She's On The Money - She Couldn’t Get a Credit Card as a Single Mum. It Became a Blessing in Disguise.

Episode Date: October 4, 2026

She became a mum straight out of Year 12. Four years later, she had her second son and was raising two boys on her own. Money was tight. Really tight. She used to keep a Word document mapping out six weeks of expenses because she needed to know exactly what was coming in and exactly what had to go out. Some weeks, once the rent was paid, there was food in the cupboard and petrol in the car, she had $20 left. So they got hot chips. They camped in the backyard. Ate breakfast on the trampoline. Had treasure hunts around the house with a bowl of lollies waiting at the end. Years later, she asked her son whether he remembered growing up feeling like they had no money. He said no. He remembered having the best childhood ever. I think that tells you quite a lot about this Money Diarist. Today, at 44, those boys are adults and she’s in a completely different season of her financial life. She runs her own building design business, which turned over $220,000 last financial year. She’s put $50,000 into shares, has hit $200,000 in super and is preparing to buy into a home with her new partner. But she’s also trying to make up for lost time without treating the present like a waiting room for retirement. Because after spending so much of her life making sure everyone else was okay, she’s now working out what it looks like to build wealth, travel, enjoy her money and create the future she wants. Turns out, you can start later and still build something pretty bloody incredible. SORT YOUR INSURANCE: A big thank you to our partner Skye Wealth for bringing this episode to life. If you're ready to get your insurances sorted, you can learn more about them here.We have a long standing referral partnership with Skye Wealth and only ever partner with people we trust. CHECK OUT THE SOTM INVESTING HUB: Full of our best investing freebies, resources, courses and podcast episodes here. INVESTING FOR BEGINNERS: All our best beginner's investing podcast episodes in one place here.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 - 4451289See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My name is Natasha Bamblit. I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. T. Glynian Ganya. Neenakakakya. Neenakana, you've been aakarumja, Duma'embeka, Duma'uakkeniwaan,

Dara, Amalamana. Mewa banga in ayanawakramja, Wootanada now. Hello, beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. We thank, acknowledge, and respect the Aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today.

take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see. She's On the Money podcast acknowledges culture, country, community and connections, bringing you the tools, knowledge and resources for you to thrive. Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast that led you be pervy about other people's money stories for educational purposes, of course. Welcome back to another one of our money diaries brought to you by our friends at Skywell, where I get the absolute privilege of sitting down with one of our incredible She's on the Money community members

and talking to them all about their journey. Let's jump straight into it because this week, I got a message and it sounded exactly like this. Hi, She's on the Money. I have come a long way with my money story and I'm excited for what's ahead. I had my first son at 18 and raised two boys as a single mom. I worked part time and I studied so I could be home with them as much as possible. I now run a successful business, study, have big goals. I invest once I knew what it was. I'm growing my super and living my best life. I feel like I'm chasing my tail a bit to catch up with my super, purchase property and set my future life up the best way I can while also living my present life to its fullest. Money diarist, I'm so excited for this. We just had a little off-air banter and I was

like, I can feel in my bones. This is going to be a good one. Yes, I hope so. So without further ado, the first cab off the rank is always money diarist. What grade would you give your money habits from A through to F if I asked you to give them a grade? I was thinking about this. I think maybe a B plus, close to an A. Close to an, and were we going to learn? Yes. Now, let's dive into the really gritty stuff. Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story and the things that have impacted it? So I grew up in a single bearing household. Money, I don't know how tight money was, but it felt like we had everything we needed.

But if we wanted, you know, those shoes that everybody has, it's like, oh no, we can't afford that. So I heard that a lot growing up. So I was very scared to spend money, very budgety with money. So always I had to know where it was, where it was coming from, big scarcity mindset. Then I fell pregnant with my son in year 12, had him just out of high school. And then I had my second son, four years later. So then raising two kids on my own budgeting. Wow, and so young.

Yeah, so I used to have a little word document with like six. weeks in advance of like what money was coming in, what was due, like if I had soccer red jos or school uniforms or whatever else needed to be paid for a lot of weeks, it would be like we have $20 left at the end of the week, but we had a roof over our head. We had food in the cupboard. We had petrol in the car and the kids were happy and we would go and get hot chips at the local cafe and that was our little thing that we did. Oh, I love this so much. I'm sorry, you just said, I fell pregnant in year 12, but then you finished year 12. So like, can I be a little bit pervy?

