She's On The Money - How They Went From Paycheck-to-Paycheck to Proud Homeowner

Episode Date: January 26, 2025

What does it take to turn a paycheck-to-paycheck life into homeownership, wedding plans, and dreams of starting a family? This week’s Money Diary is a masterclass in leveling up your finances—and your life. Our diarist spills all about their journey from being a self-described hot mess, splurging on brunches and carrying a $25K car loan to ditching debt, buying a house, and building a future with their partner. You’ll hear about the hard lessons (like how car loans can play havoc with your borrowing power), the triumphs (goodbye, car loan!), and the genius tools they used—hello, color-coded budget spreadsheet! Whether you’re saving for a big goal, figuring out family finances, or just love a good glow-up story, this episode is packed with inspiration, laughs, and tips you’ll want to steal. Ready to binge more relatable, inspiring, and downright juicy money stories? Check out our ultimate Money Diaries playlist. Listen now FREEBIE ALERT: Join the She’s on the Money 30-Day Reset—your step-by-step guide to refreshing your finances, setting achievable goals, and starting the year strong! Sign up for free 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.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. 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 habits for educational purposes of course welcome back to another one of our Money Diaries, where I get the absolute pleasure of jumping in and chatting to one of our incredible She's On The Money community members all about their journey. Let's jump straight into it because this week I got a message and it sounded exactly like this. Hi, She's On The Money. I used to be a bit of a hot mess, student loans, a car loan, and barely making it from paycheck to paycheck. But I was single and never really had to think about a rainy day. Then I met my partner and everything changed. Suddenly we were talking about the future, buying a house, planning a wedding,

maybe even adopting a child. But those dreams come with a big price tag and we had some bad money habits to break. That's when I started listening to She's On The Money. We're now engaged, settling into our first home and adjusting to the reality of budgeting with a mortgage. Money Diarist, I'm so excited about this. You're like well on the way from being a financial hot mess to like having had a very good glow up. Are you excited to do a money Darius? I'm so pumped. I'm so excited. I am more excited. Money Darius, before we get there, I need to know what grade would you give your money habits if I asked you to give them a grade from A through to F? I'm going to go like B minus, I think. A B minus. All right. Let's learn more about it.

So let's jump straight into it. My favorite question of all time. Money Darius, can you tell me a little bit more about your money story. Yeah, absolutely. So I grew up in Victoria, a standard family, three children, two parents, very much middle class, but financial literacy wasn't really anything that was taught. Like money was just like, I think, you know, like, yeah, I didn't really have much financial literacy. Also like culturally men pay for everything, that kind of mindset, you must work hard, you know, you must provide for the family, that kind of thing. Did you have that dynamic with your parents? Like was your mum a stay-at-home mum? Yeah. Like mum, like she had jobs here and there, but she was primarily a home maker. And

then she like had her own career for a very, probably about five or six years. And then she started doing dad's accounts. So she now works for dad or, you know, supports the family business. Yeah. I love that. How exciting. So tell me a bit more, like financial literacy wasn't really talked about, but it was kind of like an ingrained thing where it was just like a given, like the men provide and the women kind of do the homemaking stuff but can do some stuff on the side but it's never the predominant literally so it was never like this is how you budget this is how we save money but like it was work paycheck spend work paycheck spend like that's so yeah there wasn't a lot of financial discussions like I couldn't have told you how much my parents earned when

I was growing up I don't know if my parents invested I don't know who they banked with Like I couldn't, I couldn't tell you. My dad is a big cash is king guy. I don't think he actually knows his pin to his card. I've got it saved in my phone. I love this. How does that even happen? I just, I don't know. Like I just, I ask him and it frustrates me. Like I think mum takes care of like the digital money and dad takes care of like the physical money. Yep. Fair, fair. And is that because he, and obviously this is anonymous select kind of money win, is that because he gets paid sometimes in cash or is that because mum takes cash out for him or like how does he get hold of the 50s? Column A, column B. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay. Cash is

definitely king. Yeah. I love it. And is that just like what type of work is he doing? Is he like trades? Yeah, he's a tradie. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool. I kind of love that. Like I know that that's like, you know, not ideal, but who am I to judge? Like cash is king. He probably always has like a role in his pocket or something. Is that the experience you had when you were growing up? Yeah. It was like, dad was like, just like the ATM. Like when we're like in teenage years and like, we didn't have money to go out, but we'd be like, you know, Hey dad, like, can you spot me a couple of hundred? And he just like whip it out. I'm like, Oh, what? That's crazy. There's no way. If I asked my parents to spot me even a hundred bucks, they would have been in the

position to do that. So when you said, and I'm just trying to like pry because it's so pervy when you said like, we didn't grow up with a lot of financial literacy. I'm kind of picking up that that wasn't because you didn't have money. You kind of grew up and everything was like paycheck to paycheck, but like there was cash. It wasn't as though, oh, paycheck to paycheck, we have to eat noodles and we have nothing. Sorry, kids. Is that the vibe? Yeah, no, we weren't impoverished. Like, no, not at all. Like we middle-class family, like we were solid. We all got jobs at 14. Like that was a big thing. Like my parents have ingrained a sensational, if not probably too much of a work ethic into all three of us. Our life wasn't about money. It was about hard work.

