A few weeks ago, we wrote about Isobel Lorna and the internet’s reaction to her buying a Porsche in cash. She’d built a six-figure business from scratch, saved deliberately, spent intentionally and people still found a reason to have a problem with it.
This week she posted again, and this time the news is that she’s bought a house, which the internet has largely met with applause. Our question is: why did the house get a standing ovation when the Porsche didn’t, given that both required the exact same strategy?
She didn’t choose between the Porsche and the house, she planned for both
Isobel has been open about the fact that she saved for the Porsche over years, it wasn’t an impulse buy, it was a goal she worked toward while also building her business and, as we now know, quietly working toward buying a home at the same time. The people who called her reckless for spending so much on a car were looking at one decision and jumping to a conclusion about her entire money situation, which turned out to be wrong.
Spending a lot of money on something you’ve saved up for, to us, is the definition of being good with money. This is what having a plan actually looks like in practice, rather than the performative sacrifice we tend to celebrate online, like cars on finance and holidays on credit.
Why does the house get a round of applause when the Porsche didn’t?
Both purchases required the same thing: years of discipline, a clear goal, and the consistency to follow through. The only difference is that one fits the approved script for what women should want, and one doesn’t.
A house is sensible, an asset. A Porsche is indulgent and flashy, particularly for a woman in her twenties who, according to the comment section, should have been saving harder rather than spending big.
But Isobel wasn’t choosing between them. She was doing both, in the order that worked for her, with her own money.
It would be remiss of us not to point out that buying a brand new car comes with a depreciation hit – but if Isobel wants a brand new car and can afford it – why the hell shouldn’t she? Personal finance is personal.
What this means for you
You have a version of the Porsche. Something you want but have quietly talked yourself out of because it feels too indulgent, too soon, too hard to justify. And you probably have a version of the house too — a bigger goal you’re working toward. The point isn’t to pick one, it’s to build a plan that has room for both, in whatever order makes sense for your life.
Influencers get a lot of criticism for encouraging people to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need. But Isobel’s page feels different, she’s built a following by being transparent about how she earns, saves and spends, and the result is that a lot of women watching her are thinking more carefully about their own finances.
If the house is the next goal, our guide to saving for a house deposit is a good place to start.