She's On The Money - MONEY DIARIES: Frome Homelessness To Homeowner

Episode Date: January 14, 2024

This inspiring Money Diarist grew up with a financially irresponsible and manipulative father, then became homeless from the age of 20 to 22. But she managed to flip her life around entirely and independently bought my first unit at age 25! She's now working in mental health and we cannot wait to share her wonderful story with you! Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements.The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money.

She's on the money. Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast for millennials who want financial freedom. Welcome back to another one of our money diaries, my favorite episode of the week, if I do say so, where I get the absolute privilege of talking to one of our incredible She's on the Money community members all about their journey. Let's jump straight into it because I got an email this week and it sounded exactly like this. Hi V, after growing up with a financially irresponsible and manipulative father, I found myself homeless between the ages of 20 to 22. This was due to wanting to distance myself from my dad. But the good news is I have flipped my

life around and independently bought my first unit at 25. I'm now working in mental health and would love to share my story with the community. Money diarist. Yes. Oh my gosh, I'm so proud of you. Are you proud of you? I am. Yeah, it doesn't feel real. I have to pinch myself sometimes to be like what is happening imagine like the flip from homeless to literally owning your own unit what in the wizard i can't wait to learn more should we get into it we shall okay as always i ask the same question first money darris if i asked you to give your money habits a grade from a through to f what would you grade them i would say a b plus moving towards an A. Like I've got plans in place to get to an A.

Oh, I love this. All right. I feel like you've got a story that we are going to be so privileged to hear. So let's dive into it. Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story? Yeah. So obviously it starts at home. I am one of 12. One of 12. Yeah. I've got 11 siblings. So family tree is very messy. I've got five biological siblings, three step and four half so there's like different marriages in there different parents but I knew everyone from the age of five and for as long as I can remember I spent one week at mum's one week at dad's and so there were two very different money stories at each house

at my mum's house she was always pretty financially stable she lived very well within her means and was good at prioritizing what needed money to be spent on so we never had anything extra because she had six kids so obviously that's a lot to support. That's so many minis. Yeah we'd be able to go on school camps but we wouldn't have internet so she was good at making sure that we were all quite well looked after thankfully. Oh I love her. Yeah she did the best that she could with what she had at the time and she owned her own home. She lived an hour from my high school so as I got older I started going less and less and spending more time at my dad's house and at my dad's house it was the complete opposite he always lived

completely outside of his means and was financially manipulative that's so like black and white as well like they're so different in experiences like having a mom like that and then having a dad like that would have been so confusing yeah especially when you're younger because you don't understand manipulation at all and you don't understand the power of money I guess and how it can be used to control people, but he owned the family business. Whatever he said went really. And I had a step mom at this point and she was great. She would always make sure that we were well looked after. And his argument was that she was better at looking after people and he was better at finances. And so she had no access to family finances and he would give her an allowance.

No. I'm not going to say way back then because it's not that long ago, but I feel like if you've never really been taught any different and then you have these conversations and people say well that's how relationships work you just go oh okay no worries like because in the moment it doesn't feel like that big of a like ask and like I could totally gaslight someone into believing that me giving them a like an allowance is a good idea totally like and I don't mean that in a way that I ever would but like you just go oh I could definitely like be like no money diarist like it's actually better to do it this way because then we'll always be financially comfortable and you know what you can spend and like there's definitely ways around it i feel like so many

times people hear these stories and they're like well that's ridiculous and you're like you need to think a little bit more deeply about this yeah especially when you're worried about family as well like she even though she was my stepmom she really like adopted all of us as her own kids so she never wanted to leave because she was like i care so much for these kids and she had children with him and she really wanted to make sure that this dynamic really worked what a honey And so, yeah, he would give her money and expect her to support the family with that money. Meanwhile, any money outside of that was his money. So it was like his money is his money and everyone else's money is also his money.

