She Chose Europe Over a House Deposit. Now She's Questioning Everything.

0:00My name is Natasha Bambleett. I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. T. Glignan Ganya. Nehanna Gaka Yalya and Ben Awaka. Nehanna Ganya and Ben Yakramja. Dumanya Gumiga Dumanya Ithawaka Nidawaman Daman Imalan. Muma Bangada Bama in Nyanwaka. Ganya Nyakramja. Wutuna Ranah. Hellay, beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. We thank, acknowledge and respect, the Aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today. Take pleasure in all the land and respect, all that you see. She's on the money podcast, acknowledges culture, country, community and connections. Bringing you the tools, knowledge and resources for you to thrive. Hello and welcome to She's on the Money. The podcast that lets you be pervy about other people's money stories for educational purposes, of course. Welcome back to another one of our money diaries

1:00brought to you by our friends at SkyWelfth, where I get the absolute privilege of sitting down with one of our incredible She's on the Money community members to talk to them all about their journey. Let's jump straight into it because this week I got a message and it sounded exactly like this. Hi, She's on the money. I only just started working full-time this year after draining all my funds on Exchange last year. And I earn around $75,000. I have an emergency fund of $6,000 and $3,000 to cover moving out of home in September. I'm currently saving in quote marks rent, across moving costs, new furniture and bulking up long-term goals trying to reduce the shock of moving out. My big goal at the moment is a house deposit. I have $13,500 in a savings account and around $12,000 eligible for the first time SuperSaterScheme. Currently, I'm saving $300 a fortnight. I'm trying to get into investing and I have around $3,000 invested and I'm aiming to increase it by $200 a fortnight.

2:04On top of rent, I spend around $750 on living expenses which I'm trying to decrease as my main expense right now is entertainment. Money, diarist, you're only 23. Welcome to the show. Hi, lovely to be here. My queen, what? Like, reading through that, it just gets better and better and also I just wanna tell our listeners something and I hope that they pick this up but I don't ever learn about our money diarist before jumping on a money diary and I don't mean that in a rude way, my love. I mean it in a way where I get to have a really wholesome authentic organic conversation with you about what you're doing, where you're at, how it works. So I purposefully, my girls at work, so Kiara always puts in my calendar and invite. So it's like an event and then in the event description is your money diary. So I don't see it until I open the diary to literally read it out and for me, it even gets better and better. Like I keep being like, oh, they couldn't, wait, why?

3:05She's only 23. Queen, welcome to the show and thanks for wanting to share with us. Yeah, no, of course, I'm excited to share. So tell me, if I asked you to give yourself a money grade from A through to F, what would it be? Maybe like a B minus C plus. Sit down. Okay, we're going to have a little fighty fight at the end of this Sophia. Now, money diaries, my favorite part of the show. Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story and the things that have impacted it? Yeah, I think the one thing that really impacted it was at my first little job at a cafe. My mom gave me some really good advice and she's like, why are at home and you don't have any bills, save at least half your income into your bank account. So I did all of that throughout high school, bought my first little car, listened help from my parents, which I still have. I'm having that car until it dies. Yeah, good, good, good, good. That's what we like to hear. And then I kept saving, didn't know what I was really saving for. And then yeah, I decided to go spend all my money

4:06on three international trips. Okay, but that's your money values. Like, I'm not judging, don't laugh. Did you love them? I love them, would not see them back for the world. Okay, so what's the problem with this? Someone is spending their money in line with their values. What? I know, it was very competing views, whereas like really wanted to get into the property market, but also really wanted to like achieve all these goals that I had to go travel, live overseas. So it was hard. And I still kind of struggle with that sometimes that that's what I picked. Okay, but let me contextualize this for a hot second. The second you have a mortgage, there's no flexibility in that. Don't get me wrong, like a home ownership, if that is a goal of yours, like it's my entire career to get people into their first homes. Like I run a mortgage-breaking business. So like I should be like, money-darest, come and see us yesterday. But you're not going to have as much flexibility in your money as when you get a mortgage. So if you're going to do travel and stuff, why not get it out of the way first? So that once you do have a mortgage, you don't feel restricted or like you're missing out on the life that you really wanted to live.