And that's like the European thing. Like that's how my father was raised and that's how he's raised his children. You know, life's not about money. It's about working hard and doing the right thing. I like that. I feel like that's really wholesome as well. And it reminds me that like when I was 14 years and nine months, my mum was literally like, you have to get a job.

And then I was working my first job and I was at a little cafe and it was all fine and well and dandy. And then my best friend lived interstate and she came over for the school holidays to spend some time with me. and my mum was like, oh, you don't have a job. You should get a job while you're here in Victoria. And I was just like, mum, like you can't do that. So yeah, that's probably where my work ethic came from because like not working wasn't an option. Literally, like I'd like to be that person that can sit there and like read and crochet 24-7 or like, you know, I love gardening, but I can't do

it all day. I need to work. I need to be mentally stimulated. Yeah. I fully understand that. So tell me what happens for the kid whose dad was able to spot him a couple of hundred bucks when he turns 18 and then goes out into the world on his own. Like what does that money story look like? Awful. Thanks dad. No, it was like, it was like a double whammy because I went to university, not in my hometown. So I had to like at nearly 18 and a half when I finished year 12, I had to move out of home. Like I had to go into student accommodation and I couldn't work my regular job that I had been working I also had to like pay for food and pay for laundry detergent what's that about why is laundry detergent so expensive still literally so that really like

threw me but I'm also like a massive extrovert well not so much now but I used to be and I used to love going out and I used to love partying and I love being social so I'd always somehow make it work I'd always somehow have money for drinks taxi and cigarettes but then like I feel like you and I have very similar money stories like like in terms of growing up great middle class but then also like going off to university at 18 and being like what do you mean laundry detergent is that much what do you mean I have to buy dishwashing liquid like what the heck olive oil absolutely not are you rich even at 30 olive oil absolutely not like I'm grateful to be in a position where I can afford it now but I still have those money habits in the back of my

head like when I go to literally I'm standing in the supermarket looking at the olive oil and I'm like what the heck like that's absolutely insane it's cooked but I got clever so I couldn't find secure work up there like it was very transient it's student accommodation so it's very competitive so I was working at a bar back in Melbourne so I would travel at night or on weekends and go work in the bar but I'd also drop off my washing to mum and dad's place and I would leave on the Sunday to come back to uni with like a boot full of groceries fresh fruit in uni who can afford that berries oh absolutely not absolutely not we were living our best me gorang life so like where my parents couldn't really spot me a lot of cash like to support my rent but they would do my washing

give me food like they would you know they were great like that very wholesome yeah I love that and I feel like that's you're talking about that with such joy as well like I can see you smiling thing. Like those were the good years. Like we had a lot of fun, but then you said a little bit later, you ended up being a little bit of a hot mess. Talk to me about student loans and your car loan. And then, you know, not really being that savvy with money. So like I make good money. Like I do. Like I, but I was single. I either had like my own apartment or I was in a share house. I never had intentions of buying a house. I didn't, it wasn't for me. I was a single guy. I wanted to travel I wanted to go see all the shows I wanted to do all the fun things

and that created like a habit of spending like no worries I've got it and like I'm also very generous I guess so like nah girl don't worry I'll support you like all that jazz and I don't regret it but yeah I got to like 26 27 28 I was like in my late 20s and I was going to move to the UK in 12 months. I was going to go do that, live my best life over there. And then one night I met my now fiance. Oh, tell me, how did you meet? We met online. Yeah. I mean, I met my husband on Tinder. Like I used to be shy about that. Now I'm like, that was such a win. Badge of honor. We're like the 1%. 100%. And now I'm married to him. So tell me how that didn't work out. Correct. No, we met online. And then I went out one night for work drinks, being that hot mess

that I was, drank too much. And then I called him and asked him to pick me up because I couldn't believe it. Oh, nice. And he was like, absolutely future husband. Yes. And then from there, like things change. Like that saying, like, you know, you know, when you meet the right person, so true. So within like three or four weeks, I was like, oh, this is like serious. This is legit. Yeah. Isn't it crazy? And like you were planning on moving to the UK. So did that just go out the window? Like what did you do? Had you booked anything, organized anything? I had gone to three or four information sessions about working in the UK and the visas and getting sponsored and all that. And I had a little, little nest egg to pay for my visa. And then,

yeah, so I met my partner and then my lease was up in December. So six months later. So we had to have that conversation. Like, am I re-signing my lease? Are we... After six months, you definitely knew, didn't you? I did. And like, so we're spending pretty much every night together anyway. So then we decided he was in a share house he had a little bit left on his lease so we decided we'd go for a trial period while his lease was going to run out so I jumped in with him and then everything changed like it all you know we were a unit we had dual income for the one household we back then we were both working full-time so we had like a lot of income for one household so we did all that and

