She's On The Money - Take It or Leave It: Could Taking Stress Leave Affect My Insurances?

Episode Date: May 7, 2026

It’s all too familiar. Work has you burning you out. And even your manager has suggested that you take some time off. So, why does it still feel weird to accept the offer, especially when you’re desperate for a break? In this week’s Friday Drinks we cover that icky feeling some of us get around taking leave, even though it literally exists to be used. Beyond the stigma, we unpack how taking stress leave might affect your insurances and what to consider before submitting your request. Say it with me: you cannot call yourself a financial adviser if you do not have a license (an AFSL). In this episode, we answer a DM that sends up more red flags than a carnival. A community member asks if she should take advice from an unlicensed financial adviser, even if it’s free. Hear us *calmly* explain why unsolicited advice is illegal, and could actually end up costing you more. Besties don’t let besties get scammed. WHO THE HELL IS HAMISH? Here’s a link to the series about a super-scammer, mentioned on the pod, where an unfortunate number of innocent people were scammed out of their super. The moral of the story? It could happen to anyone! Don’t let that be you. SUSS OUT YOUR COVERAGE Our partners at Skye Wealth are personal insurance pros. Learn more about them over here at skye.com.au. As long standing referral partners, we only ever recommend people we trust. NEW HERE? Join our Facebook Group (Search for: ShesontheMoneyAUS) 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 @shesonthemoneyaus 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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Tii, gilinyan ganya, nianakaka yao yinbina waka, nianakai nianbina yakarumja, duminyagumiga dumiga ithawaka nirawamundamun imalan, mumibangada bomi ininyalan waka, gaunan yakarumja, wutunarana. 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 she's on the money she's on the money Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast that makes personal finance fun, especially on Fridays. And every Friday we get the team together to celebrate you, our incredible She's on the Money community. Of course, Miss Jessica Ricci is here sharing all of your money wins. Bec will be bringing you the best broke tips of the entire week. We'll be also sharing an insurance-related money dilemma that explores what kinds of protection you might need

if you're considering taking some time off work, especially if that leave is taken in the interest of your own mental health. And finally, we're hitting the DMs to settle the question for good, should you seek financial advice from an unlicensed advisor? Oh, Victoria's going to say about that. Oh, God. Remember, you too can have your money dilemma explored on the pod by leaving us a voice note

on our website. Simply tell us what's going on and you might just hear yourself on a Friday Drinks episode, but more on that later. But first, my friends, a palate cleanser, a five-star review. There's something extra special, or I think there's something extra special about hearing from you, our community directly about all the ways that you are achieving your financial goals. Not only does it mean that you're learning how to build wealth on your terms, it means that our rants and our resources are actually reaching more people in even more meaningful ways. If our little podcast has helped bring you closer to your money goals, girls, we want to hear it. Please, please, please. And boys, to be honest, I'll hear

from anybody. Please share your reviews and honestly, ego-stroking comments on She's On The Money, on Apple Podcasts, socials, on DMs, wherever you want to wax lyrical, we are open. This week's review, it comes from our friend Chantel. Are you ready? Hi, Chantel. Chantel says and she DM'd me this and I was like I'm so grateful please post it on Apple this podcast Victoria has genuinely changed my life I found she's on the money feeling completely behind on my money and honestly a little bit embarrassed about it I ended up doing both the investing masterclass and the money masterclass and for the first time money made

sense I've since started investing I've built some savings and I feel much more confident in the decisions that I've been making. It's not just about money, but it's actually been a mindset shift I didn't even know I needed. I recommend this to literally anyone who will listen. Isn't that cute? Thank you, Chantelle. I'm so stoked for you. That's amazing. Also, please keep recommending it to your barista, to your waxer. Like imagine getting a wax and being like, have you heard of She's on the Money? I think that's the time and the place. Yes. Agreed. Agreed. Name a time and a place where it's not appropriate. But I can't think of one.

Oh, wait. Not even a funeral. Anyway, yeah, in a funeral, be like, I wonder what her life insurance was like. Hey, it's never a bad time to talk about finances. It's never a bad time. Never. All right. Now, my friends, it is time, the moment of Friday drinks,

where you finally get answers to the questions you have been dying to ask. Money, work, insurance. It can be literally about anything. And this week's question came to us via our DMs, and Sarah would like to know, my friends what place have you traveled to that was actually really disappointing in real life oh it's a really good question i have one which i've mentioned on the show before i'm pretty sure and it's mexico i will say it's a little bit on us because i don't think we did enough research the hotel we were in it was like us and four other people one of the restaurants was always

close you could really only eat at one restaurant it was just a very touristy area i think we weren't in Mexico City we were in Plano Carmen and it seems I didn't realize the only thing to do there is drink and that's it which I mean we were two not huge drinkers so perhaps it's not the right choice by us I would like to go back and see more because I've heard really good things about Mexico City so it's not you're so optimistic you are so optimistic because I would have written that off and said I'm never riding back there no I'm yeah I'm assuming user error you know I'm saying I I think I'm the problem. Every place, every country has something incredible.

