She's On The Money - From Debt and Divorce to Building Her Dream Home as a Single Mum

Starting point is 00:00:00 My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Ti, gilinyan ganya, nianakaka yao yinbina waka, nianakai nianbina yakarumja, duminyagumiga dumiga ithawaka nirawamundamun imalan, mumubangaraboma ininyalan waka, gaunonyakarumja, wutunadanar. 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,

Starting point is 00:00:41 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 lets you be pervy about other people's money stories for educational purposes, of course. Welcome back to another one of our Money Diaries brought to you by our friends at Sky Wealth, where I get the absolute privilege of sitting down with one of our incredible She's on the Money community members and talking all about their journey. Let's jump straight into

Starting point is 00:01:12 it because this week I got a message and it sounded exactly like this. Hi, She's on the money. After having kids and getting divorced, I set off on a journey learning to live life as a single mom. I went from being in a relationship where we owed money to everyone to being a solo mom who got to really enjoy life. I found a new love, we moved in together and after speaking with a broker in October last year, we were so surprised at how soon we could get into the property market. Six months later, we have a deposit saved, a block waiting for titles and hope to start building our new home in a few months. It's been a dream come true. Money diarist, bet you never saw this coming. Absolutely not. Yeah, far off my plan when I was sort

Starting point is 00:02:00 of a teenager, but sort of actually getting there onto that track, but it's been a journey. Oh my goodness. All right. Before we get into it, I want to know what grade would you give your money habits from A through to F? Probably maybe like a B minus. B minus. All right, let's go with it. I want to know more about it. Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story and the things that have impacted it? Yeah, absolutely. Started sort of way back when I was 17. I had to move out of home to go to uni. I lived in a little rural town and had to move to a city. So that was a big change. 17 year olds don't know too much about money. So we dove straight in. My partner at the time, we moved into a rental and set off through

Starting point is 00:02:37 that. I had my first son while I was at uni and decided not to finish my degree. And then yeah, we decided to move to a regional town after having our little one because it was very expensive in a city and we just wanted to live that regional life. Things that have happened through COVID, I had another child, then separated from my ex-husband and then yeah, set off on my own. It was a very, very different experience. Obviously having to go from two incomes, like always having someone around to everything was my responsibility. So it was like a culture shock and a half. Absolutely. And it's not like you get married with the intention of divorcing somebody. So like going through the emotional journey of going, well, now this isn't working

Starting point is 00:03:21 out. What was that like? What kind of emotional and mental journey are you going on when those decisions are being made? Yeah, it was tricky. Like a lot of it was sort of around like what's best for the kids and what was best for myself like I started sort of seeing people around me doing all these things that I just wasn't able to do and it just felt like I was going nowhere so it was sort of a conversation where I guess our lives just went in different directions we had different goals and like nobody wanted to hold each other back anymore so yeah I moved out of the home set off got my own little rental I was probably only earning about $900 a week the rental was about $425 a week so it was a huge shift but we made it work but yeah thankfully

Starting point is 00:04:03 I work in a commission sort of based role and did then as well so I sort of had to wiggle my way around and work out how to sort of work around that but the commissions were a bit of a saving grace and then once I got my feet on the ground I started loving life. I love this and then you met someone new. I did. What does a money conversation look like because obviously I'm just going to make some assumptions here. You can clear them up for me. When you got married, you probably just like drifted into a money relationship. Like you decided to have kids, you just, things start to work. What are the money conversations like once you've been through all of that? You have kids, you've got your own, I guess, financial security now. What does it look like having new conversations?

Starting point is 00:04:45 Yeah. Yeah. So I was very sort of open and honest about my history, which in turn, they are also very open about their history. We both sort of talked about where we've been and where we're at, I spoke about. I didn't have a week where we didn't owe money when I was in my marriage. And that was a spiraling situation. When you owe people money, you get to the next week, you pay them back. And then by the end of the week, you're back to square one again. You need money for nappies or petrol, all those sorts of things. So because I'd pulled myself out of that situation, when I was single, I started saving money. I just went, I don't want to be in that situation ever again I paid off a car by myself I'd like been paying rent by myself and I just