5:07Yeah, that's a good thing. It is a good thing. Yeah, and then I've come back what June of last year, I think I had $1,000 in my bank account. And I was like, let's get back onto the savings train as I like to call it. And yeah, I wasn't working as I finished up my uni degree and then got a part-time job just in a warehouse before I started, yeah, full-time working in February of this year. And I've just been, yeah, trucking along. I love this. So talk to me about why when your mom said, sit yourself up when you had your first cafe job. Why'd you take that advice? I'm not saying it's bad advice, it's fantastic advice. But like my dad gave me similar advice when I got my first cafe job. And do you think I listened to him? I'm always someone that likes a good plan. So from this, I was like, yeah, I've wanted to always own my own home for my very very young age. So I was like, yeah, I want to start saving all my money, making sure it was getting good interest

6:07and like going with that. And then I tried some of my investments are quite old, actually. You got me into investing a couple of years ago. Stop it. But then I had my traveling to a priority. I had good returns. I think I was at a hundred percent return at one point. Excuse me. In more, sorry, sorry. You can't be like, oh, I think I got a hundred percent return and then just like walk away from that conversation. Sorry, it was in Nasdaq. It's like a better shares in ten. Oh, the Nasdaq. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay, okay. I'll get into that after. We've got an investing question coming out. Then I got really into like looking into certain schemes because I was like, what else can I do with my money? I had a loss in cryptocurrency. So I got scared of investing. And that's how I fell onto the first homeowner's super savings scheme and put some money in there because you get the returns as well. And I saw that it was a very low risk way of investing. I was like, it's still growing. I don't have to make any decisions about this. And I get some tax benefits as well.

7:08Yes. And it's like free money. Yeah. Like I love free money. And it's funny because so many people will write into the show or ask questions. And I can never give advice. Like I don't know if that scheme is going to work for you in your personal situation. So if someone messages in, hey, V, should I do this? Well, it's like, I don't know like in the nicest possible way. But what I can share with you is that most first home owners coming through my mortgage-breaking business, Zella, are using the first home super savings scheme because it kind of just makes sense for their situation to put money into super and then pull it out for their first home and get some tax benefits along the way. Like that's kind of sexy. Yeah, it was very attractive when I was looking into it. So I put some lump sums and now I save regularly into a keep track. Oh, girl. Oh my goodness. You're only 23, but you're setting yourself up. So why are you so aggressive at 23 to set yourself up for your first home? Sorry, lots of 23-year-olds. They're like, no, I'm going to wait until I'm in my 30s to care about this stuff.

8:10Like, where's this mindset coming from? It honestly came from my mom and my step-dad. They're very open about money with me and we've talked about it quite often. And I see what they've done, where they've bought properties and done slight renovations and then sold it out of good profit. So just seeing what they've done, I've been really inspired and I was like, I really want to own my own property. And they've also helped me along the way with like, what I should be doing and like, like my mom's the one that really got me into like looking for schemes and stuff like that. So I con, I love this. All right. So tell me, money drives, what do you do for work and how much money do you earn? So I work as a law graduate and I earn about $75,000 plus super. Oh, that's good for a grad role at 23. Like, very nice. All right, so tell me. Right now, you've said, look, they, I'm saving for a first time. But is that your big money goal? Is there anything else you're working towards at this point in time? Yeah, well, I'm moving out at the end of next month. So I've just been saving,

9:10I've kind of restricted myself where the amount that I'd pay for towards rent, I'm storing away so I can't touch it. So I'm kind of like preparing myself because I'm going to buy some new furniture. I have to pay the bond. So I've just been preparing for that. But other than that, yeah, just to buy a house. So tell me about moving out of home. Is this your first time moving out of home? Yeah, so I lived overseas temporarily while I was on a stage. But yeah, this is my first time moving out of home. I'm quite nervous. What are you nervous about? I don't know. I'm moving out with some housemates and I know. I think just I'm scared about like having so many fixed costs that I've never had before. Yeah, and that's why I said, it's good that you traveled before you were like even thinking about a mortgage. Can I be real pervy and ask if you're 23 and you're moving out with housemates? Firstly, why are you moving out? And secondly, how did you find your housemates? Like is this like a group of friends going out on their own or like? So I moved out mainly just because where I live is a little bit far from my work, it takes me about an hour to get in.

