May 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Ever felt like you’re doing everything right with money… and still wondering where it all went? This week’s Money Diarist shares what it’s really like to feel stuck in a cycle of emotional spending, hidden purchases, and guilt — even while working hard toward big financial goals. She found herself secretly spending $500 a fortnight, avoiding her bank app, and feeling like she’d never break the habit. But with some hard truths, a little therapy, and a seriously smart savings system, she turned it around — managing to save $60,000 and start building the future she actually wanted. We also unpack life with a $1.1 million mortgage, how she’s balancing career dreams with financial goals, and yes… whether that designer handbag really counts as an “investment.” Press play, this is your reminder that even if it feels hard right now, change is always possible.
Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, my name's Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud Yr
the Order Kerni Whaltbury and a waddery woman. And before
we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I
would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land
of which this podcast is recorded on a wondery country,
acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming
(00:22):
through as this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing
and the storytelling of you to make a difference for
today and lasting impact for tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
She's on the Money, She's on the Money.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Hello, and welcome to She's on the Money the podcast
you be pervy about other people's money stories for educational
purposes of course, Welcome back to another one of our
Money Diaries episodes where I get the absolute pleasure of
sitting down with one of our beautiful She's on the
Money community members and chatting to them all about their journey.
Let's jump straight into it, because this week I got
(01:17):
a message and it sounded exactly like this, Hi, she
Is on the Money. I recently found your podcast and
have become a little bit obsessed with it. It's become
my ADHD hyperfocus. If you know, you know, I have
a budget and even a fancy spreadsheet in it. We've
allocated seven hundred dollars per fortnight between my husband and
I to spend on whatever we like, but I normally
(01:38):
spend ninety five percent of that, plus about another five
hundred dollars that I hide from my husband. I am
full of shame, but the dovermine chasing is real, and
I just don't know how to switch my thinking and
focus on paying down my mortgage, which is actually our
main goal. Money Diarist, I am so excited to be
talking about this because I think that some people are
(01:59):
listening to this going, oh my god, relatable, Like I've
got questions. But as always, I'm going to start the
money dory in the same way I always do. Money Doris.
If I asked you to give your money habits a
grade from A through to F, what grade do you
think we would give them?
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Actually think at the moment I've risen a little at
an as.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Still an a minus. All right, money Doris, I need
to know tell me a little bit more about your
money story.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
So, growing up, my family was very frugal, like walking
around the shopping center with a calculator, just making sure
we didn't go over budget. I was always told we
didn't have very much money, so I never asked for anything.
What that sort of caused is as I became an adult,
all of a sudden, I had things, and I was
(02:43):
never really taught to manage my money particularly well. But
I met my husband when I was seventeen.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Oh my god, cut We've been together for twenty years now,
no stop it.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
And he was always really good with money, so I
tried to learn from him. In twenty eighteen, we built
our first house after saving really hard. And then a
few years ago I approached a financial advisor just because
I felt like, you know, we had no insurances, had
no will, My super was a mess. So I engaged
with them, and I hated every minute of it. In
(03:15):
the sense that they were wonderful, but they took my
control away, and it was everything they were telling me
was right. It was just that I didn't want to
be told how much I could spend. I didn't want accountability.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
That's very adhd of you.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
I was paying them a lot of money to give
me that, so they did my will they changed my
super they put me on Income Protection Insurance TPD, basically
just secured my life for me. And then at the
start of last year, I became very mentally unwell and
(03:52):
I required six weeks of hospitalization. While I was in
that hospital, my financial advisor just put on a cape
just like looked after me and my family, and he
did all the paperwork and I don't only ever have
something slid under me for a signature. And I ended
up getting nine months of income protection because of him,
(04:14):
and we would have been an absolute strife without that.
Then I was able to return to work November last year,
where actually now we've sold our old house and we're
building our dream house. Oh yeah, so in the past
twelve months it's been really turbulent. But come out the
other side.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Oh my goodness, how are you feeling now, because that
feels like a whirlwind. And I mean, I don't think
anyone is ever prepared for, like mental illness to take
us kind of take us down like that, like six
weeks out for the count, Like that's big. You can't
plan these things. So like, how's life now?
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I still have some of the I guess scars you
could say my feelings can get hurt a little bit easily.
I don't have the resilience that I used to, but
I'm also a loe stronger in a lot of ways.
I know that I can come from essentially not wanting
to be alive to thriving. And I'm really proud of
myself for that.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I am so proud of you. We haven't met in person,
but I already know I've obsaysed with you. But also
this self awareness, like for someone to be able to say, yeah, look,
my resilience is really down, like I'm sorry. People don't
usually have that level of self awareness about themselves to
be like, look, my feelings can be hurt a little
(05:30):
bit easier, Like most people just deny until they like
that is not something that people are willingly going to
admit most of the time, and if they do, it's
after like twenty years of therapy, babe, Like they're like, yeah, actually,
maybe my therapist was right, Like my feelings do get
hurt a little bit easier, Like do you know what
I mean? Like that self awareness that's iconics. I adore that,
(05:52):
and I mean I don't adore that you went through that,
but I feel like you are definitely on the right
path and doing things that you know are hopefully making
sure that you are thriving into the future. Now you
said that you've recently discovered the podcast Welcome to the Family.
I'm very glad that you are here. But you're also
an ADHD queen, and I get that, Like when I
(06:12):
find a new podcast that I am obsessed with. I'm
not so much a money girl, because like I was
a financial advisor, I'm like a true crime girl. But
you best believe I'm listening to every single one of
those seven hundred episodes that that place has. It's basically
all I'm going to live and breathe until it's done.
So I kind of get that. But talk to me
about your budget and your spreadsheet because I kind of
want to slip into the conversation about how you managed
(06:33):
to find five hundred bucks to hide from your husband.
I just need to know, you know, asking for a friend.
I suppose my.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Husband leaves one hundred percent of the finances to me
to pay the bills, so he never checks.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
He trusts me, so it's not really hiding it from him.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Yes, it's easy to hide when he ate checking.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
So, Yeah, that was definitely a feeder of my shame.
And I've actually I had an appointment with my therapist
about three weeks ago and she said, we need to
like weaponize your ADHD.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
So in seve hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Chasing the dopamine change for spending, I'm going to say
that I don't think you can save for six weeks.
