The Vault with Financielle - “Debt-Free vs Moving Abroad: Which Comes First?” | The Vault Episode 102

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

“I compare my money journey to people online”… jail or no jail? 🚨This week, we’re diving into these money dilemmas:💸 “I Quit My Job… And Then They Offered Me Everything I Wanted”���� ”Debt-Free vs Moving Abroad: Which Comes First?”Got a money win or (totally anonymous) dilemma? Share it via the Financielle app community or email [e-mail] 💌You’re not alone in figuring this stuff out. Get honest, helpful reads at financielle.com 💖💸Connect with our Partner🫶 Protect yourself and loved ones with our friends at Lifesearch*The above is a tracked link, which tells our partner we sent you and may in future result in a payment or benefit to our site.

Welcome to The Vault with Financial Health. This is a safe space where we talk all things life and money and no topics are off limits. Hi everybody. Hello. Good morning. Happy Vault day. Happy Vault day. Are we ready to jump into some jail or no jail?

Yeah. I've got a paddle ready. I love this game. Paddles at the ready. Okay. I feel like I earn too much to still struggle. Yes. Oh, Lars done no.

He's so kind. I'm just like, oh. You can still struggle. Say it again. I feel like I earn too much to still struggle. So this is my problem and you'll do it as well. I'm like envisaging someone in my head that earns a hell of a lot of money

and he's just absolutely shit with money like constantly in their overdraft or hasn't got money to the end of the month to get them through, constantly dipping into the savings when actually get like a really good salary. They should be on top of the game. Like they've got an advantage over the person next to them

that doesn't earn that much money but is budgeting their money much better. That's why I'm thinking. That's why they're in jail. Go on, what's your... Yeah, I know, I think you're right. I think we're probably in agreement. I was...

But there's... Lifestyle creep can be... Um, different... What I'm trying to say it? So there's lifestyle creep that just happens and then you find us and then you go, right, how I'm going to get through this. Or something changes. So like, yeah, it might not just be spending...

Like, save someone earns, like, three times about you earn. It doesn't mean they've got like... three times amount of money excess that you have because and it's like you know it could be schools and it could be mortgage and then interest rates change it could be nursery fees we know we've all been that we just don't know and so I've seen it especially when there's a double high earning income household and someone loses a job or someone leaves and you sudden even if then the remaining salary is high the stakes were higher yeah because you have been living a life whether you can go to private at school.

You can get the nice car because you've got the funds to do so and things can change and we've seen that in the community. You know, rugs are pulled from beneath people, whether it's divorce or death or... Because that's not wealth. That's just like middle class, higher and high spend. So I do understand why you could still struggle. Those of us that are used to living frugly or have done it in the past kind of go, you should just get your shit together.

Yeah. Looking at... Looking with judgment. I'm judging you back for judging them. Yeah. Okay, fair enough. All of my savings are in one account because it feels easier. Trot on down to jail.

Yeah. So I get that keep making things easy. Like I don't want people to be overwhelmed because then there's a chance that it's going to go wrong. So I empathize with keeping things simple. But I want people to lose savings, like forget about them because there are too many accounts. You might be listening to it and know that we've talked about it. So I do appreciate keeping shit simple. I get, yeah.

But top tips are. Firstly, making sure, I mean, God, if you've got, you get in the UK, 85,000 pounds protection, financial services compensation scheme by making sure that savings are spread across banks, but that's 85K per bank, so I'm like, well done if you max that out. Also making sure that as a household that savings are in separate names as well, so that people, we've talked about this before with emergency funds, we combine our money,

but making sure that individuals have access to savings independently, so it just gives you that extra bit of financial security and stuff, and optimising for interest rates. so making sure like sometimes some really good savings accounts are cap to how much you can get that really good rate for so again if savings are just in one place so but if you are solo on your own um got a really good interest rate and your your emergency savings in one account then no jail yeah so agree be savvy i compare my money journey to people online jill we've done this one last was it last week ago and we're like we changed our answers based on like

But people online. Yeah, you don't know the people. Could be fake. Do you not compare your... You can create anything. What if you feel like the person online is your friend? Yeah, I have a love. People that I'm friends with.

