She's On The Money - Introducing...Bec Syed!

Episode Date: January 12, 2023

Welcome to a fresh new Friday episode and meet our brand new cohost Bec Syed! You'll be hearing Bec on the show each Wednesday and Friday and we can't wait for you to get to know her - welcome to the team Bec! You might also notice that our Friday episodes are a little different this year? Join the gals as they revel in your Money Wins, solve a Money Dilemma about how to evaluate the best super company for you, PLUS with so many of you sliding into our DMs each week with questions or spicy thoughts, we thought we'd share these each week on a Friday. This week we chat all about hiding savings in a relationship. Would you ever do it? 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 for millennials who want financial freedom. Today is Friday, which means it is time to get the team together and celebrate you, our incredible She's on the Money community. And before we get there, we're just letting you know, one, welcome to 2023. But two, we're shaking up the format of our Friday episodes to make them more engaging and way, way more juicier. So today, not only will we be sharing our favourite money wins, which Jess does as always, we were never going to cut that part out, we'll be helping to answer a juicy money question, which this week is all about superannuation. But we are also going to unpack a spicy money dilemma one of our community members has had recently

about sharing money and sharing an emergency fund with her partner. So we'll get to all of that. But before we get there, Miss Jessica Ricci, welcome back. I'm so excited that we're here doing more pods. Oh my gosh. Happy New Year, everybody. Oh my gosh. Happy New Year. Who's that? Who's that? Who are you? Oh, sorry. I just, I snuck in here. My name is Bec Syed and I believe I am joining your team this year. I don't know. Does anyone think? She made it obvious before she hasn't signed anything. And I was like, oh, that's probably good for both of us. So not bad, not bad. This is the decider, this episode right here. Yeah. If Jess doesn't agree, we'll have to talk after the show, so perform well. But Bec, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much. It's really nice to be here with you both. Oh my gosh. Bec, obviously the community knows Jess because Jess is our DIY money queen. Also, they know me, but they don't know you. Can you do like a little introduction, like we're going around in circles and you're put on the spot and have to be like, oh, hi, my name's Bec and these are my hobbies and these are my interests and this is what I do for work. Like, ready, set, go. Okay. Wow. Pressure's on. This is the, You know when you start like a new job or something and they ask you these just on the spot. Oh, you're prepared?

I'm not prepared, but I was going to say that I really, really hate these kind of questions. Me too. How do you answer questions about yourself? That's why we're asking you, not vice versa. That's why I volunteered Jess or I to answer first. I'm going to do a surprise one on both of you after this. But no, just kidding, I won't. But my name's Bec, of course, as you guys know, and hopefully everyone listening now knows.

I've worked with you guys, but behind the scenes. for about a year. Yeah, about a year. I would say, yeah, we were like, Beck has big Beck energy. We need Beck on the pod. BBE. BBE. Just kind of crept up on me and I'm really, really stoked about it. Oh, I'm so excited that you love this. I'm so excited. I've done a little bit, basically, to give everyone context, I've not done anything in the radio world before, but I've worked, basically I've worked in radio just not kind of behind the mic and I've recorded demos with you guys before and all this kind of stuff so I guess it kind of it makes sense on paper that you get to go here that I'm here now well it's just because you're nice like you weren't picked because you

worked in radio no exactly I mean we met because you worked in radio yes but then we were like that's some bbe that's some bbe come on the pod what about your money knowledge are you a financial advisor, your mortgage broker? Did you go do maths at university? Like, where are we at? Oh, no, I don't think you're going to like this, but I have no idea what I'm doing financially. Right now I have minus $17 in my bank account and I have previously been bankrupt. So I guess I'm starting from scratch. I love this. When Jess joined the She's On The Money team, she was doing very well on her own. So I'm not saying that the circumstances are the same, But I feel like Jess joined and was like, Victoria, I don't know about being on the

podcast. I have no idea. And now I basically am redundant on a lot of the podcasts because Jess could run it for me because she's basically smarter than me now. I wouldn't go that far. Look, I would because sometimes Jess will be like, oh, hey, they just want to run this past you because we're doing something for work. And I'll be like, yeah, that's actually much better than what I could have produced.

