MILLENNIALS Shoot For The Stars
WEDDINGS & WILLS
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MEET THE ORGANISED HOUSEWIFE
Contents 5
The Organised Housewife: Getting Back Control
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Five Tips To Organise Your Wallet
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Should You Consolidate Your Debt?
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Millennials: Reach For The Stars
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Weddings & Wills
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Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon’s Smart Money
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Bianca Hartge-Hazelman: Changing The Future
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Kindness During Pandemic
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Editor In Chief PHILIPPA HUNT Welcome to Wise Girls Money magazine issue 3! The aim of this magazine is to educate and inspire you along your journey to financial freedom. In this issue, we tackle the money issues that matter most to you. Read about how to get organised with your money and on track to building wealth with Bianca Hartge-Hazelman. Be inspired by entrepreneur Kat Springer, The Organised Housewife and get mortgage free with Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon. We’ve also included tips for organising your wallet, your debts and your will. Our goal is to support you to become independent and savvy with your finances and grow your wealth, so thanks for taking the time to read it!
Philippa
Contributors KAT SPRINGER
Kat Springer is wife to a wonderful and supportive man as well as a mother of 3 children 15 year old twins and her youngest is 13. Based on the beautiful Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, she has gone from stressed out, overwhelmed new mum to superorganised entrepreneur. Using her online platform, theorganisedhousewife.com.au, Kat shows women how to streamline all the tasks that are weighing them down, while saving money, time and their sanity. theorganisedhousewife.com.au
BIANCA HARTGE-HAZELMAN
Bianca’s career spanned major media companies where she covered Australia’s financial markets, business activities and economics. She now runs Financy, an organisation dedicated to improving the economic wellbeing of women. They provide smart women’s money content that is educational and topical. financy.com.au
NICOLE PEDERSEN-MCKINNON
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is a financial literacy campaigner and educator with a unique and engaging take on ‘money smarts’. This young and up-and-coming Aussie girl is the founder of NicolesSmartMoney. com and author of best-selling new book, How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me. Nicole is a regular on channels 7, 9 and 10, a national newspaper columnist and a former editor with both The Australian Financial Review and the Financial Times in London. nicolessmartmoney.com
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THE ORGANISED HOUSEWIFE: GETTING BACK CONTROL
Social Influencer, Author, Celebrity Ambassador, Winner 2019 Gold Coast Women of the Year People Choice Award & Finalist Gold Coast Women Entrepreneur Of The Year, Kat Springer, is one busy lady. Busy, yes, but Kat wasn’t always as organised as she is today. She admits to having her fair share of struggles and meltdowns, as a wife and mother to three, and also that the chaos helped her to adapt routines to get the house under control. Kat has been sharing her most successful tips and tricks to keeping an organised household on her blog since 2010. These days, theorganisedhousewife. com.au is a one stop shop to help you streamline the home
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and all the jobs that come with it. There are plenty of meal planning ideas, recipes, craft ideas, DIY ant spray, reward charts and discount coupons to shop with. You can even find out how to make your own shoe deodorising spray and buy products to help make life easier in her store. Wise Girls Money Magazine chatted to her about coping with overwhelm and cutting down the budget. Kat, before you became The Organised Housewife, were you organised? God no. I’m a very messy cook. I always have been and still am. I had a very disorganised home and was just trying to cope with juggling everything as a mum to twin babies. Tell us a little about the place of overwhelm. What were the main issues? 16 years ago I was blessed with twins and later my third baby. My house was certainly getting the better of me! My clean washing was taking over my lounge room, the dishes just never seemed to disappear, and the rest of the house resembled a bomb site. The main issue was the dining table. It
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had become a dumping ground for everything. Keys, books, clothes... and the kitchen was out of control. How did you get yourself out of that situation? Where did you begin? I decided to take that control back. I created and trialled routines, rosters and charts, and sourced products that quickly became life-savers. Soon enough I had a system that was flawless! I came up with life hacks that saved not only my time but also my sanity. I got my life back. So, for beginners who are in the thick of overwhelm. Where is a great place to start? Start with that dumping ground. If you pile everything up somewhere in the house, it’s time to take a step back and look at it. Put up a key rack for keys, get a little table just for handbags, keys, coins etc. Clothes go straight onto the beds so they are ready to be put away at night. Make a place for everything you dump. Put them there as you go from now on. I even decorated the dinner table with a runner and vase so it was a deterrent to clutter. Also, cleaning up after dinner, doing the dishes and going to
