Mortgage broker turned mortgage breaker: The Infinity approach to eliminating debt

Graeme Holm has built a budget management and money mentoring company, Infinity Group, which helps clients get a home loan, and then get free of it as quickly as possible.

Picture almost 1200 guests at a Christmas party held at Sea World, dancing to Savage the rapper and wearing apparel with the letters FTB, short for “F*** The Banks.” It’s not your typical end-of-year soiree held by a mortgage broker. But the host, Graeme Holm, is not your usual broker.  

Unapologetically potty-mouthed and wearing a cap and T-shirt wherever he can get away with it, Holm says his no-nonsense approach to financial prosperity resonates with ordinary mums and dads who feel ripped off by the banks.  

“People relate to me because I’ve been doing it forever, but there’s no bullshit,” says Holm, recipient of a long list of industry awards. “I think people deserve to know the truth.”  

Since founding money mentoring company Infinity Group with his wife Rebecca in 2013, the couple have helped over 7000 families pay down home loans on average three times faster than a typical bank mortgage, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest.  

Holm says that clients typically buy two investment properties with an average loan life of eight years, which is about a third of the banking average of 24 years. He says 7% of his clients are in the top 2% of property investors in Australia with five or more properties.  

Raised by his 18-year-old single mother in a small housing commission unit in Wollongong and, at times, experiencing severe domestic violence (not from his mother), Holm says he has “never really cut those cords” and still feels a strong sense of kinship with the underdog.  

“Some people run from their past,” Holm says. “I used to until I realised money is not the root of all evil, but the lack of understanding of money is.” 

Teaching investment fundamentals

Infinity Group’s approach to building financial prosperity starts with education. The company conducts regular free webinars running through the basics of mortgages and budgeting. 

Interested customers attend a two-day Zoom class alongside an accountant, an economist, a financial planner, a property buyer’s agent, a credit expert and a mortgage broker, among other experts. Holm’s best-selling book The Money Mentor also gives a detailed look into his strategy. 

Those who decide to become clients of Infinity undergo a thorough examination of their lifestyle and living expenses. 

They create a budget to pay off their loan in seven to ten years, backed by a money-back guarantee. 

A team of private coaches and accountability partners then administer their finances and act as personal financial assistants over the life of the loan, ensuring Infinity’s clients stay true to the strict budgetary promises and financial aims they have promised to themselves. 

“We are the affectionately-styled ‘private bank’ for mum and dad.” 

A better deal

Paying off a loan in 30 years is “the biggest rip-off” because it results in thousands of dollars in interest payments each month, equating to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan, Holm says. Mortgage providers have a strong vested interest in keeping recipients in this kind of mortgage structure for as long as possible. 

Those able to knuckle down and pay the loan down quickly in the early years can save themselves a mint and create equity to invest in more properties and build their portfolio with tax-deductible debt. 

Infinity starts with the low-lying fruit: Finding the most cost-effective lending provider; looking for better phone and internet deals; assessing health, home and car insurance; and taking a magnifying glass to other ongoing fixed expenses that could yield a few more dollars a week. 

Then comes a hard look at the grocery bill. Clients are advised to shop in bulk weekly rather than making daily impulse buys, take lunch to work rather than buying it there and other money-saving tricks. 

“I’ve had other advisers before, but nothing comes close to Infinity in terms of scope and what they do for you, not just with properties but with various other aspects of your financial lives – everything to do with money,” says client Dr Steve Cheong. “Getting rid of our mortgage provided us with a lot of financial freedom, in the sense that we could aim for things that we didn’t think we could ever achieve.” 

“We don’t write a loan and wave you goodbye; we give you a full-time personal trainer for your finances,”

Graeme Holm

Clients direct the entirety of their monthly income into their loan to reduce interest repayments, with a fixed amount redrawn weekly into a single account for discretionary spending, dubbed the “food, fuel and fun account.” 

All other multiple bank accounts are closed because multiple ‘savings accounts’ create the illusion that people have savings even when they are indebted to the bank and do not have any savings at all, Holm says. 

“Interest is calculated daily, so when that’s the case, your money should be nowhere but your loan,” Holm says. 

This is not an offset account. Holm says that clients draw from a loan with free unlimited redraw, typically a cheaper product than a loan with an offset account. 

Holm says that offset accounts are potential budget busters, making it too easy for people to redraw from their loan and blow out their weekly budget with the simple swipe of a card. 

They are also often an outright rort, he says, pointing to publicly reported cases  

of major Australian banks quietly unlinking offset accounts, thereby reeling in hundreds of millions of dollars that should have stayed with their customers.  

Holm also warns against fixed-interest loans and loans on minimum payment terms. “The house always wins in these cases,” he says. 

Staying the course

Clients have full-time mobile phone access to a financial coach and mentor, and receive monthly reports on performance. Infinity also has a full car concierge service to help clients buy a new car delivered to the driveway. 

Holm’s no-nonsense approach has earned him and Infinity a long list of industry accolades, including the Finance Brokers Association of Australia’s 2024 award for Broker of the Year, won by his protege Zakee Sheriff.  

Sheriff – along with three other up-and-coming brokers from the Infinity Group – is also in line to win Australia’s Number One Broker at the Rate My Agent Awards – a title Holm held for three consecutive years (2022-2024). 

Recognition like this is a triumph for the Infinity family and motivation to continue helping Australians to “not be baffled with bullshit,” Holm says. 

“Bank bashing is a national sport in Australia,” he says.  

“And I’m happy to be the opening batsman – especially if I get to do it in a cap and t-shirt instead of a suit.” 

Learn more at infinity.com.au