WEBVTT - Beat Money Stress (& Boost Your Bank Balance)

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Hello, healthy ish listeners. How are you Hope you're

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<v Speaker 1>having an awesome day? This is the daily podcast and

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<v Speaker 1>Body in Soul. Of course, I am the host for

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<v Speaker 1>listening Halle. Are you stressed about money? Well, a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of us are right now, and to help us out,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm joined by Lacy Philipitch. She is a financial educator,

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<v Speaker 1>chemical engineer, ted X speaker and head of financial Wellness

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<v Speaker 1>at Maslow and she joins me from wa to share

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<v Speaker 1>her tips. If you do like what you hear from

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<v Speaker 1>Lacey listening to extra Healthy Issue, where she'll help you

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<v Speaker 1>discover whether you have a healthy relationship with money, you

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<v Speaker 1>can catch that one wherever you get podcasts. Lacey, nice

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<v Speaker 1>to should I say, have you back on after three years? Listeners?

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<v Speaker 1>We were working out that was about three years since

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<v Speaker 1>we spoke to each other.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, wonderful to be back and it feels like it's

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<v Speaker 2>been not that long. Incredible.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, I don't know why we took so long,

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<v Speaker 1>but thank you for joining us now. I saw this

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<v Speaker 1>new study pop up last week. It was in the

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<v Speaker 1>US and it found forty seven percent of Americans say

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<v Speaker 1>money is affecting their mental health. I mean, I actually thought, wow,

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<v Speaker 1>what's it like in Australia. I did a bit of

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<v Speaker 1>digging last year. Beyond Blue study found thirty seven percent

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<v Speaker 1>of Aussies were affected, with women most at risk.

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<v Speaker 2>What are you hearing? You know you are at the

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<v Speaker 2>coal face? What are you seeing?

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<v Speaker 3>That absolutely resonates with what I'm saying. People are extremely

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<v Speaker 3>stressed about money. And it is actually kind of like

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<v Speaker 3>a two stream thing. There's a group of people who

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<v Speaker 3>are fine and comfortable and they've got job security and

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<v Speaker 3>they've got housing security, and they seem okay. But there

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<v Speaker 3>is a really large chunk of the population and it's growing.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, I'm not surprised to hear it was a

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<v Speaker 3>third last year. It's probably more now. And they're worried

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<v Speaker 3>about a roof over their heads and food in their bellies,

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<v Speaker 3>like real basic stuff, and it permeates every moment of

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<v Speaker 3>their day.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, when you strip all back, they are the

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<v Speaker 1>basics to living. I mean, this is how we have

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<v Speaker 1>to survive as a human. It's a roof over our head,

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<v Speaker 1>food to eat in some ways. You know, I was

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<v Speaker 1>going to ask you why does money make us so stressed?

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<v Speaker 1>But perhaps I've already answered that question. But can you.

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<v Speaker 3>Answer that, well, yes, there's this fascinating study and I

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<v Speaker 3>talk about it at every opportunity I get, And if

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<v Speaker 3>you want to google it, look up Princeton Poverty Brain

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<v Speaker 3>Study and it was conducted in twenty thirteen, and what

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<v Speaker 3>it found was when you're under financial stress, it actually

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<v Speaker 3>lowers your IQ by thirteen points.

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<v Speaker 1>Goodness, that's huge.

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<v Speaker 3>And the reason that happens is in the back of

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<v Speaker 3>your brain, You've got this script running all the time,

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<v Speaker 3>and it's going can I afford my rent? Is my

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<v Speaker 3>mortgage going to go up too much? Can I afford

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<v Speaker 3>to eat this week? Do I need to go without meals?

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<v Speaker 3>And that script is actually taking up some of your

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<v Speaker 3>brain space, Like if you think about your computer's CPU,

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<v Speaker 3>it's doing that to your brain, and it leaves less

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<v Speaker 3>space available to metions and not just about money, about

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<v Speaker 3>your health, about your relationship, about your job. And so

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<v Speaker 3>that IQ drop actually affects everything and it can become

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<v Speaker 3>this downward spiral. And that's why financial stress has such

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<v Speaker 3>a marked experience for people in all parts of their lives.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, as you said before, it permeates in everything,

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<v Speaker 1>like it's just it can just stay there and it

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<v Speaker 1>just hums along forever, and then it affects everything you do,

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<v Speaker 1>Like whether you want to go out with friends for dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>I can't afford that. I mean you barely able to

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<v Speaker 1>afford dinner for yourself. It affects if you want to exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>go to the gym.

