She's On The Money - Overcoming Financial Anxiety: How She Took Control of Her Future

Episode Date: March 9, 2025

Growing up, money was always tight. This week’s Money Diarist watched her parents work multiple jobs just to stay afloat, and from an early age, she learned to fear spending, avoid risks, and believe there would never be enough. That scarcity mindset followed her into adulthood. Now? She owns her home, is investing like a queen, and is finally feeling financially secure—but the journey here wasn’t easy. If you’ve ever felt anxious about spending, hesitant to invest, or stuck in a cycle of financial fear, this episode will speak to you. Breaking free from a scarcity mindset isn’t easy, but as our Money Diarist shows it’s absolutely possible. Ready to binge more relatable, inspiring, and downright juicy money stories? Check out our ultimate Money Diaries playlist. Listen now Join our Facebook Group AKA the ultimate support network for money advice and inspiration. Ask questions, share tips, and celebrate your wins with a like-minded crew of 300,000+. And follow us on Instagram for Q&As, bite-sized tips, daily money inspo... and relatable money memes that just get you.  Acknowledgement of Country By Nartarsha 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 that lets you be pervy about other people's money stories for educational purposes of course welcome back to another one of our Money Diaries episodes where I get the absolute privilege of sitting down and 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 sounded exactly like this. Dear She's On The Money, we grew up quite poor and it was especially bad in high school. I remember dad couldn't afford our textbooks or my school fees. My parents each worked two jobs and we'd go with mum and dad every school night to their second job cleaning offices. I've been trying to overcome my scarcity

mindset. And in the last two years, thanks to She's On The Money, I have savings for the first time. I've invested for the first time in shares and I was able to help my parents while they were overseas getting treatment for my mom. Money diarist. That was a bit emotional. Oh my goodness. Yeah. I just feel like there's a lot to unpack there. Like not only are you a super special person, but like mum and dad working two jobs and like cleaning offices. Like what queen and king are they? Like, I just feel like they're the types of parents that you just know love the shit out of their kids. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Oh, that's so special. Marnie Doris, I want to ask so many questions before we get there though. What would you grade your money habits if I asked you to give

them a grade from A through to F. Okay. So I'm going to say a C and I only say that because the last like 18 years of my life have been like really bad scarcity mindset, kind of like not really saving. It's only been in the last two years, maybe last year that I've been able to turn it around. So I'm basing that grade like overall. Yeah. I can already see why you have a scarcity mindset and how challenging it would be to move on from that. Like it's just so ingrained and everything that you do. And even the fact that you want to talk about it, like is so special. So let's just dive in. Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story? Yeah. So we grew up a family of six. We lived in a three bedroom house, nothing fancy. It was my

older sister in one room and then me and my two other siblings in another, we had a bunk bed and single bed kind of like side by side and we'd make little forts. So cute though and good memories. i don't really remember much in terms of like childhood distresses there it was more when we got into high school dad not being able to afford our textbooks letters being sent home about school fees being overdue this like this memory that sticks out in my head and every time i think about it i get a bit worked up because dad couldn't afford the textbooks and my sister was two grades above us we were reusing her italian workbook and obviously she'd written in

and I just had to like liquid paper over it or like rub out what she'd written. And I was like so embarrassed that I had this like secondhand workbook and everybody had these like pristine white new workbooks. And that was like really triggering for me. I feel like that it's always the small things, right? Like it's always the small things that you remember that really had an impact. And that doesn't mean that we need to do all the small things right as parents, right? Because we honestly are doing our best. It's always that sticking point, right? Like I even remember like way back, you know, definitely not a similar situation, but a sticking point for me, I desperately wanted the school bag, like the one with the logo on it. I didn't just want a Kmart

school bag, which is what I had. I wanted the school bag that every other kid had. And mom was like, that is a waste of money. Like, absolutely not. We're not getting that. And I'm still like, oh, I just wanted to feel like I had the same school bag from my public primary school that everybody else had. But I just had plain one. It was fine. And like all of that worked, but it's always that sticking point that you think everybody is paying attention to, but I can promise you they're not. But for you, that was pivotal. Even the embarrassment of like, oh, we have Aldi snacks. I don't want to shop at Aldi. That's so embarrassing. And now I'm like, freaking Aldi, I love Aldi. Yeah, but it's all about mindset, right? Because as a kid, you don't have a lot

