Hello, my name's Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud yorr
the Order KERNI Whoaltbury 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 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.
Let's get into it.
She's on the Money, She's on the Money.
Hello, and welcome to She's on the Money, CASO Millennials who want financial freedom. Welcome back to another one of our money dis my favorite episode of the week where I get the absolute pleasure of talking to one of our community members all about their money story. So before we jump into it, I did want to give you guys a little bit of a content warning. We do touch on the topic of financial abuse. We don't get too deep into it, but we do talk about the topic,
what occurred and how it occurred. So if this is something that is not right for you. Please go have a look at our entire library of literally hundreds of She's on the Money episodes, and we will meet you next episode. For those of you who are sticking around, let's jump straight into it. This week, I got a message and it sounded exactly like this. Hi, She's on the Money. Well, my money story is very normal. My
partners was not. When I met my partner, he didn't have a dollar to his name and hadn't failed his tax return in six years. This all came to life when we were preparing everything to try and get a home loan. I've helped him change his ways, but he came from a difficult household and childhood. Some of the things we had to work through was his ADHD, poor savings and planning habits, his blindness to any paperwork, and a discovery of an act of financial abuse against him,
which has changed his relationship with his parents. Forever Money Diarist, this is such a special different view. I'm so excited to get into.
It me too. Thanks for having me on.
I feel like this will be really powerful and something that lots of us in the community can resonate with, especially like as you learn more about money, or you've been listening to heaps of Sheese on the Money episodes, You'll just be going, Oh, I'm not that bad at money, and then realize that there are people in your circle that need the support from what you're learning in the community. I just think this is going to be a really good one.
Yeah, one hundred percent.
All right, let's start off the way I always start an episode money, Darrest. If I asked you to give yourself a money grade, what would you grade yourself from A through to F.
I've been thinking about this one, and I'd have to say, collectively, between us, we are a C. I think we have really good habits and we track and we plan now. But what I've been thinking about is we are kind of in our debt era. We're at that stage in our lives where I still have quite a big X. We've taken on a mortgage, you know, and we're still in a building phase, a glow up phase, if you will.
So, yeah, I have to go with C.
Okay, But I love the way you phrased this because you didn't go, oh, we're in so much debt. You know, we're a C. We're not very good at it. You said because we're in our debt era. And here's why. Like, it's as though you're automatically aware that this is just a phase or a chapter of life and you'll come out the other side. How did you come to have that mentality? Because that's a literal. I would love to copy and paste that into every brain of every She's on the money person ever.
Oh, thank you, I must have met the time I've spent with my partner. You know, I'm a firstborn daughter, I'm very headstrong. I've always wanted what I've wanted when I wanted it and just went for it. And when you partner up with someone, you have to change those ideals, the way you see the world and the way you engage with people. And yeah, instead of seeing it as a detriment to us, I can see it as just a phase of our life because we're planning to get out of it.
Yeah.
Oh, I love this so much. All right, let's jump straight into the next question, which I think is going to be really juicy this time, money Dores, Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story? I guess collectively.
Yeah, So I'll start with my own. So I grew up in a working class family. It was just myself, my brother, and my parents. My dad was a firefighter and my mom just worked odd jobs. She, you know, just just wanted to be a family woman. And we weren't well off by any means. You know, my mom likes to say that our family treat was once a month getting cheese pizzas from the local shop.
So, but that's really cute, and a cheese pizza is, don't get me wrong, incredible. What person doesn't love a good cheese pizza.
Still, to this day, I think of those memories and a cheese pizza always brings me joy exactly.
It's all about their memory is not about how much it costs.
That's it.
And I learned work ethic from the those guys. They're now comfortable in their retirement. Not you know, crazy, well off by any means, but they showed me the value of sacrifice. And I've always been able to work. I've when I was in high school fourteen nine months, I had two jobs, so I'd work one job in the morning before school. I was a mail sorterer.
Oh my god, iconic.
Yeah, I didn't realize at the time. Looking back, I'm like, man, how did I do that you know about sleep. Yeah, we'd sort mail in the morning in my school uniform, go to school, and then go to a bakery after school and do the closing shift.
Yeah, thinking back on who I was as a teenager, there is no chance you would have gotten me out of bed to do mail sorting before well, like absolutely not, like I had an after school job. And even at that point, I was like, this is a drag, Like, don't get me wrong, that's iconic.
Yeah, I didn't even think twice about it a time. All I think was my weekends are free because I'll do all the weekday shifts, so I'll get all my work done during the weekday. I was a kid with money and my weekends free, so that's what drove me.
