She's On The Money - Scamming the Scammer!

Episode Date: August 24, 2023

Today is a VERY fine Friday indeed, not only did we just get announced as finalists in this year's ACRA awards (for Best Podcast and Best Producer!!!), but just wait till you get the low down on how the girlies got their own back on the scammer who duped JRic's Instagram account!  Plus we share your money wins, Bec is back with her broke tips AND we answer a Money Dilemma all about what to do with your juicy tax return. And this week in our D.Ms was an interesting message about having your own family, and whether you should use an opportunity to save money by moving back home with your parents. Links  Skye Wealth 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. Today, my friends, it is Friday, which means it is time to bring my little team back together to celebrate you, our incredible She's On The Money community. Today, Miss Jessica Ricci is going to be sharing our favourite money wins. We're going to get some very broke tips from the now back and back in the game, Miss Bex Syed. And we're going to be helping to answer a juicy money dilemma, which this week is all about what to do with your tax return. And we're going to be unpacking something that you slid into our DMs about, which this week we're chatting about having a family and then moving in with your parents to save. How have

your weeks been, my love? Let's start with you, Bec, because you skipped last week's Friday drinks. I know I miss you guys. We miss you too. You suck. I was admittedly not sick or anything. I was just on annual leave. Which, I mean, you have every right to do, but aren't we cool enough to hang out with 24-7? I think it's glaringly obvious who the coolest one in this group is. And it's Lucy. And it's Lucy.

So, but no, it was really good. I moved house. Oh, my gosh, did you? Did we know that was happening? I don't think so. I don't think I mentioned it. I'm sorry about that. I moved from Brunswick to Carlton North.

Oh, that's bougie. Which I know is like, because Brunswick is my hometown. Brunswick is the place I love. You're out now, aren't you? I want to be there. You're out. Why did you move? Just purely for lower rent.

Also, one of my- Oh, yeah, that's right. Because your landlord increased the rent. Yeah, okay. That makes sense. He didn't end up doing that, but it's still quite pricey for what it is. But anyway, my dear friend and I have always wanted to live together, so we just decided to do it.

Are you moving with Liv? No, me and Liv have lived together for years before this. I was like, hold up. We've been there, done that. We live very well together. But anyway, that's another story. I know my friend, Alison, who might listen to this one day, hopefully. Hi, Alison.

It's been a hectic week, but I'm glad I'm back. Moving sucks. It sucks. There's not one good thing about moving. It really sucks. Not one, except for the part where you probably got a nicer house. Fresh new house. That's pretty good.

Yeah, it's pretty good. Well, the first night when you watch TV and order a pizza. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's nothing set up yet. That's a rite of passage. It's really cozy. Miss Jessica Rucci, how's your week been?

It's been good. I have been getting ready for Halloween two months early. We know. One of my, I love TK Maxx. I don't know if they're everywhere, but they're like a. Very American. Yeah, it's an American company, I'm pretty sure. And they have been putting their Halloween stuff out for the last few weeks.

So I've been having a lot of fun treasure hunting because it's one of those stores. They just get like a few of each thing. Yeah, and each store gets different things. Yeah. So it's like a big treasure hunt. I joined a Facebook group. It's a whole thing. No, you didn't.

You're allowed. I think so too. And you're going to come into the studio and it's going to be Halloween themed. I'm going to be very excited. Could I decorate the studio? You can decorate the studio just as long as Beck and I don't have to do it. We have to do literally nothing. I'm on board.

We're in. Hold on. Do we get the treats? Do we get treats? I feel like I could organize some treats. We want the treats. We want the decorations. We want none of the work.

And we'll take all the responsibility. Oh my God. Should we be doing themed podcasts? No themed podcasts, Jessica. No, no, no. Themed podcasts. So for the people at home, I tried to convince the girls last year to do a Bama Rush themed. Absolutely not.

Like come into work dressed up as a Bama Rush girl. We're smarter than that. No, we're not. And so one got on board with me. No, they exist for the patriarchy to thrive. We do not. I don't know what that is. No, absolutely not.

I'll explain to you after. It's like a whole lot. I just want to know if I were here last year, I would have gotten on board with that. Thank you, Bec. No, you wouldn't have. You're hearing it here first. Bec and I are dressing up for the Halloween episode. Unless what Victoria is saying is true and this is a little bit problematic, in which

case, I am so against it. You're like, I reserve the right to make a decision later. Exactly. Whatever outcome is best, that's the one I'm going to go for. But we actually have a very, we've been hoarding this. In fact, do you know what? One of the worst things I'm awful at is if I have something exciting that's happened, I will bust into the studio and tell Annalisa, our producer, and you, Bec, immediately when it happens. and then you have to re-listen to it when we record the podcast and pretend you've never heard of that story before, right? That's not like that.

This week, I'm leaving it for Jess to tell everybody. We have an exciting update. We have an exciting update. Oh, my God. What is it? So last week, go back because Bec wasn't here. Correct. I mean, there's no chance she listened to that podcast.

