Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, welcome to How Do They Afford That? The podcast
that peaks into the financial lives of everyday Australians. I'm
Michael Thompson. I'm an author and the co host of
the podcast Fear and Greed business news As always, I'm
joined by Canna Campbell, financial planner and founder of Sugar
Mama TV, the financial literacy platform that is just about
everywhere YouTube, podcast, books, TikTok, Instagram, keynote speeches. Did I
(00:24):
miss any No?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I think you. I think that kind of covers most
Yeah things.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Have you Have you ever had a like one of
those planes with a banner toad behind it Sugar Mama TV.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
So not I like that. That would be kind of cool.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
But you are heard in the sky though, aren't you,
because this podcast, Ah.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yes, it's on Virgin flights.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, so if you're on the in flight entertainment, Yeah,
that's right, and so you are trapped with us. If
you're listening on Virgin or Jetstar as well, you can
you can listen to how Do They Afford That?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
In taking new places not just financially but physically.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Physically taking you there, dragging you through the skies. Now
Kenna today, it is the start of a new month.
It is the start of October.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I love the start of a new month. It feels
so fresh, like a fresh leaf. Start again, reconnect with
your inspiration and motivation, Tony Robersness.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Isn't this is incredible? You've really taken us to an
inspirational place. All I was doing was making a point
start of a new day, start of a new month,
start of a new quarter. It is as good a
time as any to start investing, right. A lot of
people say, hear this, I'll start investing one day, or
I'll start investing when the market comes down, or I'll
(01:41):
start investing when I've got spare money, or I'll start
investing kind of when I've got the time to do
a lot of research, or all of those kinds of things.
But the truth is you can't probably start sooner than
you think, and you could start today in most cases
very moment. Yeah, so today a list, a short list
for ways to start investing immediately.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
All right, what about micro investing apps. I'm not a
massive fan of micro investing.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Strong start start well the long.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Run, but it is a great way to get started. Absolutely.
So you got like apps like rais spaceship Perlar. Micro
You know, you can just start with a few dollars,
so if you're spending money on like a daily coffee,
you have no excuses here. You can start using that
money to start building an investment portfolio.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So essentially micro investing is where it's in the name.
Therese are very small amounts five dollars. Yeah, and you
can do it that It is rounding up the cost
of your coffee or something, so that every time.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Rounding up is another feature within micro investing. But yes,
I mean it's a great way to get started, and
you know, you're learning on the go, and you're building
your own level financial literacy and confidence, which is really important.
And you're starting to sort of see the mechanics of
you know, dividends and reinvestment and compounding interest work. And
(03:04):
it creates a great habit system, and you know you're
building your experience. You can start leveling up from that
point on. But don't just stay in micro investing. Please
upgrade as soon as you're ready.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah, I'll ask you about that. There's a couple of
downsides to it out there, but really the main thing
is that it is a great way to get started
with very small sums. So it's it's kind of like
investing training wheels, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
It is. I like that, and it's something I would
recommend for my son Rocco, who's twelve, you know, for
when he's ready, I get him his own little micro
investing account.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Do you get to pick what you're investing in? Or
are you just if you go to one of these apps?
Are you just say, yeah, I'm investing in Australian shares
or something and you've kind of you're putting in your
five dollars a day or whatever it is, and you
don't really have any control or are you able to
actually pick which shares or which ETFs that you're actually
investing in?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
It ranges, so some of them have It's not like
you've got one only to pick from. You you do have,
you know, a selection to choose, but that selection is
quite limited and you can't sort of say, well, I want,
you know, an ETF with this fund manager and that
fund under it. It is limited, so that that is obviously
one of the downsides of this, which is why I
say don't stay there, And well, what are the many
(04:20):
reasons why I say don't stay there? But yes, it's
definitely a way of dipping your toe in and seeing
how it works. But then as you it should be
the starting point, is what I'm trying to say. You know,
I call it Friday flats of skiing.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
So dedicated to micro investing, you remember.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah, yeah, we do. And one thing that I I
don't want to get too technical with this, but one
of the other things, it's not necessarily a downside, it's
just a fact of micro investing is that you typically
don't actually hold the share. You don't own the share
of it yourself necessarily, do you. It's a custodian Yes,
that's right.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So it's not like a typical chest sponsor where you
own the stock in your name, you have a HIN number.
This is a little bit different. So there is that
I guess your portfolio is there's a bit of a
brick wall between you and your portfolio from a legal
point of view. But it's not enough to deter people.
And I would ever say to someone don't do it
just because of that one factor. But understand the difference
(05:17):
between the two different sort of security in the ownership style.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, okay, but the benefits are that you can get
into it straight away for a very small amount of money.