Do you? They don't know that they're friends with it, Lucy. Oh, okay, yeah, I've got some nice parosocial relationships going on. So much so that Lucy thought that she might have been in the background on someone off TikTok's video at the gym, didn't you? It's her friend, Becky Jones. It's my bestie Becky. Oh, we're out in it.

I've outed her. Yeah, so, so Lucy's friends. Lucy's friends with Becky, but Becky doesn't know that she's friends with Lucy. Can you introduce yourself, please, and then we can actually get this kickstart this friendship. This is the start of a long and lasting relationship. Me and Becky Jones go to the same gym. So we are therefore. Do you compare yourself to Becky?

Yeah, I think she's done incredibly on her fitness journey and I'm just traction and surface. There you go. There you go. So you're being healthily inspired. Yes. But, you know, I was saying about this other day with Fan and Shell like, we want to improve the content that we make and take better content and take up to date and document behind the scenes. And my house is it, it's not a shit all right.

It's very, it's clean. And it's as tight as it's going to be with three kids. And like my husband does an amazing job doing the washing ironing. And it is always up in my kitchen, which is the only place that can really take pictures. And so like, whenever I try to do a video, I'm like, oh, look, that's in the background. Oh, that's in the background. Oh, that's in the background. And then my dining table is like the holding area for everything in the house.

No one ever eats a meal on there apart from Christmas Day. And so like when I then, I've got a point. I know we're on Jill and no, Jill. We're not meant to talk. I'm like, what was your point? So then I do compare myself online to, oh, well, if Grace Beverly is taking a picture or doing a selfie or having a chat or helping her community or whatever, her house looks aesthetic.

It's because I've not got this and this and this. And I'm going, oh my God, like I'm grateful for my house. But I do compare aesthetically. So I know this isn't money, but it is lifestyle a little bit. It's like even like our friend Sarah is an influencer and the pictures around her house are absolutely beautiful. And she's got two boys. And I'm like, what must it take for Sarah? But she's very real.

She'll go, this is a pile of shit that's thrown into the cupboard. I was going to say, I need tips about how, yeah. She always outs herself and goes, look at this kitchen and she like films a kitchen and goes. Look at the chaos that's ensued. But she's also willing to stay up until 2 in the morning cleaning it. And I'm not. Yeah. Yep.

But yeah, don't pay yourself to be online, Jill. I've prioritised saving over paying off high interest debt. It depends if it's an emergency fund. Saving. Saving. So if, are we not saying it's an emergency fund? If it's for her mini emergency fund. Yeah. No jail.

If it's general savings because you want the interest. Jail. Because you're just robbing Peter to pay Paul. Mm-hmm. Is that a very religious thing to say? Peter Paul. Or is it, Two Little Dickey Birds? Oh, I always think of it as the birds, but...

Are you having Peter to Pay, Paul? What birds are we talking about? The song. Two little dicky birds sitting on the wall. One name Peter. Yeah. I was like, I don't have to go through the whole thing before she realizes. So she just pulling our leg.

Like, she's like, no, carry on. Where's Robin Peter to pick? Come on, let's get a Google up. I'll Google it. Here you go. Lydia's like coming into her own. How do? Fact-checking in the background.

I should do this more often rather than just spouting our own opinions on stuff, which would probably fact-check a lot more than the room. Where did we do? Peter to pay Paul come from. It originated in late medieval England. This could just be AI making things up, though. Yeah, we'll take it.

But it doesn't sound biblical, or is it biblical? Who knows? Likely referring to the practice of diverting funds or assets intended for Westminster Abbey to cover expenses for St. Paul's Cathedral. Oh my God. That actually makes sense though. Are we glad?

So yeah, medieval, not biblical, like. But it's about, yeah. About biblical characters. Fantastic. We should fact check more often because I feel like I've learned something new that I've referred to for my whole life and not known the meaning.

So to put money into high interest savings is Robin Peter to pay Paul because basically the net impact is the same. And so what isn't counted for debt is risk. And so getting rid of debt is much more important than high interest savings once you've got your emergency fund. So, Jell, if it was general savings.

Oh, God. That's a pub quiz answer now, isn't it? Yeah. We all know. Okay. Time for our first dilemma. Okay, paddles down. Paddles are at ease, isn't it?