I was going to say, I'm sure she did. I was there in spirit. You do know because we've spoken about it. Someone on the internet was impersonating me. Yes. Everyone knows about it. It's been a very, very stressful thing for me because they're trying to get people to buy Bitcoin and I'm so upset and scared of the thought of someone doing something because

they thought it was me and they trust me and they like me and then psych at some random person on the other side of the world taking you for all your money. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. So I was talking to Victoria. I'm like, I don't know what to do. No, we reported it. Instagram didn't take it down yet. No.

So, like, every man and his dog that we know, we have asked to report this account. And every man and his dog that we know has gotten back to us and said, hey, like, we got that notification to say that our report was seen to and, like, the account's staying up. Like, they don't see any issue with it. And both Jess and I were like, what the hell? Like, this is actually really, really unsafe. Yeah. So we weren't impressed. No.

I messaged. Yeah, you told me. No, I messaged the scammer. Oh, you did too? Did you get any reply? I didn't. I tried. And I was like, hey, babe, I still owe you for dinner.

Hit me with your deets. And then the scammer never replied. Oh, did you actually? I appreciate the effort. Thank you. Well, you know who else decided to try and message the scammer and see what they could do? Who?

Miss Victoria Devine. It was me. I messaged the scammer. Let me know what you did. She scammed them. She scammed the scammer? No, you didn't, Victoria. This is so satisfying.

Can we please hear about this? Take it away. Tell them what you did. Would you like some of your own medicine, sir? oh my god so i first tagged him in an instagram post calling them out as a scammer like i put it on my stories which we've been doing a lot recently because i've been like please don't believe this account it's not jess anyway i i tagged them and i thought you know what i'm just gonna tag them so people like you bet could click into the profile to report it i thought he would

block me he did not he replied being like get a life bug off like a lot of profanities like stay out of this. I'm not going to stay out of this. Absolutely not. I've got all the screenshots though. I'll show you later. But basically he was like, get out of this. Like this isn't any of your business. And I was like, I'm making it my business. So yeah, one thing led to another. I basically said, look, I know some people that that are private investigators i don't know one private investigator but i've got my private investigator and he's hunting you down but what happened was i realized that if you go to someone's instagram account you can look at

their profile insights right and it will tell you when they signed up what location they signed up from and how many times they've changed their profile name okay and so I was like oh this is interesting and I you know a week or so ago I said to Jess hey did you know that like the account is actually based in Nigeria and also it was established in 2018 and also they've changed their name like eight times so I'm assuming they use this account to like replicate you then they delete everything change the account and then replicate Beck and whatever and she was like wow I didn't even know you could do that so we started stalking other people and like just having a bit of fun with that. And I was like, wow, I didn't realize I joined Instagram in 2011. I am really

old. Anyway, so I had that information. Sure. I assumed that because Jess, who usually knows absolutely everything, didn't know that not everybody knew that. So I used it to my advantage and I said, I'm a private investigator. I found him on TikTok, I told the guy, and I said that we would create amazing content. And I was like, I mean, you can keep scamming people, but my TikTok investigate a guy and I have a meeting later this afternoon and he's already told me heaps of stuff about you and they were like absolutely that's not true you're trying to scam me and I was like I would never scam a scammer I you know used to be a financial advisor I'm a legitimate human being yeah and he was like you don't know anything about me and I was like well I already know that you're

based in Nigeria and you created this account in 2018 and you've already scammed seven other people and Jessica's the eighth and then they said give me two hundred dollars and I'll delete the account I said, that's fine. Of course, I'll give you $200, but you're a scammer. So I'm not giving you any money until you delete every single post, change your username, unfollow everybody from Jessica's page that you followed. Then we can talk about it. Yes. And so we did all that. And then I said, oh, sorry, I don't have $200. Oh my God. So the account, we think as of today that we're recording, it's not, it's still, it's not active. It's been, the name has been changed. it still exists so we will continue to report it so that other people don't end up in the same

trap that jess ended up in and obviously we've taken it further to instagram but moral of the story don't mess with victoria divine oh my gosh this is so nobody messes with the family wow that is so cool i think my favorite part about scamming the scammer is how salty the scammer got when he realized he was being scammed he called me fat he called me every name under the son. He called me ugly. He said that I have no life and my friends and family don't love me. And I was like, whew. That's a lot coming from you, my dude. That's a bit rich. Sugar. That is hectic. But you know, I find it so funny when people out themselves as someone who is really clinging to low hanging fruit when they call someone ugly and fat and all this stuff. I'm

like, oh, you're fine. I don't have to worry about someone like you. I was like, the second that started coming out I said to Jess it's game on like this guy is an actual idiot like yeah he might have been smart to create this Instagram account because replicating a whole Instagram account and having 13,000 fake followers I was like that's he had more followers than me I was like that's rude so everyone thought that it was like the real one was the Jess with more followers and it wasn't the case I did I was very convincing it was very convincing so funny so are these extra people and please come over to jessica which is at jessica ricky thank you so much but i'm so happy what a great outcome vd is we had the best morning great that's part of my week part of my month

honestly we had the best morning scamming a scammer obviously i was sending every single screenshot to jess to be like what do i say next and she's like i don't know i am just tackling like this is amazing but yeah he he did all of that and then didn't get his two hundred dollars from me that he obviously needed me to transfer in Bitcoin. Of course. Of course. Of course. I was like, I'm so sorry. Don't have Bitcoin. He's like, you can sign up for an account. I'm like, oh, I just checked. You need identification to sign up for Bitcoin. And he was like, yeah, you can do that. And I was like, I don't actually have any identification or got stolen by some random. Yeah. And they're now pretending to be me on the internet. Oh my gosh. Anyway,