Oh, what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine. I love this for him. Well, you see, further down the track, it did not work out for him whatsoever. Low-key good. Yeah, high-key good. and so she would make sure that we did things like after-school activities and trying to just make sure that we were happy and meanwhile he would be spending ridiculous amounts of money on sports cars and flashy things really trying to look rich and really wanting to

have this flashy lifestyle that he could not support but he can't even help his kids like ill sir ill yeah he would complain about how much was being spent on school shoes and things like that yeah it was ridiculous so he never owned his own home yeah because he was fake rich exactly so we ended up moving into an apartment above the family shop which was a restaurant and so it was a two-bedroom unit and there was I think 10 of us living in it at one point oh my gosh yeah and his argument was that we needed to make sacrifices so that we could save up for a house deposit and one day it would pay off okay so we all toughed it out lived in like this quite uncomfortable situation. But anytime he saved up enough money to buy a house, he would

spend it on ridiculous things such as like expensive holidays or things like that, trying to look rich for his rich friends. That's so yuck. Oh my gosh. Like low key. I'm just frustrated at your dad on your part. Yeah. But again, he told everyone that he knew best and that he was the financial wizard and none of us knew anything. So we just had to trust him and everything that he did was for the family anyway so oh that's so kind yeah okay well in that case yeah so from the age of five I was always working for any money that I had it was doing chores around the house to be able to buy chocolate and when I was 12 I started working the family business as well getting pocket money and things like that and I'd always have to save up for anything that I wanted

to do that wasn't school yeah or one activity and by the time I was 16 I was pretty much the only kid left that was interested in the family business. So it was really drilled into me that like, this is going to be yours one day. Like you need to focus on it. You need to help manage it. You need to start doing bookkeeping, things like that. And I didn't have any time to think about any other future that I wanted. It was all just family business, family business. And as I started doing the bookkeeping, along with that came with seeing how much debt he was in. oh it's bold of him to like allow you into that space given how irresponsible he was honestly sometimes men and their audacity confuses me i think he thought there was nothing wrong with

it he was like well this is just part of being a businessman no it's not bye yeah i think he thought that he was really smart for the way that he would evade so many debts and how he managed to make it work. But really, I saw that he was just lying to so many people. He was caught evading taxes within the business. He owed tens of thousands of dollars to our food supply to the point that they were threatening to cut the business off, which would mean that the business wouldn't be able to run anymore. He owed money to friends. Yeah. And I think seeing all of that just made me realize I never wanted to look rich. I never wanted to care for that because I saw how ridiculous it was. I saw that it leads to nothing. It just leads to more debt and embarrassment and

having to dodge people. And yeah, so it really taught me that I never wanted credit cards. I never wanted to live outside of my means. I never wanted to owe anyone anything. And I'm glad for that lesson that it taught me. And so when I was 20, I got my license and I decided I had had enough and I didn't want to be around him anymore for the financial aspect but also for so many other things that were going on as well. So I told everyone that I was going on a camping trip and then I drove 16 hours away where I had a job lined up in a food truck and yeah that was the start of me running away and being homeless for two years. You said you were going on a camping trip and you kind of were but you were lying it's just a really long camping trip how long

did people think you were going for I think like a week or two it was funny one of our family friends worked in the shop and she saw me packing my bags and she was like you're not coming back are you and I was like no I'm not like she knew but my family didn't know yeah until I was up there which I think obviously you were putting you first and that was like clearly the best and safest way to go about that circumstance so I'm very proud of you for that but in that moment when somebody was like you're not coming back are you were you worried that they would I guess dibba-dob on you or were you like no everyone can see how toxic this is that would make sense everyone could see how toxic it was especially because we were living at the shop and so

all this stuff could see the dynamics and whatnot but everyone was scared of him like he was good of making sure that people were scared of him so everyone could see how toxic it was and I wasn't worried that she would tell anyone because we had such a good connection she'd known me since I was like two years old oh my heart and so yeah baby you gets in her car drives 16 hours you've lined a job up at a food truck how did you survive so the food truck it was one that would do events and they just paid me cash in hand it wasn't a well-paying job but cash is cash yeah exactly And so I just became really good at making sure money was stretching and the people that I worked for, I absolutely adored.