Yep. Padale. Okay. Quick financial win. One listener said speaking to Chelsea at Life Search made sorting income protection and life insurance so easy. And she finally feels like a boss

with her cover sorted. Want the same piece of mind? Head tofinancial.com forward slash protection. to get your free quote today. I quit my job and they offered me everything I wanted. Hi girls, I hope you're doing well. I'm facing a bit of a job dilemma and would really appreciate your thoughts and insights as I'm feeling a bit stuck. I'll start with my current job. I genuinely enjoy it, both the work and the environment and it offers a good balance between working in the office and from home. I've been in my role for two years and was hoping for a promotion by the end of last year around September.

Unfortunately, that never happened. Feeling let down, I started looking at other operations. and came across a promotion at a very similar company. I applied and was offered the job. However, after telling my manager about the offer, he's now offered me the same promotion, along with a salary increase and is very keen for me to stay. I originally started job hunting purely for career progression. Now I'm torn. I've already signed the contract for my new role, but the offer from my current employer is what I wanted in the first place. Should I stay where I am or move to the new role. P.S. Financial is seriously life-changing. Thank you. Oh. You're very welcome. So. So, oh God, this is Hollis. This is Hollis thing.

I vividly remember, like, well over a year ago, we had a similar dilemma. And I was like, red flag, like, get yourself out of there. Because if they've dangled the character for so long, and then they didn't give it to you. And then you've gone and found another job. You've mentally left that job and things will never be the same again. You've made the choice in your brain and you therefore won't be happy in that job. But then I do remember in that dilemma, that person wasn't happy in that job. The people were toxic. They didn't like the job anymore.

But that person is literally waxed lyrical about how much they enjoy their workplace, the balance, the flexibility, really good staff. And yes, they dangled something in front of you. But businesses are human and sometimes things just don't go the way that they plan. Things might be out of their control. Holly has matured this past year. I really have. This is not the cancer I was expecting.

Things are out of their control. It's not like they're a bad person because they didn't deliver on the kind of agreement that you had. You got what you wanted. So half of, like, I am actually thinking that I would stay. If that was me, I'd be like, you have done what I've asked. I like it here. I've got flexibility.

And everyone, the grass isn't always green. It might be amazing at that other place as well. There's not just your job role. There are other amazing companies out there with really good career progressions and again flexibility and all that kind of stuff but you like your job

and they gave you what you wanted so yeah what if there was someone there and it's like slightly talks yeah of which you've had before so you're not going to know until you're in that role yeah it could be like horrendous there

and then you could be like can I come back and it happens nothing is linear like nothing is black or white we've seen so many friends as well that have kind of gone back to jobs and they've been received really well and everything's been fine

but you know I had a friend over it was back in Christmas. But before Christmas, she wanted a change in her job. She felt like she was getting dumped on all the time. She was the really reliable person, really proactive, would get shit done. So therefore, unfortunately, sometimes when you're that person, more work comes your way and the pay wasn't there. And she was got the carrot dangled.

And then she just said, enough to enough one day and when I got another job. And she was waiting for them to kind of counter. And I just said, you really are unhappy in that job. Even if they counter, I would recommend that you still go to this future. I'll tell you after the pot. It's for the ride home. Yeah. Right.

Yeah. So I told her not to take the, I told her not to go back. I was like, even if they counter and they give you what your new job's offering you. Because that's not the reason. You're not happy.

You're still going to get all the shit thrown at you. It's not going to change. They're going to see you as that person. And they've dangled the carrot for a long time. Where are we now in January, 2026? They didn't give you something in September, 25. That's only a couple of months ago.

If this went on for years and years, and I would understand. Yeah, because we used to say that they're just not that into you point. We've got a blog on it actually. Yeah, I think I wrote it. I can't imagine why. But they don't say that. Are you right?

