Speaker 1: Hello, my name's Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud yr
Speaker 1: the Order Kerni Whoalbury and a waddery woman. And before
Speaker 1: we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I
Speaker 1: would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land
Speaker 1: of which this podcast is recorded on a wondery country,
Speaker 1: acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming
Speaker 1: through as this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing
Speaker 1: and the storytelling of you to make a difference for
Speaker 1: today and lasting impact for tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Let's get into it.
Speaker 3: She's on the Money, She's on the Money.
Speaker 4: Hello, and welcome to She's on the Money the podcast
Speaker 4: Millennials who want financial freedom. Welcome back to another shop
Speaker 4: back Money Diary Monday, where we get to chat to
Speaker 4: a beautiful community member to learn about them and also
Speaker 4: more interestingly, their finances. Victoria, Yes, I have a really
Speaker 4: interesting one for you this week. He ready, all right,
Speaker 4: take it away, how dire says After watching my parents
Speaker 4: go from being wealthy to losing their business, I got
Speaker 4: a taste of both worlds growing up, experiencing the life
Speaker 4: of the privileged and the not self privileged. My money
Speaker 4: story has shaped my approach on money and in turn,
Speaker 4: my own career goals. I'm now a senior case manager
Speaker 4: in work cover, trying to climb my way up the
Speaker 4: corporate ladder so I can reach those goals.
Speaker 5: I love that money Diarist. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me, ladies. I'm so excited.
Speaker 5: Ah, I'm excited to have you. I mean mainly because
Speaker 5: we just did that insurance episode and we've got one
Speaker 5: million and one work cover questions coming through. So maybe
Speaker 5: we can just like Railroad this entire money diary and
Speaker 5: just do workover right. Yes, absolutely, I'm all about it,
Speaker 5: all right, Well, actually I'm not. So let's go on
Speaker 5: because they're my favorite time of the week, and let's
Speaker 5: start off this money diary like we do every single
Speaker 5: other one, and that is asking you, money Diarist, Can
Speaker 5: you tell us a little bit about your money story?
Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, so I think growing up, Look, we were
Speaker 2: quite privileged. And when I say we, I mean my
Speaker 2: brother and I. My parents run a successful business in
Speaker 2: the early two thousands. They were able to send us
Speaker 2: to a private grammar school as a result, and we
Speaker 2: were able to travel a lot and go on yearly,
Speaker 2: I guess, holidays overseas and so growing up, we were very,
Speaker 2: very lucky, very privileged kids, and I guess my money
Speaker 2: story took a bit of a dive. I guess in
Speaker 2: two thousand and nine when the GFC hit, our family
Speaker 2: business did also take a dive as well, and so
Speaker 2: that caused us to go a little bit backwards. And unfortunately,
Speaker 2: my family did have to pull us out of private school,
Speaker 2: and so that was during VCE as well, which was
Speaker 2: super difficult for me.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I remember as well, you know, we had
Speaker 2: our debutantes in year eleven and I wasn't able to
Speaker 2: do one because my mum couldn't afford to pay for it,
Speaker 2: and so things like that just really did take a toll,
Speaker 2: I guess on me and my brother growing up. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I guess, you know, we really just took it. It
Speaker 2: just took a dive, and from there I really just
Speaker 2: had to learn the value of money. And I think,
Speaker 2: looking back now on my money story, if my parents
Speaker 2: never did have that dive in their business, would we
Speaker 2: or would I be the person that I am today
Speaker 2: when it comes to money, Because now my outlook is,
Speaker 2: you know, just making sure that I'm budgeting correctly and
Speaker 2: that I am really working hard for my money and
Speaker 2: really knowing the value of my money as well. So
Speaker 2: I think, all in all, after what had happened I
Speaker 2: guess to us growing up, it's actually made me a
Speaker 2: better person today. I would say, Oh.
Speaker 5: That's such a beautiful view on it. Your parents okay, now,
Speaker 5: yeah they.
