Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Sugar
Speaker 1: Mamma's Fireplay. I am your host financial planner Canna Campbell,
Speaker 1: and today we're talking about something deeply personal but also
Speaker 1: something incredibly important for some people out there right now
Speaker 1: who really need to hear this, And that is what
Speaker 1: would I do if I had to start all over
Speaker 1: again as a single mum, rebuilding my financial independence from scratch,
Speaker 1: from ground zero, from nothing now becoming a single mum
Speaker 1: or I include single dads in this of course as well.
Speaker 1: Whether it's through choice or circumstance, is one of the
Speaker 1: biggest transitions anyone can go through. It is scary, there
Speaker 1: is uncertainty, there is a huge amount of financial pressure,
Speaker 1: and of course the emotional challenges. But here's what I
Speaker 1: want you to know. This is also an opportunity. And
Speaker 1: I'm speaking from personal experience as well as professional experience.
Speaker 1: This is your chance to build a financial life, life
Speaker 1: on your own terms. A life where you are in
Speaker 1: control you don't need to compromise with anyone else, and
Speaker 1: a life where you make powerful strategic decisions that set
Speaker 1: you up for long term success. And most importantly, a
Speaker 1: life where you feel financially independent. Strong and so proud
Speaker 1: of the journey you've taken. So today I'm going to
Speaker 1: share with you seven key steps that I would take
Speaker 1: if I found myself having to start all over again
Speaker 1: as a single mum. Now these aren't just like ideas
Speaker 1: or theories. These are actually practical, actionable steps that you
Speaker 1: can use right now to help take control of your
Speaker 1: money and shift your headspace as you move towards a
Speaker 1: more financially secure future for yourself but also for your children.
Speaker 1: So let's get started. Step number one. Mindset. So this
Speaker 1: very first step isn't actually about money, which I know
Speaker 1: that may come to you as a surprise, and we
Speaker 1: will get to money in a second, I promise, But
Speaker 1: there's something we need to explore first, go deep with
Speaker 1: before we can flourish. When I became a single mum,
Speaker 1: I had many moments of fear and anxiety and so
Speaker 1: much self doubt and my self worth was pretty much
Speaker 1: in the bin. And on top of that, my ex
Speaker 1: husband laughed in my face. He was so smug, and
Speaker 1: I remember him saying to me that I wouldn't be
Speaker 1: able to survive without him financially, that I was going
Speaker 1: to drown in the debt that I had to take
Speaker 1: on to get out of the marriage, out of the relationship,
Speaker 1: and that I couldn't even take the bins out on
Speaker 1: my own, So how was I possibly going to survive,
Speaker 1: let alone survive successfully. It was horrible. It was such
Speaker 1: a depressing and terrifying moment for myself. But and this
Speaker 1: is the important thing here that comes to mindset, I
Speaker 1: also realized that dwelling in this space wouldn't serve me
Speaker 1: in any positive way whatsoever and was really a complete
Speaker 1: waste of my time and energy. So I had to
Speaker 1: stop giving that theory or that idea or that opinion
Speaker 1: of just his any more fuel. So what did I
Speaker 1: do instead? I shifted my focus as to what I
Speaker 1: could actually control, my perspective, my actions, and my goals,
Speaker 1: really tapping into my thoughts, feelings and actions. So what
Speaker 1: I recommend you do if you are struggling right now,
Speaker 1: and you're in the thick of the unknown, and you're
Speaker 1: feeling self doubt or just anxious right now, can I
Speaker 1: suggest that you write down five to seven simple blessings
Speaker 1: that will come your way with this new chapter in
Speaker 1: your life. Now, I'm going to share with you some
Speaker 1: of my own examples and give you examples to help
Speaker 1: get you started with doing this. So Number one saying
Speaker 1: to yourself this situation is that you're going to force
Speaker 1: me to be better with money. You're now on your
Speaker 1: own two feet. You are completely responsible for yourself. So
Speaker 1: it's going to really make you go deep with this
Speaker 1: financial literacy work and getting smarter with money and making
Speaker 1: great decisions, which is only a good thing that's going
Speaker 1: to serve your long term financial wellbeing. Number two, I
Speaker 1: am setting an incredible example for my children about resilience
Speaker 1: and independence. As your children see you trying to stand
Speaker 1: on your own two feet and eventually standing on your
Speaker 1: own two feet and of course without a doubt, thriving
Speaker 1: on your own two feet, you are in printing, planting
Speaker 1: really powerful seeds in their minds, and they are going
Speaker 1: to look at you with such admiration and they are
Speaker 1: going to learn through example by watching you from the sideline.
Speaker 1: Please never forget that. And of course you can have
Speaker 1: slip ups, you can have setbacks. We all do, including myself.