And businesses are human and things fall down. There are loads of things juggling at every one time. It is really hard to navigate. You know, you may or may not be as vocal and that's okay as well. And this is what you wanted. What I would say is, navigate it super carefully. I think

I do think this is a place where honesty is the best policy with both parties and so yes, you've accepted a new job but you could definitely stay where you are

and accept it but you can, I would say to both of them so say to existing employer I appreciate that that's what I wanted like I'm more but I think keep

your powder dry and be like I am open to new challenges and I really would have liked to go to this place but I am happy here this is what I wanted I was disappointed

obviously it didn't come to fruition immediately but thank you very much and thank you for putting your face faith in me and then new one

that you're not going to join don't burn bridges and manage it careful and I think unless they're a dick any incumbent

employer but like any prospective employer if you say to them I was actually because I don't know what you've said to them

but hopefully maybe you have been honest that I like my job but I wanted a promotion and stuff and so I'm ready for a new challenge you can say actually

they have come to sentences they've offered it mate I didn't expect them to counter this wasn't again to kind of play the situation and I did initially want that

and so I'm really torn but I feel like I had to fall my gut so I'm going to decline the offer thank you so much but I'd love to stay in contact 100% because then any decent employer would go oh actually one you're quite loyal

but to your objective enough and if they didn't and if they don't like it then they weren't the right place to join anyway maybe that you stay and you go oh actually it's not changed and that's okay

or something's changed or it wasn't what I thought it was and then you could possibly go to that other one or move on to somewhere else but at least you know you tried and you know you can get another job because you've got an offer so you've got the power which is quite nice you're walking back in I got the power you're right Dave

Is that an outfit? Do you remember that? Yeah well it's Bruce Almighty isn't it I got the power and he waltzed and his clothes come off You could do that if you want You might have to walk back out again and go and get that other job I've got that I've got a mask on my list I might watch Bruce Almighty

I love Bruce all, actually. But I think, yeah, interesting dilemma. I would like to know what you go with. And well, do you. Yeah. Yeah. You are obviously in demand. Turning them down.

Okay, community win time. Since October, I've radically changed the way I view money and spending. Last year, I crept up my credit cards and spent on unnecessary things like clothes. At the beginning of October, I had 12.5K of consumer debt across Clana, store cards, finance, and credit cards. It's now down to 7.1K and I'm playing it off. I'm paying it off like my hair is on fire. Thank goodness for the financial app. It's been an absolute godsend. I make small micropayments every day, side hustle by invigilating exams, sell unwanted clothes and even run a local laundry service for my community. My debt-free target is 1st of June 2026. I never want consumer debt

again. It takes a minute to spend and months to pay back. I love this. Can I just say this is this person from two weeks ago last week that wrote about trying to get rid of this 10k debt and the 4K scam and all that kind of stuff. She needs to listen to this. So true. Let's connect them because you want to see someone else that went, I side hustle by doing an exam. What did she say? Invigilating exams. And look at God, I remember all the invigilators and the exams and be like, Is this your job? Hands behind your back. that mum would like to do that.

Mom did it? Oh. I remember it. Have you? Have you paid? Yeah. I was so bored. Yeah.

Which would be on your phone? I'd be on my phone not watching. I think I would love it. I just daydream all day. I would have like, how many chairs are there? Five times four rows. Like how many people have got red hair? Three.

You know, you could get some meta glasses and like read. Read a kingdom. You've stood at the front of like. You have to watch the children or the adults. Oh yeah. but you're like reading a naughty novel. But yeah, that is going. A community laundry service is like going for it.

Yeah, can someone do that? I thought she meant like a financial community one. I was like, oh, can we all get in on this? Yeah, I would love to. That's so good. This person is the one that won the digital playbook. No way. You're welcome.

Give us an update on how it's going. Okay, if you'd like to tell us you'll win, head to the community in the app or email it to the vault at Financial. Dot com. Next dilemma. Personal finance, let's face it, can be boring, but at Fanchelle, we do it differently. From guilt-free spending to the perfect payday routine, our blogs help you feel confident and in control of your money. Head to Fanonchelle.com to get informed, entertained and empowered

today. Debt free versus moving abroad, which comes first. Hi all, thank you so much for the podcast and the app. They've completely changed how we manage our money. I listen to the podcast every morning on the way to work. We've cleared 17K of debt in the last 11 months and are now saving more to move to Australia in 2027 with a toddler. So far, we've saved 19K. By the way, this is all in Euros. So if I interchangeably say euros and pants,

just ignore it. So far, we've saved 19K and hope to save another 20K this year. We currently have 8K left on one loan, and my partner has an 11K loan for his van. He's self-employed with variable income. income while my income is stable. Our plan is to clear the 11k van loan using money from selling our cars before we move. Right now, I'm saving 1,300 a month towards Australia and putting 1,280 a month towards clearing the 8K loan. I know that financially going debt first makes sense, but emotionally,

I need to see that we have the money for the move. Things can feel tight at times, so I now budget month by month rather than relying on fixed standing orders. We don't currently have an emergency fund as clearing the 8K loan is the priority. I'd really appreciate your thoughts on whether this balance makes sense. Thank you so much. No. I'm literally like itching because you've done incredibly well. But if you just the last parting words were, the 8K loan is the priority, then why?

