Wealth Protection and Money Trauma Healing with Amanda Cassar

Wealth isn't just about scaling and growing. It's about protection. Amanda Cassar, globally recognized financial expert and founder of the Financial Abuse Specialist course, joins Lisa to discuss financial abuse, ethical investing, and breaking generational money trauma. This conversation covers everything from recognizing early warning signs of financial control to the boring-but-powerful truth about building lasting wealth.

Key Learning Points

• Financial Abuse Statistics - One in six women and one in 13 men admit to experiencing financial abuse at least once
• The Gradual Nature of Financial Control - It doesn't start with obvious red flags, but gradual undermining and slow erosion of independence
• Early Warning Signs - Giving up all financial control, not knowing bank details, or having no interest in money management
• Essential Money Conversations - Couples need to discuss money beliefs, contribution expectations, and financial roles early in relationships
• The Importance of Financial Knowledge - Staying informed about finances even when someone else manages them
• Ethical Investing - Aligning investments with personal values and understanding what your money supports
• The Boring Truth About Wealth - Real wealth building is about knowing numbers, living within means, and consistent habits
• Protection vs. Growth - Why wealth protection is as important as wealth accumulation

Guest Information

Amanda Cassar is a globally recognized financial expert, author, and advocate for vulnerable clients. She's the founder of two businesses and creator of the Financial Abuse Specialist course. Amanda specializes in helping people understand and prevent financial abuse while building ethical wealth strategies.

Connect with Amanda:

LinkedIn: Amanda Cassar 

Free Offer: Ethical Investment Questionnaire: helps you determine what's important to you in aligning your investments with your values.

Book your Wealth Alignment Call with Lisa Marie to get clarity about protecting and growing your wealth strategically and emotionally.

Resources Mentioned

• Ethical Investment Questionnaire
• Free Wealth Alignment Call with Lisa Marie
• Cash and Sass™ Podcast Newsletter
• Transcendent Wealth Co services
• The Seven Money Pitfalls email series

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Transcendent Wealth Co. LLC
https://www.transcendentwealthco.com   

Transcript

Lisa: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Cash and SaaS. I'm Lisa Marie. I am the brains and the powerhouse behind Transcendent Wealth, and of course, this podcast and today's episode is going to go deep into a topic that doesn't get, in my opinion nearly enough airtime in the world of wealth, and that's protection.

We talk so much about scaling and growing our money. But what about keeping it safe? What about healing the trauma that shaped how we earn spend or gift? My guest today is Amanda Caesar. I hope I said that wrong 'cause I for, I hope I said it right. I forgot to ask a globally recognized financial expert.

Author and advocate for vulnerable clients. She's the founder of two businesses, the creator of the Financial Abuse Specialist course, and a woman who's turned her personal money story into a powerful mission to educate, protect, and empower. My favorite things we're talking about everything from financial abuse to ethical investing to the limiting beliefs that keep even the [00:01:00] smartest.

Women stuck in fear around money. So as I say, let's get into it. We're gonna go straight in and talk about money, name, money, money, money. , You specialize in helping people understand and prevent financial abuse, which I, I love because I don't think many people think about that. Can you break it down, what that looks like and how often it really happens?

Amanda: Yeah, sadly, , it's about one in six women and one in 13 men. Admit to at least once in their life, having been the victim of some form of coercive control or financially, , abusive relationship with their partner. So when I say admit, there's a lot of shame and embarrassment about it, especially with an intimate partner.

So the actual results could be a lot higher. Than is actually admitted to. So it's something that happens quite a bit. And I know, , the Me Too movement has highlighted a lot of [00:02:00] sexual abuse cases, but, you know, we hear so many stories and you, you know, these people listen and going, oh, it was that bad.

Why didn't you just leave? You know, we hear this all the time and one of the main reasons is money, because if you've got little children and no resources and nowhere to go. It's a very powerful draw card to stay put and deal with the BS and you know, hold because you've got nowhere to go. So sometimes finances are the underlying reason why people have to stay in abusive relationships.