Starting point is 00:05:26 basically decided that like from there on like if someone were to come into my life they need to add value to my life and not make things harder so I was very upfront like I'm not going to financially uphold you like we'll be separate in our sort of ways so yeah like once we decided to move in together we just went all right everything split down the middle we've got our own separate accounts we've got our savings account but we're our own independent people so that sort of helps both of us be our own person but sort of still have our like relationship at the same time and it just works. I feel like that is just so positive and just so healthy and not every relationship starts with like okay well this is how we're going to manage money and we're going to split it here

Starting point is 00:06:08 and these are the plans and you feel so I don't know at peace with the decisions you're making because you're making them as opposed to falling into them. Is this something that you're like, no, it just makes our relationship so much stronger? Or is this something where you're like, we don't even think about it? How does that impact you? I think it does make us stronger because it just allows us to be our own independent people. And that's like coming from a not so healthy relationship where money was always such a big issue. It was always all like who spent on what and how much do we have left? And can I buy this? We don't have those conversations it's you've got your own money if you want to buy something you go for it like

Starting point is 00:06:46 just as long as it's sort of not out of you know the the joint money like we have conversations around oh like we want to go to that concert do we want to use sort of use our joint saver for that so it ends up being so much more a team effort but without feeling like anyone has to step on toes or tiptoe around any issues and it's just it's so nice how did you get to that place because like coming from and like I don't want to throw your marriage that you had under the bus but how did you go from that would have been so stressful right like owing people money every single week and then obviously trying to change and being like I'm never going to do that again that's not how I want to live my life but you still would carry those feelings right like how

Starting point is 00:07:27 have you been dealing with that and just the change of your money story because it's so significant but it's not easy no no so a lot of it was like I counted my time where I was just a single mom as like my self-growth era. So that's where I started doing a lot of research. And I first fell into Glen James and then it sort of spiraled from there. You always spiral after meeting Glenny James. Absolutely. Yeah. But then it just sort of went like, I realized just how big of an impact financials were on a relationship. And it ended up being a straight up conversation. Like even when I started dating, it was like, all right, what is your situation? Like, this is mine. what are your goals how do you want to function so I'm straight out like I have kids I've got

Starting point is 00:08:10 my own responsibilities like everyone's situation looks so different but I was just I'm straight up I'm very honest and we'll just tell everyone straight up like I this is not open for negotiation like I'm not going to have financial control over you you're not going to have financial control over me so it's if that scared anyone away that's up to them but yeah I think you've just especially as a female, you've got to really stand your ground and say like, this is, this is how it will work. Love. Now tell me, what do you do for work? How much money do you earn? Yeah, I'm in sales. I have a base salary of about 70,000 a year. Currently to date, I've earned 120. So I'm aiming for a 140. It's very heavily commission-based,

Starting point is 00:08:54 works well when you're money oriented, but yes, aiming for 140. I love that. I feel like that's such an attractive career, right? So, so many people are like, I want to make good money. I'm good at talking to people. How did you get into sales? Was that something where year 12 or whenever you finish school, you're like, I'm going to go into sales and I'm going to make commission. You don't understand that structure. How does this happen? Yeah. So I'm a very like you want to employ me kind of person. So when I was in uni, I worked for Ikea. So I just worked in retail spaces. I worked my way through to doing kitchen planning. Then when I moved regionally, I told a local cabinet maker that they wanted to hire me.

Starting point is 00:09:33 so they did. You know what? I think life meets you at the level of audacity you choose to have. I agree. Yeah. And then I did that same approach and moved into new homes. Good girl. And said, you want to hire me? And then from there, I was able to sort of transition into the business I'm in now. So I sell sheds. Cool. But I just got, I got poached for that job. So it was one of those things, but because of my history of working in sales, like if you can sell a new home, like you're selling a piece of paper, I was told you can basically sell anything. absolutely yeah and the big change of that was only just to eliminate working weekends because having young children working weekends doesn't work the best so yeah I found myself cushy Monday

Starting point is 00:10:12 to Friday with really good bonuses I love this and you're selling sheds I'm selling sheds and you're on track to make 140 a year for it you are an icon how good is that sales has a bad rap but it's not a bad job I don't know I loved like having had a similar background like all through uni and like school I was doing sales-based jobs like retail and stuff and I remember being like I love this like I love talking to people and it's just such a fun job so if that's something that you're good at maybe that's the like more corporate version. Yeah I talk all day so even if I'm not at work people tell me I talk too much so it's perfect for my personality. Well that happened to me at school let's say Victoria is so good at what she does she just needs to focus

