My name is Elizabeth (or Liz) Michelle. I’m a single mum, Early Childhood Teacher, a budgeter and saver, and dog lover. : )
My professional life
I’m an Early Childhood Teacher with more than 20 years of experience in the industry
I worked as a Child Care Director of a Long Day Care Centre in Sydney for 15 years, while Area Managing 4 other child care centres, overseeing the Assessment and Ratings process, and managing the Directors and the staff for 5 Child care centres. I resigned from this position in 2022 to focus on writing for TeachingBrave, as well as learning more about online businesses and taking on some contract work as a website manager.
In late 2022 I began primary school teaching on a casual basis which I love. The flexibility of work lifestyle is what I love the most, as well as meeting lots of different children, networking with many different teaching professionals and gaining valued experience along the way.
I am still continuing to learn about making money online, and I’m hoping to build my business much further this year!
In the past I have also worked as a preschool teacher, a waitress, I’ve worked in retail, done plenty of babysitting and nannying, and heaps of market research!
Single Parenting
I became a Single Mum when my son, Andy was 3 years old and his father left us to go overseas for 1 year.
The year Andy’s father left us was the hardest year of my life.
When he left I was working full time, raising my son (and my dog) alone with no family support at all as no grandparents live in Sydney
I was living in a small cottage on acreage paying very low rent as it was a friend’s property.
The cottage flooded often meaning I would have to clear out leaves and debris from pipes spilling onto our paddock, sometimes on my hands and knees in the rain after a full day’s work when Andy was hungry and tired, just so the house didn’t flood again.
When I got sick, I had no support, I had to push through to continue caring for Andy, as well as for myself.
Paying low rent meant I could save money which was my second biggest goal after being the best mum I could be.
Single Parenting is damn hard sometimes but like anyone, I have bad days and I have great days. I wrote an article on how to thrive (not just survive) as a single mum.
Money Matters
When Andy’s father left, he took all of our savings leaving me to start from scratch.
I lived in that cottage for 3 years, paying off debt and then starting to save money again.
Andy’s father finally returned and wanted to be a part of his life again so we currently share custody.
After a couple more years of saving, I finally had enough for a deposit on my first home which I bought in 2019 and it was a very proud moment!
I had to take out a personal loan at the same time as the home loan but I worked bloody hard to pay that off in 2020, cutting the loan term from 7 years to just 20 months, saving thousands in interest.
It was a very difficult year in 2020, working to pay off the personal loan, keep up with the mortgage, pay off credit cards and keep up with bills.
I am now proudly consumer debt free!
As soon as I was consumer debt free and my Emergency Fund had been built up a bit, I started my investing journey! I delved into personal finance blogs such as Captain Fi and Aussie Firebug and I listened to podcasts such as She’s On the Money and We Talk Cents. I read books such as Barefoot Investor and Money School and learned as much as I could about Financial Independence and Investing, and I started buying some ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) such as Betashares A200 and Vanguard’s VTS and VEU shares.
I continue to work hard to build up my Emergency Fund, as I have now come to realise, with the rising cost of living and increased interest rates, I’m no longer comfortable with an Emergency Fund under $10k. My goal for 2023 is to get that EF up to $50k.
I have sold many of my personal items online, including other people’s items too, keeping a percentage of the profit. I had over 200 items listed online to sell at one stage, including books, clothes, furniture, plants, household decor, kitchen items and jewellery. I made anywhere between $50 – $500 per week sometimes, selling these items, and I still do this regularly. You can read my best tips on selling your items online in my article HERE.
Quick Facts About Me!
- I love my balcony garden and my plants; I grow many of my own herbs and veggies
- I love the quality time I spend with Andy going bush walking, swimming, bike riding, baking or just watching movies
- I’m a dog lover and a Cavoodle owner!
- I’m the eldest of 3 – I have one brother, one sister and 2 (about to be 3) nieces.
- I love to dance and I want to start going to dance classes again!
- I love Op Shopping and I wish I could do it more!
- I date every now and then, and I’ve had some HORROR dates, so I’m very careful and picky when dating now – if he’s not ticking my boxes, I would rather be single. I am not afraid of being alone. I quite enjoy my own company.
- I’m never bored. I heard recently (and I love the saying).. “Only boring people get bored”
- I like reading, I like doing crosswords, I like doing my own manicures.
- My favourite weather is when it’s overcast and a little chilly.. bliss! I’ve had 2 melanomas cut out and I vehemently avoid the sun now.
- I do enjoy splurging every now and then but I value experiences such as facials, massages, a nice dinner out or a weekend away, rather than having nice things. I don’t care if my plates and cups don’t match, and I’m not fussed on buying branded clothes.
- My favourite foods are Canneloni, a good cheese board, brownies, green apples and banana smoothies.
- There’s only 3 foods I hate – olives, rockmelon, and any fatty meat.
- I love the Harry Potter movies, Willy Wonka (the original of course), The Goonies and Labyrinth.
- I always go to bed too late and I love a good sleep in.
- I’m a good mum. : )
I love my quality of life now and though it has been extremely difficult at times, the journey has made me a stronger person.
The lessons I have learned from my experiences as a single mum, from heartbreak, from managing child care centres with hundreds of families, from being in debt with no money to now owning my own place and having smashed all my consumer debt has been invaluable.
I have loved connecting with so many others in the online community, including single parents, those in the FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) community, other mums and anyone who may be interested in early childhood, single parenting and FI/RE.
I no longer believe that single parenting means a life on struggle street; I still aspire for FI/RE and I have been inspired by so many of you out there too!
Please get in contact, I would love to share my journey with more of you and continue to learn and be inspired!