Hello, my name's Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud yr the Order Kerney 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 the Money the Podcast and millennials who want financial freedom. Welcome back to another one of our money Dary episodes where I get the absolute pleasure of sitting down with one of our community members to learn all about their journey. Before we jump straight into it, I do want to give you guys a
little bit of a content warning. We are going to discuss the topic of sexual and psychological abuse, So if that's something that you're not interested in consuming this week, I totally get it. We have literally hundreds of other episodes that you can dive straight into. But if you're sticking around, let's jump into the message that I got this week. It sounded exactly like this, Hi V. My
trauma healing journey helped my money mindset. I went from being in a well off situation as a child, and when my parents divorced, things changed and I had to pay my own way through school. I used to live in fear of spending any money at all, but now I am informed and empowered. Healing through issues like sexual and psychological abuse with a professional had a positive ripple
effect on my mind mindset. I've been able to reach goals I never thought were possible, like buying a new car, going on a dream Europe trip, which led to me getting engaged, and now my focus is on budgeting from my engagement and wedding while working full time in foster care and studying UNI online. I've been a loyal She's on the Money subscriber since the very first podcast Money Diarist. I'm so excited to meet you.
Oh gosh, that feels so weird hearing it back.
Isn't it crazy when you hear your own story back and you're like, Wow, that's a pretty impressive. Hey, absolutely, How does it make you feel? Does it make you feel proud? Does it make you feel overwhelmed?
Like?
What's that feeling?
Like?
Oh?
Hello baby? Who's that? Who's that?
That's my cat, Lucy. She loves the computer.
So oh hello Lucy. Good name for a pet, though, I would definitely use that one.
I feel really proud listening to that almost like makes my tears well up when I think, Yeah, it's just been such a long journey getting from where I was to where I am now.
And now you're just getting back from a European holiday, engaged to you're planning a wedding. Is that not the coolest, most surreal thing ever?
It was the most fairy tale holiday. It just really could not have been more perfect.
So now I adore it. You deserve it so much. All right, let's start this episode the same way I always do. Money Diarist. If I asked you to give yourself a money grade from A three to F, what would your grade be?
I think I would give myself a B. When I look at how I used to see money, I just was so scared to buy food, spend any money at all. I would literally go to the shops and if I was hungry, I would like just not buy food for the sake of not even spending money. So now I have such a balance approach, so I would say, a bee, I've come so far, but there's always more.
Let's learn more about that. I'm really excited to dive into this one money direst my favorite question of all time. Can you tell me a little bit more about your money story?
So I think I have had two completely opposite experiences in terms of my money story. So when I was really young, my parents store together. My dad retired really early, was really well off, no issues, no mortgage, nothing, Everything was a breeze. And then my parents split and I went to go live with my mum, which was the complete opposite side. We would be really struggling to get groceries and meet bills, and I had to actually pay
my way through my high school years as well. So I did go to a public school, so it's nothing crazy, but for a sixteen year old, those fees and those excursions, it's a huge amount of money, and.
It's a lot of pressure as well. It's not just the money, it's the mental load when you should be learning and playing with friends and not necessarily worrying too much about the financial aspect of life. Type of work were you doing.
I was doing just the usual retail I think I have three jobs circling at one time when I'm in high school. It's not ideal, but I just knew.
I had to pay your way.
Yeah, I really had no choice. So yeah, that's where that just grew such a scared mindset for me to be. You know, when I become an adult, I don't want to be living that life because it's terrible, really and unfortunately. I had a few issues as a young child, things like sexual abuse and psychological abuse, which I think just
in turn is still that scared scarcity mindset. And I never told my parents about that because I just know, knowing them and their work that I do as well, like I work heavily and trauma informed here, so I just know the support really wouldn't be there. So I was able to get some support through professional help on those issues, which I think really fed into me being able to take control of my money mindset as well, because it was just scared about everything.
Really for good reason, because you've been through a lot, it makes sense, like to go through the trauma that you've been through, and then add on financial issues, like all of those things just weigh so heavily on shoulders that aren't ready to carry the weight of the world. I'm so sorry that your family isn't the support that
you know you need in that moment. And I think a lot of people can probably resonate with that, because you either don't want to have the conversation or know that the conversation won't go the way that you need it to. How did you know to reach out for professional support, because it sounds like growing up, You know, once you hit those teenage years, you just didn't have
the support you needed. How did you know where to find that and what you were looking for, because there are so many teenagers that would have no idea that these resources exist, let alone that they need them themselves.
