She's On The Money - MONEY DIARIES: Climbing One Rung At A Time!

Episode Date: August 14, 2022

She's young, and a senior WorkCover case manager with her eye on the welfare of others. She shares how growing up in a privileged family that lost their financial security has left its mark on her outlook and ambitions. She's well on her way up the corporate ladder, and we know that you'll love hearing her story.This year our Money Diaries are being brought to you by the legends at Shopback! Check them out at https://app.shopback.com/aus/partner/SOTM and you'll get a cashback bonus when you sign up!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. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are Authorised Representatives of Infocus Securities Australia Proprietary Limited ABN 47 097 797 049 AFSL - AFSL 236523.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. Welcome back to another Shop Back Money Diary Monday, where we get to chat to a beautiful community member to learn about them and also, more interestingly, their finances. Victoria. Yes. I have a really interesting one for you this week. Are you ready? All right, take it away. Our diarist says, after watching my parents go from being wealthy to losing their business,

I got a taste of both worlds growing up, experiencing the life of the privileged and the not-so-privileged. My money story has shaped my approach on money and in turn my own career goals. I'm now a senior case manager in WorkCover, trying to climb my way up the corporate ladder so I can reach those goals. I love that. Money Diarist, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me, ladies. I'm so excited. I'm excited to have you. I mean, mainly because we just did that insurance episode and we've got one million and one WorkCover questions coming through. So maybe we can just like railroad this entire Money Diary and just do our cover right, yes? Absolutely. I'm all about it. All right. Well, actually, I'm not. So let's do a Money Diary

because they're my favorite time of the week. And let's start off this Money Diary like we do every single other one. And that is asking you, Money Diarist, can you tell us a little bit about your money story? Yeah, sure. So I think growing up, look, we were quite privileged. And when I say we, I mean, my brother and I, my parents ran a successful business in the early 2000s. They were able to send us to a private grammar school as a result. And we were able to travel a lot and go on yearly, I guess, holidays overseas. And so growing up, we were very, very lucky, very privileged kids. And I guess my money story took a bit of a dive, I guess, in 2009 when the GFC hit our family business did also take a dive as well and so that caused us to go a little bit

backwards and unfortunately my family did have to pull us out of private school and so that was during VCE as well which was super difficult for me yeah so I remember as well you know we had our debutantes in year 11 and I wasn't able to do one because my mom couldn't afford to pay for it and so things like that just really did take a toll I guess on me and my brother growing up so yeah I guess you know we really just took it just took a dive and from there I really just had to learn the value of money and I think looking back now on my money story if my parents never did have that dive in their business, would we, or would I be the person that I am today when it comes to money? Because now my outlook is, you know, just making sure that I'm budgeting correctly and that

I am really working hard for my money and really knowing the value of my money as well. So I think all in all, after what had happened, I guess, to us growing up, it's actually made me a better person today, I would say. Oh, that's such a beautiful view on it. Are your parents okay now? Yeah, they are okay. They're doing well and yeah, we're back on track, which is awesome. So, I mean, I just feel really lucky to have, I guess, gone through such a privileged life and then also to still have the roof over our heads, even when it took a downturn. So yeah, everything is good so far. Yeah. Wow. All right, Money Diaries, tell us what do you currently do for work and how much money do you earn? So I am a senior case manager in insurance, specifically work cover, and I earn

an $87,000 salary package. I am on track for another five grand increase on my base salary, just based on a recent promotion I got. So that will go up again. And yeah, my role is basically to support injured workers back to work. So that's really my passion as well. Very cool. So tell us, do you get paid monthly, weekly, fortnightly, and how much hits your account? So I get paid fortnightly and what hits my account is about $2,150 net. Very exciting. You're making good money for your age. I love that. Next question is money dressed. What is your big money goal so at the moment my partner and I are building our first house oh yeah so my big money goal at the moment is to get our house built of course and I guess once that is built

which is scheduled to be completed by December January at this stage January 2023 that would be then from there it would be really putting money towards our wedding so that's the next money hurdle. Oh, have you booked the wedding or is it a pipe dream at this point? Victoria, it's a pipe dream at this point. If I'm honest with you, I'm actually not engaged yet, but we definitely are talking about it and I'm aware that it is going to occur sometime in the next, I don't know, couple of months, hopefully. So we are definitely planning. It is so fine. I resonate, my friend. like I knew my partner had a ring for more than a year before he proposed and by the time he proposed I found out he'd had it in his wardrobe for two and a half years so like when you know