I think that you're going to buy shoes and you're
going to buy clothes, and I don't believe you can
do it.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
And I was like, right, this woman is using reverse
psychology and goal it is working.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
I knew I was being manipulated, but I have not
purchased one thing discretionary in three weeks.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I'm obsessed. And then it just becomes a hyperfocus.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Yes it has. And the issue with that is I'm
such an all or nothing person. Now I'm like, do
we really need that extra bag of peas?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Isn't it crazy how far you go? Like I feel
like it is very hard to explain to somebody who
doesn't have it when we say we're all or nothing,
like it can be to our detriment, Like we're not
just like, oh yeah, we can like lock in on
a savings goal. Well, we can but we're also not
eating for the week like we can. But also, I
just sorry I sold our house, Like there's so many
(08:07):
things that just like it's likely spiral, but like in
the wrong direction to achieve the goal. So we might
have achieved the goal, but like, sorry, we actually have
nowhere to live and I sold all our furniture on
Facebook marketplace. But we did save, and I did what
I told you I was going to do exactly. So
money Diarist, talk to me about that seven hundred dollars
per fortnite, Like, how did you come up with that?
(08:29):
Because clearly it wasn't enough.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
It was actually my financial advisor came up with it,
doing the percentages of how much myself and my husband earned,
and that's what he decided was enough. And honestly, when
I'm not being silly, it is more than enough. And
we roll over to the next fortnite and we're able
to save. But it just shiny things and new things
(08:54):
and that lifestyle creep, which I've learned about through your podcasts.
The new job I got in November was a significant
pay increase, and all of a sudden, my skin care,
my clothes, everything has followed it. So I'm really trying
to pull that in.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
So tell me a bit more about you. You told
me that you went back to work in November twenty
twenty four. What do you do for work? How much
money do you win?
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I'm a social worker and I specialize in domestic violence
and sexual assault.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Oh, my goodnurse, no wonder, she's so self aware. Oh
special human being.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Yes, when they say at least to burnout, they're not joking.
I earn one hundred and seventeen thousand a year.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Wow. And is that what most social workers in that
space are getting paid? Or Yeah, I know you've been
in the workforce for a while, Like how long did
it take you to achieve that income?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yeah, it's definitely not. Social workers aren't paid great, generally,
more around the eighty mark. But I've been in the
space for twelve years now, so I've worked my way
up a little.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah. And I'm assuming that when you said, look, I
had like a mental health crisis, I'm assuming that burnout
helped lead to all of that.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Yes, it did. One of my clients died and I
just I was so disempowered and so sad that women
keep dying. And I was working as hard as I
possibly could, and it kept happening and I just hit
a wall and it took a really, really long time
for me to come back with any kind of passion
(10:22):
because it just feels like you're running up a hill
and you can never reach the peak. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Wow, I'm listening to you talk and I'm just like,
I've like got goosebumps because I'm like, oh, I like
I'm not on the frontline of that, right, Like I
am so privileged to get to hear these stories and
you know, be part of supporting our community and we
hear parts of it, and we definitely are replaced where
people do feel safe to ask us questions about these
(10:47):
things that they're experiencing, and we have this beautiful panel
of people that we refer to. But like, you are
such a special person to be in this position, to
be able to give this advice and work in the
domestic violin and sexual assault space and that would have
been so traumatic, but the fact that you care so much. Oh,
I can't think of a better person to be in
this space. Like, can you imagine if after twelve years
(11:11):
that didn't impact you, Like I would not want to
be that person. Like you are an icon and the
fact that you're back there, girl, be for real, Like
you're like, okay, cool, I've gotten over that. I have
work to do, i have people to help, like you
are one of the best people. I adore that. Like,
I'm just so excited to have met you. Thank you.
(11:31):
Tell me a bit more. Obviously, thankfully you had income
protection during that period of time that you were off work.
But what are you currently when it comes to finances?
What are currently your big goals? What are you working towards.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
My goal is to pay off our mortgage, which is
currently one point one four five million, and I want
to pay that off in fifteen years. So that's going
to work out to be around seventy grand a year
on top of the mortgage.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Need to know more because a one point one million
dollar mortgage is a lot of money. Does your husband
or partner have a similar income?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah, he's on one hundred and forty.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Oh very nice.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Yeah, so we're just you know, I have all my spreadsheets.
My spreadsheets even have pie charts. They really help me
to stay focused. And we've got little mini goals along
the way, because one point one million dollars is a
really that's a long goal. So we have like every
five years we want to go on a really big
international holiday. Every one year we want to go, like
(12:34):
to the Gold Coast or something like that. And I
really want a Louis Vuitton never fool.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Oh, I get it. I get it.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
So it's just about getting that across the line somehow.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Oh, it'll get across the line at some point. Like
it's an investment, Like the price of those keeps going up.
So if I buy it now, I'm actually saving money
in the future by not buying it in the future,
because it would be way more expensive. Right, exactly, go math,
give me your husband's number. I'll call the man up.
I'll let him know. We're basically making money here.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So money, darst. Are there any other big goals that
you have in mind? I'm making the grand assumption that
you don't have children.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
I do.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Oh, we haven't talked about them yet, and we don't
have to talk about them specifically. I'm just interested in
your cash flow. So I was like, are they double income?
No kids? Do they have kids? Like, how aggressive can
we be on smashing this mortgage down? Like I'm just
being pervy? Yes, I have a six and a ten
year old, gorgeous.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
The six year old is a boy and is currently
eating my house out. It's unbelievable how much boys eat.
We have like seven hundred dollars a fortnight for groceries,
two thousand dollars a fortnight for bills. Yeah, the seven
hundred for splurge, and then I've just started investing fortnightly too.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Who are you? Tell me? I need to know a
little bit more about groceries because I feel like groceries
a hot topic at the moment, and I mean, we're
all feeling the pinched when we come to the checkout.
Tell me a bit more about a seven hundred dollar
per fortnite grocery budget, Like is that for you? Guys?
Is that bougie? Is that, you know, just cutting it
fine and getting enough week bix to fuel a six
(14:09):
year old?
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Like?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
What does that look like?
Speaker 4 (14:11):
It was just enough, but since I was rudely challenged
by my therapist, it has become more than enough, so
where I'm currently doing my full weekly shop for about
one hundred and fifty dollars a week feeding all for people.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Excuse me? Who are you?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
We shop predominantly at Audi, of course, and just like
little things like butchering your own chicken. That saved us
heaps of money and it was not something I ever
ever occurred to me. So and just making lunch box
snacks at home rather than buying them, and just trying
to be really creative.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Tell me where did you get these tips and tricks?
Because like, obviously your your therapist sounds like an icon
and was like, oh, I bet you can't do it,
and you're like, oh damn it. Now I have to
prove you wrong. So how did you learn about butchering
your own ches? Because I feel like those things. Lots
of people are like, oh, I can't save you that much,
but I actually can. Who taught you that? Or did
you just decide that was a thing? No?
