She's On The Money - Is FOMO stealing your savings?

Episode Date: August 11, 2020

Happy Wednesday friends! This week we untangled the knotty topic that is FOMO, discussing exactly why ‘fear of missing out’ is wreaking havoc on our bank accounts and sabotaging our savings. Thankfully, the girls also presented some simple tips and tricks to combat FOMO’s lure, helping you stay on track and in control of your finances.Do you love the podcast sick and want more SOTM? Obvs! Join our Facebook page to share your money wins and money confessions, follow us on Insta for daily inspo to keep you on track and DEFINITELY subscribe to our newsletter, the written recap of the pod’s key takeaways, including some bonus bits you won’t want to miss. Finally, if you’re in a money mess and need help untangling the muddle - we’ve got you sorted – simply record your question and send it through to us at [e-mail] and you may just end up on the podcast!  Your hosts are Georgia King and Victoria Devine. 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. Victoria Devine is an Authorised Representative of Australia Pacific Funds Management Proprietary Limited ABN 34 132 463 257 - AFSL 339151.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. My name is Georgia King. I'm a copywriter and journalism student who still has lots left to learn when it comes to money. And here to help me out is financial advisor Victoria Define. Hello, Georgia King. Hello, matey.

I am ready with my peppermint tea. Let's go. Now, today on the show, we are going to be tackling a topic that both of us are very passionate about, and we've got a sneaky suspicion that our listeners will be too. That is, is FOMO, or fear of missing out, actually making us broke? Now, a recent Eventbrite survey found that 78% of 18 to 34-year-olds prefer to invest in experiences instead of things, quotation marks, while 70% said that FOMO was the main motivator for their financial decisions.

Now, unfortunately, as we all know, pursuing experiences at the cost of making smarter financial choices like investing in our future can be quite detrimental. But before we do get into the nitty gritty and chat the traps of financial FOMO, Victoria, let's start as we always do by chatting through money wins or confessions from our own weeks. What have you got for me? I have a money win for you this week, Georgie King, and it's a little bit different. I mean, it's a money win. I have spent money, but for those of you who might know me more personally, I am an absolute skincare junkie. It's an addiction I'm dealing with. I don't

need advice on it. I'm just getting through it on my own, but seriously, I love skincare and I have been known to spend a little bit too much on really beautiful products from Mecca, but recently Georgia King, I have discovered a brand and this is absolutely not sponsored. I just thought it was weird because I have to mention the brand, but The Ordinary. Yes, I thought you might say that. Yeah, because I've just been talking about it for ages. Anyway, I've bought a number of their products over the last couple of weeks and they are significantly cheaper.

Like I'm talking $15, I think, for a serum, which is crazy talk given some of the serums I've purchased have three figures, which is terrifying. But for bang for buck, I am super impressed. I've been doing my research online. I love researching into skincare products and understanding the active ingredients and understanding what you're getting. These products seem fully legit and I've been really enjoying using them. So, my money this week is that I have found skincare products that are much cheaper than

the products I've previously been using. Okay. The Ordinary. The Ordinary. So, I mean, it's not sponsored, but if they wanted to sponsor us, I really wouldn't be that upset. Okay. So, mine is a confession.

First for the season. Oh, yes. I had one last week. So it only seems fair that you've got one. Yeah, that's true. I'm not really that mad about it, but I think you might be mad at me. Uh-oh, Georgia King, what have you done? You guys might remember in our first episode back, the fast fashion episode, I was raving

on a little bit about Magnata. Yes, and I had to Google what it was because I'm obviously hashtag cultured. No, no, that's okay. Beautiful Byron Bay brand, whatever. Anyway, I dropped $300 on a jump. Georgia King. I now know a lot about them. They're ethical, aren't they?

Well, that's the thing. That's why I don't feel too bad because I'm supporting local at a very tough time. I'm going to look great, I hope, in this orange sweater. Time will tell. I think it's coming on Monday. Yeah. Awesome. And that's all the confessing I have to do.

