She's On The Money - MONEY DIARIES: The Student Smashing her Savings, Side Hustle & Investment Goals!

Episode Date: March 24, 2024

This savvy community member grew up in a single parent household with an amazing mum who always prioritised her education.  Now at the tender age of 18, she's studying, has a side hustle, has already saved $20,000 and has investments! Wait till you meet this absolute young gun! Friends! If you loved this episode, then we know you are going to love Victoria's new book, Money Diaries with She's on the Money! This book has been written so you can feel empowered and see that YOU have the power to rewrite your own money story! It's coming in May but you can pre-order your copy now, click here!  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 episodes where I get the absolute privilege of talking to one of our beautiful She's On The Money community members all about their journey. Let's jump straight into it because this week I got a message and it went like this. Hi V, I grew up in a single parent household with a mum who always put our education first. I'm now 18 years old and I've saved $20,000 and I've invested $6,300. I'm a university student, work as a school learning support officer and own a tutoring business partnership

with my sisters. I'd love to share my journey with the She's on the Money community. Ah, money diarist, you're 18, $20,000 in savings, just got like a killer little business on the side. Welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Are you very joking? This is so cool. No, it's my life. I just can't believe it. Yeah. This is very cool. I'm very proud of you already. I cannot wait to learn more about you. So let's just dive straight in. The first question I always ask our diarist is money diarist, can you let me know on a scale of A through to F, what you think your money habits would be right now? I would rank myself a B because I do feel like for my age, I've done a really good job. I do feel like I have really good habits and a good cash flow,

but I do think there's areas of improvement. Right. I kind of believe you, but also you're 18 and have $20,000 in savings. And I'm like, okay, like a B is probably not enough, but let's get into it. My favorite question of all time to ask, not just money diarists, but literally anyone. Let's go. Money Diarist, can you tell me more about your money story? So as I mentioned, I grew up in a single parent household. My parents split when I was 10 months old. And although my dad did pay child support, it's still not that much. We did have to live quite frugally and we definitely live within our means. My mum, she was very good at managing money. It was always her priority to pay off the mortgage. And as mentioned, she really put our

education first we always had money for school excursions or for camp or for tutoring as I love her I got into the late years of high school yeah I love her what a little queen she's like no I don't need a man literally but yes she's done an amazing job and through that she really did show all of us amazing money habits especially how important it is to have your own job or your own money I have two older sisters and they started getting a job and earning their own money when they were 14. And I was like, I want this. I want to have my own money. And then they started saving for a car. And that was just my big goal in high school. So I saved $15,000 for my first car. Wait, so you also own a car and you're 18. And on top of that, you have the $20,000. And then

you're also an investor. Yes. Here I am thinking like, oh, I'm going to ask her, like, is she going to buy a car with like her first $20,000? No, no, no. She doesn't need us guys. Yeah. So I did buy my car, but then at the end of high school, after I bought my car, I only had a thousand dollars left. So I started off last year with a thousand dollars. So you've saved like $19,000 in a year? Yes. All right. We're going to need to learn a lot from you, but yes, carry on.

Okay. It's always been a big focus for me throughout high school. Somehow I stumbled across YouTube videos, how to get rich, talk about investing. And I was like, what is this? I need to get into this. And then I found your podcast. I started reading different books. So yeah, that's how I really started investing as well. Welcome to the community. I love that you're here. Thank you. So you've got $20,000, like that's your money story so far, but like, where's it going?

Okay. The plan is this June, I'm going to Europe and there goes a lot of that money, but that's okay. That's what it was allocated for. And traveling to me is a priority. I really want to make the most of it while I can. and then I do have $5,000 in an emergency fund. So that won't be touched. In addition to all of that?