10:12So and I just want to be closer to like where all my friends are living and work. I just feel like I spend a lot of my time commuting and also like spending money on fuel. And then I met the one housemates. Flatmates, sorry, just like a website. Yeah, cool. And do you just I've never done that? So I've always had the privilege of moving in with like a girlfriend and for a very long time I lived with my best friend. And you know what big flex didn't ruin our relationship. We still are best friends. So how did you decide, all right, I'm going to move out with some housemates that I've never met before? Because that note low key gives me so much anxiety. Um, it was a bit of like, I didn't really have any friends that were looking to move out at the same time. They were all quite comfortable and their leases. And I was just a bit like, I really want to move out right now. And I live by the motto that I just need to make myself happy. So I just do whatever I want. Cool. Oh, I love that. And so you've found these housemates and is it a pre-existing house and you're just moving into like a room?

11:12Moving into just like the room, which was good. Make sure I protected myself. I probably like lease agreement onto the RTA. So kind of set myself. Yeah, I'd legit, but tell me, what do you pay per week in rent? What's that going to look like? $320 a week plus bills. Mostly because I have the master bedroom. So you got the nice room. Did you get a little on-swee? Yeah. Oh, she's living. Well, Kim, bro, I was like, I'm paying all this money to live out of home. I'm going to enjoy it. 100%. I'm surprised that if you're moving into a pre-existing house, they let you have the master bedroom. Like I would gatekeep that. I think because it's a bit more expensive than what they're paying. Yeah, they're smart. They're like, we don't want this. We've lived out of home for a while. And it is not worth it. But you live love love. Money, Darius, let's go to a quick break on the flip side. I want to ask you more about your investments about your thoughts on debt. Personal insurance is at 23. And what your best and worst money habits are. So guys, don't go anywhere. All right, money, Darius, we are back.

12:14And you're like a young little pocket rocket. I can just tell that you, obviously, how community can't see you. But you're beaming. You just look like sunshine. You're the type of person that people want to know. So aside from all of that, and me arguably just stroking your ego, can you tell me about how you made your first investment and why? So I made my first investment for a platform called Steak. And you were very much inspired me as listening to your podcast. I read your books, and I was a bit like, I was very scared, but I made it. I kind of just had to make a little bit of a jump of faith, leap of faith, that's better. I was a bit nervous because I lost some money, not very much, in cryptocurrency. And I just did a lot of research into like, what was going to have high opportunity growth. So I went with some ETFs. So I mentioned it before, but I invest in more sleep better shares. So like NASDAQ. And then I just invested in F100, which is relatively new ETF, which is like top.

13:16I think it's in British stocks. And then I have one meta stock, which is in the US market, unsure as to what motivated me towards that one. But you thought it was a good idea. Can I be pervy and ask more about this crypto decision? Yes. So you're 23. I'm assuming you were much younger when you bought the crypto. Yeah. What possesses a quite young person to make their first investment into cryptocurrency? Like, because that's like, if we look at the risk return, like, chart, and like, I know that that's probably not by your brain was at the moment. Like, we look at the risk return chart, and it kind of goes caches down the bottom, and then it kind of gets a little bit further up. And it might go fixed interest in bonds. And then it will go property, and then it will go Australian shares and then international shares. And then off the top of the chart is cryptocurrency. And a lot of people would go, I'm not comfortable with a bond. I'm not comfortable with like fixed interest. You know what? We're going to do crypto. What happened? How did you make that decision?