It was like a little family. They didn't know what was happening back home, but they knew that I was going through something and they were very understanding if I was having bad mental health days and things like that. And the work itself wasn't very steady, but yeah, it was something. And I honestly was just happy to be free and to be doing my own thing and to not be under anyone's thumb anymore and to be figuring out how to do things for myself. Yeah. And so it stuck out for so long. I will say as well, lots of people don't know that most homeless people

aren't visibly homeless. It's under 10% of people are off sleepers. Yeah. It's not people just sleeping on the streets. Yeah, exactly. And women are also less likely to reach out for help because of the stigma around it, fears of safety. Yeah. And also the hyper independence that comes with dealing with all of that trauma. We also just don't want other people to see our struggles. So we're more likely to hide it from people, which I'm assuming you got pretty good at. So the people that surrounded you, the people you worked for, did they know you were homeless? What did they think? Because they went around to events, I would travel along with them and they knew that I wasn't like living

anywhere stably but I don't know I think that they were just like okay like you're capable you're doing your thing I know they never really worried too much about it they were very non-judgmental I love that and I'm glad you found that because that's exactly what you needed at that point in time so were you just living out of your car or were you actually camping like is there any truth to the camping story my friend there is there is so I was living out of my car and I also had a tent and so I would travel to an event work that and I would camp there like on site because it was like a camping space and then in between events I would just go to the nearest forest I would look up free campsites and then just camp there and do my thing I had like a gas stove I had

a jug of water that's good oh my gosh how were you managing safety I think that's the first thing that comes into my mind like you know at the end of the day like if you want to camp go for it but like, I don't even know that I'd feel comfortable going camping on my own, let alone doing it for two years. How were you looking after yourself, making sure that you were okay? So there were times that I was with friends that would also work these events and we would camp together. But I also was in the mental state of my home wasn't safe for so long. And so what's the worst that can happen out here like the worst can happen at home so I'm safer by myself out here that breaks my heart because obviously that's showing my privilege to be like oh like I would

feel so unsafe and you're like Victoria do you know how unsafe my house was like it's better to be alone in a forest and it just it makes me want to wrap you up and be like I'm so sorry you had to go through that but like I can also see how stoic you are I'm like oh she's a cool human like she's been through some stuff, but she's going to know a million more things than I do about life and how to live. So just different things. Yeah. But like, you just, I love it. I love meeting people who have diverse experience to me, but tell me now, because you've gone from, we're talking about, I guess, the ages of 20 to 22 with you at the moment. How did all of that, I guess, come to an end? Like, are you still working for the food truck company? Like, tell me about life. How did

it progress? It progressed through COVID actually. So as I said, I did not gotten any support through that time. And then when I was 22 COVID hit and I had to think about where I wanted to be for that time. And so I decided to come back to Melwyn because that's where my main support network was. And for the first time I accessed Centrelink. The funny thing with Centrelink is you have to have an address to get something. So I couldn't get it while I was homeless because I didn't have a stable place that I was living. What the heck? That's like the worst kick you while you're down moment. It's like, I actually need Centrelink so I can get a house. And they're like, we'll get a house and we'll give you Centrelink. Yeah, exactly. And so I started

renting a place and obviously Centrelink at that moment got increased so much and it was the most stable income I'd had. And it was the first time in years that I had a house and I felt safe and I felt stable and I finally had time to be like okay like what is it that I want to do into the future you know five years time where do I see myself going and I knew that the lifestyle that I had then wasn't long term like I wasn't going to be able to do that it's not sustainable yeah so I had time to reflect and I realized that I love helping people and so I decided to study community services yep and so I started studying that while I was studying I was also volunteering in child protection. Again, having so much lived experience, I wanted to help other people that

were going through that. And so I was doing a live-in role that was unpaid, but I lived with two 16-year-old girls that also didn't feel safe living at home. See, you're such a special human. Thank you. Yeah, I think just having the experience that I did and knowing what it's like to be in that situation, I want to help others that would be in that situation, having been on the other end of it and showing them that it was possible and so while I was volunteering in that I wasn't paying any rent or bills because it was again a volunteer position money win so that helped me save up to pay off my uni as well as like build a bit more the savings behind me how long did it take you to do your studies sorry it was only a certificate