it's coming you know it's coming and you kind of just get antsy because you're like sir this is a really big financial commitment and I want to start planning and I want to start organizing but is it kind of creepy if I start planning my wedding before I'm engaged I don't know that was the question going through my head but I think you and I would get along like a house on fire love it absolutely all right next money question do you currently have any investments so look other than as you say victoria superannuation i do have super get it get it but other than that i don't actually invest and that's probably my biggest concern about myself is that i haven't actually put my foot in the door to invest in the stock market so look other

than, yeah, as I said, the super, I do not. It is absolutely one of my goals. And I guess that alludes to the next questions coming up, which is how much debt do you have if you have any and what is it for? So at the moment that my debt is my home loan, of course. So paying a mortgage now we are building, but you obviously pay a loan still whilst the house is building. So I currently have a $540,000 mortgage. That is my debt. Other than that, I have HECS debt. So I did study before I went into full-time work. So I do have a HECS debt as well. And that's about it. I don't have any personal debt. I've never pulled out any personal loans. So I'm really proud of myself for that. That is so good. I want to be really pervy. You said you have a $540,000 mortgage. How much

does that cost you every fortnight? So at the moment, our repayments are $2,108 a month. So I would have to calculate that, Victoria. That's okay. We have an offset account. That's all right. It's nice to chat about it because I think a lot of us in the community go, oh, wow, she has a mortgage. She's got it all together. But that does end up putting some serious financial strain on being able to save for this future wedding that we're planning one day and everything else you're doing and like the things that you're about to go through arguably are really expensive and I always like being a little bit pervy and being like well how much does that cost you because it does put on some financial strain and to know that that's the

amount it's literally what you earn every fortnight right so like half of your wage is going towards your mortgage but do you split that with your partner? I was just going to say I do split that with my partner so my partner and I have put in half half so equal 50% for the house and we did put money aside for a 20% deposit as well. So we're really proud of ourselves that we won't be paying LMI on our loans. So yeah, I do split it. I can't say it's all of my wage, of course. All right. Well, I'm coming back to that question because I want to know all about your house deposit and how you got there because 20% is an achievement that not many of us make these days, especially with housing prices the way they are. But we're going to carry on. Next

question. Do you use Shopback? I do use Shopback. I have downloaded the extension and so I do use it wherever I can. When I online shop, I did actually check before in preparation for this podcast and I've got $20. I love that. Stop it. Just how much? I just think it's $20. It's not a lot, but I have $20. So I need to use it. That's still more money than you had from not using it. Absolutely. Money win. Money win. I love that you've downloaded the extension because that's the only way it really works for me. I mean, lots of people do lots of things, but I hate the hurdle of having to go on my phone and then like, you know, shopping through that. I find it challenging. The extension, I just click the button and it applies to my cart that I've already put together,

which is a money win. We love that for us. Absolutely. All right. Next question. What is your best money habit? Jess, spoiler, I think it might be saving. Not at all. No, it is. Absolutely. When my partner and I decided to buy and build a house, we set aside a goal of how much we want to save, of course, so that we can achieve our 20% deposit, that is. And I stuck to my goal and I had X amount that I would put in each savings account every fortnight when I was paid. And yeah, I've just been really diligent in saving towards that goal. And so absolutely, it would be saving.

if I have a goal, I certainly will make sure that I achieve it. And whatever it takes, I'll absolutely put that money aside. So it's not percentage based that I portion everything out into my savings, but I have a set amount that I've worked out works for me and my goals. So yeah, absolutely. I love that. And have you always been that way or is that something that you've just learned? See, I think I learned that just through, I guess, what I've seen from my family in terms of how they stayed afloat after their business sort of went downhill. So I really think I've just taken on that sort of feedback from just my upbringing and, you know, into my 20s definitely has been something that I've sort of been really strong and really good

at doing. Epic. All right. To bring the mood down, what is your worst money habit? So I would say my worst money habit is I have a tendency to not skimp out on food and good food and good coffee. It's a vibe. I would say that, yeah, for me, health is number one. So if I am going to buy, you know, good food, I don't care how much it costs because I know it's good for me and good for my body. And I think that there's no price on health. So yeah, that would be, I guess, my bad money habit. I don't think that's a bad money habit because, let's be honest, the more you care about your health, the less likely you're going to have to spend money on health care later down the track. So like, let's see this as an investment

