She's On The Money - Am I Being Medically Gaslit? And How Do I Invest My Inheritance?

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

Join Victoria and Bec for this week’s edition of Friday Drinks, filled with Broke Tips, Money Wins and a Question of the Week which puts our shower routines in the spotlight. As always, the crew will be answering your Money Dilemmas, this time concerning income-protection insurance and whether a community member is being medically gaslit by their workplace.  They also chat about how one listener might invest their inheritance for the best outcome. Hear what it sounds like to be humbled by the community’s grooming habits, and give us crispy shower towels or give us death. CHAT TO SKYE WEALTH: Get a second opinion when it comes to your personal insurances over at www.skye.com.au/shesonthemoney TUNE INTO OUR INSURANCE PLAYLIST: Run it back with episodes dedicated to insurance. Search ‘How to choose the right insurance’ on Spotify. CRAVING MORE FRIDAY DRINKS INSPO? Look no further, we’ve made an entire playlist just  for you. Search ‘Friday drinks motivation’ on Spotify. New here? Follow us on Instagram (@shesonthemoneyaus) for Q&As, bite-sized advice, daily money inspo... and relatable money memes that just get you.  Acknowledgement of Country By Nartarsha Bamblett (nartarshabamblett.com.au) The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 4451289  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Ti, gilinyan ganya, nianakaka yao yambina waka, nianakai nianbina yakarumja, duminyagumiga dumiga ithawaka nirawamundamun imalan. Mumu bangada boma ininyalan waka, gaunan yakarumja, wutunarana. Hello beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. We thank, acknowledge and respect the Aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today. Take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see. She's On The Money podcast acknowledges culture, country, community and connections,

bringing you the tools, knowledge and resources for you to thrive. She's on the money. She's on the money. Hello and welcome to She's On The Money, the podcast that makes personal finances fun, especially on a friday it is friday drinks time and as we are gathered here today to celebrate you a wonderful community i have myself victoria divine and beck syed hi who we today are joining the community with a i would say beck juicy banquet hell yeah of money wins plus some broke tips to help drive your dollars further which is what we love to see as always i'll be bringing you

a few money dilemmas from deep within our DMs. And this week we're discussing family inheritances and how you might spend them, as well as what happens when your insurance doesn't quite hit the mark. My friends, have you got a dilemma that's just waiting to be answered specifically by us? Please, my friends, send it through to us via the She's On The Money website. All you have to do is head to the podcast page and then leave a little voice note, or you can sneak into our DMs and share it with us over there. Literally every message is so appreciated. But let's dive straight into the episode.

Okay. Miss Bex Syed. Yeah. Do you know what else we'd appreciate? Yes, I do. What is it? Some praise and some ego boosting, stroking, et cetera. Some five-star reviews.

Five-star reviews. Oh, slay. All right. Every single week we save a very special spot on this very podcast to highlight a review from our lovely community members, just like Cheyenne. So this was a letter sent to us, an email, but it felt like a letter. Anyway, to the Dear She's On The Money team, I just wanted to say thank you. Truly, deeply thank you. I've been listening to your podcast for the past two and a half years, and I don't think I could ever fully put into words just how

much it has changed my life. When I first found you, I was at one of my lowest points. I had just become a single mum after going through a divorce and my daughter and I had moved back in with my dad, sharing a single room. I was living week to week, juggling childcare costs, bills and doing it without any financial support. It was overwhelming and honestly, pretty scary. But your podcast gave me something I didn't have at the time. It gave me direction, belief and a sense of control over my future. I made a decision that things were going to be different for us. Fast forward to today and my life looks completely different. I was able to save for a business loan and purchase a small business in my hometown.