of markers of what success looks like. You don't have the ability to step up and be like, okay, yeah but like you're just saying and like I have in my head the bilo packets of chips like I remember those and being like oh can't I have the smith's one they're like completely printed and all pink and like can't I have that in my lunchbox it's the same thing like you best believe my kids are also not getting the name brand chips it's just not happening like that's not an option so yeah it's so interesting so what happened after that like how did life go so they really struggled so they got to a point I think we're in like year eight my twin and I were in year eight you know I was the youngest of the four girls they started having to

pick up a second job and we would go with them every night to do these like night jobs and mum would say if you just help us we'll get it done faster we'll be able to get out of here but we were just these like young kids and we're like whatever and we'd potter around and not really help and so like the second jobs would run until like 11 p.m midnight they'd go home sleep and be up by like 5am to get to their day jobs. Mom would commute into the eastern suburbs, which was like an hour and a half, two buses and a train to clean and then come back. Dad worked in a factory. So yeah, it was really hard and I actually found out. I don't know why I'm getting so upset. Thank you for being so vulnerable.

The toll of like the financial stresses, dad actually did have a mini stroke during that time that we didn't find out about until just a couple of years ago. but dad now he's like of course I was stressed about money but I was doing it for my future and for your future and so now I'm like okay but it doesn't hurt any less knowing that he was under that much pressure that he would have a mini stroke that's a lot that feels like a really heavy burden like that feels like you are probably feeling really guilty yes there's no guilt there like I can promise if I sat down your parents and said would you do it again they'd say hands down Absolutely. Like I already know they'd be like, oh my goodness, we love our kids

so much more than we could ever explain. And we are so insanely proud of them. They probably look at you and go, that's why we did what we did. Like they don't regret it for a day. And I think that by carrying guilt, it does nothing. Like it literally like guilt is an emotion that you feel because you feel like you should have done something different or changed, but you've still got a beautiful relationship with your parents. Like it's not as though you lost that. In fact, I feel like they've instilled this beautiful work ethic into you that is so nice. And like, I know that it feels heavy, but like, I'm just so grateful that you still have your dad here. Like, oh, I'm sorry that it is so heavy, but I'm just so grateful that you've been so vulnerable

and actually want to share this because it's so, so hard to talk about too, right? It is. Yeah. So obviously all of that happened. What happened when you turned 18? Like when did you get your first job? Tell me all about that. So my first job was at the cinemas. I applied when I was 15. That's a cool girl job. The best job I've ever had hands down. I tell my little niece, she's 13. I say, go and work at the cinema. It is so much fun. That was my first job. It's actually where I met my now de facto partner. Oh my goodness. Love. But I wasn't very good at saving back then either. So things haven't really turned around until I started listening to She's on the Money. But that's okay. We're just on our own journey. Yeah. So talk to me about that. So you got your

first job at the cinema and then you turned 18. Did you change jobs? Like what does that career trajectory look like? I didn't go to uni just because I was like, oh, I think I'd rather work. so I got a job in a magazine company. Very cool. Then from there I went to the equivalent of like a Groupon then we got bought out by Groupon then I was made redundant. Oh my god that's so stressful right? Yeah and now I'm in the job that I was at after I was made redundant and I've been there for eight years now. And so tell me what do you do for work now and how much do you earn? Yeah so I'm a product manager for a tech company in the food industry. I earn $100,000 a year and I, just as of Monday, actually got a 20% pay rise. I'm sorry, what? In this economy, a 20% pay rise?

Iconic. I hadn't had one in many, many years. I'd actually transitioned from a role within the company into product management. Yeah. Okay. And they haven't bumped it up. So they're being a little cheeky. Very, very grateful to get that. Very privileged. So now that takes me to 120. Oh, and look at you go. Did you ever think you'd earn over a hundred grand? Like that's pretty cool, right? No way. I remember when we bought our house in 2011, I was earning, I would think I was on like 40 grand at the magazine company. I could barely with my month's wages cover my repayment but you did it yeah just like look at your money story and we don't even know the half of it yet but like look at your money story in comparison to your parents like what a bloody

privilege the sacrifices they made meant that you got here and I am already convinced that your work ethic would be so high like I already know the reason you're in that job for the last eight years is because they're probably obsessed with you and the fact that you go above and beyond and you know I already know you go above and beyond because you haven't had a pay rise in so long. And you're like, no, that's fine. Like, it's all good. I've just got work to do. Absolutely not my queen. Absolutely not. So I'm so excited. Like your parents must just be like, look, it was worth it. Like it was so worth it. And it feels trashy looking back, but like, I think that being grateful for the journey and trying to change your mindset around that is going to be really