You can get some exposure to the market, start learning
how things work and dividends. You can start learning how
all of that plays out and.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
See how volatility works. How comfortable you are with it.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Yeah, because all of a sudden, if you're only investing,
say fifty bucks or one hundred bucks or something, that
it's not like you've invested thousands and thousands and thousands
of dollars. So if you are just experimenting, then it's
a pretty safe pretty.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
It would low damage is controlled. Yeah, I wouldn't say safe. No,
you'll get us into trouble, but safe yes, But it's
you know you can when you get into so much
trouble with micro investing.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah. Yeah, it's your training wheels. It's not entire Like
if you're riding on your bike right and you had
training wheels on, you can still hit a rock and
fall over and hurt yourself, but it's less likely that
you're going to do.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
That correct Or it's a baby pool, you know, like
but there's about ten centimeters worth of water in there.
You're not gonna learn how to do breaststroke across a
baby pool like.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
No, it feels like we have competing analogies, and I
think I prefer the training wheels. So micro investing is
the first way to get started investing immediately. What's the
second guess?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Guess, guess what I would have as the second answer
to this question. Just start No superannuation Oh oh oh god.
See your superannuation is already an investment that you already have.
Many people forget that, they think super savings. No, so
you can just continue on building what you already have
(07:02):
in superinnuation and simple as like logging in, checking it,
seeing how much you would invested. Where it is the
fees you're paying, is your employer paying the correct amounts?
And on time? Is it the profile? Does it match?
What are the goals behind? Maybe there's some contribution strategies
you can look at. I mean, are you looking at
(07:23):
me like blankly? No?
Speaker 1 (07:25):
No, no, that's not a blank look. I'm actually thinking that
this is exactly right, that in the end, you don't
need to be going out and setting up anything new
in order to be doing this. The fact is that
pretty much from the moment you start working and you
have a super fun and your your money is being
paid in there because you don't have a say over it.
It is compulsory kind of you're part of your payer
(07:46):
is going in there, and it's twelve percent.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
There's a lot of money going in every.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Year from the moment you start working and you start
getting paid. Super you are an investor exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Okay, I'm so gad you finally pick this up, this
key message. I've been banging on around for like three years.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And it's not just that I've picked it up. Can
you not hear the excitement?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Inness you are getting a bit giggly as you bounce
around and jiggle.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I just actually, I'm just I noticed now how giggly
I am. I'm going to move along from that one
quickly with super though, I suppose that you go, Okay, well,
it's already there, it's already happening. But if you want
to get started investing that, really it is about taking
interest in it today and maybe you haven't actually changed
(08:31):
your your risk profile and kind of where your money
is invested, and maybe today's the day you do that.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
And today maybe the day that you get some advice
you call a financial planner or you call your superheroation
company directly and get some general advice from them as
to what the different investment options are and of course
the costs in potentially changing and whether it's right for you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Okay, I should have known that was going to be
a number two, shouldn't I.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
I feel it disappointed, to be honest, but that's okay.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
We'll move on astually. I would have thought that if
you were a true super enthusiasts, you would have made
it number one.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Good point. I did think that when I said number two.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
But anyway, checkmate, we're going to take a quick break
and come back in a moment and get onto number
three and four on the ways to get started investing immediately?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
All right?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Can we are talking four ways to start investing immediately?
Because there is this perception that investing is something that
you've got to build up to, that you'll do it
one day, and honestly, if you take that approach, it
just never happened. And I'm speaking from experience here. You go, oh,
I'll have more time to do it, lady. You never
have more time.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Put to the bottom of the list.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Absolutely, And so this is about getting into it immediately,
getting going today.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
You're listening to this podcast, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Or straight after as well?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Like, if you want headphones, you can you can use
your phone.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
I can't multitask. I couldn't listen to a podcast end
invest at the same time. This is just lunacy. Okay.
Micro investing is number one. Get active with your super
is number two. What's number three? Please don't make me guess.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Automated regular investments? Okay, So you do your budget, you go, well, look,
we've got you say, one hundred dollars per month that
we can do something with. Why don't we set up
an automatic regular investment plan? And that money can go
into some managed funds, it could go into some ETFs
or listed investment companies. You can set this all up
(10:34):
online through an online brokerage account or platform, and it
is Look, I never say set and forget, but it
is as close to set and forget as you can
possibly do. But it means that you are prioritizing investing
and you are starting today, and you were dollar cost
averaging because you were buying a set amount each month
or each week or fortnite or whatever it may be.
And we all know that. You know that over a
(10:56):
long period of time, that consistency, you know, with volatility
over the long one can really help get your money
working for you with compounding.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Interest, because I suppose that with the whole principle of
dollar cost averaging it markets go up, markets go down.
There's rises the dips. But if you were doing this consistently,
sometimes you're buying when the market is high, sometimes you're
buying when the market's a bit lower. But over the
long run, it averages out and hopefully you benefit from
that long term growth in the market exactly.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
And also another thing that a lot of people don't
think about with automated investment plans is it takes out
a decision fatigue. You know, none of this, Oh, maybe
the markets were pulled back yesterday, maybe we shouldn't invest.
