Hello, my name's Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud yr
the Order Kerni Whoalbury 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, the podcast for millennials who want financial freedom. Welcome back to another one of our money diaries where we get to talk with one of our incredible She's on the Money community members all about their journey. Let's jump straight
into it. This week we got a message and before I read it out, I just want to give you a little bit of a content warning because today we're going to be talking about substance abuse, mental health struggles, and suicidal ideation. And if that's not an episode that you're ready to hear, or you're not in the right mind frame, pop on over to one of our other episodes. We have so many of them for you. But for those of you who are still here and still listening,
the message sounded a little like this. Hi, Victoria, I have a few mental health diagnoses and have gone from living off Scentlink, being addicted to drugs and partying, to studying psychology and earning close to ninety thousand dollars a year. After a really tough period in my life, it is
finally changing for the better in every way. I now work in foster care and am the proud mama to which you're and I hope my story can open up conversations and destigmatize mental health struggles for others in the community. Money Diarist, what a good story to be sharing with us. Welcome to the show, Thanks for coming.
Thanks for having me. I'm super excited.
To be here. I'm super excited that you're here. But I'm also super excited to talk to you about your journey. I feel like that is a literal one to eighty. You have absolutely flipped the trajectory of your life. Is that exciting for you? I know that's not the question I'm meant to be asking, but like, it just must be so exciting hearing that read out, like hearing where you've come from and where you're going.
Yeah, when I look at where I was a few years ago to where I am now, it's a little bit unbelievable, to be honest. Yeah, I'm very proud of myself and it's a pretty good feeling to be able to make my family proud of me and hear them say that they're proud of me, and yeah, life's completely changed for the better. And I just hope that sharing my story can inspire other people to know that they can do it too.
Oh my gosh, I already know it is. You gave me grease bumps when you said, here's hearing my family say that they're proud of me, Like, I'm proud of you too. I want to jump on that train. That is such an epic progression. Let's get into the questions, though, because I have a million and one things that I want to ask. But first things first, let's ask if we asked you to give yourself a grade for your money habits from A through F, what would that grade be?
I would say, currently about a C A few years ago probably an F.
I feel like that's fair progression, and I'm going to learn a little bit why you think it a C. But let's start with my favorite question. Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story?
God, this is a really good question. So growing up, I grew up with my mom, was a single parent for most of my childhood. My mom and my dad split up when I was quite young. I think I was about four years old. Mum worked for a bit, but she has always worked on and off and has been on Sundlink and has been on a stability support pension for probably over ten years now. I started work when I was about fourteen years of age. I work
in part time. I'm out of school, and I mainly just spent all the money that I owned, so I didn't really save a cent, and that probably continued up until really last year. I would say. When I finished school and moved out of school, I went and studied for a bit, and that journey looks very up and down over quite a few years. Because of my own
mental health, I went through a lot of change. I moved to different towns and cities, I changed careers, many times, dropped out of UNI and different things like that, and then I've come to where I am now, where I would say that I work hard for my money. I do spend a bit of money, and I try to save a little bit of money, and I also give some away when possible to charity or my family.
And you think you're a c I've got so much any questions. It sounds like you are absolutely smashing it. Even just you being like, oh, I give some of it away, I'm like, okay, cool. So many people don't do that, and for me, giving is such an important part of our budget because it just makes us feel so good. I'm not surprised, though, knowing the line of work you were in that you give probably more than you should. So talk to us about work. What do you do for work and how much money do you earn?
So I work in foster care currently. I have been in the throw for about six months, and I manage the incoming referrals from child protection and make placements. I'm also studying forth your psychology part time. I earn around ninety thousand dollars per year, that's before super I previously worked in mental health for about twenty months. In the past three years, I've changed jobs three times and significantly
increased my income. So about three years ago i was on Santlelink and work in a pizza shop, and now I'm no longer on Settlink and earning close to ninety thousand a year.
I am so excited when you say that, like, close to ninety thousand dollars a year gives you so much opportunity to build the life you deserve and create the life that you want to leave. I want to ask a little bit more about your job, though, because that's a really special area to be in. And I'm sure as somebody and we'll get onto this, but I'm sure as somebody who already struggles with mental health, that might
be a little bit more of a struggle. Like I know, as somebody who does have mental health issues myself, I often find dealing in areas that are a little bit heavier, maybe a bit harder for me, because I resonate so deeply with those things. Talk to me about the journey of getting into foster care in your experience of it, because as I said, it's such a special area but can be challenging, right.