Speaker 2: Are okay, they're doing well, and yeah we're back on track,
Speaker 2: which is awesome. So I mean, I just feel really
Speaker 2: lucky to have, I guess, gone through such a privileged
Speaker 2: life and then also to still have the roof over
Speaker 2: our heads even when it took a downturn. So yeah,
Speaker 2: everything is good so far.
Speaker 5: Yeah wow, all right, Money diarists tell us what do
Speaker 5: you currently do for work and how much money do
Speaker 5: you earn?
Speaker 2: So I am a senior case manager in insurance, specifically
Speaker 2: work cover, and I earn an eighty seven thousand dollars
Speaker 2: salary package. I am on track for another five grand
Speaker 2: increase on my base salary just based on a recent
Speaker 2: promotion I got, so that will go up again. And yeah,
Speaker 2: my role is basically to support injured workers back to work,
Speaker 2: So that's really my passion as well, very cool.
Speaker 5: So tell us do you get paid monthly, weekly, fortnightly
Speaker 5: and how much.
Speaker 2: Hits your out? So I get paid fortnightly and what
Speaker 2: hits my account is about twenty one and fifty net.
Speaker 5: Very exciting. You're making good money for your age. I
Speaker 5: love that. Next question is money, drost. What is your
Speaker 5: big money goal?
Speaker 2: So at the moment, my partner and I are building
Speaker 2: our first house. Yeah, so my big money goal at
Speaker 2: the moment is to get our house built, of course,
Speaker 2: and I guess once that is built, which is scheduled
Speaker 2: to be completed by December January at this stage January
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, that would be then from there it
Speaker 2: would be really putting money towards our wedding. So that's
Speaker 2: the next money hurdle.
Speaker 5: Oh, excittly, have you booked the wedding or is it
Speaker 5: a pipe dream at this point?
Speaker 2: Victoria, it's a pipe dream at this point, if I'm
Speaker 2: honest with you, or now I'm not engaged yet, but
Speaker 2: one of one of those, but so joy. But we
Speaker 2: definitely are talking about it, and I'm aware that it
Speaker 2: is going to occur sometime in the next I don't know,
Speaker 2: a couple of months, hopefully, so we are defeated.
Speaker 5: So fine, I resonate my friend. Like, I knew my
Speaker 5: partner had a ring for more than a year before
Speaker 5: he proposed, and by the time he proposed, I found
Speaker 5: out he'd had it in his wardrobe for two and
Speaker 5: a half years. So like when you know it's coming,
Speaker 5: you know it's coming, and you kind of just get
Speaker 5: antsy because you're like, sir, this is a really big
Speaker 5: financial commitment, and I want to start planning and I
Speaker 5: want to start organizing. But is it kind of creepy
Speaker 5: if I start burning my wedding before I'm engaged.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 5: That was the question going through my head. But I
Speaker 5: think you and I would get along like a house
Speaker 5: on fire. Love it absolutely all right, Next money question,
Speaker 5: do you currently have any investments?
Speaker 2: So look, other than, as you say, Victoria superannuation, I
Speaker 2: do have super get it, get it. But other than that,
Speaker 2: I don't actually invest. And that's probably my biggest concern
Speaker 2: about myself is that I haven't actually put my foot
Speaker 2: in the door to invest in the stock market. So look,
Speaker 2: other than yeah, as I said the super, I do not.
Speaker 2: It is absolutely one of my goals, and I guess
Speaker 2: That alluds to the next questions coming.
Speaker 5: Up, which is how much debt do you have, if
Speaker 5: you have any, and what is it for.
Speaker 2: So at the moment that my debt is my home
Speaker 2: loan of course, so paying a mortgage now we are building,
Speaker 2: but you obviously pay a loan still whilst the house
Speaker 2: is building. So I currently have a five hundred and
Speaker 2: forty thousand dollar mortgage. That is my debt. Other than that,
Speaker 2: I have hex stets. I did study before I went
Speaker 2: into full time work, so I do have a hex
Speaker 2: stet as well. And that's about it. I don't have
Speaker 2: any personal debt. I've never pulled out any personal loans.
Speaker 2: So I'm really proud of myself for that.
Speaker 5: That is so good. I want to be really pervy.