I now employ four staff full time and have doubled the business size. I've built a $10,000 emergency fund. I've invested $30,000 into shares. And for the first time, I feel financially secure. More importantly, I've been creating a beautiful life for my daughter. She gets to go to a private school. She does gymnastics, swimming and netball. And I've managed to build all of this while maintaining what I would say is a very healthy

work-life balance. None of this happened overnight. But with your guidance, your honesty and your constant encouragement, it played such a huge role in me actually getting there. You didn't just teach me about money. You helped me change the trajectory of our lives. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I'm going to cry.

This is crazy. Oh, my God. That's crazy. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you do. You've made a difference. Far out. You've made a difference. I can't read it.

It's all blurry. Oh, no. That's so weird. Why did she write it in blurry text? You've made a difference in more lives than you probably realized, mine included. With so much gratitude, Cheyenne. Oh, Cheyenne.

Are you for real? That's so amazing. Isn't that crazy? Oh, my goodness, BD, I've never seen it. It's crazy. This is so amazing. It's crazy. It sounds obviously incredible for you, but, like, Bec, be for real.

I know. Every week we rock in with a coffee and we have a good time. That's crazy. But that's what we're doing. Yeah, seriously, that's, like, to change the trajectory of someone's life in a positive way is insane. And then for you to, like, listen to a podcast and, like, do all this stuff on your own, like, don't get me wrong,

I'm like, I know that you're giving us credit and that's so great, but like we didn't do the work you did. Yeah. Like you did the work like, and I can yell at a brick wall all day about budgeting and cashflow and go, I would, I love it. But people actually have to listen and do the work. I think it's, it's one of those things where it's like somebody copying your homework. You're like, you can copy my homework, but like to what end?

Like you'll get the mark. It'll say that you're good at the homework and then you've got to go out in the real world. like it's not going to work for sure like you're not actually going to learn anything and I think that for you to do the work that's the biggest thing like that's the coolest thing ever yeah and I just it's so cool that what we do actually has an impact that is that's crazy work for me really incredible that is so beautiful I'm obsessed and the fact that you took the time to write us a whole last letter yeah that's why I said it sounded like a letter and I only ever

read that in my head and then when I read it out loud I was like I didn't realize I was gonna cry And I was like, oh, my God, this is so beautiful. I'll put it on the show. And then thanks for that. Thank you. How cute. That's amazing. I'm just so proud of our community.

Well, I'll tell you what, you've brightened up our morning. That's for sure. Oh, you've brightened up my entire week. Entire week? Entire life. But literally, let's segue into a different section of the podcast. Bec, can I ask you a question? Please.

Perhaps a question of the week. Oh, my God. Yes. Well, really, Michaela is actually asking us a question. And I would say this one's like a little bit intimate. Okay. Lay it on me. I thought this was hilarious.

Michaela asks, in what order do you dry yourself first when you get out of the shower? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Great question. I thought when you said intimate, I was like, we gonna cry again. No, no, I'm not gonna cry again. And also this isn't the B&J show. This is the B&V show. Yes.

This is like G rated. G rated. Okay. So I bring towel. I think I do arms, the chest, a G-rated breast. I'm going to say breast. You're allowed to talk about your boobs. Titties, my titties. Yes. Perfect. And then belly. And then I do like, I don't know about you, and I feel like anyone who grew up maybe like without heaps of money, well, I don't want to generalize, but people like me, I think,

find a lot of comfort in the scratchy towel. The crispy towel. The crispy towel. Crispy towel. You get it. I get it. I don't like a soft towel. No, don't dry them in the dryer.

No, I don't like it. No, it has to be dried on the line. Like if I'm pulling my towel off the line and like there's a crease when I fold it, that's perfect. Like if you take it off the line, it's still got the peg marks. And then you pull it up. It's like rock hard. It's like you need to shake it back to. Yeah, but like you want the exfoliation.

