Money Tips for your growing family, with Tom Haigh from My Money Sorted

In this episode of The Parenting Couch podcast, Rachel and Sarah sit down with money guru Tom Haigh from My Money Sorted, who shares his top tips for not only saving money, but how we can use it to set us up for a more comfortable life.

Money determines the house we live in, the holidays we go on, the clothes we buy, the meals we make... and our general levels of comfort and stability. But we don't get taught this stuff in school! 

Tom is a local Dad to three kids… who is passionate about putting money-matters into a way that is easy to understand. In the interview, Tom explains...

• Is it better to fix your home loan at the moment, or opt for a variable rate?
• Why you should speak to a mortgage broker to ensure you're getting the best rate
• Why right now it's a "buyers market" for real estate
• How to save money on day-to-day living expenses... should you be cutting back on the smashed avo, or reviewing your direct debits?
• How to manage credit card debt
• Why putting extra money into your superannuation is good for tax now, and good for your retirement!
• Why you need a clear plan to repay your debts before retirement
• Why putting additional repayments on the mortgage can be a phenomenal way to reduce the term of the home loan and also the the amount of interest you pay.
• How to 'enjoy the journey' and not just focus on money saving
• Why it's important to reward yourself daily with the small things (like a take-away coffee)

About Tom Haigh

Tom Haigh is a father of three who is passionate about putting money-matters in relatable, personal contexts. His goal is to help young families find the best path to living more and worrying about money less!

Tom co-founded My Money Sorted in 2021. Leveraging life experiences, Tom has written extensively about entrepreneurship, property investment, and various other investment-based topics and has been an active investor over the past 11 years.

His work has been featured in XY Adviser, news.com.au, Startup Success Story, and Hunter Headline.

Last year, Tom co-founded My Money Sorted… a website that provides Aussies with the right tools, insights and expert guidance to help you achieve your money goals.

Find out more about My Money Sorted.

#theparentingcouch #theparentingcouchpodcast #parenting #northshoremums #parentingexperts #parentinginterviews

Transcript

Welcome to The Parenting Couch with Rachel Chappell and Sarah Levett. Honest conversations about what parenting is really like. Because let's be real, it can be hard, proudly brought to you by North Shore Mums.

0:19  Sarah
welcome back to another episode of the parenting couch Podcast. I'm Sarah Levett.

0:23  Rachel
And I am Rachel Chappell. And today we are going to be talking about something that affects all of us. It determines the house, we live in the holidays, we go on the clothes we buy, and our general level of comfort, yet we're talking about money, how we can save it, and importantly, how we can use it to set us up for a more comfortable life. Unfortunately, we don't actually get taught this stuff at school. So I am very excited to introduce you to our guest today. His name is Tom Haigh, he's a father of three kids, and he is passionate about putting money matters into a way that is easy to understand. Last year, Tom co-founded My Money Sorted, a website that provides Aussie's with the right tools and insights to help everyone achieve their money goals. Tom, welcome to The Parenting Couch.

1:19  Tom
Thank you very much, Rachel. Great to be with you today. And thanks also for the Rockstar introduction

1:29  Rachel
It's a stressful time in Australia at the moment, isn't it? Because the cost of living is increasing. And houses are so expensive. And so many Aussies are so stressed about money, and you know, their future.

1:45  Tom
It really is. Yeah, it's it's such a tricky time. And it honestly feels like we're encountering something similar every 12 months at the moment. We've just come through the pandemic, we've ultimately all had to adapt to the impacts of COVID.

 There was there was lots of doom and gloom and fear only a couple of years ago, and we've come out of that. And now we're entering this period where there's a fair amount of global uncertainty, and that's putting some some pressure on everyone here.