in future us. Yeah, absolutely. I do want to say as well, look, I can be a little bit impulsive at times with purchases for clothing. So I just want to put that out there. That is definitely something I'm still working on. If I say something I love, I really have to, you know, reel myself back and I guess make sure that it does align with my values and my budget. So yeah, it's something I'm working on as well, but I love clothes. Relatable. Very relatable. Now, last question before we go to a quick break, what would you grade yourself if we forced you to give yourself a money grade? I would say I want to give myself a B. The reason I say that is because I have wanted to invest and I haven't. It has been something that I've been listening to your podcast for

quite literally three years and, you know, Victoria, you talk about it so much and I feel that, you know, I just haven't made that step in the right direction for me. And so that would be the next big thing. If I could give myself any higher grade, I would really want to make sure that I'm investing before that happens. So yeah. I want to know, I feel like Jess, we've heard this from a few money diarists recently. They've said, look, I've listened to the podcast for so long and I think women in general feel like they're not educated enough to take that next step. Like we just want to know everything and we need to know all the risks and what it looks like and how it works. But I want to know what's been stopping you from taking that step and on the

converse, what would help you take that step? So I think I feel a lack of education in this space, even though I've, you know, quite literally have listened, of course, to this podcast and also tried to do my own research, tried to take feedback on from my family that also invests, my partner invests. I have tried to take on feedback, but I just feel that, I don't know, I'm scared, I think. I'm scared to take that next step. And I think it's just all about putting yourself in the deep end and just, and doing it. And yeah, I just feel that I think it's maybe be quite apprehensive that I don't just put myself in the deep end. I love that. I feel like it's really relatable, but I also love asking questions like that because I'm like, well, what is stopping

you? What would make you feel really empowered to take that next step? Like what's missing from this journey? I would say I need to just maybe do a little bit more research in what I actually want to invest in. And then I think I'm the type of person that if I do put myself out there and I do just take a leap of faith that I know it will flow on from there. And so I just feel that, yeah, I just need to feel confident in my decision. And then once I do reach that confidence, just putting myself out there and I do think I will feel empowered and I do think that it will be, you know, great for me. I just, I feel a little bit, I guess, less educated at this stage. Great feedback. Let's go to a quick break. And after I am going to hound you about how to save

a 20% deposit. All right, Marnie Doris, I want to start at the start and ask you about the contrast that you brought up in your original email between living that more privileged life that you had, you know, prior to the GFC and your parents' business taking a little bit of a hit and then the life that you led afterwards. And you obviously said it happened at a really pivotal time for you. You were doing VCE or, you know, a kind of later teenager, which we all know is a really tough time to just be a human in general. And then you're going through a massive change at the same time. What changes did you notice your parents making and you as well when it came to your lifestyle? What things did they give up? Because I think right now we're heading towards

a recession and a lot of people are going to be looking to make changes. So what kind of things did they implement for you? Yeah, absolutely. Look, of course, other than what I said, I was obviously pulled out of my private schooling, a lot of the changes were, I guess, the lifestyle that we had. The holidays did stop and, you know, I guess all those luxuries that we did have when I was a teenager, I guess I noticed that my parents were probably not spending that much on food and groceries and going out for dinners and things like that did stop when I was younger. so I noticed that also of course my family business had closed down and so my parents my mum specifically had to find a new job and so that was also a big I guess pivotal moment in all

of this and you know I did see them vicariously saving just to keep our family home and our roof over our heads so I guess just from seeing the changes in our household then it sort of I guess sparked a drive in me to make sure that when I do start working, which I then, I guess I got my first job at 15, but I stopped working through VC. And then I started working again when I was 18 casually. I just wanted to make sure that every dollar that I earned, I was saving. And I think I also just wanted to make sure that I don't live a life struggling like I saw in my parents. so it was just really important to me that I just took on what I saw as a teenager and just made sure that my 20s weren't going to be like that for me. That makes a lot of sense you said