positive. Like, and it's so hard to do, right? It's not something that's easy. And you look back and you feel like really guilty, but you're like, how do I change this into gratitude? Like, obviously as a kid, you were like, I don't want to be here cleaning offices. I'm going to dawdle around. And you're like, oh my God, I would have done so much more had I known. Your parents didn't want you to know, babe. Your parents didn't want to put that burden on a child. And they were just trying to make it as easy and nice as possible. Like we're all just out here doing the best that we can. So I just think that that's something that maybe we can work on together. So talk to me a little bit more about big money goals. You said in 2011, basically when you were still a

baby, because you're 36 now. I was 23 when we bought our house. So first home at 23. Yeah, but I'm like, was pretty resistant to it. I was like, oh, it's so, it was 320,000. So nothing like what people are paying now. So yes, very privileged. My now partner was like, you've just got to see the vision. I was like, this place is gross. Like, I don't want it. No. But obviously super grateful that we did it when we did, but it was a struggle at the start. Like even trying to make repayments, my half of the repayments was a struggle, but now obviously things are way better. So tell me about now, like what are we currently working towards? What are your big money goals? Obviously having

purchased a home in 2011 has, I wouldn't say set you up for life, but like it would definitely set you on the right path. Yes, we're definitely going to talk about scarcity mindset, but like we're not completely behind the eight ball here. So what are we currently working towards? What are our big money goals? So up until maybe like December, January, it was saving to be off work for a while. I have, I think they call it like spondylosis or something like that, where the discs in like your L5S1, which is responsible for like bending and twisting and that it's degraded down to like 15%. Oh my goodness. And so I need to have back surgery and it's meant to be like quite a big recovery. Yeah. Both my parents have had significant back surgery. There is a lot of

downtime and a lot of physio and a lot of everything after. Yeah. They need to insert like a cage into the disc space to raise the height back up. It's pretty gross. Yeah. Like just fix it. I actually don't want to hear anything about it. I understand it. Whereas my mom's the opposite. She's like, tell me all of that. If you've got pictures like, oh, mom, no. So it was saving for that. But my GP had put me on, controversially, weight loss injections to help me prep for surgery. Apparently, the lighter you are, the easier it is to recover from the surgery and there's like less to move about coming in from the front. But that seems to have helped with some of the symptoms that I've been having. So I'm deferring the surgery.

Oh my God, really? Yes. And they say don't have back surgery when you're young because it does make it harder when you get older. obviously if there's no other option, but like how good that you had access to this. And like, I know that you said controversially, I just feel like it's actually none of my bloody business. We're talking about a prescription medication here that you accessed from your doctor under correct consultation. Like full stop, end of story. That's not my business. Like to have an opinion on a drug. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a pharmacist. I'm an ex-financial advisor. It's not

my place. Like I just see so much of it online. Like I'm real pervy. So I do definitely watch the TikToks and stuff about it, but like be for real, like imagine having an opinion on somebody else's health. Ew, David. I love shits Creek. The weird thing is the injections aren't doing what they're meant to do. So I'm not losing any weight, but it's, I guess, helping the pain side of things. So I'm like, if that stops me having to have back surgery, I will do it. honestly, that's so good. I'm so excited for you that you found maybe something a little bit different. One, because it's so expensive, but two, like that is such a significant surgery that does really impact life forever. Like, oh my goodness. So you were saving for that. Are

there any other big money goals you're currently working towards? Well, now I'm trying to like rethink what I want to do. I definitely want to build up my shares and I think I'd like to travel because we've had a house since we were quite young. We've not really traveled at all. Yeah. And I would love to do maybe like six months off and do like Europe and a couple of other places just to like tick that off the list. We're dinks, double income, no kids. And is that going to ever change? I don't think so. I love that. And is that something that when you're talking about financial planning,

you guys are like, all right, so we just don't think kids are on the cards. That's cool. But does that mean that we're having conversations about like traveling significantly or are we talking about retiring early. Like, what are those conversations like? I can't relate. It's a one-sided conversation, to be honest. Yeah, okay. I really want to travel. He's pretty easygoing. He's like, if you don't want kids, that's fine. Like, we don't have to have kids. If you want to travel, that's fine too. Like, he's pretty easygoing. I think he would like to retire early. But we need a plan for that, so we're going to have to start talking about it. Luckily, we're in really privileged