Starting point is 00:10:59 she just needs to stop talking to all the other kids in class and how did that work out for me I got my own show so exactly life meets you at the level of audacity that you have absolutely I'm getting paid to do what I was told not to do exactly it can't be that hard right no money does tell me what are your big money goals what are you currently working towards life looks a little bit different than it used to so have those things shifted yeah definitely so as i said in my diary we are hopefully building a house we've actually put our pre-approvals in this morning so it's really really scary so someone sold you a house i love this yeah yeah so not yet we actually have a block on hold so we're hoping to build so yeah pre-approvals are

Starting point is 00:11:43 in this morning we're with the builder trying to get our plans organized it is it is but yeah it was a bit of a big shock so my biggest goal is to obviously get this house built and then once that's done I'd like to start building up shares I think that's sort of most people now that nowadays but yeah mostly getting into the market which was yeah we didn't expect to be able to do so soon well I feel like it's the gateway right you meet Glenn James and then Glenn James might introduce you to me or vice versa and you get into this ecosystem of people who want you to have a really secure financial future you kind of go okay cool house no worries I can do that okay cool, this one, no worries. I can do that. Shares. I feel like it's like a cult, but we are actually

Starting point is 00:12:26 benefiting people instead of manipulating them. We should be working harder at this. I'll call Glenn. Absolutely. I love that. Let's go to a really quick break. And on the flip side, I want to know more about your investment plans, what that'll look like, your house, what type of debt we're going to take on, and then your best and worst money habits. So guys, don't go anywhere. Money Diarist, we are back. And I want to know, you've come into this ecosphere of, I'd say, financial literacy. Glenn and I are very on the same page. What are your thoughts around investing? Obviously, at the moment, money is tied up

Starting point is 00:13:05 like you're planning on purchasing, but have you made a little plan or do you have a strategy for investing? Yeah. So, obviously, most of our money at the moment is going into our deposit account, but I did start up a little Sharesies account probably in February. And I've got maybe like $200 in there at the moment. So focusing a little bit on just learning what different terms are, like even when it came to like ETFs, I just went like, I don't even know what that is. So I spent a lot of time, like I extra like hyper-focus on these sorts of things and have just gone like deep dive right into it, just sort of learning what they mean and what they can do. But yeah, that's sort of as far as I've gone with shares. And then I think it was a couple, I think three

Starting point is 00:13:47 years ago, I actually asked an old coworker of mine what super actually is. And he gave me a crash course. So with that, my super has definitely changed and I'd like to keep growing that as well over like, yeah, the years till retirement. I love this. She's got a plan and she knows what she's doing. Tell me more about this property. Like you've got a block of land. what does that process look like because you backtrack in your submission you said we went and saw a broker and now we have a deposit and we're ready to go tell me about that journey with a broker like did you sit down and do cash flow did you do like talking about your deposit like what did that look like yeah so I'm like I'm a super researcher and I have to know everything

Starting point is 00:14:28 before I go into an appointment so I basically went into this appointment and I said hey like we're on a border town so Vic and New South Wales have very different rules we want to stay on the big size yes so I said to her like I've done market research it's cheaper to build in our area than it is to buy we want to build a house we want to use the first homeowner grant we want the ten thousand dollars we want the five percent scheme we want to layer it all like so she just went yep okay so she ran our numbers she got all of our expenses all of our income and she just went well yeah like 650 would work because we have a 650 cap with the regional first homeowner five percent deposit scheme so she just went yep that's fine so I think it was December that we

Starting point is 00:15:12 started looking at blocks of land and we went maybe we'll find something a lot of the time the blocks take sort of up to 12 months to type yes so we're like oh we'll dip our toes in the water got a block of land on hold last month yeah so that was 225,000 we do have to couple the build and land contracts together so yes we've got to get the building contract before titles come so that's where we're just getting all our ducks in a row at the moment and then yeah hopefully come end of June we will settle on a block of land and start building that is so exciting tell me how does one pick a block of land did you just go that one's for sale money win did you go I like because there's obviously a lot and I promise I'm not completely naive there's obviously a lot that

