Speaker 1: Hello.
Speaker 2: My name's Sanatasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud yr the
Speaker 2: Order Kerni Whalbury and a waddery woman. And before we
Speaker 2: get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would
Speaker 2: like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of
Speaker 2: which this podcast is recorded on a wondery country, acknowledging
Speaker 2: the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through
Speaker 2: as this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and
Speaker 2: the storytelling of you to make a difference for today
Speaker 2: and lasting impact for tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Let's get into it.
Speaker 3: She's on the Money, She's on the Money.
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to She's on the Money the podcast.
Speaker 4: What us the proof's achieving financial freedom doesn't have to
Speaker 4: be all spreadsheets and self denial. It can also involve
Speaker 4: a little bit of laziness and a lot of strategy.
Speaker 4: I'm Victoria Devine, a retired financial advisor who knows the
Speaker 4: real flex is working smarter, not harder. And today, together
Speaker 4: we're going to dive into a guide for anyone who's
Speaker 4: ever thought there has to be.
Speaker 1: An easier way to do this whole money thing.
Speaker 4: This is, my friends, the Lazy Girl's Guide to Financial
Speaker 4: Freedom in twenty twenty five. It's all about getting ahead
Speaker 4: without burning out. Setting up your finances to work for you,
Speaker 4: not the other way around. Think smartest strategies, streamlined habits,
Speaker 4: and just enough effort to keep your wallet thriving while
Speaker 4: you binge your next Netflix series guilt free. It's twenty
Speaker 4: twenty five, people. If we're not using technology to make
Speaker 4: life easier, what are you even doing. It's like having
Speaker 4: your own personal assistant, but for money. No more forgetting
Speaker 4: to transfer your savings, missing bills, or stressing about where
Speaker 4: your money went. With the tech we have now, setting
Speaker 4: up automatic payments, savings, or even investments is as easy
Speaker 4: as ordering your Friday night Uber eats. It's time to
Speaker 4: let technology do the heavy lifting so you can focus
Speaker 4: on the things that you actually enjoy well. Your money
Speaker 4: works smarter in the background. So hack number one is
Speaker 4: probably my favorite on list because let's be honest, when
Speaker 4: it comes to managing money, I just want smart, simple,
Speaker 4: and as little effort as possible. So if you hear
Speaker 4: the word budget and you immediately want to have an app,
Speaker 4: maybe this one is for you. So for me, it's
Speaker 4: about pulling everything into one spot. So I don't want
Speaker 4: lots and lots of different bank accounts, lots of different
Speaker 4: investment accounts, super and even debt in lots of different places.
Speaker 4: So our community has been doing the research and they've
Speaker 4: been looking up different ways to pull everything together, because
Speaker 4: no one wants to jump between five different apps to
Speaker 4: figure out where your money is going. In our community,
Speaker 4: a really popular method of managing money is the bucket system.
Speaker 4: So from my perspective, if you already use this method
Speaker 4: to organize your money, or you're using like a few
Speaker 4: different bank accounts, this one's going to be a game changer.
Speaker 4: So lots of people in our community have started talking
Speaker 4: about we money, and I did my research. It does
Speaker 4: show you everything at a glance. It shows your total
Speaker 4: bank balances, your investments, your super, your debt, and honestly
Speaker 4: even your net worth. I was really impressed it's right there.
Speaker 4: And my favorite part is that it's in real time.
Speaker 4: It tracks your bill payments and it flags reoccurring changes,
Speaker 4: and it tracks subscriptions so that you can finally see
Speaker 4: where like sneaky money leaks are happening and you.
Speaker 1: Can plug them for good.
Speaker 4: But like any app, the key to making work is
Speaker 4: making sure that you're reviewing it properly, making sure that
Speaker 4: if you are using an app like this, you're going
Speaker 4: in and canceling anything that you're not using because it's
Speaker 4: instant savings, so this is going to track it for you.
Speaker 4: So my hack number one is literally find an app
Speaker 4: that makes it smarter, simpler, and literally no effort to
Speaker 4: start setting your financial goals and tracking towards them. In fact,
Speaker 4: in this app, you can set financial goals like maybe
Speaker 4: saving for a holiday, or like paying off a credit card,
Speaker 4: and then directly track them in the app. And my
Speaker 4: favorite thing about that is it's all in one dashboard,
Speaker 4: no more flicking between lots of different apps to make
Speaker 4: it work. We Money is a tool that has just
Speaker 4: been making life simpler and our community love it. The
Speaker 4: next thing I wanted to talk about is consolidating your super.
Speaker 4: I know it's not sexy, and I did promise that
Speaker 4: we would be trying to work smarter and savvier and
Speaker 4: have less effort. I know this feels like a little
Speaker 4: bit of effort, but once you've set it up at
Speaker 4: set and forget. But let's talk about consolidating your super.