it played a really big part in your money story do you think that that is feeding a little bit into your hesitation around investing because it's not something that you can control you know you can save your paycheck and you can do that really diligently and you can see your savings increase and it feels quite safe. Do you think that that's partially why you are a little bit hesitant? Yeah, look, definitely. I mean, I haven't taken that leap of faith. I think part of the reason is because I have, yeah, I'm quite a diligent saver. And so I don't really want to, I guess, portion my money off into investing in a way because I want to make sure that I'm seeing my savings grow and portioning that off into investing, I think scares me a little bit

because that's my income that I put aside every fortnight. So I guess that definitely does play a role. Yeah, that's really interesting. And there's no, you know, there's no right or wrong, we say all the time. So I think it's good that you can see where you're coming from. And, you know, you said before that there were steps you wanted to take before you got there. And I think it's really nice that you have kind of a clear path and understanding of where you want to be, which is awesome. To jump in about the business, often when parents are running a business, they hide a lot of, you know, what's going on and maybe the not so good things from their kids, right? Like no one wants to come home and say, hey kids, we're going to have to take you out

of private schooling. But what were your first points of, I guess, realisation that maybe the family business wasn't doing as well? And how did that impact you? Because I'm sure that apart from like winding back financially, that would have been a very stressful period of time to go through, right? Yeah, definitely. So it was really hard seeing mom come home and just seeing her so down and seeing her breakdown to dad as well. I think that was a really big indication. And as a young child, seeing that in your parents is so difficult. And that sort of made me question what was sort of happening in the background. And I guess from there, it was just seeing or hearing my family talk about finances more openly than I guess they did beforehand as well. And I think that they

definitely tried to shelter my brother and I from, I guess, the hardships that they were facing. But you know, you sort of can't forever, unfortunately. And those were the sort of indicators for me where, you know, I realized that this was really difficult and this was a really difficult time for my family. It's really interesting because parents want to protect their kids, so they never want to offload or talk about it too much. So often when you hear situations like this unfolding in families, the kids are often like, oh, it took us by storm. But you might have in the background been like, oh, this actually was a few years coming because we just didn't know. So I find it just genuinely so interesting. But Jess, you have a question to pivot the

conversation from here. I do. I want to get really pervy on the work cover situation because like Victoria said, it's really front of mind for us. We've spoken to a few diarists recently who have either been through claims or, you know, had had things happen and, you know, they had maybe not ended up in the ideal situation. And I think it's really interesting because you're kind of on the other side of that. And I want to pick your brain. Starting with what is your experience like dealing with companies when it comes to insurance claims? Because in my mind, it's kind of two sides of the story, right? There's the person who gets injured and obviously they're trying to get the best resolution for themselves to compensate for whatever they've gone through. But then on the

flip side, we're often seeing in our community companies not really wanting to necessarily do the right thing. And I don't know if that's just the minority that we're hearing about or, you know, is it a little bit trickier nowadays to get yourself looked after if something does go wrong? Yeah, absolutely. Look, I think it's when we talk about, I guess, that aspect of work cover, and employers specifically supporting their injured workers. I guess from what we see in terms of like a pattern, it really does depend on the size of the employer. So I guess I want to highlight that smaller employers may not have experience in that work cover space. And so for them, it's a bit daunting when a person gets injured at their workplace, a staff member,

and then they are lodging a work cover claim. So I think when it is daunting for them, they often ask more questions and potentially question the system a little bit more. Whereas if you have a larger employer, for example, I deal with mainly large employers, they have a designated return to work system. So therefore they've got people working there that know the legislation, that know the system, that don't, I guess, question their workers because they understand the injuries that they can sustain and the nature of them. So I guess it really does come down to the level of experience that the employer has in the work cover space. So from what we see, it varies depending on the size of the employer.

Do you think trust comes into it? Because I know I'm a teeny tiny employer, right? And if Jess injured herself, knock on wood, at work and something happened and she said, I can't return, like, I don't know why I wouldn't believe her. Like, I don't know why I'd be questioning the system, I'd be trying really hard to go through that process. I would ask a lot of questions, but it wouldn't be like, oh, is that fair? Is that right? Or whatever it is, it'd be more, is just getting what she needs. Do you find that that is often a take or is it a trust issue in organisations? Yeah, I think trust plays a large role in that for sure. I'd say that the relationship that the employer has with the injured worker is huge. And that is a large,