It was a lot of fun. I mean, probably don't do as I do, probably go the usual routes. But I mean, a lot of people also messaged us and said, hey, like this stuff happens all the time. It's really hard to get rid of these accounts because of the longevity of them. So because it had existed since 2018 and they'd obviously gone through lots of profile changes since then, Instagram's algorithm just identifies it as being legitimate because they're like, well, why are they reporting it now it's been around since 2018 um well you just take the law into your own hands why not all right you know what's better than scamming a scammer yeah it is our community money wins and jess we need to stop talking about scammers unless there are some money losses about scammers in which

case we want to hear about those but i don't think there are because i think it's just you being scammed babe no just me just me unfortunately this week okay my first money win this week comes from Rachel who said, money win. I just harvested my first bok choy heads from my first veggie garden. That's really wholesome. Right. A bundle of three heads in coals is $2.50, but my six pack of seedlings was only $4 and each seedling has produced three to four heads. I'm harvesting at the base instead of pulling them out. So hopefully they'll produce new stems and I'll get even more of them. And I just love the idea of growing your own veg because veg is expensive now. Unlimited a bok choy hack. I love that. Get on that. Next, I have a money win from Tanya who said,

I found dog food on clearance for $1 a can and bought 240 cans. Oh my gosh. Look at this photo of her boot. Oh my gosh. Let me see. You have a big car. It's hard to see on my cracked phone. Oh, wow. I love that. Like that is just such a good win. Next, I've got a win from Marnie who said, money win. My friend gave me a book that I was considering buying and I got a free coffee today two days before payday much needed oh that's great money win yeah money oh my god stuff you're so funny thank you wish we were as funny as back if you're looking for another book money win victoria's upcoming book book number three do you know i finished recording that last week so like the audio book version oh my gosh i can't wait i know right i'm so impressed by you worst

like worst process in the entire world ah it would be yes have you ever tried to read like literally word for word a script in a podcast, imagine that, but every time you say something wrong, they make you go back to the entire start. Oh. Killer. Well, you can pre-order the paperback or the audiobook version on Amazon.

They're 42% off right now. So if someone is looking for a book money win. 42% off. That is a good money win. Good deal. And I'm biased, but that's a really good book. It is a good book. We have read it and can confirm.

She's stunning. I even wrote it. Crazy. My next money win comes from Eliza who said money win. My local Vinnie's had a dish shopping night and I got two dresses and a vest for $145. What? They had an age one last month, which was also a money win, but I forgot to post about it. How good is that?

That's actually genius. Could you please not gatekeep location, time, place, how to get updates? Like, really sad. She said it was in Launceston, Tasmania. Oh, I'm from Lonnie. There you go. Next time you're down there. Oh, perfect.

Genius. Genius. Dish is one of my favorite brands. And so I'm really mad that that's not here, but that's okay. Next, I've got a money win from Abby who said small money win, another coffee one. I got a free Matilda-themed donut with my coffee for wearing my jersey. So wholesome.

Love that supporting the girls ended up supporting my sweet treat addiction. And the Tillys. I wore my Tillys scarf the other day when we were on the way to the pub to watch them play. And I really liked the attention I got from that. The amount of people screaming out their car being like, go the Tillys. I was like, is this what it feels like to be a footy guy?

So proud of the gals. I could cry about this whole couple of weeks. I love it. It makes me so happy. But we continue because I will cry. Oh, stop. I'll lend you my scarf. Thank you.

Next, I've got a message from Tanya who said, found these in the frozen section. No more avo wastage. Did you know you can buy frozen avocado? What? Because I didn't. Here I am thinking that my frozen mashed potato was revolutionary. I know.

And we had that broke tip from Bec last two weeks ago where you said, use your frozen veggies. You can make avocado a part of that now. I am real. I'm so confused. The photo that she shared is Kohl's brand. So they do it at Kohl's at least. I'm going to take one for the team.

I'm going to purchase that. Yes, please. I have very low expectations of how that's going to perform once thawed. Yeah. Because I don't know. Maybe it's good for like smoothies. Guac? Like blend her up.

Oh, guac might be good. I feel like anything that you're going to like you would mash. Mash or blend. Yeah. I just thought that was great. I'm suspicious. Because avocado, you have like one day of good usable avocado and then she's gone. Jess and I have a lot of food things to do in the upcoming future.

We need to start a cooking show. Yeah, we have to. Well, last time we tried to start a cooking show, Jessica, I literally set my kitchen on fire on IG Live. So that was like less than ideal. Iconic moment. That is unreal. But, I mean, if you want an unhinged cooking show,

Jess and I are all about it. But we have to have our potato night. So excited. You're coming too, Bec. We're going to find a night where we come to my house because I have dining chairs now and we're going to have a dinner party. But entree, main course, dessert, snacks, drinks all have to be potato-based. And then Jess and I have found the recipe to the chin-chin pad siu noodles.