And I don't really buy that much stuff. I feel like you never spend that much money on clothes, just knowing you now. And I also feel like you've been creeping on their website for so long. only because I always see it up in the office and I know what you're up to. So maybe that is actually a money win because you'll have it for years to come. Yeah. Thank you for your understanding. I like it. Confession win. I'm not sure. Let's move on, Georgia King. Let's keep things on track and chat about the Facebook community. Have any posts stood out to you recently? Yes, they have. I have one from Maddie and Maddie is beautiful. And she said,

hello, she's on the Money Humans. In lockdown, I wanted a task and I've turned it into a little bit of a side hustle and what she's done is she's made scarves for her quote beautiful partner and i i can see from the photo she absolutely is that have become a walking promotion for her so colleagues friends family have all been getting their requests in after she's made her partner this beautiful scarf she said that materials are costing her between 12 and 15 dollars depending on whether spotlight has a vip sale on the yarn she needs or not and she's been selling these scarves for $50. She said it doesn't take into account the hours spent knitting, but she feels pretty proud of making them for people. And you know what my favorite part about this is? She's

been putting their profits into their puppy fund, which they hope to welcome a furry friend into their family at the end of the year. Yes, queens. I love it. Yes. All right. What have you got for me, Georgia King? Okay. So mine is from Jessica. This is a quick one. Her boyfriend went away for the weekend and asked her to do his washing oh come on i know that's not a money win no no no here's the win she found a nice clean five dollar note in the washing machine when she was done oh my gosh how good is finding money in the washing machine it's the best in an old pocket yes but like underrated money win yeah like that's the underrated money win of the year i think like when you go get your winter coat and you find like five or ten dollars in the pocket from

last season huge best money win i could ever ask for honestly Victoria we've all felt it before the danger of the scroll on the socials our mates frolicking on the Amalfi Coast Janine from the office showing you her pics from that hot club on the weekend snap on the weekend snap chats from your mates at that fancy bar where espresso martinis are being served left right and center for a simple $20 a pop FOMO is a very real thing and it is affecting our finances in more ways than we know now we know things are official when the dictionaries get involved and consider things real words, which is exactly what Merriam-Webster did in 2016, defining FOMO as the fear of not being included in something, such as an interesting or

enjoyable activity that others are experiencing. But Victoria, we didn't really need that official dictionary definition to help us understand the very real effects of FOMO, both on our mental health, but also on our back pockets. Throwing all of your money at every opportunity presented is a pretty easy way to go broke. And it can leave us with not very much to show for future us. So today, together, we're going to become a little bit more mindful of the impact FOMO actually has on us and how we can develop some new habits. Victoria, let's start. Have you ever experienced the not-so-elusive FOMO?

That was a very good intro, Georgia. King, I really appreciated it. But yes, of course, I have experienced FOMO before. I have experienced it in a number of ways, whether that is friends going out for dinner when I couldn't necessarily afford it way back in uni days, to even now, friends organizing things that I want to be involved in, but I'm also wondering whether they actually align to my financial goals or not. So FOMO is massive and I don't think that at any age we actually escape it. It's more about having a chat about what it actually means and how we can manage it

when it does come up. Because at the end of the day, FOMO is us being a little bit anxious about missing out on something and that is a part of being mentally and financially healthy. Why do you think it's such a big deal at the moment? I think that FOMO at the moment is actually something that we are talking more about because obviously we've gone through COVID recently or still going through COVID at the moment, which has meant that so many of us are stuck at home and we're realizing very quickly that our lifestyles had been costing us a lot. So I know a lot of people are going through a lot of financial stress at the moment and

literally it is the worst. but I also see a lot of stories popping up and I've got friends in this situation who are turning around saying Victoria I've never saved more in my life because I can't leave the house and they've been in the lucky position of not having lost their role so for me I think FOMO is something that we've been talking about a lot because a lot of people in my life and I'm sure in yours and you know in our communities lives have been turning around and saying well actually after COVID you know, settles? Do we want to go back to the way that we were living before? Are our spending habits in line with what we wanted? And what does this actually mean? So I think that FOMO,

really important to discuss. But Georgia, it's absolutely no coincidence that we are talking about this as a demographic now, because I think that as millennials, and you mentioned it before on social media, we are in a social eye. I think we see it and we do feel like we are potentially not good enough or not measuring up or not doing enough or not being enough. And I think that it's really important to talk about this because at the end of the day, it's no coincidence that the same demographic of people who are on socials and feeling the heat of FOMO are also in situations where they're suffering from financial hardship. So let's have this chat. And I think it's really important to understand what FOMO is, how we can deal with it when it pops up and maybe talk about