positions to earn a good amount of money. So, if we wanted to, we just kind of hammer away at you know, setting ourselves up to retire early. Yeah, that's very cool. So talk to me a little bit more. We mentioned scarcity mindset and how over the last 18 years, that's something that you've really struggled with and you haven't until recent times really felt like you've been on top of it. How does that impact you day to day? Because like, let's be honest, some people are going to think, oh my gosh, relatable. But then also you told us you have a house and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's a very good thing. But like, I know that scarcity mindset comes in many different forms. How's that impacting you? What does that look like? I guess this like

compulsion to check my budget spreadsheet every week, check my bank account all the time. Even though I know that we're okay, it's the what if we were to lose everything tomorrow. And I think even a bigger driver is with that scarcity mindset is like helping my parents if they ever were to need me and wanting to be able to support them. That's a big thing, but it is that really big compulsion to like check things, not really wanting to spend. Like even though I could buy a dress for $60 if I wanted to, I'm like, I better not. Or even though this face cream is in sale, do I really need it? Probably not. I better just save that money, that sort of stuff. Yeah. And like, that sounds positive at the same time as I know it can be absolutely crippling

because you're like, well, I still want to have fun and I still want to enjoy my life. And you're probably watching people in 2025 on social media doing the same thing. Why can't I be more like that or do more things? And it's very frustrating because then you're just like, well, let's say we just bought the face cream and yellowed it. I'm sure you've done that before. And then you go home and you're like riddled with guilt. You're like, well, I didn't need that. And is this a slippery slope? Am I just going to go downhill after this? Am I never going to get back on track? And like, it just wasn't worth it. Like, I think that there's the need to zoom out and do some bigger work on mindset and that budgeting and cashflow system. Cause it sounds like whatever your system

is, you're not feeling as confident in it as you could be. Like, don't get me wrong. I check my budget every week. I know where things are going. Like that's actually quite healthy. It's not a bad thing. But if you're compulsively checking, because you're like, I just need to make sure we're okay. What other things can we put in place that are going to make you feel supported? So the next question I have, which is not usually a Money Diaries episode, have you ever spoken to a financial advisor about your insurances? No. I think we should do that. Because the insurances in my super, like I'm very aware of this. I want to change super funds. I too, like you, are with that very well-known retail based super fund and it hasn't been performing

well. I went on to the government. Your super tool. Were you in my live last night by chance? because I was talking about this on a webinar literally last night. No, but I joined the first foundations workshop you did. Oh, girlfriend. I always go off track. So all of them are different. Like if you guys think you're getting a consistent experience with my finance foundation, of course, wrong. You'll get the same slides, but I'll yap around them. Yes. So I want to change super funds, but the insurances that are in there now. We don't want to give them up. No.

Yeah. I don't want to move everything across because then I lose those insurances. And with my back issue, it just kind of complicates things. We need to talk to a financial advisor. I promise. I am just going to push you towards talking to somebody and I can set you up after with the person that's done my insurances. And the reason I want you to do that is because they're going to look inside superannuation. They're going to check if you have enough cover. They might even bump up your insurances inside super and be like, okay, money dice, you're not covered enough for this and that. They're going to talk to you about all four types of insurance. So obviously inside superannuation, you probably

already have life insurance and you probably have a smaller income protection policy. Yeah, that one was, I think, $2,200 a month. I actually looked at it on the weekend. I was like, oh, that is... That's probably not enough. And that's okay because we could increase the amount of cover you have inside superannuation on your income protection, or we could take out a separate policy. You obviously have a pre-existing condition of your back, which they would take into consideration when doing your things. That doesn't mean you won't get cover. It just means they might exclude those discs in your back. And then they would talk to you about TPD, which is total and permanent disability insurance, which you may or may not

also hold in super. And then they would talk to you about trauma. And I'm telling you right now, if you are feeling like you're worried about your parents, you're worried what happens if something happens to me, this is going to alleviate that. Like if something happens to me, my income is going to get paid. If something really, really bad happens to me, my de facto partner is not going to be high and dry. They will be left with more than enough cash to pay off the mortgage, to live a comfortable life, to do all of those things. Same with TPD. You get totally and permanently disabled. There is going to be a lump sum payment waiting so that we can set the house up. We can make sure that you get the care that you deserve so that that burden isn't

on your family. And for me particularly, that takes a lot of stress off me knowing that look, if something ever happens, like the weight of the world won't still be on my shoulders. And I think that that has alleviated a lot. I use a company called Sky Wealth. I probably should give them like a little shout out. It's not paid obviously, but I use Sky Wealth. I'm good friends with Phil Thompson. And a lot of my clients, when I stopped being a financial advisor, went to him because I sent them that way or gave them to Phil. And the reason was because he did mine and I trusted him so much. And I just feel so much more secure. You probably have car insurance. And if you crash your car tomorrow, what's going to replace that? The insurance,