14:16Honestly, my stepdad was dabbling in it a little bit. And I was like, I think I can do this. I didn't put a, I think I only lost like $300. Yeah, okay. So like an investing education cost. Yeah. And I didn't do much research. I was like 18. I just picked ones with fun names. And for a while, it was doing quite well. And then I just watched it plummet. And I was like, oh, okay. I'll just take the loss and do this again for a while. I feel like that's fair, but also like, if you're going to have a strategy, one with fun names when it's crypto, like fine. Fine. So how did you pivot from crypto and feeling that sense of loss because you would have been like, oh my goodness, like I've lost money in this, like that's not good. Why was your mindset, I'm going to go invest in something else as opposed to investing is bad? I just did a lot more research. And was looking at like realizing how risky cryptocurrency was.

15:17And I was really into looking at my like superannuation and I was going, well, if super invests in a lot of stocks, they must be a lot more stable. So I was just doing a lot of research. And from that, that's how I ended on like ETS. Because I was like, for what I'm wanting, this seems to be the most stable option. Yeah, totally understand. So I kind of just like rewired my brain into going, I kind of made a bit of a silly mistake. You can do very high risk. And that's why I got burnt. But if I do it this way, it will be better, hopefully. OK, so she's smarter than the average bear, guys. Like, listen to that. That is words coming out of a 23 year old. Like, be so for real. If I was on Money Diaries at 23, firstly, I wouldn't have been on Money Diaries at 23. Not because I wouldn't have been invited, but because I would never have ever wanted to talk about my money circumstance because at that age, I was still lying to my classmates about being in debt. Like, my housemate's thought I wasn't in debt and I was in significant debt. So that was really sexy for me. But hearing that coming out of you,

16:18I'm like, you are set up for success, my queen. Tell me, with that in mind, do you have any debts? I only have my hex debt. That's at about 74,000. And part of that was when I went on exchange, I took a loan out against my hex as well. So totally worth it. No, no, I did the same thing because I started in France for a while there, which was like the time of my life. Oh, I went to France too. We're in France where I was in Grand Oble. I was in Paris. Ah, so cute. I loved it. I was like down south, which was really cool, because I'm a very big snow bunny. So I got to go to the snow every weekend. I will say it was probably not as sexy as Paris. It was a little bit more like study town, because in Grand Oble, it's like, there's like a lot of universities and like, if you don't speak fluent French, which I'm only okay at French, like they pretend they don't understand you there. Whereas I think in Paris, they're a little bit more like,

17:20oh, here you go. We'll help you out a little bit. I went over speaking no French. Oh, that's so good. Did you pick it up quickly? A little bit. But I could order. That was a highlight of my achievements. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can order a panne chocla. That's all good. That's all I need. That's all I need. And a cafe lot, because I remember when I first got there and I'd be like, yeah, like this is going to be easy. Or just order a latte. And then I got a cup of hot milk. And I was like, oh, you need to order the cafe part, which is coffee bill. What? What? Anyway, money diaries. Have you got a plan to smash down your hex or are you on the train of like, out of sight, out of mind, I've got bigger goals? At the moment, I'm kind of just letting it do its thing. I think it'll be more of a decision. Because this year will be my first year actually starting to make repayments on it. So I at least want to play the indexation down each year. So I'm going to top it up. If the government amount isn't enough for that, if that makes sense. Yeah, very fair. I feel like that makes sense.

18:21But then also, I'm like, even if it does grow a little bit, like the cash rate is so high right now, I don't know. Like there's pros and cons. I've been re-reviewing whether I pay mine down because everything has changed. And I've been like, yeah, you know what? No, like I'd prefer it to go into my mortgage offset and offset that mortgage. But, you know, I feel like I'm always revisiting it being like, I don't like that there's debt still sitting there ill. No, thank you. All right, money diaries, tell me, you're 23. Have you considered personal insurance? I have personal insurances. Okay. In my superannuation, as of this week, as of this week, oh, you were like, I'm going on money diaries. I better get my stuff together. Is that what's happening here? No, I just couldn't figure out how to do it for ages and then I finally figured out how to do it inside my super. Just because I'm young, I don't think I need, and I was quite happy with the coverage within my super just to go with that one, especially because my work puts extra contributions higher than the 12%.