Jess, the country was user error. There, that's me. I know this might upset a lot of people, but honestly, like London. But I was only there for like three days and also probably user error as well. But I like went to, I had to go there to go somewhere else. And so I didn't really see all there was to see. All I know is I couldn't afford to buy anything because it was so expensive. The conversion's killer.

Killer. and also I went to I think I went to Big Ben I don't know I think I did the clock that was the clock I was like okay well that's kind of cool but yeah I had just it was kind of like oh I don't think I really need to be here for that much longer you know London for whatever reason gives Melbourne vibes to me yeah maybe that's just not that different for what we like the architecture is beautiful like the historical architecture but I think like the city vibe reminded me a lot of home which is probably why so many Aussies move over there to live really that is so true and also probably why it felt so not that exciting because I was like okay culturally and aesthetically

I'm basically in Melbourne maybe is what the feeling is and I'm paying a lot more for that experience yeah double the price to be here oh yeah I feel bad I feel really bad because I just traveling is a privilege like we're so lucky to experience this and I'm about to poop all over something and I also know that the location I'm about to disclose someone listening has probably picked it for their like honeymoon or something and they're like wait what Victoria caveat this was like more than 10 years ago this was probably like 15 nearly 20 years ago which it's honestly no not even 20 maybe 15 years ago I'm being dramatic it's Phi Phi Island in Thailand Phi Phi island pp island and if you google this location stunning gorgeous like white crystal white beaches

stunning like like the photos are like next level yeah the water blue glistening you just think island time you think oh incredible anyway got there and again maybe user experience of the entire island. I was with an ex-boyfriend traveling and we did Thailand, adored Thailand, and then we were like, we're going to fly to Phi Phi Island. It's the more expensive location, so we're going to spend less time there. And we researched resorts. He mainly researched the resort that we picked because I would have read every single TripAdvisor review. Yeah, we got bedbugs, which was a one out of 10. We had to move hotels because I discovered the bedbugs. and then I looked up the reviews on TripAdvisor and everyone reiterated there's bedbugs. Turns

out there's bedbugs all over the island and basically every hotel had them at that point in time. So like we couldn't escape the problem and we were stuck on an island. And then the beach was just, it wasn't pristine. It was full of people, people that were trying to charge me, people that were trying to scam me. It was just so overwhelming. Like you couldn't just go for a serene swim because it was full of just people, like back to back people. And yeah, nothing about it was good. And then I got food poisoning and I remember being like, I don't think it can get worse. That would truly just taint the place you were in forever. I feel. Bed bugs, when you want to lay down, but you have food poisoning, it's not the experience I wish on even my worst enemy.

Okay. I don't even have a worst enemy. So yeah, that's the place that didn't live up to the hype. Okay, cool. I'll take that off my list. I think it's good to sometimes hear the flip side of things because, I mean, I feel like most people just want to travel everywhere. I know I want to travel everywhere. And sometimes it's good to temper, you know, the Instagram with a little bit of reality. Agreed. Absolutely. Yeah. All right. Well, guys, if you've got a question that you need answered on the pod, please send them through. We love reading your comments and your queries. Honestly, the more unhinged, the better. Now, Miss Jessica Ricci. Yes. Tell me about this

week's money wins. Alrighty. Firstly, this week, I have one from Emily who said, I've been eyeing off a Nation Balance bike for baby boy's first birthday. Came across one on Marketplace for $30, which is half price, and she didn't have to pay for shipping. It was only just around the corner, so she walked over to pick it up, so didn't even have to spend money on fuel, money in. Do you know, that's exactly what I've been manifesting on Facebook Marketplace this week.

Really? Yeah, but I want the cruisy one. It's quite a mouthful. What is it, this thing? It's just like a little kid's balance bike. So, like, it's a bike that it's, like, basically think of a normal bike, shrink it, and remove the pedals. okay so they kind of like balance on it and they're really light so you can kind of toddlers

toddlers suck they say no i really want my bike i really want my bike becca i have to take my bike and then you get five minutes into the walk and you're like i want to be carried so you need a really light bike so that's an important one yeah to like pick up and take places because like girl you're going to be carrying the baby and the bike anyway i will manifest for my Facebook for you. They're very expensive, normally. 30 bucks is a good deal. Got you. Okay. Next, I've got a money win from Yolanda, who said she's been taking the kids to the movies and got a family ticket, which saved her some money. Money win. And she also managed to save by getting a voucher through ShopBack using her ShopBack credits. Oh, cool. Very good.

I feel like lots of people are doing movies with the kids on school holidays and things like that, so that's a goodie. Next, I've got a money win from Jane, who said, my partner and I were planning on heading to ikea to buy three chairs for our new office woolies had 20 times points on the ultimate gift card so i bought 400 worth and got 40 bucks straight back in woolies dollars which are banked for christmas then they went in store they tried the chair and it was so uncomfortable they ended up getting a different one that was a third of the cost so a 1200 shop turned into a 760 shop oh my god also sorry the one that you liked didn't work out yeah but happy happy accident So, yeah, that it was a cheap bar that you liked.