bed with a clean kitchen makes a huge difference. I let the dishes dry overnight and put them away in the mornings, but this routine is something I’m religious about. Everyone helps and it makes for a much easier morning when we wake up to a clean kitchen. Break things down, keep it simple, and remember that huge tasks are just an accumulation of lots of tinier ones. That and meal planning – how did I ever survive before meal planning?! What about the mother’s who are juggling work amidst it all? How can they avoid overwhelm and balance with family life? Balance, truly finding my balance between being a mum working on her career in design and being a mum that prioritises her family too! I have gone from being busy
for the sake of being busy to… it’s okay to switch off and enjoy this moment! I no longer feel guilty on a Saturday night leaving an email till Monday What’s your best money saving tip? I know what it’s like to feed a family of five and how costly it can be to feed a big and very hungry brood at home. I have 3 teenagers and a husband who are always looking for something to eat, which is why it’s essential that I not only have enough food in the house, but also stick to my weekly food budget. Meal planning for the week and shopping for that plan saves so much money compared to walking around the grocery store to get inspired. We spend a lot more
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doing that as well as ending up buying loads of things we don’t need or might waste. Before you make your meal plan, look through the catalogue and choose meals that use items on special. If sausages are cheap, plan a meal with them. If tuna is on sale, make something with that. Secondly, online shopping is a godsend. Creating that list online against your meal plan means you only buy what you need and if you shop for the whole week, you won’t waste money popping in every couple of days to grab a couple of things and coming out with bags. Plus, who has time to do the whole shopping trip when you’re busy? What are the golden nuggets of advice for our readers regarding sanity savers? I love creating charts, checklists, planners and more, which all help me in different ways in the home from cleaning the house to reward charts for the kids and routine charts which help the kids with their morning tasks, but in turn helps me keep my sanity So I am not repeatedly yelling at them to brush their teeth! They can refer to the list of tasks in the morning and learn responsibility and they love it because it means no more yelling from me. 8
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My top 5 favourite printables that have helped keep my sanity over the years are: • Kids Routine Charts – stopped me yelling at my kids • Cleaning Checklist – helps me to remember what to do • Laundry Schedule – stops my dirty washing piling up • Christmas Planner – to plan ahead and enjoy the holiday season • Meal Planner – to help plan out a week of balanced meals Get them HERE Kat’s top TIP TO SURVIVING THE BABY STAGE Organise everything! Even your dirty washing needs to be organised to help things flow. One of the biggest struggles I had when my babies were little was keeping on top of the laundry, I always had piles of washing everywhere. I love to organise and my way to keep on top of Mt Washmore now is to organise the dirty laundry too!! There’s was no stopping me, I organised EVERYTHING. theorganisedhousewife.com.au
FIVE TIPS TO ORGANISE YOUR WALLET As busy women juggling work, running households, keeping up with sports commitments and P&C meetings, organisation is essential to our day-to-day. Similarly, maintaining a tidy, uncluttered home helps bring peace and calm to the whirlwind of life, but have you ever stopped to think about that trusty companion you tote around that so often ends up overflowing with unnecessary junk – your wallet? An uncluttered, well-organised wallet is not only easier to use and saves the embarrassment of rummaging through trying to find the right card at checkout, but it has an important mental and emotional role to play as well. A clean and clear wallet
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“A clean and clear wallet represents a high value placed on wealth and pride in the little steps you take each day towards financial freedom.” represents a high value placed on wealth and pride in the little steps you take each day towards financial freedom. Every time you open your wallet to spend, the well-maintained sections offer a reminder of your commitment to being financially savvy and the symbolic guidelines you place on your everyday spending. So, what’s the best way to organise your wallet? Here are our top five tips to a clutter-free spending space that will help keep you on track to your financial goals.
