She's On The Money - EOFY Glow-Up: 5 Ways to Get Your Finances Together, Fast

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

Feel like your 2025 money goals ghosted you around February? You’re not alone... and babe, it’s time for a financial glow-up. In this episode, we’re using EOFY energy to reboot your budget, clean up your spending habits, and get your money working for you (not the other way around). We’re talking five fast, feel-good steps to sort your finances before June 30 hits, and no, it’s not about cancelling every brunch or surviving on rice and regrets.In this episode:💅 “Keep, Cut, Switch”: the spicy budgeting game your bank account needs💅 How to get a better deal on your bills without speaking to a single soul (yes please)💅 A supercharged tip your retirement fund will write you a thank-you note for💅 The sneaky super hack that could fast-track your house deposit (and feels a lot like legal money laundering 👀)💅 Why your spending habits might actually be... feelings in disguiseReady to feel calm, in control and like an actual financial adult by Christmas? Let’s go.Want to start growing your money? Join The Investing Masterclass here.Join our Facebook Group AKA the ultimate support network for money advice and inspiration. Ask questions, share tips, and celebrate your wins with a like-minded crew of 300,000+. And follow us on Instagram for Q&As, bite-sized tips, daily money inspo... and relatable money memes that just get you.  Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. 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 - 451289.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. 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 can't believe the end of the financial year is over i know i don't want to talk about it if you're feeling the same

don't worry you're not alone one minute it was all new year new me and next you're wondering Where has all your money and motivation actually gone? I don't know, Jessica, but I need help. It's disappeared. And no, I'm not Bex Syed. I'm Jessica Ricci. I have been duped. Surprised.

I'm filling in for Bex while she's away. And obviously I'm not doing this alone. Victoria Devine is here with me, ready to keep us accountable. And I'm sure deliver a bit of tough love if we need it. Yeah, absolutely. I'm the queen of budding. And so I don't think it was a surprise that I was here during your intro. But I feel like everyone in our community, including you and I, Jess,

like we're not just going, oh, you guys, it's like us too. We love to set big, really shiny goals at the start of the year. But if we've learned anything from our past episodes, it's that a year is a really long time to stay motivated. And like life happens, plans change. And by like February, I don't know, it feels like most of those resolutions have already gone out the window and I've just gone back to my old habits. But just like a half time in sport, Jess I guess this is where you pause and then we have a look at our strategy and we reassess and then we head back out with a stronger and better game plan you're the coach here to give us a rousing I'm going to be the coach um I don't know if you'd want me to coach anything because you'd

be like oh this is really hard and I'd be like baby you don't have to do that like that's the best thing about sports you don't have to do them um but first I guess when putting this episode together, I really wanted you to remember to look at your expenses and your spending from the last six months. And like, I know that this might not be the most fun way to spend your time, but if you're in a country like Australia, who follows the end of financial year, which is on June 30, happy birthday to me. There is also some serious benefit in getting this done before the end of financial year. Also like new year, new me, like 1st of July can be like your new financial year, but like you don't have to start then because you've already made the plan already.

Yeah. Does that make sense? And like the sales are everywhere. I feel like I've already started seeing them ramp up, which is absolutely wild. I saw someone on social media the other day saying, oh, EOFY sales coming soon. And I was like, guys, what the heck? But if we're smart, we can actually use this coming season to our advantage instead of just getting swept up in the marketing hype, which I think a lot of us do every single year. And I guess another reason we look at six months of spending data is because I guess it shows you the real cumulative cost of your habits. So those sneaky little expenses that don't feel like a big deal in a moment, you realize, oh, that $50 on Uber Eats feels kind of harmless right now. But then we zoom out and

you've already spent $1,300 in the last six months. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Like, I think you and I go, oh, 50 bucks on a new top. Like, I feel like in this economy, be $50 on your new tops, a good deal. But like, if you're doing that every single week, that's $1,300. That total and having that cost be maybe a little bit confronting can actually help you realize that maybe that spending wasn't a part of your goals or values. And like, you don't have to continue that way. We can, I guess, reallocate that money to something that is a little bit more fun, but also something more in line with our values, like maybe a holiday fund or paying off your credit card debt that's really stressing you out and I guess once you have all your expenses