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<v Speaker 2>It just it.

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<v Speaker 1>Impacts every single thread of life, doesn't it when you're

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<v Speaker 1>stressed about money.

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<v Speaker 2>It really does. And I think that's the thing. You

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<v Speaker 2>can't escape it when you're in it.

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<v Speaker 3>It's there all the time, and it actually costs us

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<v Speaker 3>in our health in terms of mental stress, but also

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<v Speaker 3>in preventative health care things like that. It's enormous, the

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<v Speaker 3>spiraling impact we see.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's a good that's actually a really important point

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, people of this podcast want to stay healthy.

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<v Speaker 1>You want to I mean not just go to the gym,

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<v Speaker 1>but even just you know, whether you're paying for private

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<v Speaker 1>health insurance, so going to the doctor. I mean sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>you can go well I can't afford to go to

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor because going to the doctor is actually not

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<v Speaker 1>that cheap in some parts of Australia these days, when

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<v Speaker 1>there's not much rebate involved. So it can affect not

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<v Speaker 1>just every aira of your life, but your health as.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, exactly, And I often think about like dental is

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<v Speaker 3>a really good example of this. You know, you've got

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<v Speaker 3>a slightly saw tooth and you go, oh, I don't

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<v Speaker 3>have enough money for that, you know, visit to the dentist.

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<v Speaker 3>And I don't want to know how bad it is

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<v Speaker 3>really because I don't want to be up for several

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<v Speaker 3>thousand dollars if it needs a replacement. I'll just ignore

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<v Speaker 3>it until it gets really bad. And then you have

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<v Speaker 3>no choice but to spend all that money, and you

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<v Speaker 3>didn't do the preventative thing that might have been, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>a small filling or you know, something to do with

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<v Speaker 3>wearing a plate at night. Like I cracked my back

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<v Speaker 3>molars because I could afford crowns, and then I got

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<v Speaker 3>to keep my teeth. If you leave it for too long,

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<v Speaker 3>I would have had to pay for a root canal,

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<v Speaker 3>which probably three times as much. And that kind of

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<v Speaker 3>thing happens. We ignore these early signs because we can't

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<v Speaker 3>afford the maintenance cost or the preventative cost, and then

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<v Speaker 3>it ends up really costing.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a big time later on.

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<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, So how can we stop stressing about money? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>how can we do the little bits if we feel

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<v Speaker 1>like we can't afford it.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's a really tough one, I think for people

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<v Speaker 3>who are in it. If you are feeling financially stressed,

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<v Speaker 3>if you're listening to this and going, oh my gosh,

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<v Speaker 3>you're deep in it at the moment. What I would

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<v Speaker 3>love you to do is try and make an appointment

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<v Speaker 3>with a financial counselor. And you find financial counselors via

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<v Speaker 3>National Debt Helpline and financial counselors are incredible.

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<v Speaker 2>Resources in Australia.

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<v Speaker 3>They are the unsung heroes I think of Australia's finance scene.

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<v Speaker 3>There's not enough of them to go around yet, but

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<v Speaker 3>they've just been funded, which is good news. A financial

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<v Speaker 3>counselor can't sell you anything, there just to help you.

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<v Speaker 3>They can help you negotiate with people who are your

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<v Speaker 3>service providers, so you know your power company, your mortgages,

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<v Speaker 3>that kind of thing. If you're struggling to make ends meet,

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<v Speaker 3>they can help you with planning your spending.

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<v Speaker 2>They can help you.

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<v Speaker 3>Access resources things that you might not have been aware of.

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<v Speaker 3>So I'd strongly encourage you to talk to a financial

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<v Speaker 3>accounts so if you can, and also to have a

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<v Speaker 3>look at center Links financial information service if you are

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<v Speaker 3>a senti Link customer, because they do a similar thing

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<v Speaker 3>where you can chat to them on the phone. So

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<v Speaker 3>that's if you're deep in it at the moment, please

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<v Speaker 3>reach out take advantage of as many of those supports

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<v Speaker 3>as you can. And even if that means that you're

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<v Speaker 3>going to feel a little bit embarrassed, please go and

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<v Speaker 3>sign up for food bank, Go sign up for whatever

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<v Speaker 3>service you can get, because you're the only one who

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<v Speaker 3>loses if you don't take advantage of those services when

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<v Speaker 3>you need it. So that's for the people who really stressing.