yes, but your income. You crush your body tomorrow, you're not allowed to work. Well, can't replace that. Can't just earn a new body. So I think that for me, not having insurance, obviously not great. You've probably heard me talk about it if you listen to the podcast, but on top of that, it's just that mental load. You're like, there's some stuff in the background that is going to work. And then if anything happens, then you have the financial advisor there. And also, I mean, I'm ranting about this, but I'm just wildly passionate about it. it's not thousands of dollars. His fees are a couple of hundred bucks because all he's going to do is look at your insurances. He's not going to give you advice in any other area because if

he was to, it would become thousands. But this is like once off, one and done. I'll introduce you. He'll look after you. I just feel like that's the right thing. All right. We're going to get back on track. We're going to go to a really quick break. On the flip side, I'm going to ask you a little bit more about the investments because you said you want to top up your shares. Going to talk about debt, how you feel about that. I'm pretty sure you're also going to have some good and some not so good money habits that I want to share as well. So guys, don't go anywhere. All right, Money Diarist, we are back. And this chat has been, I don't know, I'm really enjoying this. I feel like our community is going to get so much out of it

because one, you're sharing a lot, but two, we're talking about lots of different things that we don't often talk about on Money Diaries. You mentioned before one of your goals was bumping up your shares. Does that mean you already have shares? Talk to me about your investments. So I invest $550 a month. Oh my goodness. Which I know is like a really random amount. I did my first investment September, 2024. What? So she's new. She's new here. I'm a newbie. I kept hearing you say, because I've been listening to your podcasts and I never skip an episode. I'm up to August, 2023. Oh my God. There's 700 plus episodes. Yes. So it's going to take me a little while longer, but that's okay. You say you can never

time the market, just jump in. And I was like, okay, we're going to do it. And then the next time I was like, okay, this is okay. And I kind of think about it like I could easily spend $500 on takeaway on the days when I'm feeling like extra loosey-goosey with my money. So that's what I do. But you're comfortable with that. You picked an amount you were comfortable with, as opposed to putting our life savings or something in, and that would make me run for the hills. That's right. I have $3,700 in CommBank. Who are you? And $340 in Pocketbook. I started with Pocketbook first because I was a little bit nervous. No, I love this. So talk to me about how you picked your platform. Like when you were like, oh, I'm going to invest. You said that you're with

Comsec. Why Comsec? And what are you buying on Comsec? Okay. So I chose Comsec because that's who I was banking with before I moved to Upbank. That also on your recommendation. Sorry. It's like a cult over here. Yeah. I've got a couple of bank shares. So I've got Bendigo Bank, Bank of Queensland. I have Sigma Health, I heard recently. So it's like, done, done, done. I've got Transurban, which is, they do all the tolls and stuff. It sounds like you've gone with a portfolio of direct shares that you're most comfortable with, which I kind of love. Like obviously lots of people would say that an ETF is easier, but given your history and how you've been feeling about it, I think, you know, for example, Transurban, you've probably justified this in your head and been

actually people use toll roads every single day and they're relatively expensive. So that feels like a not so bad investment. And banks, you probably really like Bendigo Bank and you probably know that they have an affiliation with Upbank and you're like, that looks like it's going somewhere. Yeah. I feel like I can see how your brain works. That is exactly why. They were my first ComSec purchase. Yes. I was like, okay, we're going to do our first ComSec one and it has to be Bendigo. I adore that you used the ComSec platform to buy a different bank. So like the irony of that is not lost on me no that's gorgeous and I kind of love that you've gone nope I'm comfortable with this so what's the strategy look like moving forward okay so I have

like a watch list and it's generally only companies that I know about or that kind of like align with and I do like an eeny meeny miny moe on the month cool love you know what we've all got a strategy and if I could time the market my friend I would be a very rich woman but I cannot I try not to worry too much about which one's the lowest on my watch list. I just kind of like, all right, we've done bank and I just kind of cycling through. So I'm just trying to work it out. My most recent purchase was a Vanguard ETF. Oh, she's into ETFs as well. Just the one. Yeah, that's cool. But I was pretty proud of that one. I can't wait to check in with you in like 12 months and be

