MONEY DIARIES: The Financial 'Work In Progress'

Hello, my name is Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud

Let's get into it.

She's on the Money, She's on the Money.

Hello, and welcome to She's on the Moneys some millennials who want financial freedom. Welcome back to another one of my favorite episodes. Welcome back to another one of my favorite episodes, Money Diaries, where I get the absolute privilege of talking to one of our incredible She's on the Money community members all about their money story. Let's jump straight into it, because this week I got an email

Yeah, there's a lot to talk about.

Hey, oh my gosh, I feel like it's like a roller coaster, but like not a stressful too stressful one. I'm just like, Butler, what like one hundred thousand dollars? What cent a link? What where is all this coming from? And now she's going to be a doctor? Be for real? Like, I've just got questions. But as always, let's start with the very first one, Money Diarist, If I asked you to rate your money habits from an eight through to an air for, what would they be?

I would say, I'm probably about a.

C minus a C minus. All right, I'm interested to hear more, but like, before we get there, can you please give me a little bit more info on your money story, like take us back.

Yeah, sure. So, yeah, I grew up, I guess, I suppose in a very privileged position, I should say. To start with, my parents had pretty I guess, run of the meal jobs, hairdresser, nurse, and they worked very hard to kind of I guess, climb the ladder in the ways that they have and yeah, always give us as kids what we needed to kind of improve. So had a good kind of foundation. I guess. When I first left school, I went into a business degree and I hated it, like just it was boring.

It's not for everybody, I'm telling you that now, not at all.

And so I left there and I was just working out like maccas and I claimed the ranks at maccs, you know.

Which is underrated by the way. I feel like McDonald's knowing now their leadership training and the way that they train people from scratch, like some of the best employers long term even going into corporate or going into other things, they have got a background in working at macers and it serves them so well.

So well, yeah, it like builds really great skill foundations. So yeah, I did that for a little while. I was actually at Maca's forelt about five years since I was like fifteen, and then I decided that I hated it and I moved overseas and I just did like a west holiday visa and I was working in like hospitality, just waitressing, and then they were like, actually, we need a night butler tonight to cover and I was like,

And did you have to change your name to Nigel?

Obviously? Yeah? Obviously?

Okay, yeah, yeah, right, so Nigel, what happened next?

Just wait for it. I wore like a full three piece suit, like I was.

No, you didn't, I did? Yeah, that would have been so fun.

Yeah, it was like full on, like three piece suit. Had to use the British accent because no one could understand me. Genuinely, my worst experience, well actually I think it's the funniest personally, but like I had someone call me in the middle of the night asking for an extra duvet and I genuinely had to transfer them to the front of house manager because I did not know what a duvet was. It's a douna.

By the way, do they even the word duvet? Feels bougie?

I know, right, And I had no idea. I was like, sorry, you're gonna have to repeat that like for ten minutes. It was. Yeah, it was hard work.

Oh my gosh. What was like the funniest thing that you were asked for as a butler? Because I just feel like people take advantage of butler's.

Yeah, I was in like a five star hotel and it was I don't know about the funniest. Like we did a lot of packing and unpacking and you see a lot of stuff in people's suitcases. I'll tell you that much for free?

Or did you unpack their suitcases? Yeah?

Absolutely.

I love that this is also anonymous, so come on, come on, skill.

Yeah, I will say, like, the funniest thing I probably had to do was like rearrange people's I don't know if I'm allowed to say things that aren't PG.

But anyway, Oh no, you can say this like we've just given it a disclaimer. What's coming up next? Not PG? Yeah?

Great. We would have to like go in and like organize everything. So it was, you know that kind of like type a personality in order o cud Yeah, great kind of thing. Great, And we would literally go in and organize their sex toys for like from A to Z, like in order. We would make everything look pretty like it was yeah a lot.