Speaker 5: You said you have a five hundred and forty thousand
Speaker 5: dollar mortgage. How much does that cost you every fortnight?
Speaker 2: So at the moment, our repayments are two and one
Speaker 2: hundred eight months, so I would have to calculate that
Speaker 2: Victoria that we have an offset account. That's all right.
Speaker 5: It's nice to chat about it because I think a
Speaker 5: lot of us in the community go, oh wow, she
Speaker 5: has a mortgage, she's got it. All together. But that
Speaker 5: does end up putting some serious financial strain on being
Speaker 5: able to say for this future wedding that we're planning
Speaker 5: one day and everything else you're doing, and like the
Speaker 5: things that you're about to go through arguably are really expensive.
Speaker 5: And I always like being a little bit pervy and
Speaker 5: being like, well, how much does that cost you? Because
Speaker 5: it does put on some financial strain and to know
Speaker 5: that that's the amount. It's literally what you earn every fortnight, right,
Speaker 5: so like half of your wage is going towards your mortgage.
Speaker 2: But do you split that with your partner? I was
Speaker 2: just going to say, I do split that with my partner.
Speaker 2: So my partner and I have put in half half,
Speaker 2: so equal fifty percent for the house, and we did
Speaker 2: put money aside for a twenty percent deposit as well,
Speaker 2: so we're really proud of ourselves that we won't be
Speaker 2: paying alami on our loans. So yeah, ye, I do
Speaker 2: split it. I can't say it's all of my wage
Speaker 2: of course.
Speaker 5: All right, Well, I'm coming back to that question because
Speaker 5: I want to know all about your house deposit and
Speaker 5: how you got there, because twenty percent is an achievement
Speaker 5: that not many of us make these days, especially with
Speaker 5: housing prices the way they are. But we're going to
Speaker 5: carry on.
Speaker 2: Next question, do you use shop back? I do use
Speaker 2: shop back. I have downloaded the extension and so I
Speaker 2: do use it wherever I can when I online shop.
Speaker 2: I did actually check before in preparation for this podcast,
Speaker 2: and I've got twenty dollars. I love that. Stop it
Speaker 2: just how much it's twenty dollars.
Speaker 5: It's not a lot, but I have twenty dollars, so
Speaker 5: that's staging money than you had from not using it,
Speaker 5: So money you in money win. I love that you've
Speaker 5: downloaded the extension because that's the only way it really
Speaker 5: works for me. I mean, lots of people do lots
Speaker 5: of things, but I hate the hurdle of having to
Speaker 5: go on my phone and then like you know, shopping
Speaker 5: through that.
Speaker 2: I find it challenging.
Speaker 5: The extension, I just click the button and it applies
Speaker 5: to my cart that I've already put together, which is
Speaker 5: a money win.
Speaker 2: We love that for us asolutely.
Speaker 5: All right, Next question, what is your best money habit?
Speaker 2: Jess spoiler.
Speaker 5: I think it might be saving haha.
Speaker 2: Not at all. No, it is absolutely When my partner
Speaker 2: and I decided to buy an build a house. We
Speaker 2: set aside a goal of how much we want to save,
Speaker 2: of course, so that we can achieve our twenty percent
Speaker 2: deposit that is, And I stuck to my goal, and
Speaker 2: I had X amount that I would put in each
Speaker 2: savings account every fortnight when I was paid, And yeah,
Speaker 2: I've just been really diligent in saving towards that goal,
Speaker 2: and so absolutely it would be saving. If I have
Speaker 2: a goal, I certainly will make sure that I achieve it,
Speaker 2: and whatever it takes, I'll absolutely put that money aside.
Speaker 2: So it's not percentage base that I portion everything out
Speaker 2: into my savings, but I have a set amount that
Speaker 2: I've worked out works for me and my goals. So yeah,
Speaker 2: absolutely I love that.
Speaker 5: And have you always been that way or is that
Speaker 5: something that you've just learned?
Speaker 3: See?
Speaker 2: I think I learned that just through I guess what
Speaker 2: I've seen from my family in terms of how they
Speaker 2: stayed afloat after their business sort of went downhill. So
Speaker 2: I really think I've just taken on that sort of
Speaker 2: feedback from just my upbringing and you know, into my twenties,
Speaker 2: definitely has been something that I've sort of been really
Speaker 2: strong and really good at doing.
