Leona joins me for the first Listener Series episode for 2017. She shares her unconventional story of leaving home at 17, starting her career in the trades, owning her own condo at 20, and eventually starting her own construction company and real estate empire. Now, she's happily raising her family and considers herself semi-retired, with the flexibility of working for herself. Long description: Episodes like this make me so happy I started this Listener Series on the podcast. Leona was a listener of the show and heard my call out for guests. She sent me the best email with her story that included her moving out on her own at 17, going trade school to start her career, buying her first condo on her own at 20, then eventually starting a construction business and property investment side-hustle with her husband. She is a great example that you don't need to go to university to set yourself up for success. What it ultimately comes down to is being smart with your money, working hard and never giving up. Now, Leona considers herself semi-retired and is focused on adding more properties to her portfolio while raising her family and adding more balance to her life. I think that's one of my favourite parts of our chat together. When she talked about getting up early to have that personal development time, making working out a priority, and doing her daily gratitudes...basically it was everything I needed to hear to get me to do it too. It's easier said than done, and it can be hard when life gets busy, but scheduling those things into your day like Leona does is so important.  Thanks so much Leona for sharing your story and being such an inspirational guest! Book Leona Mentioned The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) Interested in Getting Started with Robo-Advisors? Leona mentioned she recently moved away from high-free mutual funds and is exploring different investment strategies like index fund and ETF investing. She also mentioned getting into the new trend of using robo-advisors, so I wanted to share two that I personally recommend if you're looking to do the same. Wealthsimple - This robo-advisor is available to both Canadians and Americans, and is seriously simple to use. The whole process to get started will take less than 10 minutes and when you sign up using my special link (wealthsimple.com/jessicamoorhouse), you'll get a free $50 bonus! Justwealth - Another great robo-advisor for Canadians is Justwealth. They're whole brand is centered around justice and delivering amazing service and results. And if you sign up with them at justwealth.com/jessica-moorhouse, you'll also get a $50 bonus to get you started. You can also learn more about them when you listen to my podcast episode with President of Justwealth Andrew Kirkland. Helpful Resources I Mentioned to Help You Get Your Money & Life on Track My Crazy Simple Budget Spreadsheet Net Worth Spreadsheet Mortgage Interest Calculator Mortgage Preparation Checklist The Ultimate Moving Out Checklist Got a story that you think would be good to share on an episode on of Listener series? Please email me! For more podcast episodes, check out the podcast page. Show notes: jessicamoorhouse.com/86