Oh my gosh. I would be mortified. Yeah, I know that. Even like my bedside table when I'm staying in a hotel, I'm always like triple checking it and being like what, like it's you know, I sleep with an eyemask and like sometimes I have nasal spray and I'm always like, I'm gonna just put that back in my handbag because I know housekeeping's coming, like, be for real. I'd be mortified.

Yeah, and people definitely just didn't really clock of what exactly a butler did, so yeah, we knew everything. We saw it all.

I kind of want that job, Like you're telling me I can go through people's luggage and it's not illegal.

Yeah, absolutely you can.

It's great you go through people's luggage, you organize stuff. I would be having such a fun time. I'd be like, all right, so top drawer, second draw Okay, actually we're gonna color coordinate your wardrobe. And it's like little capsule wardrobes, I don't have so much fun.

Yeah, it was honestly so much fun and even better, they tip you at the end of it. So I mean.

So so title of this podcast. I got paid to organize people's sex too exactly money winch you know what, I'd pay you a lot so that you never told any that yet here you were on the podcast. They didn't tip enough a baron apparently not.

You're welcome.

Sorry, sorry, Oh my gosh, So tell me more, tell me more about either this job or like what happened next my friend.

Yeah, I was overseas for a couple of years, and I alwaysknew I wanted to come back to UNI. And when I was coming back, I was like, oh, I'll either do marketing journalism or I could just try and get into medicine. Like, we'll just see what happens. And so I applied for biomedical science or marketing journalism.

They're very similar. So it just makes sense that you would apply for both of those at the same time and just, you know, throw your career, throw your career to the wind, like whatever happens happened. I might become a marketer, might become a doctor who knows.

We'll just see what happens. And then evidently I got into buiomedical science, which was a shack. And then yeah, I did my undergrad and an honest year. So I did that. It was really good, had a great time. I was at a smaller university, so we had a really good cohort. And then I graduated at the end of twenty nineteen, and then COVID hit.

And oh gosh, yeah we did back home with.

My parents and we actually all got emails. Our cohort that graduated got emails from the Department of Health being like, hey, we need people with a BioMed background to come and help us with data because we have so much out all of a sudden. And so I got hired by the Department of Health, and I progressed really rapidly, So I think within like the first three months, I had like jumped three jobs just because they needed anyone to expand and expanded expand.

Well, it kind of makes sense, especially during a period of time where we knew nothing about what was going on, and they would have hired you into a role and then be like, oh my gosh, she's actually competent at this light. Let's bumper up and bumper up because we can see talent and it would have been hard because they've never done this that we've never had this data before.

Right, yeah, exactly so. But it was really great because they'd hired basically a whole group of people that already knew how to work together, that actually had a culture that existed, which was.

A really smart business geniuses.

Yeah.

I don't know how they made it happen, but it worked anyway. So I yeah, jumped up the ranks a little bit quickly. Definitely unprecedented, which is the fun word of the.

Time, right, yes, absolutely.

And then yeah, so I then got offered to step up again. And at the time I was sitting in the exams for trying to get into medicine, I just thought, I'll just do it and see how I go and give it a crack or whatever. Like, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

I like how nonchalant you are about becoming a doctor, when BIA are definitely going to be people listening to this who have slaved their lives away to become a doctor. They have you know, what is it the msat or something they tested at the start that yeah, whatever it is, they're just like slaving away, trying their hardest to get there, and you're like, yellow, if I get in, If I

Yeah. Absolutely, And look I'm very well aware of my position. I'm very privileged.

Okay, you're not privileged. No, that's not privilege. That's intelligence, my friend, that's you being a smart cookie. That's your experience, as Nigel. Yeah, coming out.

Nigel definitely helped. But yeah, so I did that, and I like, but I suppose this is where I say, yeah, I don't know. The reason I call it privilege is because I genuinely just scraped through, like I just got enough to leave my application in and I actually forgot that I had left my application in to medicine.

Okay, but peace get degree.

Yes, honestly. Yeah. So and then randomly I was checking my junk email and I had an interview in two days.