Speaker 1: You're only normal, but keeping your chin up, your head
Speaker 1: up high, you are an incredible role model to your
Speaker 1: children to never settle or compromise. Number three every decision
Speaker 1: I will make you will make will be one hundred
Speaker 1: percent based on what is best for me and of
Speaker 1: course what is best for you and your family. Feel
Speaker 1: proud about that, Feel empowered by that sense of control
Speaker 1: and direction where you are driving the car now. Number
Speaker 1: four I as in you will become smarter, stronger, and
Speaker 1: a more financially independent woman or man. There are only
Speaker 1: good things that are going to come from this financially.
Speaker 1: Number five, my journey will inspire and empower others around me.
Speaker 1: As I always like to say, energy is contagious. As
Speaker 1: people see you doing the work, having a crack, standing
Speaker 1: on your own two feet, dealing with setbacks and challenges
Speaker 1: with grace, with dignity. Whether you realize it or not,
Speaker 1: you are and you will inspire people around you. You
Speaker 1: will see shifts in people. They may not necessarily bring
Speaker 1: it to your attention, but trust me, they want and
Speaker 1: they're watching with incredible admiration. You are a powerful being.
Speaker 1: Please don't ever forget that. So by investing time exploring
Speaker 1: your mindset, it helps set the foundation for everything else
Speaker 1: in your life, and it will allow you to shift
Speaker 1: from fear to empowerment. In fact, help you snap out
Speaker 1: of those toxic, negative, self degrading chats where you have
Speaker 1: with yourself and allow you to take back control. Now,
Speaker 1: once you've done this, you've written down those blessings. You
Speaker 1: might want to take a moment to print it off
Speaker 1: or to handwrite it. Put it somewhere where you can
Speaker 1: read it on a regular basis to remind you whenever
Speaker 1: you're having a bad day or a bad moment, go
Speaker 1: to it, reread it to help you find your inner
Speaker 1: strength again. Step number two time to create a budget
Speaker 1: and a cash flow system. So once you've sorted out
Speaker 1: your mindset and you realize, actually I feel a little
Speaker 1: bit stronger today, or I feel a little bit more resilient,
Speaker 1: or I feel a little bit more hopeful. Amazing, great,
Speaker 1: I'm so proud of you, we now need to do
Speaker 1: some more practical work, and that is create a budget
Speaker 1: and a cash flow system. Now, the goal here when
Speaker 1: you're doing your budget, and this particular step is not
Speaker 1: about cutting costs yet. We will come to that, I promise,
Speaker 1: But right now doing a budget is focused around gaining
Speaker 1: clarity in your life, finding out exactly how much it
Speaker 1: costs you to live right now, where exactly is your
Speaker 1: money going does it match your value system and of
Speaker 1: course what are the absolute essentials in your life that
Speaker 1: you need right now to live and for your children
Speaker 1: to live the non negotiables. Now by sitting down and
Speaker 1: mapping this out, and I strongly recommend you don't just
Speaker 1: sit down and write down your expenses, you actually cross
Speaker 1: references against the truth and reality of your bank transactions
Speaker 1: and your credit card statements, because this will then allow
Speaker 1: you to have a crystal clear understanding of what your
Speaker 1: financial reality really looks like. That is exactly how much
Speaker 1: money we really do spend on a daily basis, weekly basis,
Speaker 1: monthly basis, quarterly basis, and of course annual basis. You
Speaker 1: need to go back a full three hundred and sixty
Speaker 1: five days of the year see the truth and reality
Speaker 1: of how much money you need. And I want to
Speaker 1: say this, a budget is not about restriction, It's about empowerment.
Speaker 1: It puts you back in the driving seat so you
Speaker 1: know exactly what you need financially to survive, and of
Speaker 1: course what areas need your attention and how can you
Speaker 1: start managing your cash flow in a proactive way so
Speaker 1: that you're always resilient and you can of course make
Speaker 1: adjustments at any time that you like. The other great
Speaker 1: benefit of budgets and I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: forget about this and they don't discover this until they've
Speaker 1: actually done it properly, and that is doing a budget
Speaker 1: helps you avoid that financial overwhelm because a budget allows
Speaker 1: you to know your numbers. You get crystal clear about
Speaker 1: what you need and what you spend your money on.
Speaker 1: And because of that, you can then make informed decisions
Speaker 1: rather than reacting emotionally to money stress. Now, when you're
Speaker 1: doing your budget, you also need to build a cash
Speaker 1: flow system. A budget is great, but it's only half
Speaker 1: the work. A budget if you're not following it and
Speaker 1: stick to it, is really just a piece of paper.
Speaker 1: It's an intention, but you're not actually following it. So
Speaker 1: this is why I recommend you build a cash flow
Speaker 1: system where you set up a system that gives you
Speaker 1: clear instructions as to what money goes into what account
Speaker 1: and what accounts represent your stockpiling money for those ad
Speaker 1: hoc or regular expenses like kid's birthday parties, Christmas time,
Speaker 1: when your car regio is to strata expenses, council rates,
Speaker 1: energy bills, those bills that kind of catch us out
Speaker 1: by surprise, as well as things like emergency money. Now,
Speaker 1: if you have never done a budget before, or you
Speaker 1: have done a budget before but you struggle to stick
Speaker 1: to it, or you need help in actually building your
Speaker 1: own cash flow system, can I remind you that I
Speaker 1: have the Sugar Mamma Budget and cash Flow Academy. This
Speaker 1: is where I teach you how to do a budget.
