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Mothers Day – Let’s Talk Money Part 2

Mothers Day – Let’s Talk Money Part 2 1024 958 Fox & Hare

To celebrate Mothers Day a little differently this year, the Ladies Talk Money team used their How to Talk About Money guide to chat to their mums.

Ladies Talk Money and Fox & Hare’s Co-founder and Financial Adviser, Jess chats with her mum Denice about their top tips, biggest challenges and much more here –

What’s the best money or financial advice you have ever received? 

D – Probably to salary sacrifice, to invest in shares, and make additional contributions to my Superfund. And always remember that money doesn’t buy happiness.

What did your parents/grandparents/teachers/first boss teach you about money?

D – From a very young age (before I was even 10-years-old) my father drilled into me the importance of money. He used to always say to me, “money makes the world go round”. My mother would spend lots of money on having a lot of “things”, because during the war when she was going up, things were so scarce. Both my parents worked while I was growing up, and my mother had a very good job as a financial manager for a global company.

That was really different from the norm of the time, with most other mothers staying at home (with only a handful of working mothers). She ran the family finances and that taught me how to respect money and it’s always made me want to be involved in the financial management of my own household.

J – I remember my grandparents being very cautious about money and always being focused on having ‘no waste’. I’d say they were the world’s best hoarders.

How has your approach to money changed throughout your life?

D – I don’t think it has really. I like to take risks and I’m not scared to roll the dice, see what happens, and accept the outcome. I don’t like to look back. It’s served me well and has enabled me to live a comfortable life.

What have been some of the biggest financial challenges in your life?

D – Being a widow at 25 with a four-month-old child. Luckily, my husband had taken out insurance and I think I had $25,000 that was left in my name. A big chunk of that went to the funeral expenses and moving back to Australia from New Zealand. That was definitely a very challenging time for me, but I got through it.

In my second marriage, my husband injured his back right after I had my son so I had to go back to full-time work very shortly after giving birth. Beforehand, I had been planning to take a long time off, but then a girlfriend suggested I consider going back to work and it turned out to be a really good decision and a helpful piece of financial advice.

I’m a huge advocate for insurance because I’ve lived through the benefits of having it. In fact, my first husband only took out insurance a few months before he became sick and it turned out to be such a wonderful gift for us.

If you could give one piece of financial wisdom to future generations, what would it be?

D – Don’t listen to negative people in your life and do what is right for you. For example, when we bought our house someone said to us they thought it was too expensive, and now it’s worth a lot more money and it’s put us in a really good financial position. Make sure to do your research and seek professional financial advice along the way.

Read the rest of the Ladies Talk Money teams chats here.