At what stage in grade 12 did you fall pregnant? Just before my exams, so right at the end. Right. Oh, that would have sent you for a spin. Yeah. Because one can assume that someone in grade 12 did not mean to get pregnant. Like, that wasn't like, let's finish school and have a baby. That was like, oh my goodness, I've got exams.

Well, exactly. And I think I was just so naive. don't even think I'd ever been around babies. I'd never changed a nappy. I was just like, oh yeah, let's do this. No idea what I was doing. So just dove into it. And I think it was the best way to do it.

Honestly, as somebody who waited until she was in her 30s, like I catastrophized what having a baby would look like. And it's different for everybody. So I kind of just wish I'd gone in blind, like, and had no idea. Well, when I went into labour, it was like, they're like, oh, this and this much dial later, I go, oh, what does that mean? It was just so night, didn't go to any parenting classes, just went in there. I was like, well, I got to do it anyway.

So I'll just figure it out as like a long. Honestly, so fair. Because do you know what? I did all of the planning. Like I did all of the like prenatal classes, like hypno birthing, the calm birthing. And I still ended up having a C-section. So that was a waste of time. Yeah.

Yeah. So no, I felt like that suited me just to jump in. That's kind of how I do everything in. life just figure it out as I go. It's funny because recently my kids are in their 20s now and I asked my youngest, I said to him, oh, because I think about my childhood and how I felt about money and I know how much work I've done, how many courses I've done, how much I've worked on my mindset around money, especially in my business now, like not setting myself ceilings that I just can't get past. And I said to him, oh, when you were growing up, did you ever feel like we had no money?

because I knew how much money we had, but they didn't. And he just said, no, never. I was, I had everything I needed. It was the best childhood ever. And I was just like, that's the best. That's the feedback you deserve. And you know what? Like there would have been times where everything was super close. But you touched on something earlier. You were like, I grew up with scarcity mindset. And I think that maybe you've pivoted that. So even if you didn't have enough, I think that the way that you approach things really shapes your children's experience of that. So like your kids probably thought you were rich because you went to the cafe and had hot chips so regularly. Whereas you guys had kind of reframed that as like, oh, that's so nice. That's such a treat. Not a, oh, we can't go out. You're

like, we're going to go out, but we're just going to get hot chips and that's our thing. Like, it's gorgeous. Yeah, we did no international travel, but we would go to Queensland or Tasmania or local like, you know, three or four hours away, I'd pitch the tent in the yard and we'd put a TV and our camp beds out there and pop some popcorn and that's what we'd do on the weekends. We'd eat breakfast on the trampoline or I just made the things at home fun. You built their childhood. Oh, you're so special. And I can just tell that like they look back on that as like magic, like mum made magic. Yeah, especially now that they're older, they're just like, oh, how did you do it, mum? Like, you know, they're living in the world and paying their own way and they're just like,

oh, how did you do it? I mean, I couldn't save and I couldn't buy a house and all those things. But my kids in their 20s now, I just look back and go, I wouldn't trade it for any, any dollar amount in the world. I wouldn't do it differently if I did it again because I have so much life ahead of me and I can buy a house now. I can, you know, I can do all the things I want to do now. And they had an awesome childhood and I got to be there for it.

So that's the most special. your thing. And also, you got to do it in a way that I think now people are like, oh, that's crazy. Like, you shouldn't be having kids young. You really need to set yourself up. Sorry, you're 44 now, just to give the audience a little bit of context. You look so young, just to be a clear audience. Like, she does not look like she has teenage or, you know, kids in their 20s. But your kids are probably looking at it being like, how on earth did mum do this? She had us, like, from 19, managed to absolutely kill it, studies, works, has a own business now. I'm sorry, the example you're setting for them, unrealistic. They're going to be like, we don't know how mum did it.

She's a wizard. Yeah. And I've just grown on it. So I studied when, you know, I'd get up at five o'clock and study. I'd just find work that was part time. But even when I look back, like I had a contracting job and I paid my own super. I don't know how or why, but I did. I just knew it was important. You know, I had a job that didn't pay my super free year, so I've lost out there. But like I still feel like I was aware of things growing up, but I'm not sure how because it was never spoken about in mind. She's just switched on. Like, you're just a wizard. Like, it just happened for you. So now you have brought up two beautiful children. They are now adults. You run a business. What are you doing with your time? Running my business. A hundred percent of the time.