Speaker 1: I give you all the tools and resources and templates
Speaker 1: to build your own, but then those templates help you
Speaker 1: build the cash flow system that it gives you the
Speaker 1: exact instructions as to how much money goes into what
Speaker 1: accounts and how to actually track your expenses throughout the
Speaker 1: in a proactive way so that when, for example, Christmas
Speaker 1: time comes, you've got two thousand dollars ready there to
Speaker 1: spend on all the things that you want to at
Speaker 1: that time of the year. Now, that cash flow course
Speaker 1: is called the Sugar Mamma Budget and cash Flow Academy
Speaker 1: actually includes a one on one zoom session with me
Speaker 1: where we can spend up to an hour if needed,
Speaker 1: going through absolutely everything looking at your expenses and see
Speaker 1: if we can find any additional saving ideas, and of
Speaker 1: course includes workbook videos podcast and those templates. Now in
Speaker 1: that workbook there are over one hundred ideas to help
Speaker 1: you save money and over one hundred ideas to help
Speaker 1: you hustle extra money. So I'm just going to not
Speaker 1: talk about that again, but just remind you that I
Speaker 1: am there as well as some amazing resources to help
Speaker 1: you do your budget and cash flow. And you don't
Speaker 1: necessarily need to be single parent, by the way, to
Speaker 1: do this. It's open to absolutely everyone, so it's linked
Speaker 1: in the podcast notes for you. All right, So, now
Speaker 1: that you've done your budget, you've built your cash flow system,
Speaker 1: let's move on to step number three, your financial stock take.
Speaker 1: This is where we start your point of change. So
Speaker 1: to do a financial stock take, we need to document
Speaker 1: absolutely everything your assets, which includes savings, emergency savings, superannuation,
Speaker 1: any investments that you might have like shares, bonds, term deposits,
Speaker 1: investment properties, and of course a property that you might own,
Speaker 1: such the family home. You also need to document your
Speaker 1: liabilities credit card, debt, buy now, pay later, any illegal
Speaker 1: fees that are outstanding, mortgages, investment loans, margin loans, all
Speaker 1: of those financial commitments that you have in your life,
Speaker 1: including car leases and car repayments. You also need to
Speaker 1: document in your financial stock take your income sources. How
Speaker 1: much money do you earn through your salary. Let's write
Speaker 1: down the net figures here, so we're getting crystal clear
Speaker 1: not setting ourselves up for failure. We also need to
Speaker 1: write down any child support or spousal support that we're
Speaker 1: potentially entitled to or are entitled to that we've got
Speaker 1: confirmation from a lawyer and from our spousals or ex partners.
Speaker 1: Of course, any government benefits and any side hustle money
Speaker 1: that you potentially have going on in your life right
Speaker 1: now now. I will admit this is confronting, and it
Speaker 1: is at times a little bit overwhelming and can fill
Speaker 1: you with anxiety. But here is the exciting part. This
Speaker 1: is your starting point and from here everything can grow
Speaker 1: for you. I want you to think about this like
Speaker 1: planting a seed, say a seed to grow some a
Speaker 1: fruit tree. Right now, that ceiling might feel and look
Speaker 1: really small when you're looking at your financial stock take,
Speaker 1: but that's okay. I still want you to go ahead
Speaker 1: and plant it, and over time, I want you to
Speaker 1: trust me as you nurture it with giving that ceiling sunlight,
Speaker 1: the right amount of water you protect it from pests.
Speaker 1: You make sure that you've planted in that fertile soil,
Speaker 1: which of course is your healthy new mindset. This will expand,
Speaker 1: this seiling will sprout and start to grow, and over
Speaker 1: time it will thrive and give you an abundant supply
Speaker 1: of healthy, nutritious fruit. So this is the equivalent of
Speaker 1: giving your finances the right financial strategies through getting good
Speaker 1: quality advice the more a licensed financial planner of course,
Speaker 1: and educating yourself, making intelligent, proactive decisions with your money
Speaker 1: that are in alignment to your goals, your short term goals,
Speaker 1: your medium term goals, and your long term goals. Learning
Speaker 1: how to do things efficiently with your money. Also, by
Speaker 1: doing a financial stock take and correctly documenting your financial
Speaker 1: starting point, you're also creating a really powerful source of
Speaker 1: motivation in your life. You see, every time you check
Speaker 1: back in to that financial stock take and see how
Speaker 1: far you've come since starting, and whether it's growing your
Speaker 1: savings balance, or paying down debt or even just simply
Speaker 1: increasing your super you are going to feel an incredible
Speaker 1: sense of progress, self worth, confidence, faith and hope in
Speaker 1: your life, which a lot of single parents need to
Speaker 1: help keep them going, and of course this is going
Speaker 1: to help you become so much better at being patient
Speaker 1: those frustrating times when you're looking at that ceiling thinking
Speaker 1: I've planted you. I haven't seen anything yet, I haven't
Speaker 1: seen any sprout. By tracking your progress, you will know
Speaker 1: it's happening. The roots go down deep first before it
Speaker 1: starts to sprout, so never forget that. So I want
Speaker 1: to remind you stock take isn't necessarily just about the numbers.