Speaker 4 (15:08):
I follow this Instagram page called that money Mum.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Oh no, let's go find her, and.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
She just basically talks about how she saves money and
does like fifty dollars a week challenges and gets you
to follow along. So I can't do fifty dollars a week, absolutely,
dairy milk doesn't allow that.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And we've got it, like, sorry, that's for our mental health.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Yes exactly, but yeah, we've halved our bill just by
being mindful and eating before we go shopping. Because if
my husband goes out shopping, he always gets LCMS. It's
like the warning sign that we need to leave him
reaching for LCMS.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I feel like that's a good thing, like you clearly
know this man well, like mine's a slippery slope. If
I take my husband shopping to the supermarket, like we're
buying everything, like not in a good way, He'll be like, oh, yeah,
we should get a roast chicken. I'll be like, we
don't need a roast chicken. Oh yeah, we do. Anyway,
let's go to a really quick break because on the
(16:06):
flip side, I have a lot of questions because you
told me just before that you are investing, and I
want to know about that debt. I need to know
how much your house costs to begin with, and then
we're going to talk about your best and worse money habits.
So guys, don't go anywhere. Are at money dist We
are back and before you mentioned that you've got you know,
(16:27):
I think you said seven hundred dollars in groceries, two
thousand dollars in bills every fortnight. Then you've got like
your seven hundred dollars in splurge every fortnite. But then
you've started investing how much and in what? And how
did you start that journey?
Speaker 4 (16:39):
So we very first started investing with my financial advisor
through Hub twenty four.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Oh yeah, and.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
He recycled debt through our mortgage and we got a
one hundred thousand dollars investment loan and he invested that
for us through Hub twenty four. But once we wanted
to buy this new house, he pivoted and said, we
really need to get this mortgage down, so we took
that out. And it's only been since listening to you
(17:08):
that I dabbled in Chersias a little bit, but I
didn't love it, and I was trying to find a
platform that worked for me, and then I found Vanguard.
So now I invest five hundred dollars a fortnite into
Vanguard all growth.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Oh, I love this for you? And how did you
choose that? Like, I'm just being really pervy, So we
do apologize, Bill, you can't be like I investing Vanguard
or Growth, Like how did you pick that?
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I did a few quizzes on my risk profile, and
since I've become much more educated on finance, my risk
profile is actually pretty high. I have a really high tolerance.
And then I just did a little bit of googling
and listened to a few podcasts and lots of people
were speaking about Vanguard and that they quite trusted They've
been in the game a really long time. So I
(17:53):
went on their website and just went with all growth
and I made twelve dollars today, I logged on it's
just gone up twelve bucks because I'm good changes in tariffs.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
So that's a money win. I love that for us.
I feel like Trump at the moment is definitely just
playing like roller coasters with our share markets. Like the
impact of this man is having is making me feel
sick like it is actually terrifying. Anyway, we will not
go on about that because it will take our way
the rest of the episode. I need to go back
(18:23):
to your mortgage because I think for a lot of people,
hearing our mortgage is at one point one four five
would make a lot of people sick like and that's cool,
but I need to know how much did you purchase for?
How much of a deposit did you need to purchase
a house that big?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
We purchased it for one point five?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Oh okay, Queen.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
And we used the proceeds from the house that we
sold as a deposit. So it's just amazing how big
prices have gotten. We built house and land in Adelaide
in twenty eighteen for five hundred thousand, and now I
live in Canberra and the prices are just astronomical. So
(19:03):
we're building again, but it's one point five seems to
be like a discount in this state.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I feel like this is now the way of getting
into property and like building our dream home. And you
said earlier, like, oh, my husband and I building our
dream home, and that is so flipping exciting. But I
need to know more about the journey because like these days,
it's not like back in the seventies and eighties where
our parents could just purchase their dream home off the
bat and be like, oh, well, we tick tat box,
(19:30):
We've got a family home. Like nowadays, we're having to
purchase a house, you know, wait for it to increase
in value a little bit, using the proceeds of that
to get into a bigger house. And like, I own
a mortgage breaking business, so I see these literally every
day people going okay, we're going from an apartment to
a townhouse from a townhouse to our dream house, Like
it's not a linear pathway of like, yep, I'll just
go to Victoria's business and get some finance. Talk to
(19:52):
me about this house and land package that you purchased.
First you said it was five hundred thousand dollars, So
tell me you purchase for five hundred thousand dollars when
and then what did you sell it for?
Speaker 4 (20:03):
So we purchased for five twenty eighteen and then we
sold at the start of this year for eight forty five.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Oh my goodness. And was that when you were building
your house at the time, were you like, this is
our dream home or were you like this is a
stepping stone? Like what was the thought process of like
picking that location in that particular house and land package.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
It was just a really nice place to raise children
and it was a little bit country like right on
the cusp of the city. And we never ever thought
we would sell. But then my husband got moved to
Canberra for work. We've been renting while renting out that
home and we're renting it for six fifty a week,
which was, you know, more than we ever thought we
(20:49):
would get out of it. But we're just tired of
renting and want a house where we can put holes
in the wall and do all that stuff. So we
sat down with our financial advisor and just said, like,
can we afford to do this? And he said yes,
and it kind of went from there.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
But we're going to have to dispose of that asset
and flip this over here and do a little bit
of a backflip and then we can.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Yes. Bless him.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It sounds like he's got his head screwed on. Like
when you said, yap, he was doing debt recycling, I
was thinking, oh, that feels a bit risky for that
level of mortgage. After you told me your income and
I'm thinking okay, like no judgment, I haven't seen your plan.
And then you said yes but my advisor told me
to extinguish this to do this, I'm like, oh, okay,
Like he sounds smart. And then when you said Hub
twenty four, I was like, yeah, I used to use
that platform as well when I was an advisor. And
(21:32):
for those of you, I guess playing along at home.
Hub twenty four is basically a commercial version of like
a sharesis or a vanguard, where your financial advisor will say, oh,
invest on Hub twenty four, and your financial advisor can
essentially log into the back end and I could see
all your reporting and you know, make trades and stuff
on your behalf. But then there's the client side, which
(21:54):
our money direst would have been able to see. So like,
it's not something that you're like, oh my god, should
I have that. It's more just a like that's usually
what advisors use because it has that back end access
money dost I want to know a little bit more
about debts. So you just have the mortgage that you
have at the moment, and the plan is to get
out of it, ideally in fifteen years. Yes, that is
very exciting. Do you have any other debts? Have you
(22:16):
ever been in other debt?
Speaker 4 (22:17):
When I was nineteen, I got a five thousand dollar
loan to travel overseas that was really tricky to pay down.
I just didn't understand interest. I didn't understand any of it.