Speaker 5: Air pig all right. To bring the mood down, what
Speaker 5: is your worst money habit?
Speaker 2: So I would say my worst money habit is I
Speaker 2: have a tendency to not skimp out on food and
Speaker 2: good food add good coffee. It's a vibe. I would
Speaker 2: say that. Yeah, for me, health is number one. So
Speaker 2: if I am going to buy, you know, good food,
Speaker 2: I don't care how much it costs because I know
Speaker 2: it's good for me and good for my body, and
Speaker 2: I think that there's no price on health. So yeah,
Speaker 2: that would be, I guess my bad money habit.
Speaker 5: I don't think that's a bad money habit because let's
Speaker 5: be honest, the more you care about your health, the
Speaker 5: less likely you're going to have to spend money on
Speaker 5: healthcare laid down the track, So like, let's see this
Speaker 5: as an investment in future us.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, I do want to say as well, Look,
Speaker 2: I can be a little bit impulsive at times with
Speaker 2: purchases for clothing, So I just want to put that
Speaker 2: out there. That is definitely something I'm still working on.
Speaker 2: If I see something I love, I really have to,
Speaker 2: you know, reel myself back, and I guess make sure
Speaker 2: that it does align with my values. And my budget.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's something I'm working on as well. But
Speaker 2: I love clothes.
Speaker 5: Relatable, very relatable. Now, last question before we go to
Speaker 5: a quick break, what would you grade yourself if we
Speaker 5: forced you to give yourself a money grade?
Speaker 2: I would say, I want to give myself a bee.
Speaker 2: The reason I say that is because I have wanted
Speaker 2: to invest and I haven't. It has been something that
Speaker 2: I've been listening to your podcast for quite literally three years,
Speaker 2: and you know, Vial, you talk about it so much,
Speaker 2: and I feel that, you know, I just haven't that
Speaker 2: step in the right direction for me, and so that
Speaker 2: would be the next big thing. If I could give
Speaker 2: myself any higher grade, I would really want to make
Speaker 2: sure that I'm investing before that happens. So yeah, I
Speaker 2: want to know.
Speaker 5: I feel like Jess. We've heard this from a few
Speaker 5: money dirests recently. They've said, Look, I've listened to the
Speaker 5: podcast for so long, and I think women in general
Speaker 5: feel like they're not educated enough to take that next step.
Speaker 5: Like we just want to know everything and we need
Speaker 5: to know all the risks and what it looks like
Speaker 5: and how it works. But I want to know what's
Speaker 5: been stopping you from taking that step and on the converse,
Speaker 5: what would help you take that step? So I think
Speaker 5: I feel a lack of education in this space, even
Speaker 5: though I've you know, quite literally have listened, of course
Speaker 5: to this podcast and also tried to do my own research,
Speaker 5: try to take feedback on from my family that also invests,
Speaker 5: my partner invests.
Speaker 2: I have tried to take on feedback, but I just
Speaker 2: feel that I don't know, I'm scared. I think I'm
Speaker 2: scared to take that next step. And I think it's
Speaker 2: just all about putting yourself in the deep end and
Speaker 2: just and doing it. And yeah, I just feel that
Speaker 2: I think it's it's maybe quite apprehensive that I don't
Speaker 2: just put myself in the deep end.
Speaker 5: I love that. I feel like it's really relatable. But
Speaker 5: I also love asking questions like that because I'm like, well,
Speaker 5: what is stopping you? What would make you feel really
Speaker 5: empowered to take that next step? Like what's missing from
Speaker 5: this journey?
Speaker 2: I would say, I need to just maybe do a
Speaker 2: little bit more research in what I actually want to
Speaker 2: invest in. And then I think I'm a type of
Speaker 2: person that if I do put myself out there and
Speaker 2: I do just take a leap of faith that I
Speaker 2: know it will flow on from there. And so I
Speaker 2: just feel that, Yeah, I just need to feel confident
Speaker 2: in my decision. And then once I do reach that
Speaker 2: confidence just putting myself out there, and I do think
Speaker 2: I will feel empowered, and I do think that it
Speaker 2: will be, you know, great for me. I just I
Speaker 2: feel a little bit, I guess less educated at this stage.