So your mad interview was in your junk keymail, and you were like, ah, oh lucky, I got that two days before. Were you like, oh, actually, I can reschedule that coffee with a friend, I might go.

Yeah exactly. It was Yeah, like I said, I'm definitely the Swiss cheese model. I fell through every crack somehow.

I like that. Yeah, I like that. Swiss cheese is also delicious.

I mean, it's not a bad thing to be Hey, what happened next? Yeah? So at the same time, so I was offered to increase my I guess responsibility and move off to the ranks. And I said, I can't do it full time, but I can take it on until, like I can take it on as an acting role. And they said yep. So I think my salary was I think it was like a one oh one, literally one hundred thousand.

So I like just just got over Yeah.

And I did that for about seven months, and then I dropped down to part time when I started med school the following year. Oh yeah, spoiler relate, I got into med.

Really, who would have seen that coming?

Yeah? And then I started the following year and I worked part time for that first year and then I just I couldn't do it. It was I just yeah, there was way too much. The expectation and the way that covid that whole role had grown over the time. It was if you were ever to the stars. Knew the changes, and I've been there from the start, but I just couldn't keep up with it anymore because it changed so dynamically, like every you know, twelve hours there was a new policy and whatnot.

Yeah, and and like I know that we're laughing about you being the Swiss Cheese model and falling through the cracks, but like there is nothing Swiss cheese model about either doing that role or doing med Like it is grueling, it is hard. There's no way you would have been able to actually do that if you weren't intelligent and you weren't someone who had put that all into study

I think it's just like one of those things you have to roll with. But yeah, absolutely recognize. It's devastating, particularly when there's so many people who want and just born to be a doctor and they can't get there because of a stupid exam that doesn't mean anything like that's the issue. It's like it's not a good respect of how good of a doctor that person will be, and I think they're moving away from that as a whole.

That is, I guess a summary of the entire world. Right. I feel like so many people are born to be things and due to their circumstances or abilities, aren't able to do it when they'd be the best ones for the role. Right, Yeah, like insane. Anyway, I want to know more about you, not about the economy. So tell me what happened next you got into university. You are

Yeah, literally, So I was living in one of the major cities and yeah, rent was just a lot in that time, and so all of my savings that I had saved and that two year period kind of went onto life. Yeah, and I think I'd saved enough to do that, so I was able to like support myself and get myself through to not work as much. But I also had the gap of no seni Link because I earned just too much as a part timer. So I was in this position where if I didn't work,

You for That's so sweet.

Yeah, yeah that was.

And you just know, like I know that you prefaced it before you were Like, I had a middle class up bringing. My parents were hairdresser and a nurse, from memory, and I just know that that would have put them out financially, but like they wanted to help you. Yeah, that's so sweet and I know that that you know it ebbs and flows, but it's so nice that you have that because so many people fall off the train when it comes to medicine because they just can't cut

Yeah. Absolutely, And I am a bit too chaotic to actually, you know, make pretty notes, so I definitely couldn't sell mine. Hear that, And I thought I was very very smart.

It's real, real thrifty. Hey, I'm like, you're a genius.

Love it, but yeah, it couldn't be me. I'm not organized enough, that's for sure.

Couldn't be me. But proud of her, Yeah, love it.

Yeah, so that's probably I guess where I kind of when I was like, okay, MoMA, d I need help, and then I randomly as a Dolomites kid. Mom and I have had a shared bank account since basically I was born, and still love it. So even when I moved overseas, I put my money in that account so she could still technically help if I needed to. And it's just an easy access point for us.

That's so cute, that's so trusting as well.

Yeah, it's not for everyone, I'll say that much. And my siblings definitely don't have it in play anymore.

So they're like Nigel's crazy.

Yeah, but it has been I guess handy because we've done that kind of what She's been able to support me and help out, which is.

That's so nice to be able to get through it. And now you're in your final year of med school? Is that right?

Nearly there? And I've just started working again this year. I've got a bit more I will say a bit more time, but I've actually just filled it all. But yeah, I'm working again as of this yeara work remote, which is great.