I just wanted to go overseas, which I know you
can emphasize.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
In Oh, absolutely I can. Like, what do you mean
compound interest is basically what happens with debt. That's a
bit rude, Yes, and dishonor fees.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
I was getting smashed with them all the time. But
my husband helped me pay that down, and then you know,
we've bought a secondhand car here and there. But I've
never had a credit card. My family always instilled in
me that if you don't have the money, then you
can't afford it. So I've never had that and I've
we haven't got any debt except for the house.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Now, that is a good position to be in. I
feel like having ADHD not having a credit card is
probably a very good thing because like when you're chasing
that dopamine high, Wait, you mean I can tap it
and it's not even coming out of my bank account either,
Like that five hundred dollars that you and I were
talking about before that your husband doesn't see like that
literally being on a credit card would be the worst
(23:22):
thing for you.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
I think Apple pay is the worst thing that ever
happened to my bank account, just to double click on
the side of the phone and boom.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
You need to completely disconnect it because, as a fellow
adhdre if you make it really hard, then I don't
even want to do it. Like if I have to
go get my credit card, then I have to face
the reality that I probably didn't want that because it
wasn't worth going and finding my credit card for. Yeah,
you're right, slippery slope though, because this genius now knows
oh credit card numbers and no CVC like the back
(23:50):
of her hand. Yes, me too, slippery slippery slope. Money
direst I need to know, though, what is your best
money habit?
Speaker 4 (23:57):
My best money habit is that when I have a
clear goal, I am a machine at saving. After I
had my children, I had significant ab separation and I
needed to have surgery to repair it, but Medicare didn't
cover it, so it was going to cost sixty thousand dollars.
What I know, Tony Abbot said, women just want free
(24:18):
tummy tucks, so we took it off Medicare.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Oh yeah, that's totally it, Tony Abbitt, you absolutely honestly.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
So in eighteen months, I saved sixty thousand dollars and
I was earning about sixty thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
So we need more info, like how do you save
sixty grand in a short period of time? Like are
you hustling? Are you doing side hustles? Are you selling
your entire contents of your house on marketplace? What's going on? It?
Speaker 4 (24:43):
Was just sheer determination of like we don't need the
heater on, put a jumper on. We don't need to
go visit our friends. That's going to cost fuel. Like
we just locked down, and I was in a lot
of discomfort a lot of the time, and it was
just a daily reminder of why we need to save,
and so we just put our heads down and every
(25:04):
way we could think to save money, we did it.
We had no streaming services, like we're making our pet
food at home. We were doing everything we could think of.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I am so impressed and also just like so happy
that you got that, but like, I'm not gonna lie.
I did not know that those surgeries were so expensive,
Like had no idea. In fact, I am quite mad
that that's the case, because it's like, sorry, that to
me sounds like an essential surgery. I know, like that sorry,
(25:33):
you just said that you were uncomfortable the whole time, Like,
and that was one of your motivations to save. Is
that not a required surgery in that case? To me?
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I agree?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Anyway, I need to know, let's flip this, what is
your worst money habit?
Speaker 4 (25:45):
My impulsivity Instagram is she just reads my mind and
I might be talking about slippers, and then slippers will
pop up, and then I have to have those slippers.
So I'm just really impulsive. I've tried doing that twenty
four hour thing that he goes, I can't do it
because I so badly need it right now, and so
(26:06):
that's something that I'm really working on.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I feel like, if you're in that position, I know
that it's like, oh, just don't do it for twenty
four hours. Go put it in your note section of
your phone, or put an alarm on your phone so
that it doesn't feel like you're going to miss out.
Because I think they're with Adhd as well. We know
that we're going to forget, like we know that that's
something and you kind of I think that's a lot
of our impulsivity because we know that if we don't
(26:29):
do it right now, it's probably not going to happen.
So like, put an alarm in your phone at the
same time tomorrow to remind you to go look at
those slippers again and see if you want them. Like
that way, maybe you don't feel as much like you're
going to miss out. And that has historically helped me
a little bit, and I'm much better at it now,
but it is very hard to manage sometimes, especially when
(26:50):
you get that dopamine high, Like, how do we redirect that?
Why can't it be like a dopamine high from cleaning
my fridge out? Why so rude money darist? At the
start of this episode, you said, I reckon, I'm an
A mins. What makes you an ans? Like? What would
make you an A plus? Because it sounds like, honestly,
you've got it pretty together. I know that you're spending
(27:11):
a bit more than your husband realizes you're spending, but
you're still on track to pay off your mortgage early.
You are still investing, and you seem to have a
really good handle of your budget and cash flow, Like
I don't think it's as bad as I thought it
might be from your diary entry.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
I think to be an A plus it would be
being able to trust myself with my money and know
that that dopamine is not more important than my values,
because that's something that really that was the instigator of
me messaging you, listening to an episode about values and
looking at my bank and seeing that all the things
(27:47):
that I buy did in align with them, and what
I really want is a safe and beautiful home for
my family and to be able to afford to send
my kids on school camp and all that sort of stuff,
And what I was doing was going against all of that.
So yeah, to become an aplus would be to trust
myself and stick to my values.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
I'm excited for that because I think that you're on
the track to do that. Like it sounds like you've
got a lot of good people on your team that
support you, whether that is your family or like your therapist,
Like you're going to get it, and obviously your therapist
knows how to push the right buttons on you, and
like I have met therapists before who just don't know
what to do with me. So I'll call you after
and I think I might need her details money test.
(28:27):
This has been beautiful. I feel like this episode is
going to really resonate with a lot of people in
our community, like not just the ADHD, but just like
the sneaky spending, like maybe being able to hype a
focus on things. But then also thank you so much
for sharing so much information and just like parts of
your journey of like having to be hospitalized for mental health,
(28:47):
because I think we need to talk about this so
much more often. Because like, it is challenging, but it
is a reality of our situation. And I'm obsessed that
your financial advisor came in and was like, write, sit down,
I will organize all of this, because not many and
this is so good, but not many people get to
see their financial advisor actually in action, like you would
(29:08):
probably remember sitting down with them in initial consults and
then being like, look, if anything happened, i'd come in
and make sure you're okay, and you're like, yeah, but cool.
But they do right, Like they just fly in and go, okay, cool,
We're going to sort this, this, this and this, and
I need you to sign here so that we can
get this done and I'll call you if I need anything.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Yeah, I've told him. I sent him an email and said,
I think that you saved my life because without that
income and without him just taking it all, it wouldn't
have got done, and I would have felt like I
was hurting my family. So I'll be forever grateful for him.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
I'm obsessed. Well, thank you so much for sharing your journey.