Nationally, with rising prices, obviously, inflation is a hot topic at the moment. And I guess secondary to that is obviously home loan interest rates, which is a huge factor for for Aussies who, who own property, whether that be their own home or an investment. And, and also, as you touched on those first home buyers out there that due to the growth in the property prices over the last couple of years are finding it increasingly difficult just to get a foot in the market. So it's across the board. I think it's really a period of time for us where there's no one that's untouched by what's happening out there. And it's really just about being as best best prepared as you can to weather weather, the storm,

2:55  Sarah
there's lots we want to touch on, because there's so many, you know, as you say, there's so many things going on at the moment. But I guess that one has, we're just coming off the back of you mentioning about it with home loans. I'm looking, I fixed in my interest rate last year for two years when I did my home loan, and I'm very happy about that. However, that's not what everyone will have done, of course, and so that that is a fearful thing. But of course, it means you're at a higher rate when you do that. And so, you know, what's your advice to people then at this point in time, because it is a tricky one, because house prices are coming down a bit. But of course, interest rates are going up where we've had the problem, you know, the opposite interest rates have been low house prices have been high, you know, so I guess a couple of questions in that, you know, in and around interest rates and what you should do, but also in terms of the buying, when when's a good time to do it?

3:44  Tom
Sure. Yeah. Great question, Sarah. And I think the touch on the interest rate piece, and ultimately, whether to go with a variable loan or move to obviously a fixed interest loan, it probably comes down to personal circumstances. So a lot of people out there, you mentioned yourself are looking for more certainty might be risk averse. Locking in a fixed interest rate can can be a great way to provide your family with some assurances as to what you're going to be up for each month. For the next few years. As you mentioned, whether that's a two year lock in or perhaps a longer term, five year, I guess beyond that, we've got the smartest money minds in the country giving their predictions on where interest rates will go.

We're obviously seeing a lot of home loans now that are in the sort of 3% on the on the variable front 3% interest, and many are tipping those variable rates to go anywhere from five to 6% over the next 12 months. So with that in mind, obviously it's not too difficult to look at some of the fixed interest rate offers that are out there from the banks at the moment.

Number one tip there is to have a conversation with your existing bank or ideally with a mortgage broker to make sure that you're not already paying a premium to what might be out there in the market. That's just a huge opportunity to save money is on those home loan repayments on the interest that you're paying. And it always pays to get a second opinion, having a conversation with your bank is great. But ultimately, they're only going to tell you about the products they've got to offer.

So brokers in that respect can be a really valuable asset to have, you know, 30 minute conversation with explain your situation, your objectives, and then they can get to work on on helping you to identify whether there's some better options for you in the market.

5:29  Rachel
Yeah, and it's never too late. Is that really, I mean, you can always call up a broker. I mean, I know there's some times you know, like, say, for example, if you're in a variable rate right now, and you're like, Oh, my God, I'm, I need to lock it in, I need a fixed rate. Are there penalties and stuff for switching to a fixed? Or is it just like, you know, talk to your mortgage broker and see what they say?

5:53  Tom
Absolutely, yeah, the devils in the detail there. And ultimately, different mortgage products have different brake clauses, etc, different fees, different facilities, even so, we've got variable home loans out there that have got things like an offset facility, which can be a really attractive feature of a home loan for other people that don't necessarily need that. They might go for a more simplistic loan that doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but comes with a more attractive rate. So have a conversation with someone like a broker, they'll be able to dig through the details of your existing loan, and be able to give you some information on Okay, these are the impacts if you are to move from this loan refinance to another bank, as an example, so that you can make an informed decision about whether that's overall beneficial for you and your family versus just, I guess, being entirely focused on the interest rate itself.

6:48 
Turning our attention back to the early stages of the pandemic, we had a lot of predictions about house prices coming off, had it not been for I think a lot of the government stimulus and interest rates obviously remaining as low as they did, then ultimately, we would have seen a very different outcome there, we had a lot of the economists predicting a 30% downturn in house prices. And what we saw was quite the opposite, you know, in, in many locations, there was growth of up to sort of 20 to 30%. Over that couple of years. What the experts are predicting right now is that a substantial chunk of that growth is now going to be reversed over over the coming 12-24 months.