some tips and tricks that we can implement so that maybe we are putting ourselves in a position where we are making better financial decisions for our own values and beliefs. Okay. So just straight off the back of that, how do we handle it when it comes up? Oh my gosh. There are so many different ways to deal with it. And I think the first is being honest with yourself. Can you actually afford it? Is this something that you want to do? So we harp on all the time about budgeting and cashflow, making sure that things are there. If you are budgeting, and I know that this is not the way that everybody budgets, but if you're budgeting in the same way that I recommend through Shares on the Money in the Budgeting and Cashflow program that we are about to establish

and have been talking about for the last 12 months in the Facebook group, you will have a food, fuel and fun account. So you will have enough money put aside that you can actually engage in fun activities, whether it's going out for breakfast with your friends, or it's going for a walk in the park and grabbing an extra coffee. That fund is the fund that is going to help you do that but I think also something that I have Georgia that really helps is my it's not an emergency but it feels like an emergency account where if I want to engage in something that you know I haven't foreplanned and I'm not a festival person but a festival is a good example of this where there's an expensive ticket price involved with that I didn't know my friends were going I

don't want to miss out something that I value it's something that I believe in I actually have a baby emergency fund set to the side that helps me deal with FOMO but in saying that I never make that split second decision I find every other way to pay for it and then if I can't pay for it I actually go to my it's an emergency but it feels like an emergency fund so that I can still engage in that and not feel like I'm missing out now you can't do that every single week you can't just go into your FOMO account and be like whatever I've got a FOMO account I can just you know spend willy-nilly spend willy-nilly that fund does have to be replenished you do have to put money back in there and that will require sacrifice from other parts of your budget right over the future

but i think that me knowing that i have that fund that if there is something i desperately want to be involved in i can be but that's then putting the power back in my hands as opposed to saying sorry i can't afford it yeah saying that i think it's incredibly important that if you are unable to afford something don't commit to it there is always going to be another opportunity there is always going to be another social outing friends are so much more understanding than you think they will be if you turn around and say hey Georgia I would so love to do that but honestly it's not in my budget right now and I can't feasibly make that happen right now but should that opportunity come up again please let me know because I would love the opportunity to engage in it again

So I think that being able to have open and honest conversations with our friends and our family about this topic, but then also putting ourselves in a position where we have the ability to make those decisions if we choose to is really important. Now, you did allude to this before, but social media no doubt plays a part in this. How significant is that part, do you think? I think it's massive, if I'm being honest. It's so easy to see what other people are doing in real time. I know that I've felt it and I feel like I'm a reasonably well-rounded person like I'll go home on a Friday night after work obviously not during the last few months but let's talk about late 2019 when life was sunshine and roses I'd go home exhausted and I'd say online that a few of my

friends were at the bar I didn't want to go out and I'd get FOMO but that wasn't actually the best thing for me I'd had a big week at work I really needed to have a sleep I really needed to just relax but my FOMO kicked in and I just wanted to be included in what my friends were doing it has nothing to do with being logical or rational it is everything to do with just not wanting to miss out on that social interaction and whilst I think we are all on socials I think we all need to take a step back because being able to see people's lives in real time often makes us feel like we are missing out. Do you think as well, Victoria, that those people are even having that good of a time if they're posting it on Insta and having their stories? Why aren't

they just having a good time? Why do they need to show people? You're right. I don't know how many people are getting FOMO when I post pictures of my cats online, but I do feel like often people are trying to make their lives look better online than they actually are. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing. I'm just saying that it is a highlights reel. I think it's a pretty dangerous thing I think it's pretty dangerous but like why are you posting online if you're not having a good time but also sometimes I've been a bit guilty of that too like if I'm not having an amazing time I'm playing on my phone taking a photo of the cocktail that's in front of me and I feel like it's very easy to make life look like it's sunshine and roses when maybe it's not so I think

it's important to have a little bit of perspective here remember that you are really important and what someone else is engaging in isn't going to make your life better or worse if they are actually a good friend you'll see them another time you'll do another thing with them you don't have to be included in absolutely everything and something that I have genuinely found really empowering is just saying no like hey no like I just don't want to do that at this point it's not because you don't like that person and I feel like there's a lot of pressure associated with saying yes to things as well like it's sometimes not even just FOMO it's oh I don't want to say no to my friend it's not FOMO I do want to be included but I also I don't really want to go