then uh he decided to go back and study and I really encouraged him to go get his degree he always, one of the first things he said to me, it was he wanted to get his degree. And I said, well, I make okay money. We can do it. Now's the time to do it because if we can't do it in five years time, we have a mortgage. Yeah. A hundred percent. Like everything's just a lot tighter when that mortgage has to be paid every single month. That was smart move from you. So was that like a loss of who you were or was that like a glow up? I mean, moving to the UK, obviously really cool. I feel like that's something I absolutely would have done had I not met my partner because I feel like being a little bit extroverted, like wanting to see the world,

like, I don't know, we all romanticize this idea that we can move to London basically and then travel on the weekends, right? Like you could totally do a long weekend in France. Like that's so easy. But now everything's changed. Was that an exciting change? Like obviously we're obsessed with this person. We want to spend our life with them. We don't want to change that. But did you ever feel like, oh, I'm not going to be able to achieve that or do that? Or was that just a, I don't even care anymore. That was just filling time while I was waiting for my person to come along. It was 50-50. I think meeting my partner, and this is going to get really sappy, but meeting my partner really healed a part of me, a teenage part of me. Growing up gay in a

Catholic school is hard and dating some absolute not nice people for your 20s, like it's your 20s, that's what you're meant to do. But dating as a woman, trash. Dating as a gay man with all of my gay friends. Like I haven't done it, but like, it looks even worse. Like it looks even trashier. It's so awful. It's like the dregs of the internet come out and I just, I'm shook that you stuck with it, but I'm glad you found a good one. Literally. So, you know, it was that kind of thing like, okay, my life is changing, but it's changing for the better. Like I have got my perfect match. I've got someone that challenges

me, loves me unconditionally. I've got someone to share the good things with, you know, I've got a family now. Like I've got my family now. You know what I mean? You're building it yourself, which is so exciting. Tell me a bit more, because I'm picking up. So you were saying before, like, you know, my dad's European. He's got the cash in his pocket. Like he wanted to help us out wherever he could. You know, he works as a tradie. I'm picking up some traditional vibes and that's, you know, a good and a bad thing. But then you said growing up as a gay man in a Catholic school system, was that something you always knew? Because I feel like sometimes growing up in that system, they're like, oh no, that's not a thing. And you have

to spend a lot more time learning who you are. Like, tell me about that journey and living in a relatively traditional, especially European family. Looking hindsight, always new. Like, please. At the time though, it did, I had no idea. I really was like, you know, everyone else is talking about, you know, how hot so-and-so is. So, so am I. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, and you weren't wrong she probably was hot but I I don't want to sleep with her yeah like I loved how her hair curled at the end I didn't really love her breasts you know like you were like that highlighter is so soleil literally like her tan perfect um she smells so good babe what is that I would like to pick it up it's probably like Britney Spears back then like who knows oh don't even Britney

Spears fantasy I'm known for it literally so yeah back then I kind of like early on didn't know and then like after that suppressed it i was like well i'm bisexual that's what but i wasn't out that was just internal kind of things and then yeah early 20s really early 20s i kind of struggled with my mental health a little bit that was the catalyst like that was the thing and yeah just really liberating and mom and dad weren't great with it at the start but i think meeting my partner and seeing how my life has changed for the better we've been together for three years three and a half years now. I think that has really brought them along for the journey, like along for the ride. Yeah. And I love that because it makes it real. I feel like, you know, having not gone

through this, but like my best friend is gay. And like when she came out as gay, she told me, like she literally flew from Tasmania to tell me. And I was like, baby, the closet was glass. Like, are you for real? Like, are you for real? Like, is this actually news? Okay. But having parents who grew up with that kind of European culture, I think they have all these misconceptions about what that might actually look like. And then, then getting to meet your partner, they were like, oh, oh, this is what it's like. He's beautiful. I'd love for him to be part of my family. What are you talking about? And I think that that's just, it's so nice that you finally got that. Like, it just makes me so happy that that kind of has come full circle. And I mean,

I'm glad that you didn't go through a lot of situations that other people do, but like the mental health stuff breaks my heart because it was just like, that's who you were. You didn't need to feel bad about it literally it was it's wild how much society has changed in such a short amount of time and you think if you look at like the last 50 years whoa like whoa so like I'm blessed I'm so lucky that I grew up in like I was born in the 90s I'm so lucky that I was born in the 90s not born in the 70s oh a hundred percent one hundred percent and I mean it doesn't mean that it was a perfect ride but it was far easier than what it could have been absolutely and I mean, we've come in leaps and bounds, but I actually would love to get your take. Obviously,

Trump has just been inaugurated as the president of America. And like, I feel like you and I are on the same page. So we probably have the same colorful, I don't know, beliefs about this happening. But when he was inaugurated, he obviously signed a bill in to say, you know, we're going to move back to having just two genders and we're going to, you know, suppress the rights of the LGBTQIA plus community how do you think that that is going to ripple effect into our society because obviously America usually like kind of leads by example and like it filters on because like they're the big dogs right and I mean technology happens there first shopping happens there first fashion happens there first like and I'm not trying to distill it down

to be as I guess candid as that but like if that's the way things go for those areas do you think that those types of views are going to filter back into Australia? It gives permission for people to say the rude thing. Which is gross. Yeah. So it's okay because I'm doing what the Americans can do. I'm doing what the president can do. I'm allowed to use my voice. And yeah, so I think it's going to get rid of the tolerance that was there. I'm full prepared for it to get rid of the tolerance and bigotry will come through. I think because for such a long time, society said, no, it's not okay for you to be rude. It's not okay for you to spread hate. It's not okay. You know, if you don't like anyone, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