1. Dedicate sections The first step is to select which sections will house which items. Most wallets have several different 10
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parts designed for different purposes – organise these in a way that makes sense to you. For example, all receipts should be put together in one section towards the back, and all notes in another closer to the front. Cards you use every day should be positioned front-and-centre as well, while those you need to carry but aren’t used as often can go elsewhere, such as Medicare cards, private health insurance or membership cards. As with the number one rule for keeping your house tidy – put it back where it came from after use!
2. Clear out the unnecessary It’s too easy just to keep shoving receipts, appointment cards, business cards and grocery lists in our wallets, but it is important to avoid these piling up. An overflowing wallet feels messy, embarrassing and painful to use, so set aside time at the end of each week to declutter and reorganise so you can stay on track. Any items you need to keep, such as business receipts, should be safely filed elsewhere.
3. Use cash Being organised is not only about the presentation of your wallet, but how you use it for everyday
expenses. Aim to use cash as much as possible instead of reaching for the tap and go. By using cash, you not are not only able to better keep track of your spending (rather than mindlessly pulling out your plastic), but you will also save yourself bank fees! While convenient, unfortunately tap and go attracts surcharges that many consumers are not aware of. This extra charge is either added to the cost of the product or charged as a fee by the merchant. If you do need to use your card to pay for goods or services, use it as an EFTPOS debit transaction by swiping or inserting and entering your PIN.
4. Stash your coins Lighten the load on your wallet by taking out leftover coins at the end of the week and putting them away in a jar. Once you have a nice little collection, bank those coins in a high-interest account or investment portfolio. Just $10 per week, which you won’t even miss (that’s only two coffees!), adds up to $520 per year. Banked with a modest weekly compound interest of 6 per cent, that gives you just over $3,000 in five years, and over $7,000 in 10 years. Just think what you can do with $15 or $20 per week and a more competitive interest rate! w i s eg i r l smo n e ya c a d e my. c o m.a u
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5. Digitise Lastly, the burgeoning technological landscape we now operate in comes with more opportunity to lighten our wallets and store a great deal of information safely and effectively in digital form. There are some great apps available that allow you to keep payment options,
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membership cards, tickets and loyalty cards on your phone, negating the need to clutter up your wallet at all! Apple has their built-in wallet on iPhones, and with Android you can now utilise Google Pay or Samsung Pay. There are many other digital wallets on the market; have a browse through your provider’s list and check out the reviews.
SHOULD YOU CONSOLIDATE YOUR DEBT?
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Paying off more than one debt at a time is not uncommon, but if you’re struggling to balance your debt repayments, debt consolidation may well be worth considering. Being in debt can affect your life in more ways than you might imagine. Creditors can make your life miserable. Poor credit can ruin your chances of getting a loan or getting the job you really want. The added stress of dealing with financial problems can even have a destructive effect on your personal relationships. A person can end up in debt without realising it. Getting a credit card, taking out a loan or making a major purchase can put you in debt if you don’t have sufficient resources to cover the expenses. Loss of employment can easily put one in debt. You may have a good job and good credit, then suddenly you find yourself out of work and the debt begins to mount. Before you know it your good credit is dwindling as you struggle to make your payments. When you fall behind, debt quickly takes hold of your life. Whether you are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy or just trying to better manage your finances,
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you can’t help but notice all the advertisements touting debt consolidation. So what exactly is it? Debt consolidation is bringing all your existing debts together into one new debt, which can help you manage your repayments and give you a clearer picture of your financial future. You typically do this by taking out a new personal loan to repay your other existing debts, and then paying this new loan back over a set term. If you have three different credit cards with debts of, for example, $3,000, $4,000 and $7,500, you’re likely to also have three different interest rates and to be making three different repayments at different times each month. This can feel overwhelming and complicate managing your cash flow. The interest rate on one card may be significantly higher than the others – and if the highest rate is on the card with the $7,500 debt, you could be paying plenty each month just to cover the interest, let alone paying down the debt itself. One option you have to consolidate your debts is to take out a single personal loan to pay off each credit card and any outstanding
“Consolidation may be a useful strategy in some situations, but you need to understand the principles involved in any borrowing.” interest. With a personal loan you’ll have just one repayment to make every week, fortnight or month over a set term – you can usually choose your own frequency of repayments. And if the interest rate on the personal loan is lower than your credit card rates – and they often can be – this can help you get ahead in reducing your overall debt. Consolidation may be a useful strategy in some situations, but you need to understand the principles involved in any borrowing. First, it is the height of financial irresponsibility to take out a loan with a term that exceeds the life of the asset purchased with the loan. Debt consolidation loans
promise a lower rate, but there are traps. So, is debt consolidation a good option for you? Advantages of consolidating your debt are: • A potentially better (lower) interest rate • Repayments that are easier to manage • A means of providing a clear timeline outlining when you’ll be debt-free Taking out a personal loan can also help with your budgeting. Instead of just having to make minimum repayments as you do on credit cards, you’ll have to make set repayments that cover both the loan amount and interest, which you know will end at a certain date. Getting out of debt isn’t going to happen overnight, but the longer you try to avoid the debt the more it will continue to mount. Consolidating and slowly chipping away at it can finally get you ahead.