so it took a year yeah good work so yeah I did a year and then yeah I started working in disability support and realizing that I worked best with people with mental health because that's where I had the most experience and I know here I am I'm so impressed at the start I said are you proud of yourself well obviously after going through all of that and now you've flipped your life around you're working in a space that you love where's the house come in how did you buy your own unit so you were saving up I'm gonna need some more information on that because the idea that you can go from homeless at 22 to buying your first unit at 25 is wild because it takes some people 10 plus years to save a deposit. It actually only took me a year to save. It's because you're a

genius. Yeah. Okay. So sorry. But like, I'll get into like that when we talk about debt, but was that something you ever foresaw in your future? Like, oh yeah. Do you know what? In a couple of years, I'm just going to own my own house. I never saw myself owning my own house. I actually wanted to buy land and not a house, but to be able to buy land, I needed to first buy a house to get out of the rent cycle. Yeah. I didn't think that it would happen as quickly, but I also didn't think that it wasn't not possible as well. I try not to give myself limiting beliefs. I can see that. And I really like that. So tell me a bit more about this, not having limiting beliefs, because one that's really special, it's something that we are always

like jumping up and down about it. She's on the money. But so many people have. How have you gone through such adversity and still have this? No, no, no. If I want something to happen, like I'm young, I have the ability. I'm going to get it done. Like, can you please share your wisdom? Yeah, I think my stepmom was a big inspiration for that because when we were growing up, it was never like, oh, we can't afford that. It was always, okay, let's figure out how we can make that work. And if you want that, you're going to have to sacrifice something else. So weigh up your options. And she really dug that into us. So I think having that, and then also running away and seeing how I could live independently with so little for two years

really showed me what I am capable of. Cause I never thought that I'd be able to do that when I was younger. I'm obsessed. Yeah. And then it's just like, you know what? I can do anything actually you absolutely can and I adore it all right so tell me now what is your job description and how much money do you earn so I work for myself so I guess the self-appointed title is independent mental health support worker and then the hours fluctuate a lot again working for myself but last year I made just over 100k before deductions no you didn't yeah oh my gosh what a queen. Yeah, I think being so good at my job, a lot of my clients want to work more and more with me. So it just kind of snowballed. It was like I had one client and then they referred me on to

someone else and then they all wanted me to work as much as I could for them. Good things happen to good people, my love. It's also a job that I love so much. So it's quite easy for me to work a lot because it's really just me going over and helping people. And then this year I'm on track to make 150k after deductions what yeah did you ever think that this was gonna be a thing like from having a little gas stove finding free camping spots to being like oh well actually this year I'm earning 150 grand like do you know how proud past you is of like current you she's like screaming yeah I'm very big on journaling quite often I'm like damn younger me would be bamboozled by what is happening right now. You're like the oldest sibling that younger

you needed. And I love that. I love it so much. So you've bought your first unit. What are your current big money goals? What are you working towards right now? I think it comes in steps. So as I said, I want to eventually buy land and kind of live off the grid with that and be a bit more financially independent, meaning that I won't have to work as much as I am right now. I won't have to be earning 100k a year to be able to support that lifestyle. So to get there, my big money goal at the moment is renovate my house, which I'm in the middle of doing. Oh, exciting. I've got a lot of family members that are good with ideas for renovations.

Yeah, so that's underway, as well as then knocking down a bit of my mortgage. I love that so much. All right, let's go to a really quick break because I have 1,000,001 questions for you that I sadly am not going to fit all in this episode. but let's go to a really quick break and on the flip side we can have a chat about investment and the debt that you've taken on for this property and your good and bad money habits so guys don't go anywhere money diarist we are back and i am so insanely proud of you like it makes me so happy to know that you are thriving can i ask you now do you invest if so what are you investing in if not do you have a plan to invest i do have quite a few investments why

am I not surprised? I feel like the first two you're not going to love. That's okay. There's no judgment in this house. So the first one is my super. What do you mean I'm not going to love? Just give me a second. I feel like you're not going to love it. So keep in mind that I did work cash in hand a lot and then I was studying and then working for myself. My super's only at $1,500. That's all right. I looked into it and my dad never paid my super while I was working there. Why are we not surprised at that? Yeah, I'm not surprised whatsoever. But I have plans this year.