Next one I've got is from Di who said, last week we were going to have takeaway for dinner but realised we'd had it in the past two weekends. So my husband went to the shops on his way home, purchased some chicken for $12 and made wraps from the ingredients we already had. Takeaway normally costs our family $50 to $60 instead of $12. It's getting so expensive.

So expensive. Tell me why. Going through, like, McDonald's is what once upon a time you would have paid at, like, your local, like, Mexican restaurant. It's so expensive. I know. I went into a burger restaurant yesterday for our work lunch, Jess, and I was like, oh, yeah, I'll just have that burger and those chips.

And they're like, oh, do you want to make it a combo? And I was like, no, I don't need the drink. It's all good. Just thanks for the drink. What do I want to get back to the office? $27 still. It's crazy. Sorry, what?

I know. Like I remember just looking at it and being like, oh, okay, like not again. Maybe we should have like a little fake away series. I keep getting in trouble because I suggest things that we should do on the podcast that give the team more work. But, like, fake away, but I want fake away meals that I can buy and put in the freezer. Yes.

So they're not, like, a planned meal. They're just, like, a freezer meal back up. But I'm like, oh, we could have that fake away every time I'm tempted. I tell you what, there's nothing quite as if you have, like, those frozen fish fillets, you can have, like, an air fryer and it does feel like you've gotten a fake away. Yeah, exactly. But, like, maybe we put together our favourite fake away meal based

on things that we can either prep and freeze. And I'm saying that because I know Jess makes her homemade dumplings. Anything Jess makes is good. So I'm basically like, hey, can we have all your recipes, Jess? Me and my freezer and my air fryer, I like this, let me tell you. All right, next I've got a money win from C who said, when Kayo put their prices up to $60 a month for premium, she went to cancel and they offered her a $30 discount a month to stay.

I love when they do that. Half price. She said, try cancelling your subscriptions. you might get a discount before you actually have to cancel. Yes, agreed. I do test that even when I don't want to cancel. I'm like, what would happen if? And then I click it and they're like, oh, we'll give you, you know, 50% off next month. Thanks. Sometimes they're like, okay, bye. I'm just testing you. I was also being a pest the other day. Sorry, side note. My phone bill went up. And so I got on the chat. I'm like, it's Sunday. I'm breastfeeding a baby. Girl, I have

nothing but time I am ready for this conversation so I'm messaging the phone company I'm with and I was like I want a better deal and they were like cool we can basically offer you ten dollars off a month for the next six months and I was like nope I just googled it and you're offering this here and this here and this for new customers and they were like that's a new customer deal and I said I was like you know what this is probably not the right thing to do but I was like so you don't value me as much as you do new customers come back from that and they were like oh no we definitely value your like ongoing service or whatever and i said so give me a better deal whoa all of a sudden we're like no worries we're going to transfer you to the customer retention

team i said no worries again i have nothing but time on this bright sunny rainy sunday um and yeah ended up getting the price of the new customer for the next 12 months oh my god love that for you just keep pushing I wasn't rude but I was like oh so you're trying to tell me that you don't value me as much as a brand new customer target their heartstrings that's so crazy and like I quickly googled while I was on chat what other companies were doing and I was like oh well this company is doing this could you do this that's clever anyway work hard work smarter not harder absolutely yeah not even smarter just question their morals yes It worked.

Make them sound. When all else fails, go for the heart. Exactly like we said. Lastly this week, I've got a money loss from Amanda who said their washing machine died. However, she's thankful that past her set up an emergency fund and she was able to go shopping for a new washer without having to dip into savings or use credit and their budget is still on track. Good.

Good job, Amanda. I live in constant fear of the day my washing machine dies, the sound that that thing makes. I can't even tell you guys. It's going to be a very, very bleak day for me when the rocket ship finally leaves for the moon because that's what it sounds like. These white goods are so expensive. I know. I was like, you know what, maybe I will get a new one.

Sorry, they're like $3,000. No, it's actually insecticide. Is it bad? They're in my head. That's crazy. I promise I don't need to touch grass. I promise. Like I know how much things cost, but I have in the back of my head

how much things should cost yeah and maybe this is from like i don't know maybe i'm stuck in 2009 or 2010 when these prices were accurate in my head washing machine six hundred dollars how do you say to be fair it is a washer dryer because i feel like people are gonna be like oh no that's expensive yeah that's a thousand dollars in my head yeah that's expensive oh that's not true that's not true i know that's not true i promise no i don't need to touch grass i know that's not accurate but like i just have the default setting in my head so immediately when i see the price I'm offended. Yeah.

It hurts. So, Amanda, proud of you, girl. I just offended myself so easily. You should be able to find one at a physical marketplace. And this is the thing. Oh, guys, you're going to get me on a rant. I got this washing machine six or seven years ago, which is a while, I understand. No, my mum's washing machine has lasted 40 years.