Speaker 1: It is about seeing your financial future take shape reshape
Speaker 1: in real time. And again, if you're looking at this
Speaker 1: financial stock take like that ceiling looking really small and low,
Speaker 1: you can take a huge amount of comfort and pride
Speaker 1: knowing that it is going to get better from this
Speaker 1: point going forward. Step number four. Super the key to
Speaker 1: long term financial independence. I need to be honest with you.
Speaker 1: A lot of people get tempted to completely neglect their super,
Speaker 1: particularly in stressful times life a separation in a divorce,
Speaker 1: will becoming a single parent. A lot of women retire
Speaker 1: in poverty because they don't prioritize their super, and they
Speaker 1: don't prioritize their super soon enough, I'm not going to
Speaker 1: bore you or make you disturbed by the statistics, but
Speaker 1: please know it is frightening, but I am here to
Speaker 1: serve you the truth because I genuinely care about you
Speaker 1: and your financial future. So please know that your super
Speaker 1: is your key to true financial independence. You will never
Speaker 1: regret hearing this and taking this seriously. Superinnuation means that
Speaker 1: when you retire, you do not have to rely on
Speaker 1: anyone else, not your children, not the government, not a
Speaker 1: partner or a future partner or a previous partner. You
Speaker 1: will have your own source of financial security, but you've
Speaker 1: got to pay attention, nurture it, and care for it
Speaker 1: in the right type of way today. Do not delay.
Speaker 1: So here is what I would do if I was
Speaker 1: startying from scratch. Number one is obviously check my superannuation
Speaker 1: account balance. I would look at exactly how much I have,
Speaker 1: making sure that there's no missing superannuation floating around in cyberspace,
Speaker 1: and it's very easy to do a quick search. But
Speaker 1: I would also go and check and see where is
Speaker 1: my superannuation money invested. Remember, your superannuation isn't a savings account.
Speaker 1: It is an investment portfolio that is locked for your
Speaker 1: long term benefit. So have a look at where it
Speaker 1: is invested, and think about doing a risk profile and
Speaker 1: getting some advice if you need to make changes. A
Speaker 1: lot of people end up in the default balance fund,
Speaker 1: and if you are a balanced investor, that might be
Speaker 1: right for you, but you may do a risk profile
Speaker 1: and realize, actually, I'm not a balanced investor. I'm a
Speaker 1: growth investor or high growth. That is when you need
Speaker 1: to get advice and look at potential changes to that
Speaker 1: money to help make sure that it grows as efficiently
Speaker 1: as possible for you. Number two within super work backwards,
Speaker 1: have a think about what you want to retire on.
Speaker 1: How much money do you need per year? And you
Speaker 1: should know how much you need because you've done your budget.
Speaker 1: So if you're living expenses where say fifty thousand dollars
Speaker 1: a year or sixty thousand dollars a year, you know
Speaker 1: that you need at least that because you potentially have
Speaker 1: to factor in some income tax as well to be
Speaker 1: able to retire under your current lifestyle. You also want
Speaker 1: to think about what age do I want to retire
Speaker 1: and how long do I expect my retirement to go for.
Speaker 1: You know, the current life expectancy for a woman who's
Speaker 1: around about eighty five, so if you're retiring at age
Speaker 1: sixty five, you need at least twenty years worth of
Speaker 1: living expenses available to you so that you don't run
Speaker 1: out of money, and that's under today's medical technology. My
Speaker 1: advice is to think about maybe estimating say a thirty
Speaker 1: or even a thirty five year retirement plan. You've got
Speaker 1: to work backwards, and there are some brilliant superannuation account
Speaker 1: calculators on the Sugar Mumba website as well as I
Speaker 1: strongly recommend using the NOL Whittaker retirement calculators as well.