Speaker 5: Great feedback. Let's go to a quick break and after
Speaker 5: I am going to hound you about how to save
Speaker 5: a twenty percent deposit? All right, money, Doris.
Speaker 4: I want to start at the start and ask you
Speaker 4: about the contrast that you brought up in your original
Speaker 4: email between living that more privileged life that you had,
Speaker 4: you know, prior to the GFC and your parents' business
Speaker 4: taking a little bit of a hit, and then the
Speaker 4: life that you led afterwards. And you obviously said it
Speaker 4: happened at a really pivotal time for you. You were
Speaker 4: doing VCE or you know, a kind of later teenager,
Speaker 4: which we all know is a really tough time to
Speaker 4: just be a human in general, and then you're going
Speaker 4: through a massive change at the same time. What changes
Speaker 4: did you notice your parents making and you as well
Speaker 4: when it came to your lifestyle.
Speaker 5: What things did they give up?
Speaker 4: Because I think right now we're heading towards a recession
Speaker 4: and a lot of people are going to be looking
Speaker 4: to make changes. So what kind of things did they
Speaker 4: implement for you?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Absolutely, look, of course, other than what I said,
Speaker 2: I was pulled out of my private schooling, A lot
Speaker 2: of the changes were I guess the lifestyle that we had.
Speaker 2: The holidays did stop, and you know, I guess all
Speaker 2: those luxuries that we did have when I was a teenager.
Speaker 2: I guess I noticed that my parents were probably not
Speaker 2: spending that much on food and groceries and going out
Speaker 2: for dinners and things like that did stop when I
Speaker 2: was younger. So I noticed that also, of course, my
Speaker 2: family business had closed down, and so my parents, my
Speaker 2: mum specifically had to find a new job, and so
Speaker 2: that was also a big, I guess, pivotal moment in
Speaker 2: all of this. And you know, I did see them
Speaker 2: vicariously saving just to keep our family home and our
Speaker 2: roof over our heads. So I guess, just from seeing
Speaker 2: the changes in our household, then it sort of, I guess,
Speaker 2: sparked a drive in me to make sure that when
Speaker 2: I do start working, which I then I guess I
Speaker 2: got my first job at fifteen, but I stopped working
Speaker 2: through BC and then I started working again when I
Speaker 2: was eighteen. Casually, I just wanted to make sure that
Speaker 2: every dollar that I earned I was saving. And I
Speaker 2: think I also just wanted to make sure that I
Speaker 2: don't live a life struggling like I saw in my parents.
Speaker 2: So it was just really important to me that I
Speaker 2: just took on what I saw as a teenager and
Speaker 2: just made sure that my twenties weren't going to be
Speaker 2: like that.
Speaker 4: For me, that makes a lot of sense. You said
Speaker 4: it played a really big part in your money story.
Speaker 4: Do you think that that is feeding a little bit
Speaker 4: into your hesitation around investing because it's not something that
Speaker 4: you can control. You know, you can save your paycheck
Speaker 4: and you can do that really diligently, and you can
Speaker 4: see your savings increase and it feels quite safe. Do
Speaker 4: you think that that's partially why you are a little
Speaker 4: bit hesitant.
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, definitely, I mean I haven't taken that leap
Speaker 2: of faith. I think part of the reason is because
Speaker 2: I have. Yeah, I'm quite a diligent saver, and so
Speaker 2: I don't really want to I guess portion my money
Speaker 2: off into investing in a way because I want to
Speaker 2: make sure that I'm seeing my savings grow, and portioning
Speaker 2: that off into investing I think scares me a little
Speaker 2: bit because that's my income that I put aside every fortnight.
