Real Money Talk is our series where we interview Australians from all walks of life about their personal finances. The views expressed are those of the interviewees, based on their experiences with money, and as such are not necessarily representative of Spaceship's views.
We have changed the name of the interviewee for their privacy.
Overview
Name: Angelica
Age: 34
Where do you live? Brisbane
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a 34-year-old serial over-thinker, paranoid about my future with a deep seated fear of one day becoming homeless even though I currently have $0 consumer debt and no kids.
I am an avid expense tracker and have a serious love of spreadsheets and data even though I work in the creative industry.
What's your current net worth?
Net worth is $85,000 - no debt.
How does it break down?
- Shares: $1,100 in Spaceship, $500 in Pearler
- Super: $71,000
- Savings: $13,000
Do you have any debts?
No consumer debts currently but I’m wanting to get eye surgery this year which will mean $6,000 back in debt - feeling determined to pay that off within a year though.
Hate being in debt!
How did you build your net worth?
The rising costs of life and the fear of falling behind helped to curb the terrible consumer habits I had but have only just this year begun to really knuckle down to save and invest, unfortunately.
I just keep repeating to myself "it's not too late, it's not too late"
Earn
Tell us a bit about your career.
I am a graphic designer and a few weeks away from starting at a new marketing agency!
Do you have any income sources outside your job? How much do you earn from each and how did you develop them?
The occasional freelance work. However, after a year of trying to "girl boss" freelance hustle every weekend and work full time I realised that the lack of 'work/life' balance is literally the last thing I want.
I felt so guilty at first for not wanting to spend every day of my life working
...but I've pushed through those feelings and am now wanting to go down a path of financial freedom without having to hustle my life away.
What’s been important for you to learn about money?
Put a number to everything!
Show your boss data on how you've brought more money into the company or saved the company money.
When I asked for a pay rise last year I added up how much money I had saved her company by taking photographs myself instead of hiring a photographer (this is a part of my skill set, having worked as a photographer previously).
The company had grown as well, so I showed her how many more clients I had taken on from previous years!
Save
What's your savings rate? How has it changed over time?
$500 a fortnight, a holiday saver of $100 a fortnight, and $100 a fortnight for emergencies. I've always been a saver but never a particularly disciplined one.
I would save money and take some out, so it was a bit of a 'one step forward, two steps back' type situation.
This year I am trying to work on being more disciplined!
Do you have a budget?
Absolutely! “Do I stick to it?” is a much better question.
I know exactly where my money goes, and how much I earn and how much I spend but it's just eating out that's my weakness.
How much do you spend per year?
$50,000 (including rent).
Do you make purchase decisions carefully, or are you loose with your money?
Carefully for large ticket items.
After sitting down and carefully tracking my expenses from last year I have learnt I am way too 'Loosey Goosey' with eating out and clothes.
This year I'm doing a lot of "No Spend" months.
How is your work-life balance?
Existent now! Personally, I think it's crazy we have to work five days a week eight hours a day just to survive.
What's your favourite thing to spend money on?
Eating out, apparently haha.
It hasn't helped that I'm in a new relationship and he has two messy roommates that make cooking at his house fairly unappealing.
So we go out a lot over the weekend.
Invest
How do you invest?
$30 a fortnight into Spaceship and I save up to $500 and buy ETFs in Pearler.
The latter normally takes about 3 months to save up for.
Mentally, I invest in a gym membership because exercise helps keep me sane!
What’s been your best investment?
Taking time to learn about finances and how to do budgets and track expenses.
Also, driving in my fully paid off 15 year old car instead of buying a new one just because it's a little older.
What’s been your worst investment?:
Not buying a house before COVID. To be fair, my salary wouldn't have been able to service even a small mortgage and my relationship ended back then.
So it really wasn't a good time to buy and I probably would have had to sell. But it's hard to think rationally when houses are now quadrupling before our eyes.
What’s been your overall return?
Experience :) -- sorry, yeah, I'm still a newbie to investing, so nothing too amazing has happened yet. But I'm feeling hopeful!
How are you building wealth?
Avoiding consumer debt, tackling the idea that I don't need materialistic things like clothes, makeup and skincare. Investing my money instead.
What are your main roadblocks to building wealth? How are you addressing them?
I don't have a lot of "wants" and even after cutting out pretty much all of my excessive unnecessary things I'm still sitting at 51% of my salary going towards my "needs" in life (rent, bills, fuel, groceries etc) and my "wants" (eating out, activities) sitting at only 11% but still feeling like I'm not getting ahead in life.
I'm just trying to be easier and gentle on myself, trying to settle into the mindset that I am investing and saving it just takes time and consistency.
Trying to not compare my life to other people my age.
Do you have a target net worth you want?
$2 million with a paid-off house by age 50-55.
Behaviour
When did you make your first significant behavioural shift towards wealth building?
I've always been a big saver, I was the kid that my parents borrowed money off when I was a teenager.
However, that changed when I moved out and life hit me hard. Low salary and high rent meant it was harder to save and get ahead.
I started prioritising going out and spending $20-a-pop on margaritas.
So it was really only last year that I started to curb my spending, and even more so leaning into the discipline this year.
Learning slowly how to invest properly and putting more money towards that.
If you could start again, what would you do differently?
I wouldn't fall for the pressure of trying to look a certain way. I wouldn't spend $1,000 on fake lashes and $1,000 on fake nails a year. I wouldn't waste money on clothes I didn't end up wearing.
What are some mistakes you’ve made along the way?
Buying 'dust collector' things like Pop Figures or Lego sets.
Nowadays I remind myself how HARD and inconvenient it is to try and sell those things later on when I inevitably get over them.
Do you have any worries about retirement? If so, how are you planning to address them?
SO MANY WORRIES! ALL THE WORRIES!
I worry I won't have a house paid off, I worry I will still be renting and I will be 70 with a landlord trying to raise my rent another 25% yearly.
This is entirely why I am investing and saving now.
I kid you not (pun intended), I am not having kids because I don't understand how people can afford them.
And if I had any then they would need to inherit off me and I might not have anything to give them when I pass away.
How are you learning about building wealth?
Following accounts on Instagram, reading investing books, following She's on the Money facebook group and interacting on topics there. Reading blogs on Spaceship and Pearler.
Do you give to charity? If so, what percentage of your time/money do you give?
I used to but over COVID had to pull back.
We want to hear your Real Money Talk
At Spaceship we’re big believers in sharing our money stories. We want to hear yours, too. In our ongoing Real Money Talk series, members of our community share what they’ve learned about managing money. We’d love you to take part. Here’s a link to our Real Money Talk survey where you can share your story.