And okay, but that's genius. How did you learn how
to hack the systems so young? Because I spent all weekend working like I didn't get free time, and I don't think And I was saying this to a girlfriend the other day we went out for a coffee and a walk, and I was saying, do you know what, Like, it's not until I got past the age of I think twenty six that I started to get my weekends back because I was doing hospitality and retail and all these jobs that just didn't allow you to have a weekend, which is fine, but I remember being so lost when
I finally got one. So you never had to go through that era. No.
I did eventually move into retail to support myself through UNI. So I realized looking back hour good. I had it during school, but it was something that helped a lot for me, being able to sustay myself, set myself up while I was in HC as well and still being a kid.
I had goals.
I saved, I self supported travel around the world while I studied, Like I you know, I really think I did.
Alright, you sound like you're iconic. I need to know going back, Sorry, we need to talk about you at fourteen years and nine months. Where did that ethic come from then? Was that your parents saying, all right, money direst is now time to go out and get a job. Or was this you going, hey, I see the value in this. This is something I want, Like, how do we motivate other fourteen year olds to do something similar?
Because I have a couple of people in our community who are like my fourteen year old does not want a job, and I really want them to learn some independence. And it's like, well, I mean everybody's different, but like, where did your motivation come from?
Yeah, it was my parents.
I wanted the things I was, you know, I am a big book worm, and to support that. My parents couldn't you know, they you know, but wanted to support me. But I also learned once you make a commitment, you're there. So you know, once you sign up and you get the job, like I was committed to seeing it through, going all my shifts, like supporting my boss, and I must have been when it comes to things like that,
I don't think twice. And I put it down to my parents watching my dad go you know, four weeks of fostering on and off night shifts at a time, like just to help us sight. It's just imbued in me, I suppose.
Yeah, wow, all right, well I love this. Tell me more. After UNI, what happened?
Yeah, so I took a job that was out in the country, New South Wales, so that was about five hours inland.
Away from my family.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, this was twenty twenty.
So I accepted and started the role January twenty twenty and then I think we all know what happened after that, and I got cut off from my family.
For a little while at least.
But I realized if I was going to survive in this new space, in this new role, I was going to have to meet people. And I met my now husband.
Oh, come on, tell us more like I love love. How did your husband?
We met online? We're both quite introverted, so.
We Hey, there's nothing wrong with that.
It wasn't gonna be the traditional way for us.
Oh, I met my husband on Tinder, and I am proud of that. I wasn't at the time, though, Like I remember when I first said to my parents, oh, I've got a partner, Like, I'd love you to meet them, They're like, how did you meet? And I was like, oh, I don't really want to share this, But now I'm like, oh, Tinder.
It was elite one hundred percent.
I think we first mentioned Tinder in our wedding speeches, but other than that, everyone had been to be in the dark.
Oh my gosh.
Same.
Like our wedding celebrant actually out at us because we told her and like so many people, you know, how, like you get past that period of time where people stop asking, and you're like great, Like we passed this period. She mentioned it, and I remember thinking, literally I'm the bride standing at the front and going like, what are you doing, Megan, what are you doing?
Oh God?
I didn't mind, but it was actually so funny. All right, So tell me a bit about your partner.
Yeah, so he comes from a larger family than I do. He's got five siblings. He grew up in the country where we met. He has a very different money story to myself. They didn't have as much money and the parental guidance around money and parental guidance in in general, it was a very strained relationship with my partner and his father who left, and mom and stepdad and they just yeah, it wasn't any guidance in the space of finances, and when there was money, it wasn't prioritize and spent
on himself and his siblings. It was held. And I think that in my eyes, that's what led to some of the habits that I found him with. And you know that's in combination with somemodi HD tendencies that Yeah, he's he grew up and he got his apprenticeship out of school and went straight into the workforce. So he works in the minds now, and you know, he's been in that for ten years making really good money, and when I met him, he didn't have a dollar to
his name. So yeah, it's taken a while for us to be able to understand each other where we come from and how to work together. But it's coming to terms with those realities of his backstory that's been able to lead us here.
Yeah.