Like you're not, you're like the, I travel, I this. No, no, no. As you said offline, you were like, yes, I'm busy, but I'm always busy. No, it allows me flexibility. I have a new amazing partner who we travel a lot. And I came out of a quite toxic relationship before that. So getting out of that and being grateful, we had no financial entanglements with each other. Like the roadblocks along the way for us to do anything,

I was like, that was just the universe putting them there for a reason. So it was quite clean, which was nice. But, yeah, my new partner, we travel quite a lot, interstate, like, you know, just domestic. And sometimes I take my laptop and just work where I can. Or even if I go a few hours away, I'll just take my laptop and check emails, do a couple of small jobs. But I just, I don't want to wait 20 years to travel. It's like I want to travel now and work now. And if the life I've set up can afford that for me, then I'm happy with that.

Yeah, absolutely. All right. So tell me a little bit more. Let's dive into the next step. What do you currently do for work and how much money do you earn? I'm a building designer. So I have my own building design business. I've been in the industry 18 years, but my own business for six.

And my income, business income last year was 220. Wow. Yeah. The year before it was 160 and I was like, okay, I think I can go more. So I set a goal of 200 and I got to 220. So I was pretty stoked with that. Sorry, I just made 220 as though that's like a normal amount of money to make. That was last year. Last financial year. That's crazy work in the best of ways. So if we go back, you said you had your business for six years now. What turnover were you producing at the start? Around 160 to 100. So the first year of my business, I also worked full-time because the business wasn't a plan. It was a, I left a job, went to work somewhere else. And my old

job gave me so much work because when I left, just to keep on top of everything. And it just organically grew into a business. And 12 months later, I was working full-time in the business and at a job. And I was like, oh, I have to make a decision. So just made a decision to give it a crack and if it didn't work I'll just go get a job somewhere else and here I am. That is insane. So tell me, it sounds like you are doing very well, but what are your big money goals? What are you currently working towards? So I still have always wanted to purchase property and there's just been a roadblock in my way every single time and now, you know, being self-employed was the next one. But I was like, I'm not going to stop that. Let that stop me from

going out on my own. So I've been speaking to Zella. Oh, lovely, great choice. You've got fabulous taste. I think I spoke to about six brokers and then I just went to Zeller and I've just been speaking to them. So I started looking at houses last year. I was like, okay, I'm just going to just get into the market, buy what I can afford and then take it from there. That's just the best I can do at the moment. And I just said, I'm just going to renovate or, you know, like I'll go live there or my son can live there with his fiance and I'll just work it out however it works best kind of thing. So kind of had a vague idea. But I think I'm kind of scared of property too because it's unknown and it's such a huge

financial commitment. So it kind of scares me a bit. But just kept saying, no, I'm going to go start looking at houses. So me and my partner just went and looked at a couple of houses. And then as time went on, we have just decided that we're going to like I'll buy into his property and we'll own his property together and he wants to renovate so we're just going to renovate that but now it will be our house and I just said isn't that crazy how you want something and you say you're going to buy property this year you're going to do this to it and

then the universe just wraps it up in a completely different present and just gives it to you it's not the way I thought it would happen but it's kind of along the same pathway so pretty exciting. Good things happen to good people, baby. Like, I genuinely believe that like, people start going, wow, it's crazy how it worked out for me. And I'm like, look how much you worked. Like, look how hard you worked. Of course it's happening for you. That was the point. Was it not? Yeah. And I think it was just going at and actually looking at property. Because I was always like, well, I'm not going to go look at property if I can't even buy it. Like, what's the point? And I was just like, I was going to go see what's out there. Like, just put it out there in the universe that this is what I

want and just bring that energy to myself and give myself the mindset and confidence that this is going to happen for me. You know, you kind of go, oh, like you're a bit older. You're going to be paying a mortgage off forever. But I was like, well, it's going to be the same story in five years. So I might as well just go and do it. Yeah. And also, you're probably not going to be paying off a mortgage forever. Like with your income and with your mindset, I can see that, look, I don't know you that well, but just picking up what you're putting down, I'm pretty sure you're not going to be like, great, 30 years, like, I'll see you in 30 years, V. Like, I'm pretty sure you're going to get your mortgage, be like, great, how can we get rid of that sooner? How can we leverage that?