Speaker 2: So I guess that definitely does play a role.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's really interesting, and there's no you know, there's
Speaker 4: no right or wrong we say all the time. So
Speaker 4: I think it's good that you can see where you're
Speaker 4: coming from. And you know, you said before that there
Speaker 4: were steps you wanted to take before you got there,
Speaker 4: and I think it's really nice that you have kind
Speaker 4: of a clear path and understanding of where you want
Speaker 4: to be, which is awesome to.
Speaker 5: Jump in about the business. Often when parents are running
Speaker 5: a business, they hide a lot of, you know, what's
Speaker 5: going on, and maybe they're not so good things from
Speaker 5: their kids, right, Like, no one wants to come home
Speaker 5: and say, hey, kids, we're gonna have to take you
Speaker 5: out of private schooling. But what were your first points
Speaker 5: of I guess realization that maybe the family business wasn't
Speaker 5: doing as well And how did that impact you? Because
Speaker 5: I'm sure that apart from like winding back financially, that
Speaker 5: would have been a very stressful period of time to
Speaker 5: go through, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely. So it was really hard seeing mum come
Speaker 2: home and just seeing her so down, and you know,
Speaker 2: seeing her breakdown to dad as well. I think that was,
Speaker 2: you know, a really big indication. And as a young child,
Speaker 2: you know, seeing that in your parents is so difficult,
Speaker 2: and that sort of made me question, you know, what
Speaker 2: was sort of happening in the background, and I guess
Speaker 2: from there it was just seeing, you know, or hearing
Speaker 2: my family talk about finances more openly than I guess
Speaker 2: they did beforehand as well, and I think that they
Speaker 2: definitely tried to shelter my brother and I from I
Speaker 2: guess the hardships that they were facing, but you know,
Speaker 2: you sort of can't forever unfortunately, and those were the
Speaker 2: sort of indicators for me where you know, I realized
Speaker 2: that this was really difficult and this was a really
Speaker 2: difficult time for my family.
Speaker 5: It's really interesting because parents want to protect their kids, right,
Speaker 5: so they never want to offload or talk about it
Speaker 5: too much. So often when you hear situations like this
Speaker 5: unfolding in families, the kids are often like, oh, it
Speaker 5: took us by storm, but you might have, you know,
Speaker 5: in the background, been like, oh, this actually was a
Speaker 5: few years coming because we just didn't know. So I
Speaker 5: find it just genuinely so interesting. But Jess, you have
Speaker 5: a question to pivot the conversation from here, I do.
Speaker 4: I want to get really pervy on the work cover situation, because,
Speaker 4: like Victoria said, it's really front of mine for us.
Speaker 4: We've spoken to a few dirests recently who have either
Speaker 4: been through claims or you know, had had things happen
Speaker 4: and you know, they had maybe not ended up in
Speaker 4: the ideal situation, and I think it's really interesting because
Speaker 4: you're kind of on the other side of that, and
Speaker 4: I want to pick your brain starting with what is
Speaker 4: your experience like dealing with companies when it comes to
Speaker 4: insurance claims, because in my mind, it's kind of two
Speaker 4: sides of the story. Right There's the person who gets injured,
Speaker 4: and obviously they are trying to get the best resolution
Speaker 4: for themselves to compensate for whatever they've gone through. But
Speaker 4: then on the flip side, we're often seeing in our
Speaker 4: community companies not really wanting to necessarily do the right thing.
Speaker 4: And I don't know if that's just the minority that
Speaker 4: we're hearing about, or you know, is it a little
Speaker 4: bit trickier nowadays to get yourself looked after if something
Speaker 4: does go wrong.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, Look, I think it's when we talk about
Speaker 2: I guess that aspect of work cover and employers specifically
Speaker 2: supporting their injured workers. I guess from what we see
Speaker 2: in terms of like a pattern, it really does depend
Speaker 2: on the size of the employer. So I guess I
Speaker 2: want to highlight that smaller employers may not have experience
Speaker 2: in that work cover space, and so for them it's
Speaker 2: a bit daunting when a person gets injured at their workplace,
Speaker 2: a staff member, and then they are lodging a WorkCover claims.