You want to exfoliate. I agree. Otherwise it just doesn't like it just moves the water around your body if it's too soft. so you're gonna have a crispy towel and then i'm exfoliating my back with it you know those like yeah yeah yeah the scrub it up i do that too oh my oh my god maybe and then one leg the other leg and then you know do you wash your hair every time you shower i think i do i have never really understood like hair care very well so i do i don't yeah okay and i wash my hair and like some people are going to think this is like crazy work but like i only wash my hair once a week

which I also think for a lot of people is going to be really normal but then for other people they're like absolutely not I wash my hair every day yeah because like some people get really oily hair really quickly I just don't yeah like girl I'm not styling my hair every single day I have a lot of it and I style it like no yeah so it depends if it's a hair day or a not hair day okay got you okay got you if it's a hair day yep I like get out of the shower and I have wet hair and I put the towel all around me and then like quickly dry my legs and like kind of forget about my midsection if I'm being honest and then flip my hair upside down and put the towel on my hair.

Don't worry about the mids. No. What do you do? Do you have a special thing with your hair? Yeah, like turban it up and then I'll do like my skincare, like put some moisturiser and stuff on before I even get to work on my hair because I feel like the hair needs like a little minute just like in the turban to get rid of water.

Yes, absolutely. And I've heard microfiber is good for that. And then I'll like do that. I've got my moisturizer on. I'm still a little bit damp. Yes. Then I flip my hair back and like scrub it up. Like the way that people say that you're not meant to when you're like, quote, looking

after your hair. I like scrub the hell out of my hair with my towel upside down. Yeah. And then I take the towel, flip my hair back and wrap the towel around my midsection. And that's where my midsection gets dry. Yes. Okay. Got you.

Clever. Efficient. as well i don't know if that's efficient did you know i saw a tiktok the other day which seems to be like the common phrase in my life i'm chronically online and it was an american girl so i'm not sure if this is like an american thing or not but she was like guys i just learned that not everybody puts lotion on after they shower and i was like what like yeah do you no no same no like i get out of the shower. I dry my body. That's it. Deodorant. Yes. Yeah. Lotion. Lotion. No. Like lotion. No. That's special occasions. Totally. Like that's maybe when I've done an everything

shower. Yeah. I've shaved my legs. I then do some lotion. It's a pamper night. It's a pamper night. Like that is special. She's like, no, no, no. Like I lotion my body and then I oil my body. Does not everybody do this? Wow. She would be soft as hell. Yeah. But can people in the comment section on spotify please let me know are we just not doing it right like yeah like because i was at the supermarket the day after i saw that tiktok and i was like wow there are a lot of body lotion options for sale at the supermarket yeah are we meant to be doing this like are we meant to like body lotion our whole bodies body lotion of course it literally just hit me body lotion like are people doing this every day? Tell us. With what time? You surely would shower in the

nighttime if you're body lotioning. So you're like, oh, I've got some time. See, I can't imagine anything worse, Bec. Same, because then you're all slippery. Yuck. Can you imagine putting on nice soft pajamas after lotioning and trying to like pull them up your leg? Absolutely not. Yuck. Nope. Getting into your sheets, you're like slimy and you're like sticking to the, I don't know, I wouldn't be out of it. It's not an option. Yeah. What time do you do it? I don't. No. Unless I'm going out and I'm putting like some lotion on my legs or, like, my arms or something because I want my skin to look nice.

You do it after, you know, then you do it after you get dressed already. You don't want to, like, get slime everywhere. No, see, this is not okay. Yeah, tell us what the process is if you do do it. And what's, like, the right process. Yes. And how do we find out the right process? Exactly.

Who's going to teach us? That's crazy. Maybe body lotion is a rich person thing. Maybe. Yeah. All right. Well, if you guys have a very specific question that you would like us to answer on the show. Quite clearly, we are open to anything. So send them through. We cannot wait

to read them. And the more diabolical, the better, I fear. Absolutely. Please. Now, I feel a bit spoiled that I get to read this week's Money Wins. It's been a real privilege to hear what our community has been spending their money on and celebrating and winning. So let me dive straight in. Sure. Okay. First one is from Alana. So Alana has said that she's been eyeing off this Kathmandu long puffer coat for the longest time. Right. And I feel like this is something that we're all doing heading into like the cooler season. Like we're all like, oh, it's like July. What the heck? Like we need a new puffer. Anyway, she said that she couldn't justify it because it was $499.95. cents. Okay. Then it went on sale and she was like, oh, I'm interested. Came down to $269.

