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Meet Bree

What was your relationship with money like growing up?

I thought money grew on trees and never thought twice about it until I watched my mum’s gambling addiction force us to lose almost everything. It taught me money is so tightly linked to emotions and psychology. I got myself into a lot of debt as soon as I turned 18, spending emotionally rather than intentionally.

What was your first job? (And how much did you get paid?)

I started at McDonald's the second I turned 14 and 9 months. I was earning $6.20 an hour, and it was so exciting! I remember getting double time on a Sunday and I thought I was rolling in it getting paid $12.40 an hour.

How did you first come across investing?

When I finally decided I wanted to get rid of all my debt, I read as many finance books as I could and listened to every finance podcast I could find.

As soon as I started understanding compound interest I was hooked. The idea that my money could work harder for me than I could work for it changed everything.

Was there a memorable early investment?

At 25 my first ETF was VDHG. At the time, the inclusion of bonds made it feel less scary as I wasn't confident enough to go fully into growth assets. But as I learned more and got comfortable with investing, I realised I didn't need that buffer and made the switch. It's funny how your risk tolerance shifts the more you understand what you're invested in.

How are you currently investing and can you provide a breakdown of your portfolio?

I keep it simple with 100% DHHF. I'm still young with a long investment journey, so I'm comfortable being fully in growth assets without needing the buffer of bonds. And I don't feel the need to diversify further as DHHF already gives me exposure to over 8,000 companies across 60 countries, so it's doing the heavy lifting for me.

I've also made sure my super isn't just sitting on the default setting and has been switched to a high growth option with a 70% international and 30% Australian split.

Where do you see investing taking you?

My goal is to build a secure financial future for myself, my husband, and hopefully a future family. I want to pass on the financial knowledge I've worked hard to learn and give my kids the foundation I never had.

I also want the freedom to retire early. I have no interest in working until I'm 70. I want to travel, enjoy life, and have the time to do it while I'm young enough to make the most of it.

What is one super extravagant and outlandish purchase that you hope investing will be able to buy you in the future?

This is probably the least exciting answer you'll get, but my dream purchase is freedom. I’d love for investing to fund more travel, more experiences, and more choice over how I spend my time. There can’t be anything more extravagant than that! (That said, I definitely wouldn’t say no to the occasional business class upgrade to Europe)

If you only had 25 words to convince someone to invest, what would you say?

You don't need multiple stocks or ETFs to be successful. Don't wait until you've learned everything, start now and learn as you go!

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Today on Get Started Investing

Jess chats with Bree about her journey from debt at 18 to turning her financial life around. Tune in to the latest Get Started Investing episode to hear how she built a 100k+ Instagram following unpacking her budgeting tips along the way. (Spotify | Apple)

Are you ready to get started on your investing journey? 

With Betashares Direct, invest with $0 brokerage in all ASX ETFs and 500+ shares traded on the ASX. Build your own portfolio or choose from our range of Managed Portfolios.

Why One ETF Might All You Ever Need

Bree's portfolio is about as simple as it gets, 100% DHHF, nothing else. No satellite, no individual stocks, no complexity. Her reasoning is hard to argue with, DHHF already gives her exposure to over 8,000 companies across 60 countries, so why add anything else? It is a philosophy that Bryce and Ren have backed since day one of the show. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

The invention of index investing goes back to a man called John Bogle, who in the 1970s asked a simple question: rather than trying to find the needle in the haystack, what if we just bought the whole haystack?

His idea was to stop trying to pick winning companies and instead just invest in the index, the basket of the largest companies in a market. Over time, the index does two things automatically. It gives you more of the good, as winning companies grow and take up a larger share of the index. And it gives you less of the bad, as struggling companies shrink and eventually get removed. That rebalancing happens every quarter without you doing anything.

The results speak for themselves. The Australian All Ordinaries Index has returned 13% a year on average going back to 1900. $50 a week invested for 35 years at that rate produces $1.4 million.

If you are just getting started and want to keep it simple, Bryce and Ren point to two options worth researching: VDHG from Vanguard and DHHF from Betashares. Both are globally diversified, low cost, and built to do exactly what Bogle envisioned, buy the whole haystack and let time do the rest.