I want the same longevity out of mine. Yeah, like when you're paying thousands and thousands of dollars for something, that doesn't feel reasonable. And so I worry that if I get a secondhand one, you know, I love something like a secondhand item, but I'm like, well, if my brand new one only kind of made it through, you know, however many years, what's a secondhand one? I don't know. Yeah, that makes sense.

That actually does make a lot of sense. But if you do buy a secondhand one, call me, I'll teach you how to clean it. Perfect. Oh, okay. I'll be, yeah. Probably not anytime soon. I will call you. Well, I can teach you how to clean your current one.

Amazing. Gorgeous. deal. What have you got as a broke tip this week or even three broke tips that you'd like to share with us this week, Miss Bex? Absolutely. So this first one comes from, oh gosh, I'm so sorry. Maybe you're listening to this. You did send me this. You'll know who you are and I know who you are, but I can't remember your name off the top of my head, but I'm just going to call you Mel for now because I have the reel that you sent me open, but not our chat. So this is a, I guess like a mother with a teenage child. And it's like a silly one. It's like if your teenager needs driving

hours, but you also really want to get Uber Eats DoorDash, then you smack them together and you save money by not getting delivery. You make your teenage loaner driver take you to the place. That's brilliant. I love it. I think it's genius. You get those hours up and you save on, I don't know how much, it's like the food itself on Uber Eats is like a lot more expensive than when you actually go. So you're saving a lot of money and also killing two birds with one stone this next one comes from Cheryl who sent me a reel from Abby Eccle and some people may follow Abby Eccle but basically she's saying if I wanted to divorce my husband but couldn't for financial reasons here is exactly what I do

and it's a list of advice for this kind of thing so it's like I mean I fear it won't be applicable to everyone some people are in really really dire situations and some people are in like you know financial abuse situations. So, this might be more for- But more advice, more better. More, yes, exactly. And I'm sure that- Let's just keep talking about different options and one will stick for something. Exactly, exactly. So, I guess maybe I'll give the real link and you guys can put it in the show notes. Oh, yeah, give it to me. I'll put it in the show notes this week.

Just because I guess I won't write off all the- Just hot tips and tricks. But yes, I think it's really good. And if you just want to go find it, Abby Eccle, A-B-B-Y-E-C-K-E-L. I thought it was a great idea because a lot of people probably in this situation where they just can't financially leave and it's really tricky. This is going to link back. I did an episode a little while ago and I'll link that in the show notes

as well with a divorce lawyer. And we talked about how to prepare yourself to go through a divorce, what you should be looking for, not only to protect your finances but to kind of protect yourself as well. Yes. That's a good one. What's your break tip though? So my one, my friend Indy.

You guys remember Indy? I love Indy. Can you do a little shout out, though, because Indy and you have a little podcast. I thought you said Indy and you. Indy and you? Yeah, no, you and Indiana have a podcast called Cheapskates. It's so funny. That's so sweet.

It really, the way I cackle every time you come up on the feed, because it is so different from She's on the Money, but I'm like, it is so Beck. That's so nice. It's you being like, I don't know. Yeah, honestly, guys, I don't know. Do you prepare for that episode or does just Indy go, let's talk about this and you go, yep, no worries? Because like the amount of times that I watch that and I'm like,

did Indy prepare Beck or did she just like spring that on her? No, she doesn't prepare me for anything. Sorry, Indy, if you're listening. But also in this way that she just does everything and then she asked me to like – she asked me to come to her house like 3 o'clock on a random Monday and then I would come and then before you know it, we're recording a thing. That's so fun.

I don't even know if you could say it's mine and Indy's. I think it's Indy's and then I'm just there. You just hang out. I just hang out. I just hang out. I just hang out. But thank you. That's so nice.

Thank you so much for the shout out. We'll put another link in the show notes to Cheap Snacks. And then my one, it's, yeah, it's a very, very silly, barely, I guess, advice. But this girl says, frugal things I did today. And she goes through and she kind of like, she'll take the lemon from her, I don't know, free water at the pub and take like, you know, those little butter canister, whatever they things from hotels and things like that. And so basically my reminder to everyone in the world is that like, if you go out and if you get like, yeah, let's say free pub water, you can fill up

your bottle of water. That's probably eventually going to save you water utility bill money. And then you can take the free lemon from the free water and put that on a fish that you want to cook later. There are just things in the world that there are actually things in the world that We could use them or we could reuse them. We could recycle them. I just say even like napkins. Sometimes I have napkins from random places. They're expensive.

My house is full of random napkins. And I'm like, just take what is free. Take what is complimentary. Straws. Take all the straws. Not all of them. No, I don't want straws these days. No, paper straws.

No, cancel that. If you offered me a plastic straw, though. I do miss it. Don't come at me. Do not come at me about the environment. I don't want to hear it. No. I know that there are people who love the environment.

Admit it. A plastic straw is just a superior experience. The solution is, like, have you seen those portable silicon ones? Yes. Like, I have a little key chain that rolls up and it's a silicon straw so it doesn't, like, disintegrate and things. But you can have it, like, with you because it's small. That's so good. See, I wouldn't wash it.