No, no, no. Sorry. $12,000 for travel, $5,000 in an emergency. Great. How cool. I love that you've already like, you're 18 and you have an emergency fund. Are you joking? No, it was the first thing I did. I was like, V said I have to have one, so I've got to get one. I love this so much. I'm obsessed. And I just love that you're 18 and have a $5,000 emergency fund because that's something that so many people just don't have. And like, I know having spoken to the community, I've, you know, just finished up my online course, Your Best Year Yet. And, you know, that was a really interactive course where I like got to talk to a lot of people about, you know, what are you going to smash out this year? Like, what are your goals that we

actually have to achieve? And lots of people were talking about, you know, finally setting up their emergency funds and I'm so proud of them. But this idea that you've done this at 18, like one, there are going to be a lot of people listening being like holy guacamole like what a little legend but also it's just so inspirational knowing that once you're 25 once you're 35 once you're 50 once you're 60 like you're setting future you up for the best type of success and you're never going to be held back by money because you're just sitting in this nice little nest egg that you're building for yourself and that's like literally so sexy like I just think is the coolest thing ever oh it's honestly because of you I've learned so much from you you are way too kind all right tell

me more I want to know more about your work what do you do for work and how much money do you earn I work as a school learning support officer so I am contracted three days a week but I pick up casual days when I can so last year I earned twenty thousand dollars after tax wait you earned twenty thousand dollars after tax but earlier in the show we learned that you saved nineteen thousand dollars last year well then we'll get to my business my side hustle I was about to say she's a little queen when it comes to saving no so then I also have my tutoring business that I have with my assistants and I earned the same so twenty thousand dollars I don't pay pay as you go tax so I will have to pay some tax at tax time yeah and what does that actually look like day

to day and how did you start this tutoring business we were just sitting at the dinner a table one night and there's so many people on Facebook that will say does anyone know a tutor and my mum just said why don't you girls start something so a few months later we got our ABN and then on Facebook we just started replying to people saying well we have a tutoring business we'd love to tutor you so I actually started this when I was 15 with them just a baby it's crazy because at the time I didn't feel young like I look back like 15s very young I didn't feel like that. And then now we have a tutor who works for us as well. Oh, how cool. Yes, it is amazing. We just have a big Google Drive. We've been doing it for four years now. So we just have a lot of

resources, a lot of worksheets, booklets. So just over time, we've built it up as well. How cool. And you guys just tutor in the subject areas that you kind of excel in or like, what does that look like? How did you go? All right. You know, I'm a pretty smart girl. I'm willing to teach others especially so young was that a very big oh actually no I'm really good at this or were you like oh so I actually always had tutored primary school kids when I was in high school I tutored year two to year six and then I did very well in my final school exams so I started tutoring high school students as well so I tutor year seven to twelve English and maths and really for example although I focus on English and maths if one of my students needs help for example on a

woodwork assignment and it's like a theory of that we'll just do that yeah of course because it's not necessarily about you know being a genius at that topic but rather helping somebody learn their coursework right absolutely I did a bit of tutoring when I was at uni and I loved it I just always thought it was really fun yeah and a big misconception is I would say that it's not about doing the work for them it's guiding them and equipping them with the skills to do the work Yeah. Adore. What's going to happen to the business? Obviously you're only 18, you're planning on traveling and I'm assuming you're studying. Yes.

What's going to happen to the business in the future? Well, for right now, I do work one day to Thursday every afternoon tutoring. And then when I travel two weeks is over school holidays, two weeks is during school term. So I just let them know that I can't tutor those two weeks. But the plan is when I finished my degree to continue tutoring. But if I do feel like it's too much or, you know, I don't have a good work-life balance, I can always reduce the amount of students I tutor. Yeah. So tell me, that was a grand assumption.

I was like, she's pretty smart. She's got a tutoring business. I think she's probably studying still herself. What are you studying? What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm studying to be a primary school teacher. Of course you are. Perfect fit.