So what we're seeing with obviously, rising costs of not only home loans and home loan repayments, but also general household costs, like groceries, fuel, etc, that's putting a real squeeze on families out there. So we're at this stage shifting from what was previously a seller's market. So when there was limited supply, and lots of buyers hungry and able to access finance really easily, it's now turning the other way. So for those, I guess, buyers out there that have been sitting back for the last couple of years trying to get into the market, the next next 12 months particularly is going to be a really great time for them to have a bit more choice, there's going to be more stock coming into market. The the scenes of an open house aren't going to be quite so fever pitch, you know with lining up around the street. And so it does mean that you've got an ability to take your time and you'll have a bit more bit more to choose from, I guess in the next 12 months,

8:29  Rachel
That is very probably one of the most stressful things that any of us undertake, isn't it because you want to want to get it right. You want to buy the right house and you don't want to overpay but you know, it's just it's tricky, and it's stressful. And it can take a long time, particularly for doing open for inspections with kids. I remember doing that, like seven years ago, when we bought our house, it was like six months and the kids were like, I don't know two and four and it was horrible. That's a good idea. A great should the open for inspection somewhere that kids can go while the parents could look at the house. Yeah, I like it for additional clown putting on a show in the garden. Good idea. That's businesses, everyone. Let's think about that.

9:21  Tom
Just to be a good form of torture, I think to make people do that each weekend. It is tricky. And as you say, Rachel, it's a it's a stressful time. And I guess to come back to the question in relation to when is the best time to buy.

 How do you make sure that obviously you're getting the best possible deal. The thing that always comes comes back to me is time in the market versus timing the market? I don't think well, you know, no one's got a crystal ball. No one can tell us exactly when the peak is going to be or when the trough is going to be so long as you're not buying speculatively. So when I say that to with the intention of flipping a property in the show short term, ultimately, history has proven itself to be that Australian property prices have grown over the long term, there are some ups and downs in that within periods of 12 months, 24 months, etc, you could potentially pay more and sell for less. But if you bind for the long term, ultimately, there is always the most important thing is to do your research and to make sure that you're getting value at the time that you're purchasing, there is absolutely no way of requiring that as a factor. So do your research, make sure you're aware of what properties are selling for on the market. And don't rush him. You know, as I sort of mentioned earlier, the most important thing right now is to recognize that the next bus will come along, you know, properties like buses, there's only one in town, there's there's plenty more options that will come. So just be patient, do your research. And ultimately, as I said, if you've on for the long term, don't be too discouraged about the new term ups and downs.

10:59  Rachel
So looking, I guess, at the day to day lives of all families, are there some easy ways that we can save money on our day to day expenses that you would recommend?

11:11 
Yeah, I guess the way that we like to tackle that is to identify the big wins. First, it's really easy when it comes to money management to get stuck in the weeds on it to get frustrated because it can be so time consuming. When we're talking about budgets and the nitty gritty, the most important thing to look at is ultimately, where are the big wins for you right now. So what are those monthly outgoings you could perhaps get a better better deal on. So whether that's a conversation with your existing utility provider, power, etc, whether that's looking at some of the ongoing subscriptions that you haven't used this year, now perhaps sort of sitting there chewing away saving. So really identifying the things that are costing you a packet year to year that you perhaps either eliminate or get a better deal on. From that point, you can then move to the to the further the more detailed aspects, like, obviously reviewing where you shop, and what you buy, and doing all that sort of stuff. But I'd say leave that leave that to last because it can be quite time consuming and frustrating to get to that point where it's really detailed. And you you're running a meticulous household budget, there are so many big opportunities out there to save more money with I guess, less of your time that goes into I guess having some of those conversations particularly Yeah, that's really

12:35  Rachel
Good advice. Because I know I've got so many, all of my expenses are on direct debit, or you know, they're on a monthly payment plans. So you don't consciously think about paying them every single month, they just come out of your bank, and you're not even really aware that you're paying for them. So you know, we've probably got subscriptions to, you know, Netflix and Stan and Amazon and you know, all these different entertainment providers. But am I actually we were using all of those I don't know, I don't think we are certainly not what we should be paying. And there's so many other things that we're probably paying for that you just set and forget,

13:09  Tom
those direct debits have almost become like, like using the credit card at the pub to pay for random drinks, it sort of feels like free money, you don't really notice it going in or out versus putting your hand in your in your pocket and paying for it with cash. So yeah, it's a really good point. Rachel, review those direct debits, cancel those that you're not needing, and then obviously look for a better deal where you can with those that are essential, like utilities,