And now we've got that. That's all like, no, say what you want, do what you want. They're not human. Yeah. It's breaking my heart at the moment thinking about it. Cause I had this conversation with a friend the other day. I was like, when did you realize that you were gay? Like, when did this happen? Because historically they had dated men like consistently. And I was like, when did that switch happen. Cause obviously I'm not privy to their, their life, like in that way. She was like, do you know what it was? It was when gay marriage was legalized in Australia. And I realized that was an option. And I went, hold on. Before that it was illegal. And I came from a very small town and you know, you kind of go, oh, maybe I'm playing around with this for a little while.

And like, it's not very serious. Cause like at the end of the day, I couldn't ever marry someone and have a family with them. So like maybe I'll quote grow up one day. And then it became legal and she went, oh, I can do that. Actually, I'd much prefer that. That would be a better outcome. And I just, I remember that conversation. Obviously that happened a little while ago, but I remember that conversation and going, wow, not just the progress of giving you permission if you were already in that situation. Like I adore the fact that you can marry your partner and like just do whatever the hell you want to do. But on the flip side, it gave people permission to go, oh, I actually really resonate with that. And now that it's an option, that's the option

I'd like to pick, like that breaks my heart to think that we're going back because people won't be able to resonate with who they truly are. Literally. Like I'm very angry about this at the moment. So let's go back to the money diary because I want to know, you said before, I make good money V. What is that money and what do you do for it? Like what's your job, my friend? I'm a primary school teacher. Of course you are, the kindest of humans. So our combined income, so we combine finances. So I often refer to it as like household. So our combined income is $145 a year. I make $95 of that and my partner makes about $50 of that.

Very cool. So tell me, what does your partner do? He is a kindergarten teacher. Oh my gosh, you're both wholesome humans. Stop it. So he's a sessional kindergarten teacher. So he can only work part-time and then he does casual stuff on the side. I adore that. Tell me a bit more about like big money goals, because obviously you've gotten engaged and you're planning a wedding. Oh, nice ring. You guys don't get to see it, but I did. You've bought a house. Tell me about your big money

goals because in your money diary, you said like we might even adopt a child. Like obviously these things are expensive. So expensive. So goal number one is to renovate our house, which is really exciting and it's like a great creative outlet, but it is hella expensive. Goal number two is to get married, whether that is the big, beautiful wedding or whether that is a small ceremony and we go traveling for three months afterwards. Either way, it's going to have a big price ticket against it. Yeah. Yep. The whole, the shebang is very expensive. And then, yeah, we would love to be parents one day, but adoption, overseas adoption or surrogacy is really, really expensive, like six figures. So yeah, that's more of a pipe dream. Oh my gosh. Yeah,

Totally. I can ask for permission for me to connect you with the, I don't know if you ever listened to the money diary of the only other guy I've actually had on the show. He is now one of my friends and one of the most beautiful human beings and side note update, they're currently expecting their baby, which is so exciting. And like, I don't know if I'm going to, like, I can't share it because I know the gender and like they've been posting about it, but I can ask permission to introduce the two of you so that you could talk about that journey. Cause I feel like there are so many, like, obviously you can do your research online, but there's research online. And then there's the reality of the situation and talking to one-on-one. So I will connect you

with him, but I think you'll be so excited because they're so far down. Like they're currently on their last family holiday before this baby arrives. And like every time they post on social media, I like lose my mind. That's amazing. Anyway, wholesome humans. So obviously that's really expensive. What research have you done into what that could potentially cost you as a family? So a friend of a friend of mine is doing surrogacy in Argentina. And from the day that they decided, let's have a baby to the day that they will eventually hold their child in Australia, it's going to cost them over 120K. And girl, you can't get a mortgage for a child. like no you can't you literally can't and I mean I don't know if I'd want that like what do I do

pay it off over time $120,000 and like to be real pervy like is that including things like them traveling to Argentina and like I'm assuming that in I don't know enough about Argentina but I'm assuming that they are able to pay their surrogate over there they are able to pay their surrogate but like each IVF round over there is costing them 30 grand so like oh my god the first one failed. So, their projected cost is a lot more now because the first one failed. There's lots of intricacies. And in Australia, there's no surrogacy laws. So, so many of my beautiful girlfriends have said, of course, I'll carry your child, but they always will have parental rights to that child. What?