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MILLENNIALS: R E AC H F O R T H E S TA R S
Millennials; Born between 1981 and 1996, there’s a 15-yearspan of ages, experiences and backgrounds. You could be a 38-year-old career woman living in the heart of Melbourne, or a 23-year-old mother of three from rural Victoria who drives a bus, and still come under the same millennial umbrella.
so important to learn when you’re starting out in your career, not just when you have some savings tucked away.
No matter what your story is, good finances are the key to an easier and more enjoyable, stress free life.
According to finance advisor experts, Deloitte, the total net worth of millennials in the world is expected to range between $US19 and $US24 trillion this year. 54% plan to start their own business and 27% are self-employed, around half of millennials own their own home and more than 40% have a degree. That’s a lot of potential!
Learning good financial skills when you are younger could mean you’ll be in a very different place later. The basics of financial literacy are
You may be surprised to learn that over two thirds of wealthmanagement clients are aged over 60 and only 28% of millennials
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“78% of millennials feel pressure between planning for present and future financial responsibilities.�
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said they’d be willing to spend the time required to get the advice. The younger generation is just not engaging at this level. Research from Northwestern Mutual shows that 78% of millennials feel pressure between planning for present and future financial responsibilities. And more than a quarter, an estimated 28%, are feeling so much financial anxiety that it impacts their work. So, why aren’t millennials looking after their financial future? • 78% of millennials feel pressure between planning for present and future financial responsibilities • Millennials aren’t saving enough for retirement, in some cases because many employers don’t provide such benefits for employees who don’t work fulltime or have sufficient tenure on the job. What can you do? • Practicing some essential selfcare and learning more about your finances can help you get there. • Pay attention when you experience financial anxiety — and to what your body is telling 18
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you. Next, use those cues to help you hone in on practical solutions for your stress. • Do you lose sleep when your student loans or credit card bills are due? Maybe it’s time to set these on autopay, or to create a budget calendar that ensures you’ll have enough in your bank account at this critical time of the month. • Do your hands get clammy when you make a purchase, or do you feel so overwhelmed when you think about your debt that you choose to ignore it, instead? That’s when it’s time to start being honest with yourself about
“Learning good financial skills when you are younger could mean you’ll be in a very different place later.”
your financial reality — starting with an assessment of what you can afford, and what steps you’ll need to take in order to get on track. • The essentials of good money management — creating a budget, automating payments, shifting your money mindset toward smarter financial choices — can help alleviate most cases of financial anxiety. • If financial anxiety is really making your life miserable, then it’s time to get help. Some anxiety (and financial difficulty) is so significant as to warrant help from others. Let your
trusted friends and family know that you need support. • Focus your social media use on those in your network who also practice good money habits — and not the lavish spenders, who may be up to their eyeballs in debt. Most importantly, consult a financial professional to help you create a plan, and get a hold on your money stress. • Seek help from your college’s financial aid office, student loan servicers. a friend or parent’s financial advisor, or free credit counseling services can all offer free or low-cost financial counseling to get you on track.