together I want to like play a game with it it's like shoot marry kill yeah shoot marry kill very aggressive I played kiss marry kill oh do you yeah oh well maybe it's a little bit different in our house um but we're gonna play that with our money but we're gonna like reframe it a little bit it's gonna be keep cut and switch that's not as good not as sexy if you want to use shoot marry kill you can I feel like it's a little bit more dramatic but like keep that's probably marry if you're playing that version of the game keep is the things that I think genuinely bring value into your life these are the things think of it as your like financial non-negotiables like girl we're paying rent like I'm sorry you have to pay your utilities like if you do go to the gym

regularly and you love your gym membership like that goes in that bucket but only if you're actually using it. Don't try and gaslight yourself into, oh, like maybe I'll keep it because in this new financial year, I'll use it. Don't lie to yourself. Be ruthless. Be ruthless. But like we're keeping the things that we want to keep in our lives. We want to marry. Then cut, that's kill. We are going to cut the stuff that isn't serving us anymore. Those little expenses that we were talking about earlier that just don't align with our values. Like if you looked at this Jess and said, I'm spending 50 bucks on Uber Eats every single week. And I love it. Pop off. Yeah. Like $1,300 on Uber Eats to you might be absolutely worth it. Cause like you're telling me that every,

I don't know, I'm going to make this up. Every single Friday night, you and your partner get a pizza on Uber Eats and you watch one of your favorite movies and you have the best date night of your entire life. Girl, that's worth 1,300 bucks over six months. But if you're like, oh, was because I didn't want to cook and I couldn't be bothered getting up and walking to the freezer to see if there was any chicken nuggets. So we ordered chicken nuggets on Uber Eats. Do you know what I mean? Like that's clearly not serving you. So we want to cut those things. They might be subscriptions that you forgot about or the health insurance extras that you don't even know that you're currently paying for because you need to review them. And then we've got Switch, which I

think is shoot because you might survive that but like there's switch and this is where you shop around and negotiate a better deal on things like your energy bills your health insurance your phone plan and basically anywhere that you are paying the infamous loyalty tax we did a whole episode Jess was that you and I back in the day I feel like we did the loyalty tax episode together we have done one I don't remember yeah just key in loyalty tax she's on the money and the episodes we've done on that will come up. But like, that's where it's shoot, getting a gun. If you don't get us, a better deal, leaving. This is escalating very quickly. I'm leaving. But like, we're going to switch. Like, I am not being held hostage by loyalty tax. I don't care if you've been with a

company for like, oh yeah, but they sent me their premiums and said congrats for being a member for nine years. What are you really getting? What are you getting out of that? Yeah. Is it a discount? because if it's not, I don't want it. Amen. The best part is at the end of the financial year, I think this is the best time to do it. This is when all the private health insurance companies, they go fishing because the Medicare surcharge levy, that is going to come into effect by June 30, which means if you earn over a certain amount and you don't have private health insurance, you have to pay more. And they know that you are going to scramble to get health insurance. So if you already have it, why not use it as the best time to get a better deal? Be like,

you are offering this to other people. I would like that deal. And I mean, this is when lots of different providers are throwing around, I would say juicy benefits. Like you might get one month free of cover or a gift card or something for joining up, or even just a discount on the deal that you already had. Like this is a good deal, Jess. Yeah, absolutely. And another really great way to make the most of end of financial year is to take a look at what is actually already on your keep list and see if there's anything that's going on sale. So. Can rent go on sale? A girl can dream. Yeah. Can you imagine if you were like able to negotiate and you're like landlord is marketing

your rent? I'd be going to bat for that. I'll tell you what. But if there's a software subscription that you rely on, check if they're running an end of financial year discount, or maybe if you're happy with your current insurance provider, like you were saying, that's great. But can you take them a competitor's price and see if you can, you know, say, hey, give it to me, put the gun to the head or I'm going to walk to somewhere else. But like, it kind of makes sense. Like, I'm so sorry, but we're in a cost of living crisis and my job is to help you financially. Yeah.