Did we sing Peter to Pay, Paul, at the beginning of this episode? Did everybody remember that? You don't want us to go through it, but that's basically. what's happening. You're not moving anywhere. You're standing still because you're paying £1,300 towards savings and £1,2,000 towards debt. Or you've got $19,000 in savings at the moment. Clear that loan and get your head down and save. Like, it just doesn't make mathematical sense. The only left field thing I would say is if they're going to sell the van. Was that not separate? Because I'm not going to take the van to Australia though. So they're going to sell both

their calls to pay off the van loan, maybe sell the van. And I don't think that's part of the debt payment. Yeah, that's right. You're right. Because I was good. I was like, ready to be like, what are you doing? And then I was like, oh no, you're allowed. Okay, you're allowed. You've got a plan to pay off that debt. Yes, so mentally. The loan. Mentally, mentally that van loan is taken care of by the cost. I'm happy with that. Hopefully. What if the car depreciates in value? We'll have to deal with that when we come to it in 2027. I like what you said, whole, because I

I think you, if you do, so you need an emergency fund, but a did he won. And you've got that because you've got some savings. So if you did Playbook, and this is an interesting one for Playbook, Australia's Big Life Goals. So Big Life Goals sits in build. And what you've got is you've got obviously survive. So you've got building mini emergency fund. So let's say for them, that might be two, three thousand pounds, mini one.

Let's say it's two. So then they need to take two out of the. the Australia pot and put it in a separate account and call it emergency fund. So that's not Australia money. That is emergency money. Then you would pay off the debt. And they've not far out. Have they got that money?

Yeah. In savings to clear the debt. Yeah. To clear that and the car one. We've cleared 17K of debt in the last 11 months. Saved 19K aiming for 20K this year. So they've got 19 and then what's the debt totals that they've got? 8K left on one loan.

and then she says the car and van ones are separate. Yeah. Yeah. Vans covered by cars. So when they sell, so vehicles will possibly cancel out. So let's presume that's correct for now. They have 19 in savings. They've got an £8,000 debt.

So they put $2,000 in an emergency fund, for example, whatever's right for them. They've got 17 left. They pay off the eight loan today. That leaves you with nine. So other than we'll forgive you vehicle loans, is for now given you're going to sell them. Because if this was like, we're still keeping them. And then you need to pay those off. If you were doing it strictly, you would pay them off next as well

because you'll get cash when you sell the vehicles. But I appreciate that we'll let you have it. You will build up savings much more quickly. For two reasons. One, because you won't have payments on a loan. Two, you want to go to Australia. Yeah. At the moment, because the Australia is the focus

and the savings part is the focus for there, the debt will just be like, la la la la la la la la. Whereas if you if you dump your money onto that debt and you see that bank balance, that savings balance go down, you get stressed because that is the gap between you and your dream move. And when we think about dream life goals and the reason this is in the playbook is it's really hard to achieve personal goals when you're in debt. And there's so much you can learn from building a budget and paying off debt and building emergency savings that just literally changes you for the rest of your life, that you should focus on those first.

Now, I will premise it with, you know, let's say that you've got 60 grand worth of consumer debt and yes, you should prioritise that. But if your dream life is in Australia, you may come to a point which is like, look, for the minimum possible, we need to move. It'll come with you. It'll come with us yet. It's getting in the, it's on the plane. It's on the plane with us. But I accept that. But generally, that would be an extreme scenario. So the reason that build your dream life goals is, is later is you need to build a bigger emergency fund then. seems to be debt-free, bigger emergency fund. You may or may not buy a home again.