I was about to say what type of work are you doing? It actually slots in with being a med student in their final year.

Yeah, I'm doing health admin which is pretty crazy perfect, I'm honest, And yeah, it's remote work. I can do it wherever I am, so I can visit family and friends and just take it with me and do it wherever I am.

Oh, how good. Now tell me about what the future looks like. You are currently a med student. You are thirty. I want to talk about that fertility preservation treatment in a hot minute, But like, what kind of doctor do you want to be? What does you know it look like once you graduate?

Yeah? Money question that one. So I really want to practice rurally. I like the idea of a rural generalist, which is essentially a GP who has advanced skills, so you can work as an emergency doctor or a pediatrician or hell care or whatever it might be, so you can kind of do all of the other different types of medicine as well as be a GP. I like that concept, but we'll see. But I do really like pediatrics,

Yeah, I want to know more about that because to me, it makes a lot of sense because you told me earlier. I'm thirty. You know, I'm actually in my final year as a med student. And while I hate the fact that women have to choose between a career and you know, having a family, at the moment, you're kind of like at that juxtaposition where you're probably and this is an assumption, you can tell me to go shove it or not.

Yeah? Sure, yeah a lot. Although yeah, I suppose in terms of the why. So I started thinking about it, I guess last year, and I was like, oh, maybe I should look into it, and then I thought, oh, I'll just start taking the steps, and it was more of an insurance policy. So I was doing it just to kind of have the eggs in the bank. And I'm again talking from a very privileged position. I know,

Yeah, and you wouldn't have known if you hadn't started going down that path.

So it very much went from a like I literally was going to do it as like a backup plan, and then I went in and I remember sitting down in front of this like the nurse case that I hadn't met before, and within like two minutes she was like, yeah, so if you want to have kids, you'll have to do it in the next year.

And I was just like, I'm sorry, what. Yeah? I was like, uh, no pressure, and like, to be really pervy. Do you have a partner?

I do, but he's also twenty five and.

You know he's not ready and you're not at that point in your life where that's what you want to do. Oh my god, the pressure? How did that go? I would have probably burst into tears. I did, yeah, normal response, And then what you go home and have a chat with your partner and be like we're not ready for this, yeah.

And like we'd already have the chat obviously because I was starting to look into it, so we already were out. And then I was like, actually, guess what. So yeah, it was not good, And as you could expect, I was a mess, and it also was like a very much a thing of Okay, we need to start this now. So it was I think two weeks later I was injecting.

Like wow, doing injections.

And taking the medications. So yeah, it was a really quick turnaround. And again, I'm very lucky to have had the support of my family, and i'd kind of spoken to mom and dad and seeing whether or not that was something they could assist me with, knowing that you know, in a year's time I hopefully will have an incoming can pay back.

Yeah, of course.

Yeah, so I was kind of in a position where they were able to help with that, which I'm so grateful for and lucky.

The other thing I will interject with here is if people are going through this and they don't have that family support, you are able to access your superannuation for stuff like this. So you are able to access your funds in your super to be able to pay for fertility treatments and you know, egg preservation and things like that.

Yeah. Absolutely, it's like such a huge, I guess weight to kind of take on. And yeah, like I said, I'm very lucky to be in the position, but I can't imagine being in a position where it's something that I feel is invisible. So I completely yeah, really important.

So where are you at in that process now?

Yeah, I've had two of egg collection. I didn't have great numbers collected, which was traumatic to say the least it.

Would be because you're already going through a traumatic process. You're injecting yourself, you're going through a whole heap of trashy emotions like they boost all of your hormone like it would have been trash you to then find out you didn't have enough eggs like collected and that you have to go again.

Yeah, And they kind of started with being like we're going to collect this amount, and then it was every time I spoke to someone else, it just got lower and lower and lower and lower and lower, and I just it was just awful.

I'm so sorry. That's really just honestly, it's really shitty.