Like, even if you threaten to quit, like, this is a little bit unhinged. But like, even if you're like, I really like this like software that I use and I'm not going to name names because like, we don't want to. But Jess, you and I know well that there is one very popular software. If you go through their settings and you go, cancel my account, you're just toying with the idea. You're just having a look to see what happens if you hit cancel my account. Because you can always get it back.

they go oh are you sure you want to leave we'll give you a 50% discount and go oh what a coincidence I guess I'll stay yes I'll stay so like look around and even google the software that you use and be like how to get a discount on software xyz because sometimes there are little loopholes like threatening to cancel and they're like oh well here's our retention strategy you didn't even have to call anyone on the phone and you saved 50% on your very expensive software that edits things a hundred percent say less and it's about keeping what you love but making sure you're getting the best possible deal I think that's a good deal like again shoot people are gonna think we've got like some real aggression problems in this team well I do because I'm just like why am

I paying so much for software anyway that's beside the point like this isn't a green light though Jess to go rogue with your credit card but if you know that you're going to like need things that are work related expenses. So like equipment, maybe you've been going, oh, I work for myself and I need a new laptop. Or even if you like regularly buy things like skincare or household staples, I reckon the end of financial year sales are a literal perfect time to buy them at a discount. Stock up for the upcoming year. Exactly. Like look at those expenses and be like, okay, cool. Like what is one thing that I bought over that last six months? Maybe you do buy two of your favorite moisturizer while that website has a 40% discount because you're like, I know in the

last six months I've used two and they're not going to go off in that time. I'll just buy two so it gets me through to the end of the year. Maybe I'll stock up again at Christmas. Yeah. Like when Christmas sales are on. What are some other end of financial year reminders people should keep in mind? I've written down a couple, so bear with me. But another thing that future you is definitely going to thank you for is topping up your super Jessica Ricci. We want to do that before June 30 though, so that we can take advantage of concessional, which is before tax and non-concessional, which is after-tax contribution caps, if you can. So those have moved now. And I don't think most people in our community can max out their super,

like just because I don't want you to think, oh, Victoria's being unrealistic. Like the cap is $30,000. I'm not going to contribute $30,000 to my super this year. Like, girl, it's just a cap. Yeah. even an extra few hundred dollars or 50 bucks to your super could be really good. And if it's come from your bank account, come tax time, you will get a refund on the tax that you already paid. Because for example, the superannuation tax environment is 15%, but most people in our community, I would say have an average tax rate of 30%. That means a 15% return on the money that you deposited. That's pretty appealing. That's pretty appealing. And for a lot of us, I know

we're asking questions like, oh, my super feels behind, or I want to get a little bit ahead, like small steps in the right direction. Like we don't need to have $30,000 to max out our super, like a few dollars here and there over the long term could actually compound and put future you when future you is retiring in the best possible position. And we love that. We do. I feel like that's a win-win. And Jess, I would say this is something that you want to look at right now, like not the 29th of June. Because one thing that a lot of people do not realize is that the contributions have to clear. So like they have to hit your superannuation account before the end of financial year to count. You can't just go, oh, but I transferred it on the 29th of June, but then

maybe your superannuation account doesn't have OSCO and it didn't hit until like July 2nd. Sorry, it falls into the new financial year. And a lot of people start doing them at end of financial year. I know MySuper has a notification that pops up usually in the app that says, hey, like, if you're planning on making contributions, do it two weeks prior to allow for processing time. You just want to make sure that, like, you're dotting all your I's and crossing all your T's. So, like, if you did it so that you could reap the tax benefits,

you actually can. And I think that that's important because not all superannuation funds have the easiest processing systems. So it's easy for you to transfer, but then their processing is, like, maybe a bit more manual. And that doesn't mean they're bad. It just means it takes a little bit longer. And it's applicable to anyone who wants to use

the first home super saver scheme as well. The first home super saver scheme, I was explaining this to a friend the other night. Maybe, maybe I'd had a few wines. And I was like, girl, it is the closest thing to money laundering that you can get to in Australia because you can put your cash in and then you can take it out and you can get a refund. Which we love.

You can get a lower tax rate. And they were like, Victoria, are you all right? And I was like, girl, if you are buying your first home and you're not using this system, even like to put 15 grand in because you're planning on buying really soon and you actually can't use it over the long term. Is that not free money, Jess?