It's only in the last couple of years that I've really sought that advice because my lovely fiance Now.
Look at your little face when you talk about them. Sometimes I really wish that money diaries were visual. Obviously this is anonymous, but I can tell you right now she just like had that cheeky smile when she mentioned my fiance. I love that so much.
I could see that those issues that I'd never dealt with and I never got any support when I was young, and I never told anyone until I met him. Yeah, I could just see it was really affecting my relationship, and I just thought, this is something that I really want to see out so and working in the industry that I work in, I knew, I guess, you know,
the resources that were out there. I was about twenty five at this point when I decided to reach out to someone, So yeah, I just did that, I guess to benefit how I would be as an adult and repair those hardships.
Oh my gosh. So let's jump backwards a little bit. You finish high school and what do you do where if we landed, what does I guess between the end of high school and twenty five look like.
It was a roller coaster. I definitely have had many ups and downs during that time, and I think it was just as people that go through such traumatic experiences like that, I think the trials and tribulations really play out when they come to that adulthood and they're finding themselves so jumping from job to job and doing a lot of things that probably didn't serve me in terms
of partying and you know, going off the rails. So then when I came to yeah that twenty five ages things, we started to slow down and I really started to work on myself.
I love that. And so now let's jump forward to your money story. When you wrote in you said that your trauma healing journey had helped your money mindset. Tell me how those two things linked together.
With that trauma that I had experienced. You know, it was so scary when I was young, and it was you know, for a really long time that it did occur. And yeah, I guess I was just scared of the world, really scared to do anything, and it just led into all aspects of my life where it was socializing, spending money.
And when I started to see someone and really unpack why I was so scared to do things, it just kind of cracked open all those little parts of my life where I just didn't think that they were related. I just thought that they were all part of my roller coaster. But as I really started to get into it, I just could bring it back to you know, I was just scared to grow and scared to trust, and
those sorts of things. So as I worked through those issues and then help from She's on the money, I found she's on money so early, and I just was so scared having to pay my own way through school. It's just something that's so instilled. When I thought about my future, I thought, oh gosh, I don't or my children to be doing that. I just think it's made me feel really empowered to crack those things open and understand why I just built up that scarcity.
Yeah, it's heartbreaking when you hear this, but then also I'm just I know you're in such a different position now, and sometimes we have to go through these things to really value where we're at now. No one should have to go through them, but I think it does give you a really beautiful perspective on the world where you go, wow, like I went through that. I'm so proud of myself. But it makes a lot of sense to me where you're working now, because I feel, like, you know, I've
had this conversation a million times. I did psychology. I thought I wanted to work in psychology. Obviously stumbled accidentally into finance, which arguably I still think is psychology. But I look at it and I go it takes such a special person to work in the area that you work in, because the most valuable people, unfortunately at the sime time as fortunately, are the ones that have actually
experienced it. Because when you're going through that and you're helping other people, especially in that foster system, especially, you know when they've experienced trauma, it's a way of connecting in a way that you can't if you've never experienced it. And I just think that is such a special position for you to be in because obviously you could just bury your head in the sand and go get a job in finance and never talk about those things again.
And it takes such vulnerability to step out and be like, well, I'm going to help people with this every day, which actually means I've got to confront my own demons and I've actually got to go through my own trauma cycle, and I've actually got to get through these things otherwise I'm not going to be helpful at all. So that leads into the question of what is your official job title? And my friend, how much money do you earn?
So my official job title is a care and support officer, and essentially what I do is I offer support and advocacy for foster cares, which would be people that are looking after children in the foster care system. I earn about one hundred and seven thousand inclusive of super which is paid at eleven percent. And being in the industry that I work and you are entitled to a salary.
Sacrifice, now it's a money win.
Fifteen nine hundred dollars of my pre tax pay is paid across the weeks directly into my bank account as a sacrifice, I guess for being in that industry. And you can use on things like rent car.
And do you have to stipulate what you're using your salary sacrifice on or do they just give you a set amount and you allocate your own budget towards that.
There's lots of different things you can do. You can get no vated leases or food and grocery cards that that money gets. There's different options. It really depends on what works for you. So I use it for rent each to their own.
Yeah, fair, I love that. That is like really really cool. What do you find I guess the most challenging thing about working with foster cares.
