Key takeaway: Buy now, pay later is damaging because it builds instant-gratification habits that are hard to break. Brooke Juracic, Managing Director of Gold Coast Wealth, says habits formed at 15 or 16 are much harder to change by the mid-20s, when people want to buy property. She blames society for about 70% of the problem and education for 30%.
In this episode of Geared for Growth, Mike Mortlock is joined by Brooke Juracic, Managing Director of Gold Coast Wealth and a lending specialist with over 12 years of experience across residential, SMSF, commercial, and development finance.
Brooke brings a structured, strategy-first approach to lending, helping clients reduce financial friction, align their borrowing with long-term goals, and ultimately build sustainable wealth.
With SMSF property investing gaining traction and lending becoming increasingly complex, Brooke unpacks what’s really happening behind the scenes and why many investors are getting it wrong.
From credit score horror stories to the hidden risks of “buy now, pay later,” this episode challenges the idea that more property equals more success, and instead reframes investing around strategy, structure, and financial literacy.
Yes, according to Brooke. Some lenders’ online calculators that show how much you can borrow are technically classed as a submission and hit your credit file, with the warning buried in small print. One of her clients made multiple enquiries with different online banks and dropped their credit score from about 900 to 300, leaving few options in standard consumer lending.
No. Brooke says SMSF property is a long-term retirement strategy with heavy compliance, not a short-term, trend-following investment. She recommends a team of specialists: a financial planner or adviser, an accountant who specialises in SMSFs and a specialist broker. Her red flags include forcing the numbers to work, low balances with no buffer or liquidity after purchase, and buyers who are emotionally attached to a property.
Brooke says to map out your plan first, including how long you’ll hold the property and what your exit costs would be, as breaking a fixed rate early can cost thousands in fees. You don’t have to fix the whole loan. Splitting it into a smaller fixed portion and a larger variable portion helps you make the most of offset accounts. If you only plan to hold for 12 months, a 12-month fix may make sense.
Brooke uses a car loan as the classic bad debt, because it funds a depreciating asset. By her estimate, a $30,000 car loan over five years can add $15,000 to $20,000 in interest, so the car really costs $40,000 to $50,000 and might be worth $15,000 when sold. She says young people should learn this early, along with what their pay slip shows for tax, super and HELP.
This is general information from the podcast, not financial advice.
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