Yeah. There's no surrogacy laws. There's no surrogacy protection like in the US. Right. So, this is maybe me being really dumb and I'm happy to appear dumb because I'm assuming that if I'm asking this question, other people listening are like, oh my God, I didn't realize that either. From my understanding, they would obviously sign up to be your surrogate, but don't the parental rights transfer once the baby is born, like through a similar process like adoption or how does that work in Australia? So you can, yeah, absolutely. Right. So like hypothetically, you carry my child and then we go through the child is born happy, healthy, and then I would legally adopt that child but you don't have to give up that child so you could give birth to

you know our son or daughter and go I don't actually want to give you guys this baby oh my god how hard would that be I can't imagine it I can't imagine it like going through that whole journey like in having you guys be emotionally invested like and you would obviously think the best of your friends that have agreed to this but that is a risk that I'm not even sure that I would be willing to take like I don't think I'd sleep for the entire nine months you know and like what would happen you know like the conversations we've had like what happens friend if we decide we want to move overseas because obviously if my sister or my best friend or all that if they're carrying my child they're going to be involved in my child's life but how would you feel if in 10 years

we pack up and move to Brisbane or we pack up and move to Italy it's not just as simple as saying yes, I'll carry your child. Yeah. Wow. And do you think that obviously there are different laws internationally that mean like if they're a surrogate and biologically that child, like there's no question about that. Fantastic. But would that person still have the same, I guess, involvement in your child's life or does that become a little bit more transactional and in that way a little bit like we don't have to have this relationship and like get to cut the ties. It's not actually about being kind. It's more about like, we would just like to be their parents without any strings attached. I think it's going to sound awful. You pay for a service.

Like, you know, it's a business deal. Yep. Yep. Because like at the end of the day, like I'm assuming the sperm and the egg that you guys would choose are not the surrogates. Correct. Wow. And $120,000 is something that, you know, really limits it. Like it becomes an experience where you're like, okay, cool. Maybe we can save this. Maybe we get $120,000. But is that where you would stop? Because you're from a family of three. Like, do you go, we'd want siblings, we'd want this and that, because that becomes like a half a million dollar exercise at that point. Literally. I think in an ideal world, I'd love to adopt. I think there are so many children out there that need love. I think there are so many children out there that are stuck in the foster

system. And I think really that the reality is we will probably adopt or foster. The hard thing is actual adoption is very rare in Australia. You have a long-term foster system. What I need, just someone drop a beautiful baby on my doorstep. If you need to, just drop it there. That'll be fine. That'd be fine. That'd be great. And do you know what? I want that so much for you. Like you have this warmth that I'm like, you're going to be the best parent. And then when you told me about your partner. I was like, I am assuming same warmth. And it was confirmed when you were like, oh yeah, they're a kindergarten teacher. I was like, of course they are. Like, I can't think of two better people to become parents. And the fact that the obstacles are literally

working against you, it breaks my heart because I'm like, but this baby would be so loved and so well looked after. And I mean, grandpa carries cash in his pocket. Like that's a good family to like come into you know we are so lucky though like between us we've got eight nieces and nephews so we've got so many children around us we're teachers I work in sport as well casually like we have kids we have that the relationship we just don't have our own but we are so lucky like our nieces and nephews range from nine to the last one's due in July so like we've got a good spectrum we've got kids everywhere oh I love that and I love your take on it you just seem so grateful for the situation you're in, even though it's not a hundred percent what you're like,

oh, we'd love this outcome, but like, we're just really happy where we are. And I think that's such a lesson in like, if you're not happy with what you already have more is not going to make it better. Like I just, oh, I adore it. Let's go to a really quick break because on the flip side, I want to talk more about money and learn a little bit more about, you know, your debt, that car loan and what your mortgage is currently looking like and getting a little bit more pervy. So guys don't go anywhere. money diarist we are back and this has been an eye-opening and beautiful chat like i feel like you and i are on the same page and need to be best friends though but before we you know organize our

coffee catch up talk to me about investing is that something that you and your partner do is it something that you're like one day don't hide he's pulling his he's pulling his shirt over his face oh yeah look so i think as it said in the money story we've just got our mortgage we've been living in our house for two months. We are adjusting to paying a mortgage. That is elite. And do you know what? We can't do everything. Like we just can't. No. So it's not the time. I have been starting to do research. I have thought about getting like the Sharesies app or the Raise app and stuff like that. And I am developing my understanding of it. It's just right now, especially with renovations. It's not your time. And that is so fine.

My favorite thing about this whole conversation is that you're like, no, no, no, but I'm educating myself. Like I'm doing a little bit of research. I'm working out where I should be going and what I should be doing in the future. And I think that there's just this, I don't know, dumb amount of pressure to do everything. Like you should be investing. You should be saving. You should also buy a house. Also, don't worry. You do need to travel. And also, can you afford a really big wedding? Like it's actually astronomical to think about what that would cost to then also throw into the mix your life values. Like I want a kid and to get there, that's going to cost $120,000. Like all of those things mean that it makes sense you're not

investing. In fact, if you were like, yeah, like I'm aggressively investing and like just absolutely railroading every other goal that I have. Cause like, you know what, whatever. I'd be like, sir, what are you doing? Please pause. Yeah. Go on, sit down, sit down. I mean, we are lucky. Like my super is 11% on top of my salary. So there is that, like there is super growing healthily. I will occasionally drop some extra money into my super oh okay so you are thinking about investing do you know how many people don't do that I would say like 99% of people aren't dropping a little bit of extra into their super when they think about it yeah it's just like not regular like I wouldn't say