Yeah, it is shitty, but that was that's all right. I went through and at least no one else has to, hopefully, But yeah, it just took a big toll. And of course, because things don't happen to me in you know, small little batches. It all happens at once. I also happened to be on obstetrips and gynecology at the time. My rotation and pediatrics were my two rotations over that period, So that was a real knife in the gut.

Yeah, just a really heavy piece of content that you're having to deal with every single day. Oh, I'm so sorry.

It was challenging. But anyway, enough of that, that's you know, it is what it is. Can't change it. And I've gone through two cycles. I think at this stage I'm just going to pause on it for a little bit because it really did take a toll, and I will look at it again next year when I have the income to support myself to do it. At the moment, so in terms of cost, my initial quotes were, I think it was seven and a half thousand plus the anisety, which is about four hundred.

Bucks per cycle.

Per cycle, yeah, plus the day procedure which was I think nine to ninety as well, So it was around about just shire ten thousand.

Ten thousand dollars around.

It was out of pocket without private health, without Medicare, and then Medicare. I hit my top rebate, my threshold, sorry, and it was then changed to be a medically required procedure. So I think in the end, out of pocket, I think it's three and a half of three thy six hundred per cycle was what it ended up costing me out of pocket, which.

Is still a lot of money. And we're not just talking like a lot of money to guarantee you have kids either, we're talking a lot of money for a better chance at having kids, yes, exactly, and so like that would weigh really heavily. And it also doesn't include all of the cost of storage because those eggs need to be stored over the long term, and then once you decide to use one of your eggs, the insemination process. So it's actually insane to think what we have to

Yeah? Absolutely, I think what I have now is obviously not what I want to end up with, so I'll definitely go further with it as needed, but for now, I'm happy enough that I have something to work with.

And yeah, no, I love that.

And just on the freezing my freezing costs are two hundred and fifty five dollars every six months.

Every six months. Yeah, Oh my gosh, that feels like a massive Like I feel like my phone bill is less than that. Yeah, Like, oh my god.

Yeah, So anyway, just some more in pro I guess.

Oh my gosh. All right, Well, I've got a heap of questions for you. I want to know how much a you're earning right now. You mentioned before that you were doing health admin and what does that mean and how much does that pay?

Yeah, so at the moment, I'm basically just managing waiting rooms for our online service, and it depends. I'm a casual employee, so it changes every fortnite. So you paid for pnately roughly, I would say I get anywhere between six hundred dollars to one thousand dollars a fortnight through that job. It pays pretty decently, and sorry, I should say very decently.

Really, how much is that per hour?

It's about thirty six dollars per hour, and then I'm on top of that weekend I guess rates as well.

Our loadings and stuff as well, and you get to work from home, you're just online making thirty six bucks in it. Okay, must be night, that's all right.

Yeah, so I do that, and then I also get center links still, which is about six hundred and twenty I think per fortnite. So you can understand why I live. You off six hundred and twenty bucks a fortnight was a bit difficult without a job, all.

Right, Yeah, it definitely is. And as a student even you're just your costs over the year for rent and food and even textbooks to study, like, it's more than that, absolutely, So, yeah, you do often see people having to work. But it's nice that the top up exists because I know it's not the same for lots of other countries. Tell me what's your big money goal at the moment? We talked about fertility, We talked about you having a partner, Like, is it property? Is it you know this fertility stuff.

Yeah, so at the moment, my biggest money goal is actually going overseas for a trip.

Oh you know what, babe, you deserve it. What does that look like?

Yeah, at the end of the year, we're hoping to a few of us go overseas and have a bit of a break before we start working.

Well, reading the fact that we're graduating as doctors, like, oh, how cool.

So we're hoping to do balley in Japan, which will be fun. And at the moment, flights accommodation for BALI are costing us about all one thousand and two hundred, I'll say, and we haven't really costed Japan yet but.