So I'll just see myself out. So I have high hopes. But also, I'm so, so excited to have you on the team. not only because I know the community is going to love you, not only because you don't have a lot of financial knowledge yet, but because I'm just putting myself in the control seat here. I get to be on this journey with you, or we all get to be on this journey with you of educating you and getting your budget up to scratch and like talking about investing and savings. And Bec, we just recorded an episode that's going to drop next week about the lipstick

index and recession. And I think the thing that I loved about your involvement in that episode was you just being like, what's a recession? Like, I just, I don't know where I'm at. And as much as a lot of our She's On The Money community has been with us for three years and would go, oh, I know what that is. Our community is always growing and always evolving. And there are going to be so many people that are exactly in the same position as you that maybe reset a goal for 2023 to absorb more money content would have been thinking that. So I feel like your job, my friend, big boots to fill okay you're the voice of the community uh okay i hope that you do them justice i hope so uh but i know you will because i'm so excited to have you on the team and i know

jessie is as well yes but jessica ricci is your time to shine we were speaking about the community and jess spends a lot of time in the community absorbing all their money wins and confessions and chatting to them basically every single day so jess i want a quick whip around what are your favourite money wins and confessions that you've dragged out of our community from this week? All right. First one comes from our friend, Lindsay, and I feel like this is a very timely reminder at the start of the year. She says, I finally bit the bullet and reviewed my insurance. With the staff discounts I get moving my insurance to where I work, I've saved almost $160 a month across our two cars and contents insurance. It's that time of year, everyone's renewing,

they're coming around, they've probably jacked the prices up. They always do. They always do. Yeah. I was about to say, isn't that what happened to you when you called them and you just got a discount immediately. Exactly. And if you need help, there's a script on our website. If you're a little nervy, don't like being on the phone, can relate, read it word for word, and hopefully they'll knock it back down for you. I was talking about this on TikTok the other day because someone said as like a question on one of my videos, like, oh, well, how do I deal with this? And I think a lot of the time the responses are, oh, just like have big dog energy and just tell them no. Like if you've got to like negotiate something or change something. I'm not like that.

Like, yeah, exactly. If I have a big conversation to have or a conversation that I believe is going to be big for me, I actually want a little bit of like a script to follow. Like if I'm asking for a discount for my insurance or something, I don't just want to go into it completely blind and go, oh, well, I just called and asked for a discount. Like I'm not that girl. I need the script to be like, hey, I just want to chat about this. Like, and I know it can be really simple, but just having that in front of you while you make the call can make you feel so much more empowered, which is why we wrote it, Jess. And it just puts you back in the control seat. So don't feel bad if you don't have the big dog energy that everybody else on TikTok seems to

have where they just negotiate off the bat. Not everyone is like that. No, not at all. And definitely check to see if your premiums went up, kids. Next win comes from Jessica, great name, who said, I just applied for the New South Wales Creative Kids and Active Kids vouchers. Now I have another child enrolled in school. It's a $100 voucher that you each get. So $400 in total for two kids that can go towards dance fees. Dance is expensive, so that's a massive win. What? I didn't even know that existed. Do you know if there's something like in Victoria or in other states that are similar? I don't know off the top of my head, but I would say to people, definitely check your local government website because I know that there were things like this when I was a kid.

They're trying to encourage active living and, you know, kids getting out and doing fun things, which can be super expensive. So have a look at your local state website. And if you're in New South Wales, I would be applying. If you've got kids, get in on that. That sounds a lot like free money to me and I love free money. Love free money. Don't we all? Next win comes from Loza who said, I made a resolution to put 24 hours between my non-essential purchases. Put two outfits in my basket, waited until the next day and was rewarded with a 20% off sale. Ah, money win. I feel like that often happens. The other thing that I think happens sometimes is like retail's quite smart, right? So they can see that you put those things in your basket, right? And then they're like,

oh my gosh, like Bec didn't check out. I wonder what it was. Maybe we need to send her a little carrot to get her to check out. And then they send you like 10 or 20% off because they're like, oh, did you forget your basket? Here's a little carrot to get you to go through with the sale. Works every time. Exactly. So definitely leaving 24 hours between you and making an online purchase, not bad. Double that up with your shop back. And we're just basically now making money. Exactly. We're geniuses.