like, where's it at? What's going on? Like 550 a month. That's big dog energy. Like I'm so excited for you. It's just going in the right direction. Talk to me about debt. Are you in any debt? What does that look like and how do you feel about debt? Yeah. So, I don't have a HEC, so I didn't do any tertiary education. I don't have any personal loans, never had zip pay or after pay. I did for the smallest time have a credit card with a $3,000 limit on it. I last used that in December, 2023. So I signed up for UpBank in Jan, 2023. And by December, I had stopped using it. And by May, 2024, I had closed it off. I was like, don't need it. I had set myself up to like squirrel away little amounts. So if something big came up, I was mainly using it for like,

say our yearly insurance on the house or my car. If I wanted to go visit my sister in Brisbane, those sorts of things. So in terms of debts, the only thing we have is our home loan. I mentioned we purchased that for $320,000 back in 2011 and we've got about $70,000 owing on that. Oh my God, less than six figures. How does that feel? Really exciting. The bulk of it is sitting in our offset. Oh, she's got nice financial freedom. That's very sexy. No, that's my partner. I call him my husband, my de facto, whatever. The person that you cohabitate with.

Yes. Iconic. So that's exciting. What's your property worth now? Obviously, having purchased it in 2011 for about $320,000. I would assume it's increased a little bit, so you might be sitting on a little bit of equity? Yeah, probably around threefold. Oh my God, really? Yeah, we're actually, I don't mind giving this away, we are in Sydney where the new airport is being built. Yeah, okay. And the property prices are just insane anyway, but it has gone up quite significantly. Yeah, so it's probably sitting around $900,000 to a million. Around the 900 mark. Yeah. Okay. And that is really cool. And that is just how property

works over that period of time. Like that is not surprising. I genuinely was like, I hope that she answers it this way because otherwise it's going to be relatively awkward because that's what I'm anticipating. But what's the plan from here in terms of creating financial freedom? Like are you in your family home that you're like, all right, well, this is, you know, where we want to live forever. Are we planning a move? Like talk to me about that. So I am emotionally very tied to this house the one that you told your partner in 2011 was gross yep that's the one yep great we've just done a couple of improvements we've painted some walls we've replaced our kitchen that sort of stuff I'm quite happy being here it's just the two of us and our dog and it's

enough for us but he would like something nicer quote-unquote nicer a little bit further away which is fine I am of a different opinion I was like what do we need a big house for if it's just the two of us. Activities. There's so much room for activities. You could get bunk beds. Yeah. If it was up to him, and I'm not totally opposed to this, we would probably move out a little bit further west, kind of anywhere my parents are. There's a lot happening out that way. Potentially lease this house out. Have you ever sat down with a mortgage broker to work out what that would look like so that you feel a little bit more secure making decisions? No. I feel like I've got so many things that I could help you with this time. I'm like, okay, can I just sit

you down with a mortgage broker. It does, like seeing a mortgage broker does not mean you have to purchase a property or make a decision. But like, let me sit you down with somebody who can go, all right, with this amount of equity, you could purchase this house. This is what repayments would look like on a property like this. And this is what situation you'd be in. And here's what rental yield you'd get probably from the previous property so that we can make a little plan and sit you down and be like, okay, well, that's what property would look like. And you go, actually, I'm not comfortable with that. And then you don't do it. Or you go, oh, I can see the opportunity there. And now instead of having analysis paralysis, and I understand that you're currently

like going through scarcity mindset, the way that we get over that is education. The way that we get over that is giving yourself as much information and as much power as possible so that making decisions feels like a no brainer instead of a like, oh, let me keep all of my dollars over here in my offset because like right now I'm feeling super secure. It's actually, let's sit down with a few people. Let's get a few opinions. Remembering that you're the one in the driver's seat. You don't want to do it, we don't do it. Like nobody's going to force you into signing a property contract and asking for a section 32, promise. Like, but I think that would be, especially in your relationship where one person maybe wants something, like what happens if you sit down with

the broker, they map it all out and say, for this house that you guys are, you know, considering, or even just this price point, your partner goes, ah, money dosed your eye. I don't want to do this. Like, I'm actually really happy. Like you can be on the same page. So let me set you up with that. but that's so exciting. I genuinely, I just feel like you've got so much to achieve. What else? What other big plans have you got? You told me about travel. What's that going to look like in the next few years? I actually have a countdown on for my 40th birthday. I figure let's time it for that. A good six months off. I don't know what I would do with my dog. I think that would be really great because I would not travel at all. And I just think that that would be really