Speaker 4: It's kind of like maricondoing your retirement savings. If you've
Speaker 4: worked multiple jobs, the chances of you having multiple super
Speaker 4: accounts lurking in the background, quietly draining your hard earned
Speaker 4: money with extra fees is high.
Speaker 1: But good news is.
Speaker 4: Consolidating your super is super easy, no pun intended, and
Speaker 4: it can save you heaps over time. So what you
Speaker 4: need to do to consolidate your super is just log
Speaker 4: into my guve, link your account to the ATO, and
Speaker 4: use the Super Consolidation tool they created for us to
Speaker 4: make it easy to bring all your accounts together.
Speaker 1: They do the hard work for you. In minutes.
Speaker 4: You're going to be cutting down on fees, simplifying your
Speaker 4: retirement savings, and ensuring that your money is working harder
Speaker 4: for you, not you for it and bonus. Less accounts
Speaker 4: means less paperwork, which means less fees and we all
Speaker 4: love that right. The one thing I will say, though,
Speaker 4: is if you're going to consolidate your super or I
Speaker 4: hate to be boring, but please check your insurances on
Speaker 4: your super before consolidating, because insurance is inside superannuation. They're
Speaker 4: like the golden ticket, right, Like, once you've got it,
Speaker 4: you've got it.
Speaker 1: But if you lose it.
Speaker 4: You can't just ask for it back, So making sure
Speaker 4: you're not leaving a super fund that might have a
Speaker 4: golden ticket insurance premium is really really intelligent.
Speaker 1: Another thing I want to talk.
Speaker 4: About is direct debiting to your investments or to your superannuation,
Speaker 4: if that makes sense for you. It's as simple as
Speaker 4: honestly setting up extra contributions through your employer. So one
Speaker 4: thing I love about this is it's not a direct
Speaker 4: debit from your account. You're not seeing the money go
Speaker 4: into your account and then out of your account. You're
Speaker 4: setting it up at your employer level, so it's like
Speaker 4: the money never existed. That means it's coming from your
Speaker 4: pre tax income if you're contributing into your supranuation, or
Speaker 4: it's being diverted to a different savings account if it's
Speaker 4: a post tax income. And this automation not only boosts
Speaker 4: your super savings and your investment savings, but it also
Speaker 4: could potentially lower your taxable income, giving you a win
Speaker 4: win situation. It's honestly, really simple. All you do is
Speaker 4: ask your employer to organize either your superannuation contributions or
Speaker 4: to split your income for you. It gets taken directly
Speaker 4: from your salary. And it's not only going to boost
Speaker 4: you getting ahead when it comes to investment, but it
Speaker 4: could save you money at tax time if you're using
Speaker 4: the superannuation environment, double win. Right. And here's where it
Speaker 4: gets even better if you're talking about salary sacrificing into
Speaker 4: super right, because super contributions are typically taxed to only
Speaker 4: fifteen percent instead of your usual marginal tax rate. Instead
Speaker 4: of having more money over to the eight it's really
Speaker 4: likely that you'll get a little kick back at tax time.
Speaker 4: Whether it's twenty bucks a week or something a little
Speaker 4: bit more ambitious, every single dollar that you put away
Speaker 4: is going to set you up for a brighter, stress
Speaker 4: free future because compounding and tax perks are a winning duo.
Speaker 4: Your future self is going to be really grateful for
Speaker 4: twenty twenty five you. Now, I'm going to take a
Speaker 4: really quick break because I'm lazy, but I want you
Speaker 4: to stick around because after we're going to dive into
Speaker 4: the clever ways to keep your surprise bills from absolutely
Speaker 4: ruining your budget. All right, my friends, we are back,
Speaker 4: and I want to talk to you about those dreaded
Speaker 4: surprise bills, like the power bill that shows up when
Speaker 4: you're least expecting it your red Joe when you completely
Speaker 4: forgot that it was meant to be payable, and the
Speaker 4: fact that insurance is always payable in the same damn
Speaker 4: month as your red Joe, it feels like you're being
Speaker 4: kicked while you are down. Enter this idea of bill smoothing, right,
Speaker 4: so you're new budgeting bestie, So many utility providers actually
Speaker 4: give you this clever option, averaging your payment across the
Speaker 4: year so that you don't actually get stung by seasonal spikes.
Speaker 4: I'm looking at you summer air conditioning bill. Setting up
Speaker 4: bill smoothing is a straightforward way to take control of
Speaker 4: your utility expenses and avoid those dreaded seasonal spikes. So
Speaker 4: what you're going to do is you're going to contact
Speaker 4: your utility provider and ask about their bill smoothing program.
Speaker 4: Most of them have them these days. Then they're going
Speaker 4: to calculate your average usage based on the past bills
Speaker 4: that you've had and set a predictable monthly amount, and
Speaker 4: then they're going to set it up. And once it's
Speaker 4: set up, your payments are spread evenly across the year,
Speaker 4: so you'll know exactly what to budget for for each cycle.