13:37  Sarah
What about with credit cards, though? I mean, I, I've had an interesting relationship with those. And I actually got rid of them in the last 12 months. But sadly, due to things to do with my business to do with COVID I've needed to fire one back up again. And slowly but surely, you know, there we go. And it doesn't take much I've kept it look, it's a low limit one, which helps, because there's a gap, you know, gonna blow out my other ones were being and, you know, but I mean, I genuinely and I had gone through and fine tooth comb and all of my accounts and was like trying very hard. But I found myself as a single parent, that's by the by but you know what I mean? It was just navigating all of that. But I mean, how I could never get ahead, like I could the the actual, you know, I won't get into details, but I ended up paying them out in a certain way. But I wouldn't have been able to pay them down. There is no way and I know that's the whole point. And that's where we get absolutely jammed and screwed doing as well as that banks are hiding that from us and we all know what credit cards are doing and as they mount and mount, you know, they're out. Are there ways that you can do it.

14:50  Tom
It's one of the biggest problems nationally Sarah, for sure. Credit cards are such an easy thing that can get away from us all. Ultimately, as I said earlier, the feeling of free money is a real real challenge.

There are all sorts of budgeting systems people can use, obviously, to shift that mindset, you got The Barefoot Investor out there, he talks about the envelope system where you actually put cold, hard cash in individual envelopes for paying for the groceries for entertainment for all those sorts of things. When it comes to existing credit card, there are a number of really effective strategies for that. So one of those that I'll touch on really quickly is zero balance transfer as an example.

So I'll give a personal bit of personal experience there. So about eight years ago, my wife and I were renovating our first home, went to the bank said, "Hey, got these grand plans, we need to borrow $50,000 to renovate the property". The bank, of course, said that all sounds great, we'll give you $20k. And so we didn't have the money that we needed to complete the renovation. This is not advice at all, this is this is probably something I did that I got a couple of credit cards and started working all the all the Bunnings purchases on the credit cards. And I guess, very much like you, Sarah, all of a sudden, I found myself in this situation where I'm like month to month, "How am I going to pay these things off?"

What I eventually did was went and did like a debt consolidation, zero balance transfer. So there are some some options out there in the market where you can effectively consolidate some of those debts onto one card, do that under a zero interest rate transfer. So some of the banks out there will offer you that, wow. The danger, of course, is if you don't meet the repayments, then you stand to obviously your cost your packet in in additional interest over time.

So the most effective strategy above all else is to have a debt repayment plan. So there's there's a couple of schools of thought there, there's the option of tackling the smallest balance debt first to give yourself that feeling of momentum, or, of course, is the option to the, in this case, credit card with the highest interest rate and plenty candidate out there at sort of 17% or more. Prioritizing the pay down as high interest cards are ultimately going to help you to save interest. Or of course, the final option is to work with a service provider who will help you to consolidate those debts into a regular weekly repayment that depending on your circumstances, may be a better solution or a simpler solution that can give you a bit more clarity around, you know how long it's going to take to pay them all down, have some structure to it. And I guess get you on the right track to clear those debts, and then move forward to a position where you can start putting money into savings.

17:51  Rachel
I'm pretty sure the Barefoot Investor because I read his book quite a few years ago, but he was basically saying get rid of your credit cards. I think he was just like, just don't even have them to begin with. What other sort of mistakes do you see families making with their money?

18:09  Tom
It's great advice, Rachel. And I think that the number one thing is not putting their effort into areas where they can have the greatest impact. So let's say for example, you do have debt, starting a savings or investment account. While you've still got that lingering debt there may seem like you know, you're starting to plan to build your wealth. But in reality, what you need to assess is, where's the effort worth it today. So the interest that you can earn on a, let's say, Money in the bank, or even a term deposit savings account, by comparison to the cost of the interest on lingering debts will be insignificant. So you really need to determine where's the effort worth worth it today, so that you don't become distracted and, you know, prioritize too many different things.