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<v Speaker 3>For everybody else, the best recipe for reducing stress is

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<v Speaker 3>a buffer fund, some savings set aside that you know

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<v Speaker 3>that you can tap into when you need them when

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<v Speaker 3>an emergency arises, so that you can get through any

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<v Speaker 3>stressful period. So I think of that as sleep well money.

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<v Speaker 3>That's the money that lets I sleep well at night.

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<v Speaker 2>I can relax knowing that I've got it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, what I mean, it's hard at the moment. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm probably speaking a bit personal experience because we're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to build up our buffer fund at the moment. But

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<v Speaker 1>I'll tell you what it's very hard to find that

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<v Speaker 1>money each month when you're feeding three maut like three

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<v Speaker 1>kids mouths and you go to the do the groceries

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<v Speaker 1>and suddenly what used to cost me, you know, a

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<v Speaker 1>basket load used to cost me like one hundred bucks.

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<v Speaker 1>It's now like a tiny little bit of the basket

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<v Speaker 1>is one hundred dollars. How you taught us about this

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<v Speaker 1>sleep well fund? Like how much? What should it look like?

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<v Speaker 1>How much should you have in there? And how do

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<v Speaker 1>you go about putting money in there when you feel

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<v Speaker 1>like you actually just can't afford day to day living.

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<v Speaker 3>So of preface this with there will be times in

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<v Speaker 3>your life where you just can't save and you can't

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<v Speaker 3>build that buffer fund. So please, if that's you, don't

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<v Speaker 3>beat yourself up, okay, because there are times when you

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<v Speaker 3>can't do it. But I think what's really important for

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<v Speaker 3>everyone to understand is that buffer fund is really up

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<v Speaker 3>to you and what makes you feel comfortable. And often

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<v Speaker 3>people will think about their obligations. So if you're the

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<v Speaker 3>person who's the main income earner in the family and

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<v Speaker 3>you've got dependence and a mortgage, you might want to

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<v Speaker 3>have several months worth of living costs to feel really

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<v Speaker 3>comfortable and that it can be a big goal for

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<v Speaker 3>some people. Now, when I say living costs, I'm talking

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<v Speaker 3>about the bare minimum roof over your head, food in

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<v Speaker 3>your belly, transport, that kind of thing, Not holidays, not

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<v Speaker 3>maybe your normal monthly spending with all the other stuff

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<v Speaker 3>in enough to basically survive if you live at home

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<v Speaker 3>with your parents, if you're not supporting anyone else, it

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<v Speaker 3>might only be like a month or two of living costs.

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<v Speaker 3>So you've got to decide what works for you. And look,

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<v Speaker 3>I think the best way to build up a buffer

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<v Speaker 3>fund is always to pay yourself first. So set up

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<v Speaker 3>that direct transfer or get your payroll to send money

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<v Speaker 3>straight into a savings account, and then learn to live.

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<v Speaker 2>On what's left.

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<v Speaker 3>If you find you need more, so you're all eating

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<v Speaker 3>baked beans for a week, then you can go and

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<v Speaker 3>get some money out of savings.

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<v Speaker 2>You've tried too hard, but.

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<v Speaker 3>Once you've spent it, it's gone, So try ambitiously to

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<v Speaker 3>start with. And then if you decide you're trying to

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<v Speaker 3>save too much and it's causing too much stress, then

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<v Speaker 3>you can ramp it back.

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<v Speaker 2>But you'll never know what you can achieve till you try.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, absolutely, and hey, baked beans once a week is

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<v Speaker 1>actually quite tasty. I used to do that. I actually

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<v Speaker 1>do that actually a lot back in yearly days. But

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure. If I serve baked up to the

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<v Speaker 1>kids now, they'd be like, mom, what the hell is

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<v Speaker 1>going on? Lazy?

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you for coming on healthy Ish. Thanks so much

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<v Speaker 2>for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope this chat with Lazy gave you a few

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<v Speaker 1>tips and tricks on well how to help yourself if

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<v Speaker 1>you are stressed about money. If you did enjoy it,

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<v Speaker 1>jump on rate and review it, or you can subscribe

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<v Speaker 1>to this podcast. Share this it with a friend or

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<v Speaker 1>your partner, someone who is with you on your money.

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<v Speaker 1>Dare I say journey anything else? Head to Body and

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<v Speaker 1>Soul dot com dot you follow us on socials, Grab

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<v Speaker 1>our print edition which is out in your local Sunday paper,

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<v Speaker 1>and until tomorrow, stay healthy Ish