19:24Okay, that's very nice. Thank you, workplace. Yeah, so I'm a bit like, well, that extra percent can cover my insurance. I love that. Sorry, I was a bit like making my money work a little bit better for me. I've got a bit more money in there. I'll just get them to take it out of there for me. Thank you very much. I love this. You're a smart cookie. All right. Now, I feel like, I feel like we have to have an argument after this because you didn't give yourself a very good money grading comparison to where I think you are for your age. But let's learn a little bit more. So tell me off the top of your head, what do you think is your best money habit? Ooh, I think just making my money work for me. I'm always changing my bank accounts to have the highest interest. And I'm at the trying to get into micro investing at the moment. So using the everyday roundoff feature in my bank accounts and putting that into some micro investing, I also put all my 10 cents from my cans in there as well. Oh, smart. So it's actually not just going to waste. Like, you've made money out of literally rubbish

20:27and then it's made you money and that money at some point will make you money. Oh, love. Yeah. Just try to make every couple cents account, I guess. I think that's really smart. I've been thinking recently because my son is only two, right? And I'm like, how am I going to teach this kid about money in a way that aligns to my values and aligns to him actually being able to value money? And I'm thinking maybe we can do the like, can collect being and then he can invest that money or like, but how do you even make it sexy? Do you enjoy that? Hi, what I do is, well, I take a can of soft drink every day and to work to have with my lunch. And I just bring it home with me. And then I just have like a container in the garage where I store it all. And then the place where I do it, I don't even have to sort it. Like I literally just drop off the bag and they count it for me. Excuse me, that's so good. So it's really easy. And like the last time I went, I think I got like $26. So I just store them till I got a car ride full. Yeah, money, we in love.

21:28All right, money, let's flip the script. What's your worst money habit? I'm really bad at being able to justify purchases. Like because I go, oh, but I don't buy a lot. So then I just spend money on frivolous things that are like quite small amounts. And like that's what I was saying in my, like my little thing I sent through that like entertainment is one of my worst expenses because I like going out with my friends and seeing shows. So I just justify it. So I'm like, yeah, but I need to enjoy my life. I mean, I think that's a really good justification. I want to know a little bit more about what entertainment means to you because like we were talking about this in my team the other day. And one of the girls was like, yeah, I got over the movies and then we'll talk about how expensive the movies is becoming. But then I was also like, but girl, you're doing that once a month. Like who cares? You're still catching up with your mates and you don't even go out for brunch ever. What would your total entertainment look like? So at the moment, it sits at about $350 for things like eating

22:28our a week or a month, a fortnight. Okay, a fortnight. Sorry, just asking for context. No, that's okay. And C.A. covers mostly like eating our hanging out with my friends stuff like that. But then I also spend I think it's $150 a fortnight. I put into like bigger things and that's like a more like a savings account. So it's like if I want to go see a $200 concert that'll come out of that one. So you've planned for those bigger expenses. Yeah. So I don't have to touch my savings accounts. Hold on. So make me make this make sense. You said my worst habit is entertainment. And then when you dive further in, you're like, but I budgeted for it. It goes into a separate account. It's something that's in line with my values. Tell me why this is making you feel so guilty when you have such a good little strategy and plan around it and you're not eating into any of your savings to do these things. I don't know. I think just because I say for it, I let myself buy things that I don't need. Very short term gratification.

23:29If that makes sense, like I'll buy something for $7 that I don't actually want. But I'm like, but I have the money there. But then I use it once and then I never touch it again. So what would be the like perfect outcome here is that you just don't spend money or is it you may be putting some time between you and that purchase? Like because I feel like you're good with money. So these little purchases, I think if they're things that you go, Navi, I love it. It sparks joy. But am I hearing that it's not sparking any joy and you're like, it sparks short term joy. I have the item. I'm like, yes, I love it. The next day I'm like, why don't I do that? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Like I bought the other day with $7 like to use this app. I have not used it since I used it for 10 minutes. Go cancel it right now. Right now you go cancel that ASAP. But yeah. Yeah. Okay. Quin. I feel like this is really relatable as well because it's like, I want to have balance, but then also when I go to do it, maybe we need to even know the money is there. Go, if I still want it tomorrow, I can have it like implementing like