I've done many roles in this industry. I used to work a lot with youth homelessness face to face, So with foster cares, I think it's really hard because you're not in the home with them to see on the ground, and there's only so much you can offer, and it really is about educating them and instilling information or strategies as much as I can from my little office, so you're not there to give them that really intense face
to face support. But I think that's really hard sometimes, especially with the message, can be getting lost and foster cares, of course, it's not just a job for them, it is their life, which I completely understand, and sometimes things get lost in translation. There's lots of emotions there, so sometimes it does feel like you can only provide so much support from the roles I've experienced.
Yeah. Wow, And what's the best thing about it, because it's such a beautiful space to be in at the same time as it being really challenging.
The best thing when children are in the out of home care system, there are ways to permanency. I'd be adoption or guardianship when the child is no longer in the system. Seeing those journeys and they are very low but hard work and commitment from their case work team and other supports. Just seeing that bond between them, these children have been through so much, just seeing that bond grow and grow and grow. It's an ever long journey, but I think that is the most rewarding part.
That would be so beautiful to see. Like, ah, it would be so rewarding being like you finally have permanency. And obviously the kids sometimes don't understand what that means for their future, but like, especially being in the position that you're in, you go, that would have meant so much, Like it's just so beautiful. Tell me now, obviously you've been through a fair bit and you've now got a relatively positive money mindset. I need to know what are
your big money goals? What are we working towards?
My friend, Well, my biggest money goal was my recent Europe trip. Anyone that has been to Europe knows that it's so expensive, but it was so worth it.
Where did you go? What did you do? Europe is a very very large place.
Oh, it's my first Europe trip. So it was the Spain, London, France, Italy, Amafi coast, Greece. It was everywhere. I don't want to see a plane for a little while now.
After all that fair? And how much did you europe trip cost? You do you think, oh, we're not talking about that. We're bearing our head in this.
I would think it'd probably'll be on that twenty five thousand mark. But one of my greatest feats, and I know this doesn't work for everybody, but my partner and I would do share a credit card for daily expenses, so our flights to Europe were more than half the price, which were such a great money when for me. So yeah, that's roughly what it would cost. So that was my money goal. And I also just bought a new car,
which was super exciting. But now I think the next morning goal is our engagement and we were going to have a wedding, but that's not happening anymore.
Oh tell me about that. So what's the plan with the engagement and wedding and what do you think that'll cost?
So the engagement, we're having a party with close friends. We're budgeting for about seven thousand for that. And with the wedding, I never wanted a wedding that my partner said, Oh, you know, it would be so nice to have all of our friends there and have a big celebration. And then I started to send him their.
Quotes and you both were like you, Sarah, now on my page, aren't you?
And I said, look, we could have a great wedding, which would be great, or we could go traveling for six months in Asia. Up to you. So that's going to be our goal.
Oh my gosh. So is it extended travel and we're just not getting married, or is it extended travel and a different route to marriage.
We're just going to go to the registry?
Yeah cute.
Yeah.
I tried to float that idea at some point. I just thought there was something so romantic about going to the registry and just marrying the love of your life. If you've seen social media, that is not the wedding that I had. I had a very large wedding, yes, and that was mainly driven by my husband going, no, this is meant to be the biggest party of my life and me going, if we're being honest, I don't have that many friends. So ninety percent of the room
were his friends, and that's okay. I had the most fun ever, like ever, and I don't regret it. But also I just I am a little bit envious, even like I wouldn't change it for the world, but like this Registry vibe just so romantic, so cute, like so sweet, and the idea that you're going to have this big holiday together like quality time is always going to trump a fancy party.
Absolutely. I just really could not justify the cause and giving the money mindset that I came from, like you know, so scared of spending money.
Just didn't make sense.
Yeah, it didn't make sense. And yes, I've come like such a far away, but it's still one of the core things that you know, I do reflect on. So yeah, I just could not. So just a registry wedding and then I dinner with like our closest friends and family, and that's it.
I love it. I couldn't love it more. All Right, money, Diarist, I have so many questions for you. I want to talk about investing and debt and good and bad money habits and everything in between. But we'll get to that straight after this break, so don't go anywhere. All right, Money Diarist, we are back. I'm so excited about your journey. I feel like there's so much to be you know,
pervy on. Obviously your entire money mindset has changed, and now I don't know you look back on it and you look at where you've come from and this situation of being. You know, said, I was well off as a child and then you know, basically everything flipped and changed and I was, you know, basically living in poverty growing up, had to find my own way. Do you think Mini, you would look forward and go, WOWE, she's
been on this big europe trip. She's engaged to the love of her life, like, you know, she's gonna have this registry wedding and then go on another six months in Asia. Would she believe that?