Lisa: Yeah. Yeah, and that makes sense. . Why do you think, um, because I'm sure some people are saying, well, I wouldn't, and I wouldn't, and I'm gonna tell you now, you don't know what you would do unless you were in the shoes. Trust me on that one. , But why do you think even intelligent, successful women, , will still fall into these kinds of situations?

, What leads us into that? What, what, why

Amanda: they don't start that way. [00:03:00] You know, it's usually this, you know, beautiful charismatic partner that appears and wows us and sweeps us off our feet and it's all wonderful and, and then one day a little weird thing happens and you're like, oh, that was a bit outta character. Oh, well I know what they're really like and we go on.

And then the weird thing that our gut tells us that's a bit odd happens again. Again, and in the meantime, we're being undermined emotionally. So it's, it's not just, it's, it's that old frog in the pot. You know, we'd jump out if some weird psychotic thing happened to us straight away that was super controlling and a great big red flag.

But when it's this very slow burn that they've got us, they've won us, you know, we are looking forward to this beautiful future that they've promised us together. And then all the weird stuff starts happening. By the time the pot's boiling, we're sitting there going, how on earth did I get myself into this situation?

It's not just a, now I'm going [00:04:00] to coercively control you and take all your money

Lisa: Because if that happened, we would all be like, um, screw you. I'm out.

Amanda: very quickly.

Lisa: But Right. We wouldn't think twice about it. Right. , Okay, so,

Amanda: I guess don't ask those questions right at the beginning. It's like, oh, my parents had these beliefs about money, or, what did your parents believe about money? They're not kind of normal conversations

Lisa: Well, and that goes back to what I've talked about several times on my podcast. Money is so taboo that when it comes to having these conversations, most don't because we were taught that we didn't talk about it. So if we were taught not to talk about it, when we go and meet the person and we think we wanna spend the rest of our lives with them.

One of the first things we should be talking to them about is what are your belief on money? How is your spending habits? I mean, honestly, that that's something that, you know, [00:05:00] how do you feel about saving? What are we gonna agree? Are we gonna agree to a joint checking account? Are we gonna agree to have a household account?

And then our own spending accounts. And you know, so often I'm like, but why would we do that? You know? And I'm like, because it gets a lot of shit out of the way.

Amanda: You ask

Lisa: end up knowing that way, you know? I

Amanda: should be as important as, do you wanna get married and have kids one day? Are we compatible in this space right from the start? So yeah, the money, the money questions are really important. You know, we're gonna contribute 50 50 if I'm not working. Does that scale back If I'm looking after the children or elderly parents, how does that look?

So,

Lisa: Like if I'm, if I'm a stay at home mom and I'm taking care of the kids, what, what is the 50 contribution or if the husband's doing again, what is that contribution and. You have to talk about it. So you both agree? 'cause I guarantee you what he would consider 50 50 or what they would consider 50 50 and can be woman, woman, [00:06:00] man, whatever.

But what they agree to be 50 50 and what you agree to be 50 50. I guarantee you it's gonna be different because you're two different people and you're going to assume, and we all know what assume does, it gets us in a lot of trouble. So just sitting down and just having these conversations, I think could just.

I don't know, just save us so much, , heartache and hopefully would at least give us maybe a tidbit of some type , of sign. Yeah.

Amanda: gender stereotype roles that we've all grown up with where, you know, the, the woman stays home and takes care of the house and children, and the man's the breadwinner and that's how it's been for generations. The hunter, the gatherer, the, all this sort of stuff.

So that, that's kind of ingrained and it is difficult to go well if we don't wanna play that game. How's it gonna look for us? Do you wanna be the stay at home dad? Do you wanna be the stay at home mom? What, how does, how does that look? Are we both gonna go back to work really quickly? Actually, we're never [00:07:00] gonna have children.

We're gonna be a double income family, but how are we gonna split the bills you earn twice as much as me? Is it going to be one third, two third? So yeah, there's, there's lots to work through and it can be confronting to have those conversations.