Yes. And then on the website, she found a 10% off welcome code. Yes. So that brings it down to $242 and 10 cents. Okay. And then she had a hundred dollar birthday voucher that she'd asked for because she really, really wanted this code. Incredible. So that brings it down to $142 and 10 cents. And so like we're getting there, right? There's not more. Yes. There's one more. and then she did shop back. So she did her shop back app and received $26.90 back. So that means that she paid a total of $115.20. She said, I'm very happy. I've already worn it four times and I'm going to wear it basically every day. Oh my God. From 500 bucks to 115 bucks. Yeah. And she like sent us a photo. It's really cute and it looks so warm.

It does look very warm. Yeah, it's like a mauve-y pink, like so chic. Anyway, I thought that was really, really cool. And the fact that she like gave me the maths just tickled something in my brain. I agree. I agree. I loved it. You want to know how you got there.

Exactly. Our next one is from a friend called Tara. She says, my mortgage will have a one in front of the number that we owe on it this payday. It's still obviously a large number, but I cannot wait to see it drop. Oh my God, that's so exciting. Also, is it bad that my immediate thought was like a million or 100,000? I know, same. That's what I'm thinking.

Is that actually? I'm going to assume that she's only got $100,000 left. Because like in this economy, a million dollar mortgage makes me feel sick. So I doubt anyone's like, oh, yay. Unless she's gone from having a $2 million mortgage. True. At which point, must be nice. Must be nice.

Must be nice. That is a big drop though. Okay. I've got another one from Bianca and Bianca said, I actually enter a lot of competitions online, which as we know, Jess did recently and she won that face mask that was like 800 bucks. Amazing. She says that she finds them on Instagram and then surveys and stuff from local shopping

centers. And she said, I recently thought I should check my emails and search the term one. Oh. Just in case I missed an email telling me that I'd won something. Well, there was an email telling me that I'd won a prize for filling out a survey from the local shopping centre. The prize was a $100 Coles voucher. I also did a focus group last year and I still have the gift card voucher from that too. And I have quite a lot of rewards points in my Telstra account.

So I'm going to buy another Woolworths gift card. Oh my God. Okay, I can't think about it now. I think we need to do this. That's crazy. Straight after we. And so good. But also, I think that if I saw one of those emails come through, I'd just assume it was spam.

And like, I never open my email like stuff unless it's like a work thing. I know, like get in touch another way. But also, that's not on them. If you don't want to look for the money you won. That's true. I suppose that's true. And also, you'd think it's spam if they called or texted, you know. Exactly.

Yeah, okay, fair. All right. This one's from Jennifer. I didn't even think of this as an option. So I think it's a really good one. jennifer said i was spending 30 bucks a week on takeaway coffee before work okay relatable fair i switched to the hungry jacks app yes for the 2.75 coffee daily which means my coffee is now total 13.75 and every five coffees is free hell yeah we'll still support my local cafe when i can

But now I even get to have a drive-thru coffee. Oh, God. So she's saving money and not even have to get out of the car. Yeah, I know. That's amazing, actually. That's actually a great idea. Like, I didn't even think about Hungry Jacks when it came. No.

Like, in my head, I'm like, take away coffee. Like, as in, you know, fast food, right? Yes. I go, McCafe, that's the only place that does coffee. Yeah. Wouldn't even think about it. $2.75 for a coffee in this economy. I wonder if it's good, though.

You know what? It's worth trying. It's worth trying. It's worth trying. And you know what? I think they would have to be good because they have competition like McCafe. Yes. And I'm not going to lie.