I'm very very grateful that I got to hear a
small part of it. And I know that our community
is going to feel exactly the same way.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Thanks Victoria.
Speaker 5 (29:57):
If I shared on cheese 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
(30:17):
your needs. Victoria, Divine and She's on the Money are
authorized representatives of money. Sheper Pty Ltd a BN three
two one six four nine two seven seven zero eight
AFSL four five one two eight nine
Hello, my name's Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud Yr
the Order Kerni Whaltbury and a waddery woman. And before
we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I
would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land
of which this podcast is recorded on a wondery country,
acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming
(00:22):
through as this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing
and the storytelling of you to make a difference for
today and lasting impact for tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
She's on the Money, She's on the Money.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Hello, and welcome to She's on the Money the podcast
you be pervy about other people's money stories for educational
purposes of course, Welcome back to another one of our
Money Diaries episodes where I get the absolute pleasure of
sitting down with one of our beautiful She's on the
Money community members and chatting to them all about their journey.
Let's jump straight into it, because this week I got
(01:17):
a message and it sounded exactly like this, Hi, she
Is on the Money. I recently found your podcast and
have become a little bit obsessed with it. It's become
my ADHD hyperfocus. If you know, you know, I have
a budget and even a fancy spreadsheet in it. We've
allocated seven hundred dollars per fortnight between my husband and
I to spend on whatever we like, but I normally
(01:38):
spend ninety five percent of that, plus about another five
hundred dollars that I hide from my husband. I am
full of shame, but the dovermine chasing is real, and
I just don't know how to switch my thinking and
focus on paying down my mortgage, which is actually our
main goal. Money Diarist, I am so excited to be
talking about this because I think that some people are
(01:59):
listening to this going, oh my god, relatable, Like I've
got questions. But as always, I'm going to start the
money dory in the same way I always do. Money Doris.
If I asked you to give your money habits a
grade from A through to F, what grade do you
think we would give them?
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Actually think at the moment I've risen a little at
an as.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Still an a minus. All right, money Doris, I need
to know tell me a little bit more about your
money story.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
So, growing up, my family was very frugal, like walking
around the shopping center with a calculator, just making sure
we didn't go over budget. I was always told we
didn't have very much money, so I never asked for anything.
What that sort of caused is as I became an adult,
all of a sudden, I had things, and I was
(02:43):
never really taught to manage my money particularly well. But
I met my husband when I was seventeen.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Oh my god, cut We've been together for twenty years now,
no stop it.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
And he was always really good with money, so I
tried to learn from him. In twenty eighteen, we built
our first house after saving really hard. And then a
few years ago I approached a financial advisor just because
I felt like, you know, we had no insurances, had
no will, My super was a mess. So I engaged
with them, and I hated every minute of it. In
(03:15):
the sense that they were wonderful, but they took my
control away, and it was everything they were telling me
was right. It was just that I didn't want to
be told how much I could spend. I didn't want accountability.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
That's very adhd of you.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
I was paying them a lot of money to give
me that, so they did my will they changed my
super they put me on Income Protection Insurance TPD, basically
just secured my life for me. And then at the
start of last year, I became very mentally unwell and
(03:52):
I required six weeks of hospitalization. While I was in
that hospital, my financial advisor just put on a cape
just like looked after me and my family, and he
did all the paperwork and I don't only ever have
something slid under me for a signature. And I ended
up getting nine months of income protection because of him,
(04:14):
and we would have been an absolute strife without that.
Then I was able to return to work November last year,
where actually now we've sold our old house and we're
building our dream house. Oh yeah, so in the past
twelve months it's been really turbulent. But come out the
other side.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Oh my goodness, how are you feeling now, because that
feels like a whirlwind. And I mean, I don't think
anyone is ever prepared for, like mental illness to take
us kind of take us down like that, like six
weeks out for the count, Like that's big. You can't
plan these things. So like, how's life now?
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I still have some of the I guess scars you
could say my feelings can get hurt a little bit easily.
I don't have the resilience that I used to, but
I'm also a loe stronger in a lot of ways.
I know that I can come from essentially not wanting
to be alive to thriving. And I'm really proud of
myself for that.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I am so proud of you. We haven't met in person,
but I already know I've obsaysed with you. But also
this self awareness, like for someone to be able to say, yeah, look,
my resilience is really down, like I'm sorry. People don't
usually have that level of self awareness about themselves to
be like, look, my feelings can be hurt a little
(05:30):
bit easier, Like most people just deny until they like
that is not something that people are willingly going to
admit most of the time, and if they do, it's
after like twenty years of therapy, babe, Like they're like, yeah, actually,
maybe my therapist was right, Like my feelings do get
hurt a little bit easier, Like do you know what
I mean? Like that self awareness that's iconics. I adore that,
(05:52):
and I mean I don't adore that you went through that,
but I feel like you are definitely on the right
path and doing things that you know are hopefully making
sure that you are thriving into the future. Now you
said that you've recently discovered the podcast Welcome to the Family.
I'm very glad that you are here. But you're also
an ADHD queen, and I get that, Like when I
(06:12):
find a new podcast that I am obsessed with. I'm
not so much a money girl, because like I was
a financial advisor, I'm like a true crime girl. But
you best believe I'm listening to every single one of
those seven hundred episodes that that place has. It's basically
all I'm going to live and breathe until it's done.
So I kind of get that. But talk to me
about your budget and your spreadsheet because I kind of
want to slip into the conversation about how you managed
(06:33):
to find five hundred bucks to hide from your husband.
I just need to know, you know, asking for a friend.
I suppose my.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Husband leaves one hundred percent of the finances to me
to pay the bills, so he never checks.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
He trusts me, so it's not really hiding it from him.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Yes, it's easy to hide when he ate checking.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
So, Yeah, that was definitely a feeder of my shame.
And I've actually I had an appointment with my therapist
about three weeks ago and she said, we need to
like weaponize your ADHD.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
So in seve hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Chasing the dopamine change for spending, I'm going to say
that I don't think you can save for six weeks.
I think that you're going to buy shoes and you're
going to buy clothes, and I don't believe you can
do it.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
And I was like, right, this woman is using reverse
psychology and goal it is working.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
I knew I was being manipulated, but I have not
purchased one thing discretionary in three weeks.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I'm obsessed. And then it just becomes a hyperfocus.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Yes it has. And the issue with that is I'm
such an all or nothing person. Now I'm like, do
we really need that extra bag of peas?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Isn't it crazy how far you go? Like I feel
like it is very hard to explain to somebody who
doesn't have it when we say we're all or nothing,
like it can be to our detriment, Like we're not
just like, oh yeah, we can like lock in on
a savings goal. Well, we can but we're also not
eating for the week like we can. But also, I
just sorry I sold our house, Like there's so many
(08:07):
things that just like it's likely spiral, but like in
the wrong direction to achieve the goal. So we might
have achieved the goal, but like, sorry, we actually have
nowhere to live and I sold all our furniture on
Facebook marketplace. But we did save, and I did what
I told you I was going to do exactly. So
money Diarist, talk to me about that seven hundred dollars
per fortnite, Like, how did you come up with that?