She's not talked about that. Maybe they've got a house to sell and they buy a new one. Maybe they're going to rent. But big life goals is the move to Australia, or it might be we'd like to have a camper van, or it might be we would like to renovate and knock some rooms through. It has to come there, not earlier. But that's big life goals.

And that's where we say you either save up for something or you change your budget to facilitate your dream life because you've done the work. So that's why it's meant to be in that order, because if life was so easy that you just get your dream life and pay the debt off later or do something else later,

you've got a risk of going backwards or not changing behaviour or not learning something. So yeah, I would, as I'm listening to this. In fact, if you've not already, you're in trouble. It's like lying to yourself. Do you mean? Yeah, because she just wants to emotionally feel

like she has the money. She's literally put it in quotation marks, have the money. But you will really quickly. So her, I think if I remember, 1300 was going to, towards savings. 1,280 was going towards debt.

So once you've wiped that debt, because you've got it in your pocket, it's done, you're going to put, what is that, 2,580 pounds a month to savings. You're going to, you'll stack it up quickly.

And you already have got, in your mind that you're going to save 20. I imagine that's part of the 1,300 that you're saving every month. But you're going to get, you're going to straight back up to that and you're going to be debt-free. So for me, it's like a no-brain.

And I've been here, I've done this, by the way, because I had a car on finance, and we had the savings to cut, or whatever, it must have been to buy the car outright and I was like and then I did it and then the savings went down and I was like oh but then because I wasn't paying the debt payment

I saved it really quickly but the debt was gone I'd rather have debt off my plate and you're more motivated so it's annoying that your savings have gone down you're like I bet the net impact if you do it the way we've said you'll do it more quickly the move and move plus debt free will happen more quickly if you do debt first if you don't there's a danger that you it hangs around because what will happen is life's going to hit you when you move you'll forget about things that cost money you won't quite get a job straight away the kids are going to need flip flops like what you need when you move to somewhere thongs kids need thongs for their feet um yeah it's like be brave be bold get rid of that debt

scare yourself get excited shut the debt down as well don't have it as like a backup like I'll just keep that credit card when we go, especially just in case. I'm like, no, no, no. You should have budget. If you're going in 2027,

you have ample time to get your shit together, make sure you've got not only a mini-emergency fund, a bigger one by then, and savings for planned expenses. Pile up the cash. I know.

Pile up the cash. But they're doing it, like, you're there, you're doing so well. It's just maths. It's like, we're just going to reframe the maths a little bit. It's Peter and Paul again.

Sorry, guys. Eye opening. I'm excited for her. Yeah. Where are you going to move to in Australia. Keeps updated. Yeah. Oh, I thought you wanted to be to answer. So where are we going?

Where are we going if we would? I've never been to Australia. Where would we go? I think we would do Perth. Okay. Okay, we're all going to Perth. My friend Amelia lives there, so. My friend Vicki lives in Adelaide. So sorry, Vicki, I'm not going to Wales, but like they do not be close to Sydney. Do you know what I? Because of coffee. First stop if I went to Australia. Wait, I've forgotten what it's called. I was just about say dochi. It's yote.

it's yochie oh dochi is a rapper yeah she is um yochi the frozen yogurt place where there's unlimited toppings and the toppings look incredible if anyone has not seen yogi google it on tictog google it on ticot you mean search search it on ticot your life will be changed and you'll be booking a flight to australia for yote yochie frozen yogurt that's what they'll say there follow me for your frozen yogurt advice. Yeah, fair enough. I'm not a frozen, I'm like giving the ice cream. No, you're like, you're like, give me the crisp.

You don't care about ice cream. I thought assahi was the type of bowl, but it's fruit, isn't it? Oh, I didn't know that. Ariel taught me that. She was like, no, no, assay is, it's, when you get an assayee ball, I thought I thought I would have been making one if I had yogurt, Greek yogurt and no, it's going to be in the free. People say that I'm going to make my own assayee in it.

Yeah. Yeah, assay is a berry. What if you don't, what if I forgot? Can I have an assai ball, but hold the assaii. You could just get a smoothie bowl. But you get a smoothie bowl. I don't want it. It hurts my head.

It's too cold. It is cold. Okay. That is all for this episode. The vault is now closed. And just a quick disclaimer of the vault is just a chat. I run life of money topics. We're not giving financial advice.