Speaker 1: The combination of the two will give you a really
Speaker 1: good idea. And of course when you've got that, you
Speaker 1: can start thinking about what additional voluntary contributions do I
Speaker 1: need to start thinking about and getting advice on to
Speaker 1: help make sure that I get that figure. I want
Speaker 1: to give you a quick example to help get you
Speaker 1: started and realizing exactly how much money you need to
Speaker 1: be thinking about. You need in super to be financially
Speaker 1: independent as a single parent. So I ran some numbers
Speaker 1: recently for a keynote event that I did around financial
Speaker 1: literacy for a corporate and I looked at how much
Speaker 1: would someone need if they want to retire on sixty
Speaker 1: thousand dollars per annum in today's dollars in twenty years time,
Speaker 1: ensuring that that money lasted twenty five years. Now, as
Speaker 1: a very rough guide, you would need in excess of
Speaker 1: one point four million dollars in super if you want
Speaker 1: to retire on sixty thousand dollars in today's figures. So
Speaker 1: if you're thinking, oh, I only need about six hundred
Speaker 1: thousand or eight hundred thousand, I get you to stop
Speaker 1: right there and actually go and check your numbers and
Speaker 1: run them. It is most likely you're going to need
Speaker 1: in excess of a million dollars in superannuation. So the
Speaker 1: sooner you get started, the easier this is going to
Speaker 1: be to get there. Next thing I want to talk
Speaker 1: to you about within the conversation of superinnoation is thinking
Speaker 1: about real estate versus super. Now, for many single parents,
Speaker 1: in particular single mums, owning a home is a very
Speaker 1: important financial goal to them. And I understand this completely,
Speaker 1: and this was something that was really important to me
Speaker 1: because it provided a sense of security and stability for
Speaker 1: my son Rocko. But here's the dilemma and a question
Speaker 1: that I recommend you ask yourself. If you're in this
Speaker 1: position right now, if you were to pour all of
Speaker 1: your resources into home ownership, are you honestly going to
Speaker 1: have enough superannuation in order to be able to fund
Speaker 1: your retirement and your required retirement lifestyle. If you own
Speaker 1: a home but you you have no passive income to
Speaker 1: live off, how are you going to afford to live
Speaker 1: once you stop working? And to take this conversation even further,
Speaker 1: because I care about you, can you honestly say that
Speaker 1: you are going to be able to pay off that
Speaker 1: home in time before you actually retire, and more importantly,
Speaker 1: still give yourself enough time to make sure you've got
Speaker 1: enough money in superannuation. Most banks put people on a
Speaker 1: thirty year mortgage term. So if you are say forty
Speaker 1: or in your mid forties and you're looking at buying
Speaker 1: a home and taking out a mortgage, that mortgage is
Speaker 1: most likely going to be on thirty years. So will
Speaker 1: you have paid your mortgage off by age seventy five?
Speaker 1: This is the question I want you to ask yourself.
Speaker 1: And if you are comfortable working until age seventy five,
Speaker 1: at age seventy five, are you're going to have enough
Speaker 1: money in superannuation? Are you going to have in excess
Speaker 1: of one point four million dollars in superannuation, if not more.
Speaker 1: You need to sit down and think about this carefully
Speaker 1: before you sign the dodded line. And of course this
Speaker 1: is when you always go and get financial advice from
Speaker 1: a licensed financial planner, and for some renting whilst prioritizing
Speaker 1: their super and of course investing along the way in
Speaker 1: combination for those long term cash flow purposes may in
Speaker 1: fact be a far better option than buying a home
Speaker 1: and taking thirty years to then pay it off, to
Speaker 1: then realize you've got barely anything in super and of
Speaker 1: course zero investments to fall back on. You never want
Speaker 1: to be in a situation where you are forced to
Speaker 1: maybe sell down the home in order to be able
Speaker 1: to live off. I want you to have the best
Speaker 1: of both walls. I want you to have the freedom,
Speaker 1: security and stability of a pacif income, and if you're
Speaker 1: in a position where you can actually afford to do both,
Speaker 1: that is, pay off the home and build up your
Speaker 1: super and maybe even a vest as well. Brilliant. I'm
Speaker 1: so glad you stopped at this point and checked that
Speaker 1: before you made those decisions. And I want to say
Speaker 1: this whilst I kept in the family home and I
Speaker 1: bought my share of the family home from my previous partner.
Speaker 1: This isn't about pushing you from one decision to the other.
Speaker 1: It's actually about encouraging you to stop for a second
Speaker 1: and think long term and to help make sure that
Speaker 1: you're ensuring whatever choice you make aligns with your desires
Speaker 1: for financial independence throughout retirement. I never want you to
Speaker 1: have any regrets. Step five financial goal setting time. So
Speaker 1: this is the exciting part. So now that we've got
Speaker 1: a really clear mindset, we have a really good understanding
Speaker 1: of what we spend, and of course we understand the
Speaker 1: importance of superinnuation that needs to be a part of
Speaker 1: our financial independence strategy as a single parent, let's focus
Speaker 1: on synking our teeth into some exciting and powering goals.
Speaker 1: What do you want in your life? What is important
Speaker 1: to you? Is it having a home that you own
Speaker 1: out right? Is it building passive income and you know,
Speaker 1: creating that financial freedom for yourself and your family, or
Speaker 1: maybe it's something really simple right now, like having a
Speaker 1: nice amount of money sitting in savings for your peace
Speaker 1: of mind. Right, absolutely everything that you want down think
Speaker 1: of it as a wish list. If you want so,
Speaker 1: your imagination can go wild and you can park any
Speaker 1: of the those negative self doubt moments to the side.
