Featured Image Credit: 7 News
Topics: Social Media, Parenting, Money, Australia
Rhianna Benson
For many people enduring the world's shambolic economic state at the moment, the idea of owning your own property seems like a distant pipe dream.
Our hopes of one day marrying and purchasing a forever home to raise our families are being dashed by the bitter combination of global inflation, low salaries and the cost of living crisis dominating Western society.
With that in mind, one man in Australia made it his life's mission to make sure his children wouldn't grow up wondering if they'd ever own their own home.
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Victoria-born businessman Cam McLellan began giving his three kids - including eight-year-old daughter Ruby - weekly pocket money, in the hope of teaching them to be responsible over their finances.
Back in 2022, the trio - which also includes Angus, 14 and Lucy 13 - put the £3,000 they'd been saving up towards a deposit for a four-bedroom house.
Now, two years on, the home is now worth a staggering £500,000, after sky-rocketing in value.
Cam - a property investment firm CEO - told Today.com that he and wife Felicity's decision to pay their kids' lump sums of money to save came from a fear that 'in 10 years time', they'd struggle to purchase their own home.
In fear that 'astronomical prices' and would eventually force them to return to the 'bank of mum and dad', they encouraged their youngsters to save the money as early as they could.
Apparently, however - in spite of their successful move - the McLellan family claim to have been subjected to vicious trolling, with some critics even going as far as to accuse Cam and Felicity of exploiting their children.
"It’s easy for someone who doesn’t have property or hasn’t made sacrifices, to be angry about it and easy to target a young kid who has a leg-up," Cam defended the move.
"Young adults’ lifestyles are very flamboyant these days. I worked three jobs, I didn’t go out, I sold my car. The young generation need to sacrifice and delay gratification."
He went on: "There’s no easy silver bullet but while my kids will get enough to get started, they are not silver spoons. They have a leg up, but so can anyone."
The trio of kids are currently renting the property out - making them some of the world's youngest landlords - and are reportedly already on the look out for a second home to purchase.
And - according to dad Cam - they will eventually sell the original property for a fortune, giving them a hefty deposit to each buy their own houses when the time comes.