Totally, yeah. Like it is free money. And I explain, like again, I told you guys before that the superannuation tax environment is 15%. And most of us are on a marginal tax rate of 30%. If you're higher than that, like if you're even closer, like the more money you earn, the better the first home super saver scheme is.

This is one of the places where you go, you know, the rich really do keep getting richer because you'll get 15% tax back, Jess, and they will too. But because they're paying more tax, they get more of a discount. So it's kind of like instant returns on your money. And the benefit is if you start saving for your first home now, but you're like, V, it's going to take forever. Like I'm not, and Jess, you would know this well, doesn't take a year or two years to save for your first home anymore, which I think the Delulu boomers think it does. But like it can take you 10 years, but you actually get the returns on that money that was invested as well to go towards your first home. So it's not just those tax benefits, but it's also the investment returns

over that period of time. Is that not super sexy? It's amazing. It's so good. And if you are thinking about buying soon, your contribution cap, we've spoken about this before, but it's $15,000 per financial year. Yeah, up to $50,000 over the long term. Yes. So you could drop $15,000 in now and then come July 1st, you can put another $15,000 in. You don't even need me. And then all of a sudden there's $30,000 ready to go. Yeah, like if you are planning on buying this year, that's $30,000 that you can pop through that scheme.

I mean, obviously this isn't personal advice and it works for you, fantastic. The actual best thing that you can do if you're thinking about the first home super saver scheme, Jess, and I feel like I rant about this a lot when we talk about super, is just call your super fund because Australian super versus like host plus, they're going to have like a slightly different process. Like it might just be different release forms or ways that you contribute it, but just

pick up the phone because like you are already paying superannuation fees to get this advice. So it's technically free because you've already paid for it. That's how I see holidays. Like if I already prepaid the holiday and then it's been a few months before I went on the holiday, the holiday was free. Yeah. Girl math. But pick up the phone and have a chat with them and be like, hey, really want to make the most of this, they can give you financial advice on that. I can't, but they could say, okay, Jess, your contribution strategy looks like this to cap out this system and this is going to work this way. How good's that? We love that. Free advice. Yes, please. Alrighty. What is next on your list? Okay. So I feel like we've crunched the numbers

and we have faced what I believe are the cold, hard facts, but it's now time to switch gears a little bit more. And Jess, we're going to get reflective. No more shoot, marry, kill. We're not going to play that game. After all, money isn't about maths or guns. It's actually about how it makes you feel. And spoiler, those feelings, yeah, they're probably driving all the decisions that you make, Jess. But you knew that already. You've been on this show for long enough to know that money is inherently emotional, right? Yeah, no. And I think that reviewing the way that you feel about things is probably a very great way to expose why you have some of those habits that maybe you wish that you didn't. Exactly. So let's go to a really quick break

so that we can prep for getting a little bit emotional. All right, we are back. And as Jess and I promised, we are going to get a little bit reflective. We're going to talk about our emotions because before we can plan where we're going, you actually need to fully comprehend where you've been. Like it's confronting. It can be hard understanding why you feel things about money or why you maybe don't feel like you've caught up to your friends or why you're so good at comparison and just doesn't seem to be good at comparison, you know, but like reflection is so important because for me, it's not about beating yourself up or like trying to point things out about yourself that, you know, aren't so good because I don't want you to fall into a guilt spiral. It's actually

about awareness and creating consistent and very clear awareness because real reflection is going to give you clarity, clarity on so many things. So what you're currently doing, what you actually want in life and what that's going to look like when you know what's worked and what hasn't and how you actually feel about your money, then you're in this really powerful position to be more empowered and be more intentional towards the decisions that you're making and make decisions that you're like, no, this is absolutely what I want to do. Like, this is how I want to do it. and like Jess we know that you are in the market for buying a property at some point but like I can almost guarantee you were not able to save house deposit without being really clear that that was

a goal that you wanted without being really clear about your budget and what you did and didn't want to spend like you are probably one of the most intentional spenders I know but do you think that's because of your values and like understanding them or do you think you're just really good at money? No, I think it's definitely like, I'm a very goal oriented person. So it's when I have eyes on the prize, it's really simple for me to go, okay, well, you know, I can spend that $50 a week or $1,300 over six months on Uber Eats, or I can, you know, have that money to put towards a house deposit. And so for me, it's really easy to separate that. And having a good idea of where I'm going is something that for me personally, I find really drives those decisions and makes me