That's honestly so cool that you're working through that, but also so common. I feel like I have spoken to numerous people in and outside of our community who have worked in the minds. They're earning epic amounts of money, but it's like they do five FO and then they come home and they live their best lives and absolutely blow through the cash because they're like, well, I am five FO, I have more than enough money and live
my best life. They come back for a week or so, blow through cash, go back, earn more, and like, it's just a cycle that keeps going on. So tell me a bit more about that and how it came up in your relationship, because money could be a fickle topic and it can be something that makes or breaks a relationship and obviously you guys have tackled it head on,
what did that look like? Because it could be confronting, like if you turned around to your partner and said, hey, you need to get better at money, he might have been like money, darist off your trot.
It was. It was very daunting at the start.
So while I'm very good with money, moso not very open about it. It's not something that you do openly talk about. But I think it came down to the first year or so we were together. And it will be noted that we did move very quickly in our relationships. We met in twenty one.
Oh girl, I get it when you know you know, you know, you know.
In twenty one we met and then early twenty two week we had a house together. So it actually, yeah, it was a very quick turn around. So the conversation had to come up quickly, and it came up tax time. I was about to put my tax in and I asked him if he wanted some help with, you know, doing his And that's when that kind of first discovery was made that he hadn't done them in six years. And at first I was shocked, and I suppose, like any rational person who's just met a new person.
Bread flag, red Flag Central.
You're like, what is going on here?
Run? Yeah? You know.
Another admission is that before my current husband, I hadn't really had any partners, any long term partners.
So I was like, is this normal? Like should I be running away very very quickly?
Like is it worth trying to work through this? And once we did work through the tax stuff, which did leave him with quite a hefty bill afterwards. So one thing, when you're making good money and you don't have private health insurance, you get taxed quite a bit. And that's what we had discovered after you know, so long making money not doing his taxes, he had a bill.
Yeah, the Medicare levy surcharge does sting and it would compound over six years. So you might go, oh, it's one percent of what I earn, or I think it's two percent now of what I earned. It's not much, but over six years, that's two percent every year. So that would have been a pretty hefty bill for him to pay. That would have been a surprise, and he probably was really frustrated once you started breaking it down with him that had he just got private health insurance, it wouldn't.
Have been an issue one hundred percent, Like it wouldn't.
Have come up. And I'm yeah, it's one of those things where is it a red flag? Well that depends, and in your situation, I don't think it was at all. It just was, Hey, my partner actually has his head in the sand about finance and money, and you know that might give him a mad amount of anxiety and we can work through this, or it could literally be someone evading tax. But at the time you don't know.
Yeah, one hundred percent and that's that's what I read. Which one is it balancing the scales there? But no, he was so embarrassed.
Oh, but you don't need to be embarrassed. Like this actually happens all the time. We had a money dearrest, what was it like maybe twenty twenty one who hadn't done their tax return for fifteen years. Wow, Like I got it sorted out, Like I got them hooked up with an accountant and it all got worked out. But like,
if you're in that situation, it can be fixed. Like the ato, they get it, and the best thing that you can do is actually organize it before they come to you, Like organize it, do it before they come to you, because if you're the one putting your hand up, they're like, oh, thanks so much, money at Ourist, We would like to help you there, whereas if they're coming to you being like money at Ourist, we have, you know, got a record that you haven't done it here, here,
and here. That feels a lot more stressful.
Yes it does. And yeah, while it was, you know, an awful thing.
It allowed us to open up that part of our relationship to talk about money and for me to be like, do you need help? Can I help you? And for him to be able to say yes to that. So it was quite a defining moment for us, which I look back fondly on now.
Yeah, oh my gosh, I love that for you guys, And now what does your money story look like? Together?
So together we work as a team. So I, you know, do a lot of the organization stuff, but I also consult with him to make sure that our values are aligned, to make sure that he's feeling heard when we're planning for our future, to make sure that he understands where our money's going. So it's not just me doing it and him being completely in the dark. He you know, knows all our accounts, all our goals, how we're moving and tracking towards all those things. I will admit it's
been a bit of a build of two years. So when we bought together, he still had a house, so we had two mortgages for a while. During the epic rate rise of twenty two to twenty three.
Oh ill, no, thank you.
It was a big learning curve because while I, you know, think I'm good with money, I've never had to deal with that much and that much debt and that much you know, movement before.
So it was yeah, and that becomes stressful, like that becomes genuine pressure. It's not oh, we would love to save and buy a house. It becomes next month, you have a very large sum of money. Do you how are you paying it?
Yeap, one hundred percent. And then after we managed to sell his house, we got engaged and so yeah, we've been married four months as of yesterday.
Oh my gosh, congratulations, thank you.
Yeah.
It was a beautiful time but also a very expensive, stressful times.