Yeah, definitely presents its challenges, but it's been really rewarding so fast. So I was previously working in mental health, and yeah, needed a change of scenery. So I applied for a job with the agency I'm currently working for, and I've never heard back from them. And then I started work as a disability support worker and then they reached out to me via email and asked if I was still interested in a position, and I said yes, and they interviewed me and then offered me a job,
and of course I said yes. I knew it was going to be a life changing job and I've loved every step of the journey so far. It has been really challenging. I do get quite invested in the kids that we work with, but engaging in self care is really important and that's something that I've had to learn over the past few years in my own mental health recovery. You know, I go for walks every day. I talk to my family and friends and talking to my colleagues.
And I've been lucky enough in most of my recent workplaces we've had EAP and employee assistance program that we can access. I think it's between three and six sessions three a year. So yeah, when I'm really struggling. I reach out to a psychologist through EAP and have some counseling. But yeah, self care is just really important, you know, working and having those boundaries between your own time and work time. It still does get to me a little bit,
but I probably wouldn't have it any other way. I think if it doesn't this sort of work doesn't get to you, you're probably not the right person for it. You need to have a hut.
Yeah, I was about to say I could not agree. More Like, if it was somebody who was quite clinical about it, I don't know if I trust them to be honest, Like, if it doesn't affect you, what is going on? You mentioned self care being really important, and I guess looking at the story that you have, it's a bit of a pivot from where you were in the lifestyle that you used to lead. At what point
did self care become important to you? And I mean I feel like we talk about it on the pod all the time, right, Like self care is so important for someone who maybe didn't indulge in enough self care historically. What were the things that kind of were the gateway into really caring about self care and being able to take those positive steps and put you first.
I think it was had a real turning point a few years ago. I'd been chronically suicidal for probably twelve months or so, every couple of weeks thinking about ending my life and talking about it. And there was one day I always remember this moment. I was on the phone for my mum and she said, I want my daughter back before I die, and that really stuck with me.
And yeah, I reached out to the local community mental health and saw a psychiatrist and went back on some antidepressants, which I've had a history of being on and off medication, and I refused to take medication for a few years. And when I went on these particular antidepressants, they were just life changing. Within you know, a few days to a week, we could see the change in myself and I was really positive. And I think that was my real first step towards taking better care of myself is, yeah,
going back on medication. Being lucky enough to go straight on the right medication this time and not have to go through the joys of it being the wrong medication and changing medication, because that is so frustrating and hard to deal with. And I think that was one of My biggest probably struggles was knowing that I would probably go through a cycle of taking medication and it not working,
and then yeah, getting into the mental health field. I cried when I got offered the job that I did because it was my first job in the industry and that meant I was going to come off set a link and knowing that to be able to maintain full time employment and earn good money and look after other people, I really needed to be taking good care of myself. So yeah, I think that was really crucial in my own journey to looking after myself better.
Yeah, I feel like that's so important as well. And what you touched on about going on the wrong medication, that can be terrifying because it's not a good experience at all. Anythink that that's something that stops people from actually taking the steps they need to take because they're like, surely my current state is better than being on the wrong medication, But we actually have to go through the absolute shit storm that that is sometimes to get out the other end and see the light at the end
of the tunnel. And I've been through that. It is horrendous if it is the wrong medication, but with good doctors and good support like you come off it immediately the second it starts not working for you. You mentioned obviously suicidal ideation. That's a terrible position to be in and something that it just makes me want to wrap you up and be like no, like you're so special and listen to your story. Like past you would be shocked about where you are now. Where does mental health
stem from for you? So obviously it's not been something that just popped up randomly. Is that something you've struggled with your whole life? Well? Where does this come from?