shop and go, okay, well, would I rather X or Y? Yeah. And you're a fashion girl. You like, you and I consistently bond over fashion and beauty. And I'm always like, oh, where's that top from? Do you think that you've sacrificed a lot about the lifestyle that you enjoy to get a house deposit? Yeah. I think there's also just ways to be smart. Like I, one in one out is a big rule for me. You know, I love to resell my clothing, whether it's on Depop or whether it's a clothing racks. I think there are often ways to find compromises to do the things that you want. Like if you like going out to dinner, can you use one of those apps to do the 50% off dinners at an early or late session? I think again, like knowing what's important to

you can normally find ways to still uphold them. Maybe it's like a little bit less convenient. Like I'm not wearing the newest, latest style. I'm often because I'm shopping secondhand or I'm waiting for it to go on sale. Nobody would know Jess. You look chic all the time. Not one person has ever been like, Oh, Jess wears last season. And like, even if I did, who cares? But I think it's sometimes letting go of the culture of needing things immediately. Like there's that thing of like, you see something, oh, I can click somebody's link and have it straight away. And it's at my house in two days, getting rid of the need for that and finding like alternate ways to do things means you can still not have to sacrifice completely. Yeah. And I think it's important

because there are going to be so many people listening to this who are like, oh, it's Jess. Like we know she's on Friday episodes, but like we may be new to the community. And when you hear Jess talking about money, you're like, oh, it's so easy for her. She's so good at it. Jess, when you started at She's On The Money, I believe you had just gotten out of a whole heap of credit card debt. I had. So you kind of started from scratch. Like you weren't someone who was like, oh, I've just always been kind of good at money. No. I don't understand those people just for the record. Like if you are, I'm just envious. Like this is just my jealousy showing through. I think it's important to also preface that. Like you didn't just always be good at money

right? No, not at all. I listened to the show before I worked here and that was what taught me. Cult member. Yeah. I'm an OG season one girly. And so I, yeah, I had a lot of credit card debt. I think at its peak, I had like 8,000 plus dollars. That would have been so stressful. Across two credit cards. And it was a lot. And, you know, I paid it all off and I used every dollar pretty much that I had to pay it off. And I was like, okay, well now I need to save an emergency fund. And okay, I can start saving a house deposit. And it's been, well, I'm, this is my fifth year here. And in that time, I've got a six-figure house deposit. So that's so sexy. And you've been on overseas trips. You are always still spending on like

fashion and enjoying life. Like I swear you're at brunch every second weekend. I watch you on socials. Yeah. I feel like I still live a life that I'm really happy to. And you know, I don't feel like I'm overwhelmingly missing out on things. Proud of you. That is so exciting. But I think that when we aren't, you know, prioritizing things and we aren't clear on our goals and what we want to achieve, and we don't have the tools that we deserve to get out of it, we can often fall into like sneaky little habits that like kind of self-sabotage ourselves. Like I remember when I was getting out of debt, like there would be periods of time where I'm like, I'm so motivated. I'm going to smash this out. And

then I'd be like, why am I bothering? And I'd like pull more money on my credit card. And it became like a little cycle that I then have to break again. And like, you can't just pull yourself out. But I think that if you're ignoring your bank balance and you don't know how much is in there, or you don't know exact debt numbers, or you, you know, you're not really sure when your next after pay amount is coming out, like pull your head out of the sand and just know the numbers because knowledge is power. It doesn't mean that you're immediately in a better position. It doesn't mean that you're immediately able to get out of that debt, which I mean, we all wish, but it does mean that you're better prepared for it. And it's not going to take you

by surprise. I think that self-sabotage is a massive part of staying in debt because we kind of just have our heads in the sand and we're like, you know, you don't get into $8,000 worth of credit card debt by getting into the first thousand and thinking, well, that was fun. I'd love some more debt, right? You do it because you're like, I'm just going to pretend it's not there. And I know that I haven't maxed this out yet. Like you just keep rolling. So I think it's really important to do that. And six months is a really good amount of time, I feel like, to set yourself new goals. Like it feels, sometimes thinking a year ahead can be overwhelming when you're already in that mindset. So can you give us some ideas? What can we do and sit down right

