How a 30-Year-Old Millionaire Went From $50,000 to Financial Freedom

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Nicole Victoria is many things: mother, wife, money trainer, real estate agent, TikTok inventor and advocate of financial literacy, among others. She is also a 30 year old millionaire. Although Victoria lives and works in Canada, her current net worth is approximately $ 1,001,148.

That wasn’t always their reality. “I did what I thought you should do: I went to university, graduated with a huge student loan, then got the company job,” she says. “I really thought I would have all the success, all the luck, all the wealth.”

However, she soon realized that just making money was not bringing the triumphs she thought she would have. After graduating from college, Victoria made $ 50,000 a year, owed $ 40,000 in student loans, and struggled to manage her money. She wasn’t investing, and her saving strategy was little more than seeing what was left at the end of the month.

She ended up spending more money on things that made her look successful, like designer pieces, without working towards the long-term goals she’d set, like paying for her wedding, buying a house, or being financially secure enough to feel like having children.

“At the time, I was really sad that I couldn’t achieve these goals, but looking back, I wasn’t even really working towards them,” she says. “I just took a ‘hope-wish-pray’ approach.”

“I thought, ‘Maybe the problem is, I just need a promotion,'” she explains, thinking that if she just made more money, her financial problems would go away. But the people who earned more than them didn’t seem happier, and they all faced the same problems: they struggled to get into the housing market; They struggled to manage their money.

“I realized that if I didn’t know how to use more money wouldn’t solve my problems, so I created this new model for myself and thought, ‘You can be rich, make $ 40,000 a year and go broke. ” $ 100,000, and it’s really just what you do with it. “

So Victoria started learning all she could about personal finance. She paid off her debt, started investing, grew her net worth over $ 1 million, and built the life she wanted.

She used the debt avalanche method to repay her student loans

When Victoria started paying off her debts, she used a method she developed called the “ICE” method, which means education, cost reduction and education. The first step in this process is clearing up your debt. “It’s about understanding how much you owe, what the interest rates are, and what the minimum payments are,” she explains.

Next, she cut costs. However, she did not minimize the things that gave her pleasure. Instead, she reduced all payments she could. “One of my favorite ways to cut costs without changing your lifestyle is through negotiation,” she says. “I negotiate all of my bills twice a year, life insurance, internet, phone, all that stuff.”

Finally, she continued her education. After studying debt settlement strategies, Victoria paid off her debt using the avalanche method, which first pays off the debt with the highest interest rate. “From a numerical point of view, it always makes more sense.”

She invested in the housing market and ETFs

“I didn’t wait for 100% of my loan to be paid off to start investing,” she says. “I think you need to put your money where it’ll work hardest for you.”

Victoria initially started investing in the housing market. She bought her first home while paying off her debts with the idea of ​​wealth building in mind. “I bought in an area and building that I thought was undervalued and that I knew would be more valued,” she says.

Instead of renting the house, Victoria lived in it and waited for it to go up. “It wasn’t my first choice; it wasn’t the home of my dreams. It was the home that I knew would help me achieve my dreams, ”she says.

She ended up selling the house two years later for about $ 150,000 in sales. In Canada, where Victoria lives, there is a primary residence tax exemption so she did not pay tax on profits. She is currently applying this strategy again to the property she now lives on. “Most people don’t see their own property as a way to make money.”

Victoria also invests in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). “I’m not looking at buying individual stocks, I think that’s gambling,” she says. “I’m just looking to buy ETFs so my money can make money for me.”

She lives under her means

Despite reaching millionaire status, Victoria still has goals that she wants to achieve with her money. She wants to volunteer so she can spend time with her family, and she never wants to have to do anything just for the money.

“I think it’s really important when people have their financial goal, not just targeting numbers,” she says. Your financial goals have more to do with lifestyle, freedom, and convenience.

To achieve these goals, she lives under her means and only spends money on the things that give her real pleasure. “I don’t shy away from the expense of my son,” she says, but she drives a Kia, shops at Walmart, and bought a house on a much lower mortgage than she’d previously approved. She makes sure that she enjoys life and spends it on the things that give her pleasure but never overdo it.

Victoria says, “I think the most important thing people need to understand is figure out what means enough to them.”

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