Lovely. We're going to make that. Lovely. We just have a lot of things. Lots of things. A lot of things coming up meal house. Well, we can add avocado frozen testing to the list. That's what we're going to do.

Last money win, a solid one from Shalini. She said, money win, found a cute winner dress from Kmart in the $20 clearance rack in my size, and then it scanned at $12. Oh, my gosh. Money wins. I love when that happens. Yeah, that's great. That's like a free $8 if you use that dodgy girl math trend.

None of that here. None of that in this house. None of that here. Thank you very much. All right. Speaking of saving money, Miss Bex Syed. Okay. It's your turn.

Are you guys ready? We are so ready for your broke tips. First one, I remember months ago I was talking about how a review made me cry and then I reread the reviews just recently because I was too scared to do so beforehand. What are you doing reading reviews? I know I shouldn't have, but then this person apologised and I am... No, they didn't. They did.

In the reviews. I just thought that was really sweet. Thank you so much. A lot of people don't do that. So somebody... Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm so confused. So you're saying that somebody left a negative review.

Yes. We talked smack about it on the podcast. Yes. After leaving a negative review on our podcast, they continue to listen to our podcast. Correct. And then they apologise. Yes, correct. Do you know what?

Personal growth. I love that for them. We love personal growth. And also, I was really shy. at the start of this year. So maybe that's why. You have never been shy. I do not know what you're talking about.

On mic, though, I was like, I don't know what I'm saying. Anyway, so that's my first shout-out. And now you've got your whole own segment. You're like, sit down, guys. We're doing three shout-outs. Yeah, I'm so sorry. Are you ready? Shout-out to one of our listeners who works for Finds Victoria

who encouraged me to give Finds Victoria a call just to see what they can do about the gigantic amount of debt I have. I sent them an email. I haven't called them yet. I get too shy. But I might do that at some point. I'll call them for you. I'll pretend for you.

Thank you. That's so kind of you, Jess. I would do the same thing. I love to start a little negotiation on the phone. I also fight with scammers, so I'm not sure if I'm the best person for this. But you know what? It's that justice mentality that I've got, you know? That's the kind of determination I need.

Okay. Well, I do have some broke tips here. There's one from Rachel who has said that there's a place in Brisbane called Lighthouse that offers a full grocery trolley for $25. Sorry, what? I know, isn't that what? How does that work? Is it not for profit?

It can be picked up or delivered and they often have free fruit and veggies as well. My husband and I have used it when in a tight spot and when we can often repay by dropping food off. I'm assuming it's kind of like you drop food off and it's a give and take sort of situation. Sort of like a mail-in lentils as anything. So that is useful if you are in Brisbane. The second broke tip I have comes from Lily, who has basically just suggested that we go to the Reject Shop for any kind of perishables or anything like that before you go to Woolies, just in case there's something cheaper. Because you can get really cheap things from Reject Shop. I got like $10 curtains that were pretty good quality instead of going to Kmart.

But even all their like discounted body care stuff. Body care stuff. Like they have body wash, shampoo, conditioner, all of your like toothpaste and stuff. That's so true. And I feel like we overlook it. I went in there a little while ago to get like, you know, those plastic phone stands for your car that go on the grate? I was like, surely Reject Shop's going to have it.

And I walked out with so much other stuff because I was like, oh my gosh, all of their laundry products, so affordable. I do need more Omo. And they're like all the name brands, but like they're cheap. Yeah. And I don't know why they're cheap, but I'm not going to ask any questions. We are not asking questions. We are simply getting a bargain.

We are just doing our best in this cost of living crisis. Exactly right, Vicky D. and then that brings me to my own personal broke tip of the week which is very similar to the first one I read out but my mother was talking about how sometimes in Harris Farm or even in Woolies I think they do this as well they'll have fruit and veggies at the front of the store or in Harris Farm I think it's at the back of the store where it's kind of like it's maybe going to go off or it's a little bit uglier than the regular fruit and veggies and you can get like a bag full for 25 cents. You know what I mean? I did not know that existed. We don't have Harris Farms in

Victoria. We don't have Harris Farms in Victoria. That's true. This is a New South Wales thing. Maybe in other parts of Australia. I'm not sure. I think it's just New South Wales. Like it's a Sydney thing. But I know there are some certain wool words and coals that do have this. They'll have like a trolley full of produce and you can just get a bag because it's maybe ugly or too small. Who cares? I love ugly fruits. It's like coals have the odd bunch. Yeah. Yes, exactly. Which is quite smart and I like that because I always buy the odd bunch because I'm like, I don't care if I've got twisty carrots. I hate the idea of produce being rejected, like farmers putting all this effort into

growing it and making it whatever and then it's like not round enough or not shiny enough. Yeah, what the hell? No, absolutely. No. That's a good one. All right, let's go to a really quick break. On the flip side, we're going to be talking about what to do with your tax return and we've got a little bit of a dilemma that you slid into our DMs about and we're going to

be chatting about having a family and then moving back with your parents to save. So guys, don't go anywhere. welcome back everybody let's take a listen to the money dilemma hi there have you got a money dilemma you just can't solve the she's on the money team is here to help every week we tackle your dilemmas both big and small to answer your most burning money career and life questions to get involved simply head to our website and leave us a short voice recording and you might just find yourself on the show now let's take a listen to this week's money dilemma hi team I just had a quick money question so I've got some money back from my tax return and