Yes. And that's why I work in school as well, because it just goes so well. And then you want to be a primary school teacher. we're going to keep this tutoring business on the side with your employees in it? I hope so. I love this. Thank you. Hopefully one day I could be some sort of executive in a school, do curriculum advice or be an AP. Oh, she's going to be the principal. It's all good. You're going to run this town. I love it. Tell me now, what are your big money goals? What are you currently working towards? My big money goal is to continue investing. I would love to have maybe $20,000

invested by the time I graduate. And while I'm in uni, continuing to save to travel. In about 18 months, I'm going to be able to actually casually teach. So that means I get more money, which means I could probably start saving for an investment property. Oh, investment property. You've already got your eyes on the prize. Yes. I do live in Sydney, so it does feel unattainable to probably buy in Sydney. So I would buy out of state, but just something maybe with a smaller mortgage I could afford. A hundred percent. And you've probably listened to a heap of money diaries where you know that's possible. Like I think when you're young and you don't have access to content, like we create on

She's On The Money, you make automatic assumptions. You're like, well, I live in Sydney and Sydney is really expensive. Therefore I can't afford property. And it's like, well, actually we just need to be a little bit creative. We actually just need to look a little bit further. Is that something that you'd always known you're like look I'm probably going to buy property but I'll have to buy it out of state or is that a newer type of I guess goal that you're like actually this might be possible for me? Initially I just thought I'd just purchase a family home that I'd live in and then I heard about rent vesting where you buy elsewhere but you rent sort of in the suburb you want to live and I think that is a bit more attainable than buying like a one point something

million dollar house in Sydney. 100%. Yeah so it's definitely has changed. It's a little bit more approachable. And I think, you know, in 2024, we need to be remembering that it's not the same as the eighties or the nineties. Like you can no longer just go and buy your first home and move straight in. Property nowadays is a lot about kind of stepping stones and going from, I bought an investment property, you know, give that a couple of years, get some equity because we just don't have the capacity in 2024 to purchase properties without more leverage. Cause I feel like so many times people just assume their salary is going to be enough. And it's like, well, it could be if you're saving for 20 years for that deposit, but we actually need to be a little bit more

creative because inflation is not what it used to be. And it makes me cry, but there's still a plan and that's okay. Absolutely. I want to ask a little bit more about this travel, right? So you haven't traveled extensively yet because you're just a baby. How have you started to budget for travel so obviously having not done it yet where are you researching what are you doing like in our community there are so many questions about how do I you know look up flights or this or that you know what's it going to cost me you said Europe Europe can be really expensive my friend tell me because I feel like you're going to be structured in this yes so actually during COVID during our long lockdown I was like all I want to do is travel so I planned out a whole year of this

imaginary trip no you didn't yes i did and it's so sad to look back on because the prices were so cheap you could get a hostel for like 30 a night yeah anyway so budgeting for this trip my sister does live in london oh very nice so my mom and i we are going and then we actually thought in our heads maybe 100 200 a night per person but then looking at accommodation unfortunately it's just more than that just due to the time of the year so budgeting for that it was just flights, the accommodation, and we just thought how much we could probably spend every day and it looks like it could be about 12 grand. Yeah, elite. I love that you've got it planned and the other thing that I love is that you have an emergency fund going over there so even if you

do get into a pickle, you're going to be okay. Yeah, and we also have to budget for travel insurance. Very, very nice. I was about to ask you about investment but I'm going to save that for after the break so let's go to a really quick break and on the flip side, I want to know your investing plan, because you did say you want to invest $20,000 by the time you've graduated. I think I graduated with debt. So I'm excited to hear about this. So guys, don't go anywhere. All right, Money Diarist, we are back. And earlier you said, I want to invest $20,000 by the time I graduate. And the next question I had written down was, I want to know about your investment plans. So tell us, how are you going to do that?

What does that look like? And have you got a plan? So last year, I used the snowball strategy, just doing one savings card at a time. But this year, I'm going to do a little bit differently. I don't know what it's called, but you just put money aside every single pay. So that's what I'll do. And I'll just put as much as I can, every pay aside for investing. And then every time it reaches $500 or $1,000, I'll invest.