Absolutely? Not no way. Even the fact that I was able to buy my own car, you know, just being able to do that, I just know, Mini, me would never ever think that those dreams are possible.
I love that you're doing it, but I also just love that I get to meet so many people in our community who are the people that are Mini. People needed like young you needed you, right, And I just I look back and I go, that's so cool that
you've become that person. And you mentioned before like I don't want my kids to go through that, and you just know they're not, Like you just know with the mindset that you have now, they're inside a good position because you've done the work and you've made the change. It makes me so proud even though I didn't do it. I'm just like, I'm such a proud mum of everybody that does this. But now, talk to me. Money mindset is hard. You've obviously got more of a positive money mindset,
but one of the hardest things is investment. So to tell me what are your thoughts on investment? Are you investing? If not, why not? If so, what are you doing when we're in how so?
I don't have any investments currently. My partner he's dabbled in investments. I want to It is such a big thing.
It's a massive thing. That's why I'm saying, like I actually expected you to be like, absolutely not yet, Victoria.
No, I would love the safe route, and my vision is that you know, my partner's invested in a few ETFs, and that's really where I think I would go. But I just want to really understand more before diving.
In, especially just something that is so it's a completely different language, Like it just feels overwhelmed. I promise that once you're in it, you'll be like, oh, this is so much easier than I thought. But like that's the way with everything.
Right, absolutely, but they don't teach you that sort of stuff in school.
So now that's why I've got a job, my friend, That's why I can actually do this for work. So as much as I'm trying to get it into schools, I'm lokey, like, ah, I might become redundant or I hope I'll become redundant.
Oh gosh. But yeah, so investing is definitely on the cards. Well, that's how my dad was so well off in my younger years that he really like played the stock market and did it very well. So that's always been in the back of my mind. That's something that I want to do. But yeah, getting there is the journey.
Yes, absolutely, and we're on it and I love it. Tell me about debt. Do you have any debt? How do you feel about debt? What does that look like?
I have a hex deebt. But I only started studying when I already worked full time, so it's at three thousand easy. But every year, because I am still currently studying, it just pays down really because I've always earned over that threshold while i've been studying. So there's that, And like I said, I do have a credit card that my partner and I share, but we use it for daily expenses and groceries bills, and so once that accumulates to the month, then we clear it every month, so
it's not really a debt. When that figure that we like to set on that does blow over, I get back into my scarcity mindset. But you know, sometimes things happen.
Yeah, absolutely, what.
Can you do? So I'm still learning that balance.
Yeah, and finding that balance is really hard but also really important. Obviously, you've got that credit card with your fiance. Tell me who suggested getting that credit card? I have a sneaky suspicion that might not have been you. And how did you feel about that? Because if you've gone through what you've gone through, often we are really averse to taking on any type of debt or avoiding that like the plague, because it can feel like a really really heavy burden.
Funny enough, it was me, it was you.
Who is she? She's a changed woman.
When we moved in together, we already agreed that, you know, we would be sharing everything fifty to fifty and we were just going to open a shared bank account where
we would do that. We travel pretty frequently, and I did some looking into you know, those points, tacks and all those sorts of things, and I thought, why don't we get a credit card with the view to just use it for daily expenses and you know, it works for us in another way without us having to do anything really, So, yes, that was my decision, and I understand not everyone can do that.
I'm pretty irresponsible personally, which is why I can't be in that. But I have got it through my business, and I'm so clean in my business that when we rack up Virgin points, I'm always like, look at us grading to business guy. I feel such a sense of achievement. I'm always like, this is on me, even though I did literally nothing for it except for use the cart.
Yeah. So if the points situation was not there, then I wouldn't be really looking at that credit card. But yeah, those points have got us free flights to New Zealand, half parts to Europe.
I love it. Tell me, now, what is your best money habit, because obviously, going through all of this trauma and all you actually do end up with some pretty good money habits that serve you well. Right, Like they're not coming from the best of places, but they are on paper very good money habits. So what are your best money habits?
No shock here, but I am definitely not an impulse spender. When I am looking to buy something or yeah, a purchase of some sort, I'm really weighing up the practical side of things, whether you know, is this something that I actually want? Is this something that I actually need? So never ever have been an impulse shopper.