They're paying you to buy it. Next one I have for you comes from Rhiannon, who says, I made my husband call our bank to see if they could do better with our interest rate on our mortgage. And they got it down over 1%. Thank you, Kate from Zella Money for the tip. Oh, was that actually? Oh, I love that. That's Kate from our team. And do you know what? Getting your mortgage down 1% in this current economic environment, that's big dog energy. Big dog energy. I feel like I need to stop saying big dog energy, but like that's the energy I chose to take into

2023. I mean, also, do you explain it? B-B-E. Big Beck Energy. Like that's what we want to embrace. Well, my very last win for this week definitely embraces the BDE, BBE energy. It comes from Peter and she said, my first year debt-free since domestic violence. I have over $200 a week in my pocket now. And I just wanted to say, Peter, I'm so proud and so excited for you.

That is freaking incredible. That's amazing. What a good way to start the year. B-B-E for sure. Oh my gosh, I love that. That is actually such a wholesome way to end the community money wins, as always. I have loved hearing them. And I think in addition to BBE, we're going to add WWJD.

And, like, I think a lot of people are like, oh, what would Jesus do? No, no, no. What would Jess do? What would Jess do? What would Jess do? And I feel like that's a good way to live your life in 2023. I ask myself that every single time. I'm going to get bracelets made.

Like, everybody is going to be on top of this. All right, let's go to a quick break. And after the break, we're going to be answering your juicy money question about superannuation, and we're also going to be talking about hiding your savings from your partner. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to our shiny new Friday with our shiny new team member. I hope you guys are enjoying. BBE. BBE for sure. I'm loving this. You're like, lay it on me, please. Lay it on me,

I love this. Guys, I think we have a really fun money dilemma to answer today. Should we take a listen? Yes, please. Let's go. Hi there. Have you got a money dilemma you just can't solve? The She's On The Money team is here to help. Every week, we tackle your dilemmas, both big and small, to answer your most burning money, career, and life questions. To get involved, simply head to our website and leave us a short voice recording and you might just find yourself on the show. Now, let's take a listen to this week's money dilemma. Hey, V, and happy new year to the She's On The Money fam, bam. I love you guys. This is the most amazing community. My name's Lauren. I recently scored a great opportunity at my

work, which equals to more money and some commission. I'm super excited, but it got me thinking up until now, all of my super has been going into a retail worker, like specific super fund, but now I'm not working in retail anymore. I'm making more money. I'm wondering if this is the best option for me. So my money dilemma is where do I go to find good super advice? Because I'm super confused. Is this something a financial advisor would be able to help me with? Or where do I go? Thank you so much for helping me out. Bye. Love the little pun she slipped on in there. I love that she was like, I love you guys. I'm like, I love you too, Lauren. I think you're really sweet. Also, how good is it? She got a new job and now she gets commissions. I have so much

to say about budgeting and like living on your base salary and then using your commissions to save and invest and create financial freedom. But that wasn't actually what the question was about, was it, Jess? No. So Jess, as I said before, basically a finance wizard. Where would you start, Jess? Oh, I feel like she's definitely right in that looking at the different super options out there is a good way to start because I was the same. I started in retail. I remember when you reviewed my Super V, you were like, oh, who are you with? And I was like, blah, blah, blah. And you were like, oh, and I was like, what? And you're like, they're not good. No, but also they weren't good. It's not to say that all retail funds aren't good. No, no, no. But I think a lot of the

time, potentially, they're just kind of going one size fits all, right? Yeah, 100%. And when you have thousands arguably of employees working across the country for a retail company, if you're picking one super fund for all of them, very good chance that it's not going to work for everyone. So I guess the place to start would be the Google. The Google, yeah. We start in the Google. Seems like a good choice. Before I answer this, Bec, what would you do? What do you do about your super? Funny you ask, V, because I actually used to work in super. You did not disclose that in your interview. I know. When we said earlier on the podcast, like, oh, what do you bring to the table, you financial advisor, your mortgage broker. You're like, nah, I was broke. And we