amazing, especially because we don't plan to have kids. I'd prefer to do it like now while we can. and able to while my back's okay. Yep, absolutely. But I think the scarcity mindset does stop me from wanting to kind of like really struggle to part with the money. Even though I have some savings and stuff, the idea of like even dropping a couple of thousand dollars on a holiday, I'm like, oh, I don't know about that. Even though I really want to do it, I was like, I wonder if I could just win a holiday. Yeah, okay. Well, let's work towards that. I mean, it's a good plan. Manifesting that with Jessica Ricci where we need her. Yeah, I know, right? I actually just finished recording an episode about how I think manifestation is bullshit. So that's probably

not going to sit well, but you've got ages. What did you say? You were up to like 2023 or something on my podcast. It'll be a while till you get to that. Because I genuinely think it's actually about the hard work that you're doing, not manifesting it. Because if you're looking for it, are you not working for it? So have you created a holiday plan? Like, or are we just not sure about spending thousands of dollars on something? Like, have we gone and looked at hotels and what we do and like made an aspirational trip. I've not looked at anything yet. Just this seed planted in my head that in like my 40th birthday, how cool would it be if we went and traveled for six months? Would be so cool. Would be so cool. But my partner also doesn't like to

fly. So I figured my one chance is get him over there once, do it all and come back. Because if we do a little trip, there's a hard chance that I'm getting him back on a flight again. Just get on the international flight. I like it. Picasso. So I want to know, I feel like over time you've probably collected a few good money habits. What do you think your best is? Yeah. Okay. So I have a couple. So shop back. Didn't know about it until the podcast. Adore. I like that I've actually had an impact here. Like this is stroking my ego like you wouldn't believe. Thank you for that. So I am up to $561 in like shop back money since May 2024. Isn't it wild and it's free? Yes. And I don't buy anything that I'm not supposed to in quotation, but it's mainly like

dog food. Love doing the Pizza Hut shop back. Yeah. Genius. I always buy my fuel voucher for 7-Eleven every month. So it's just been accumulating and I'm like so surprised $561 since May. Not bad. That's actually a good deal. And it's free money. And if you just didn't have the app, you just wouldn't have made it. Full stop in a story. I tell everyone about it as well. Oh my gosh, so do I. I actually feel like people are like, oh yeah, but she's sponsored by them. I'm like, I'm not right now, but I will still tell you it's incredible. Like I will jump up and down.

Why do you think I was sponsored by them? Because I couldn't stop yapping about how good they were. And then I think my other good money habit is how I manage my up and how I like tweak my budget. So I have six everyday savers. It's like groceries and eating out, transport and fuel. Then I have like my subscriptions, internet and phone. I have my Lexi fund, which is my dog, health and medicine, that sort of stuff. So, I have six of

those and then 14 extra savers. 14? What are you doing? Okay. It sounds a little bit crazy, but it's really not. No, it's not crazy if it works. I actually started doing... So, every pay, I put in a little bit, like a third of what my anticipated utilities are going to be. So, instead of in that month's pay having a huge chunk come out. I've been building on it for the last three months. I have an emergency fund ticking away. I have the weekly saver. I don't remember where I saw this, but it's like week one, a dollar, week two, $2. And then by the end of the year, you've got $1,378. I have family and gifts that I put $100 into that every pay. Christmas, $100 of that every pay I get paid monthly.

And then obviously home and car insurance and then like a discretionary. Oh my God, I'm loving this. I was going to ask like, how did you do your budget? So is this then on a spreadsheet and then you've implemented this on Upbank or how have we done this? Yes. Okay. So I have my beautiful spreadsheet. I have it mapped out for the entire year and I have like all of my fixed expenses and I tweak it. The things that will change it is like if I'm going to have my hair done, but now that I've got my discretionary fund, it comes out of that. it's the weekly saver that changes it mildly so the week one blah blah blah and then I go into up bank and they have a feature pay splitting and I go and I tweak that every month just before I

get paid just tweak it if I need to like if I know I'm going to be going out extra times to eat I'll put a little bit more in or that sort of stuff that feature I love so much that is so cool I adore that for you and that it's working and that, you know, you were like, Hey queen, I've got six everyday accounts. And then I have 14 extra savers. I'm like, sorry, sit down. Are you Jessica Ricci? Cause she does something really similar. She's planning for everything. And then I've got my like a little cash hub system and it works really well for me, but it's so cool to learn what other people are doing. Because I think a lot of us ask like, Oh, like what's the best way to budget? And it's like, there isn't one. There's just one that really works for you and resonates