A bit more expensive. But I feel like it's really reasonable at the moment. Yeah, like super reasonable. I would love to visit Japan, and everyone in my team except for me, has in the recent years and apparently it's incredible, Like Jess and Beck rave about Japan. They're both the biggest Japan fans. So I feel like it would be rude not to try, given they've got good recommendation.

Ye, give it a go. Well, yeah, I'm very excited. So we're hoping to do that. I'm aiming to save I think I'll be lucky if I eight grand for that, but I am hoping.

I feel like that's reasonable, that's reasonable, and also that would be a good holiday. Yeah, I agree for two locations.

Yeah, so that's the plan. That's the big money goal. At the moment, and then I think the plan after that is to kind of start saving and look at property.

Then oh, I love that. All right, let's go to a really quick break on the flip side. I want to know your thoughts about investments and debt and then your best and worst money habits. I feel like as a med student you've probably got a few savvy habits that we can learn from. So guys, don't go anywhere money Direstaret Nigel, as you've become known on this episode. We are back, and I'm really excited about this episode.

Like?

What does that look like at this point in your journey?

Yeah, so I obviously has some super up my stall. Yes, so at the moment, my super sitting at about thirty one thousand dollars.

Honestly, not that bad for being thirty and having studied for so long.

Yeah, yeah, I worked down. I'm in my tenth year of university, which is crazy.

I feel like that's a common doctor experience.

Yeah. So I suppose the only issue with that is that I had a couple of years where I wasn't contributing at all, so obviously didn't get that compounding interest.

But we're aware of it, and that is okay, and let's be honest. I feel like there is a misconception that doctors earned the big bucks always and that's not necessarily true. But it is a steady and good income. So once you do get to that stage, we can probably build it back up.

Yeah, exactly, and I'm planning to do that. So yeah, aware of where I need to work on it. And then in terms of other investments I have started, I was very nervous, but I did start doubling in Chasis.

Who is she? I love this.

You'll be amazed at how much money I've put in there. I put in five dollars a week.

Yeah, that's perfect, And why would I be amazed? Like, that's literally consistent. What we want is consistent investments always.

Yeah, exactly. So I'm up to forty dollars in Chezy's and I slay Queen. Yeah, lost about a dollar fifty of that, So we're doing well. But that's fine.

Investing is good over the long term. Short term, sometimes it can feel like you're being kicked in the teeth. Yeah, Sometimes you look at it and you're like, what the hell, that's so rude. But we're in it for the long term and we're in it together.

Yeah exactly. So, yeah, that's kind of what I've got going at the moment for investments and hoping to just continue that.

On How have you picked your investments on chairs eas Because I mean, we talk about it all the time, but Chezya's is the platform on which you're investing. Once you're there, sometimes people get analysis paralysis and go, oh my gosh, be I didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything. How did you pick your first investments on that platform?

Yeah, so I definitely did get analysis paralysis. I downloaded it like six months ago and then I was like, panic, let's put this to the side.

It's so common.

Yeah, And then I started kind of looking into it again a couple of months ago, and I just decided that single I guess companies weren't really I didn't want to have to watch it really, so I chose ETFs. So I think I have a vanguard and I want to say better shares. I don't know if that's how you pronounce.

It, but it's better shares whatever you want to call it. Yeah, I mean, I do know the CEO of Beta Shares and he's fantastic, but I haven't actually ever clarified if it's better shares or Beta shares, So I hope that I haven't been talking to him directly. You've seen the wrong one, and that's just something to give me anxiety later at three am. Carry on.

Yeah, So I have a couple of ETFs and I haven't really gone too much like further than that. I just put in five bucks each week and.

See what happens, how good.

The plan is to just kind of keep it going, and then eventually next year I'm hoping to essentially get like a financial advisor and see what I should be doing with the actual incumbent getting and how to split that.

And now I know you've got analysis paralysis. At the start and it took a little while to pick what worked for you. But now you're there, are you like, oh, this is good or this is overwhelming or what does that look like? Now you're invested? Because I feel like so many of us are actually still stuck in that analysis paralysis area of like do I pick individual shares? Do I pick an ETF? Oh my gosh, I've decided ETF? What EDF do I pick?