What does that look like? What's my business look like? What income are we deriving here? All right. I'm not going to pay my mortgage off, like, aggressively right now because I'm topping up my super and once that's done, that's the next cab off the right. I don't know you well enough, but I feel like you have your finger on the pulse. Yeah, I think like my intention for property was to purchase and then it would be an investment and just rent somewhere else. But the way it's turned out, this will be our forever home and then we will look to invest outside of that in property. So it's just come in a different weird and wacky way, which is amazing and I love. So can I be a little bit pervy? You have a new partner. You are purchasing property with them. Like we know what

trajectory you're on. What's that like setting up finances once you've, you know, for the last 20 plus years you've been a lone wolf like running your finances running your finances for children do you have joint accounts like how do you have those conversations after being I guess so independent for so long yeah we've kind of touched on it and said oh yeah we need to just sit down and go through finances because I'm still living at my property and he's still living at his he's just going through a separation like a settlement separation with the house at the moment so we're just waiting for that to go through. And yeah, so we kind of haven't sat down and done all that yet, but it's definitely conversations that need to be had. So yeah, 100%. And you know what, like,

if he's going through the end part of a separation and there's like assets and distribution, it's like, do you know what, I don't want to have any joint finances with you until you can tell me your clean cut and then we can maybe talk about it. Yeah. I feel like that's how I would feel too. Yeah, but it's interesting because growing up, you think there's only one way to do money. It's like you have a partner, you have joint accounts. That's just how I thought it worked. But listening to like your podcast and it's like, oh, there are so many ways that you can do finances and it doesn't have to be that way for you. It's just like whatever suits you both, you can work it out and you can do a combination of joint accounts and individual accounts. And I mean, I have

a business account with five sub-accounts, which obviously will stay as is, but then I have personal accounts with sub-accounts. And I'm super organised with the budgeting and distribution of my money. So it's like, I mean, when I organised it two or three years ago, I haven't looked at it since, but sorry, but that system and process is still clearly working. And like, why fix something if it's not broken? So, like, maybe once you do move in together, you decide, okay, well, we clearly have a mortgage together, so we've got to pay that off. But then also, maybe we just have a separate account where we just both pop money in there for like house maintenance and just stuff that we organize. And then maybe you guys go, well, that's where we draw the line. We actually don't need anything else.

Like, because if you don't have more joint expenses, like if you had a baby together, maybe then you'd be like, okay, well, we do need to be more integrated because, you know, you're planning things like maternity leave and, you know, being more dependent. But maybe it just doesn't. even need to change. No. And it's good because his kids are older, like older teenagers and then mine are grown. So it's like it's just kind of us and we just have to worry about us and how we do things. That's so lovely. Like that you're just like, I don't know, putting your roots down together after kind of both establishing families on your own. Like that's so exciting. All right. Let's go to a really quick break because you teased me in your intro and said that you just started investing, but you didn't

give me any info on what it is. So I want to dive into that. I also want to talk about debt, personal insurance and your best and worst money habits. So guys, please don't go anywhere. All right, money, Darius, we are back. Can we talk about your investing journey? You mentioned I have big goals, invest, and then you were like, once I knew what it was. So when did you learn about the power of compound interest? So I started listening to finance podcast probably five years ago. So I think I listened to about three or four different ones, one of them being yours. Yours is the only one I still listen to. Well, stop. Thank you. I listened to Glenn James's one and Australian finance podcast and just whatever I could get my hands on once I started to go,

oh, I think I can work this out and understand it because you'd see it on the news, ASX, and I'd be like, oh, what is that? It's like, oh, that's for rich people. So I don't need to understand it. So I just never looked. Yeah, or it was like for finance bros, I would like just let it go over my head. I'd be like, sorry, that to me was the flag to tune out. So I kind of, I probably listened for about two years. And I think because I just wanted to have the right mindset, like I listened to a lot about, you know, if the market drops, people get scared and take their money out. So I'm like, I just want to be in a place where I'm okay with the dips in the market because I've listened to so much about how it recovers and

whatever else. So once I got comfortable in that, Sharesys wasn't in Australia yet. So I jumped in spaceship first and I set up accounts for my kids as well because you could set them up from so young. So it's like, I am starting older, but I started my kids at like 16 as soon as I could. Even if they didn't understand it, I was like, we're just going to do this now and you can thank me later. So that's kind of what I've been doing. And then spaceship didn't perform well. tried raise, same thing. And then when sharesies come over to Australia, I just switched both the boys' accounts over to sharesies and then mine is in sharesies. I think about, I was going to put this in the Money Wins link on the Facebook group, but I think it was about a month ago. I had like,

I had personally myself put 50,000 into my share account. And I was like, that's amazing. That's so good. And my super hit 200K around the same time. Sorry, what you're going to have to repeat yourself because in your intro you were like, look, I haven't been paying attention to my super. And then you're like, oh, it's $200 grand. Like, sorry, pop off. That's amazing. I just think for my age, it's like not enough.