After I saved up for the deposit and got the house, I am now putting away a portion of my income to pay myself super. I'm hoping to pay about 15 grand this year into super just to really boost it up. When you say I'm not going to like that, I could not care less. You just showed me in that 30 seconds that you know more about your superannuation than 50% of the Australians on this earth, right? so many people could not tell me how much they have in super when they were last paid super if they've ever missed anything out like being on top of it is so much more important right now

than having heaps of money in there and like for every experience you've been through like makes sense that you don't have super there huh and you're still a baby like let's be honest you are so young you have so much time and you just told me earlier that you're on track to make 150 grand. You clearly have your head screwed on. I don't think that that's going to impact your retirement at all. Like, and you know it, right? Like you already know, you're like, V, I've got a plan and that's what I want to hear. So do I like it? No, I love it. I think I just didn't love how small it was because I know how much I've worked. It's frustrating, isn't it?

Yeah. I will get there. Exactly. So tell me about more stuff that you think I'm not going to like. The next one is I have $8,000 in crypto. oh yes okay tell me how did this happen I was dating a boy oh it always starts that way convinced me it was a good idea honestly if you took me back to being 22 23 my ex-boyfriend made a lot of money in crypto so when people like did you know heaps of people make money I'm like yeah and I broke up with someone who did which was like obviously a bad financial decision but great life decision but you look at it and go oh no people can make money in it and I mean if you've got

a boyfriend that's like leading you down a garden path sorry but I would have done it too like no judgment so I made money and then lost a lot of money so even though I have eight thousand in at the moment I've actually lost compared to what I put into it no so what's your plan with it are you just going to sit on it for a while yeah I moved it all into bitcoin because that is a lot more stable than all the other random ones I was in and I'm just letting it sit there and do its thing. Eventually I'll take it out. I do want to move it into other things, but I don't know. So you just got a plan. I love this. Again, no judgment. Who cares? I just love that you know where all your money is at and that is power and that's what we are going for. So what's this one

that you were saying that you think I will like? So I've got all up, I think $3,000 roughly in other shares and ETFs through different platforms. So like we could reframe this and be like, actually I have double the amount invested outside super than I do inside super and then we could leave it at that isn't that cool it is yeah I like that reframing yeah well you obviously work in the space too reframing is incredibly important but it's one of those things where I just go it sounds like you're low-key still being a little bit harsh on yourself you're like oh it's not that good and I'm like I'm sorry you own your own unit you are 25 you have absolutely slayed life. Your mindset is so clear. You know your goals. Like there is not one thing wrong with

this story right now for me. Tell me a bit more about the debt. So you recently purchased your first unit, which is so exciting. How much did it cost you? How much debt have you taken on from that? And also do you have any other debts? The house is my only debt. I paid off my car and uni upfront. Never had credit cards or anything. Who is she? Oh, I just paid for my car in my uni up front no biggie yeah well I'm very good at choosing the cheap option thankfully and again not going outside of my means so really looked at what I could afford and yeah but with the house so it was 390 and I've got 340 owing on it which is at 6.4 percent I do consider the house to be an investment as well I know that typically you don't think of houses as investments if you

live in it, but I'm renovating it into a three bedroom. Obviously I only take up one room. My friend is renting from me and she pays $600 a month, which I put straight back into renovating it. And in the future, I do want to rent it out as a three bedroom house or unit. So yeah, I do see it as a debt and an investment at the same time. But also it's technically not your family home. So we always say your family home is not an investment, not any property you live in. because right now you're living in it to put it in a better position to rent it out. And what you just told me is house cost me $390,000. It's currently got $340,000 on a mortgage. Yeah, the mortgage is pretty high at the moment, but like that is life, unfortunately. But you've got