So ultimately, it really comes down to your situation and your objectives. For some people that's ultimately going to be looking at things like opportunities to save tax by putting additional money into super which is going to have an enormous impact come retirement, there are some phenomenal benefits in doing things like that, where it's obviously a relatively simple thing to do. It's something that you do today and you'll benefit enormously from tomorrow. But again, it comes back to where you are today what your specific goals and situation is, but making sure that you don't get distracted by the shiny new thing over here starting a you know, a micro investment account on arrays or on shares is that's a really popular one these days. Yeah, when in reality, we focused on wiping out the credit card and to the advice on the credit cards I completely agree credit cards an option for so many people, it's they're really accessible but they are something that can create a whole heap of problems for you down the track as I experienced myself and definitely the that from that. There are definitely better ways to manage your money,

20:04  Rachel
Pay the credit card off, and then get rid of it and then start saving. Is that the summary? Do you think?

20:09  Tom
Absolutely, absolutely. And then, if you find yourself as we spoke about earlier in that position where you'd like to have absolute control over what your money looks like and where it's going, you're moving to cash is an option, we tap and go everywhere we go these days. And it becomes really difficult to identify how much we've spent out of a particular budget allocation for that month. There are obviously apps you can use on the mind money sort of website, we've got a free Expense Planner app there that's powered by my prosperity. Ultimately, you can go in there, input a few of your details, it'll give you a report on where your money is going each month, which which can be really helpful as well.

And beyond that, we've actually got a phenomenally helpful family budget planning. So you can plug in your income, your expenses, and that will give you an allocation of how much you're spending in each area and what you can afford to be spending month to month. So just having visibility over it can be a really helpful thing as well.

21:07  Sarah
Yeah, absolutely. spending that much. And I must admit, when I did get down to micromanaging, which was pushed a bit by my mim, which was kind of irritating, because she was like, I'm not a massive Microverse. And I was like, oh, I want to do that and stop down. And I think another question too, like, because at the moment, I actually sold my property about a year and a half ago, because again, I've mentioned I'd separated and so it was a massive mortgage, I was trying to manage and didn't need the space anymore, sold well and bought well actually, which was fantastic. And during the middle of a pandemic. So it was kind of an all off market, which was just a beautiful thing. And so then of course my mortgage was reduced. That's actually what I did with my credit card debt by though I sucked it up into the mortgage, because then I went from 17% down to 3%, or whatever. 2.1 point, right? Whenever my rate is, yeah, that was that was an I did it with a broker. So I have a friend, friend who's a mortgage broker, and we had to work it was interesting because I'm a sole trader. So trying to get a loan did not happen overnight, that's for sure. It was a long process for me, and on my own, but we got there. And that was great. So then I find myself in the position where I used to be interest only mortgage. And now I'm principal and interest because I didn't have a choice, because I've done X amount of time and the way things are now with banks, wanting people and good and good too. Because otherwise, you know, you just racking up more debt. But I guess how much pressure? You know, I mean, obviously I have to pay a certain amount of principal, there's no choice. But obviously other people feel that pressure to offset or maybe pay pay pay down the mortgage. And I know there's books and sites about but how much over 30 years given given the way, I don't know how much you can really lose in Sydney buying property given the rate at which we you know, go up in property prices being one of the most expensive cities, how important is it to pay down that mortgage to think

22:57  Tom
It's phenomenally important, Sarah, and I guess the closer we get to retirement, the more important is to clear those debts. So having a clear, a clear plan of what that looks like from a timeline perspective is so important not to try and distract everyone. But there are so many calculators on our site on all the other financial sites, including the government's sites out there that will give you an understanding of things like making additional repayments. So what is the impact of making small additional payments every month towards your mortgage? That can save three, four or five years off the term of your loan, which is phenomenal up to hundreds of dollars. Yeah. Yeah, we really impactful to have a look at what impact those additional repayments will have the other the other factor there as well as there'll be times in life where you might get a bonus payment work or you could receive an inheritance. Putting those additional lump sums of money on mortgage can be a phenomenal way to reduce the term of the home loan and also the the amount of interest you pay. So it's a it's a big one for a lot of it is and you know as you mentioned, Sarah the tendency to go to an interest only loan can be a great scenario and if it's an investment property that you plan on selling come retirement, but ultimately for the principal place of residence for your own home. Always good to have a clear understanding of how much time you need to pay that down and and what you can do to pay down sooner.