So yeah, absolutely, but it's over now. It's over now, you don't have to have another wedding. So many drus, What are your big goals? What are you currently working towards now?
So we didn't go into debt for the wedding, which is great, but we did dip into our savings a bit, so we are trying to put that back together. But after that, the next big goal is land and building the forever dream home.
Oh what does that look like? How long do you think that'll take?
My plan?
I would like it in five, but it's probably more ten years for us, just with the current mortgage that we have, which is a little bit higher than we anticipate buying together. So probably a ten year plan to get that one done.
Yeah, I love that. I feel like it's so nice to hear someone go, you know what, that's probably a ten year plan, but it's still on the cards. You're still working towards it. Tell me you said something there that I want to dive a little bit deeper into. You said, the mortgage is a little bit more than what we had anticipated. Why is that? How did that happen?
So?
Originally when we decided that we were endgame, we wanted to buy it together, but we were hoping to utilize myself for the first home buy stamp duty exemption in our state. So we're hoping to buy with just my name on the title to you know, it can be twenty k thirty k, like it's quite large.
Yeah, it's a good deal.
But where we were looking to buy, it just wasn't feasible to get something that wouldn't require work. And my partner and I realized we love each other, but we probably can't rento together.
We probably cannot.
My husband and I are going through that right now and it's testing, yeap, Like I'm grateful, don't get me wrong. And it can be super fun, but it's also super stressful.
Yes, yes, I can only imagine, and yes, we do love each other. We do have strengths we but.
Knowing that is really important and a little bit more debt and knowing that your relationship is not going to suffer because of it. She's a smart woman.
That's the decision we made.
We ideally should have stayed in his home that he had by himself, which was his family home that he purchased, but it needed work and love that we couldn't give it as a fresh couple.
That's fair, all right. I want to know what do you do for? How much money do you earn? Yeah?
So I work in state government in primary industries and I earn one hundred and twenty thousand a year and my partner is in mining and he works one hundred and sixty thousand a year.
Oh very nice, plus super yeah, oh plus super. Does he also get bonuses?
Yes? He does production targets? Yes?
Ah, how exciting? And what did they look like?
I think his last bonus was five thousand for the year for meeting their production targets, or it could have been six monthly.
Yeah, that's so good. And do you get any type of bonuses? I don't believe you doing government right.
No, we do get things like leaveloading, which is a little bit extra, and we do usually increase with CPI each year as well, so we usually guaranteed that increase so it keeps up.
Okay, that is nice. Now tell me a little bit more about that, because I am a really big fan of salaries increasing with CPI. Is that written into your contract?
No? Through our union?
Right? I love this? And is there a lot of pushback from the organization from the union And how did that go? Because I know that lots of people have been having these prickly conversations over the last I think twelve to twenty four months, I'd say, oh.
Yeah, for sure.
So I believe we're still a negotiation for this year's CPI increased.
But last year's was very profitable for us.
I believe we got four point five backdated per saying increase to keep up with the inflation for last year, so that was awesome. But yet we're still looking at this year's negotiations. But I know my partner's mind is also going into negotiations as well for their they're on a contract agreement, so they're going into negotiations for their salaries as well. So we should have a result for that by the end of the year, which should look like a nice increase as well.
Elate, I love that so much. I mean, I don't love hearing that it was four point five percent. I'm glad that you're happy with that and that, like, obviously that's much better than most people are getting. But let's not forget that inflation was seven point one percent, so that doesn't exactly keep up, but it does meet more than half of it, So I mean, it's better than a kick in the pants. Is that what we'll all we're going with?
Oh?
Agree, let's go to a really quick break on the flip side. I want to dive in. I want to know so much more about these properties, your in investments. I want to know your best and worst money habits. And I feel like I have some more relationship questions for you. So guys, don't go anywhere money diarist. We are back and I want to know are you guys investing? If so, how what does that look like?
So currently no, we are not investing, but it is in the immediate future for us. So I have mentioned that when we bought a house together, my partner had a house and we did get a small profit from that sale, about one hundred K that we have held onto with the intention.
Of investing it.
Oh how cool.
Yeah, it's just been a leap we haven't been able to take yet or been comfortable to take here.
Oh of course. And will you guys do like property investing or share investing or what does that look like or just no idea yet?
We intend to go into shares.
We do have a financial advisor in the family, so we were hoping to utilize some expertise there to help it.
Amazing. I love that for you guys.
Yeah, so that would be the goal and then we'd continually each month put money into that account once we set that up.