were like, oh, okay, no worries. Thanks for sharing. Now, Jess, she's like, oh yeah, actually, I used to work in superannuation. I was a financial advisor. No, I was scared I would be too qualified for this position. I didn't mention it, but no, I used to work in super and I kind of realized, I don't know if everyone else has this as well, but I'd like seven different super accounts open. Yeah, really common. And so like, I really didn't know who to go for, but I'd, yeah, I just Googled it. And it was like, you know, you know, you get the, I don't know, what's it's Canstar or something. Yeah. I just like went to the number one. I didn't even check anything. I just thought that's the number one super company. I'm going to go with that one

and then just opened it. So that is, don't do that. That is actually exactly what we're not going to do. So we're not going to do that. And I'll give you a reason why, because I think in your situation, and that makes so much sense, right? Because Canstar that's reputable, right? they give other companies like awards and stuff for being the best super company. And I would think that that's really good. The thing you want to be aware of, and I'm not saying that Canstar is bad, Finder is the same though. The thing that I would want you to know about that is they are actually basically an advertising company. So obviously they do lots of other things, but superannuation companies pay them to appear on the tops of their charts or be in their articles.

Sneaky. Yeah, exactly. So from my perspective, yeah, they might be a fine super company because legitimate super companies, they do advertise to get more clients like you, Bec. But what you probably didn't realize is that that quote best super company came up because they were very likely paying for that ad space. And that's what got you. That doesn't necessarily mean that you're in the best position. So I would also go back to what Jess said and use the Google. But what I would be using when it comes to the Google is I would Google ATO, your super comparison. And the reason I would Google that is because the ATO last year, the start of 2022, released the Your

Super Comparison tool. And that takes all of the guesswork out of it in terms of, is this advertised? Is this a paid partnership? You know, all of that stuff is really hard to see through. This is actually a government run website that is going to just enable you to compare apples with apples. When you compare on a platform like CanStar or Finder, you're not usually comparing apples with apples. You're comparing the features and benefits that company wants to showcase with the features and benefits of a maybe less superior company that you go, oh, well, you're right. That one is much better and you feel good about your decision, but it's actually just advertising. So the ATO website has it, it is free. And the thing I would do before that though, is because

you mentioned, oh, I'm in a retail super fund. That doesn't necessarily mean that that retail super fund is bad. Like you might be with like Host Plus or Rest or something like that. And they are legitimate super companies. The first thing I would actually do is log into my MyGov portal and actually have a look at what super funds I have. Because just like you, Bec, you might have seven accounts that you didn't know about. Because if you jump around from casual employment to casual employment, especially when you're a bit younger, often you start a new super fund. Yeah, tick the box. Do you know what? One time I ended up with a new super fund because I literally couldn't be bothered going and finding my old super fund information. I did that too.

Yeah, right. I was like, just sign me up. What does it matter? It doesn't matter. I don't have any money. Like that was the mentality that I had. And that's not okay. We don't do that. That is not BBE. Scrapping out. That is not what Jess would do these days. So we are going to compare it. If you have a number of super funds, I would be having a look at all of them, making sure that there aren't any important insurances in them. Because if you are leaving a superannuation fund that has default insurances, that can actually be a negative thing. And it's a negative thing because sometimes our default insurances are actually really powerful. I'm going to use Jess as an example here, because Jess, you are very active, way more active than I would ever be.

You play Frisbee, right? So say you've got a default insurance inside superannuation, but you did your ACL playing Frisbee. Really common, actually. Yeah. That's a fun little anecdote. I know like six different people who have done it. Oh, ew. But say you did your ACL like one of your friends and you went to another insurer and you were like, okay, cool. Like, hey, brand new super fund. I need some insurance. I now need to apply because default insurance isn't that common these days, but it was 10 years ago when you got that super fund. I want to apply. And they go, no worries, Jess. What previous health conditions have you had? And you're like, oh, I'm really healthy. I just did an ACL one time.