It's done before you've realized it's.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Going to ask you though, when you say, if you
would have to say one hundred dollars a month, which
feels achievable, yep, right, you could make a few little
cuts here and there and maybe kind of save one
hundred dollars a month and put that towards it. You
aren't investing that one hundred dollars every month. You would
be letting it build up to a thousand and then investing. Otherwise,
(12:02):
it starts to get eaten away by brokerage.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Yeah. So, look, brokerage has come down quite significantly. I
used to spend like, I think, close to fifty dollars
to each time I used to buy stocks my first
started investing. So now you can and this is not
micro investing. Some brokerages closed like eight dollars. So you know, yes,
you've got to be careful as to the cost, but
(12:25):
you could have it set up so that you know,
you put one hundred dollars per month, for example, into
an account, and then you invest that money, say every
five months, so you're investing a minimum five hundred dollars.
My personal preference is one thousand dollars. But I don't
let me stop you from getting a startup with investing.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, no, that's it. It's great advice. Okay, automated regular investment.
I love the idea of the decision fatigue being removed.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
I think that's a big one. But I also say
be careful with automation in the over time. You need
to review that automation and adjust and increase it because
you may. You may set this up a one hundred
ars per month, which is what you can afford, but
you know in six months time you've had a pay rise, Well,
that is the time to make sure you bump that
up if you can afford to.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Okay, that was number three, automated regular investment. What's number four?
What's the last one?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Actually have a fifth one too, a bonus.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Okay, now one's going to complain about.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
That, all right, pay down high interest debt first. I
know you're going to go hang on count that's not
an investment, but people don't see debt repayments as investing.
But considering it's a guaranteed return that you'll save money,
it is kind of a form of investment. So if
your credit card is charging twenty percent interest, prioritizing paying
(13:44):
that down is going to help guarantee you save some
money in previously wasted interest. And it's creating a very
healthy habit system where the moment you are debt free,
that automatic repayment is now shifted in to automatic investing.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I'm glad you've got a fifth because that one, while
it does not count as a way to start investing,
that is a fantastic financial move. That's a great strategy.
Pay down that high interest deep because it just keeps
building up and building up and it will cripple you.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
You're investing in your mental health as well, because I
think debt is incredibly toxic to your health. You've got
a fifth though, yes please okay, and that is go to.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
The casino all on red.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
No investing in education, Okay, let's just keep it responsible
and ethical investing in education, like, use this time to
learn about investing, Use this time to do a risk profile.
Use this time to learn about all the different online
investing platforms. Use this time to learn about your super
Use this time to learn about, you know, what is
the best online savings account for your emergency money, or
(14:53):
the best placed or the you know, the users. Time
to invest in, learning more about your mortgage and what's
the most competitive rate. And with it's time to refinance
investment of education and awareness.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Okay, I think that is actually pretty good. Will combine
those last two and they together they make up one
for A and B four A and four B investing
in education. Because I suppose if you are going, okay,
I'm going to set aside a little bit of time
today to start investing then, and the biggest thing is
just trying to find the time. You may as well
put it in a lot of the trading platforms have
(15:28):
really good educational content.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Tutorials, you know, and I have previously worked with mom.
I have to say that online platform is unbelievable and
in that you don't have to invest using movie. It's
a free app that you can download and you can
access all of these tutorials and all the research everything's
attached to it for free and go and invest somewhere
(15:52):
else if you want. But the quality of the information
that is presented there is unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I have been doing the same with Comsec lately, and look,
I don't think you can go wrong with any of
these of these platforms that have been around for a
long time. Know what they're doing, and the quality of
the content, the quality of the educational material is great
and you don't need to use it, You don't need
to implement any of it, but just knowing how it
(16:23):
works for you, Yeah, for free anyway, you know what,
I think I am on board with that one. That's
a legitimate entry on our list. Four and a half
ways to start investing immediately micro investing, get involved in
your super automated regular investments, pay down high interest debt,
(16:43):
and then investing in education. That's a good list.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
If we want more information or if we want maybe
a sixth or a seventh thing. Can you just imagine
everyone just jumping onto your Instagram now and going, I
want a seventh thing on the list, and you just
got to keep on just producing this. But that's what
you do.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
What I do, I could chew everyone's ear off. So
the best place to gain in contact with me if
you would like your ears tewed off about your financial
journey is at Sugar Mama TV on Instagram or Canna
Campbell Official also on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
And you can hear me every day on Fear and
Greed business News. You can use that is a podcast
and it comes out every single day of the week.
Thank you very much for listening to How do They
Afford That? Remember to hit follow on the podcast. Send
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(17:36):
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