Yeah? So when I was a teenager, I'm pretty sure I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. When I look back now, I can sort of see underlying traits of borderline personality disorder from when I was a teenager. My mom has struggled with mental health problems throughout her life as well, and my dad did as well, so it
sort of runs in the family. But I do think there's a fair bit of trauma that I probably went through in my teenage years and early life that resulted in my mental health becoming the way it did as I grew older and during my years of substance abuse and partying, the roles for traumas that added to that trauma that already existed. So I think a lot of it. You know, there's genetic components to it, and then the trauma that I've experienced in life as well.
Yeah.
Absolutely, So now you've pivoted. You've gone from being addicted to rugs and partying, you're now studying psych and earning ninety grand, which is wild. So I want to know what is your big money goal. What are we working towards at the moment.
Apparrently, I'm working towards building up a decent emergency fund and savings account, a bit of both in the one account, so I currently have a few thousand dollars and I've been able to maintain that for a little while now, which is quite nice. But yeah, I do need it to be bigger than what it is. I probably need it to be that six month emergency fund that often hear people talk about. And I also want to pay off my car loan and possibly work towards buying a home.
I'm still really undecided on that, so that's something that's in the back of my mind.
That's not something you have to decide on right here and now. In fact, just saving puts you ahead to achieving a goal once you decide the goal is there. Have there been any I guess, pivotal moments when you know you said before I have a few thousand dollars in a savings account and stayed there. Obviously I want
to get up to that six month mark. Have you ever just looked at it and been like, Wow, this is not where I thought I would be, even though its few thousand dollars, even though they're quote to you not enough Like, have you ever been like, Wow, this is not a position I thought I would be in.
Yeah, I certainly have many times. I'm back in December of last year. I think I had close to four or five thousand in savings and I decided to buy myself at Chiuahua. And she's been an absolute bundle of joy.
That's a good investment, That is an amazing.
Yeah, she's beautiful and she gives me lots of joy and love. But that's a position I never thought I would be in. And I never thought I would be in the position where I could even consider buying a house. A few years ago, I always said to my family, I'm never going to buy a property. And now I talk about it on and off, and I listened to the podcast all the time, and I think, oh, you know, maybe I should see a financial advisor or a mortgage
broker one day. And yeah, Whereas a few years ago, that's something I couldn't see for myself living on settling and I was realistically considering the disability pension at one point in my life. So to go from that, yeah, not being on settlink and sustaining full time employment and having money in my savings account, it's absolutely wild.
Oh my gosh, it makes me so happy for you. Like literally, I can see that you're glowy and heavy and smiley, and when you talk about it, I can tell that you're so proud of yourself, and that is the part that makes me so excited. I have a million questions. Let's go to a really quick break and on the other side, I'm going to deep dive straight into them. All Right, money diarist, we are back, and I am so excited to talk to you. My next question, I want to know you've got some savings. Do you
have an emergency fund? Do you have any investments though? If so, what are they?
So?
I only have my superannuation, which is currently around sixteen and a half thousand dollars. I did access my super when I was younger through financial hardship, so I'm sort of just working on building that up and I'm making the occasional voluntary contribution of an extra fifty dollars here
or twenty five dollars there. I would like to probably end up investing in shares or something like that, but I feel like being that I have a car debt at the moment, and yeah, focusing on building my super backup. It's not a high priority.
I feel like that's a good position to be in, and I think it's actually really well balanced. Like sometimes we talk to people and they're like, no, but it's like my biggest priority, and I'm like, no, it's not. If you have a car debt, let's, you know, sort out your financial house first. You mentioned that you claimed historically on a financial hardship payment through superannuation, and I think a lot of us have heard of that only recently when it came to people claiming money out of
their super during COVID. How did that come about? Was that something that was suggested to you or you decided to go through. What was the process there.
Like, Yeah, so that's something I decided to go through, and I sort of knew about it because my mum has done it.
Well.
Looking back, you know, it probably wasn't the best decision to make. I probably did spend a bit of that
money in an unwise manner. I honestly don't remember how I spent it all because all the trauma has sort of distorted my memory, but I know that I printed out the forms from my supercompany, and I went to my doctor and got supporting documentation from my doctor saying, you know that I've been struggling with my mental health, and they sort of did a bit of a spiel and I had to prove that I was on Senlink for so long, which I had been, and I was
just on Senlink at that point in time and not working. So I submitted that documentation and showed that I had no savings. And yeah, it was a pretty straightforward process.