Speaker 2: So I think when it is daunting for them, they
Speaker 2: often ask more questions and potentially question the system a
Speaker 2: little bit more. Whereas if you have a larger employer,
Speaker 2: for example, I deal with mainly large employers, they have
Speaker 2: a designated return to work system. So therefore they've got
Speaker 2: people working there that know the legislation, that know the
Speaker 2: system that don't I guess question their workers because they
Speaker 2: understand the injuries that they can sustain and the nature
Speaker 2: of them. So I guess it really does come down
Speaker 2: to the level of experience that the employer has in
Speaker 2: the workhover space. So from what we see, it varies
Speaker 2: depending on the size of the employer.
Speaker 5: Do you think trust comes into it, Because I know
Speaker 5: I'm a teeny tiny employer, right, And if Jess injured
Speaker 5: herself knock on wood at work, and something happened and
Speaker 5: she said I can't return, like I don't know why,
Speaker 5: I wouldn't believe her, like I don't know why, I'd
Speaker 5: be questioning the system. I'd be trying really hard to
Speaker 5: go through that process. I would ask a lot of questions,
Speaker 5: but it wouldn't be like, oh, is that fair, is
Speaker 5: that right? Or whatever it is? It it'd be more
Speaker 5: is just getting what she needs? Do you find that
Speaker 5: that is often a take or is it a trust
Speaker 5: issue in organizations?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think trust plays a large role in that
Speaker 2: for sure. I'd say that the relationship that the employer
Speaker 2: has with the injured worker is huge, and that is
Speaker 2: a large, I guess, pivotal part of the process and
Speaker 2: making sure that the worker is supported back to work
Speaker 2: and back to health. So I would say that is
Speaker 2: also a large barrier in I guess supporting our injured
Speaker 2: workers back is that relationship that they've built with their employer.
Speaker 2: So definitely, as you've said, Jess, if she were injured,
Speaker 2: you knowing Jess so well, of course you would understand,
Speaker 2: I guess the nature of her injury and probably where
Speaker 2: she's at from a personal space as well. And so
Speaker 2: I would say that having that relationship with your staff
Speaker 2: members is so important because it definitely brings better outcomes
Speaker 2: when it comes to supporting them back and then wanting
Speaker 2: to return as well to work.
Speaker 5: And what happens if let's say Jess does get injured
Speaker 5: at work, right, she has a good relationship with me,
Speaker 5: but what if she doesn't like? What do I, as
Speaker 5: an employee need to look out for to make sure
Speaker 5: that I'm in the best possible position. Because as someone
Speaker 5: who also deals with insurance, sometimes it feels like your
Speaker 5: employer isn't working with you, they're working against you. What
Speaker 5: are the things that we can do as employed people?
Speaker 5: And I'm going to ask the same as a business
Speaker 5: owner in a hot second, but what are the things
Speaker 5: that we can do as individuals to protect ourselves and
Speaker 5: make sure that we're in the best possible position should
Speaker 5: unfortunately something happen.
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. I mean, look, when you are injured
Speaker 2: at work and you don't have the best relationship with
Speaker 2: your employer, it is important to know that there are
Speaker 2: supports out there. I mean, you may go through solicitors
Speaker 2: if that does help you, if you feel that that
Speaker 2: might be I guess easier for you in terms of
Speaker 2: going through those processes. You may also go through a
Speaker 2: union representatives if you do have a union rep aligned
Speaker 2: to your company or exter all of course, so I
Speaker 2: think making sure that you know the resources out there.
Speaker 2: I also just want to say that I think there
Speaker 2: is a huge stigma against insurance companies. And you know,
Speaker 2: as a person who is injured at work, you will
Speaker 2: be assigned a case manager from the insurance company. So
Speaker 2: it's really important that you know your case manager has
Speaker 2: your best interest at heart. For me, personally, I really
Speaker 2: do care about my injured workers and I make sure
Speaker 2: that I build those relationships with them early on in
Speaker 2: the piece. So for those people that maybe don't have
Speaker 2: the best relationship with their employers, I build that relationship
Speaker 2: and trust with them so they know that I'm here
Speaker 2: for them if they need to fall back on someone.