But I've always contributed like $20 a week or like salary sacrifice or like I said, when I was a contractor, I paid my own super. But then I just go, oh, at my age and so much like only working part time or not having super paid over all these years. like, oh, I feel like I really need to scramble to catch up. Honestly, fair. So next cab off the rank, I want to know, talk to me about debts. What does the debt look like that you're about to get yourself into?

And do you have any other debts? I don't have any loans. I just have a small minute, like a $2,000 credit card that I don't really use. It's just there. I couldn't get loans or credit cards as a single mom, which over the years, I was kind of like, oh, I wish I could just get. a credit card because apparently that's what you do and get loans. That's how people live and that's what was modelled to me growing up and I just thought that was normal but I don't want any loans

or credit cards. So I don't have any loans. The mortgage I think will go up to about 800 or 850 with the settlement and getting a little bit to do some renovations and stuff. Yeah, love. And I heard you say just before you were like, oh, as a single mom, I couldn't get any credit cards or personal loans. And that was actually going to be my next question. I feel like single moms already have it really hard. And then one way that some of our community have to get ahead is debt, right? Because like sometimes you just can't put food on the table and you just can't pay school fees or like, you finally find out that your kid wants to play soccer and you can't afford soccer boots. And you're like, you know what, this is a credit card expense. Like, and I get it. How did you? How did you? How did

you come out of being a kick-ass single mum to two kids? Like, you weren't just a single mom. You were a teen mom. Like, you started real young and you had no debt. Like, what is that wizardry? You just couldn't get it and you were forced? I couldn't get it. And it was a blessing in disguise. When I look back, I go, 100% blessing in disguise because what was modeled to me was that I would have just ended up with loans and credit cards and I would have just constantly been paying off debt. And I'm so glad I don't. And it made. me live within my limits and it afforded my kids a lifestyle that they loved and we were super close. It was always just the three of us. So we're really, really close even now. And it's just

beautiful. And I just go, it's not about the money or the things that you buy them. It's about the time that you spend with them. It's about the experiences. Like, I would do little things. We had this, like, I would put like little, make little post-it notes and I do like a treasure hunt around the house like your next clue is in this place or your next clue is in this place and at the end was like a little bowl of lollies and that was like the funnest thing for them on some days so I'm just like not being able to get loans and credit cards and I was incredible and to balance working part-time and the government payments I could get as a single parent I was okay but that sounds like a lot of work on your behalf so I'm not saying like oh like oh great it'll just work

out, but like, let's go back. You said you had a running word document. You had a budget of six weeks in advance. Like, my friend, you had your finger on the pulse the entire time, even if maybe at points during that, you're like, I'm so out of control. Like, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just so impressed because if we go back in time to me being in my early 20s and like a lot of our community being in their early 20s, I feel like we didn't have that same level of like, I don't know, you just seem to have a level of gratitude and like gratefulness. to be, oh, I got to spend time with my kids. I get to do this and I get to do that. And like, even your language is, I got to. I get to not, oh, I had to be create. Like, we could reframe this

and you could be like, look, I had to be really creative because we had no money. So I made an activity out of post-it notes because, like, there was nothing else. Like, you've just got the exact opposite of a scarcity mindset. And that's what is creating the childhood memories. That's what creates, like, the wholesomeness and even like the closeness that you guys clearly have now, I can tell that your kids call you regularly because of the way you talk about them. Oh, every day. Exactly. And I want my kids to grow up like bad. Like I have done something right. If I do something and my kids are immediately like, oh, I want to call mum. Like to me, that's what I'm trying to create. And it sounds like you've done it. Yeah. My son actually lives down closer to his dad now. And I remember it was a few years ago.

and he calls me, he's like, Mom, I got a flat tire. And I go, what do you want? Like, I live an hour. I live an hour away. I go, all right, what would you like me to do? I said, you know, your dad's five minutes away, right? Yeah. It's just instincts.