They're like, okay, cool. No worries, Jess. We're just not going to cover you for your ACL. So that means that if ever you have to take time off work or go through an incident, if it's ever related to your ACL, they will not give you an insurance payout. And that can actually be really negative. And that's why default insurance could be really good, especially in the example of Jess, where she might go, oh, I've done my ACL. Maybe I'll have a look at the other insurances, see if I can change without any negative impact. But if I can't, maybe I keep that insurance to make sure if I do the other ACL or I do something that's related to that part of my body, I'm not up a shit creek without a paddle. Does that make sense? So we need to take that into

consideration. And the next thing I do is actually step back and go, what are my values? What are my thoughts? What do I actually want to achieve here? Like superannuation these days is so customizable. Like you could go and invest in a super fund that only has crude oil. Not that sexy if you're in cheese on the money, because you probably have similar aligned values to us, but have a think about what type of asset classes. Do you want an ethical fund? That's completely possible. Do you want, you know, really well diversified asset classes? Do you want access to bonds? Do you actually want to have more say or do you just want a really good cookie cutter fund that's going to work for you in this moment for your, you know, risk profile and your age and what you earn?

So you really need to think about that and then that's when I'd go to the Your Super Comparison tool and start looking, well, where are your funds that you're already in performing? Because maybe it's a good fund for you, but the thing you need to change is your risk profile on that fund. So maybe instead of being in balanced, you've done your risk profile and you're actually a high growth investor. So you might stay with that fund, but just change your profile, in which case that's a good outcome too, and you've reviewed your super properly. Or you might go, oh, that fund is not good. In fact, I've been ignoring those letters that they've been sending me saying they're closing because they're that bad. And you need to find a new one. In which case, we're not just

finding a new super fund. We're also looking at our risk profile and going, if I'm moving to, for example, Australian super, which one of their seven risk profiles am I going to fall into? You need to actually spend the time looking at that because they all perform differently. A balanced super fund is going to have a very different performance to a conservative super fund and a high growth super fund. So there's a lot to take into consideration. Just because you were in a retail fund, doesn't mean you shouldn't stay there. But what we're going to do is our research. And if we're going to do our research, we're not going to be swayed by advertising. Does that wrap it up, Jess?

I think so. I think I know what Bec's going to do tonight. Bec's like, yeah. From her face, that's not what she's going to do tonight. I'm going to open seven super funds. Oh, good idea. Good idea. I really want to get into the spicy stuff because we said we're making the episode even more community centric this year, which I am pumped for. And that means we want to kind of bring some of the conversations that we're having in our DMs to life on the pod for people to kind

of weigh in because I think more opinions is more better, right? Not always. More opinions is more better. Quote Jessica Ricci, 2023. Put that on a mug and drink out of it. But this week we have a really interesting dilemma. Do you want me to read it out so everyone can kind of know what we're talking about. Of course, of course. We obviously screenshot it and put it on our stories, obviously de-identified, so we could get your opinions as well. But Bec, you haven't heard this yet. So Jess, what have we got? All right. Our community member says, Hey V, I have a little bit of a sticky situation. My partner and I have a joint account and share majority of our finances. Lately, I've started to feel a bit guilty because my boyfriend said

something to me about not having any other savings outside of our joint savings. Of course, I have an emergency fund and while I haven't necessarily been hiding it, I also haven't been forthcoming and mentioned it to him. I have just under $15,000 in my personal emergency fund. Do you think I should be sharing this with him or should I be keeping it for a rainy day? Advice appreciated. What do you reckon she means when she says sharing it with him? Does she mean like sharing the money or sharing the fact she has it? I think reading that, I'm reading it as she hasn't told him that she has that money stashed away, so he doesn't know it exists that's how I'm interpreting the message anyway so it's a tricky

one oh spicy but also I think that's great like I mean if she's feeling like it's a little bit deceptive I think maybe just imparting like oh yeah like I do have an emergency fund and then maybe suggesting that he gets one as well because it's really important to have individual financial freedom regardless of whether you have shared finances maybe that's how I deal with it but like if an emergency fund is so ingrained in the way that you've been doing budget and cash flow then you know maybe it just didn't come up because it actually wasn't a joint asset wasn't a part of the joint decision making like you know if you were saving for a house like you're not going to use your emergency fund to go towards the house so maybe it's not a valid conversation to have

and that's why it didn't come up I don't think she's being sneaky no I I don't know I think if she has any reservations if she's a little bit stressed or she wants that there for whatever reason, if she feels like just in case it goes bad or whatever, and she kind of wants to keep it a secret, keep it a secret. I don't think that's sneaky at all. I don't think that's bad. I don't think that's bad. If you had 15 grand in a savings account that was like away for a rainy day, would you tell a future partner about it? If I had 15K saved in a long-term partner, I wouldn't feel obliged to tell them because I don't think it's absolutely necessary, essential to tell your partner because it is it really is your money we can keep things separate