with you and makes you feel in control. I'm obsessed. I'm going to give you actually access to my money masterclass so that you can have my budget and cashflow system because I want to see how you go with that and whether that helps relieve a little bit of anxiety. There's also a whole heap of mindset videos that I think will be really helpful. But flipping over, tell me, what's your worst money habit? Surely you don't have one. I do. It's food. Oh yeah. Okay. What kind of food though? There's kind of like no limit. I'm not even bushy. I don't go out for fancy dinners i am a take me to mcdonald's i'll be the happiest person on this earth yeah like we love a nugget we do we do normally i'll call my husband when i'm leaving the city to let him know

i'm coming home and to kind of gauge what we're going to have for dinner and it kind of doesn't even take a word coming out of my mouth for him to know that i'm angling for takeaway yeah iconic that's me that's me so that's pretty bad my food spending but does it make you happy it does it makes me really happy okay so like should we really be changing something when you just told me. Hold on. Let's just do a really quick recap. Six everyday accounts, 14 savers. You've started investing relatively aggressively. Like you are not only investing, you're doing direct shares and you've just dipped your toes in like an ETF. Like Queen, I think that we can do the food based on your budget. I just would like to shop a little bit more mindfully. Like my twin sister is the

polar opposite. She meal plans every single Sunday and she Snapchats her plan for the week. And she rarely has takeout. Where have the convenience life here at our house? Does your sister by chance have children. Yes, she does. Yeah. There you go. There you go. We live in completely different lives. Yes. But she's like, doesn't really have takeout, makes everything at home. And we're like, the convenience life chose us. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I am with you. Like we cook a lot at home because I organize my least spoon and I'm so grateful for that because otherwise I wouldn't be trusted when my husband makes jokes at home. Cause obviously if anyone follows me, they know that even with my least spoon, I'm not the one cooking. It's usually my husband. And if I am,

that's novel. And it doesn't mean I can't cook. It's just in our house, that's a blue job. My husband does the cooking, full stop, end of story. But if it's my night to cook, my husband will be like, oh, you should cook. And we both know that doesn't mean cook. We both know that means using the Uber Eats app to order dinner. Like we both know that. He's like, oh, it's your turn to cook. What are we having like Indian? He'll be like, thank you for getting me. I love it. I regret nothing. The other bad money habit is I have like this generosity streak. Oh no, you're too kind I'm too kind but I think more like wanting to be liked or like feeling like I don't know it's like a something in me that feels like if I buy you something or it like I don't know it's a

really hard one to explain yes I'm really working on that one no I get it I so get it and do you know what I've come to the conclusion that I need to reflect on why I'm doing it but it doesn't mean it's a bad thing to do it like I need to just make sure that I'm doing it for the right reasons like not because I want someone to like me but more because I want like I'm a gift giver inherently like I just love giving people a gift that they adore like if I found out that you loved something and I was able to find it for you oh my goodness like that's my favorite like I don't want to just buy you something for the fun of it but like if I see something and I think it's you I'm gonna get it and that gives me probably more joy than it gives you but we just need to keep ourselves in

check there because obviously if it's a people-pleasing streak that involves a lot more conversation with ourselves. That's what it is. That's the exact word. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Look, I am so impressed with you. Like I am obsessed with the story we had, how vulnerable you were, like learning so much about you, your investing, your house, like the fact that you're so clear on what life looks like. You said you're a C though. Talk to me about this person independently of you. You know, she grew up in a situation where her parents we're so worried about, you know, money, parents working, second cleaning jobs till midnight, and she now earns 120 grand a year and she's killing life. Like, is she a C?

Maybe more of a B. There are some things that I... We can always want to be better, but I get that. Yeah. Like a big one on my list is working at my super. Like I know that it's not really performing at the moment. That's like one of my goals for the year to move my super across. It's just like little things that I want to achieve before I can think that I'm anything more than a B. All right. Well, I'll leave you there. I'm not going to, not going to bully you into a higher level, but get your insurances sorted because then you can change your super without worry. And right now that seems like a block because obviously you don't want to lose the insurance

inside that super. And then you're like, well, what do I do? Do I transfer all of it or some of it? Like, what am I rolling over? And you can literally talk to the, they won't be able to give you super advice, but they'll be able to talk you through like your decision-making process. And that's really helpful. And I think getting that in place is a really good idea. And then I think you should be talking to a broker just to get an idea of what property could look like so you and your partner could just be on the same page

about creating a plan or not creating a plan. Yeah, I've adored this. This is so good. Thank you for your vulnerability. Thank you for sharing your story. I just know that the community is going to love this as much as I have. Thank you.

Oh my goodness. Money, Darius, thank you so much. It has been a 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 authorised representatives of Money

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