24:27  Rachel
So would you say if you are lucky enough to get inherit not unlucky? Inheritance is always a nice bit of money but under awful circumstances, but whether it's inheritance or whether it's a big tax refund, would you say the best thing to do is to put that money on your mortgage or is it something like putting it into superannuation or is it just always mortgage mortgage mortgage

24:51  Sam
or go to go to Fiji or that or that instant gratification

25:00  Rachel
Turns how much money you're getting? I guess

25:03  Sam
It does, and you got to reward yourself. You know, we've spoken a lot about the importance of budgeting and the importance of being conservative with your money and you know, in thinking ahead, but it's so important to, I guess, ensure that you taking the opportunity to enjoy the joy, the journey, as I say, for most of us probably listening to this, you know, we're at that middle stage of our life where things are expensive, you know, we've got kids and schooling and all sorts of stuff to consider, it is easy to be entirely focused on the future and working towards that point, without sort of taking the time to, you know, to enjoy some of the opportunities along the way. So, I love that strategy of sort of the thinking about the inheritance of, you know, let's say you got $10,000 allocate half of it to for investment purposes, or for paying down the mortgage or into super and, and utilize some of it, you know, from a lifestyle standpoint, so you can create some memories that, will we, you know, absolutely, it's in the years to come to touch on the piece on is it better to obviously pay down the pay down the mortgage, or put some of that money in the Super. Again, it's, it's probably a time in life thing.

So for people today, putting money in into super, is is really beneficial. If you're sort of 20 to 30 years out from retirement, particularly, you're going to benefit from the interest that that that will earn within your super account, obviously, the much lower tax rate for those that are perhaps approaching retirement quite soon. And if still got some of those debts, then putting a big chunk of that on the mortgage can be helpful as well.

But if you think about the typical returns in Super over time, that might be say, 9% that you learn on the money within super as an average return for someone in a moderate risk fund. Whereas you'd be paying 3% interest on your mortgage typically over the last few years. So again, identifying where's the effort worth it? Are you better to put it out in a super and get those higher potentially those higher returns? Or are you better off putting in the mortgage and saving some interest on it? Of course, if interest rates go to 9% then I think what the answer would be but right now don't let that happen Tom?

27:36  Sarah
So many great tips. Amazing. Tom, thank you so much for your time. I'm trying to get my head around I'm really want to go and start doing some budgeting now.

27:47  Rachel
I'm gonna go through my bank statement and see all the recurring payments going out. And I've got no idea what they're for. Oh, my goodness.

27:59  Sarah
Yeah, but it's worth it Rachel worth checking.

28:02  Rachel
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, in personal and in business, even in business. I'm sure I've subscribed to so many different apps and things that I'm just not using. So I need a big audit.

28:13  Tom
Yeah, it's easy to do for sure. And you know, as we spoke about there are some really easy wins there as well. So you know, take a little bit of time to review all those things that are draining your savings whether within your business or obviously your personal account, and it just means you're not sweating so much on those small things that you still really enjoy. I know there's plenty advice out there about you know, cutting back on the takeaway coffee in the smashed avo. That's been a huge thing.

28:39  Rachel
It's always the smashed avo, they always talk about smashed avo.  You can smash it at home as well.

28:54  Sarah
Is that what you doing? Right so he's gonna have a live your kitchen walls. Pretty much. Working from home lunch, get in the kitchen hammer, avocado, make your own coffee.

29:08  Rachel
Exactly. On the machine comes out.

29:12  Sarah
Coffee, it is my treat for the day. And you know what, here's the thing. Here's my savings tip right on this as well, sort of this is my justification for coffee and you will all appreciate this one. About 11 years ago, I gave up smoking cigarettes, right? Imagine what I would be paying now or what I said to myself was and I don't everyday bark I do everyday buy coffee. That's not true at the moment I do, especially in winter, but that was my little thing I was I'm still gonna have that little coffee a day. That is my thing. And I drag it out for hours like because it is a little it was a little bit of a replacement for cigarette thing. But I still think it's a fair justification because the money I've saved in the money I'm saving packets of cigarettes now. $50 And when I gave up they were 2712 years ago. That's how much they have gone. Not by rising.