you know what I mean yeah I don't think that she needs to say anything I don't think it's sneaky I think it's actually very clever and it's very safe and I'd probably keep it that way to be honest just in case you just don't know yeah you never know what's gonna happen Jess what would you do I think like I'm very pro sharing that you have it I'm also very pro keeping it entirely individual. As you said, I think everybody should have access to money that only they can touch. And I think she should keep it that way. I guess to kind of play devil's advocate, if you're in a partnership and you are planning your finances, and she said that she's sharing a lot of finances with her partner, I guess when you're doing, say, your budget for the year, if you're saving for a

house, if we're using that example, you would kind of be going, okay, well, where are you contributing your money? In my mind, to be able to set that up properly, you kind of have to go, okay, well, I, Jess, am trying to put $15,000 in an emergency fund. My partner, you've already got $15,000. So you don't need to be allocating any more money there. You potentially can be contributing more to the house fund. I feel like knowing what's going on with each other enables you to get a better picture of how you can best reach your shared goals because they do have those. As I said, I don't think he should have access to it by any stretch of the imagination. But I also think that if this is your long-term partner, I would be questioning why don't you want to share that with him?

Is it because you don't trust him or her? Is it because you're feeling anxious because of something that you've seen that's a part of your money story? Is that something you need to work through? Because I don't think fundamentally there is anything wrong with telling them that that's there. Are you worried that they're going to feel entitled to that money? If so, is that a bit of a red flag? I think that's a red flag if you're looking at some other things. So I think it's a bit bigger than should you, should you not tell them?

It's why do you feel like you should or shouldn't tell them? Yeah. It's a good point. We put it out to our community earlier this week to say, well, what would you guys say? And we did actually have a few people say red flag. I think that that's definitely a red flag. But I also wasn't sure if it's a red flag that you're hiding it or it's a red flag that, do you know what I mean?

I think in my circumstance, you should probably be encouraging your partner to actually get one and Jess your example before was really good where you're like oh well if they already have their emergency fund maybe they contribute in a different way but should they have dipped into their emergency fund for something then maybe the budget changes a bit for them to top that back up until we're back on track but I do think your partner actually the conversation is probably more around like oh hey well I have an emergency fund and I actually assumed you had one and you probably should be working towards it. Jess what were some call-outs that you saw the community have? I liked what one person said, which was my emergency fund isn't

hidden, but my partner knows that he has no claim to it and that that money is solely for my discretion, which I think shows that they've set really clear boundaries. You know, they've gone, yes, I have it. Yes, you can know about it, but that's not for you. That's mine. And so you need to have your own emergency fund for your own emergencies. Yeah, I agree. Someone else said, I don't think it's healthy in a healthy relationship to have separate money. And I think that that's a bit... Ooh, hot take. Yeah. That is strong. Hot take. And as somebody who, I think I'm in a healthy relationship. Jess, I think you're in a healthy relationship. Both of us have our own emergency funds that our partners can't touch. And I feel like that actually keeps

it healthy. And, you know, looking at this circumstance, you know, you might be a little bit apprehensive to tell your partner, but like, should he not be supportive of you being financially free like should you not be like supporting each other in that like shouldn't you be wanting your partner to also have that absolutely Steve knows about my emergency fund he knows it exists because we've talked about it before but you know what now thinking about it I don't think he knows how much is in it yeah he just knows I've got it because I've always had it well not always but I've always had it in the relationship that we've been in so he's kind of like yep she has that and do you know what I couldn't tell you what's in his but I know he's got a fund that I can't touch

And does that give you a bit of comfort knowing that like... I think it's important. Yeah, I feel the same way. It is. You need to know that if anything happens in the relationship, that both of you are going to be okay. Yeah, absolutely. Not just you, not just them.