24:31another buffer that's not stopping you from having it. Because I think that if we become too restrictive, that actually really weighs on our mental health. But putting 24 hours between you and you're spending on that account could work. They're like, if I want this seven dollar item, maybe I can just go and buy it tomorrow. And then most of the time you won't be bothered. Because you'll be like, I'm not coming back and we came up tomorrow. Like I was here today. No, I've definitely been in the situation where I've been too restrictive on my money. So I think that's why I get so frustrated because I used to be so good at it. Restricting it and trying struggling to find a balance between being restrictive, but also letting myself have things. And that's why I call it a bad habit because I'm like, I've been on both sides and I'm trying to find a middle ground. Oh my goodness. Oh, okay. So let's just recap. Your money story is quite positive. You've had some really great saving habits you invested in crypto, but somehow learned from it instead of just being scared off the share market completely.

25:32You're saving for your first home whilst also planning to move out your 23. So you've got incredible amounts to fall back on if something did happen. You do invest. You've got to plan around your hex debt, but you don't have any other debt. Or again, I need to remind people 23 and has her personal insurances set up what the heck. Tell me about that grade that you gave yourself at the start. Like I'm listening back to this person. Do you think that that's a fair grade to put on them? Probably not. I'm just really critical of myself. Exactly. But like why can't we start talking to ourselves in the same way we would talk to somebody else in our community or talk to a friend? Like, would you ever be like to your friend? Oh my goodness. You're doing all of this cool stuff. Bad money grade. Probably not. I told them very, oh my gosh, you go. You go wrong. Thank you. So what type of grade would this person, if it wasn't you get a B plus? Okay. Why B plus? What would it take to get this person from a B plus all the way up to an A?

26:37Not a day plus, just an A. Probably be a little bit more aggressive in investing. I'm still a little bit scared. I have learnt from it, but I'm still am a little bit scared. Like I'll let money sit in there for quite a while before I invest it because I get really nervous. That seems fair. And yeah, trying to keep down some of the frivolous things that I spend my money on. I'm just so proud of you, my queen. I am so excited that you're in our community. So excited that you're starting so young. Like you are off to a racing start and you're going to be by 40, like which for you right now, you're like V that's like a literally double my age. But like, do you know what's terrifying? I am closer to 40 than I am 30 today. And that is low key terrifying. But also I'm not mad. I'm age is a privilege denied to many people. So I'm not mad. But also like it just feels like life is starting to get away from me so quickly. But you're going to be 40 and just like set like my goodness.

27:37Is that something that you think about that you're like, I am working towards my future or are you just like in the moment a bit more where you're like these are just things I want and I'm working towards them. Like what's your like overarching mindset on this? It's a bit of both. I'm very big on like planning for the future. Like you never know what's going to happen tomorrow. But I'm very big on like trying to plan myself up for success. I really like to not have to work all the way until I'm like 65, but like to retire a little bit earlier. Oh, you real with this planning? Like you absolutely are going to like I have no doubt. I don't see why that wouldn't be completely possible for you. Yeah. Or even if not just I like working. So even just like working part time after a early age would be nice. But then also yeah, I'm just big on planning for my life. I don't like surprises and I'm really scared of debt. Like absolutely terrified of it. So I'm really big on like planning for everything that could possibly happen. So I don't have to go into a debt. Money, Jarrist, you are phenomenal.

28:37I am obsessed. Thank you so much for sharing your story and being so open and so cheerful. Like at the same time is obviously wanting to protect your anonymity. I wish people would say you because like you're being mean. You just look so friendly and nice. And I hope that at some point you and I get to cross paths in real life. But it's been appropriately just spending this time with you and getting your money story and just learning a bit more about you. So thank you so much for sharing. No, thank you so much for having me. It's been so far. I'm glad. The advice shared on She's on the Money is generally 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 PDF, TMD, and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria DeVine and She's on the Money are authorised representatives of Money Shepa PTY LTD ABN 321-649-27708.

29:42AFSL 451-289.