So I'm a cleaning expert, but that would die in the bottom of my handbag. Understood. Why can't they give us sugar cane ones? the sugar cane straws they're eco-friendly there's also bamboo as an option there are so many good options i had you guys try to humble me with paper it was made out of like the same sort of material as pasta it wasn't sugar cane but it was like same concept i had a rice one actually yeah like all kinds of things you can make them out of yeah so true donald's we need to talk because You are ruining my crispy Coke experience.

Yeah. Oh, speaking of, free ice at those. I wonder if they still have them. You know, you fuel your own Post-Mix. Oh, Post-Mix Coke. Take, take, take is what I'm saying from the world around you. You know what? And don't be sorry about it.

And don't be sorry about it. No. All right. I love that. We're going to take a quick break. But when we come back, we're going to be getting into a money dilemma that's also a work dilemma that's all wrapped up into one. So, my friends, stay tuned. welcome back everybody let's take a listen to this week's 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 guys, I'm getting in touch because I'm hoping for your thoughts on a bit of a workplace dilemma I have at the moment. I'm in a really stressful role at work, but I have a great team around me and I have been offered to go on stress leave, which I think I would benefit from because my mental health has been struggling a bit lately. That said, I'm very mindful of the

implications of taking stress leave, that this can affect things like insurances in the future. I suppose I worry about the stigma that can come from that, even working in a field that is quite positive towards seeking out mental health supports. I have tried to get my insurance done previously and I have accidental injury insurance, however, wasn't able to get other insurances due to some other health conditions other than income protection, which is through my super. So I suppose I know I'm already not as insuranced or protected as I would like to be. and I'm just trying to navigate whether or not it would be better to take stress leave to kind of protect my earning potential and also just general mental health or I suppose maybe

consider other options like reduced workload and things like that which I have been trying but haven't been working great just to kind of try and preserve my options for the future. Thanks. I think my main question is what is the difference between stress leave and like annual leave or like sick leave. It's usually an unpaid leave. Okay. And so an insurer or like an underwriter would need to know if you've ever taken stress leave? They would want to know that and it could potentially impact your mental health claims. Okay. It might be an exclusion added to insurance policy. Yeah, it might be an exclusion to be like, oh, well, actually, even though you haven't seen a psychologist, and like, I'll get into it in a second. I wanted to be European first, but to

define it stress leave is something that you would take if you're genuinely stressed and an insurer might look at it and go oh well we know you're not diagnosed with anything but you took stress leave because of your mental health and so we need to look into that and we're worried that you'll take more extended leave and we'll have to pay for it i also i guess this is for the the listener but i wonder if your work is offering stress leave but it's not going to change the actual workload and therefore you come back from stress leave and feel stressed again in like a month. It sounds like you're being overworked, I would say. But even if not, maybe like a lot of people say like separate work and life, but like, hey, but things that sometimes affect you

beyond your control that you can't actually keep out of the workplace. Also, we work 24-7, I feel like. So, sorry, but at points you're going to have to really address things that are going on in your personal life. So, it's not a problem if it's not strictly work that's overworking you. But I think that if you feel like this will heal you and will be really, really good for your mental health and you'll come back and work won't be overworking you and you will genuinely feel less stressed and you can continue forth feeling good, then maybe it's worth it. But if you're not sure things are changing at work and you're just taking a big chunk of unpaid leave and you're going to come back to that, I would see if I can take annual leave,

You take sick leave, you take other types of leave that I don't have to tell like an insurer about, or even just like maybe, I really am curious to know why the reduced workload isn't working. Is it because it's not really, it's like your boss is like, here you can do three days, but exact same amount of work. I don't know, that I'm curious about. Is there a way where you really can delegate and reduce that workload? I think it's important to acknowledge that sometimes your mental health can be specific

to your mental health. It's not, it could be completely separate from work. Like as someone who has diagnosed anxiety and a few other fun branch of disorders from that, it is sometimes it just is you're dealing with the beast and that then bleeds out into the rest of your life. And my thought process based on what our listener has said is if you're saying you've tried reducing your workload and that's not helping, taking it at face value, to me that does kind of indicate that it is your mental health that's really overwhelming you. And that is totally okay. Totally. You know what I mean? Hot girls have mental health problems.

