingsley
Yes. 

Bryce Holdaway
But making sure you don’t get the wrong standalone option, particularly for pollution. So great question Dean, thank you for that. Let me quickly get another one for us Ben. 

 

Jan Somers: How this Housewife Built Her Multimillion-Dollar Property Portfolio from Scratch

By in Podcast

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Please Note: This episode is a re-run. The original air date was on February 16, 2017. 😊  

In our FINAL bonus episode for 2023, we’re replaying an awesome episode with one of Bryce’s all-time property-investing heroes…  

Jan Somers!  

She is an incredibly humble housewife who is the author of 4 bestselling property books and is a successful property investor and educator extraordinaire.  

With her property portfolio spanning more than 40 years, we follow Jan’s motivational story from her first venture into property investing to her inspiration for writing her bestselling books, Building Wealth.   

Tune in now to hear her evergreen wisdom from the secret to improving your borrowing power, cultivating the right investing mindset, the types of properties Jan prefers to invest in, and much more!  

Listen now for an awesome blast-from-the-past episode! 🚀 🚀 🚀 

 

Free Stuff Mentioned

  • Check out Jan Somers’ bestselling books and software here >>  

 

Timestamps

  • 0:00 – Jan Somers: How this Housewife Built Her Multimillion-Dollar Property Portfolio from Scratch 
  • 3:29 – Mindset Minute: Beware of highlight reels!  
  • 4:55 – Welcome Jan Somers!  
  • 7:10 – The secret formula that led to success 
  • 8:25 – Her first mentor!  
  • 12:14 – Jan’s Golden Investing Principles 
  • 15:39 – The foolproof loan strategy Jan uses 
  • 18:01 – She was one of the first to do THIS!  
  • 21:33 – From humble beginnings: The origin of her first book  
  • 29:24 – Investing & Family  
  • 33:49 – “Security provides you with happiness”  
  • 37:31 – The biggest mistakes she made…  
  • 40:33 – Accumulating properties, tenants & investing Interstate 
  • 46:12 – Why do some properties perform better than others?  
  • 50:18 – The “living off equity principle” and retiring debt  
  • 54:26 – Financial messages Jan taught her kids  
  • 56:04 – Jan’s top tips for property investors  
  • 58:23 – Extra resources!  

And… 

  • 1:02:09 – Lifehack: Get 15 minutes back by turning off your notifications?!  
  • 1:03:51 – WMPN: Inside a $250M Bel Air house…

 

454 | How to Create a $5.54M Portfolio in Your 50s – Chat with Tom Dekker

By in Podcast, Property Investment, Winter Series

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Health Problems. 
Hazardous Tenants.  
Gaining the True Benefit of Hindsight, and…  

Starting an accumulation phase when you’re in your 50s?!?  

Yep. Today’s story is one downright amazing tale that has a bit of wisdom for every listener out there! 

Tune in as we dive into Tom and Crystal’s inspirational tale, kicking off with a very conservative upbringing with life-changing lessons leading up to some harrowing health complications that changed everything. 

And of course, we’re covering ALL the steps in their rapid accumulation stage that led them to 7 properties AND a portfolio of $5.54M (Seriously folks, tune in to find out exactly HOW they did it!!) 😉  

Plus, we’re answering the evergreen question that ALL investors have faced… 

“When is enough, enough?!”  

An enduring episode packed with so many practical bits of investing wisdom. Give it a listen now!  

 

 Give it a listen now or watch the Episode below! 

 

Free Stuff Mentioned… 

  • Listen to our earlier Winter Series Guests by clicking here!  

 

Here’s some of the gold we cover… 

  • 1:12 – Welcome Tom!  
  • 1:41 – Life-changing lessons… 
  • 4:53 – The First House He Bought  
  • 5:45 – Living the life, treading water & nice cars  
  • 7:35 – How a heart attack and Parkinsons got Tom thinking long-term 
  • 11:08 – Why Property?  
  • 13:26 – It’s a 3-decade game folks!  
  • 15:14 – The true benefit of hindsight 
  • 16:02 – It will return in spades… 
  • 17:27 – Post-heart attack purchases  
  • 20:47 – Tom’s financial position today (phew!!)  
  • 23:56 – Diversity in spreading the risk 
  • 25:37 – How he’s navigated difficult tenants 😮  
  • 27:01 – Turning the horror investment around… 
  • 30:16 – Tom’s North Star  
  • 31:49 – The conversations he was having with his Buyers Agents 
  • 34:31 – What do your instincts say? 
  • 41:33 – How much liquidity do you really need? 
  • 43:26 – “It’s kind of like after asking a power lifter advice on how to prepare for a marathon…”  
  • 45:31 – Buffers & Buying Time  
  • 47:09 – A perfect lesson about loans…  
  • 50:13 – From a Landlords Point of View: Increasing Rents  
  • 53:00 – THIS is why he decided to share his story…  
  • 54:46 – A gigantic thank you to Tom!