It was probably, yeah, five or six years ago that I applied for my super So the memory is a bit hazy, but yeah, so that eight off a fair chunk of my super I think I withdrew about would have been up to maybe ten thousand, and I think they taxed me two and a half, so I think I got about seven thousand out when I did withdraw it. But now that I'm working again, I've been able to contribute and build that back up, so hopefully I can get it up to where it should be in the next few years.
One hundred percent. And as much as you're saying, oh my gosh, I probably fretted away some of that, I do think it's really important that we have access to that.
And I know that it's not something that you would lean on immediately, but if you're going through a financial hardship, I do think it's important that you understand that that's an option, because as much as it is taking away from your retirement savings and like that's not the best thing in the world, it's actually better than you're going into personal debt. It's actually better to be able to do that and set yourself up. And I know that money direst You're like, oh, I don't even know what
was going on. It was a traumatic period of my life. I totally get that, but I don't think we should look back on it and go, oh my gosh, that was you know, a really bad decision. I think in the moment, we do what's best for current self, and you know today obviously you've mentioned historically that you listen to the pod and that's really great, and I'm assuming that that just means you're far more educated than you were historically, and past you wouldn't make the same decisions
the current you does. But we shouldn't crucify past you for the decisions that you made, because I think she was just doing the best thing that she could for you at that time, right, she was just getting by and getting stuff done.
Yeah, doing what I needed to do to survive at that point in time exactly.
And I think that we really need to acknowledge that a bit more too, because I think that sometimes when we say, oh, I access my super, there seems to be this like idea of shame that surrounds it, or this idea that that's really naughty or that's really bad, or that's not the best decision. But sometimes you just do what you've got to do and we've got to get by. And I love that you've got a plan in place at the moment you're like, I'm trying to work out my super and you build it back up,
like what goes around comes around. You mentioned before you have car debt, so talk to me about debts. What debts do you have and how much have you got left on them?
So that's a good question. So I currently have a car loan. I currently owe about thirty two and a half thousand. I financed that for just sun to forty five thousand. About two years ago. I sort of decided I needed to treat myself to a brand new car, and I wanted the best looking car, the top model one that I could get. So I did that. Probably not the smartest decision, but I've been able to maintain
my repayments on that, so I'm happy with that. I do have a quite a hefty heck set which is sitting around eighty to ninety thousand dollars at the moment.
Oh she's big.
Yeah, that'll happen. When you study psychology, you drop out of UNI a few times.
I can absolutely resonate with that. My psych degree is added up. And then I was dumb enough to think a master's degree would be a really good idea without considering how expensive they are, And they're like three or four times the cost of a normal bachelor's degree, so that was really good for me financially. So when you say eighteen and eighty k, I'm like, cool, she hasn't even cracked the one hundred grand yet. I'm way past that.
That's probably going to happen in the next twelve months. So I'm a little scared. But at least it's a debt, you know, you don't really ever have to pay back.
Yeah. Look, it's one of those debts that isn't going to laud over you.
Yeah. And I also have a trade support loan just under two thy three hundred. That's from when I was trying to be an apprentic chef at one point in my life. So those debts will sit under I think the ATO, so they're not something that I have to pay back right now.
And they're taken out of tax and planned. I actually kind of like that structure in a way because it's forced, like it's not a payment that you make every single week and gets dressed over. It actually comes out pre tax, which I don't know. That's kind of kind of smash. And I don't think that the decisions that you've made have been the worst ones. I do want to know, though, like, if you're telling me you got the top of range car,
like what kind of car do you drive? Because at the moment, I'm looking for a new car, and I didn't realize how expensive they were.
So I have a Forward Puma, the top model, so it's got leather seats and a sunroof and a good sound system. And I bought that. I think it was at the start of COVID it was really hard to get cars, and yeah, I was looking around at a few different cars and my old car was pretty much ready to break down, and I was like, no, I need a car now, and I didn't want to wait six or twelve months for it. So I test drove the Ford Puma and fell in love with it, and yeah, it's been my baby ever since.
And it's got a cute name. Ten out of ten, all right, I want to know, when it comes to money habits, what do you think your best money habit is?