Starting point is 00:15:58 goes into it because some people will be like no I want land with titles and some other people might go, no, I want one without a title because they're usually cheaper without a title. And then after they will increase in value. So tell me around like a bit more about your thought process. Yeah. Yeah. So Untitled worked better because we do need the land and build contract together. So it means that we actually had time to get that build side of things sorted. And it just gave me peace of mind with a bit of a timeframe. Anything that's sort of titled already, like it's too fast, like too fast for my brain to comprehend. And then obviously working in the building industry, there was a lot that I sort of learned from that. So for us, we wanted re-yard access. So I needed

Starting point is 00:16:38 something that was a certain width to allow for us to get into the back if we get trailers or caravans and all those sorts of things. Price was obviously a big thing because we do have a 650 cat. We like to have a little bit of yard because of the two kids and we do have a dog. So yeah, we just basically went, all right, we want roughly around this size. One came up in the area that we're living in which is fantastic it's just down the road how good yeah it's perfect like we love the area and it's just everything just came together so well so we're pretty lucky oh I love this and can I be really perfect because obviously you've got a 650 cap what type of income is your partner earning yeah so he's on about I think 86 before super yeah also she's the breadwinner

Starting point is 00:17:20 and he loves it I love this I was like is she because like obviously I'm doing some quick maths in my head and I'm like, oh, he'd be on about similar or just lower than for a 650. Anyway, I love that. Tell me a little bit more about the purchase. So how much does it cost for the land? How much does it cost for the build? What does that look like for you guys? Yeah. Yeah. So the land are 225. The build currently sitting around 420. So we're pushing it. We've got about five grand buffer in there. That doesn't include fencing or landscaping. We'll do that outside the contracts so total we'll probably end up spending another sort of 10 20 afterwards but yeah like the the house itself is four bedrooms two bathrooms so good size house the kids will have their own

Starting point is 00:18:02 little playroom so it'll just work perfectly for us we don't need anything too wild yeah it's keeping it quite standard yeah i'm so excited for you guys and like landscaping is one of those things where if it can be included great but if it's not it's also something we can go back and do later like if you can't afford it in the moment and we have these conversations a lot at Zella where clients like oh but the whole package is this and I'm like oh could you negotiate not having landscape because you can have the ugliest front yard for a year it doesn't matter but at least you've got you know some good finishes or you know you were able to actually pay for the driveway to go in or whatever we are actually negotiating because those are things we can go

Starting point is 00:18:42 back and do later, but you can't go back and add another bedroom for the same price or like even just land. So I just, ah, it's so exciting when people are like, I'm building. And for those who follow the She's On The Money podcast, they'd know that Jess, who's on the show, she's currently in the same situation as you. She's just a little bit more progressed. She's like bought her land. She's like signed off on the build. Like it's just started building. It's just such an exciting process to go through and I'm yeah keep me updated. Do you have any other debts apart from taking on this mortgage? Yeah yeah so we do have a car loan which we didn't think that we'd be buying a house anytime soon so it kind of got to a point where we're like well how about we just

Starting point is 00:19:28 get a nice family car to travel in. I think there's about $60,000 on that one so big car big loan but yeah like it is what it is. We'll probably focus on paying that one down a bit quicker once the mortgage is all sorted but yeah other than that there's just a two thousand dollar credit card as well that we've just kept aside as like a an emergency like if you need to use it use it but if you don't don't just sort of help keep that sort of credit going and a little bit of fun money if we ever wanted it yeah no that makes sense and is that two thousand dollar credit card that's the limit not what you've got owing on it yeah that's the limit yeah yeah very cool so talk to me about personal insurance like you've got two young kids you're taking on a

Starting point is 00:20:09 whole heap of debt. Is this something you've thought about? What is the plans? If you came through Glenny James, you know, he's as obsessed with personal insurance as I have. So this won't be the first time you've heard of it. Tell me, what are your thoughts? Yeah. So I have a total permanent disability and death in my super. So I've set that up to be higher than what the value of the house would be. So if anything does happen, covers it all. And I've actually done the same for my partner as well I got him to jump into his super and just tweak a few things you don't even notice like honestly it comes out of your super you don't even know so it's just simple do you feel like a different person than the person that was married because like I'm just picking up she's