not really, but like the two can be synonymous. You know what I'm saying? I think that we as a society have come a really long way in recognizing that. I also would argue, and this could go one of two ways. It could either make you feel better or it could stress you out. And I'm sorry if it's the latter. But if you're at the point where your workplace is offering you stress leave, people probably can already tell that you're really stressed and struggling. If I think about, again, myself, like when I'm having a tough time, it's pretty apparent to the people around me. No, what are you talking about? You know, I think like, and for, I mean, I don't know your workplace, but just thinking

about like a typical classic corporate workplace, it's not the first thing they jump up and offer typically. Like, I think it probably is coming from a place of, we think that you need this. We think that it would be beneficial to you, probably beneficial to us. And so I kind of think that you should take it, if I'm being honest. I think that, you know, we say all the time, your mental health is so important and you need to put yourself first. And the fact of the matter is that the way that society is structured is not always conducive to looking after yourself. And especially when you are in one of those mental

health holes, sometimes every ounce of your energy is required to pull yourself out. And that is okay. And that might mean that you need to not be working, that you need to be seeking other help or spending time in a space that makes you feel safe or happy or whatever that looks like for whatever you're struggling with. And I do want to say that I'm really sorry you're struggling. That's a really tough spot to be. And I think it's amazing that you are in a place where your workplace is offering that as an option. You're brave enough to consider it as an option. I don't think you should be embarrassed or scared or anything. You deserve to be okay and you deserve to put yourself first. And I think that that is the most important thing. In terms of

the insurance, you know, I'm not even going to say it because I'm pretty sure Victoria is about to say it, but there are options available to you. And if you have exclusions that exist already and you can't access all of the other kinds of insurances, in that case, the mental health exclusion wouldn't make a difference anyway, if you already couldn't access it. Yeah. Yeah. Agreed. True. And that's where I go, are you assuming about insurance or has your advisor told you that? Because if you've got that insurance already implemented, well, they can't take Baxi once they've given it to you. That's why we're always advocating that you go get your insurances set up when you don't have pre-existing conditions. Your insurer is not going to go, oh, well,

now you've taken stress leave, we're not going to cover you. No, you're covered if you take stress leave even when you've got the cover. You might not be claiming on it, but they can't use that against you later because it was during a period of coverage. You clearly seem stressed about it, so please go and talk to an insurance advisor about it. Obviously, we work very closely with Sky Wealth and they are who I would talk to about, hey, is this okay? Also from an employment perspective, just because I am an employer and if I had a team member that needed to take stress leave back on what you were saying, Jess, there would be a lot of lead up to that. So have you used all your sick days? If so, you're probably looking at unpaid leave. Could you potentially

use your annual leave? Because I don't want you to be financially not okay. And annual leave, it's not just for holidays like annual leave is a period of time that you do not have to attend work but still get paid to work so from my perspective yes it would be nice if we could spend all of those days on a holiday but sometimes they are so that you can be paid to just stay home in your pajamas and that's cool that's fine the other thing that I think about is why you're taking stress leave obviously if it's personal it's very different but if it's because of work if it's because you're being bullied or because of your workload or because you experienced a traumatic event work cover and workers compensation exist and they can often cover paying you while you're

off work or even cover treatment if you need it and I think that that's important to look into as well. But yes, I would be talking to your employer, but also an insurance advisor to be like, well, I'm clearly stressed about what this means for my insurances, but I think you should be putting your mental health first. If it's not just you going, oh, V, I'm thinking about taking some mental health leave or some stress leave, that's very different to someone having suggested you take it because clearly it's not just you going, oh, I need to put myself first, which very important, but clearly it's bleeding into every other area of your life and something needs to give is where I would be at. Sending you lots of love. Yeah. Hope you feel

better and don't feel bad about whatever journey you have to take. That's totally okay. You're important and valued and special and we love you. Completely. It's time for our DM of the week where you guys slide into our DMs with a dilemma that you would like us to group source and solve. and this week we've got a really good one and I feel like everyone's going to know what I'm going to say but I want to know what you guys are going to say hi she's on the money I have a dilemma and I would love to hear your advice and thoughts from the community my partner his siblings and his parents have a financial advisor that they all use and has helped to set them up in a shared self-managed super fund recently my partner and I have had big conversations around

planning our financial future we decided to meet with their financial advisor to discuss our options. I'm not paying for the advice as it's been covered under their family agreement. After doing some research, I have found out that this financial advisor does not currently hold an AFSL, which is an Australian financial services license. My partner and his family are aware and they don't feel that this is an issue at all. I'm concerned about the implications of receiving financial advice from an unlicensed advisor, especially free advice i also am uncomfortable discussing strategies involving us making contributions to an smsf that i am not a part of what would you do oh this is sounding like

who the hell is hamish yeah and we had her on the show really yeah oh sorry i should know that as in that was a messed up like story yeah isn't it yeah no we had her on the show tracy she was an icon oh my god he like scammed her out of all of her super i'll put the link for that in the show notes a lot of links in that show yeah like we went through her story because obviously we know who who the hell is hamish yes hamish mclaren for those of you who didn't know absolute scam artist um scammed lots and lots and lots of people yeah true crime and i think he he was convincing people to set up a self-managed super fund yeah exactly and he was unlicensed and so i'm like this is sounding a bit dodgy but who knows let's say for the sake of everyone's nervous system that it's

not a scam and this is real god i guess there's really there's not a lot you could do i think i would subtly show them who the hell is hamish podcast it is quite a i'm sorry for anyone who's listening who's like i have no idea who that is or what you're talking about it's a podcast but There's a bunch of people, women, who were unfortunately scammed out of lots of money. And I think all their super, but I don't know. So I would just be, I guess, gently guiding them to – You're so kind, so gentle.