I was looking at booking in with Phil to sort out my insurances I've also been listening to the property playbook and I feel like I might be in a better position towards buying my first house than I thought would it be better to contact Phil and sort out my super and my insurances first as have two super accounts or is there a better option or someone I could speak to that would be able to kind of handle everything for me? Thanks. Bye. This is a really interesting one because at the start I was like, oh, I have so much advice on what you should do with your tax return. But then it like went down the property path and then it went down the super path. So you said you have two super accounts. And I think the first thing I would be doing is

understanding what both of those accounts are and if they have insurances as default on them. If they do, you need to work out if those insurances are any good and worth keeping, or if you rolled your super together, it wouldn't matter. So you need to understand that. But it's also 2023, and the government has a very cool MySuper comparison tool that means you could probably go, and it depends. If you've got a balance under $100,000, the probability of you being able to just do it yourself and pick a really good super fund that makes sense and aligns to the fees you want to pay, the values you hold and the investment options that you want access to.

I just feel like a lot of us don't need to pay a financial advisor for that. I really don't. And I say that because I just go, you know what, that super comparison tool run by the government is really good. It's really clean. It's really clear. It compares apples with apples. It's not here going, oh, okay, well, you know, we're being paid by this super fund, so we're

going to put it at the top of the list. Like, it doesn't do that. it's nothing like those comparison sites. So I would be trying to do my super, trying to work that out myself. Insurances on the other hand are not DIY. They're something that you do definitely want to speak to an advisor about. And to save some cash, because you said you were trying to buy property, I would go with a financial advisor that does insurance only advice. It means that the cost is going to be significantly stripped back. Also, they're a financial advisor. So you could ask, hey, what are your thoughts on super? I don't want advice on it, but I'd like to talk through

what this insurance option inside super means or what this means. They're going to have the knowledge to have that conversation and I promise you they'll have a good conversation with you about it so that you're more educated. In the She's On The Money community, we always recommend Sky Wealth and we will put a link to Phil's company in the show notes because one, he's done all of my team's insurances. He's very cost efficient when it comes to the statement of advice because you need a good statement of advice. It's under 500 bucks. Like that's a money win in any financial advice circumstance. If you go to another advisor who has not been structured to just give insurance advice, like Phil's structured his business, it will be a minimum

of $1,500 to $3,000 for insurance only advice because that's just what it costs that business to do. Whereas Phil only does insurance. And I kind of like that because you go, you know what, I'm not going to talk to you about my investments, but I know that you know everything about insurance because it's all they do. It's their bread and butter. It's not just like for a lot of financial advisors, like I historically, and I'm not trying to throw myself under a bus, but I historically worked in the investment space. And for me, insurance was important because it was a hygiene factor for my clients, but I'd sit chest down and be like, okay, cool. So we really prioritizing this. I'm going to go do your insurances on the side, set all of that up,

but then really focus on investment. Whereas Phil, his team are going to be 100% dedicated to making sure that you're getting the right insurance for you. They're going to do the ongoing management really cheaply. And it's just, to me, makes financial sense. The next thing. It's a laundry list. The next thing, my friend, well, she made it very clear. I need to do X. I'm like, I have all these resources. Sit down, baby. The next thing you're going to do is call the Zella Money team. Not call them. We don't have a phone that you can call unless Kate gives you her mobile number and she never answers me. So I don't know why she'd answer you. Or maybe she

would answer you and that's a sign. But I would talk to the Zella Money team because if you think you're in a better position to buy, that's actually one of the first conversations I'd have. Before establishing insurances, I would actually go and speak to the broker. And do you know why I would do that because if you are in a better position to go and get your property of your dreams, right? Let's say that you are in the best position to buy actually right now. If you already established your insurances, once you settle on this property, you have to review your insurances to consider the new debt that you've taken on. Right. So I would be talking to the broker first and going, hey, like what's the probability? Like what do my timeframes look like? Am I

comfortable with this. This is actually something I want to do. Chat to the Zella Money team or a mortgage broker. To be honest, I don't mind who you talk to. I obviously know and trust the Zella Money team, but any good broker is going to be able to have this conversation with you. Sit down with them, work out your timeframes. If buying is another 12 months off, go see Phil, get your insurances implemented, and then at your 12-month review, you can update those to be reflective of your new hopeful purchase. But if you're buying in the next two to three months, honestly, I would buy and then implement insurances. Does that make sense? Yeah.