I guess, pivotal part of the process and making sure that the worker is supported back to work and back to health. So I would say that is also a large barrier in, I guess, supporting our injured workers back is that relationship that they've built with their employer. So definitely, as you've said, Jess, if she were injured, you knowing Jess so well, of course, you would understand, I guess, the nature of her injury and probably where she's at from a personal space as well. And so I would say that having that relationship with your staff members is so important because it definitely brings better outcomes when it comes to supporting them back and then wanting to return as well to work. And what happens if, let's say Jess does get injured at work, right? She has a

good relationship with me, but what if she doesn't? Like, what do I as an employee need to look out for to make sure that I'm in the best possible position? Because as someone who also deals with insurance. Sometimes it feels like your employer isn't working with you. They're working against you. What are the things that we can do as employed people? And I'm going to ask the same as a business owner in a hot second, but what are the things that we can do as individuals to protect ourselves and make sure that we're in the best possible position should unfortunately something happen? Yeah, for sure. I mean, look, when you are injured at work and you don't have the best relationship with your employer, it is important to know that there are supports out

there. I mean, you may go through solicitors if that does help you, if you feel that that might be, I guess, easier for you in terms of going through those processes. You may also go through union representatives if you do have a union rep aligned to your company or external, of course. So I think making sure that you know the resources out there. I also just want to say that I think there is a huge stigma against insurance companies. And as a person who is injured at work, you will be assigned a case manager from the insurance company. So it's really important that, you know, your case manager has your best interest at heart. For me personally, I really do care about my injured workers and I make sure that I build those relationships with them early on in the

piece. So for those people that maybe don't have the best relationship with their employers, I build that relationship and trust with them so they know that I'm here for them if they need to fall back on someone. If you get a case manager, it's awesome that you're super passionate, it, but I'm sure like any industry, there are also people who are just like, I've got to get through my work. I've got to get through these people. If you're assigned a case manager and you feel like they're maybe not listening to you or, you know, not taking things you say seriously, does an injured person have the option of requesting a different case manager? They definitely can. And it certainly does happen in the industry. So if they wanted to

change a case manager, they could request it through the insurance company and they will then be assigned to the next best case manager for them. Obviously, we don't want it to lead to that path, but it is an option because we want to make sure that the relationship we're building with our injured workers is also a really strong bond so that we can support them as best as possible because we are dealing with them directly. And although they're still dealing with their employers in the background, often people that are injured at work will come straight to us and they do want us to sort of be the forefront of supporting them. So it's super, super important that, you know, we're building those relationships with them and making sure that they're happy and

that they are feeling supported ultimately. I also feel like in all my experience in the insurance space, I actually haven't met a caseworker that isn't passionate about their role. Like, I mean, insurance can be very cut and dry. And don't get me wrong, I've met a number of underwriters that I've come head to head with. However, I think once it gets to the point of claim, whether you're dealing with a BDM or directly with a case manager and your client, given I also have a little bit of experience in that space I just don't think I've met people who aren't compassionate and excited about it because they genuinely want to be there to put clients in the best possible position so I want to say that only because obviously we're asking questions that

go oh if you want to change is that fine like usually the case manager you get assigned is absolutely beautiful and will do the right thing for you but it's important to know where you stand I think on the flip side as well the other piece of advice that I always give to my clients and to anyone I speak to about insurance is document, document, document. Because even if it's just like the times and the dates, it will really play a role further down the track if your employer isn't as forthcoming with information or says maybe it didn't happen or puts you in a compromising position. And it can really help your caseworker as well understand what's going on and how you're feeling and what we need to do next. So from my perspective, get as much in writing as you

possibly can, even if it's just a message where you're like, hey, Jess, thanks for that meeting just before, just confirming A, B, C, and D. Thanks so much. So I just think that that can be really powerful in a circumstance like this, especially when there's not a HR department or there's not someone that's going to help you with your back to work. Like Jess, if you ever get injured at work, you probably should do that to me. I'm going to be texting you. Get it all in writing. Please don't do that to me. Trust me. But on that, my friend, I think this is the perfect place to leave this thank you so much for sharing some of your money story and some information about work cover and having a general chat with us i've really enjoyed today thank you

so much for having me guys oh my gosh no we love it thank you for coming jess now it is time can you please wrap the boring but important stuff of course don't forget the advice shared on she's on the money is generally 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 a financial decision. And we promise Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Infocus Securities Australia Pty Ltd, ABN 47097797049, AFSL 236523. See you on Wednesday, guys. Bye.