(08:29):
Because clearly it wasn't enough.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
It was actually my financial advisor came up with it,
doing the percentages of how much myself and my husband earned,
and that's what he decided was enough. And honestly, when
I'm not being silly, it is more than enough. And
we roll over to the next fortnite and we're able
to save. But it just shiny things and new things
(08:54):
and that lifestyle creep, which I've learned about through your podcasts.
The new job I got in November was a significant
pay increase, and all of a sudden, my skin care,
my clothes, everything has followed it. So I'm really trying
to pull that in.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
So tell me a bit more about you. You told
me that you went back to work in November twenty
twenty four. What do you do for work? How much
money do you win?
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I'm a social worker and I specialize in domestic violence
and sexual assault.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Oh, my goodnurse, no wonder, she's so self aware. Oh
special human being.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Yes, when they say at least to burnout, they're not joking.
I earn one hundred and seventeen thousand a year.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Wow. And is that what most social workers in that
space are getting paid? Or Yeah, I know you've been
in the workforce for a while, Like how long did
it take you to achieve that income?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yeah, it's definitely not. Social workers aren't paid great, generally,
more around the eighty mark. But I've been in the
space for twelve years now, so I've worked my way
up a little.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah. And I'm assuming that when you said, look, I
had like a mental health crisis, I'm assuming that burnout
helped lead to all of that.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Yes, it did. One of my clients died and I
just I was so disempowered and so sad that women
keep dying. And I was working as hard as I
possibly could, and it kept happening and I just hit
a wall and it took a really, really long time
for me to come back with any kind of passion
(10:22):
because it just feels like you're running up a hill
and you can never reach the peak. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Wow, I'm listening to you talk and I'm just like,
I've like got goosebumps because I'm like, oh, I like
I'm not on the frontline of that, right, Like I
am so privileged to get to hear these stories and
you know, be part of supporting our community and we
hear parts of it, and we definitely are replaced where
people do feel safe to ask us questions about these
(10:47):
things that they're experiencing, and we have this beautiful panel
of people that we refer to. But like, you are
such a special person to be in this position, to
be able to give this advice and work in the
domestic violin and sexual assault space and that would have
been so traumatic, but the fact that you care so much. Oh,
I can't think of a better person to be in
this space. Like, can you imagine if after twelve years
(11:11):
that didn't impact you, Like I would not want to
be that person. Like you are an icon and the
fact that you're back there, girl, be for real, Like
you're like, okay, cool, I've gotten over that. I have
work to do, i have people to help, like you
are one of the best people. I adore that. Like,
I'm just so excited to have met you. Thank you.
(11:31):
Tell me a bit more. Obviously, thankfully you had income
protection during that period of time that you were off work.
But what are you currently when it comes to finances?
What are currently your big goals? What are you working towards.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
My goal is to pay off our mortgage, which is
currently one point one four five million, and I want
to pay that off in fifteen years. So that's going
to work out to be around seventy grand a year
on top of the mortgage.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Need to know more because a one point one million
dollar mortgage is a lot of money. Does your husband
or partner have a similar income?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah, he's on one hundred and forty.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Oh very nice.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
Yeah, so we're just you know, I have all my spreadsheets.
My spreadsheets even have pie charts. They really help me
to stay focused. And we've got little mini goals along
the way, because one point one million dollars is a
really that's a long goal. So we have like every
five years we want to go on a really big
international holiday. Every one year we want to go, like
(12:34):
to the Gold Coast or something like that. And I
really want a Louis Vuitton never fool.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Oh, I get it. I get it.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
So it's just about getting that across the line somehow.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Oh, it'll get across the line at some point. Like
it's an investment, Like the price of those keeps going up.
So if I buy it now, I'm actually saving money
in the future by not buying it in the future,
because it would be way more expensive. Right, exactly, go math,
give me your husband's number. I'll call the man up.
I'll let him know. We're basically making money here.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So money, darst. Are there any other big goals that
you have in mind? I'm making the grand assumption that
you don't have children.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
I do.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Oh, we haven't talked about them yet, and we don't
have to talk about them specifically. I'm just interested in
your cash flow. So I was like, are they double income?
No kids? Do they have kids? Like, how aggressive can
we be on smashing this mortgage down? Like I'm just
being pervy? Yes, I have a six and a ten
year old, gorgeous.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
The six year old is a boy and is currently
eating my house out. It's unbelievable how much boys eat.
We have like seven hundred dollars a fortnight for groceries,
two thousand dollars a fortnight for bills. Yeah, the seven
hundred for splurge, and then I've just started investing fortnightly too.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Who are you? Tell me? I need to know a
little bit more about groceries because I feel like groceries
a hot topic at the moment, and I mean, we're
all feeling the pinched when we come to the checkout.
Tell me a bit more about a seven hundred dollar
per fortnite grocery budget, Like is that for you? Guys?
Is that bougie? Is that, you know, just cutting it
fine and getting enough week bix to fuel a six
(14:09):
year old?
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Like?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
What does that look like?
Speaker 4 (14:11):
It was just enough, but since I was rudely challenged
by my therapist, it has become more than enough, so
where I'm currently doing my full weekly shop for about
one hundred and fifty dollars a week feeding all for people.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Excuse me? Who are you?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
We shop predominantly at Audi, of course, and just like
little things like butchering your own chicken. That saved us
heaps of money and it was not something I ever
ever occurred to me. So and just making lunch box
snacks at home rather than buying them, and just trying
to be really creative.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Tell me where did you get these tips and tricks?
Because like, obviously your your therapist sounds like an icon
and was like, oh, I bet you can't do it,
and you're like, oh damn it. Now I have to
prove you wrong. So how did you learn about butchering
your own ches? Because I feel like those things. Lots
of people are like, oh, I can't save you that much,
but I actually can. Who taught you that? Or did
you just decide that was a thing? No?