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What difference will it make? • Gaining control over your financial freedom can make a significant difference in your financial situation guiding the actions you do or don’t take-with regard to changing legislation, how you hold your assets (financial structuring), tax-saving opportunities, your level of wealth and personal protection, fluctuating interest rates and how and when you pay off your home. • Research by the Financial Services Council showed people who received financial advice were almost $100,000 better off at retirement. 20
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• Relief and reassurance that you now have a financial strategy in place • Confidence and satisfaction that you are making the most of your situation and a professional is looking after your interests • Peace of mind that you can sleep at night knowing you are on the right track. In a nutshell, this is your money! You can create an amazing future for yourself if you start working on it today.
WEDDINGS & WILLS “Failing to plan is to plan to fail, as the adage goes. That’s true for weddings and it’s, unfortunately, true for marriage as well.”
Few things are more exciting than planning your own wedding. From the texture of the table napkin to the very last jewel on your gown, you have a say in everything. The best weddings are the ones where brides are the most handson. While not everything can go smoothly, putting the time and ground work into the planning stage will ensure that things will generally go in the direction that you want. But, what if you could channel that mindset and enthusiasm to other parts of your married life? Life after the wedding, after all, is supposed to last until death do you part, so, isn’t it more important than the wedding itself?
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Failing to plan is to plan to fail, as the adage goes. That’s true for weddings and it’s, unfortunately, true for marriage as well. I know you probably have your grand wedding ideas already setup in your mind, but are your grand life plans already set too? One of the most overlooked ways to plan for married life is setting up a will. Nobody wants to talk about death when you’re just about to plan for a life with your new spouse. However, it’s a necessary part of the process if you’re looking to make sure that your family is taken care of even without you in the picture.
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So, here are a couple of reasons on why setting up a will is important, if you’re planning to marry.
Guardianship Perhaps there is nothing more important than knowing that your future children are in safe hands, if you and your spouse were to suffer an untimely passing. Current Australian laws grant the power to grant custody to anyone they see fit, if you don’t have a will. Under normal circumstances, custody is granted to your next of kin. However, what would happen if your next of kin isn’t ready or able to become a guardian? It is, after
all, a huge shift in lifestyle for both your kids and whoever the court grants custody to. In a will, you can designate your kid’s guardians. So, you can opt for someone who’s already built a rapport with them to help ease their transition for both your kids and their new guardians into a new living arrangement.
Asset Management You can also designate who to give your assets to in the event your passing. From simple transfers of ownership to your living spouse or donating your assets to charities, you can do all of these through a will. You can even request more complex instructions in your will such as excluding who would normally benefit from your assets or passing on your board memberships to someone other than your spouse.
Want to put your remains to good use? You can also elect to become an organ donor in your will.
Writing Your Will To make the most out of your will, you should use the services of a lawyer and a financial adviser or an accountant. This trio can help ensure that you cover all your bases. Or, you can also engage the services of a professional will writer. However, you can also write one on your own. There are a couple of templates that you can follow online. Love, as they say, always finds a way. Maybe, just maybe, getting a will is one of the means for love to conquer.
Funeral Instructions You can indicate how you want your funeral to be executed through your will. Your desire whether you want to be cremated and buried should be important details that you can share in it.
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NICOLE PEDERSEN-MCKINNON’S
SMART MONEY Nicole Pedersen - McKinnon has always targeted big, beautiful things. Her money insights have appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald/Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age newspapers, and on all related websites, for more than 15 years. She is a regular on Channels 7, 9 and 10 and travels the country giving speeches and MC-ing events, including on multiple occasions at Canberra’s Parliament House. Recent Fidelity research suggests that women want debt freedom - particularly when it comes to their home loan, so you may be surprised to hear that this financial literacy expert actually believes money is for spending just not all at once! The fact that single 60-year-old women have the highest poverty rate in the country makes it vital to take control of our own futures, so Wise Girls Money Magazine chats with Nicole about getting mortgage free and taking charge of your money.
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“Nicole believes money is for spending - just not all at once!�
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Take Control Of Your Mortgage There’s a life-changing realisation when it comes to a mortgage: the quicker you pay it off, the cheaper your house will be. And I’m talking potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper. Say you take the full 25 years to pay off a $400,000 property at an average 5% interest rate, your home will end up costing you $702,000. But say you end up ditching your debt in just 10 years; the interest you pay will drop from $302,000 to only $109,000. It’s a circa $200,000 that YOU get to keep from the bank and spend yourself! What’s more, with interest rates at record lows, there is a once-in-alifetime opportunity to pay off debt cheaper and quicker than ever before.