like oh okay all right well it's not regular it doesn't count like be for real like you're still prioritizing it yeah it's yeah it's just like it's the start of the journey I'm understanding it and things like that. It's just not the right time to start properly. So tell me about debt because that is something that you've recently come into more significantly. You said before you used to have a car loan. Tell me about that. How did you get into a car loan at such a young age? Well, so I wasn't going to buy a house. I was making good money. I was single. I was renting and it was affordable. And I was driving a 2005 Yaris. And I was like, nah, like stuff this. Like I work really hard I really do also no shade to a Yaris like what a reliable little car oh I miss

it so much it would have been cheap to run too yeah literally okay anyone listening do not get a brand new car no point do not and also if you've got a Yaris treasure her treasure her my dad currently has the Yaris for his runabout car it's still kicking smart yeah so when he has to travel like you know an hour to the job site he doesn't want to take the big truck he'll just take the terrace. Yeah. Because it's cheap and effective and a comfortable car to sit in. And it can be parked anywhere. Yeah. Literally. It fits in a corner. Literally. So then I bought my car. I paid about four grand of it. And then I got financed for about 25. And then I also had student loans. You have to tell us, what did you get? Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But like,

what car did we upgrade to? Like, what was going to make you look hot while you were single getting around? I got like a white SUV, like a mum car, but like, I'm not a mum, so I'm cool. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm just feeling like it had like, I don't know, white SUV vibes, but then it had like bigger rims or something on it. I'm just feeling that. I did get the fancy aloes, but I got the pearl finish paint. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hot. So yeah, we hit up that and then I met my partner. I bought it just out of COVID. So it took me forever to get my car.

Oh, and it would have cost you a bomb if you'd got it just out of COVID as well. But that's okay. We live and we learn. That's the tea. We live and we learn. So then, yeah, so I was paying off my car loan, which was back then, it was about $500,000, $600,000 a month. And then last year, we moved in with my in-laws-to-be, which we're very privileged to have that opportunity to save for a house. And then when we saw our first mortgage broker, he said, this is your borrowing amount, but the car loan is restricting you about $70,000 or $80,000. Isn't it wild how much it restricts you? And you don't think it is because you were like, okay, cool. Like the car didn't

cost me $70,000. Like, and I don't have that much left on my loan. Like it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but how much was left on your car loan when he told you that it would restrict you by 70 grand? I'm going to say 18. Very common. I thought you'd say around 20. Yeah. And then, okay. On top of that, we both have student loans, which is taken into account, which is just wild. So we had the three debts that were impacting our borrowing capacity. So our broker said, like obviously speak to other people about this, but I would clear one of the debts if you can, because it wouldn't affect your deposit too much. Yeah. Because we can tweak what bank you go with and how much deposit you have. Like we could probably organize like, you know, a 10% deposit

instead of a 20% deposit that's much higher. Like there are so many like levers a mortgage broker can pull and change that once you start talking to them, you're like, I didn't even know that was possible. That's a money win. Yeah. So we decided to take a chunk out of a deposit and pay off the car loan because that yielded the highest interest. And then the student loans are just- Sitting there doing their thing. Sitting there. So yeah, we cleared that before we got the house. So now, yeah, now we've just got the student loans and the mortgage. Oh, how good. So tell me about this mortgage. That's so exciting that the two of you have gotten into your first home.

How much did you buy for and how much is your mortgage? We bought for $615,000 and we got very, very lucky because it needs a fair bit of work, but I have a family of traders around me. So we were able to buy a lot less than what they wanted and we low-bought them and won. Oh, winner. Yeah. And our mortgage is currently sitting at, so we've had it for two months, it's currently sitting at about $525,000. Oh, okay. How good's that? So what type of deposit did you guys end up putting down and then working around? Because it sounds- This is where things got a little bit hectic last year.

I'm like, you've paid off a fair bit. Like that's looking sexy. So we had, there was a policy change with the bank we were going to go with. So initially my broker had this great idea to debt consolidate, get some money aside for the renovations, yada, yada, yada. So then the banker we were going to go with, they had a policy change that meant we were assessed against 5% of an increase of, you know, how I do like the interest increase,

were assessed against 5%. So, that happened. We had paid our holding deposit. We hadn't paid our full deposit on the house. And our broker called us and said, it's not going to happen. You're in trouble. So, the bank change happened and you needed to shuffle pretty quickly. Tell me how stressful that was. It was awful. I'm not a crier. I cried a lot. We didn't sleep. We were going to lose our house. And of course, we bought our first home. We were so excited. we told everyone we you know like a hundred percent and like obviously we won't get too far into it to throw another broker under the bus but like from my perspective as somebody who owns Zella Money which is a mortgage broking business like that would never have been acceptable like

and it breaks my heart that you went through that situation and like again it's one of those situations where you don't know what you don't know and I'm assuming at that time you would have trusted that person giving you that advice. If they said, oh, I'm so sorry that the bank changed their policy, you would have been like, oh, well, I guess that's what it is. Whereas a really good broker would be going into that and saying, no, we applied, we did this. You're actually going to financially impact our client. You have to honor your previous policy. And like my heart breaks. I'm so sorry you went through that. It all worked out in the wash. I know it's not ideal.