now to prep for the next six months in terms of reflecting a little bit? I've written a list. Again, I'm not surprised. We're going to journal. I love a list. I'm an ADHD girly through and through. So my entire notes section is lists. Yeah. Doesn't mean I remember them, but I have written another one for this episode. So we are going to get a journal or maybe you're like, I don't journal V. We'll just take a quiet moment and ask yourself these questions. So the first is what were your three biggest money wins this year? Like what were your three biggest financial wins? Big or small doesn't have to like be something that other people would look at. Like it can just be for you, but like maybe you finally started prioritizing an emergency fund and like maybe

there's not heaps in there, but like it exists. Maybe you negotiated a better salary or even just survived without dipping into your savings. Like wins are wins. Then I want you to be real with yourself and ask, well, what financial habits over the last six months have kind of slipped? We're all guilty of this, right? Like we're all guilty, I would say of a little bit of convenient spending, a little bit of who cares, like this price has gone up. I'm not going to look for a better deal. Like, I want you to be honest. Did your meal prepping, did it disappear by February? Like, were you like, I'm going to be a meal prepping queen. I've watched all these meal prepping TikToks. And then all of a sudden you're like, meal prepping is not for me. Bought

all the containers. They're all in the drawer. Yep. Did you go, you know what? I'm going to buy like only a coffee out once a week. I'm going to make it at home. And then you're like, look at your wallet and you have five different coffee loyalty cards. Like what's going on, babe? What's happening there like it's not about shame I think that we can look at these things and be like oh this is just a pattern like what's going on here more often than not it's just convenience yeah and it's maybe something that you're like I didn't realize how much I valued that I do want to make a little bit more space in my budget so that I can continue to enjoy that because like I tried to cut it out I don't want to or on the flip side you go I really need to tighten my belt like I really need

to just not do that anymore. And then the big question, the last question is how are you actually feeling about money right now? Like I recorded an episode before this episode and it was like a solo episode because I just think that life and money and life is just, it's so heavy right now. I feel like with everything going on economically and then everything going on financially, like it feels like life is expensive. It doesn't matter who you are. And I'm not saying that, oh, Victoria, it feels like life's expensive. Like how privileged, what a twit. It does though. Life is hard. And like every single time I go to the supermarket, I find it a privilege that I can afford to pay for

my groceries, but I'm often mind boggled at how much I'm spending. And I'm like, what is this? Like, and I'm, you know, yes, let's be honest. I have the money, but that doesn't mean that I want to, you know, blow the budgets that I've set for myself just purely because I can. Like, I am often mind boggled at how much things are costing. And I just go, how do people who aren't business owners, like, how do we get by? And my husband and I were talking about this the other night and I was like, Steve, I reckon that $100,000, which used to be to me, like one day I'm going to earn a hundred grand. Like that was like my, when I was 21, Like that was my big dog goal. I reckon a hundred thousand is the new 60,000. Like, and that I think

is pretty astronomical to say, but I would say that, you know, 10 years ago, more sadly, when I entered the workforce, it's more than that. It's probably more like 15 years. Right. But when I officially entered the workforce, I remember a $60,000 income was really cushy. Like it was a good income. You could pay your rent. You could save a bit. You could like still have a good lifestyle. If you're earning $60,000 now, like you are budgeting, you are cutting things. Like I can almost guarantee a lot of people in those situations like, well, I just don't have the capacity to save for a home right now. And I'm having these conversations every day. And I just, I don't want you to feel like we are saying focus on your budget because you all of a sudden be

able to afford a house. Like, I just want you to know that life is hard and life is heavy and these things can be confronting. But if we can talk about how money is actually making you feel in this moment, even if it's good, even if it's bad, like I want to know, are you feeling stressed? Are you feeling empowered? Are we a little bit avoidant? Are we motivated? Like there is genuinely no wrong answer here, but it is a super powerful check-in to go, well, what can I do about that? Like how you feel about money is going to drive the decisions you make around money. yeah and if your head is staying in the sand around you know even your budget or your credit card I can promise you that that is impacting your ability to increase your income because