out on Friday night I'm exhausted but I also don't want to say no because I don't want to let them down so I think that a lot of things come into this but we need to as a whole just get better at saying no thank you now you do always say Victoria that we should do what aligns to our values and spend our money the way that suits our goals what are like you purchasing a very expensive jumper earlier yeah i just like to remind you bad yep keep on keeping on but like what if traveling or buying expensive jumpers or going out on the weekends and having the best time while you're young or whatever it might be what if that yellow mentality like what if that is your value and i think that that's really important but regardless of what your values are you need

to stick to your budget because your budget is putting future you in the best possible position and future you is incredibly important so admittedly like budgeting is not very sexy like it is not a fun thing to do hopefully like she's on the money is trying to break that down a little bit but at the end of the day budgeting is not sexy but what it will do is give you the power of choice so it will tell you how much you can spend on traveling so that that can become sustainable for you so if you are in a situation like i really don't want to listen to you because you don't know what you're talking about i'm just going to leave now i'm working out later well what if I told you that by paying attention to your budget now means that you can travel now

but also all the way through until you're 80 whereas if you make really bad financial decisions right now and prioritize traveling right now that will mean that there is the possibility that in a few years time you'll have massive amounts of debt not be able to afford it and you genuinely won't be able to travel that's not in line with your values so paying attention to your budget and sticking to your budget is incredibly important and I don't think enough people prioritize that is this truly a millennial young silly person's thing or is this something that you see with like your legitimate clients at the office is that yeah it's it's absolutely not just millennials it is everybody so I think that FOMO is something that looks different to

different generations so previously you might have looked at let's say my parents generation and my parents don't do this thankfully but you would see people with really expensive cars really expensive houses keeping up with the joneses is not a new term i think fomo is just the new term that you and i have adopted because it feels more comfortable than keeping up with the joneses because we're not trying to keep up with the neighbors we're now trying to keep up with the world and that's crazy and that is a lot of pressure that we are putting on ourselves so no longer are we just competing with a person who lives in the same suburb as us who lives next door who bought a brand new car. We are actually competing with social media influences who

have millions of dollars of income when we don't. So no longer is it comparable and potentially a possibility for us to compete. We are now not feeling good about ourselves because of it. So FOMO is not even necessarily an experience. It can be an object. It could be anything. I think it's just fear of missing out. So missing out on opportunities, missing out on experiences missing out on being included in a social circle I think that it is important to take into consideration that I get FOMO over things like oh my gosh like what if I don't buy those shoes they might not be there later like to me that's a fear of missing out in the future so I think it's important to take that into consideration as well and you know what

at the end of the day none of us want to miss out on really exciting moments in our lives like not one of us is going to put ourselves in a position where we go let's just like skip all the fun stuff but we don't also don't want to be really worried about the impact of going out and having fun with our friends and the impact that will have on our finances because it can be really big so I think that FOMO is something that we really need to be talking about more so we can internally reflect on why that anxiety exists like what do you feel like you are missing out on and how can you supplement that in some other way or are you not missing out on anything at all by staying at home and actually having a really nice night in because sometimes i just prefer that yes for sure i think

as well like when you do feel that FOMO like that little stab in your guts that you're missing out on something or an event like it's over in a night or a weekend and then no one's talking about it ever again and it's like you didn't spend all of that money on that experience that no one's talking about anymore. Not that that should matter, but I think people love, like they love the idea that they're going to have the best stories and they're going to show off to their friends. But realistically, like you might have a few cool photos from a festival or something, but like, did you really have a good time? Yeah, exactly. And I think that it's really important to remember that sometimes the financial stress is not worth it, regardless of how good the

experience is I know I've been in a situation where I this is historical and you know I remember being at university and agreeing to go to a friend's birthday dinner and I remember it being a really expensive dinner but the entire evening all I could think about was how much it was costing and I feel like that potentially ruined my entire experience instead of being able to really enjoy it so I think remembering that that is something that can happen as well is really important so that we can practice a little bit of self-control and develop some habits that allow us to enjoy life, but also make smart financial decisions. So how can we be more mindful about not falling into the FOMO trap then? I think that there are a lot of ways that we can just be a little bit