It's just a tricky one because you can't really like – especially I think if you're in the headspace where you're like, no, this really is – like your perception is your reality and if you think this is the best thing for you and you are like urgently like no this is this is the best way forward you unfortunately won't listen to other kind of points of view unless maybe you heard a story that sounded very very similar very like you know your story adjacent or there are a lot of parallels between this story and one that goes horribly awry only then might you think oh this is probably not the best idea

But unfortunately, there's just not a lot you can do when, especially like a few people are there or maybe in an echo chamber of some kind. Yeah, I would say just gently guiding is my thing. So kind of you. Jessica? I'm just going to put it out there. You actually legally can't call yourself a financial advisor if you don't hold a financial advice license in Australia. The way I'm sitting here holding my tongue, I am trying so hard. Bestie, they're not a financial advisor.

They could be a retired financial advisor as our Queen Victoria advice. But I wouldn't be giving you advice because I'm retired. I'm not allowed. Correct. It is actually illegal for you to receive personalised advice without somebody who holds. Thank you. I'm like gentle, Bec. No, we're not gentle.

I see. Not gentle. It actually also is illegal for you to receive general advice if you don't hold. So we as a show and Victoria as an individual hold a general advice licence. So we are licensed to provide you general advice only. That's why we always say nothing we say is personal advice, obviously. So this person physically cannot be a financial advisor if they don't hold any kind of AFSL.

Beyond that, I would say it's red flag city. Like exactly as you said. Girl, it's a carnival. Yeah, it's flashing the odd red light. I would absolutely not be taking advice. The only thing I can think of, the only way that I would maybe be a little bit okay with this but also not really because it's not, like again, not on the up and up, is like if you had a family friend

who once upon a time was a financial advisor and, you know, they took a look at things for you once in a while and they said, look, I can't tell you what I would do, but like, if it was me, maybe I would do these things. Not that anyone would ever do that. I would never do that. No. I mean, like I could kind of say that, but it sounds like there is an official agreement. There's a family plan in place. You're paying them or your parents and your partner are paying them for a family plan advice license, which again, they can't legally be providing you if they don't hold an AFSL. So I'm very confused by the whole thing. And I would be just reminding your parents and partner of exactly that like they actually yeah like i think

even if the super concept is solid like let's say they know what they're talking about by the grace of god like their recommendations are good they still legally cannot be taking your money for advice yeah like that is literally i keep saying the word illegal i'm really trying to hammer hammer they can't do that no she said it's free no or something else is free pardon something else free or that was free? The advice is free. The advice is free. Oh, okay. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I understand. I think our listener was saying the advice is free because she doesn't pay for the plan. But the family, I'm assuming, are paying for the family plan. Oh, sorry. Of course. Okay. Because nothing in this life is free. Let's be honest. No. Yeah. I don't know. The whole thing,

I just think no. And also, I completely agree with what our listener has raised in that I would personally not be contributing to an SMSF that is not mine with my retirement money. That makes no sense you need to protect yourself diva that's all for me thank you very well said i can see itching to get in there the baton has passed to me yes bestie i'm gonna hold your hand when i say this and i'm just gonna be really direct this is one of those situations where your gut is telling you exactly what it needs to tell you run um if someone is giving financial advice in australia without holding an afsl or being authorized under one it is not a gray area It is a red crimson flag and that is not a different approach. It's not just like a

personality preference. It's a compliance issue and it is illegal. And I can guarantee that the person issuing that advice knows that. Because you don't talk about financial advice without Googling products, without talking about SMSFs, without stumbling across the fact that you should be licensed like ASIC does not look kindly onto these things and people go to like it's not just just being like oh it's illegal like as in slap on the wrist you go to jail yeah whoa like 10 plus years for giving unauthorized advice that is why I am so scared of it it is a one million dollar fine and 10 years in jail it's big illegal it's like big dog illegal like people have done worse things i would argue than give illegal financial advice and gotten less time in jail and less of a

fine yeah oh my god and it matters because the license is what's going to protect you so like it's not just like oh victoria needs to be licensed to give advice it means that i've been given a rule book around how advice is given what disclosures i need to give you what conflicts exist what documentation and what happens if something goes wrong how do you sue me how do you make sure that you're not in a worse off position because I gave you shitty advice. Yeah. And if they were a financial advisor, they would know this. So maybe they won't ever. Yeah. And without that, you have no recourse. Like if you go take this advice and it doesn't work and you end up in a worse off financial position,

there's no recourse. So the fact that the advice is free is actually, I guess, a bonus because you're not spending money on advice that's probably going to lose you money. If anything, I think that should be more of a red flag because good advisors charge for their advice because it's going to make you a lot of money because financial advice is not free. Like full stop, end of story, it's just not free. There's usually a structure or an incentive behind it, even if it's not super obvious up front, like be aware, take everything with a grain of salt. Like someone somewhere along that line is going to be making money.