 

Want to work with Bryce & Ben’s Award-Winning Team? 

 

Get Moorr out of your money.
Log in or create your free account via the Moorr web platform, or download the app on Apple and Android and transform the way you view and track your wealth. 

 

452 | “We made $400k tax free from Reno’s!”: How this TV Popstar Built His Flourishing Portfolio – Chat with Jason Bird

By in Podcast, Property Investment, Winter Series

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Meet Jason Bird, today’s super special Winter Series guest. Although, this probably isn’t the FIRST time you’ve ever heard of him because today’s guest is also… 

Former Scandal’us pop star from the 90’s hit show Pop Stars!! 😮  

Yep. We got to sit down with an incredibly humble and inspiring former pop star with a truly mind-blowing story to share. 

We’ll be starting right back at the beginning, before the fame and worldwide tours, to when recessions and failing family businesses were his reality… 

Tune in as we follow Jason’s inspiring rise to fame as he becomes an overnight sensation, lives the glamorous life of a pop star, and how, with its abrupt end, he pivots to build a 3 property portfolio (and growing!).   

And did we mention, he flips a house earning him $400k…. tax-free?!?!?   

It’s true. Today’s episode will have you on the edge of your seat as we get a sneak peek at how much Australian pop stars really earn, see the TRUE value of transparent money conversations and the terrifying consequences of having a negative credit score (Seriously, tune in to 27:48 now folks).  

As always, today’s episode is another jaw-dropping story of perseverance, hard work and humility. 

 Give it a listen now or watch the Episode below! 

 

Free Stuff Mentioned… 

  • Listen to our earlier 2023 Winter Series Guests:  
    • Ep 450 | Thriving After Divorce – Rebuilding Wealth & Renewing Spirit – Chat with Adam Crane
    • Ep 451 | From Unspeakable Trauma to Overcoming Doubts & Beach Holidays: How This Nurse Did it! – Chat with Laraine Kenniff
  • Still want more?! Check out our complete Winter & Summer Series collection here!  

 

Here’s some of the gold we cover… 

  • 0:00 – Incoming gold alert!!   
  • 1:34 – Welcome Jason!   
  • 2:09 – Growing up where money conversations were…a cornerstone?!   
  • 4:03 – A recession, a failed business & a changed lifestyle 😮   
  • 7:21 – “Work Smarter, Not Harder”: Jason’s Valuable Lessons Learned  
  • 9:46 – THIS is how it affected his siblings…    
  • 11:24 – From first job to…recording artist?!?     
  • 15:27 – Touring UK and Australia (Jason was earning THIS much?!?)  
  • 17:25 – An Insider’s Look: How glamorous was the pop stars lifestyle really?  
  • 20:47 – Staying grounded and an end of an era 🙁   
  • 25:55 – Pivoting to Property during Perth’s Property Boom    
  • 27:48 – LMI declined because of… a phone bill?! 
  • 31:13 – The 7 years clearing the botched phone deal  
  • 34:01 – The first plot of land he bought (Make sure you do THIS test folks!)  
  • 36:15 – His first reno project + meeting his life partner… 
  • 38:42 – The property they got for a bargain! (and the flipping process)  
  • 41:44 – Finding success in Success, Perth 😊  
  • 44:55 – “It was absolute hell; at one stage we had no floors…”  
  • 46:26 – $400k in tax-free profits?!?  
  • 48:02 – Why having an investment-savvy broker is so critical!  
  • 50:55 – How does Jason’s property portfolio look now? 
  • 51:46 – Jason’s driving goals & how he found a balance in life  
  • 54:59 – Key Messages for our TPC Community!  
  • 58:56 – and THIS is why Jason decided to come onto the couch!  
  • 1:02:56 – Here’s how you can catch Jason performing 😉  
  • 1:04:05 – WOW, what a story! Thank you, Jason! 

 

Want to work with Bryce & Ben’s Award-Winning Team? 

 

Get Moorr out of your money.
Log in or create your free account via the Moorr web platform, or download the app on Apple and Android and transform the way you view and track your wealth. 

 

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