more mindful. One of them is if you don't have the money, maybe make a rule that you just skip it so that you're not going into debt for things and being really honest with your friends. We can be a little bit more mindful by discussing it with our friends as well. and I think that the rule that I've spoken about before on the podcast is putting 24 hours between you and your spending so if you can make that 24 hours or one week sit on it for a week sit on it for 24 hours this is more for like items than things like trips because usually you'll spend a fair bit more time planning a trip obviously but we feel like we're missing out on things when we really aren't so maybe set a date that you say all right well if I feel like I'm missing out on

is right now, I'm going to set a date that I allow myself to have that if I'm still feeling like I'm missing out on it. And nine times out of 10, I guarantee you that you won't actually want that item anymore because the shininess of it has already worn off. So I think it's just put that time in between you and making a decision so you can make the right decision for you. I also think that if you know your goals and your values inside out, you'll know pretty quickly as to whether it's something you want to do or not. I think that if we don't have clarity on something, it is really easy to just go with the flow and agree to whatever everybody else is doing. Whereas if you can sit down and go, okay, well, these are my goals. These are the things that I

want to achieve. Or even if you can't pinpoint some goals, making some savings goals so that at that point you can reassess what you actually want to achieve. You can go, okay, well, this is what I'm working towards and this decision would get in the way of me working towards that. It will give you the clarity and the confidence that you need to make smarter financial decisions longer term. Hi there, you've reached the She's on the Money mailbox. Do you have a money problem you want help solving? Do you have a money dilemma you just want to chat about? Victoria is here to help. Every week, we'll be playing your questions to help make sense of the money mess you may have found yourself in. Make a quick recording on your phone and send it through to

podcast at she'sonthemoney.com.au and you might even find yourself on the show. But for now, here's today's listener question. Hey guys, just calling in to see if you can help me break a bad habit that I think is really sabotaging my savings. I'm 23 and sometimes I just spend in the moment without really giving thought to how it could impact me financially in the long run. I often don't want to feel left out, so I'll go along with last minute plans like going out for expensive nights or dinners, but then the next day I realize I've spent way too much money that I haven't budgeted for. Obviously COVID has made it easier to say no, but as these things start to go back to normal I'm looking for some ideas you may have so I can continue saving without just

wasting my money on silly things all the time I think this is a really important question Georgia because so many of us get sucked into FOMO in the moment like we'll be out for drinks with friends or we'll be on the phone to a friend and they'll suggest something and you'll just jump at it and say yeah cool Georgia let's do it when can we do it um and I think it's really important back to what we were saying before I think we had a really good chat about some skills and some tools that you can use to mitigate how FOMO is impacting your financial health but putting some time in between you and your financial decisions is really important and if you're suffering from FOMO whether it is impacting your financial life or not I think it's good to take a little bit of a step back and

have a think about why you're experiencing that because more often than not there is a deeper problem sitting there making you feel anxious about not being involved or included and I think first things first, limit your time on social media. I know we've hopped on about this a number of times, but of course this is an obvious answer, but I think it is easier said than done because the amount of time that we spend on social media is often the root of a lot of problems because we feel like we need to be keeping up or like we need to be going to a winery on the weekend to have wines with our girlfriends because that's just what you do, right? Like we need to be doing that. And by spending hours scrolling through your feed, that puts us in a

position where we often wish for something that we don't have and if we can cut that out a little bit why not just try and arrange a different activity for that time like why not organize to go for a walk with a friend or if that's not feasible jump on the phone with a friend and have a really good chat because more often than not they are going to be so much more relatable than the content that you are consuming i think it's also important and this is me being a little bit fluffy again is practice gratefulness cute like the more i know it's a little bit cute but it's also like the more we are grateful for what we have the less we feel like we need and if we don't appreciate what we have how will we ever be happy with things that we keep getting right so i think

if we can just practice a little bit more gratefulness it is going to impact our friends and our family and our lives in such a positive way and i am such a big advocate of like a gratitude journal oh i mean you could go that dramatic and have a gratitude journal but i really like to just take note when i'm in the car like if i'm driving somewhere on my own i've just like some things that I'm grateful for at the moment. And I know that that sounds really lame, but I promise you your entire life will transform the second you feel grateful for what you have, regardless of what that is. Like I am more often than not just really grateful to have the friends and family I have around me or, you know, that I got to hang out with Georgia King