Ask yourself who, ask yourself when. The other big red flag for me, SMSF. We know how I personally feel about this. Doesn't mean that it is a terrible structure. No, SMSFs are real cool in theory. SMSF is a self-managed super fund and I love the idea of being in control. But with compliance in 2026, they are really a good option. And when I say really, I mean, if you don't have like half a million dollars in your super annuation fund, I probably wouldn't even blink. Like I wouldn't even consider it because the fees the compliance the accounting the audit all of that stuff is just too much and you being asked to contribute to someone else's super hey bet can you put your money in my super i'll share it with

you later literally why i know that makes no sense that's not a financial decision that's control that's ownership that's a legal structure and that's you not having future access to your own money i don't like this i do not want you to be in a position where your superannuation is tied up in something where you're not a trustee you're not a beneficiary you don't have full visibility but not only do you not have full visibility you don't have full access sorry what the hell is that even if it's well-intentioned because I'm not saying his parents are doing the wrong thing they might have been swindled by this little scammer that's me being blunt they are a scammer that is not okay like even if the family is comfortable for it even if they've worked so

hard and like maybe there's millions in there I do not care this is your financial future not some family group project would everybody else absolutely not I'm just I know I want to like smack them and be like get down flick in the head yeah flick them in the head so we asked the community would you feel comfortable taking advice from an unlicensed advisor can't imagine many people say yes if I'm being honest. But Jess, it's more than I thought would say yes. I'm like, guys, what the hell are you doing? 84% said no, but 16% of you said yes. Well, again, the only way I can picture people saying yes is like that previously mentioned example. No, I just think you pressed the wrong button. Yeah.

Next question I ask, has anyone had experience with family-run SMSFs? Because I was like, is this a thing that I'm not aware of? 93% of you said no, but then 7% of you said yes. I then asked, would you get a second opinion even if it caused tension? And thank God, 98% of you said you would. Good, good, good. Then I said, guys, what's your two cents? It did get spicy. So I'm just going to scrape a whole heap off the top because there was a lot of opinion.

Okay. Girl, no, get out. Yeah. Some of you were dramatic and like same. It's like a good summary. Both of us were like, bestie, no. No, like get down, bad dog. Like, no.

someone else said it's their decision it's their money they're probably happy with the advice it doesn't mean you need to take it someone else said absolutely not I would not be putting my money into that fund another person just did as many red flags as fitted in the question box someone else said girl that's all too close for me something similar happened and I had to start from scratch oh sorry to hear another person said not every advisor has their own AFSL lots trade under a big umbrella. So maybe check that first. But that would still be if you got onto the directory, it would, it still shows who is. Yeah. Like if you look up the name. So when I was a financial advisor, I never owned my own AFSL. Yes. And the reason I didn't was one, they are

incredibly expensive and very complex, but usually an AFSL is owned by a really big organization that you then pay as a financial advisor to protect you because they've got their own compliance team. They've got their own legal team. They've got like, you know, a structure of how that AFSL gives advice and receives advice. And so, I was always licensed under somebody else's AFSL. Yeah. Having my own would have been a compliance nightmare. I can't afford a compliance team. But that's still outlined in the directory, right? Like when our list went and looked up, it would say, like if you looked up us, we are a licensee of Money Sherpa PTYLG. Yeah. Yeah. And if you look up me and you look up my name, it will give you my history. Yeah. So, it won't just say,

oh yeah Victoria's licensed to give general advice tick box it will say Victoria's currently licensed to give general advice through this person you can contact them here previously she had this AFSL and was allowed to give this advice between this date and this day yeah like it is very detailed and it will not only just say oh Victoria's a licensed advisor it will say in these areas yeah it will say Victoria was licensed to give investment advice uh superannuation advice insurance advice, this, that, the other. And this is why I'm always like check because some people are only licensed to give like budgeting and cashflow advice. Maybe they don't have the extra qualifications to give, you know, direct share advice. And that's where if you're getting direct

share advice from somebody who's only licensed to give budget and cashflow advice, I'm like, even though they're licensed, they're not licensed enough. So there's like a little bit of nuance to it. A lot of people said run. A lot of people said never do something that you're not comfortable with listen to your gut and then someone said go along with it you can always ignore the advice but maybe collect some information along the way oh okay look I'm on the same team as you I agree I don't want that to happen but I also think it's really important to kind of like feel it out like when you say they don't own their own AFSL do they don't they same like look them up but I would just type their name into the like financial advisor lookup and if they're not there they're not there

Yeah. I dare say just Google them. If they're sounding very scammy, maybe someone else has been here and done that. Yeah, that's a good one as well. You know, we know. But mainly all of the comments were people aggressively being, like, run. Yeah. Not surprised.

All right, well, that is a wrap for us, my friends. Thank you for joining us for another Friday Drinks where we're going to hang out with our little community and we love you all. So have a good weekend and we'll see you bright and early on Monday morning for our Monday Diaries. Bye, guys. Bye. 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 MoneySherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.