Speaker 1: Think of it as like a wish list for Santa.
Speaker 1: When it comes to finances, write everything both big and
Speaker 1: small down, and of course include those really important things
Speaker 1: like having family holidays, being able to help pay for
Speaker 1: education for your children, perhaps or even your own education.
Speaker 1: If you're looking at changing your career path or want
Speaker 1: to take your career to the next level. Also think
Speaker 1: about those expenses like you know, upgrading cars and appliances,
Speaker 1: and maybe even you might have desire to help pay
Speaker 1: for your children's wedding costs or maybe even help your
Speaker 1: children get into the property market. Write absolutely everything down.
Speaker 1: I don't want it floating around in your head like
Speaker 1: a dream or a wish. I want it written down
Speaker 1: so we can start forming some powerful goals around what
Speaker 1: you truly want. What is your heart really calling you now?
Speaker 1: When you start having goals in your life, it gives
Speaker 1: you an incredible sense of direction and an amazing rush
Speaker 1: of motivation, And of course this then helps you decide
Speaker 1: what you want to prioritize when it comes to making
Speaker 1: financial decisions, and once you've set your goals, you need
Speaker 1: to then look at aligning a deadline to eat one
Speaker 1: of those goals that you've written down from your Santa
Speaker 1: wish list. But I want you to take it one
Speaker 1: step further. When you look at those goals, you may
Speaker 1: naturally feel a sense of overwhelmed. Think, oh my god,
Speaker 1: that's ridiculous. How could I ever get two million dollars
Speaker 1: into super How could I ever go and buy my
Speaker 1: dream home? How could I ever possibly start investing? Don't
Speaker 1: let that happen. I want you to look at that
Speaker 1: goal and know that that is the end picture. That
Speaker 1: is the game that we're going to work towards. We're
Speaker 1: going to hold, that is the price. We're going then
Speaker 1: go to work backwards by creating lots of smaller, mini,
Speaker 1: bite sized goals to help make this happen, and help
Speaker 1: this happen in achievable way where you're empowered and you
Speaker 1: get started straight away. I want to quickly remind you
Speaker 1: about one thousand dollars project. A thousand dollars project is
Speaker 1: where I built a three hundred thousand dollars diversified share
Speaker 1: portfolio which is still going today. Literally one thousand dollars
Speaker 1: at a time. Now, if I set out to myself, Okay, Kenna,
Speaker 1: you going to be building a three hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 1: investment portfolio, I wouldn't have felt empowered. I would have
Speaker 1: felt terrified, overwhelmed, and just I wouldn't have believed in myself.
Speaker 1: But I didn't do that. I said to myself, can
Speaker 1: I just focus on coming up with a thousand dollars
Speaker 1: at a time, and the moment you have a thousand dollars,
Speaker 1: immediately go and invest it in Australian shares and then
Speaker 1: go back to ground one, start all over again and
Speaker 1: come up with your next thousand dollars. And then when
Speaker 1: you have that thousand dollars, go and invest it again. Now,
Speaker 1: that is exactly what I did. I never took a
Speaker 1: dollar out of my base salary. I never took a
Speaker 1: dollar out of my savings. Of course, yes, I reinvested
Speaker 1: the dividends all the way through. But this is the
Speaker 1: power of taking a big, scary goal and then dissecting it,
Speaker 1: breaking it down into lots of mini short term goals
Speaker 1: so that you can get started, start seeing progress and
Speaker 1: allow the power of compounding interest to work its magic
Speaker 1: for you and help you along the way, which makes
Speaker 1: it obviously all a little lot easier. You can do
Speaker 1: this for yourself, and of course I'm going to link
Speaker 1: both Mindful Money and the thousand Dollar Project in my
Speaker 1: podcast notes for you, so you can have a go
Speaker 1: at doing this for you yourself if you're interested. Step
Speaker 1: number six we need to go back to that budget
Speaker 1: that we did and we need to now review it
Speaker 1: and we need to look at cutting expenses where and
Speaker 1: if appropriate, trim the fat. I like to say, so
Speaker 1: as you go through each bill that you wrote down
Speaker 1: each expense, I want you to stop and question it.
Speaker 1: Is there something you can do to alter it, to
Speaker 1: cut it down or cut it out? Can you make switches?
Speaker 1: Can you switch to a more affordable energy provider for example?
Speaker 1: Can you negotiate a better deal or alter your subscriptional services?