we're not talking about money like we need to be consistently talking about money we need to be having these open conversations because you cannot fix what you aren't acknowledging and honestly having this conversation and I mean I'm having a conversation just with you and our community who listen to money podcasts I think they're a little bit ahead of the game than most people. Right. But like, you might actually surprise yourself with just how far you've come. Because I think if you asked me that question, Jess, like money, it still makes me anxious in a way. Like I still get a little bit of anxiety checking my bank account. And I think that's just because like, I know there's going to be money in there, but like even business banking

accounts, like I'm consistently overanalyzing, well, what's in there, what's coming out, what's payroll got to do like what overheads are we paying what's rent like when's that coming out and I know that these are like oh whatever Victoria Lee's problems aren't that big in hindsight but like we all do that and I think it's so important for you to understand that you know I think because I know that lots of people put me on a financial pedestal you go she's good at money yeah but that doesn't mean I'm not a little bit anxious like that doesn't mean I'm not a little bit like oh like I don't like that that doesn't mean that every time I log into my share trading account and it's down. I'm like, whatever. I fully understand the markets.

Yeah. I hate seeing that. Like that's not cool. No one likes red. What would you say if I asked you that question? Yeah. I think more than ever, I'm the same. I do find money overwhelmingly stressful lately and I'm finding more and more, like I've said before, like I'm very happy to cut things from my budget. I know that I definitely have luxuries that I can forego if I need to, but it's getting harder to trim the fat without feeling like you're missing out yeah 100 you know we've had to increase our grocery budget by almost a hundred dollars a month and it's like it doesn't sound like a crazy amount of money but you really feel it like you know we are way more conscious of how much heating we're using in the house like I find myself I did that thing that what is it I

didn't do it with tampons but it's this example that I've seen on social media where they say the first thing women always put back is tampons, which wasn't the example for me, but I was at the shops and we were over what we had planned to spend by quite a lot. I was doing the shop. And so I just put back like a couple of the snacks that I'd picked up. Cause I was like, I don't need, you know, the bags of chips, whatever, like it's fine. Like I'm not, you know, going hungry. It's nobody's stress. But I was like, well, I can't pay for that because as soon as you start, you know, if every week I go over and over and over, all of a sudden there's not enough money there. And like, I found that quite stressful and it's not because I can't afford a

of chips obviously I can but it was that oh my gosh like we've gotten to a point where I'm even having to trim such a small feeling luxury and of course I can like I don't need it we've as I said no but like I want to stress like we're fine you're still meeting your savings goals and whatnot and just as someone that's like really prioritizing that but it's not a nice feeling no it's really confronting and it's really hard because you know I work a second job or I have a side hustle like I feel as you said like I'm quite good with money and it's crazy to me that I go I feel like I'm very on top of it and even then it's still sometimes just so hard yeah and I'm sure that I'm probably not the only person feeling that way yeah and I feel like that's a good conversation

to be having with the community because I think that they often look at us and our team and go oh they're fine and like you're right but like I think money is inherently stressful and just because you have more of it than somebody else. Yes, you could go, oh, well, you're so much more privileged. Yeah, I acknowledge that. I fully understand that. But that doesn't mean it's not stressful, especially if you have that history of trauma where you haven't had enough or you have gone through significant debt and you just go, I don't know, it feels like a slippery slope where you're like, I just don't want to get back there. And like, it's like the small things, like the tips where you're like, that's the decisions I used to make. And, you know, you extrapolate that

in your head and you go, well, that's how I got there the first time. Like, and you just get a little bit stressed about the idea that maybe you're slipping when it's not the reality of the case. I think that's human psychology, right? And like, I also want you to take how you're feeling about money now, like back to the community, I suppose. And you can do this too right now, Jess. And think about, well, how do you actually want to feel next year? Like, or at the end of this year? Like, what's that going to look like? So to do that, ask yourself, what's going to have the biggest impact on your life to get you there? And like, not what looks impressive or what you think you should be doing but like what actually is going to make things feel easier