I would say that I'm a coffee snob because I just don't like a bad cup of coffee, but I'm also not snobby about where it comes from. I love a 7-Eleven coffee. I love a 7-Eleven coffee. I think McCafe does a pretty good job. Agreed. Like, you can't complain. No, that's so true.

I agree. You can't complain. And then this one, I don't usually share the anonymous ones because, like, I love being able to chat to our community with their names. But I thought this was really good. Our friend Genuine Grapefruit said, I've been out of work for the longest time. I just got a full-time job. I'm now going to be able to go back to saving and investing and get out of debt.

Oh, my God. Amazing. Isn't that so good? Amazing. So good. And I feel like that's where we're going to leave it this week because that's just good vibes. and I want that for everybody. Agreed. Miss Bex Sayed. Yes. That was a treat and I feel like the treats are going to continue because you've got some broke tips for me. I do. I certainly do.

What are your sweet, sweet broke tips this week? So this first one comes from Madison who says, I save my clothes and socks that have holes to then cut them up and use as rags for things like working on the car and misc dirty jobs around the home. Buying a bag of rags to do the same thing is 25 bucks. So I think that's such a good idea. There are times when you're like, I need something gross, but not too gross to clean this one random thing. Like the oil stick in your car when you're checking your oil, it's like, what do you use here? You don't want to use something like a tissue. I always use a tissue, but something like this, where it's just like a dirty old rag. It's a fantastic idea. And then this one comes from Suze who says, I use TodayTix.

and I have mentioned Prometix before, but never TodayTix. Use TodayTix to get theatre tickets, $55 each for $169 tickets. Someone else got two tickets to Moulin Rouge for $30 each and they're usually $290. And so TodayTix is basically where you can access limited time offers on Premier or Premier or Premier. I couldn't help you. I can't understand what I'm saying. But I think People know that you guys know performance with TodayTix. So it's like limited time. It could be like same day tickets or like very short notice tickets where you can just get like cheap things and don't get that confused with PromoTix, which is a different website where you can get cheap tickets for reasons unknown. I love that. What's your broke tip? And my one, well, it's probably

a little bit silly, but I was without a job for a little while at the start of the year and I was just thinking, how did I get through that? And I remember I asked all of my friends if I could do all their little annoying jobs. And you'd be surprised if you just reached out to people in your neighborhood. I was paid $9 to change my friend's bedsheets. I was paid $30 an hour to clean my friend's room. And so just have a look around and see $30 an hour to clean someone else's room. That would be a fun time. I took my goddamn time with it, that's for sure, because I really wanted to stretch this money I think like when I do have a job I'm like hell yeah I pay for someone like 20 bucks to go do my laundry for me and if you don't have a job then hell yeah you'd go do

someone's laundry for them for 20 did you ever get on air tasker I tried to go on air tasker but it is scarier when you don't know yeah that's true you know that's true and I think that when there's this level of professionalism that you have to uphold when you're like hey I'm just like a regular person trying to make a buck that's what I've found on air tasker and I've been using air a fair bit recently just for like jobs around my house that I need doing true true true and like I kind of like it that a regular person turns up and it's not like a yeah I know like I have now made friends with one of them that's so cute it's cute well that's a great addition to this is that like yeah jump on airtaskers if anyone needs some little bits and bobs yeah like and you can just

like get a profile and this is not promo by the way I just thought it was really cool because I was thinking far out. Did Beck try that? Because you don't have to like accept any of the jobs. You can just look at what's available. And like, obviously I'm not going to go into some random person's house and change their sheets. Like that would not, you know, that would not make me feel comfortable if I didn't know them, but like if they need an errand done or like, can you pick this up for me from Kmart or something? Yeah. Yeah. Do that and drop it at your front door. What a good deal. What a good deal. All right. Well, I hope that Beck's little broke tips section reminded you that it does pay to be a little bit more curious and a

little bit out there, maybe a little bit more proactive in the ways that you spend and make money because you never know what savings you could literally make along the way. Let's take a really quick break because when we return, it is time for our Money Dilemma. All right, my friends, it is time to tune into this week's Money Dilemma and you're not going to be surprised, It goes exactly like this. Hi there. Have you got a money dilemma you just can't solve? The She's On The Money team is here to help.