Like?

Are you okay? Now?

I would say I'm like halfway there. I'm definitely still like confused at some points. So I'm still trying to like look into the ETFs and what they I'm definitely looking at what companies they actually are invested in love. I am trying to kind of like see what their pattern is over time and having a look at that. But other than that, I haven't really delved too much further into it. I'm aware that I can and I could.

She's a work in progress. I like that.

Yeah, work in progress is my is my thing.

It was your theme when you wrote into Us as well. You said financial status work in progress. So I do love that, yeah, and I think it will be forever. But you know, so talk to me about debt. Do you have any debts owing to any human being or financial institution.

Yes, so I've got a couple, so obviously, I, like I said before, I've got the debt that I'll be paying back to my parents.

That's why I said human beings. I was like, I know it's coming.

Yeah, so I'm very lucky that it's interest free.

But the sexiest kind of debt, let's be honest, I mean, let's take away the fact that the un sexiest kind of debt is money that you owe to family or friends. My interest free very sexy.

Yes, yeah, so I have a round about I would say seven and a half grand. That's just from your fertility preservation treatments. And actually it might be a little bit higher because I think there's a car service on top of that.

Oh my gosh, of course, one thing after another.

Yeah, But aside from that, I also have the lovely help debt loan. So at the moment, my higher education loan is sitting at eighty eight thousand dollars. And I also then have a student stuff loan, which is alone you can get via center link as a student. It's a semesterly payment or yeah.

Yeah, loan every month and how much is that?

Yeah, and my total for that is eleven thousand, two hundred dollars. So in total, yeah, I'm looking at about one hundred thousand dollars in debt.

But we do need to stipulate the difference between good and bad debt. I think that you know, the idea that if we put on paper this money direst is one hundred thousand dollars in debt. That's really overwhelming, but it's actually you putting future you first, like that help and HEXT debt. Mine used to be six figures and it was terrifying at the time, but that's what's helped to get me where I'm going. And it's obvious that you've been really purposeful. You're like, I really want to

Yeah. Absolutely, it's kind of like daunting, but it's also not by daunting. It's fine, I'll pay off you.

Actually it's good. All right, Well, I want to know, like, let's change the narrative. What's your best money habit? I feel like over the last few years you would have had to get a little bit savvy with the cash. So what's the best money habit you could share with our community.

Can I have two?

I think you can have as many as you want, honestly great. I always ask for one because I just set the bar real low, and then if you give me two, I'm like, we've doubled it.

Yeah great, I think like my first one, And to be honest, is probably not my hack. It's more mum's hack. But I've definitely had it instilled from a young age. If you don't have the money for something, you don't buy it. So I've never had it after pay I've never had a credit card. I've never kind of gone

Any of those would that is a very good thing to have been instilled from a young age me about what your second good money habit is.

Yeah, so my second good money habit, I have become a very savvy shopper. So there's a local fruit bed shop and they do like a chuck out box of all the things that are what they call going off, but I think will last two weeks in the fridge if I make it work.

Oh yeah. And I feel like so many people are, like they see one brown bit on a banana and they go, that's awful. You're like, no, it's not. It's a brown bit on a banana. It means it's ready to eat.

Yeah, exactly. So honestly, they get me through left the week. They usually have a good selection and then nine.

Dollars nine dollars yeah for a big box of fruit and veggies.

Massive box, Like it will get me through a whole week easily. And I basically go there first. What Yeah, it's crazy, I.

Know where you live, but I'm coming.

Yeah, a shop at your local fresh fruit birge place.

Honestly, Oh, I think that's gen Yeah, and it's not a.

Cute day out like I do it on a Sunday or a Saturday, usually a weekend anyway, And I'll go get a coffee. I'll go to the fruit and bed shops see what they've got. If they've got a box, I get it. If not, I just like a couple of bits, and I usually make like a rosotto with all the vege and just chuck bits in.