Speaker 1: Can you cancel anything? Can you do more planning and
Speaker 1: preparation around what you do with your life to help
Speaker 1: avoid having to waste money? For example? Can you catch
Speaker 1: public transport instead of maybe catching a cab or driving
Speaker 1: and having to spend lots of money on petrol? Can
Speaker 1: you do meal prepping for example, to help reduce costs
Speaker 1: start getting creative. As I want to remind you in
Speaker 1: the Sugar Mamma Budget and Clash Flow Academy, there are
Speaker 1: over one hundred different ideas to help you save money
Speaker 1: in so many different areas of your life. Every dollar though,
Speaker 1: that you can free up from doing your budget, I
Speaker 1: want you to proactively redirect towards one of those goals,
Speaker 1: or if you like, all of those goals. I do
Speaker 1: not want you to become victim of a lifestyle creep.
Speaker 1: And I do not want you to find that you
Speaker 1: save twenty dollars a month here to then go and
Speaker 1: spend that twenty dollars on something else. Temptation is wild,
Speaker 1: particularly with social media, and you know just the world
Speaker 1: that we live in right now, whether we try and
Speaker 1: avoid ads, we get served ads all the time. So
Speaker 1: I want you to make every single dollar that you
Speaker 1: can cut out of your budget count, and I want
Speaker 1: to go towards helping you get back on your feet
Speaker 1: financially and rebuild as a single parent. Now. For example,
Speaker 1: say one of my goals is to build up you know,
Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars emergency money, and I go through my
Speaker 1: budget and I discover one hundred and fifty dollars that
Speaker 1: I can cut out of my budget per month. I
Speaker 1: want to replace that immediately, and I want to make
Speaker 1: it as easy as possible with so many things that
Speaker 1: I've got to juggle right now, I would go and
Speaker 1: replace that with an automatic one hundred and fifty dollars
Speaker 1: per month savings plan, where one hundred and fifty dollars
Speaker 1: comes out of my everyday account into that special emergency
Speaker 1: savings account, which is obviously linked to my fifty thousand
Speaker 1: dollar goal. I would also go a nickname that emergency
Speaker 1: savings account, my emergency savings account, and I would put
Speaker 1: that figure of fifty thousand dollars in as a nickname
Speaker 1: against that account, so that every time I logged into
Speaker 1: my Internet banking I was continuously reminded as to what
Speaker 1: my goal is and where that money is up to,
Speaker 1: and feel proud that I'm making a change in my life.
Speaker 1: I'm doing things differently, I'm doing things better. Trust me
Speaker 1: on this. It is so important that you do not
Speaker 1: go and spend that money elsewhere. You want to redirect
Speaker 1: like a traffic control director, where every single new dollar
Speaker 1: actually goes in your life. Step number seven Protecting yourself properly. Now,
Speaker 1: this is an area that a lot of people overlook
Speaker 1: and completely underestimate, but it is so critical. If something
Speaker 1: was to happen to you from a medical perspective, how
Speaker 1: would you and your children be financially protected? What I'm
Speaker 1: talking about here is what personal insurances do you have
Speaker 1: in place? On top of emergency money, on top of
Speaker 1: sickly or annually that you might have accumulated. What do
Speaker 1: you have to make sure that you can continue on
Speaker 1: putting food on the table, paying the rent, paying the mortgage,
Speaker 1: making sure that you can maintain some sort of lifestyle.
Speaker 1: What do you have in place? Now? This is where
Speaker 1: the conversations around income protection insurance come in. Making sure
Speaker 1: that if you can't work during to medical reason, an
Speaker 1: insurance company will pay you up to seventy five percent
Speaker 1: of your income until you can return back to work
Speaker 1: or until an agreed age such as age sixty five.
Speaker 1: What about total imperment disablement? If you had become paralyzed
Speaker 1: and can't work, what can you do? What can you
Speaker 1: fall back on? These are the things you look at.
Speaker 1: A large lump sum that helps put your family into
Speaker 1: a home, a home without a mortgage, trauma cover what
Speaker 1: would happen if you had be diagnosed with a serious
Speaker 1: illness like a stroke or cancer diagnosis. You know, some
Speaker 1: people can actually return to work and actually want to
Speaker 1: work when they're sick. It's a form of distraction. But
Speaker 1: they're still left with the medical bills and they still
Speaker 1: have to make measure changes to their lifestyle. They might
Speaker 1: have recovery and rehabilitation expenses. This is where trauma insurance
Speaker 1: comes in. You have got to go and get some
Speaker 1: advice around this to make sure that you protect your family.
Speaker 1: And I understand that as a single parent, money is
Speaker 1: most often tight, but some of these expenses, these policies
Speaker 1: can actually be owned and paid for via super so
Speaker 1: it actually is a lot more affordable than you think.
Speaker 1: And there are things you can do to tweak and
Speaker 1: change existing policies so that you don't need to run
Speaker 1: the risk of canceling cover, because that's something I would
Speaker 1: never recommend. But again, this is the importance of speaking
Speaker 1: to a financial planner and getting them to review those policies,
Speaker 1: make some calls on your behalf and see what could
Speaker 1: be done to make them more budget friendly, but most importantly,
Speaker 1: to make sure you are properly protected to the best
Speaker 1: of your ability. And as I said, this goes beyond
Speaker 1: emergency money. This goes beyond and you'll even sick leave.