Starting point is 00:20:52 now the breadwinner she's the one telling her partner to do some super stuff like you're talking about an investment plan for the future you've just bought a property like what's the contrast past. Completely backwards. Like it just, even little things, like if people want it, we wanted to go camping, like I'd have to sit there and count the dollars for the groceries. Whereas these days I'm like, yeah, let's, let's just go down to Melbourne for the weekend. Like it's, it is nice. Like it's just, it's a complete backflip and that's sort of exactly sort of more what sort of that teenage me was expecting just a little bit later, but that's okay. That's okay. We're all in our own timelines. And is that something that's now impacting your

Starting point is 00:21:34 relationship with your kids? Like when it comes to money and how that works, I feel like money inherently, because it is and can be so stressful, it impacts the way that we interact with our family in general. What does that look like now? Yeah. So I'm very open with my kids. Like they've understood the whole process. Like we want to build a house, like we've shown them what we want to do and if they sort of say oh can we go out and do something like I'll go okay well this week we need to put some more money to the house but like maybe we can compromise so little things like we'll just put a movie on Amazon and have popcorn in the playroom instead of actually going to the movies and like they're really good with those sorts of things so I just to me the

Starting point is 00:22:14 transparency is really important and it's actually taught especially my oldest to start saving himself. So every time he loses a tooth, he goes, oh, instead of spending this on lollies, I'm going to save my money and get something a bit bigger. So it makes you proud as a parent when you sort of start to see the conversations you're having actually start to impact them a little bit as well. So it's so cute. Yeah. And I find that I'm not at that stage yet. I've got a two-year-old, so he doesn't get it. He just wants stuff and a train book and he's good to go. But it's making me think a lot, like how am I going to teach my children about money? because in 2026, it just feels so different to the way that I grew up. The way I grew up around

Starting point is 00:22:54 pocket money, it was very physical. Every Friday after school, we would get our pocket money and my sister and I had our own piggy banks. It was such a physical thing. How are you starting to teach your kids about money, the value of money? Is pocket money a thing still? What's your take? Yeah. We haven't gotten too much into pocket money yet, but we have had a look and I think it's called Spriggy there's like yes you can get yeah yeah so I think that because you can set little goals in there like and you can actually sort of have a look and see how the goals are tracking that can sort of make things a bit more physical so definitely something we're looking more into just haven't sort of actioned so much but just trying to help them visualize like when

Starting point is 00:23:38 we've had the savings for the house we actually had like I drew up a physical thermometer and stuck it on the wall and I was like coloring in the sections for each thousand we saved and they got excited every time a section got colored in so like it was it was seeing that physical side of things that sort of made them get excited and then once we got to the very top they were like oh my god like we've made it and it was just a celebration for them even though like obviously they haven't done much but they did like to them it was more like this wow like it's it's at the top so that sort of has translated really well into them to understand like why we've made changes and that has actually gotten us somewhere. So hoping that we can start moving

Starting point is 00:24:17 forward in that way. But I've also sort of listened to the podcast with shares with the kids accounts. So probably once the house is sorted, we'll start putting more money sort of aside for kids shares that they can access when they're a bit older as well. Totally. And I really liked what you said before, because you were talking and like, these are just conversations, but once you become a parent, you're like craving more of these conversations. Like what are other people's opinions. What are they doing? Like, how do I do this? So that's, I guess why I'm focusing on it a little bit more, but you said something about transparency and just the idea that you're like, no, we sat the kids down and we said that we wanted to build a house and we had the thermometer

Starting point is 00:24:55 on the wall. Like to me, that's such a beautiful way of giving them the level of transparency that they need at that age, as opposed to going, well, mom earns X and this is the whole budget. Like that can be really overwhelming. And when we talk about transparency, I think people go, oh, so I have to tell them everything. Well, no, you didn't just let them focus on one goal or one thing. And you said, oh, like we're not going to the movies, but we'll get some popcorn and watch a movie on Amazon. Like kids understand and comprehend so much more than we give them credit for sometimes. And do you find that they are the ones going, oh yeah, that's still a good activity they don't feel like they're missing out yeah yeah absolutely and like because I'm so lucky