Speaker 4: If you get a case manager, it's awesome that you're
Speaker 4: super passionate, but I am sure like any industry, there
Speaker 4: are also people who are just like, I've got to
Speaker 4: get through my work. I've got to get through these people.
Speaker 4: If you're assigned a case manager and you feel like
Speaker 4: they're maybe not listening to you or you know, not
Speaker 4: taking things you say seriously, does an injured person have
Speaker 4: the option of requesting a different case manager.
Speaker 2: They definitely, and it certainly does happen in the industry.
Speaker 2: So if they wanted to change a case manager, they
Speaker 2: could request it through the insurance company and they will
Speaker 2: then be assigned to the next best case manager for them. Obviously,
Speaker 2: we don't want it to lead to that path, but
Speaker 2: it is an option because we want to make sure
Speaker 2: that the relationship we're building with our injured workers is
Speaker 2: also a really strong bond so that we can support
Speaker 2: them as best as possible because we are dealing with
Speaker 2: them directly and although they're still dealing with their employers
Speaker 2: in the background. Often people that are injured at work
Speaker 2: will come straight to us. Yeah, and they do want
Speaker 2: us to sort of be the forefront of supporting them.
Speaker 2: So it's super super important that you know we're building
Speaker 2: those relationships with them and making sure that they're happy
Speaker 2: and that they are feeling supported.
Speaker 5: Ultimately, I also feel like in all my experience in
Speaker 5: the insurance space, I actually haven't met a case worker
Speaker 5: that isn't passionate about their role. Like I mean, insurance
Speaker 5: can be very cut and dry, and don't get me wrong,
Speaker 5: I've met a number of underwriters that have come head
Speaker 5: to head with However, I think once it gets to
Speaker 5: the point of claim, whether you're dealing with a BDM
Speaker 5: or directly with a case manager and your client. Given
Speaker 5: I also have a little bit of experience in that space,
Speaker 5: I just don't think I've met people who aren't compassionate
Speaker 5: and excited about it because they genuinely want to be
Speaker 5: there to put clients in the best possible position. So
Speaker 5: I want to say that only because obviously we're asking
Speaker 5: questions that go, oh, if you want to change, is
Speaker 5: that fine? Like usually the case manager you get assigned
Speaker 5: is absolutely beautiful and we'll do the right thing for you,
Speaker 5: but it's important to know where you stand. I think
Speaker 5: on the flip side as well, the other piece of
Speaker 5: advice that I always give to my clients, and you know,
Speaker 5: to anyone I speak to about insurance is document document document,
Speaker 5: because even if it's just like the times and the dates,
Speaker 5: it will really play your role further down the track
Speaker 5: if your employer isn't as forthcoming with information or says
Speaker 5: maybe it didn't happen, or puts you in a compromising position,
Speaker 5: and it can really help your caseworker as well understand
Speaker 5: what's going on and how you're feeling and what we
Speaker 5: need to do next. From my perspective, get as much
Speaker 5: in writing as you possibly can, even if it's just
Speaker 5: a message where you like, hey, Jess, thanks for that
Speaker 5: meeting just before just confirming a B, C and D.
Speaker 5: Thanks so much. So I just think that that can
Speaker 5: be really powerful in the circumstance like this, especially when
Speaker 5: there's not a HR department or there's not you know,
Speaker 5: someone that's going to help you with your back to work,
Speaker 5: Like Jess, if you ever get injured to work, you
Speaker 5: probably should do.
Speaker 4: That to me, and we're texting you get it all.
Speaker 5: I'm writing, please don't do that to me, test me.
Speaker 5: But on that, my friend, I think this is the
Speaker 5: perfect place to leave this. Thank you so much for
Speaker 5: sharing some of your money story and some information about
Speaker 5: work cover and having a general chat with us. I've
Speaker 5: really enjoyed today.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 5: Guys, Oh my gosh, no, we love it. Thank you
Speaker 5: for coming.
Speaker 3: Jess.
Speaker 5: Now it is time. Can you please wrap the boring
Speaker 5: but important stuff?
Speaker 4: Of course, don't forget the advice shed on. She's on
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Speaker 5: See you on Wednesday, guys.
Speaker 4: Bye,