Money expert finally bought a house after making a fortune by renting, but now calls herself 'a multimillionaire with debt'. What changed?

For years, financial educator and entrepreneur Tori Dunlap championed a narrative that defied the American dream: renting could be a wealth-building strategy. Now, after achieving multimillionaire status, the founder of Her First $100K has finally purchased her first home in the summer of 2025 — and she’s calling herself “a multimillionaire with debt.”

In an interview with CNBC Make It, Dunlap revealed that “one of the best financial decisions I ever made was not buying property.” For much of her 20s, she prioritized freedom and flexibility over ownership — choices that allowed her to grow her business and travel the world without the financial anchor of a mortgage.

The Freedom that Built a Fortune

At 22, Dunlap nearly bought a condo outside Seattle, but the idea of a three-hour daily commute clashed with her ambitions. Instead, she chose to rent — a decision that opened doors to a life of exploration and enterprise. By 27, she had stored her belongings and set out to travel full-time while her financial education brand gained global traction.


“I didn’t have the bandwidth to be a homeowner,” she told CNBC Make It. “There was a bunch of stuff I had to do for the business.”

Her financial milestones followed quickly: $100,000 in savings by 25 and a multimillion-dollar net worth by 27 — achievements she credits partly to not being tied down by homeownership.

When Renting Lost Its Charm

Despite her financial stability, Dunlap’s recent decision to buy wasn’t motivated by investment returns but by a desire for autonomy. When the owner of her rental home decided to sell, she realized she was tired of living at the mercy of landlords.

“I was frankly sick of having somebody else decide where I was going to live every single year,” she said on her podcast. Now in a stable relationship and running a thriving business, she wanted control over where and how she lived. “That’s when I went, ‘OK, I think it’s time to buy a house.’”

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Buying with the Head and the Heart

Unlike many first-time buyers hunting for the best return on investment, Dunlap approached homeownership from an emotional and practical standpoint. “You don’t want money to be the thing that makes or breaks a decision for you,” she explained. “Don’t buy the house if you can’t see yourself there.”

Her plan had been to buy a house outright in cash. But when the right property came along — slightly beyond her target budget — she opted for a mortgage instead, putting down about 60 percent.

Millionaire’s New Relationship with Debt

Unexpected plumbing repairs and other costs soon reminded her of the realities of ownership. Yet, Dunlap saw her mortgage not as a setback but as a strategic tool.

“For the first time in five years, I’m now a multimillionaire with debt,” she told listeners. “Debt can be used as leverage and as an asset... I wanted to think about protecting my cash and using debt in a smart way.”