Starting point is 00:25:40 to be a commission-based role like there are some times where we'll do something a bit bigger like before we even started saving for the house like we were a bit bougie and we took the kids on a cruise so they've been asking can we go again can we go again so I just sort of have gone well we saved up for a cruise but now we're saving up for a house so once we finish the house like then we can talk about what the next big thing is so it is just like a lot of it's sort of by association like kids don't know the difference of $20 to $200 like they don't like it's just dollars so yeah like it's just it's trying to find that way that they can understand and it's tricky like it's very tricky because you are used to having adult conversations and you've really got to dumb

Starting point is 00:26:21 it down like but it is so much fun once they start to click and once they start to ask those questions. And as you said, no kid understands, oh, mom earns this much and this is the budget. Instead, it's more, hey, we can't really afford that this week, but how about we try for this week? Or how about we do this instead? Like, oh, we'll go to the park instead of going over to the trampoline place. So it's finding those compromises for the now, and then we can reevaluate once we've hit that goal. Yeah. And I think that, you know, the more I learn about children and money, one of the most important concepts that you can teach them is delayed gratification. So you said about the tooth fairy and I was like, oh, I really want to bring up

Starting point is 00:27:07 this concept of delayed gratification. Like your son is saying, if I choose to have a small something now, I'm sacrificing a big something later. And it's just such a beautiful thing to be able to teach kids that like, yes, you could have instant gratification in the moment. You could have some lollies, but there's a bigger, better thing waiting for you. And it's not necessarily about the money. It's actually about teaching them to wait and teaching them to put value on things and think about things into the future. And that's going to serve them so well. It doesn't matter if it's $5 or if it's a cruise, but just if we do this now, we can have a bigger, a better life later and that's just such a beautiful like message to you know instill in

Starting point is 00:27:51 kids especially younger kids so that they can go oh no I get why we didn't do that I don't feel like I'm missing out can you imagine what your kids money stories are going to be like in 30 years they're going to be on the show going oh my mum taught me this and I'm just so grateful like how cool yes it's it's such a big thing like and I think I just my biggest thing is I look back at sort of how things were when I was a kid and look at how things are now and I go what is it going to be like when my kids are older like it is harder to get into the market it is harder to do these things like is it going to be even harder then so the more I can sort of prep them for that like the better off I think I will feel and the better off they will be yeah totally now what do

Starting point is 00:28:35 you think your best I feel like you've got good money habits across the board but what do you think your best money habit is? At the moment, probably just like making sure that everything is just in its place when I get my money in each week. So, as soon as it comes in, it's bills, it's like money straight to savings, like that is allocated to that. And then whatever's left, like that is left. So, it's just making sure, yeah, everything that needs to be paid and that like essential savings is all just done. And then, yeah, that's that. So, if there's not enough left for that new t-shirt that I want like too bad I've just got to wait yeah now what do you think your worst money habit is I don't know if you've got one uh I have this bad habit of just buying

Starting point is 00:29:17 concert tickets on a whim uh same at the moment yeah it's just oh Hilary Duff's coming no worries I already did it yeah exactly I'll be there with you yes so it's just like I have FOMO and if I They're just tragic millennials though and there's been so many things that are not like, oh, you know, the concert tickets I'm buying, I don't know about you, girlfriend, but the concert tickets I'm buying, they're like nostalgic. I'm like, no, I have to go. Like it's not, oh, they're super popular on the radio right now.

Starting point is 00:29:47 I'm like, oh, no, it's Hilary Duff. I will die if I don't see Hilary Duff. And I'm like, it's serious FOMO. What if she doesn't come back? Like I need to be there. No, no. And she's clearly going to like, no, sorry. I just I have so much hope for this tour like I know my inner um Lizzie McGuire is gonna be there

Starting point is 00:30:06 don't don't two of my best friends and I are going together and we're planning even now already yeah what are you wearing what are you wearing I'm gonna buy a whole outfit like this is yes to me a very bad money habit because do I have a dress I could wear absolutely absolutely but I need to channel my inner Lizzie McGuire like I need some jeans with diamantes yes like this is what dreams are made of she says exactly I'm gonna need like some hair accessory there's there's gonna be a whole thing like butterfly clips and just like yes also Kema have butterfly clips at the moment in the Kema in the kids section if you want them for the little twisty back moment that we used to have as children I'm gonna have to do that yeah it would it would be rude not to absolutely like