Cutting Your Costs More than 100 Aussies contributed their best, what I call, stingespiration for my book. The ideas range from clever to crazy. But the EASIEST ways to save are to simply cut the costs you believe to be fixed. There’s a very good chance you could slash in the vicinity of $7000 a year off your expenses by refinancing your debts, including your mortgage, and switching to
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better value utilities, telcos and insurance policies. And it doesn’t compromise your lifestyle!
Get Organised Sorting your finances is not difficult, it’s just about organisation. An overhaul and audit of all of your so-called fixed costs [like above] is all it takes to make possibly $7000 in easy savings. Let comparison sites do the work for you to choose the best deals! Debt Consolidation May Not Be For You I sound a big warning about debt consolidation in my book. Even at a lower mortgage interest rate, if you spread a previously shortterm debt over a 25-year period, it will end up costing you a bunch more money. For credit cards, as 0% balance transfer deal is a far smarter strategy and gives you a window of opportunity, of perhaps 24 months, to get out of jail free.
The Power Of Compounding MANY people think small amounts of money don’t make a difference but just $6 a day saved from the age of 20, at an 8% investment return, turns you into a millionaire by 65. And compounding can
equally work against you if you’re not EARNING investment returns but PAYING interest. That’s that enormous potential cost of the mortgage… or so-sweet-you-canalmost-taste-it saving.
Faster, Smarter, Cheaper Bringing my book How To Get Mortgage Free Like Me to life was about the most fun a finance writer can have. So many inspirational Aussies entrusted me with their private and personal stories of how they’ve achieved the real Australian dream. We’re not talking doctors and lawyers but mechanics, fitness instructors and yes, teachers.
But it’s one thing to get inspiration, it’s another to hear stingespiration. This is the word I’ve shamelessly made up for the hundreds of techniques Aussies also shared with me – and I with you – to painlessly cut their costs. Then there is the win-spiration that I contribute – the strategies and shortcuts that experts like me use to obliterate a mortgage smarter, faster and cheaper. I divulge everything and you might be interested to hear in advance that we ditched our debt in just seven years. YOU could too. nicolessmartmoney.com
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BIANCA HARTGE-HAZELMAN CHANGING THE FUTURE
“Women’s financial progress really matters. If we can better support women in achieving individual progress, then we can help families.”
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Entrepreneur and journalist, Bianca Hartge-Hazelman is passionate about improving the economic wellbeing of women. Growing up in a family with money struggles, even more prominent after her parents divorced, had a lasting impact on Bianca and the way she spent money. An upbringing where food handouts and living with other family members was tough, but motivated her as an adult to provide financial security for her own family and educate her girls on the importance of achieving this for themselves first.
“Believe in yourself and your brain when it comes to your career and making money.�
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As founder of women’s money publisher Financy.com.au and a scorecard and report on the economic progress of Australian women called the Financy Women’s Index, Bianca has a wealth of knowledge to share with Wise Girls Money Magazine.
How did your company’s purpose come to life? I was reading too much negative news as a journalist, particularly on the social and economic disadvantages women face compared to men globally, and then looking in her daughter’s eyes and wondering how you can make things better. As a finance journalist, I made the call in 2016 to focus on reporting about women’s finances and money issues. Being frustrated with negative headlines around the gender pay gap and financial security relating to women, I thought, if I am having trouble as someone whose career is in this field, how distressed are others feeling? So, in 2017 I developed the Women’s Index, which is a way of measuring the financial progress of women every quarter. Because of this, I have been able to focus on what can be done to change the 30
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pace of progress for women, their families and future generations. Women’s financial progress really matters. If we can better support women in achieving individual progress, then we can help families. This includes men who may desire greater work life balance and ultimately future generations.
What should all women be doing when it comes to their money? Aim to have money saved in a rainy day fund (A savings buffer) Always try to limit bad debts (Credit cards) Believe in yourself and your brain when it comes to your career and making money.