Yeah, all right, I want to jump into your debt era. So at the start of the episode you said v I'm in my debt era, and I loved it because one it's really blunt, but two it's just an era. We're just going through this. So can you break down what debt you currently have?
Sure?
Ken, So we have one car loan worth forty thousand. We have a mortgage which is technically split intwo so we have a variable mortgage at one hundred and sixty seven thousand and then a fixed mortgage at five hundred and eighty thousand, and then I also have my HEX. Now this is something I'm not proud of. I did do two degrees and I did max out my HEX. So I do have one hundred and twenty thousand.
In he so did I.
Yeah, don't worry, don't worry.
We'll be there.
Oh'll be there. Mine has just big flex from me. Mine's just dropped under six figures. So that's pretank.
God, that is a congratulations.
I know. I'm still up to my eyeballs in HEXTBT. Have I paid off any extra, No, because I have bigger financial goals at play, and I'm just grateful that the government is letting me do that. But I feel like it's done me well so far. And I mean, you you are doing very well. You earn one twenty plus soupers. Still like, I'm not upset for you?
Thank you? Sorry?
Not sorry? What other debt do you have?
That? Is it? That's what we have? Yeah?
I love that. So tell me how did you guys decide to get a car loan for forty grand? That's pretty reasonable as a car loan it is.
That was a little bit of a personal decision. So my partner has his own car, which is all paid off. It's a work car. It will be driven till it dies, and it won't die, you know, probably before us. I tell you that it's a Toyota.
My dad always used to say that. He'd be like, well, if you're a reliable car, you're obviously going to have to buy a Toyota. My first car was a Toyota too, a not very attractive one. I'm not gonna lie. I wish I could be like, oh I had a really cute Camri or I had like a Corolla or something. No, I don't know if people know what a Toyota Avalon is, but like that's what I do.
Oh beautiful, yes, stunning, right, yep, I can see it in my mind's eye.
I sold it for a very hefty profit of get this, five hundred dollars.
Of You can't go past the Toyot big dog. But yeah, So because we had that, we decided that we did want to spend a little bit and have a nice car, have that car for a good few years and enjoy it before we have a family. That was the thought as well. So we did buy a little BMW and I had a car that sold literally for what I bought it for brand new. It was a Mazda. I bought it for thirty five and I sold it for thirty two and a half. Like, yeah, it was ridiculous.
So it was a really good time for us if we were going to upgrade to upgrade.
Yeah, how exciting, you dropped. We want to have a family at some point, what does that look like.
I've actually been listening to your pods Victoria and all the family financials. So yeah, we do want to look into starting a family next year.
So how exciting.
I know, I'm very excited. It's daunting that I'm very excited. I've already got the spreadsheet together.
It's the best thing in the entire world. Like, I don't think it's very lame. And historically, whenever i'd hear people be like I love being a mom, I'd be like, yeah, all right, cool, Like I didn't get it, get it. And now I'm a mom, I'm like, why didn't you guys tell me? Like, why didn't you tell me how cool this was?
That's very comforting to hear. I'm very excited.
Oh it's so good. It's so good, you're going to adore it. But I want to know, given you're planning on starting a family, and in your money story that you wrote into us, you said my partner discovered an act of financial abuse against him which changed his relationship with his parents forever. That was a big bomb to drop, And with the idea that you're planning a family, like, can we dive a little bit deeper into what was
that bomb? And how are you going to be managing money as children to the family.
Yeah, that's a great question. So, as mentioned, when my partner and I decided to buy together, he had a house previously. The house that he had was his family home that he had purchased from his mum and his stepdad at the time that he purchased the home. As I mentioned, he's not one for paperwork. He's not one
for looking anything over. They needed the purchase to go through so they could move to a new state and start a new life, and he trusted them with that sale, and they had it valued by the local agent, and he signed the mortgage documents that they'd all organized for him. And it wasn't until we went to Selley's home and we had it valued, you know, seven years later by that same local agent, that he let him know that he did the original valuation and he had way way overpaid.
He had overpaid by one hundred thousand dollars.
What yep.
So the local agent did the valuation put it at mid threes and he signed paperwork for a private sale at mid fours. And when he confronted his mum and his stepfather about it, the stepfather.
Had no idea.
He thought that the sale had gone through at the mid three hundred price point. And it turns out that, yep, his mum had changed that figure.
And what he just paid her more and like, I'm so pervy. I'm so sorry. Okay, you're anonymous and you couldn't ask this at brunch, so like, this is why I'm asking now. So did his mom take off with an extra one hundred grand off the top or like what happened to that extra cash?