You're so smart. I love this, And you know what's hilarious in this economy, your coffee probably cost more than your fruit and veg box.

Literally honestly. And then I go to like I GA. I gas are underrated for meat, honestly, they always have really good deals. So I'll go from the fruit and bed shop to I GA, see what deals they've got on that week. And then I'll go to like Woolies or calls for anything else I need. And I keep a really good stocked pantry, so I keep like all of the you know, a pasta or tomatoes. If you do anything with the tin of tomatoes.

Oh you actually can, You're a genius. I feel like I need more of your budgeting tips for fruit and vege and like making creative rosottos, because sometimes I stare at my sometimes well stocked pantry and I'm like I've got nothing. Yeah, nothing, Yeah, I say when I really do, when I really do.

Yeah, so that's probably one. Like I guess hack that I'm pretty good at. Yeah.

I love that you rate did yourself a C plus at the start of this episode. So I need to know what's your worst money habit because I feel like you've been pretty good thus far. So there has to be a really, really really bad money habit to be bringing down the ratings, so we need to know what it is.

Yeah, I would say I'm very tap happy, like I just won't even think about the purchase, even if it's like buying three coffees a day and not realizing I've done it, and.

Like, and I mean, let's be honest. You're a med student. You deserve that caffeine that you deserve it.

And in the hospital, actually this is not I'm diverting back to the art tips. If you're a med student, it's kind of like a hospital hierarchy. The most senior person on the team will buy coffees for the team.

Oh nicey.

It's like a real thing. So like, the further you go in your career you get more money that it's mostly to pay for coffees of other people.

So yeah, okay, that's fair.

Yeah, so that's I guess a hack is a med student is stay till the end of ward rounds. But anyway for the free coffee if anything.

Yeah, and you need it at the end of a ward round, like that's when you need six coffees. So you're a little bit tap happy. And we're not tracking our budget and expenses in the way that we should be. Is that what I'm hearing.

I'm terrible budgeting. Yeah, I'm really trying. So I would say in the last year, I noticed I was really bad, and I started to, like I changed my bank from you know, combank, the older the old Dolomites, decided to try something else.

Out, finally branched out.

Yeah. Yeah, and I'm using up at the moment, and I did create like all the different savers and I've been doing that now, which has actually been working. I'm definitely saving more money and following. I guess like the cash flow system that you kind of speak.

About often, Oh are you that's exciting? Listened to like the podcasts and stuff about budgeting. I love this for you.

I genuinely listened to that podcast, the one podcast about cash flow and budgeting, probably like five times I'm like, wait, am I doing this right? Will we try again?

Okay, I can make it a lot easier if you. I'm actually gonna gift you my money masterclass so that you can go and do the videos and have the spreadsheet and all of this stuff. No one should have to listen to my cash flow episode that many times. It's like, I thank you for doing the money Diary, but also an apology that you had to listen to it that many times. So I'll set you up with

Yeah, I'm trying.

I love that for you, money diarist. I mentioned just before that you at the start of the episode rated yourself a C plus. But you've gone on to tell me how resourceful you are. You've gone on to tell me that you're a med student, you're working while doing your final year of med. That to me is insane. I don't know many people who can do that or

Yeah, I could probably move to a BE minus, but that's as far as i'll go.

That's as far as we go. All right, Well, you know what, I'll take it, and I'll check back in with you when you're a proper baby doctor money arrist I have adored this. Thank you for coming on the show, Nigel. It's been really really appreciated. But also you've been so bubbly and so fun to talk to, which is why this recording took so long. So I apologize to anyone listening, but also you're welcome for the extra content.

Yeah, I'm sorry, I took a lot.

No, I adored it. I've had the best time. Thank you for sharing your story with the community. I know they're going to love you as much as I have.

No thanks so much for having me. I really appreciate it, and hopefully I guess if people are in some more situations, they know they're at least, at the very least got alone.

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