for a whole day. Exactly. But I do feel like the more we are grateful for things, the more we actually feel as though we need less. So that would be something for me. And then back to my favorite social media topic, remembering it's not reality. So just remembering that what other people experience is not what they put on social media and that what they put on social media is a highlights reel. And I think that that's where we can also practice a little bit of gratefulness as well and just talk about the importance of being like, oh, I'm really grateful that this morning i got up and i went for a walk with my partner and we got a coffee and we had a really good chat and that just makes me really happy and i know that i don't need much more than that in my

life so i think that if we can just remember that social media isn't reality be a little bit more grateful we can put ourselves in a position where we are actually making better decisions and not jumping at whatever is thrown at us. Hello, I'm 24 and saving for a big adventure and this is my money diary. Okay, now for the fun stuff. What good would a money podcast be without the pervy bits? It's time for money diary. Let's get into it. So I used to be really like anxious checking my bank account and talking about money and it just, yeah, it just used to make me feel stressed because I guess I felt it was a bit like out of my control and nowadays I feel like I've kind of got a bit of a handle on that and I feel better about it but it's definitely something I

need to keep in check not to get stressed out about it and just just face it. So when I first started listening to the podcast like I was in quite a bit of personal like credit card debt and I just found it really embarrassing and wasn't really sure how I let myself get to that point to be honest because I'm just I just never thought of myself for that kind of person anyway so when I started listening to the podcast was like yeah just feeling really empowered and Victoria made me feel like it's okay and listening to all the other people like sharing their stories on the podcast I was like okay I'm not the only one maybe I'm not the like worst one out of the bunch so that was kind of like, just do it. It'll be fine. And then I managed to like, yeah, smash my debt.

So yeah. What does she do to earn money? How much does she earn and how much is sitting in her bank account right now? I have like a middle management position. I work in the communications public relations industry. I earn $63,000 a year plus super. At the moment I have about $10,000 saved up. What happens to the money once it hits her account? So I'm not as organized and impressive as other people on the podcast. So I don't have like a million different accounts where my money goes. Basically I just put about a thousand dollars into my savings account. I get paid fortnightly. So there's about $2,000 a month into savings. And then everything else just kind of sits in my account and my direct debits come out of that. And then like shopping and all that kind

of it just sits in the one account what is her attitude towards investing does she invest yes I have raised I've had it for like over a year now I just have the like roundups turned on and I put in about 30 a week so I just find that that works for me and it's just kind of sitting there working in the background I am intending on taking out that money um at some stage because I plan on moving overseas so it's just kind of it's not really practical for me to just keep investing when I'm in another country so yeah. What is her big money goal? My big money goal is to set myself up really well because I want to move overseas and I'm not sure how long I'll be without a job while I'm overseas so yeah just to have as much money as possible when I'm there. So I'm planning

to move to Canada on a working holiday. So yeah, just see the sights, hopefully get a job in my career. And yeah. What debts does she have, if any? Yeah. So I got a credit card when I started working full time. I just thought it would be a good idea. I didn't think that it would get out of control. I ended up actually owing $7,000 and I just didn't really know how I ended up with it. It's just kind of crazy. And yeah, I just kind of buried my head in the sand and didn't really know what to do about it and then yeah found the podcast I was like I'm just being silly like just face it head on I don't know how to explain how I just kind of went on a spending ban and just put all my money into my debt basically and I managed to pay it off in three months so at the

moment the only debt that I have is my hex debt which is about thirty thousand dollars um and then I have about $30 in my Afterpay account, but that's all under control. And I just use it as a, you know, installment thing. I don't purchase anything that I wouldn't buy right now with my own money. Um, so yeah, that's just sitting there. What is her big money goal? I just put it down basically to not keeping an eye on it and it just snowballing basically. So at one point I realized that my PayPal account was linked to my credit card. And I, I just didn't realize that it was, I thought it was linked to my everyday account. So, and I would pay for a lot of things with my PayPal and it just, yeah, it just grew. What is her best money habit?