Starting point is 00:30:50 when other opportunity are you gonna get it's not gonna happen it's not gonna happen because she's as old as we are. Money Darius, now that we've spoken, I feel like you said a B minus at the start of this episode. Queen, what are you talking about? Like, I don't know if you're giving yourself enough credit for the transformation that you've been through and we haven't focused enough on it, but just having gone from where you were to where you are, I feel like you've done it in a relatively short period of time with an epic mindset. Like it has not been easy. I'm not going to downplay that, but you have gone from being in a situation that a lot of people come out of and need years to recover from. And it's not, I'm not saying, oh, it was

Starting point is 00:31:36 the marriage in general, but just the financial side of it. Sorry, Queen, what are your hot tips and tricks? And do you really think that you're a B minus? Biggest hot tips and tricks is working sales. Like your commissions come in. Like I, I had so many outstanding, like electricity and gas bills that I just didn't know how to pay and those when that commission came in it was like all right that one's kicking boxes yeah absolutely like I had to sacrifice absolutely but it just having that extra money was such a bonus like I felt so privileged to be able to to go hey like I have extra money coming in and I can pay that off so that was probably my biggest like win with my income type. But yeah, I don't know. Like I just always feel like there's room for

Starting point is 00:32:22 improvement. And I feel like maybe if we do get successful in securing this loan, maybe I'd probably push myself up over to maybe an A minus. I'm sure you will. I don't see any issue with the loan happening. Yeah. We're very excited. So it's just, yeah, such a nervous part. Like no one ever talks about how scary that pre-approval part is, but it's so scary. Literally. It's why you've got to have such a good mortgage broker on your team. And like, don't get me wrong. I know a lot of people are like, oh, Victoria, I could just go to the bank. They're not going to hold your hand in the same way. They're not going to like have all the levers to be like, okay, cool. Let's look down

Starting point is 00:33:00 this. Like, you know, and I'm not trying to be salesy for my own business, but when it comes to mortgage broking, you're going to somebody who has access to like 60 different options. Like if you go down to your bank, you've got two, but 60 different options that go, okay, cool, money diarist, you want the 5% scheme. Great. I know which banks are going to, you know, capitalize on that and give you the best outcome. Okay, cool. I know this bank actually has better serviceability than this bank. Oh, this bank's going to look at your commissions a little bit differently. Like it's such a complex situation that you just need someone on your side that's also going to text you like, hey, money diarist, it's all good. Like no news is good news. And you

Starting point is 00:33:40 go, okay, well, thank God. Cause like, I thought I was the only one thinking about this. Like, cause it is stressful. It's the biggest investment you'll make in your entire life, arguably. Like, sorry, I'm asking you to spend $650,000. That shouldn't be easy. No, no, absolutely. Everyone go see a broker. Like, even if you don't know, like, as I said, like we didn't know we'd be that close to being ready like have the conversation like they're more than happy to run numbers and just talk you through it so it's just yeah they are yeah I can't fault my experience with broker and I will just yeah mortgage brokers we were also born to yap so like we don't mind if you go I don't know if I'm ready girl let's jump on a zoom let's have

Starting point is 00:34:23 a chat so what was your dog's name again oh cool I want to get him a backyard like yeah it's so exciting that you don't have to have the deposit saved to chat to a broker. You can just book an appointment because do you know what? There's something equally special about meeting a client who's not ready, who is like, oh my God, Victoria, thanks so much for having that conversation. I'm so motivated. I'm going to go, you know, stick another tracker on the fridge and get to that goal. Let me keep you updated. Like we want to be on the journey. Like you buying your first home is as exciting for us as it is for you. Yes. Nothing motivates you more than finding out exactly what you can actually get. Like it's just. Yes. How exciting. Money, Doris. I just,

Starting point is 00:35:06 the only way is up for you from here. Like you just have so much to achieve. I'm just, I'm so excited that you're in the position that you were in. And I just, I look at it and I go, if you can do it, so many of our community members can do it. And just, I'm really, really happy for you. And I'm just so proud of the journey you've gone on. So thank you so much for sharing your journey with me, but also with the community because it just benefits them so much to be able to go, you know what? It can't be that complicated. Yes. Yes. Just set your mind to it and listen to all the podcasts and just go. Just go. Just give it a crack. Just do it. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

Starting point is 00:35:52 The advice shared on She's on the Money is general 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 MoneySherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.

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