Every week, we tackle your dilemmas, both big and small, to answer your most burning money, career and life questions. To get involved, simply head to our website and leave us a short voice recording and you might just find yourself on the show. Now, let's take a listen to this week's money dilemma. Hi, She's On The Money team. I have a dilemma.

I'm 26 and I'm working part-time as a contractor, as a sole trader and I'm also studying. I took some time out of the workforce to care for my dad who was really unwell and he's since passed away. He left me a small inheritance and I'm not sure what to do with it. I have $60,000 in savings. I would like to buy a house in the next few years and my super is a little below average basically because I took some time out of the workforce. He's left me $35,000 in Telstra shares and about $17,000 in cash. Where should I put my money from the inheritance to make my dad proud? Thank you. Stop. I was already crying at the start of this episode. And then at the end of that, I was like, okay, inheritance, I can deal with that. And she's like, where can I put this money

to make my dad proud oh i'm so so sorry for your loss by the way that's but also what a human sorry you took time out to look after your dad because he wasn't well oh my goodness like i hope if i'm not well i'm surrounded by people who want to do that for me is that a bad thing to wish like no that's i don't know it just feels like really wholesome yeah you just sound like a good human beck what would you do when she mentioned super my immediate thought was like oh that's probably a good thing to like pour some money into just boost up a little bit and so you like make sure you're on the right track whatever that looks like for your specific goals but I also am thinking because she wants to buy a house maybe or property soon then putting money into shares

maybe not the best idea if it's like within the next couple of years you're wanting to buy a property you'd want to put that money somewhere where you can still access it and it's not too like volatile maybe. Is there still that super saver first home super saver scheme? First home super saver scheme. Yes, queen. I'll probably put the 17 in that. I'd maybe leave the shares if I could. That's a smart idea. You know, I'd put the 17. I feel so happy right now. Is this what you think is a good idea? No, I hadn't even thought of it, but that's a pretty good idea. It's a good suggestion. Incredible. Especially if you said like, I want to, you know, buy property, like putting 17 grand through the first home super savers game you'd only be able to do

$15,000 this financial year and then you'd be able to do the rest next financial year but by that time you might have some more savings that you could put in but essentially you'll get like some tax back on that money because it was a contribution that you made post-tax that means that that money is going to go further and like I don't know the most important thing to you was making your dad proud and like you probably told him that you were saving for a home and he was just like super stoked to help you get there like that's gonna like turbocharge that but even just like you sound like a person who that who would be proud of anyway like you took time off work take care of him like you whatever you do with this even if you treated yourself to a wild adventure yeah he's

gonna be proud of you yeah regardless of what you did with the money to be honest absolutely that's dad vibe and I feel like the way you're speaking about him in that voice note I was like oh you had a really good, it wasn't just like, oh, I had to look after my dad. Like you clearly had a really good close relationship with him. So my queen, like you could probably frivolously spend all of it and he's probably still there being like, yeah, queen go. I love that for you. I have done episodes on inheritance before and showing it the respect that I think it deserves. So I would go and listen to those, but it sounds like you're well on the way. I would have a look at your super, especially because it is behind because of those caring duties. Like, I don't know,

this is just personal opinion, but I don't think your dad would want to see you behind because of that time that you took out. So maybe doing a little bit of a top up there is not the worst thing. Maybe getting a little bit of advice and chatting to some people on those shares is a good idea because I don't know when they were purchased. You would have some capital gains issues if you did sell them. And that is maybe something you don't want. So maybe that $35,000 in Telstra shares is like the start of your investment portfolio. And we leave that there and then we keep contributing and then you know you reach financial freedom like that's a pretty cool thing to achieve so yeah I think it's just about sitting down and like maybe mapping out all the options