Speaker 4 (15:08):
I follow this Instagram page called that money Mum.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Oh no, let's go find her, and.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
She just basically talks about how she saves money and
does like fifty dollars a week challenges and gets you
to follow along. So I can't do fifty dollars a week, absolutely,
dairy milk doesn't allow that.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And we've got it, like, sorry, that's for our mental health.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Yes exactly, but yeah, we've halved our bill just by
being mindful and eating before we go shopping. Because if
my husband goes out shopping, he always gets LCMS. It's
like the warning sign that we need to leave him
reaching for LCMS.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I feel like that's a good thing, like you clearly
know this man well, like mine's a slippery slope. If
I take my husband shopping to the supermarket, like we're
buying everything, like not in a good way, He'll be like, oh, yeah,
we should get a roast chicken. I'll be like, we
don't need a roast chicken. Oh yeah, we do. Anyway,
let's go to a really quick break because on the
(16:06):
flip side, I have a lot of questions because you
told me just before that you are investing, and I
want to know about that debt. I need to know
how much your house costs to begin with, and then
we're going to talk about your best and worse money habits.
So guys, don't go anywhere. Are at money dist We
are back and before you mentioned that you've got you know,
(16:27):
I think you said seven hundred dollars in groceries, two
thousand dollars in bills every fortnight. Then you've got like
your seven hundred dollars in splurge every fortnite. But then
you've started investing how much and in what? And how
did you start that journey?
Speaker 4 (16:39):
So we very first started investing with my financial advisor
through Hub twenty four.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Oh yeah, and.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
He recycled debt through our mortgage and we got a
one hundred thousand dollars investment loan and he invested that
for us through Hub twenty four. But once we wanted
to buy this new house, he pivoted and said, we
really need to get this mortgage down, so we took
that out. And it's only been since listening to you
(17:08):
that I dabbled in Chersias a little bit, but I
didn't love it, and I was trying to find a
platform that worked for me, and then I found Vanguard.
So now I invest five hundred dollars a fortnite into
Vanguard all growth.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Oh, I love this for you? And how did you
choose that? Like, I'm just being really pervy, So we
do apologize, Bill, you can't be like I investing Vanguard
or Growth, Like how did you pick that?
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I did a few quizzes on my risk profile, and
since I've become much more educated on finance, my risk
profile is actually pretty high. I have a really high tolerance.
And then I just did a little bit of googling
and listened to a few podcasts and lots of people
were speaking about Vanguard and that they quite trusted They've
been in the game a really long time. So I
(17:53):
went on their website and just went with all growth
and I made twelve dollars today, I logged on it's
just gone up twelve bucks because I'm good changes in tariffs.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
So that's a money win. I love that for us.
I feel like Trump at the moment is definitely just
playing like roller coasters with our share markets. Like the
impact of this man is having is making me feel
sick like it is actually terrifying. Anyway, we will not
go on about that because it will take our way
the rest of the episode. I need to go back
(18:23):
to your mortgage because I think for a lot of people,
hearing our mortgage is at one point one four five
would make a lot of people sick like and that's cool,
but I need to know how much did you purchase for?
How much of a deposit did you need to purchase
a house that big?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
We purchased it for one point five?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Oh okay, Queen.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
And we used the proceeds from the house that we
sold as a deposit. So it's just amazing how big
prices have gotten. We built house and land in Adelaide
in twenty eighteen for five hundred thousand, and now I
live in Canberra and the prices are just astronomical. So
(19:03):
we're building again, but it's one point five seems to
be like a discount in this state.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I feel like this is now the way of getting
into property and like building our dream home. And you
said earlier, like, oh, my husband and I building our
dream home, and that is so flipping exciting. But I
need to know more about the journey because like these days,
it's not like back in the seventies and eighties where
our parents could just purchase their dream home off the
bat and be like, oh, well, we tick tat box,
(19:30):
We've got a family home. Like nowadays, we're having to
purchase a house, you know, wait for it to increase
in value a little bit, using the proceeds of that
to get into a bigger house. And like, I own
a mortgage breaking business, so I see these literally every
day people going okay, we're going from an apartment to
a townhouse from a townhouse to our dream house, Like
it's not a linear pathway of like, yep, I'll just
go to Victoria's business and get some finance. Talk to
(19:52):
me about this house and land package that you purchased.
First you said it was five hundred thousand dollars, So
tell me you purchase for five hundred thousand dollars when
and then what did you sell it for?
Speaker 4 (20:03):
So we purchased for five twenty eighteen and then we
sold at the start of this year for eight forty five.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Oh my goodness. And was that when you were building
your house at the time, were you like, this is
our dream home or were you like this is a
stepping stone? Like what was the thought process of like
picking that location in that particular house and land package.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
It was just a really nice place to raise children
and it was a little bit country like right on
the cusp of the city. And we never ever thought
we would sell. But then my husband got moved to
Canberra for work. We've been renting while renting out that
home and we're renting it for six fifty a week,
which was, you know, more than we ever thought we
(20:49):
would get out of it. But we're just tired of
renting and want a house where we can put holes
in the wall and do all that stuff. So we
sat down with our financial advisor and just said, like,
can we afford to do this? And he said yes,
and it kind of went from there.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
But we're going to have to dispose of that asset
and flip this over here and do a little bit
of a backflip and then we can.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Yes. Bless him.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It sounds like he's got his head screwed on. Like
when you said, yap, he was doing debt recycling, I
was thinking, oh, that feels a bit risky for that
level of mortgage. After you told me your income and
I'm thinking okay, like no judgment, I haven't seen your plan.
And then you said yes but my advisor told me
to extinguish this to do this, I'm like, oh, okay,
Like he sounds smart. And then when you said Hub
twenty four, I was like, yeah, I used to use
that platform as well when I was an advisor. And
(21:32):
for those of you, I guess playing along at home.
Hub twenty four is basically a commercial version of like
a sharesis or a vanguard, where your financial advisor will say, oh,
invest on Hub twenty four, and your financial advisor can
essentially log into the back end and I could see
all your reporting and you know, make trades and stuff
on your behalf. But then there's the client side, which
(21:54):
our money direst would have been able to see. So like,
it's not something that you're like, oh my god, should
I have that. It's more just a like that's usually
what advisors use because it has that back end access
money dost I want to know a little bit more
about debts. So you just have the mortgage that you
have at the moment, and the plan is to get
out of it, ideally in fifteen years. Yes, that is
very exciting. Do you have any other debts? Have you
(22:16):
ever been in other debt?
Speaker 4 (22:17):
When I was nineteen, I got a five thousand dollar
loan to travel overseas that was really tricky to pay down.
I just didn't understand interest. I didn't understand any of it.