I really like ETFs. currently I'm in ASX 200 but there's two like there's one stock that's like $7,000 per stock but there's another ASX one that is like 60 something per stock so I'm in the smaller one and then I'm in an agricultural ETF so I will just continue being in any ETF. So tell me about how you came up with splitting your investment that you currently have between the ASX top 200 and an agricultural ETF. Like where did that thought pattern come from? Like, yeah, tell me more. I really knew it was important to have diversified stocks. So although the top 300 stocks already has diversity, I wanted something different as well, which has worked out well

because at times the ASX one has dropped, the agricultural one has gone up and vice versa. Isn't it fun to watch when you start to learn? No, it's not fun. I think it's fun because you kind of feel validated in the choice that you make, right? So you've obviously diversified and you're like, oh, I see why like I did that and I feel good when, you know, it's obviously not a good feeling when your ETF is down. No one likes that. Don't get me wrong. I'm meant to be like really good at money, but I still look at my portfolio and if it's down, I'm like, ew, David, like no, ew, like I don't like it either. But it's nice to see your whole portfolio and go oh that is down but oh that one's doing well and it all balances

out that's why we do diversification absolutely how'd you learn about diversification at 18 though like sis I don't get it like at 18 if you'd said diversification I'd be like well I didn't even know how to spell that it was honestly through your book especially even when you talked about investing the same amount at different times like just through your book she's dollar cost averaging she's investing and guys she still thinks she's a B so we're gonna have a fight at the end but that's all right I love a little bit of a morning argument I want to know I think I know the answer to this put us on the list of questions my love do you have any debt if so what is it yes I have about four thousand dollars in my hex debt that's not an exact amount just a guess but yeah about

four thousand dollars and how much do you think that's going to go up by for the study that you're doing? I think by the time I graduate, it'll be about 16 to 20 grand. And do you have a plan for that? Or is that something that you're going to let tick along? Have you thought about it? I'm just going to let it tick along because historically it hasn't indexed a lot. So I just think I could actually make more money investing it somewhere else. Smart cookie. When you say it hasn't indexed a lot, but last year it indexed at 7.1%, how are you coming to that conclusion? Are you going, oh, over the long term? And how did you learn to think like that? Because like nobody thinks like that. Everyone freaks out that it

was 7.1% last year. I think last year, a lot of things in the money world were very different. For example, stocks went down, the index went up. I just think perhaps it could be a one or two year off. Maybe it won't be like that every year. All right. She's a genius guys. Give it what three or four years and I'll be out of a job at Shears on the money and this money diarist will be in. So I'm just going to make what I can for the next few years before you take over my world. I want to know, you probably have a million of them. What are your best money habits? My best money habit is when I get paid, I have a purpose for every single dollar. Everywhere has a place to be. Yes, queen.

And I do get paid a regular amount because if I pick up casual work or maybe one week, five of my tutoring students are sick. I just have a system that really works for that. Yeah. Okay. And how did you learn to cash flow? Is this something that you've always done? Did your mum teach you like what does this look like I actually have heard my nan and pop always say save first then spend I actually don't really know where I learned I think I just looked at what are my main goals how much would I need to save every week to get there and then it just had a domino effect any other good money habits you'd like to share with us I'm very good at delayed gratification for example there were shoes I looked at for two years before I purchased them

two years yes they even keep them in stock after two years yes they do but they actually went up a little bit I'm like I should have actually just bought them to start with what shoes are these because like we need to know I'm a shoe girly okay they were Nike Jordans that's a thing at the moment I can't get into it because I'm an elder millennial you see like I'm just not cool enough and if I put them on you guys would be like Victoria Devine take those off right now you are not cool. But I get it. I have a nephew who is obsessed with Air Jordans. Are you now a collector? No, I have two pairs and I don't really wear them that much. Now I actually prefer sandals, which is the complete opposite of Air Jordans. But it still sparks joy. So we're going to leave

