Welcome to week two fearless ladies (and guys!).
You being here, means you’ve already got this, you’re in control and you are on your way to financial wellness.
This week is all about establishing solid financial behaviours and goals. I will take you through the below list of resources I have found incredibly helpful in my own financial journey, ranging from blogs, events, Instagram accounts and Facebook groups.
The key to this week is to find resources that work for you, make you feel empowered, in control and no longer cue a panic attacks when someone at work mentions their mortgage rate, savings strategy or feeling generally uncomfortable being a woman in a previously male-driven financial discussion.
Having lived in many places across Australia, including Mossman, Port Douglas and Cairns in FNQ, Brisbane, The Gold Coast and Tweed areas, Hervey Bay and Maryborough and in Sydney, has given me a breadth of experiences and exposure to finances as very different beasts that have their own sets of challenges and benefits in each of these areas. The combined ultimate synergy no matter your location, however is the internet. We can search everything and have more knowledge at our fingertips than anyone before us.
Let’s get to it.
Fave All-Round Resources
Ladies Finance Club
This is a fantastic starting point for everyone, whether you’re in debt, saving for a home loan or about to or are already in the share market. These ladies run events, webinars, newsletters and a Facebook page and group. I have learnt exponentially about all facets of finances since attending my fist event a little under a year ago.
Molly and Betsy are incredibly supportive, kind and approachable ladies, definitely an extraordinary resource, one I can’t recommend enough.
My Millennial Money
Glen runs three podcasts, a Facebook page and group and webinars. I have found this resource to be super couple friendly and often link my partner to posts on the group and snippets in the podcasts. I’ll be talking more about My Millennial Money in next week’s Shares, ETFs and Investing in the future you post.
She’s on the Money
Victoria and Morgan run the most insightful podcast series and was the first finance podcast I listened to. Spending an afternoon listening to the podcast and perusing the online blog is sure to make you money smart!
Fave Newsletters /Blogs
What better way to stay motivated than getting insightful knowledge straight to your inbox
General Finance
Debt and Savings
Share Market
Betashares - Newsletter and Webinars
First rule of fearless finances, unfollow accounts that make you feel stressed, anxious or like you’re less than perfect. Mark often asks me why I spend so much time on socials, but I follow so many inspiring financial (and gardening) accounts, that half an hour here and there actually gives me profound encouragement.
Follow hashtags - these are the best ways to find new accounts and work out what kind of content you enjoy seeing on your feed.
Accounts
Personal finance club (US based so when you see terms like Roth IRA, they’re American terms, and you haven’t gone crazy)
Sugarmummatv (Canna is the author of The $1000 project, mentioned in Fearless Finances Part 1 she also posts awesome Youtube videos)
Remember, this is about you and finding accounts that bring out the best in you. If you don’t get the feels, don’t follow them just because I said so. Find your inner match maker and link up with a few accounts that truly make you feel like the best you.
Books
This list will likely be added to once libraries are open again. I have read each of the below personally and found them very insightful so get yourself into a book while you have the extra time to focus. I personally buy from the book depository because they have free shipping, but be sure to compare prices and hustle when buying anything online and be sure to be logged into Cashrewards or Shopback (from Part 1) to get the most out of your money. Or try your luck at second hand on marketplace, ebay or gumtree.
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
The $1000 Project by Canna Campbell
Mindful Money by Canna Campbell
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho*
*not directly money related as this is a fiction novel, but a personal favourite that will certainly help upon your journey
Once Covid-19 is over, go to your Library! In the last two months I have read so many finance and gardening books, to have paid retail would have set me back in excess of $500 and all it took was 10 mins with my licence to swing by my library on the way home from work, I reserve any and all resources I see online on blogs and recommendations and I wait for them to be available for free! Becoming more money savvy already, huh!
Disclaimer: This article is for entertainment purposes only and contains general information and is not intended to be used as personal advice. I am not a financial advisor. Some of the above links provide referral rewards. I use all of the above and recommend them personally. Read all T&Cs on each website and make your own decisions.
Bonus Activity #2 - Your Credit Score and Report
Each week I will bring you a bonus activity to complete.
Time to get out your nifty notepad out again or notes on your phone.
When was the last time you checked your credit score, if ever? It’s important to check your credit report yearly to ensure that it is correct. It is also a perfect place to start your money story and identify where you can improve.
It can be intimidating trying to find a credible source online, so I have taken the hard work out of it for you and have listed credible, free websites below.
Credit Report:
Credit Score:
Bonus Activity #3 - Calculate your net worth
This activity I personally found the most empowering and now I re-calculate it at the start of each month to understand how it changes based on factors such as super, value of my assets and shares and calculated against my HECs debt.
The Australian Government website money smart is a fantastic place to do this if you prefer a digital experience.
The simple equation here is: total assets - total liabilities = net worth
How to start.
Step 1:
List all of your assets (things you own)
Major assets eg: real estate, boat, car (at market value)
Minor assets
Phone if owned outright
TV and electronics (be realistic, if you paid $400 for an Xbox, it is likely to sell for much less in market value on gumtree)
Appliance etc.
Jewellery
NB: I usually undervalue this, because our belongings are usually worth less than we like to imagine because we’re emotionally attached to things we love
Savings
Cash
Super
Shares, ETFs, LICs etc
Now add them together to get your total assets = $
Step 2:
List all of your liabilities (things that you owe money on or debts)
Mortgage sum owing
Car Loan sum owing
Credit Card/s sum owing
Any money you owe family and friends
Student Loans eg HECS/HELP
Add these together to get your total liabilities = $
Step 3:
Calculate your net worth.
Take the sum from step 1 - assets and subtract the sum from step 2.
Step 4:
Unlike a credit score, your net worth isn’t a reflection of your financial wellbeing. You might have a large negative because you have purchased a home or have an education debt. These could be seen as ‘good debt’. Knowing your net worth is a great activity to monitor your own financial journey and growth. This could be something you do on a yearly basis around tax time to see if you are making progress on your financial goals, or something you do more often like I do, to see how you are making progress in certain aggressive areas of your finances eg: debt repayment, investing etc.
See you next week! Stay fierce xx