Like, we're just... He just wants his mum. Yeah, we're just super close. And I'm like that with my niece as well. She's similar age to my youngest. We grew up. I didn't have a daughter. She's just like my daughter.

I set her up on Shazis when she turned 18. I just said, Stop it. Let me set this up for you. I'll match what you put in until you're 21. She doesn't have that kind of financial literacy. She's not going to get it from her family. So I was like, I have it.

Let me help you. You can thank me in 20 years time. So she just transfers me $20 a week. I match it and we're building it. And it's amazing because I'm like, they don't understand it right now. But it's building them something great. And the trust that they have to allow me to set that up for them. he's awesome too. So even my youngest son, his dad passed away a few years ago and he got

quite a big sum of money. And I had no idea what to do. So I went to her, I said, let's invest in a financial advisor. So we did that. Good girl. Yeah. And we invested his money. He has a shares his account, but in another platform that he contributes to. Yeah, they would have set something like more advisor aligned up. Yeah. So he contributes to the. that like $20 a week. He contributes to his shares. He's $20 a week. And he just jumps on every month or so or I'll log in. I'll say, oh, check this out. Oh, that's awesome. And just keeps contributing to it. And it's the mindset thing of I heard it on a podcast. It was like, when the share market's down, think of it like the shares are on sale and buy more. And I just was like, those little hacks,

those little things that I heard over the years, I was just like, yes. And to be able to pass that on to the kids and my niece is awesome because, yeah, I just, I don't know, it's just, it's just so cool to be able to help them. And I'm like, I wish I knew this in my 20s, but the information wasn't available. And you know what? It's so funny. Like, I feel like you would have taken it up. But for someone like me, the information was available. Like, I've said a million times, my dad was an accountant. Sometimes you're just not ready to hear the information and take it in. And it's also like, someone asked me the other day, they were like,

which were I've done more than a thousand episodes of this damn podcast? Like, are you going to give it up soon? And I was like, absolutely not. Like, it's the love of my life. Like,

no, I adore what I get to do. And they were like, how do you keep coming up with new topics? Like, are you not running out? And I was like, well,

no, because even if it's a similar topic to something I've covered before, people need to hear the same narrative, a heap of different ways for something to finally stick. Because for you, clearly, nugget of like, oh, it's like when the supermarket's on sale. Everybody loves when things are on sale. If the share markets down, think of it like a discount. You go, oh, that's what stuck for me.

And then somebody else resonates with a different narrative. Like, I need to keep putting content out there literally until I die, I think, because I know that it's like what you're talking about. I resonate with so much because you're like, I got to do this for, you know, my niece and I got to do this for my kids. That's how I feel about our community. I'm just like, isn't it so cool that, like, I got to teach you that. And isn't it so cool that, like, in 20 years, my friend, so many of you are going to owe me a coffee, like, at least. Like, and I'm just so grateful that what I'm doing is having impact. And it sounds like you're the same. Like, I can just tell by the way you speak and the way you present yourself and, like, what I'm learning. People talk about you

behind your back in the best way. They're always like, oh, wish I knew. when I was younger or they say like, oh, she's just such a good person. I just know that you're the person that if I hear people talking over each other at brunch over someone, I'm like, oh, I want to know who that is. What are they talking about? Like, that's you. I think it's the energy. Everyone always says, oh, the energy when you talk about it, especially my business, it's like you just, you know, and obviously it would be easier if I could have started this younger, but I have it now and I'm not, you know, I'm not 100, so I'm doing what I can now, and I'm going to pass it on to my kids and my niece as much as possible.

All right, money, Dyrus, I want to know. What are your thoughts on personal insurance? Do you have it? Is it something that you think about regularly? Yes. So I have it in my super and I have many, many times logged in and gone, okay, I know what I have. I know it's not enough.

How do I change it? And I never changed it. I knew my cover wasn't right. and then you kept having Skywellf on and I was like, okay, even like my partner doesn't know much about his and I was like, we're both going to speak to them. So I booked him for an appointment. I booked myself for an appointment. And then we just paid the invoice last week.