it in the positive money habits section. Exactly right. Now tell me about your worst money habits. What do you think they are? I would actually say I have a lot of guilt around spending money because I just think money spent is money that's not saved. Why? Where's this coming from? I think I did grow up quite frugally and really we just have what we needed. So it showed me that I don't need to have a lot of things. That's absolutely fair. I want to know a little bit more around this mindset thing. Everyone's listening and they're just like, holy guacamole, this girl has her hair just screwed on right. You're 18, you grew up in a single parent household, which is honestly so inspirational.

like single mums do not get the credit that they deserve and the fact that you're like mum put out education first like you've obviously got siblings so your mum wasn't even just one kid there were three of you is that right yes there is this queen has taught you how to save how to like you know get on the right track she empowered you to start your business at 15 like I want this queen on the show like I want to literally and maybe if you guys are listening not just money diarist if your mom wants to come on the show and she now has adult kids that are in the she's on the money community we want to hear from them I want to hear that money story because I know it's not easy like I know it's just going to be juicy and there's going to be stuff behind it where she thought

she wasn't doing a good job but she was because she was doing the best for her kids the entire time anyway side note the last thing I want to talk to you about is your b you said at the start of this episode and like now you've probably heard yourself and we've talked about this I don't think many people are going to go oh this money diarist is definitely a b she's obviously killing it and she's just a baby oh thank you tell me what it would take to get you to an a plus like what does that actually look like I think the biggest thing it would take is really thinking before I apple pay it's so easy to just tap I think that's the biggest thing really thinking do I feel like this eight dollar coffee yes I do I know I always fight that eight dollar

coffee it's a slippery slope isn't it but like at the end of the day the show is about values but your coffee I promise is not putting you in a position where you're a bee so you're gonna have to justify it further I'm really sorry what makes you a bee oh I'm on the spot now I don't even know what to say you're 100% you can't come on this show be like hey by the way I'm actually a legend I'm 18 I've you know saved 20 grand I've invested 6,300 I have this really great plan to go to Europe in July I'm gonna have like the best time my mum and I are going I've done all my budget by the way when it comes to investing I'm really well diversified and I fully comprehend that also fully understand my hex and here's why I'm not paying it off like you are saying things that

people in their 50s are still like oh I haven't wrapped my head around that concept yet and that's fine because we're all on our different journeys right but like there are gonna be some people who like this girl's got a few rocks in her head if she thinks she's a b you're definitely an a to them so what are the things that you have to change to in your own mind get to that a plus what does that look like probably just really thinking do I really want to buy this do I need this but when you put it like that it does feel like I could be an a you're like oh yeah actually nah. Yes. But you know, you did remind me of two things. Since I put the submission in, I'd have invested another thousand dollars and I have $3,300 in super. I am very proud of you.

I cannot believe it. And I keep being like, you're just a baby because at the moment you would not feel that way. You'd just be like, I'm an adult, Victoria, like sit down. But I look back at myself at 18 and I go, holy moly, she was so young, like in the most beautiful way, like not in a, you're naive, you don't know what's coming way, but more in like a, you're so young, you're so optimistic you have so much life ahead of you like and the fact that you're in this position just means everything in adulthood is going to be turbocharged I'm obsessed but I look at it and I go I'm so proud of who you are but who you're becoming and I know our community is just going to listen to this and be like what a queen we love her like give me three or four years please

come back we need to do an updated money diary which is something I've been looking at because we all want to check in like you're active in the community we obviously let you be anonymous on the show so we can get real pervy but thank you for this I have adored talking to you and I just know that our community is going to listen to this and be like what a queen get it oh thank you so much Victoria I love being on the show oh my gosh no thank you so much it has been an absolute pleasure 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 Sherpa, PTY, LTD, ABN, 321-649-27708, AFSL 451-289.