Yeah, she took it.
It went into their new life, the home that they bought in the new state, the cars that they bought. Stepdad was just oblivious to it all about where it had all come from because they rebought with the mortgage, so it just yep. So when he confronted them after the fact, Stepdad didn't realize thought it was still at that lower price that they the price that they've been valued by the local agent. And mom said, no, no,
we repainted it was, you know, worth the more. And my partner's like, it's not worth a hundred thousand dollars.
Through paint job.
Absolutely not.
Yeah, since that time, it was a you know, strained relationship to start with, but where Yeah, he's decided to go no contact since then.
That is heartbreaking that somebody's parent could do that to them. I mean, sadly, it's not an uncommon theme that happens in the world. But that is why. Obviously he was heartbroken. Do we know what the property is valued at now, like, is there something that's slowly bouncing back or is he still at a massive loss about this.
We did sell it for a profit, so, oh thank god it was Actually it was. It was quite amazing.
So part of the reason we got rid of it is because of that emotional attachment that was.
It's got bad karma. Sitting on it feels high percent.
But we sold off market the day we got the photos done. Before it went on market, someone came through and.
Offered full price.
Oh my gosh, Yeah.
It was awesome. It went for five ninety.
Oh my gosh money when you guys would have been over the moon, especially after hearing that it was valued at three fifty and you paid four fifty, Like to get another one hundred plus grand on top of that would have just been so relieving. I know it should have been more, but at least you weren't in the red right.
And was tainted by Unfortunately that discovery. It will assist to set us up, but you know, it could have been so much more life changing for us in our future family.
But you know, it is what it is. You've got to run with those wins. Yeah.
Wow, it was an expensive lesson And how does your partner feel about that?
Now?
He is trying to teach his younger sisters better habits and better ways of working, and trying to open their eyes like he's weren't at the time, so that they can make better choices and not be influenced by these family members moving forward. So he's taking it as a learning and he's yeah, really growing from it, which is beautiful.
Saying yeah, but it's also just it's so sad, but I think it will instill such good values in him when he and you become parents, because you're just going, this is not how I'd ever want my kids to feel or you know, work that way. That's just absolutely heartbreaking. But out of it, I'm sure you guys have become really good at money, which segues me very nicely into asking what do you think your best money habits are? I want yours and his?
Yeah, yeah, I think my best money habit is tracking and planning. I have a manual tracker which I track everything down to the dollar and personally categorized for us.
Oh my gosh, love.
Yeah, we were able to self fund. So our wedding was sixty five thousand dollars. It was very expensive and we did split some of that with my parents, but over twelve months we were able to fund you know, the thirty to forty grand difference, just by being smart.
Wait, you paid for your wedding in cash and it was that much cash. Ship, Oh, that is very sexy money, Diarist.
It took a lot, Victoria, I will tell you it was a hard twelve months. But it was by this tracking and having everything interconnected and not being able to put our heads in the sands from the growing bills that allowed us to be able to do that.
But how good you're not starting your marriage in debt, like you're just starting ahead and I mean you've already got like some assets and you guys are building everything up. But like the idea that people and don't get me wrong, like I'm not here to shame anybody's values. If someone's like they, I have thought about it well and truly, and we're going into debt for our wedding, all power to you, Like, go for it. You do what is
best for you. My job is actually to give you all the tools and resources and lay them out on a table so that should you want to use them, you can, but you don't have to. Like everyone's different.
But I love this idea that people would start fresh in a relationship or take their relationship to the next level without having debt to pay back a wedding because it's to me, it's an item that you don't get a lot out of, Like, yes, I got married, but I don't have an asset that's going to increase in value, like I can't sell my marriage, can I agree?
And after coming through that, you know, twelve month period of two mortgages in that extreme stress, I couldn't imagine a relationship with that much money stress in it.
So that was really important for us.
What an icon? So what's your partner's best money habit?
Is it? You?
Are you his best habit? Because I feel like that's where this is going.
I think that's part of it.
But also one thing he does tell me is and I learned from the pod and he keeps instealing a me is our money values. We can't be so focused on our goals and our plans in our future that we forget the now and what brings us happiness. So you know, he makes sure that you know, we have a big value around food, not necessarily McDonald's, but we like to spend eating out and so we have to budget for it. Otherwise we feel the guilt around something
that we love and it's just not worth it. So he helps keep me grounded.