So my best money habit is having a savings account that I don't have online banking for, I have no debit card for, and that I can only access if I physically go into the banks. So I transfer money into that account, but I can never check the balance or withdrawal from it unless I go physically into the bank. And that's the only way I've been able to save money, and it's been life changing.
All Right, You're going to have to share that with us, because I feel like I've been asked that question before, and every single bank these days is online. Which bank is that with? And how did you set that up?
So it's with the Bendigo Bank. I set it up, oh god, maybe six or seven years ago with my mom, and I actually got her to co sign the account so that I couldn't withdraw without her signature because we both knew that I was terrible with money. But then me and my mom had a disagreement, so I went into the bank and asked to take a signature of it. So it's just my signature on it now. But that was pretty easy to do, so that was really pointless.
But yeah, it was. It was really straightforward. Just went into the bank, opened up an account. I think I have the option to do online banking. I just never set it up, and I said I didn't want a bank card, so they just gave me, you know, a little fold over thing that's got my account number on it, and that just sits in my purse and it's great.
Oh how good. I feel like it's interesting learning how other people manage money because we all have different things that work for us. And that's why I asked what bank is that, because someone's going to hear that and think, wow, that is exactly what I need. How do I do it? So thank you for sharing. On the flip side, though, I need to know what is your worst money habit? Please don't say chiu hours.
Well, she's been a bit of a bad money habit, but she's certainly not my worst one. My worst money habit is actually also bad for my health, and that's probably smoking cigarettes, something I'm not ready to quit right now, but I'll work towards it in the future. And then impulsive spending and fixating on something and then deciding I'm going to get it like a chiuaha.
That's fair. That's fair. As I said, I think a chiuaha is a good investment, like to be honest, for me and my mental health. My pets do the most, like they are the best things in the entire world. But you mentioned smoking cigarettes, and I actually want to ask because I I am not a smoker and never have been a smoker, so I don't understand how much they cost today. What are you spending on smoking? How much does that actually cost you?
Yeah, so I smoke rollies because Taylors are super expensive. I bought a packet of Taylor's the other week. Yeah, I don't know why I did, but anyway, and I was gobsmacked by the price. I bought a pack of twenties and it was about thirty five dollars. So I spend probably about two hundred and twenty dollars a fortnight on tobacco. If I was smoking Tailor's that would be a lot more than that.
Oh my gosh, even that makes me feel a little bit ill thinking about how much that is. In saying that, I also think it's worth recognizing that sometimes we've just got habits that, as much as they're not quote really good for us. Like obviously it's terrible, and you would already know that. I'm not here to change your mind. I think, going through what you've gone through, sometimes we need to just keep something stable and we need to actually just go you know, what it is, what it is.
At some point we'll deal with that, but until then, this is exactly how I'm going to live my life, and I think that that's where we should all, I guess step back a little bit and go there is no judgment here, because I think so many times we walk past you, know as you are a stunning female smoking, and you go, what is she doing? And it's like, ah, sit down, sir, sit down. You don't know half of it.
Yeah, and you don't want to make too many changes at once either, when you're trying to turn your life around. That can yeah, be pretty pointless and lead to your going back for square one.
Absolutely. Now, I feel like your story is honestly so beautiful. It makes me so proud to know that you're in our community. And not only are you in our community, you're sharing this story with us so that we can learn and grow and you know, take on other people's mindsets to you know, just be better with money ourselves. But you've come so far. I can't believe you have a savings account, you're working in foster care, you have
a beautiful chihuahua. I mean, you've got a car loan, but you're on top of it and the payments are manageable and everything is going there. I just I feel like you are so on track. Do you really think that you're still a C.
Yeah, I'm definitely still a CE. I've got a lot of work to do, but I'm better than where I was. And yeah, if I look at the fact that I was probably in air for a few years ago, I think the seat's pretty good right now.
I think I'm going to like upgrade it to like a B B minus. Let's call it a B minus because I feel like you have all of the structures existing to support you. Like, I just feel like you are on the right track and doing the right thing. Money Diarist, it has been an absolute pleasure sharing your story today. Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.
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 PDS TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards
your needs. Victoria Divine and She's on the Money are authorized representatives of Money sherper p t y l t D A b N three two one six four nine two seven seven zero eight a f s L four five one two eight nine