Speaker 1: Of course, yes, those things help, but you need long
Speaker 1: term protection and this is where the value of personal
Speaker 1: insurance comes in. So please make sure you touch on this,
Speaker 1: you get advice, and you think about what you've got.
Speaker 1: And if you're wondering, do I have these policies, yes,
Speaker 1: I do. I took these out when I was in
Speaker 1: my early twenties and I still have them today even
Speaker 1: though I'm not a single parent, because I have other
Speaker 1: financial responsibilities in my life and I never want to
Speaker 1: be a financial burden to my children or my partner. Tom. Okay,
Speaker 1: so now you have it seven steps. What I would
Speaker 1: do personally if I was starting all over again as
Speaker 1: a single parent from scratch, and I will say this,
Speaker 1: my superannuation would be a bigger priority than investing, particularly
Speaker 1: as someone who's approaching their mid forties. So I'm going
Speaker 1: to quickly recap these points with you. Number One mindset.
Speaker 1: Investing time in your mindset. Writing down those blessings shifts you,
Speaker 1: helps you snap out of fear and puts you into
Speaker 1: a place of empowerment. Number two. Doing a budget, but
Speaker 1: more importantly, building a cash flow system that's in alignment
Speaker 1: to your budget will give you the clarity but also
Speaker 1: will give you the direction for your money, so that
Speaker 1: you are never living paycheck to paycheck. You proactively have
Speaker 1: money set up for when you need it. Number three
Speaker 1: financial stock take This is your starting point and things
Speaker 1: are only going to grow from here. Step number four
Speaker 1: prioritizing your superannuation. If you couldn't tell, I'm really passionate
Speaker 1: about this, that is obviously ensuring your long term financial independence,
Speaker 1: Promise me you will not put this off. Number five
Speaker 1: setting clear goals. I want you to define what success
Speaker 1: looks like for you. Money loves definition and clarity, So
Speaker 1: give those goals so much detail and enjoy the process
Speaker 1: of doing your goals. It's exciting. You learn a lot
Speaker 1: about yourself. Number six. Trimming the fat, looking at those
Speaker 1: expenses strategically, and most importantly, redirecting every single saving that
Speaker 1: you discover, and reviewing your budget towards your financial future.
Speaker 1: That is those goals that you listed from step number five,
Speaker 1: and of course step number seven. Protect protect yourself with
Speaker 1: personal insurance of course, yes, emergency money yes, making sure
Speaker 1: that you've got other passive income sources if you're able
Speaker 1: and in a situation where you can invest. But I
Speaker 1: want to make sure that you secure yourself for your children.
Speaker 1: Nar to remind you, becoming a single parent is scary,
Speaker 1: it's daunting. I've been there, I have gone through it.
Speaker 1: But I'm so glad I went through it because I've
Speaker 1: come out stronger, wiser, and smarter. And this journey for
Speaker 1: you right now is not about perfection. It's about progress,
Speaker 1: finding yourself, finding the strength within to get back on
Speaker 1: your feet again. Because you can do this, you will
Speaker 1: do this, and I, of course I want you to
Speaker 1: enjoy the process. Every decision that you make today brings
Speaker 1: you closer to sexy, powerful financial independence. I know myself
Speaker 1: that each dollar that came off my mortgage, each month
Speaker 1: that I got through on my own, on my paycheck
Speaker 1: alone as a single parent, helped me actually see the
Speaker 1: light again and made me realize that actually, I can
Speaker 1: do this. I can do this on my own. Because
Speaker 1: I'm doing it on my own. I did this work
Speaker 1: and it most definitely paid off, not just financially, but
Speaker 1: emotionally and mentally and spiritually as well. And I look
Speaker 1: back with so much pride, and I do look back
Speaker 1: and go, wow, I can't believe I got through that.
Speaker 1: I don't know how I got through that, but I
Speaker 1: got through that because I had no other choice but
Speaker 1: to do it. And I know Rocco is so proud
Speaker 1: of me and so proud of what we did. And
Speaker 1: I believe I set a really great example for him
Speaker 1: and it was a great role model for him at
Speaker 1: the time. So if this episode today resonated with you,
Speaker 1: please make sure that you share it with any other
Speaker 1: single parents, both moms and dads, who need a little
Speaker 1: bit of help, guidance, motivation, and encouragement right now. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, thank you so much for listening to Sugar
Speaker 1: Mamma's Fireplay. Of course, please don't forget to subscribe, leave
Speaker 1: a review, let me know what other topics you'd like
Speaker 1: me to talk about, and I will see you next
Speaker 1: Monday morning. And in the meantime, promise me you'll keep
Speaker 1: that financial fire burning bright within. This is Sugar Mamma's
Speaker 1: firepl