Speaker 4: And then what you're going to do is you're going
Speaker 4: to add in direct debit. So every single month you're
Speaker 4: just going to direct debit this and you're all set.
Speaker 4: You don't even have to think about it again. Plus
Speaker 4: so many providers nowadays offer annual reviews to ensure that
Speaker 4: your payments are going to stay aligned with your actual usage,
Speaker 4: which is going to keep your budget smooth and stress free,
Speaker 4: which means if there's any extra that you've pad, it'll
Speaker 4: go as a credit towards your bill.
Speaker 1: And what does that mean? Less financial stress?
Speaker 4: The other thing I wanted to talk about, and in
Speaker 4: twenty twenty Thrive we are all embracing is this idea
Speaker 4: of negotiating all the time. But did you know that
Speaker 4: these days you don't even have to awkwardly talk to
Speaker 4: somebody to snag a better deal, Like you don't even
Speaker 4: have to pick up the phone and talk to a
Speaker 4: human being. You can negotiate like a pro without even
Speaker 4: having to open your mouth. Many companies now let you
Speaker 4: request discounts and switch plans, or even haggle for better
Speaker 4: rates directly through their website, on their app, or through
Speaker 4: online chat. It's like having the power of negotiation at
Speaker 4: your fingertips minus the sweaty palms. And do you know
Speaker 4: what my favorite part about this is if you get
Speaker 4: awkward and you're like, oh my gosh, I don't know
Speaker 4: what to say next, chat GPT is going to answer
Speaker 4: that for you. You don't even have to think about your response.
Speaker 4: Chat GPT is going to have the answer. I'm actually
Speaker 4: going to make it even easier for you, and I'm
Speaker 4: going to link my resources section on the She's on
Speaker 4: the money website where you can download screw and honestly,
Speaker 4: you can just cut and paste them into the chat
Speaker 4: and start there. It can't get any easier than that.
Speaker 4: It's literally me helping you negotiate to get a better deal,
Speaker 4: and you don't even have to think about it. I'll
Speaker 4: pop it in the show notes for you, my friend.
Speaker 4: The next tack I've got for you, my friends, I
Speaker 4: think is an absolute game Changerup. Have you ever signed
Speaker 4: up for a free trial that you totally meant to
Speaker 4: cancel and then you got stung with a charge you
Speaker 4: didn't see? So I've got two things for you here.
Speaker 4: The first is, if you sign up for a free
Speaker 4: trial on your phone, you're going to go to the
Speaker 4: subscriptions tab as soon as you sign up and cancel it.
Speaker 4: And the reason you're going to do that is it
Speaker 4: will allow you to keep the trial period and then
Speaker 4: it will end at the end of the trial period
Speaker 4: instead of you having to remember to go in. The
Speaker 4: other thing is sometimes they ask you for a credit card,
Speaker 4: and this solution is going to use an empty pre
Speaker 4: paid credit card for free trials. Since there's no actual
Speaker 4: money loaded onto the card, it can't be charged once
Speaker 4: the trial period ends. It's a super simple way to
Speaker 4: kind of dodge unexpected fees and keep your subscriptions in check.
Speaker 4: No more forgetting to cancel, no more surprise charges, just
Speaker 4: stress free trials.
Speaker 1: Money win.
Speaker 4: All right, my friends, I feel like that's a wrap
Speaker 4: on my very short, but very lazy Girl's Guide to
Speaker 4: Financial Freedom in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1: Today we've covered.
Speaker 4: Some what I would call game changing hacks to simplify
Speaker 4: your financial life without breaking a sweat. Remember, financial freedom
Speaker 4: it doesn't just have to mean spreadsheets and sacrifice. It's
Speaker 4: all about finding systems the work for you, making small,
Speaker 4: very intentional choices, and letting technology do the heavy lifting
Speaker 4: so you can focus on what really matters. If you've
Speaker 4: loved today's episode and you want to keep building your
Speaker 4: financial confidence, Please don't forget to follow us on your
Speaker 4: favorite podcasting platform and hit subscribe so that you never
Speaker 4: miss an episode. While you're at it, I'd love it
Speaker 4: if you shared this episode with a friend who could
Speaker 4: use a little financial glow up.
Speaker 1: It might even just change their life. See you soon, guys.
Speaker 4: The advice shared on She's on the Money is general
Speaker 4: in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's
Speaker 4: on the Money exists purely for educational purposes and should
Speaker 4: not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision.
Speaker 1: If you do choose to buy a financial product.
Speaker 4: Read the PDS TMD and obtain appropriate financial.
Speaker 1: Advice tailored towards your needs.
Speaker 4: Victoria Divine and She's on the Money are authorized representatives
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