And why you might do it that way? Save the double handling. Save the double handling. Save having to go back and being like, hey, I actually now have $600,000 of debt that I didn't have before. You're going to have to do a whole new statement of advice. Yeah, don't pay for advice twice. Don't pay for advice twice. If you can afford it. Exactly. So that's what I would be doing if I were you. But when it comes to what you should

do with your tax return, well, my friend, it's up to you. But I just think that I wrote an article the other week on girl math and how much I don't particularly love this concept of girl math because I think it really downplays how intelligent women are when it comes to finances and money and goes oh my gosh we're just trying to justify frivolous purchases whereas I would really hope that Jess if you went out and bought a new dress you could just be like yeah I like the dress I know I can afford it and it's in line with my values and I'd be like that's hot you're justifying how many times you're going to wear it and what cost per wear looks like and all of these other things I go that's great and I totally think we should understand like Jess you buying a $500

dress like we really do need to talk about this you're gonna wear it often or is this like a once-off kind of thing like let's justify the purchase in that way but like let's not distill it down to you justifying a purchase you didn't need to make because it's frivolous yeah like you're smart I know you've got a budget for your clothing I know that's a value to you because you're literally the most fashionable person I've ever met and it's really frustrating because I always look like a foot but it's one of those things where you go well actually Jessie's really financially savvy and if she's got a new dress like no one should be questioning her because I know she's made good financial decisions and that's how everybody should be respected when it

comes to financial decisions not looking at them being like Victoria gets eyelash extensions that's a little bit silly do you know what I mean I just think we're smarter than this and in a world where we are still constantly battling to be respected as women in the finance space to be respected as good investors or smart savers I don't think now is actually the time that we can joke about women being frivolous with money. Like we're not there yet. It isn't actually a joke. It's an underlying factor that is left over from the patriarchy being better at things. And that's why men find it funny. Right. It's not because we are actually good at money and we're like, oh my God, Jess, you're so bad with money. If I laugh with Jess about being bad with money, it's because I know

she's bloody good at it. Yeah. Whereas that permission by having that conversation on a grander scale might make people think, oh, well, Jess just calculates it by cost per wear. And I totally looked at this $500 dress and I'm actually going to wear it like 500 times. So that makes the dress like a dollar. So that doesn't matter. And I totally can justify it that way. And then they pop it on their credit card. Like, I think this narrative of not being smart financially is going to give too many people permission to not be smart financially. Right. So with the tax return, And what you're saying is, don't be like, oh my gosh, I deserve new dresses. I deserve to do this or oh my gosh, I deserve a weekend away. Let's actually look at your financial position. Do you

have an emergency fund? Yes. Fantastic. Is it completely topped up? Have you reviewed your expenses recently? Because we always say in between three and six months or like whatever you're most comfortable with. Those are just guidelines, nothing set in stone, but people like guidelines so we always give them. Have your expenses changed significantly recently with the increase in cost of living but also like your mortgage repayments or something? Do we need to look at that? Is that still reflective of your actual cost over three months? The answer is yes. Oh fantastic Jessica. What else are you working towards? You haven't bought a house yet. Could that go towards your house deposit and get you a little bit closer? Could that you know go to a

million other things? I don't think it's bad to carve off a little bit as a treaty tree. Yeah we a little treaty treat. But I think that just blowing your entire tax return on a new handbag when you're not in a financial position to do that, because you're like, oh, it's not actually real money. It's like fake money. It's my tax return. Actually, my friend, that is money that you earned. That is real money that you earned that was put aside for you to pay taxes. And now it's not. So it's kind of like a bonus to get you ahead financially. Now you're deciding that that's not what you want to do with it again educated decisions you want to go buy a handbag with it you do you babe but at least you know that you're in a financially secure position and I

promise future you is going to thank you if you put yourself in the position where you have an emergency fund where you didn't have it because whether that is five dollars or five hundred dollars that you didn't have yesterday future you when they need that they're gonna be like oh my gosh that was so smart of me to put that to the side yeah guaranteed yeah I reckon she's gonna to do something smart because she knew she's obviously been listening she knew who phil was yes i feel like that was just a little nice pep talk yeah i like it i have faith in this person all right let's move on we have a not as spicy as usual dm that's okay but it's still interesting a topical conversation okay where i think it's going to divide the room maybe are

you ready yeah so this week our community dilemma is this message that we received hi team i currently rent a home with my husband and two children and with recent rent increases and myself on maternity leave we're living paycheck to paycheck with basically no savings my lovely parents have offered to have us move into their home but the thought of moving my family of four into the space of two bedrooms and if i'm being honest the thought of moving back in with my parents is one that I'm not sure I love. How do you decide between getting ahead financially and your pride and your comfort? Oh, do you want to go first? I mean, it's so hard because I guess it depends on what your definition of paycheck to paycheck is, because I can understand if you are literally

like down to your, if we're taking it like quite literally and you're like, I have every dollar accounted for. I'm barely scraping by. I can't do anything fun. I'm really stressed. To me, it's a really obvious choice to move back in with your parents. And I guess it is also massively privileged. Very privileged, but also largely dependent on your relationship with your parents too, because I suppose if you're moving into right now, it sounds fantastic. It's so kind of them to offer that to you. But if you have a difficult relationship or historically you've had a difficult relationship, that could be compounded by being in close quarters all of the time. And so I guess that is a factor to consider as well. I mean, if that is manageable,