I love and let's flip it. What's your worst money? Have it?
Funny enough, my best money have it sometimes becomes my worst money. Every six months, I consolidate my bills to just make sure that you know, my weekly spendings and whatnot all on track. And now I make my yance and do that too. But when I am feeling stressed or you know, things are getting too much, that's, in a way sometimes my coping mechanism, and then I will do it before it's my set time to do it, and then I kind of ruminate on do I have enough money for this? And I do, But you know it,
just as trauma goes, it's never gone. And when things get.
A bit wobbly in life, you're revert.
Yeah, those things come up again, So that then becomes my worst money have it because I ruminate it on it too much and then it doesn't make me feel good until I have to take that step back and go.
Okay, actually I have got this.
I'm doing really well.
Actually, yeah, have you got a bigger budgeting cash flow plan? Or is this something that you just kind of go all right, oh, budget month to month or like, are we doing this annually? Like what does taking control of your finances look like?
So right now, I guess we'll be looking at saving that pool of money for our extended travel, So we have sort of rough numbers on what we want to say for that. So I think it changes every time we have a.
New goal, as it should.
Yeah, buying a house at Sydney's way out of my debt.
May your odds ever be in your favor.
So that's why I do it every six months because sometimes things change, things fall off, things get added, So I track that in comparison to whatever that current goal is to make sure we're on track.
Love, All right, last question I've got for you. I want to know, like, I just feel like you've been through so much, but you're such a glowy, happy human, Like I never read the stories that are written in to me before we jump into the show, because I really like to be as pervy as possible, and I guess as organic as possible. Right watching you when we jumped on, I was like, Oh, this is going to
be such a positive money story. She's so happy and glowy, and obviously we dove into it and I was like, Oh, she's been through so much. And then obviously we started talking about your fiance and you like litter up again and you're just in this place that I go far out Mini, you needed you and you're doing literally everything right. Tell me, now, what does the future look like?
Like?
What does life look like moving forward? Obviously there's a few really exciting things on the horizon. You've just gotten engaged, you're having an engagement party, you're going on a big trip. But what after that? What do you think life looks like in the next ten twenty years.
I couldn't paint a very detailed picture. And my partner, he comes from a similar socioeconomic background, and you know, in terms of those struggles, and we're just completely on the same page. You know, we don't want our children to suffer. I guess the way that we did, and we want them to feel that you don't worry, like the groceries won't have to be cut down this week because you know, the electricity bills coming or things like that.
So we're both on that same page that we just want to create a home that meets.
All of those basic needs.
Yeah, that those basic needs out, they're absolutely you deserve.
So how does it feel knowing that you can do that? Though? Like, because we both know you can do that. The position you're in now is not the position you grew up in. Is that something where I'm just so excited for it or overwhelmed or you, I don't know, proud, Like what does that look like for you?
I am really proud, And I think anyone who's been through those kinds of hardships things, if only I had someone that you could put me on the right track or that I could lean on, But then I wouldn't have this mindset. I might take things more for granted. So you know, so I'm appreciative really of those things that I've gone through, And yeah, I guess I am super proud that I can look back on it and see it as they are hardships. But you know, it's given me the growth.
It's part of your journey. Yeah, So now tell me last question, because I don't have much time left with you. At the start of this episode, you said, I think I'm a baby. What would it take to get to an A plus?
Hmmm, gosh, that is a sticky one. My big thing is to understand that investing side of things more. I think if I had that grasp, i'd definitely be on maybe the A minus side of things.
And that's a good position to be in.
Yeah, that's what I think it would be for me.
I love it. Oh my gosh, I have adored this chat. I'm just so proud of you, Like I want to jump through the screen and hug you and be like, ah, you've done it. Like this is just so exciting to meet people from our community who have changed their money stories. As you know, I'm wildly passionate about them because because we can't change our money story history, but we can
kind of reinvent what the future looks like. And I think so many of us forget that we have that power and we have that control no matter where we've come from or what we're planning on doing, we actually can do these things, and your story is clear proof that that is possible. And I wish you could see
her face. She's just such a happy, glowy human being and I want that for everybody in our community, right So, Money direst it has been a pleasure sharing this time with you and getting to know you and getting to know a little bit about your journey. I really really appreciated it, and I know our community has as well.
Thank you so much.
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