It's about the journey. It's literally about the journey. Like the tagline of my I have a mortgage broking business, which people should know by now because it's all I talk about, but the tagline of Zella Money is literally it's your journey because it's like so important to make sure that we're not just trying to buy the biggest, best house, but we are trying to find a really nice balance of creating wealth buying property but also enjoying that journey because like I say this all the time
and it sounds a little bit I don't know, hippy dippy, but like old age is a privilege that's denied to so many people, and to not experience the journey to its fullest extent along the way, like I don't want to get to see and be like, wow, I'm super rich now, glad I skipped out on all those brunches and family time. Glad I didn't have any you know, friend memories. Glad I didn't go on all those family
holidays that we we didn't go on. Like, I just there's so much about life that we should be enjoying, and I just go, you know, if it's not for you, that's not for you. Like if you're one of those people in you know, the fire movement, so like financial independence, retire early if that's for you, fantastic, just not for me.
Agreed, Yeah, we're the same. We thought about it, how to try of it, and we just we love life too much.
I mean, you had so much sacrifice leading up to your wedding. You were probably like this sounded great in theory, not for me. We tried it. Let's do the journey.
Part one hundred percent. That was exactly us.
So I love that, all right. Flip the narrative. What's your worst money habit?
I have a love language of gift giving. Oh same, it's show.
Look I'm getting better at it and learning how to work around it in terms of you know, starting early, waiting for sales, picking items. But I budget five thousand dollars for Christmas every year and we don't Oh my god, we don't have children.
Yep, that's okay.
I'm sorry. You can't drop that. You can't drop that on me and then not give me a breakdown? Who like, I don't even spend five grand for Christmas? What's the breakdown? Look like?
Like?
What are people getting? Is everyone? Do you just turn up to Christmas and you're like, i'd oprah, a car for you, a car for you? You guys get air wraps? Like what's Christmas?
Like?
Yeah, that's Look, it's somewhat like that.
Like if my mum wants the new dice and air wrapp or hair dryer, like, I can't not because I know it's something she wants. I find it really difficult within me to not do it, even if I know it's, you know, a big budgetary spend, and yet with my cousins are going through their kid era, so we've got lots of little people running around and I just can't not.
I find it really difficult because it is, you know, my way of saying I love you because I've thought about you, and I've got you something you really want and that you know shows that I know you.
I love that though, and I love that you've budgeted for it. It's not like, oh, every Christmas we completely blow out because like I need to be better next year. You're like, nope, my love language actually is gift giving and I have to allocate a big budget to this because it actually gives me as much joy as it gives the other people that it goes to. So I'm not mad about that. That's not the worst.
Table, thank you. I'll take that.
People have spent more on least. So I'm telling you, now, yep, what do you think your partner's worst habit is? Please tell me he also is a gift giver.
Yes he is, but he doesn't do the planning that I do, so we can to overspend because he'll just pick it up when he sees it hasn't thought about, it, hasn't picked up in the sales. Impulse shopping is my partner's worst habit and it's what has you know, left him over the last few years, not being able to put savings together. I put it down to, you know, being denied as a kid, so as soon as you
got your own money, he doesn't deny himself. You know, we're trying to work towards you know, if we can't do this thing this week, good to wait till payday. He struggles with that, that waiting, you know, even if we've got the money there, but it's in a different category.
He struggles with that. So that's his worst habit is that impulse spending.
But it's good to be aware of it. And I like that as his partner, you're aware of it as well, because it means that there's probably been some really good conversations about it, and you guys are on the same page, and you're probably implementing strategies that can help minimize that. Am I right?
Yes, you are one hundred percent correct. It's been a really long journey, but one worth having to put us in the place that we're in.
I love it money Diarist. I need to know more. At the start, you said, v I think like a C, like between the two of us, like we're a C. But then I'm thinking, okay, cool, great, tell me more. And you said, I mean my debt era, and I'm thinking, okay, cool. Like she's probably got a few personal loans, maybe a credit card, because that's what debt era made me think of. But it's not the case. You have a mortgage, you actually have one hundred grand sitting to the side to invest.