Not ideal, but it worked out. We had to beg, borrow, steal. And we had a family member come in and provide us with a side loan and not a gift of money. And again, so privileged that we have that at our disposal. But that's another financial stress. And I'm assuming you guys went into this, we're going to buy our own home. We're going to stand on our own two feet. And then it kind of like gets swept up from underneath you because you're like, oh, now I have to go and talk to this family member. And yeah, you're right. We're so grateful that we have this opportunity, but that's not how this should have felt. That's not how this should have gone,

because I'm assuming if I'd sat you and your partner down and said, hey, we can get you into a property. All you'd have to do is borrow this amount of money from a family member. You'd be like, oh no, thank you. Like we'll actually just save for a little bit longer. Like we want to do it on our own. Like that's not what should have happened. So yeah, without deposit and then that extra cash injection for family member, we, you know, as I said, we've got like 525-ish. You got there. Oh, good. Well, I'm glad that it's not super stressful and like I will be swooping in and hopefully getting you a refi that gets you the renovations of your dreams. But tell me a little bit more. I feel like you've had this whole like glow up, like you've gone from being what you

said, I wouldn't call you this, but you called yourself a hot mess. And now I feel like you're just hot shit. Like those two things are very different. And like, you know, I'm only meeting you today, so I've never met you before, but you have this like glowy energy of confidence and like you're just so happy with where you're at with life. But then, you know, you've shared a lot on the podcast today about like, oh, I wasn't always that way. Like, you know, I grew up feeling a little bit lost, a little bit, you know, flat and had some mental health issues. Like, I feel like you've come through that and now you're out the other side and like you're living your best life, but you would have learned a lot. So tell me what you think your best money habit

is. I can't split between the two. Girl, I'm thrifty. Oh, tell, how are we thrifty though? Discount codes, clearance bins, sales. I will call the business and say, I can get it 5% cheaper. Do you want my business on loan? I will ask for the discount. But if you don't ask, you don't get. Correct. Like, you know, how's your food going?

Actually, we did order this. I will speak for my money and I will make my money work. I love that. And I think that sometimes when we say, oh, we're really thrifty and, you know, we will do clearance bins and op shops and like, you know, make all this work. people then think that you don't spend money in the rest of your life. Tell me a bit about the balance that you have. Like, are you still spending on the things that you love or like? Absolutely. We don't go without ever. But if I can save money on there and it's in my budget,

which that's the other money habit is I've got a killer budget spreadsheet. So if it fits in the budget and I can save money on it, I'll save money on it. Absolutely. I love that. Tell me about this budget spreadsheet though. Like, how does that work? Like, how did you pull it together? Is your partner privy to this? Okay. So you can't judge me. We listen, but we don't judge. Why would I judge you? We listen and we don't judge. You're correct. When I first started listening to She's On The Money, you were talking about your budget spreadsheet and I was like, I'm not going to pay for that. I'm pretty good on Excel. I can make

that. Yeah. You're going to do it yourself. I love that. So you made your own. Fantastic. My partner likes the colors, but he's not a finance guy. um so i love this did you make it pink as well like is it peachy vibes or you just made your own no i made full made my own and like so my income is like a lilac purpley color his income is a soft pink our mortgage repayment bar that's like red like a red color because like bad like so yeah it's fun i adore this so much and like i'm not even mad that you just made your own like i actually want that because like my entire goal is to just get people caring more about their money. And if somehow you were like, do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to save money by

not giving it to Victoria. I'm going to make my own. Girlfriend, that was the point. Like I got you saving. I got you budgeting. Like, haha, I still win. You still win. But like, so I've given it to like my brother-in-law, my sisters, my sister-in-law, like, and taught them how to use it and like taught them how to make it feed properly. I am obsessed with you. Do you know what I'm going to do? I'm actually going to gift you my money masterclass. in addition to the budget spreadsheet which by the way i think is pretty good but it sounds like you maybe have done a better job than me so maybe don't look at it too deeply there's like a heap of videos and content and a mortgage repayment calculator that i think you might like in there

so like you can have your cake and eat it too baby you got both now i love that thank you so much no don't be silly i love that you've been giving your budget spreadsheet to all your friends and family and you're like, use this, do this. Like if I go back maybe five years and said to baby you or like younger you, hey, you'd be sitting your friends and family down and doing their budget. So like, you'd be like color coordinating it. Like, would you believe you? No, not even close. I love it so much. It makes me so happy. So like every year, no matter what year level you teach, you will teach a money unit. And since

listening to She's On The Money, I don't set homework sidebar. I don't set homework. You're the teacher of my dreams. Yeah. But I've said homework for my kids when we start our money unit to go home and ask mom and dad, how much do you earn? And how much is our mortgage or rent? Oh, wow. How does that go down? Interesting. Really interesting. So I normally teach senior school. So grade five, six, it's fostered some fabulous conversations and fabulous learnings, but it's also like kids come back and they say, oh, mom told me we don't talk about that. Dad said, don't worry about it. And