30:02 
Yeah, yes. And also, you know, we should talk about my wrinkles of my health that I've saved as well, not the wrinkles matter, but a little bit. But but my health

30:16  Tom
in the reason it is, is we are, yeah, as a as a species, we are not hardwired to, I guess for delayed gratification. And that's, that's, I guess what finances so ultimately, the best possible outcome that you can get when it comes to your personal finances, of course is to spend no money today, invest at all have no debt and have this great outcome in 20 or 30 years time. But we are not built like that.

Our survival mechanisms tell us that we need those instant rewards to keep chugging along. So it's important to reward yourself daily with the small things. Chase, chase those big wins, you know, the big savings and you can do that sort of stuff as as you would have done with giving up giving up smoke scenario saving heap on that. And you know what, to smoke small coffee by comparison. Thank you. Yeah, appreciate

31:13  Rachel
you doing the right thing, making coffee without worrying or if you're feeling guilty. Oh, it was so good to talk to you, Tom. I've definitely learned a lot personally. And there's going to be some changes happening with my bank account, I hope and where my money is going. I think that's the main thing. Popping in some more extra repayments on the mortgage as well, I think it's really good advice.

31:42  Tom
No appreciate it's been, it's been great to be with you both. Hopefully, there's a few nuggets of gold in there that people can take away and apply. And ultimately, that's what it's all about. It's just about focusing on a few small things that you can do that are going to get you ahead. Don't be concerned about trying to nail everything. It's not about perfection here. It's about making progress. So get started today, and you'll feel a lot better for tomorrow and ultimately needs to come you'll receive enormous benefit from having acted on.

32:11  Rachel
Yeah, and can you tell us where our listeners can get more info from you?

32:16  Tom
Yeah, certainly, Rachel. So best place to check out is mymoney sorted.com.au. So we're online personal finance hub, where you can get access to insights and information tips and tools, on all the things that you can do to get ahead with your money. We've got some great things here. Like I mentioned before, the budget planner and our and our mortgage calculators, particularly for those anyone considering how to build a better budget had a great more awareness about where the money's going, and or how to, I guess pay down that homeland sooner that we spoke about earlier. Those tools will take you know, more than 60 seconds to tap into and get some answers. So check them out, subscribe to our new weekly newsletter that we send out some great tips and insights there and check us out on socials as well.

33:01  Sarah
Thank you so much. 

33:06  Tom
Thank you, ladies. Great to be with you, Rachel and Sarah, I appreciate it.

33:09  
It's a pleasure. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to another episode of The Parenting Couch podcast. We hope you enjoyed. Interview as much as we enjoyed it.

33:21  
Yeah, always do. Rachel, it's fantastic. I always learned so much. You know, I feel so much wiser for all of the episodes. Lately, and it's just a matter of going, you know, getting those pearls of wisdom and putting them into action. Yeah, absolutely.

33:37  
That's right, especially with finance, as we've just discussed. And Tom, I mean, there's always things you can be doing and refining. And you know, like looking at and making sure that like you said that you're not having these direct debits and subscriptions that are just happening over there in the background, you know, especially you know what I was thinking to, you know, when you hit on a trial, so you got on it? Yeah, I'll do that trial. And then you forget to put a message to yourself to like, no, not after the trial ends. I don't want to be on $3,000 a year. That happens to me all the time.

34:09  
It's a very good tactic to get you in. Isn't that clever? credit card details your? Yeah, it's a set and forget and you don't check if you don't

34:20  
like why did I do that? Yeah. And we're also busy and we just forget. So yeah, I think

34:27  
You can enjoy your coffee guilt free. You can keep that one happening. The takeaway coffee.

34:30  Sarah
Oh, thanks so much for that. I think I just I don't think there'd be a point to anything off. It's my little treat. So yes, thank you so much for tuning in and make sure you know it'd be really great. You could just go on to your wherever it is that you'd like to listen and just write a little review. A couple of stars is always nice, good for the old ego. And you know, go back I've listened to the other episodes it'd be amazing as well because there's so many You know, incredible guests that we've had on to date. And believe it, Rachel like, Where does time go we've been doing now

35:07  Rachel
we've been doing it since May 2022. Well, that's when we first launched. Lots more in the lots more in the pipeline to come. So it's exciting.

35:18  
It is exhausting. So thank you so much, and we'll see you in two weeks time.

35:22  
See you then. Bye bye.