I feel I'd go for it. That's not something a lot of people have the option of. Not everybody's parents can accommodate them. Not everyone's parents will accommodate them. The amount of money, even if it was a short period of time that you could potentially save, even if you were still contributing to bills, if you're splitting bills between your parents and your family rather than just paying them yourself that's still gonna put you quite far ahead so it's kind of like short-term pain long-term gain yeah but for some people they might love their family they might be like oh my god movie nights free babysitting like it's gonna be like the brady bunch some of my girlfriends literally ended up buying a house that was two houses stacked

together so that she could be that close with her parents-in-law that's cute and i think that is so wholesome like so incredible no not for me absolutely not I mean I love Steve's parents but I cannot imagine being that close to other people but then there are people that are like no babe I thrive on that it's literally the best thing our kids are obsessed with just having their grandparents downstairs and I'm like oh that sounds amazing for you and I guess that's where the comfort thing really comes in right is if you're someone who really I'm very introverted I like having my space. That's what I need to recharge. Adding more people into that situation for me would suck. You can move in with me. It's okay. Yeah. You can't bring your cats because

then there would be four cats and a dog in the house. Actually, no, I mean, I'm for that. I've changed my mind. We'll convince Steve. We'll figure it out. But yeah, like for some people, I can see why you would be concerned as well. And it can be a hard thing to say. Like if your parents have said, oh, like you can move in with us. It's also hard to then justify to them why you wouldn't want to do that without hurting their feelings. I just don't really like you. Yeah, which is like, that's not what I'm saying. It's just my space and my time and my, like, where do we put our stuff?

I'm an adult now. Yeah, it's hard. That's a hard conversation to have as well. Bec, what are your thoughts? It's such a tough one because I guess exactly what you're saying, like what is the dynamic here? If you have parents who I guess like you're kind of walking around the house not wanting to upset them, would you feel like you have the kind

of relationship where they maybe don't respect your boundaries? They're coming into your personal space a lot of the time. Would they be offended if you need alone time after spending a lot of time with them? Do you feel like you'd just be constantly anxious that you've upset them at some point? I just don't think I would want to live like that if that's the relationship that you have. But if you have like super cruisy parents, like they are totally, they totally respect your boundaries. They can give you all the privacy you need. They understand that you have your own family and they understand that people need space and time and they can be grumpy they can be happy all these things if they're completely accepting of that and you're not

worried about anything then like sure do it you know what I mean I understand there's way more to it of course like reducing your space to just two bedrooms so the comfort there is something that you'd have to really compromise but exactly exactly what you're saying like a little bit just do it for a little bit of time, save up some money, wait until you're comfortable, go back out there and try again. And then if you get knocked down, you try again. You get back up and try again, or whatever the song says. That's the song to be listening to right now. But exactly right. Jessica, I do actually tend to agree with you for this one. Just if you have the resources to stay with your parents and you have that ability to take advantage for a little while,

unless it will really stress you out then it's not worth it what do you reckon vd i'm probably a little bit more planned okay i'm shocker i i don't think any of you are going to see this coming but i would want you to make a plan um so i want you to actually sit down and not make a decision yet like do a pros and cons list of like what are all the benefits of moving in and then what are the cons like be savage because those things could make or break relationships Hide the list well. Don't leave it anywhere anyone could read it. Burn it. Burn it after. Put it in your phone and then backspace it once you're done. The cons list doesn't need to see the light of day, but you need to sit down with your partner

in this circumstance and go, all right, Jess, what's the worst thing? Jess could be like, V, I literally hate it when Steve X, Y, Zs. And I'll be like, whoop, don't tell Steve that. That's good to have on the list. So I think it's important to look at your pros and cons and then make a plan and be really clear on that plan. So why are you making this decision? Because if you go, oh, Bec, you can move back in with me to save a bit of money. And you go, yeah, no worries. Well, what does that mean? Like, look at your budget, do a comprehensive budget and sit down and go, all right, well, if we're not paying rent for this period of time, we're going to save $1,200, $2,500 a month, whatever that looks like. Is that feasible? What other fees and charges and

other things in the background might we have to pay. Storage for your furniture or something. All of that kind of stuff. But also I would be adding in some personal time too. You know, obviously you need to be discussing this with your parents because there's kids involved, but I'm going to make the grand assumption that if you're living under the same roof as somebody else, you're probably going to want maybe like an extra date night or something away from that dynamic to make it more palatable in the long term. Yes. Good word. You're going to sit down and work out, okay, well, Jess and I have worked out that if we move our family back in with my parents, we're going to save $2,500 a month at a minimum. How much do we want to save?