I was like, I need you to ask again. And I've called parents and I've said, it is part of the curriculum. I need them to know how to save. I need them to know what a mortgage is. And the best way to know is with their own situation. Yeah. Wow. Isn't that crazy that it's just still so diverse in terms of like, oh, we don't talk about that. I've been pulling together because I'm quite passionate about the education system. And in the background, I do a lot of work going out to schools and talking at schools, mainly senior schools. So like usually I speak to like grade nines because I feel like at that age, they're getting their first job. I really want them to know about their superannuation and their cashflow and that, you know, you don't just get

all this money into your account and you can blow it all. I mean, you can, but I want you to know the difference between saving for now and like long-term gratification and all of that. But one of the things I've been working on is this idea for like junior school of like basically an activity where you print out heaps and heaps of groceries with their price lists, and they do a budgeting activity of putting together meal plans for the whole week within a certain budget. And I just think that would be so fun. I'll send you my lesson plan. I've got it. Please do. Oh, no, we're going to go out for brunch and we'll talk about your lesson plan. Don't send it to me. I love it. I love it. Let's bring the mood down though,

because we're too happy about this. What's your worst money habit? We're spenders. We spend. Yeah, good. I mean, but your budget is as well. so like we will ignore the budget at times oh so we're saying that we have the budget it's actually just a spreadsheet that tracks our spending no no no like I know how much we have to spend on groceries each week I know how much we have to spend on cars each week but like you know I need some more aftershave we're going to spend less on groceries this week and buy the aftershave that's budgeting I mean who am I to judge like that's right we listen we don't judge if you're happy with it? And is that something that when I say, oh, what's your worst money habit? You're

like, that's a money habit I want to change. Or are you like, oh, like, no, we pull from column A to give to column B and we're pretty happy with it. We just go with the flow or you're like, oh no, like that's an active thing that we're trying to change. Or like, how does it make you feel? It's something we're trying to change because as I said earlier, we're adjusting to the mortgage and living at home and paying rates at, you know, like, so we're adjusting to a new budget. So the cash flow is a lot tighter. We need to change that because we need to free up the other end somehow. So yeah, it's been two months. Oh, like it's so early. I would say that you need like, there's this money shift that happens, right? When you're saving for your

first home, I feel like you're super aggressive and you're so happy to go without, right? Because you're like, okay, cool. I don't need the aftershave because I'm so excited about this acquisition of a house. I'm going to put that extra a hundred bucks into my savings account and I'm actually going to feel really good about it. But then there's the adjustment period, which I think takes a minimum of six months once you get the mortgage to go, we've achieved the goal, but I'm still having to sacrifice. And I actually thought this would feel a little bit different. Like I thought that we would have a bit more free cashflow. A bit more reprieve.

Yeah. And you just don't have that period of reprieve where it's new expectation setting. So my friend, you're two months in, you've got another four months to go before this actually feels quite comfortable and like literally like we bought just before christmas so like christmas is an expensive oh you got absolutely thrown under the bus and then like you know all the family and friends in our community wants to come to our house so we host and we buy food we buy drinks so it's like it's just been expensive she's been a spinner a few months yes like it's great that you want to come and see my house but like could you bring the snacks yeah you bring the wine you bring the food we'll bring the vibes how about that oh my gosh

Yeah, like the vibes of the house. Like that's it. And I feel like I'm providing enough. Money Dirst, I feel like I have adored this money diary. Like it's gone for a little longer than usual, which is obviously a great sign. I don't know. You've shared so much about you, your life, your personal life, your relationship, how you've gotten into property, how that wasn't, you know, the smoothest experience, how you've gone from being like, quote, you, a hot mess, to literally sitting your family and friends down being like, babe, so this is me and I'm lilac and you can do this. And also the bad numbers are in red. Like you made a whole bloody color-coded spreadsheet and you're spreading the good financial vibes. And you think you're a B minus, which who am I

to judge? Like, I don't mind what you think you are, but what does it take you to get to an A plus? Like, how are we getting there? What does that even look like? It gets to an A plus. We are no student loans. We are investing regularly, not a lot, we are investing regularly and we are not being as impulsive on the purchases. So a little few steps. I love this, but you're on the way. Like you showed me earlier that you're very aware of your purchasing and like impulsiveness versus like what you want and how it works. Like it's not as though you're not privy to these things. I'm not sitting down as an advisor and going, hey, did you realize you're a bit impulsive? And you're like, no, I'm not. Like self-aware queen

and you're on the way. So like B-, sure, you can stay there if you want, but I feel like you're on the way to being an A and that's really exciting. Oh my gosh, money diaries, I wish I had like a whole other hour to sit down and yap with you, but I do not. It has been an absolute pleasure learning about you and having you as the second inaugural male on my podcast. And this is definitely a shout out. We want everyone on the podcast, but it turns out we can only have the people that submit their money diaries and are happy to come on the show on the podcast so if you feel like you've resonated with this and want more stories just like this money diarists please write in please dm me please let's have a chat because

I feel like I've just made another best friend and that's my favorite thing in the entire world money diarists as always it has been a pleasure thank you so much for sharing you and your journey and what you're getting up to with our community because I just know people are going to adore you as much as I have, but also they're going to learn so much. And I just, I love our little community that we've built. Bless. Thank you so much for having me. It's been so fun. Oh, I adore this. 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 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289. you