you have not hey Beck what do you want to do with this but more hey what could you do oh I could take around the world trip or I could put it on my super I could do this like write them all down it's like when you see it in front of you it's so much easier to be like oh actually I'm crossing that off the list that's not as important oh I'm crossing that off do you know what I mean like do a little list moment and that could help you see it like sometimes we need the visual exactly but that's what i would be saying but yeah i think whatever you do i think your dad would be very proud yeah and i'm just a bit sad like i'm sorry yeah that sounds really trash i know you'd give it all back to have your dad back so yeah anyway let's move on i feel like well that dilemma was

about you building your future we got a dm and it concerns the past okay it's i think is quite concerning. So a community member wrote in to us and said, hi, she's on the money. I have a finance issue that I'd love to be unpacked or to be pointed to an episode where you maybe have discussed this before. I've been with the same employer for 19 years and have had the same super with income protection since then. Recently, I was made aware that my income wasn't being updated in line with my twice yearly pay rises and promotions over the years and was listed as $63,000 when I now earn $145,000. So when she's saying that, she's talking about how much income she earns for her insurance. Got you. I have tried to update it, but I have been subjected to a mountain of forms,

signing a medical release and even an in-home medical exam. This morning I was told they won't increase my listed income because your, quote, height, weight, and your medical history deems you too much of a risk. I feel sick about this, not being able to protect myself financially. What avenues can a person take in a situation to actually have protection? Any advice is so much appreciated. It's a really tricky one. My first thought was like, you're probably paying less premium. So when you update, you just like, don't worry about the past, just like update your income. And then now I realize that it's like, it's quite a process, but I don't really know with like, I'm thinking like income protection or is what I'm assuming for this particular

insurance. So they need to like, you know, match or at least do like 80% of your current income. You know, if the worst was to happen, touch wood. I don't know enough about it to be like, do they have to? Like, is that just like a default that they keep up to date with your current salary or? No, you have to update them. Is it your job or your... It's your responsibility. Okay. Well, they don't have a financial advisor on this, so it's nobody's responsibility, but theirs.

Okay. And so if they did it earlier, then maybe it would have been... Yeah. Maybe you could have stepped it up without it, but because it's such a big step, the insurer really wants to go, okay, well, let's assess the situation. What I would say in this particular circumstance is that's just with one company. Like, please go get financial advice. Like I'm not being paid to say this right now, but go and speak to Sky Wealth. Like they are phenomenal at what they do. And Sky Wealth are not just going to look at that one company, but every company on the market and go, okay, well, clearly you've got a, like a height and weight. Like, I don't want to say issue, but like when it comes to insurance, that is an issue. I

don't like for me personally, I think it's an absolute junk thing to consider because somebody's BMI, from my perspective, they could be the fittest person in the world and have a really high BMI. And then somebody who's, anyway, I think it's the dumbest thing ever, but it is something that insurers care about. Different insurers have different BMI margins. They look at different things. They take things into consideration. Go and talk to Sky Wealth. Tell them what you've been through and they can reassess all of it and make sure that you get the right cover. Because just because one company has declined you does not mean you can't get another company to cover you and another situation to arise. And I just, I feel like that was very

arduous for a company that you don't even know if you want to stick with, if that makes sense. Just go back to the drawing board, be like, okay, cool. I'll talk to an advisor and have all of this sorted out. But thankfully it's not the end of the world because there are lots of insurers out there but also it's phenomenal that you already have that cover because if there are some like and obviously I don't know your situation but you said your medical history deems you too much of a risk like maybe you genuinely and I don't want to scare you maybe you aren't insurable but you already have a $63,000 policy true which is now gold yeah we're not going to get rid of that like we're going to look at what else we could supplement with and I think that that's actually