$40,000 in equity. Slay. Yeah. Money win. Yeah. Money win. Like that's so good. And obviously, you've got some positive cash flow coming in that's helping you with the mortgage and helping you renovate it. And a renovated place is probably going to lease for more than a two-bedroom place, right after looking at other houses in the area that are the same size it's expected to be at least like 50k once it's done that is very good your rental yield i cannot do rental yield for the life of me off the top of my head but if i could i know that's good yeah that is adore oh my gosh i feel like we all have so much to learn from you so tell me what is your best money habit you can give us more than one like i want all of them i think the number one is definitely

allowing myself to believe that I don't have to spend money to have fun the more money that I started making I would just say that because I was so happy with the lifestyle that I was living already that I didn't feel like I needed to add money to it to continue enjoying it so I still love camping I will still go out for a weekend and do that instead of you know spending lots of money on fancy dinners and things like that I buy secondhand everything so rather than going to Like the shops and stuff. Yeah, I'll just go to op shops and still go on shopping sprees definitely and buy things that I don't need.

But it costs $3 instead of $30. But that is okay. It is much cheaper. And also there's low-key something so gratifying about finding it cheap in an op shop and you're like, I love this and it was cheap money win. I feel like automatically if I bought something secondhand and someone compliments it, I'm like, yeah, okay, well, I got it on Facebook Marketplace. like there was this dining table that I was obsessed with getting. And then I realized how

much it was. And I just said to my husband, it's not going to happen. Like I picked up something basically identical on Facebook marketplace. And now whenever someone says, oh, your dining table is nice. I like give them a lecture on how good Facebook marketplace is. And they're just so sick of my stuff and I don't even care. I'm like, this is so good. We are not compromising guys. Just buy it secondhand. Yeah. Oh, even if you find something secondhand that isn't quite what you want, figure out how to DIY to make it what you want. So painted or add things, get rid of things. Yeah. I don't think I've bought new anything for the house at all. I love that. I'm obsessed. How good. I don't think you're going to have any, but do you have any bad money habits? I do. So while I tell

myself that I don't need to spend money to have fun, I've learned that I need to hide my money from myself to stop spare at the moment spending okay same yeah because I love saying yes to experiences so friends are like oh let's go to this festival let's do this thing I'm very good at being like okay sure or I'll book a holiday without thinking about how much it will actually cost so I need to tell myself that I have less money than I do so I put it in accounts that I can't see but if it's not in that account I will spend it just be a little bit tap happy you're like, oh, we can head back down to the op shop again today. We're going to have a really great Saturday. Like I'm not spending much, but then you realize you've gone to the op shop like three

times in a week and you're like, maybe not. Yeah. And also I don't actually wear any of those clothes. Oh yeah. See, that's not that helpful, but circular economy, you can re-donate it. Yeah. I see it as renting from the op shop because I buy it from there and it's going to eventually go back there. Oh, I like this. See, a circular economy. yeah and then I would say another bad habit that I have is being a little bit careless with my money in terms of lending it to people I've learned a few too many times that lending money to friends does not work out and then having to chase things up and it's no fun I have a life motto and I'm very grateful and as I'm sure you are as well to be in a position where I can lend

out money if I need to but like if someone ever needs to lend money from me I'm very much in the mindset of it's a gift I don't expect it back if it comes back that's fantastic but I don't really want to ruin a friendship over like chasing it up and if it's too much money that I would have to chase it up I'm like oh I probably shouldn't be lending it out to begin with it's a hard mindset shift but I had to implement it in my life and it just made it a lot easier but I do think it is a very kind and very generous personality trait to have and it's not something that I want to lose if that makes sense I'm kind of like I kind of like being that person that people trust to tell me about you know the fact that they're vulnerable or you know are not in the best position or need

