I was a single mum with £24,000 of debt – but now I’m a self-made millionaire… here’s how I did it
A SINGLE mum with £24,000 of debt has revealed how she became a self-made millionaire whose company has £7million in assets.
Abi Hookway, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, moved into a small rented house with her two children after divorcing her husband.
Appearing on Channel 5’s Rich House Poor House, Abi described the “really tough times” which followed the divorce – before she forged a new life for herself.
She said: “I decided to divorce my husband and anybody that goes through divorce with young kids you know how hard that is.
“‘I’d moved into a little rented house but I was in £24,000 worth of debt because I’d just been not very good with money.
“I can remember there being some really tough times.”
Abi started an estate agency – which now makes £300,000 a year.
She specialises in selling newbuild homes on behalf of developers – and also runs Touchstone Education, which trains people in property management and investment.
The divorced mum has also written two guides on how to follow her path to success as a property investor.
Abi said: “I think the first year in property – I’d paid off all my debt.
“Boom, that was the day my life changed. It was a game-changer for me and my children.
“My portfolio’s worth about £6-7 million pounds. It makes £300,000 a year.”
Now Abi lives in a luxury four-bed home with partner Gordie and kids Thomas and Ellie – and sometimes spends £5,000 on designer clothes in a single outing.
LIFE SWAP
She recently appeared on Rich House Poor House – swapping lives with struggling parents Heather, 24, and Brad, 22, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, who are £12,000 in debt.
For one week, the families swapped homes and lives, to discover whether money really does buy happiness.
The two homes are less than an hour apart and Heather, Brad and Louis headed 40 miles north of their home in Mansfield, to stay at Abi’s, in Doncaster.
Once they had arrived at each other’s homes, it was time to swap budgets.
While Abi and her brood were going to be budgeting for £12 a day, Heather, Brad and Louis were able to splash out on £172.31 a day.
Heather and Brad got to enjoy personal shopping and a trip to a theme park and spa, while the others got stuck in with food shopping, family lunches and DIY.
Reflecting on Abi’s success, Brad noted: “To see that she’s made this for herself from nothing, paid off all her debts and worked really hard, it’s inspired me to do the same.”
When looking at Heather and Brad’s bills, Abi and Gordie noticed that the couple were spending £695 on rent, £764 on childcare and £640 utilities, with 86% of their money going towards outgoings.
THANKS A MILLION
After swapping lives for a week, the two couples met to talk the week over.
Abi said: “We’d love to help you guys. We would love you to move to Doncaster, we will pay a relocation package, and we’d love you to come and work for us.”
“Heather – we know you do a bit of HR and we’ve got a vacancy for HR within the office and Brad, we do have sales positions.”
Gordie added: “I know what salary you’re on now, the sales guys earn four times what you’re on now.
“The potential to earn a significant amount of money is there.”
Brad said: “This is life changing and we are so grateful.”
Heather added: “We’ve been in this position for so long, it’s been hard to see a way out of it, so thank you.
“We’ve just been offered the most life-changing opportunity that we will ever get in our lives.”
It comes after an entrepreneur who grew up in a council house sold his beachfront home for £15million.
Another mum who set up her birthday party business with just £50 now hosts £500,000 galas for the rich and famous.