What is the goal here? Like, are we just saving for a month? Are we saving for three months? Are we saving for six months? Are we saving a whole house deposit? If we are saving a whole house deposit, what does that look like? Is that $10,000? Is it $100,000? I'm going to move back in with my parents to do a whole house deposit and that's going to be four years. what does that actually look like? And I would say, shameless plug, use the she's on the money goal setting activity, which means that you are specific, optimistic, time bound, and then also measurable. So the measurable part will come in. If you say you're, you know, saving $2,500 a month and you need to get to $10,000, what will that look like? What's that timeframe? Then once you've

done your plan, you're going to hide the cons list because if you've then decided to move in with your parents. Just delete all of that. Pretend it didn't happen. And then you're going to go, hey, mom and dad, before we move in, can we just have a really big chat about what this means? Because we really flip it. We really want to respect your boundaries, not take advantage of the home that you own and understand what that would mean. Because they might go, oh, one, that's really thoughtful. But two, they probably haven't thought about it. If they're anything like my parents my parents would jump at the chance to have Steve and I move back in that's cute like they would be like yep yep come live come stay like we hear from them often they're like when

are you coming to stay with us when are you coming down what are you gonna do and that's so kind and I adore it but I would want to be like okay cool like what would be the dynamic of cooking every night especially if I have two young kids because there's more of us now than of my parents so is there an expectation that, you know, we're contributing a bit more? Mom and dad, don't worry. We'll do all the cooking. We'll just jointly fund groceries. You guys have basically private chef now. Money win. Life win. Domestic chores. How's the house going to stay clean? Can we talk about these things and set some really realistic boundaries and expectations before moving in? Because what if you're not as thoughtful as Jess? Jess, oh my God,

if you moved in with her, she'd just like clean your room too. But what if you're not that thoughtful and you've got your two kids running around and your husband that maybe isn't that good at domestic work. And then your mom's like far out and cleaning up after them all the time. That's not fair. So I think having these conversations upfront, having a timeframe, having a desired outcome for why we are doing that is one going to mean going into the house would be easier, but also it keeps your eye on the prize when you're there and things are hard. Oh, Jess, it doesn't really matter. Like, do you know we're halfway to that home deposit? Do you know we're halfway to that emergency fund? Oh, it's so much better. Okay. Well,

maybe we'll use 50 bucks and we'll go get a pizza and eat it in the park together and just get out of this house for a bit. Does that make sense? So you need really clear boundaries, really clear goals and understanding what that actually means. What did everybody else think? Oh my gosh, everybody had such colourful opinions. All right. So first we asked our community, have you moved back in with your parents? 53% of you said yes. Geniuses. We said, if yes, how long for? So this was pretty split. 20% of you said one to three months, 22% said three to six, 25% said six to 12 and 33% said for more than a year. We then had a couple of DMs, which I think were really relevant. So someone said, I think it's worth looking at it

with your husband and making a plan. You're so smart. I wish I'd thought of that. Of what it could look like if you move back in with your parents, it's a really great opportunity to get ahead and save yourself some stress if you can to do it in a way that you and your husband are comfortable with. I'm guessing the added benefit could be some extra help with the kids. Love that. Someone said, I recently moved in with my partner and his mom after some hesitancy, but it's actually been a game changer. Once you can see what you can achieve with the extra money, it feels like a weight has been lifted. If it is only temporary to get ahead, keep reminding yourself that by this time next year or whatever your goal is,

you'll actually own your own space and will be X dollars better off with much more financial freedom and overall a better quality of life. I honestly think it is worth temporary discomfort in order to achieve your lifelong goals. No pain, no gain. That's what they say, baby. Then in our little like reply box, which are much shorter, some people said, I think so. it's hard, but it would be financially rewarding. Someone said, hell no, I'm not moving back in with my parents. I'll live on the street. Someone else said, talk with your partner. And if it's a yes, set a time limit on you. So mentally, you know, there's an end date. Someone said, I moved back in with my parents to save for a house deposit. It was painful, but we saved 70K. Holy moly.

Someone said, financially, it's a blessing, but mentally it might not be so healthy. You need to set very strict boundaries. The boundaries thing is a big one. It's like a housemate thing. I'm like, what if your mum came in and just like picked up your undies or your partner's undies to wash them for you? Because she's really nice. But I would hate, like, I would just hate that. Oh my God, my ex-boyfriend's mum used to do that. Bless her. She was the kindest person in the entire world. But when you were in your very early twenties and your boyfriend's mum at the time folds your g-string and puts it on the end of the bed to clean. Oh my God. That's so cute.

You're mortified. Yeah. That's the word. Yeah. Like, it's not a good feeling. Like, oh, that's so nice. Where did you find that? Yes.

And how do you fold a g-string, I wonder? Oh, my God. You would be surprised. I've never done it myself, but she definitely did it, and it looked very pretty, very perfect, and I really didn't want to face her ever again. Yeah, that's understandable. Someone said, I moved in with my mum.

It wasn't ideal, but I can't afford to move back to Australia without this option. So I just think there's lots of different situations and lots of different outcomes. I think the general consensus, though, from our community is make a plan, understand the pros and cons, set boundaries and understand your end goal. It's not just me, guys. Yeah. Yes.

Perfect advice. We're trying our best. We're doing our best. And to be honest, if you can do it, it's kind of genius to save money. Pretty good. Rent is expensive. If you could save that amount per month, like, not a bad option. It's nothing to sneeze at.

Short-term pain, long-term gain. That's it. All right, guys, I think we are done here. We have some fun things to get to. We will see you on Monday for a Money Diary. We hope you have the best weekend ever. We love you. Goodbye.

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