So we've got the email sitting there to fill out and go back. So I said he does fly and fly out. So he's back for a week. And I said, when you're back, we're going to sit down and do this together. I also took us to get our, I don't have a will. So we went and got those done. So I'm like, we're doing all this adulting stuff that feels like I shouldn't be doing it because I don't feel like an adult sometimes.

But yes, so we're getting them in order. Yeah, we spoke to Skywell's and then, yeah, we're getting all the paperwork done. So I'm not sure what's involved and what I need to send, but I definitely know that I'm underinsured. Yeah, and they'll kick the can down the street for you so you don't have to, and like do all of the comparisons and like work out what that looks like. But even just knowing that covering yourself now with adult kids means that if something should happen and like to be a little bit morbid for a hot second, it doesn't become their responsibility.

And I think, you know, I look at it and I go, oh, like I've got young kids and like my mindset around insurance is probably a little bit different. But then we look at yours and I'm like, just get it set up so that you can thrive. like and that everything that you set up and you work towards and your small business actually was worth the time like because I think so many people get to retirement and go, oh, I didn't set these things up or I didn't, you know, take investing seriously enough and I earned really good money and ultimately they're not in a better position for the sacrifices that they've made. And I think that just covering it and backing it up is so important.

Now, money dress, I feel like your best money habit is honestly your mindset. But I want to hear from you, what do you think is your best money habit? Oh, yeah, I don't know, that I try and maximize where my money goes, I suppose. I always think is that because I was a single mum or because was I just always like that? But, yeah, I try. I have lots of sub-accounts set up. So I sit down and I go, where does my money go? Like I have, you know, I'm setting up an emergency fund as well.

So that's started, you know, house savings and, you know, the old barefoot investor. you know, set up like your fire extinguisher and all your little sub accounts. I've got a dog account so that when the dogs need their vet stuff, I've got a Christmas account. So like it's, you know, you just chuck small amounts in, you know, 20 bucks here, 50 bucks there. And then everything just grows. And when you need something, it's like, oh, I've got a car account for regos and services and things so that, yeah, that's probably my best money habit. And as I've increased, because I pay myself a wage every week, as I've increased that over the years, I've like increased what goes into those sub accounts by like $10.

Or like I have a bills account. So it's like Netflix and KO and all the other stuff that I pay for, I'll transfer $10 a week and then it will transfer back when the direct debits are coming out. Yeah, that's so good. Like that's such good clarity. And also passing that on, not to my oldest son because he hasn't been at home for a while, but my youngest, he also has sub accounts. He has a holiday account and a car account.

and all these accounts. And it's just like so cool to watch him, like set himself up so well financially because I was able to, one, he was receptive to the information, but that I was able to help him with that too. So I just like helping people and like making sure that I'm set up, but also able to live my life. I don't want to just work and pay bills and that's it. It's like, no life's here to be lived.

And I had a close family friend pass away last week. suddenly and it's just been like they were 75. They're like my bonus parents. I'm very lucky. But it's still devastating. It's just like, yeah, you want to just live your life now and I see the generation above me like my parents' generation and they're retiring and not doing anything. And I'm like, oh, like you've just worked so hard and now you're not doing anything. And it makes me so sad. And I'm like, I am traveling now and I'm living life now and I'm just going to, yeah, Who knows what I'll be like in 20 years. I might not be able to travel.

So while I can. 100%. And I feel like it's things like that that they shouldn't have to happen for us to really take life seriously. But I feel like it's that really stark reminder that life is actually fragile. And for me, you said 75 and I was like, oh my God, that's so young nowadays. That's what I thought. It feels so young. Like my parents, my dad, don't tell it.

anybody, turned 70 next year. And like, I just go, wow, that's so young and so old at the same time. Like, to him, the world is ending. He's just like, oh, my goodness, like 70. And to me, I'm like, oh, no, like, that's fine. In my head, you have forever to go. But then I'm also like, wait, no, hold on, hold on. Like, we don't actually live forever. Like, that's the same as my mum. And she's like, oh, but I'm older. I go, but you're not a hundred. Yeah, you're not a hundred. So we don't need to worry yet. I'm just like, come on. Yeah, see, that's exactly how I feel. But then when someone passes away at 75, you just go, wow, like, that's so soon. Like, so soon. So it's, I'm so sorry to hear that. Money Dyerist, I feel like reflecting on what you've said about your best money habit,

it's that you share it. Like, not that you share the cash that you have, which I'm sure you do, but like, you're financially empowering other people. Like, to me, that's the best money habit. Like, you mean? Everybody that you know you get close with and cross paths with is better off financially because of you. Yes, please. That's a good deal. You're a good friend. Now, let's flip it. What's the worst money habit you have? Sometimes not spending it. And I think that's still a little bit of that. It took me a long time in the business as well to be like, it's okay to invest in the business, invest in yourself, buy yourself things. Like, don't just buy what's the cheapest on the or what's on sale at the shops because you have a lifestyle where you can afford more.