You've got a forty thousand dollars car loan, which, as you guys said, was a very conscious decision. It wasn't like, oh damn v we accidentally got a car loan because we didn't have a financial education and we regret it massively. You were like, actually, we're enjoying the journey, like we are loving life pre kids, and we wanted a little bit and w to have a good life like Slay, You guys earn more than enough to justify a purchase
like that. You guys know so much about not only your money story, but your partner's money story, And I think that that's really empowering. Like I look at that and I go, I wish everybody was able to sit down with their partner and go, well, how did you grow up around money? And I know that yours probably came as a consequence of learning about the financial abuse that your partner went through, So you know, up until
that point he probably wasn't as forthcoming. But then you know, when something happens, or when something triggers an outpour of like okay, cool, Well, actually, as much as it's very negative. I think it's been very positive and it's going to mean that you become even wealthier over time. But I
just feel like you're an icon. Like paying a sixty five thousand dollar wedding in cash, and I know you said your parents helped out a bit, but that was still what you paying forty five thousand dollars in cash, Like most people can't save that over twelve months. Be for real. I know it took some serious, you know, motivation and restriction on your end, but what like hearing this back money darist, Are you sure you're a c.
Now that you put it that way, Victoria, I.
Do feel we could probably bump that up.
I still believe that there's room for us once we move past this, you know, our highest.
Debt era point to get better.
But yeah, but that's fine, Like most of it is wealth creating debt. Yes, yeah, and that's very sexy. But I love that for you. I'm very excited about it. But I just think, oh my gosh, what would it take for you to say, oh, v we're in a family, like we absolutely we're smashing it. Like what would that take?
I probably think the car debt we do, you know, our ventual goal is to have you know, nice cars, but not have the debt attached to it. So that may take a few years for us to get to that point. That would be where I would see us moving into that a territory.
You know.
Yeah, no, I totally get it. I want to be a little bit pervy and go back and ask a question that I completely forgot to ask talking about that car debt, what kind of interest rate are you paying on that car loan?
It was quite high, higher than I expected. I believe it was eight to nine percent.
And do you know what the average rate of return on the Australian share market is?
I do not, actually, Victorian, I probably should.
No, no, no, no, you shouldn't know. I'm the finance girlie, not you. But my job is to educate you. And if your car loan is eight to nine percent, now this is not financial advice, this is just food for thought. Right, If your car loan is eight to nine percent and the Australian share market on average returns just over nine percent per annum, do you think it might be worth considering using some of that one hundred thousand dollars profit to consider putting it towards your car loan to put
you ultimately in a better financial position. I'm not saying yes, no. Maybe you have a financial advisor in the family, maybe that's a question for them. But I look at it and I go, there might be some and I'm assuming there's probably some emotional attachment to that hundred thousand dollar profit and wanting to invest it for your future. But what if you took the amount that you're paying off on your car loan and started that as your investment stream. Just food for thought.
Yeah, it's a really good point, and it's something we considered, But you're one hundred percent right. I have left that decision to my partner, and it is an emotional one because it was his profit, his you know, emotional trauma.
That kind of you know, brought it about.
One hundred percent, and that's why I was like, but also, there's probably an emotional overlay here, and you know, I wanted to bring it up now because talking through these things is not as simple as you might think. Like, I'm pretty sure that someone somewhere was listening and they're like, what are they doing? They've got one hundred grand sitting in a savings account and have a car loan like paid off. But that's why I was like, hold on, hold on, why haven't we done that?
Yeah, it's my partner feels comfortable with that as a safety net. That's also we haven't invested it just yet either, because we've had that for a year eighteen months now.
One hundred percent, and just knowing that tomorrow, if you woke up and you're like, oh my gosh, we are in a bigger financial pickle for some reason you lost your jobs, you could extinguish that debt tomorrow, and that's quite empowering. So I think that that is, you know, obviously a very good position. The idea that you're having kids hopefully soon like that would also make me want to sit on some cash, though there are and I
guess that's where I wanted to lead this question. It's just there are so many reasons why people keep debts, and while the logical on paper answer would be why don't you just get rid of it tomorrow? You could, there's always this emotional overlay of, well, actually, we're trying to live our life in line with our values and how we feel most comfortable. We always need to take
that into consideration. So financial advice is not cut and dry, and I think that that is a very good lesson to come out of this as well.
I agree one hundred percent, and it's something my partner's taught me. My spreadsheets can't make all those kinds of decisions.
It's wild. It's so annoying, isn't it. Like I'm so good at spreadsheets. Like if I could give you all the answers, I absolutely would. Sadly I cannot, but moneyed arrest. This has been a pleasure. I have adored this money conversation. I've enjoyed so much learning about your money story. Unfortunately, that is all we have time for today. But I know that our community is going to love this as much as I have loved it. I've just adored getting to know you, so thank.
You, Thank you so much, Victoria.
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