and less stressful or more exciting for the next six months because like bag of chips example is a good one but like those small steps over a month or over a week like back to that $50 a week example is $1,300 in six months like that becomes a lot like that's return flights to Bali at the moment yeah like if you want to go to Bali like save for a year you've got the flights in the first six months and second six months, that's your accommodation. You know what I mean? Like there are small things and I'm not saying that that's exactly what we all should be doing, but like, I feel like it might be you not going on a holiday to Bali, but like finally clearing off that lingering debt. Like maybe you've always just like had a rolling after pay debt and you're

like, do you know what? Enough is enough. I am done with this. Like I'm going to get rid of that because it's been hanging over my head. Or it might be like, you want to be more prepared for Christmas and you just heard our $50 a week example and you're like $1,300 by Christmas. Christmas is coming people. Christmas is like, it's tomorrow basically at this point. And you could set up an automatic transfer of $50 every single week into a separate account and Christmas time, you're going to be $1,300 better off. That's a good deal. And I am already foreseeing that this coming Christmas is going to be incredibly stressful. So like, let's take that stress off ourselves. Or even if you're like, you know, different situation again, you're like, do you

door. I really want to put a cleaner into the budget. Like I just think my mental capacity needs that. I want my Saturdays back. I want to spend more time with my family. Like I think putting that into the budget is going to create the life I want to live. So like there's going to be lots of different examples here. Yeah, definitely. So once we've identified what that thing is, that's going to have the positive impact, we've made that our new goal for the next six months. Yeah. What are we going to do? So I spoke recently on someone else's podcast, actually about how adding friction actually helps break bad habits. But when it comes to financial goals, it's actually the opposite. We want to make it as easy as humanly possible to

succeed. And you know what? The easiest way to do that, just automate it. Like if I set up $50 going out of your account every single week, like you might go, oh yeah, V, I might need that. I can almost guarantee when you look at your account and that 50 bucks isn't there, you go, oh, well, I don't have the money on X. Like out of sight, out of mind, the best way to create success is automation. Because then, you know what? It's quite manual if you're like, oh, actually I need that $50 back. I'm going to have to log in and transfer it across. You might even convince yourself it's not worth it at that point. And that's going to give us that extra $1,300 at the end of the month. So I think if you want to be more prepared for Christmas, which seems to be

my example this episode. Like don't just hope that you're going to have money set aside or like you're going to get a good tax return. I want you to set up a direct debit, 50 bucks a week or $40 a week into a separate account because even 40 bucks a week, what's that? $1,000 by Christmas that you didn't have when you started last year. Yeah. Like without having to rely on willpower as well, Jess. Incredible. It sounds amazing. And I love it when you do realize that it doesn't necessarily need to be complicated. Having a few of those smart, simple little systems that a lot of apps and platforms now have for us to use means that you can do a bit of prep now and you can take the mental load off for the whole rest of the year. Exactly. And before we finish up,

because I know we're coming to the end of this episode because I've been yapping for a while, I want to bring it back, I guess, to that big question we asked earlier. And that's how you actually want to feel about money by the end of the year. Do you want to be calm? Do you want to be collected. Do you want to be stressed? No. Do you want to be confident? Do you want to be proud? Like take that feeling and really hold onto it because every single financial decision that you are going to make from here, whether it's automating a savings transfer or just like saying no to something that genuinely doesn't serve you, that feeling should be like your little guiding star. Like, remember, I want to feel this way because I said this on another

podcast that I recorded. I think it goes out the week before this episode, right? I was like, motivation, like it doesn't find you. You don't just wake up one day motivated. Like you create motivation, like one little step at a time, one foot in front of the other, like choice by choice, like you create your own motivation. Like I think so many of us go, I'll do it when I'm more motivated. That's not coming. I'm sorry. You actually just have to create it yourself. Just start. Just start. Just do it as Nike likes to say. And remember, six months is plenty of time to turn things around. Imagine closing out the year feeling like you're completely back in control. Exactly. Picture that. Let that be the thing that gives you that motivation. And if you loved this

episode, make sure that you hit follow wherever you're listening. Share it maybe with someone who you think could use a little mid-year money motivation as well. And maybe ask them, do you want to be my accountability partner? Like if we both do this, we'll both be in a better position in six months. That's kind of cute too. And if you like this episode, please don't forget to like and subscribe and follow us on whatever your app calls it. It really does help us bring you more of the content that you love. And we'll see you guys on Friday. Bye. 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 authorized representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.