So it's just constantly reminding myself of that. And that's just a mindset thing. It's just trying to always work on my mindset around money, around life and just, yeah, not limiting myself. Also, like, don't just spend money frivolously because we still need to set ourselves up. But just finding that balance. Enjoying the journey. Yeah. So now that we've spoken, tell me.

You said, oh, I reckon, you know, I'm looking B, B plus. What do you reckon? Is that a fair? Because I feel like you've clocked it. Like, you've done so well. And yet you still think you're a B plus. What would it take for you to do for you to be on the show and say, Navi, I'm an A plus?

Like, what does that version of you look like? I think it's just the monetary value of what I have is like, but my knowledge and what I'm doing are probably all correct. I think it's like, oh, don't own property or my super's not high enough or, you know, but then I go, oh, but between super and investing, that's still a lot. And it was you with the investing that was like, you invest outside super so you have more control over your money if you want to access it in 10 years time or whatever. I was like, oh, that's actually so clever. So I do put into super, but I do also into my

shares. You've got to have a balance and it's hard to work out what that looks like. But I think if you want to have a life before 65 and be able to, you know, choose to work part time because it's not a financial thing or choose to retire early, you're not going to be doing that and relying on super. So how will we able to structure life so that we can support ourselves for that period of time? But also like superannuation is so sexy. Like it's very tax efficient. And the more the money you're earning, you're probably looking at super being like, that's a really good deal because you are at that. highest marginal tax bracket now. So you kind of look at it and go, it's really sexy, but also

it's out of reach. So how do we find a balance that works for us? Is that something that you're still working on? Yeah, definitely. So I think when I was thinking about the money grade, I was like, oh, yeah, I think I'm an A because I feel like I'm pretty money savvy. I feel like I got through, you know, raising kids and life and, you know, everything else pretty well financially. And I've worked on my mindset and yeah, I have big goals for the business and life and everything. And then I was like, oh, but maybe it's just a B plus. It's got like those things. If you listen to someone else, you'd be like, oh, you're killing it. But when it's yourself, you're like, yeah, you can do better. Yeah. And I feel like you've got like a really holistic mindset where you're like,

well, actually, Victoria, I'm just not where I want to be. Like, it's not a comparison thing. To me, the way you're grading yourself is actually just a, I would like more money and super. I'm still working out what this, you know, mortgage thing is going to look like with my partner. I don't know what my retirement's looking like. I'm hustling at the moment in my business and probably need to, you know, work out what that's going to look like and do some planning. I feel like that's quite fair. Whereas I really get disappointed when people say, oh, I recommend I'm a B because somebody

else is richer or, you know, someone else has more. Like then I go, oh, are you? Like, to me, it's about your habits and your mindset. But then also, I would look at myself. I'm not an A. Like if you look at my knowledge, A plus, A plus, like, I know what I should be doing. But then I look at where I'm sitting and I go, okay, well, I'm not where I want to be yet. So like, I'm still a work in progress as well.

I get it. I get it. Yeah. I think I heard there was another money diary where she said, I think you still always want to be wanting to achieve more. So if you give yourself like the highest grade, then does that mean you've made it? Because you always want to be doing better. You always want to be doing a little bit more.

Yeah. I feel like if you're not learning, you're not living. So that's a good mindset. I'm big on learning and just investing knowledge to yourself. Like knowledge is just power and business. I'm always doing business development stuff and I'm always listening to finance and personal developments. So just in all aspects, just trying to do better. That's shining out of you, my friend. I can tell. I can tell in the best possible way. Oh my goodness. I wish we had more time. Thank you so much for hanging out today for sharing your money story. just know that so many people in our community are going to be like, how? How did she do that?

This woman is a wizard. We are all genuinely so proud of you. And I'm just so grateful that you're part of our community. Like, what an absolute privilege. So thank you so much. Oh, thank you so much. 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 Sherper, Pty-L-L-TD,

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