Money and finances can be tricky topics to navigate. Everyone’s situation is unique; with different priorities, goals, circumstances and financial knowledge. The journey from financially stressed to financially confident can be an extremely personal one. Not everyone is going to want to talk about their experiences, struggles or failures around money. But the stories in these areas are just as helpful to us as those that are just about success.
One user of our newest financial wellbeing platform, MyMoney101, has been gracious enough to allow us to document her journey towards financial wellbeing. Join us over the coming months as she works through some of the courses and content, and attempts to put into practice what she learns. Where will she end up? Stay tuned and find out!
But first, let’s get the introductions out of the way.
I’m Steph. I’m 35, work full time, and currently live pay to pay. I’m trying to pay off some credit card debt and pay back money I owe my parents.
I currently have a HECS debt, and even though I don’t need to pay it back just yet, it would be one less worry to know I’ve succeeded in clearing it.
I want to do is pay off my debt and build savings for future activities like travelling (I love Japan and Korea!), an emergency fund, and be able to support myself and live on my own someday soon.
I’m not very confident in making decisions about money. I’ve reached a kind of self-control where I’ve recently been able to give up my second job as a food delivery driver, which was how I used to survive when I ran out of money. But I’m still not making a lot of headway.
I don’t know much about financial education. What I do know is:
- make a list of things you need to pay for, along with how much you need to save, and what money you have left over is what you have left to survive on until the next pay day
- ignore all of that, say yes to every opportunity to socialise
- offer to pay, and then people can pay you back “whenever”
- transfer the money you put into savings back to your debit account because you’ve run out of money
- wonder where you went wrong
- panic because you’ve got no money and pay day is ages away
- rinse and repeat
So knowledge… not a lot I’d say! Very excited to learn more and improve my ability to manage my money better. Hoping to understand the best ways to manage money without spending everything all at once, and the best ways to build savings.
Steph’s situation isn’t unfamiliar. According to a recent study from ADP*, around half of Australian workers are living pay to pay. We’re looking forward to seeing how she goes learning about all things financial. Keep an eye out for updates!