a really good situation stressful but good situation to be in absolutely that's a great way to look at it anyway that's where I would go with it and just go get a professional to look at it unlike every other situation no doesn't mean no yeah yeah exactly sorry I just I think it's really important to just get somebody who knows their stuff and can go oh well actually in this situation over here would be your best option yeah no that's great and what did the rest of the community have to say? So the first question I asked the community was, have you ever reviewed your income protection insurance? This one makes me mad. Okay. Only 14% of you said yes regularly. Guys, come on. Come on. I will. 22% of you said, yeah, I did it once. Okay, that's good. We're

getting better. But then 64% of you said no, never. Australia is literally the most underinsured country in the world. That's wild. Don't let us be also underinsured. Yeah. Like, get it together. Anyway, the next question I asked was, how confident are you that your insurance cover matches your current circumstances? 16% of you said very confident. Okay. That's not many. 29% of you said, oh, I think I'm somewhere in the middle. And then 55% of you said, I'm not confident at all. Okay. That's okay. Never too late. This is becoming an entire ad for Sky Wealth. I'm going to call them up later and be like, you need to pay me because all I did was talk really good things about you, but you guys need to call Sky. Anyway, then I asked before

today, did you know your income protection cover might not actually automatically increase with your salary? Right. Yes. And 72% of you said no. Oh God. So most of us apparently don't know that that's a thing and that's okay. But that's why I've been on my high horse and my fruit box and I've been yelling, please review your insurances regularly. Anyway, then I went and said, what's your two cents? Most of the comments said, go through a financial advisor. Another person said, I'm just a girl and I have the same questions. Another person said, send help. This is also me. I love this. We're all in this together. We're in a sinking ship, but we're singing, you know? Exactly. Someone commented, Sky Wealth, have you not been listening to Victoria?

I created a cult. Gorgeous. I love it. Someone else said, I wouldn't let this go and then I would look at other super companies and seek some advice. I'd be like a dog with a bone. But they did that in emojis, which I really appreciated. Someone else said, I became uninsurable at 22.

And then she did the nail painting emoji. Oh, the hell? Well, it happens. Unfortunately, she's clearly being facetious. She said, I'm just doing my best to set everything else up financially. So maybe it's not just about insurance, but having a solid income stream. Yes, very true. Someone else said, same situation and I really can't afford to change it.

It's an absolute joke. Another person said, due to my health issues, I'm unable to increase mine and the stress it's causing me is insane. And someone else said, I've definitely learned something today. I didn't even know that was a thing I'm running to my insurances now. Oh my God. I wonder how much like panic that set off in people when like reading that. but no i don't want to panic you but then the last comment that i want to share was like

thank god to she's on the money i've reviewed all of my insurances and i increased my income protection oh incredible i love this for you but don't feel bad if you're like oh i'm uninsurable now or i can't get it now just know that like they're maybe from the moment your salary increased you couldn't have yeah don't think about like what if just be where you are yeah and if you've been through that situation and you've been told, well, actually, no, you can't increase your insurance or you are uninsurable. The first thing I would be doing is going and getting financial advice and talking to an insurance specific financial advisor to be like, what are my options? Because they're going to be like a dog with a bone and be like, this is a game to them.

They're going to go, great, no worries. Shitty situation. How can I help you? They're going to get you out of that situation ideally. And if they can't, they're going to help you create a plan to be like, all right, well, Bec, we can't insure you for this and this. Here's the outcome that we should be working towards to make sure you're in the best possible position. For sure. Which money and life win that's going to alleviate your stress. Yeah. All right, my friends, I think that is all we have time for today, but we'll be back with a fresh new week tomorrow with a money diary for you to sink your teeth into. If you enjoyed this episode, please tell a friend, tell a neighbour, call up your mum. And if you really enjoyed it, please leave us a cheeky little review.

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