Share and Follow
A young single mum had hit ‘rock bottom’ when she took a mere $5 and turned it into a $17,000 share portfolio and three investment properties.
Courtney Lorking, from New South Wales Central Coast, relied on Centrelink to survive after the birth of her daughter, Jordyn, in 2019.
So poor she couldn’t afford nappies, Ms Lorking hustled to make ends meet, working as a personal trainer and even a mechanic – before falling into a full-time job in marketing.
The young mum then began to teach herself about investing, beginning a journey that saw her buy her first home in 2019 and start her stock portfolio by investing just $5 onto the sharemarket.
Young mum Courtney Lorking (pictured) bought her first home in 2019 and started investing in mid-2021. Now she has $17,000 in shares and three properties across Australia
It wasn’t long ago that Courtney was at ‘rock bottom’ trying to make ends meet and working numerous jobs. Courtney said she ‘didn’t have time to worry’ and ‘just had to act’ on building a better life
Over the last two years she’s invested $14,000 and her portfolio is currently worth $16,988.
Her stock portfolio consists of a variety of company shares, such as major banks and supermarkets.
When Courtney was younger she assumed at least $10,000 was required to start investing but, after doing her own research, reading books and listening to podcasts she quickly learnt this wasn’t the case – signing up to New Zealand stock platform Sharesies.
‘I signed up and it was so easy to use and wasn’t scary. I started investing small amounts and over time became more confident,’ Courtney told FEMAIL.
‘Investing makes me feel like I’m really building a financial future and working towards something. It’s so empowering.’
Now she’s also the proud founder of her own marketing agency which she launched four months ago. She invests a minimum of $100 per week.
Today Courtney’s portfolio consists of a variety of company shares, such as major banks and supermarkets. Now she invests a minimum of $100 per week in shares
Thinking back to 2019, Courtney said she ‘didn’t have time to worry’ and ‘just had to act’.
‘I tried anything to make money quickly. I hustled and worked. I prioritised learning about investing and building my portfolio,’ she said.
‘Sometimes I couldn’t even afford nappies. It was a really hard time and I never want to get back to that point.’
Now instead of saving money she invests it and researches companies that align with her morals before buying.
‘I know now that if I didn’t experience that initial struggle I wouldn’t be where I am today, so I’m grateful for that,’ Courtney said. Four months ago she opened her own marketing agency
She’s also dabbled into property, even though when she was younger she thought a home was ‘where you lived, not an investment’.
In 2019 she bought her first three-bedroom property on the Central Coast for $530,000 and now lives there with her daughter.
Two years later she bought another property in Melbourne for $530,000 with help from a buyer’s agent, which is still being built.
Last year she secured her third property for $480,000 in Perth and it’s also under construction.
‘I know now that if I didn’t experience that initial struggle I wouldn’t be where I am today, so I’m grateful for that,’ Courtney said.
As for advice to others, Courtney suggested ‘starting small and make it a priority’, along with ‘working on an investing mindset’ and ‘set up automatic transfers’.
As for advice to others, Courtney suggested ‘starting small and make it a priority’, along with ‘working on an investing mindset’ and ‘set up automatic transfers’
Sharesies founder Brooke Roberts told FEMAIL the brand started with a mission to ‘make investing more accessible for everyone’.
Since 2017 more than 600,000 investors have joined the platform who’ve collectively invested over $2.3 billion.
New data collected by Sharesies reveals 64 per cent of its investors are women and Gen Z are its ‘fastest growing generation’ of users.
‘Since launching I’ve seen a steady increase in conversations about money and investing,’ Ms Roberts said.
‘In particular I love hearing stories about women openly chatting about their portfolios and trading notes on their investment strategies. That used to be unheard of, so it’s so exciting to see women empowering one another.’
Ms Roberts said before starting it’s ideal to understand the two main ways of investing – buying specific company shares or ETFs (exchange traded funds) – then choosing what is right for you based on personal finance goals.