How can women help their children to have a healthy view of finances? Understand the importance of play and use this as an opportunity to connect with your daughter on what interests them. Talk about money when you shop or are doing the groceries or even folding the washing etc so that they understand value of things. Talk about work - what it affords etc.
Start a savings fund for them and talk about it.
Review your budget and live within you means.
Talk about career decisions and break through gender stereotypes so that nothing is impossible. For example talk about being a business owner and/or living a purposeful and financially viable career.
Apply for government assistance such as Jobkeeper or Jobseeker.
As we all adjust to a new way of life this year, what can we do to protect our future? Stay mentally healthy - this is really important, particularly if you have lost your job or are struggling with reduced hours.
Access your super early if you need it, but understand the impact of doing this and have a future plan for rebuilding it back, if possible. Deal with debt - talk to the banks about any debts you may have and ask for hardship assistance if you need it such as putting repayments on hold financy.com
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KINDNESS DURING PANDEMIC Coronavirus has brought out the worst in some people. For example, fighting over toilet paper, hoarding and overspending on consumables has put a lot of fear into people in these trying times. Not all of us are like this and want to help in our community and abroad, there are a lot of selfless people out there and we need to give our support to our front liners in particular.
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What Can We Do? One thing that we have seen all over the world is that kindness is prevailing in uncertain times. People are coming together to sing on balconies in Italy, others are setting up groups to offer support to the elderly or vulnerable - like collecting groceries or calling them for a chat. We have heard stories of people having
virtual movie nights and creating choreographed dances over video chat to share with the world. The government is telling us to stay at home and only go outside for food, health reasons or essential work, to stay (six feet) away from other people and wash our hands as soon as we get home. This will mean that more of us are spending a lot of time at home and many of our regular social activities are no longer available to us. It will help to try and see this as a different period of time in your life, and not necessarily a bad one, even though you didn’t choose it. And there are still lots of things that we can do for other people to inspire kindness in unforeseen times: - Pick an item from the list below - Take action - Share the kindness on social media - Tag @mentalhealth on Twitter and @mentalhealthfoundation on Instagram and Facebook - Use the hashtag #coronavirusKindness • Get involved with random acts of kindness
• Call a friend that you haven’t spoken to for a while • Tell a family member how much you love and appreciate them • Make a cup of tea for someone you live with • Arrange to have a cup of tea and virtual catch up with someone you know • Help with a household chore at home • Arrange to watch a film at the same time as a friend and video call • Tell someone you know that you are proud of them • Tell someone you know why you are thankful for them • Send a motivational text to a friend who is struggling • Send someone you know a joke to cheer them up • Send someone you know a picture of a cute animal • Send an inspirational quote to a friend • Send an interesting article to a friend • Contact someone you haven’t seen in a while and arrange a phone catch up • Spend time playing with your pet • Reach out to call a friend, family member or neighbour who is experiencing loneliness or selfisolation
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• Donate to a charity • Lend your ear – call a colleague and ask how they’re finding the change in routine • Give praise to your colleague for something they’ve done well • Arrange to have a video lunch with a colleague • Send an inspirational story of kindness people around the world are doing for others to someone you know • Donate to food banks • Offer to skill share with a friend via video call - you could teach guitar, dance etc. • Offer support to vulnerable neighbours • Offer to send someone a takeaway or a meal
Front Liners pack bags of essentials for Australia’s Health Care Workers. There are no second thoughts about working long, gruelling hours and dealing with the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic for
frontline workers. Many of them don’t have time to stop and eat, take a drink or have a passing thought about their own health. That’s where Front liners steps in. The group sends hospital heroes like doctors, nurses and paramedics kits to help deal with those often-forgotten basic needs. You can make a financial contribution to help support in the delivery of the FRONTLINERS Kits to hospital healthcare workers across Australia. Please note they are a social enterprise and your financial contribution is not tax deductible. Your contribution is very much appreciated. The FRONTLINERS Kits will include: • Multivitamins & Electrolytes • Sleep aids (Sleep masks and Ear plugs) • Long-life products • Sanitary Supplies • Sweet treats • Energy/Caffeinated drinks • Protein & Snack bars Click HERE to order a Front Liners kit.
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