I think that when I have a goal, I am really determined to get there. So when I have a clear goal in mind, I just kind of put everything into it and make sacrifices and all that kind of stuff. And what's her worst money habit? Probably my worst money habit is lifestyle creep. So because I am saving more money and I don't have an end goal as to when I'm moving overseas because of coronavirus, I can just let myself live a bit more lavishly than I would if I knew that I was moving next month. And what grade would you give her money habits? Back when I wasn't in control, I probably would have given myself an F, like it just wasn't a

good time. But now I would probably give myself a C plus, like definitely lots of room for improvement, have some good habits, but just need to keep on top of it. What did you think of today's money diaries, Victoria? 24 and saving for a big adventure. I feel like she was so relatable when she said that she had $7,000 worth of credit card debt and it just snowballed out of control and she didn't know that her PayPal was actually linked to the account. I feel like we've all been in a situation where our finances have kind of gotten a little bit out of control. So many people end up in credit card debt and nobody actually walks into credit card debt on purpose. Like not one person picks up a credit card and says, Hey, Victoria, like I really want to get into a whole

heap of debt. I feel like they need to stop being so harsh on themselves because it is lifestyle creep it is something that creeps up on us and that's why if you think that you're not responsible with a credit card it's often better to not have one and be in a situation where you're on top of it in saying that I know so many people who are using credit cards and they're using them properly and they're you know collecting points and it's aligned to their values and beliefs and goals and I think that for some people that works really well whereas for others it's just something that would get them in a whole heap of trouble. So I think that that's a very big part of when you're working out your money mindset and your money stories, working out whether you can actually

trust yourself with a credit product or not. And the same thing goes for Afterpay. She mentioned that she has $30 in Afterpay and that was before I knew that she had $7,000, well previously had $7,000 worth of credit card debt. And she said that she used it for installments. And I actually think if you're in a situation where something like Afterpay is actually helping you with cash flow and helping you purchase things that you were going to purchase anyway, but split the payment up over a period of time, I think that that actually puts you in more control of your financial future than not being in control of it. In saying that, I've said it on the podcast before, these things can creep out of control really quickly and quite easily for a lot of us. So I

think we need to be really aware of what we are like when it comes to products like this. I loved that she said that she had $10,000 in savings. I know so many of us would love to have that. It sounds like she's actually been an absolute money wizard recently, especially on a $63,000 salary. She's actually in a position where she's paid off $7,000 worth of debt in the last 12 months and she's got 10 grand in savings. That's absolutely no small feat. Like even to pay $7,000 worth of credit card debt off in three months, what's that? That's like $2,300 a month that she was contributing to debt repayments. And I feel like that would have been a pretty significant lifestyle change for her. And what did you think about the grade that she gave herself?

Her rating, I feel like it was reasonable, but also I always think that our money diarists are being really harsh on themselves. It's interesting she gave herself a C plus, yet she'd completely gotten out of her credit card debt. She has savings, she's got goals. I feel like she was being a bit harsh on herself, but I do think that the space she could improve on just from her saying that she feels really stressed and sometimes freaks out about money is to keep a really clear budgeting and cash flow system. So if she can get her budget under control and understand exactly what's coming into her account every single week and month and what exactly has to go out and having a cash flow system so you know which money comes in where and where it should live and where

you're putting things and plugging it all together, that's going to make her feel so much more in control. And for a lot of us, doing a budgeting and cash flow system makes us put our heads in the sand, but it's something that can make you feel incredibly empowered. So for me, that would be my biggest tip for her, but it absolutely sounds like she's on the right track and I am so happy for her. 100%. Lovely tips there, Victoria. Now that is all we have time for today, but before we head off, let's quickly wrap the boring but important stuff. 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. And relax, we promise Victoria Devine is an authorised representative of Australia Pacific Funds Management, Corotree Limited, APN 34132463257, AFSL 339151. And as always, big shout out to our audio king, Brian John, for putting together today's podcast we would love it if you joined our facebook group where our community georgia king over more than 80 000 people shares money tips and tricks every single day free of judgment search she's on the money on facebook and join us if facebook's not your thing or you want to follow us on insta as well we're at she's on the money aux and where else can you find us you can find us on youtube now as well and if you've listened to the last rap of the last three pods

I think I've mentioned it. But if you haven't checked us out already, we would absolutely love it if you could because we have some really fun content coming out. See you next week, guys. Bye.