I just wanted to go overseas, which I know you
can emphasize.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
In Oh, absolutely I can. Like, what do you mean
compound interest is basically what happens with debt. That's a
bit rude, Yes, and dishonor fees.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
I was getting smashed with them all the time. But
my husband helped me pay that down, and then you know,
we've bought a secondhand car here and there. But I've
never had a credit card. My family always instilled in
me that if you don't have the money, then you
can't afford it. So I've never had that and I've
we haven't got any debt except for the house.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Now, that is a good position to be in. I
feel like having ADHD not having a credit card is
probably a very good thing because like when you're chasing
that dopamine high, Wait, you mean I can tap it
and it's not even coming out of my bank account either,
Like that five hundred dollars that you and I were
talking about before that your husband doesn't see like that
literally being on a credit card would be the worst
(23:22):
thing for you.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
I think Apple pay is the worst thing that ever
happened to my bank account, just to double click on
the side of the phone and boom.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
You need to completely disconnect it because, as a fellow
adhdre if you make it really hard, then I don't
even want to do it. Like if I have to
go get my credit card, then I have to face
the reality that I probably didn't want that because it
wasn't worth going and finding my credit card for. Yeah,
you're right, slippery slope though, because this genius now knows
oh credit card numbers and no CVC like the back
(23:50):
of her hand. Yes, me too, slippery slippery slope. Money
direst I need to know, though, what is your best
money habit?
Speaker 4 (23:57):
My best money habit is that when I have a
clear goal, I am a machine at saving. After I
had my children, I had significant ab separation and I
needed to have surgery to repair it, but Medicare didn't
cover it, so it was going to cost sixty thousand dollars.
What I know, Tony Abbot said, women just want free
(24:18):
tummy tucks, so we took it off Medicare.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Oh yeah, that's totally it, Tony Abbitt, you absolutely honestly.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
So in eighteen months, I saved sixty thousand dollars and
I was earning about sixty thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
So we need more info, like how do you save
sixty grand in a short period of time? Like are
you hustling? Are you doing side hustles? Are you selling
your entire contents of your house on marketplace? What's going on? It?
Speaker 4 (24:43):
Was just sheer determination of like we don't need the
heater on, put a jumper on. We don't need to
go visit our friends. That's going to cost fuel. Like
we just locked down, and I was in a lot
of discomfort a lot of the time, and it was
just a daily reminder of why we need to save,
and so we just put our heads down and every
(25:04):
way we could think to save money, we did it.
We had no streaming services, like we're making our pet
food at home. We were doing everything we could think of.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I am so impressed and also just like so happy
that you got that, but like, I'm not gonna lie.
I did not know that those surgeries were so expensive,
Like had no idea. In fact, I am quite mad
that that's the case, because it's like, sorry, that to
me sounds like an essential surgery. I know, like that sorry,
(25:33):
you just said that you were uncomfortable the whole time, Like,
and that was one of your motivations to save. Is
that not a required surgery in that case? To me?
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I agree?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Anyway, I need to know, let's flip this, what is
your worst money habit?
Speaker 4 (25:45):
My impulsivity Instagram is she just reads my mind and
I might be talking about slippers, and then slippers will
pop up, and then I have to have those slippers.
So I'm just really impulsive. I've tried doing that twenty
four hour thing that he goes, I can't do it
because I so badly need it right now, and so
(26:06):
that's something that I'm really working on.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I feel like, if you're in that position, I know
that it's like, oh, just don't do it for twenty
four hours. Go put it in your note section of
your phone, or put an alarm on your phone so
that it doesn't feel like you're going to miss out.
Because I think they're with Adhd as well. We know
that we're going to forget, like we know that that's
something and you kind of I think that's a lot
of our impulsivity because we know that if we don't
(26:29):
do it right now, it's probably not going to happen.
So like, put an alarm in your phone at the
same time tomorrow to remind you to go look at
those slippers again and see if you want them. Like
that way, maybe you don't feel as much like you're
going to miss out. And that has historically helped me
a little bit, and I'm much better at it now,
but it is very hard to manage sometimes, especially when
(26:50):
you get that dopamine high, Like, how do we redirect that?
Why can't it be like a dopamine high from cleaning
my fridge out? Why so rude money darist? At the
start of this episode, you said, I reckon, I'm an
A mins. What makes you an ans? Like? What would
make you an A plus? Because it sounds like, honestly,
you've got it pretty together. I know that you're spending
(27:11):
a bit more than your husband realizes you're spending, but
you're still on track to pay off your mortgage early.
You are still investing, and you seem to have a
really good handle of your budget and cash flow, Like
I don't think it's as bad as I thought it
might be from your diary entry.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
I think to be an A plus it would be
being able to trust myself with my money and know
that that dopamine is not more important than my values,
because that's something that really that was the instigator of
me messaging you, listening to an episode about values and
looking at my bank and seeing that all the things
(27:47):
that I buy did in align with them, and what
I really want is a safe and beautiful home for
my family and to be able to afford to send
my kids on school camp and all that sort of stuff,
And what I was doing was going against all of that.
So yeah, to become an aplus would be to trust
myself and stick to my values.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
I'm excited for that because I think that you're on
the track to do that. Like it sounds like you've
got a lot of good people on your team that
support you, whether that is your family or like your therapist,
Like you're going to get it, and obviously your therapist
knows how to push the right buttons on you, and
like I have met therapists before who just don't know
what to do with me. So I'll call you after
and I think I might need her details money test.
(28:27):
This has been beautiful. I feel like this episode is
going to really resonate with a lot of people in
our community, like not just the ADHD, but just like
the sneaky spending, like maybe being able to hype a
focus on things. But then also thank you so much
for sharing so much information and just like parts of
your journey of like having to be hospitalized for mental health,
(28:47):
because I think we need to talk about this so
much more often. Because like, it is challenging, but it
is a reality of our situation. And I'm obsessed that
your financial advisor came in and was like, write, sit down,
I will organize all of this, because not many and
this is so good, but not many people get to
see their financial advisor actually in action, like you would
(29:08):
probably remember sitting down with them in initial consults and
then being like, look, if anything happened, i'd come in
and make sure you're okay, and you're like, yeah, but cool.
But they do right, Like they just fly in and go, okay, cool,
We're going to sort this, this, this and this, and
I need you to sign here so that we can
get this done and I'll call you if I need anything.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Yeah, I've told him. I sent him an email and said,
I think that you saved my life because without that
income and without him just taking it all, it wouldn't
have got done, and I would have felt like I
was hurting my family. So I'll be forever grateful for him.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
I'm obsessed. Well, thank you so much for sharing your journey.
I'm very very grateful that I got to hear a
small part of it. And I know that our community
is going to feel exactly the same way.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Thanks Victoria.
Speaker 5 (29:57):
If I shared on cheese 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
(30:17):
your needs. Victoria, Divine and She's on the Money are
authorized representatives of money. Sheper Pty Ltd a BN three
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AFSL four five one two eight nine
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