It's comfortable. Interestingly, someone else said not everything needs to be shared when it comes to money. And I was like, oh, that's another hot take. That's a good point. And I mean, you know, I always use my relationship as an example because I don't want to say that there's a right and a wrong thing. It's just how Steve and I have fallen out to do it. we do share our finances I'd say we share everything but also it's really controlled

so like we don't just have our pay automatically put into the one account so you know if shit hit the fan we wouldn't be okay like every single month he goes in and transfers his pay to the shared account so if something happened he could just stop doing that and it wouldn't go into our shared account does that make sense like yeah and vice versa like I obviously am a my own business owner and I don't have a PAYG salary, but like I pay myself and I transfer the money into the account on a monthly basis so that we have joint funds. I think at any point, both of us have our own control over our incomes and where that might be going. So if something happened, that would be okay. Jess, in your relationship, you have shared money, but you definitely do it differently to me.

Yeah, we don't actually have a joint account. It's something that I have been saying for ages, oh, we need to set one up just for like groceries and stuff. We just haven't gotten around to it. like we split most of our shared expenses 50-50 and annoyingly right now like I'll just be like you owe me $200 for electricity transfer it over so definitely not the best it would just be easier to have an account exactly right but yeah I think that like for us that's what works and it is such a personal thing like if you want to keep it totally separate keep it totally separate but yeah I think it's a bigger question about where do you see the relationship going how comfortable are you talking and if you're not comfy talking maybe that's a conversation to be had so this one

says. You don't have to tell him how much is there. Maybe just tell him you have emergency cash money. I feel like that's the happy medium, right? That is a happy medium. I really like that. Yeah, no, I like that. But I also think it plays into like how your partner responds. Like not everything should be a test, but I do think it would be interesting to see how your partner responds to finding out that you have an emergency fund and going, oh yeah, like I've got some cash stashed away for a rainy day. If anything should happen, I think you need to have it. I think it would be supportive if they turned around and said, oh, great, no worries. Like, that's fine. But like a massive red flag if they're like, how much? Why isn't it in our savings? What's going

on? How does that work? Yeah, why do you need it? Why do you need that? Why do you think that, you know, why do you think you need a rainy day fund? Like, I think that could be a really big red flag. Yes, that's a good way. It's not a test. It's not a test. But it's a good way to gauge where you're at. It's a gauge. It's a gauge. Like, imagine, Jess, if that happened in your relationship where your partner found out you had an emergency fund and they're like, why why do you need that you're like um this is why this is exactly why oh my gosh I feel like these answers have been pretty spicy a lot of people saying you know there's nothing wrong with having it let's just be open and honest all the way through to people being like red flag red

flag and then people saying no keep it hidden don't tell your partner I don't know I think it's just whatever you feel comfortable with but I think the general consensus at this table while recording is, it is important to have access to your own funds regardless of whether you save money or not. Could we say that that's the summary of this conversation, Jess and Bec? Yes, I believe so. That was so fun. I really enjoyed hearing everybody's hot takes. Keep an eye out on our Instagram. If you don't follow us, we're at cheese on the money AUS because we're going to be doing more of these. I feel like it's really fun to bring these DMs to life. But I also want to know the community's opinion on what's going on and how it works. I mean,

it's a judgment-free zone. Everybody is going to manage money in a different way, but it's so interesting to go like oh Jess like you don't even have your bank account set up yet and I'm just assuming it's because you've been lazy yeah yeah correct but all the way through to like oh we actually share absolutely everything because we've had this question before on the pod where people like oh like having listened to the pod and only just starting my financial literacy journey and I've been married for 20 years like how do I tell my partner I want an emergency fund because they could take it the wrong way I think seeing from the community what your thoughts and feelings are is going to help validate a lot. But also who doesn't love a pervy question about

somebody else's relationship? God, I love it. I love it. It is so good. Great first episode, Bec. Thank you. That was so much fun. Yeah, that was great. I love it. But I reckon it's about time we get out of here, ladies. How do we feel? Yeah. Is it time for a little bevragino? Oh God, it's about time. T-G-I-F-M-R-I-T. You know what? Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Bec told me earlier today that sometimes she goes to the pub and just orders soda water. So like, Is that lame? Yeah. Like, I mean, it's very budget friendly,

but like Jess and I, we're having an app roll. If you would like to join us for that, you are more than welcome. It is my shout. No, it's my shout. That's my win. 10 out of 10. Give me 10. See you next week, guys.

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