something that they're not comfy asking somebody else about and I'm sure that you're in that position too where you're just like I don't really want to change that I would you know obviously love the money to stay in my account and this is just a hassle but I think it's a reflection of the kind human being that you are and let's not change that yeah I am glad that I still have that and I'm glad that people do feel comfortable opening up to me about it and I'm glad that I'm in a position to be able to help people there's definitely been times where I've been in positions where other people have helped me but I think I just need to yeah reflect more on that be a little bit more restrictive. Yeah. I think sometimes if you lend people that money a lot, it can

create a nasty cycle. Yeah. Like it's not teaching them to have good money habits, I think, because I've had some people in my life that have felt too comfortable, I think, asking for money, knowing that I will say yes. Oh, and it gives me the ick when that happens, because I'm like, now I feel like this relationship is being taken advantage of, and I just wanted to enjoy your company and now it doesn't feel that way and they text you and you're just like, I bet they're asking for $100. Yeah, but also like I feel like I'm not helping them foster a good relationship with money because maybe they do need to learn,

okay, no, I do only have $100 left. How am I going to make that work? But also as you should know in the space that you're in, other people's decisions are not your responsibility. You can guide them but it is not your job to teach them. Yeah. I think it's kind, but I have adored this money diarist at the start of the show. You said, I reckon I'm a B plus. I'm definitely moving towards an A. Why did you say that you

were moving towards an A and what does that look like? And when do you think you're going to achieve that? So I do still think that I'm moving towards an A and I think to get there, I want to be a bit more responsible now that I have a mortgage. I want to look into getting income protection because I do work for myself if something happens and I can't work for a month or so I want to make sure that my bills are looked after and then also reinvesting that crypto into something else I think that's what it would take for me to get to an A it's just be a bit more on top of my responsibilities my favorite part about that is that's so easy and you're quite clearly already thinking about it and you're already on track sometimes we talk to people and they're

like oh well I'd have to completely change this and this and you know I'd actually have to start doing a budget and saving and you know all of those things are perfect for where they're at but you go yep you're right that's a lot of work but you can absolutely do it i believe that you can whereas you've just got like a few small like tick box items like i can set you up with sky wealth tomorrow to organize your income protection and you know when it comes to just being better with like paying off your mortgage that's just a small plan a few tweaks especially where you're sitting right now so that's so exciting yeah it's just a few small things and then i feel like i'm there which is good I adore it so what's next money diarist what does the future look like

you're going to move out to a big block of land and kind of live off the grid or like where do you see yourself in the next 10 20 even 30 years yeah I want to buy a big block of land that multiple people can come and live on so friends and family and just kind of live a lot more simply I guess live away from the city I grew up in the city and I like it here but I would like a simpler lifestyle but I do still want to work within the sector I do really love caring for my community you're such a wholesome human being and it makes my heart so happy to know that not only you're in the community but like you've shared your story with our community and they get to learn from you and they're probably listening to this being like fire out that money diarist is

so kind and so generous and also so inspirational like literally having gone from being 20 and homeless, like the courage and the tenacity it would take to pack up your car and literally lie to your friends and family to be like, oh, I'm just going on a camping trip. But you had like this grand plan in the background to be like, I'm never going back there, catcher. Like, I'm just, I'm in awe of your ability to facilitate that because I think a lot of people in circumstances like yours or circumstances that were like yours often don't find that motivation to leave or you know put themselves first like so many times especially as women we just don't advocate for ourselves we go well that's how it is like you know I need to stay around for x y or z

or if I leave I don't have any backup and like obviously having a father who is manipulative especially financially that would make it so much harder but like I look at it and go holy heck this woman is a powerhouse and we have learned so much in just this short episode but thank you for all that you do and for the advocating you do for other women and the work you do in mental health like it is so special and so necessary and I'm just I'm just really grateful to have met you so thank you when you have that big block of land can I please come camp you can yeah there might even be a little hut somewhere for you yes how cute I love it well Marnie Dyrist thank you so much I'm so grateful and also just so proud to share you with our community I know that they're

going to love you as much as I have. Yeah, no, thank you for the opportunity to come speak with you guys. And again, thank you for building such a loving and supportive community where everyone's just uplifting each other all the time. That's the plan, my love. Keep on keeping on. 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 authorized representatives of Money

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