Lisa: Yeah, but I think if you have, um, if you have the knowledge about money and you're able to have and just sit down and have those conversations, I think that that helps with one, with the communication and two it of. Helps avoid a lot of issues later on. Right, and it kind of brings me to my next question is what are some early warning signs that someone might be giving up Too much financial control.

Amanda: I think there's a very good case where there's usually one partner who just delegates and the other one's like, well, I'll take care of it. So it's a fairly normal dynamic and the more you just give up and go, I'll let them do [00:08:00] it, whether it's him or her. Um. And go, I don't really care about the details. I hate that.

I'm not interested in all that they can take care of it. You, you are giving up control. You are putting yourself in a position to be financially abused if you choose not to have any interest in how it works. The amount of partners where, you know, hubby dies. They've been married for 50 years and she goes, I don't even know who we bank with.

You know, she's gotta go find paperwork because he took care of everything. Terribly normal in many partnerships. , I mean, my husband comes to me sometimes and goes, I've got no idea what I do. And I went, I've tried to have this discussion with you that many times. He at least knows where we bank, by the way.

So, but, you know, and we've also got access to our own accounts. But, you know, there's, there's so much that people, they bury their head in the sand and go, my partner takes care of that. So you are opening yourself up to both financially abuse and being taken [00:09:00] advantage of, , by your choice of naivety. So it's up to you to go, you know what, it is actually more empowering to be in control and just know, and it, it's not about taking it over or anything, it's just understanding where everything goes.

Lisa: I say it so often, knowledge is power. And the more we know and the more we understand, , the more we're able to do and the more, the more empowered we are. Right. You know, and it's. I don't know about anybody else, but I'd rather feel empowered than feel like I'm being controlled. , And , I think that's important.

I'm curious what helped you move from the scarcity mindset to one of a, of abundance and empowerment? 'cause you have a story behind yours. You had this scarcity mindset you had, um, where you had early beliefs about money. Can you give us just a little bit of that?

Amanda: Yeah, I think it comes [00:10:00] down to confronting. I mean, most of us, if we think back to our childhood and someone asks the question, what did your parents teach? About money. The first answer is nothing

Lisa: Yep, that's mine. That's my answer. Nothing.

Amanda: because most of them didn't know what to teach us. The second answer when we delve a bit deeper is the lessons we observed, and then it's like, was it money doesn't grow on trees? Only the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. You know, those kind of, , thought patterns. You know, did we see our parents giving to charity?

Did we see our parents, you know, sitting down and doing the books? So even though they might not have said anything, perhaps, there's still lessons there that we learned. And ours was very much, we had a one income family, three young children. Dad was a very low income earner. Mum did a little bit of home hairdressing and I even looked back then and I think she'd bought some shares very young and they came up 20 or 30 years later and she was a [00:11:00] bit excited to get, you know, 12 or $1,400.

And dad goes, oh good. The rates are due. Took it off her and spent it on the rates, like no discussion. It was just, oh, well that's due. So, and I, I remember her being really peeved about that instead of going, no, no, no, that's mine. You know, you should have covered it. So those sort of little incidents. You know, they might not have sat down and went, right child.

This is how we do a budget. So, but there's all those other things we learn. And the scarcity mindset was often, you know, you did grow up in, you know, a working class family or a, you know, middle class and it was. Just an obs observation of how, you know, could we pay the bills? Was there always food on the table if I asked for anything?

Was it always No. Did we ever have holidays? Did we get bought things on those holidays? So you've got a pretty good idea of where you fit in the social strata when you're at school, um, whether you realize it or not at the time. And so scarcity and abundance seems to come from those kind of upbringing stories.

And it's [00:12:00] not until we're older that we can sit there and challenge and go. Actually, do I still believe that is, does that, is that working for me right now? I remember sitting there, my dad would always, you know, keep your life simple. Don't complicate things. You don't need to get involved in all this stuff.

You know, I, I've got god knows how many companies now, he wouldn't be able to keep his head around it, but it was not until I sort of went, well, actually I need these structures in my life to be able to simplify my tax and accounting. So they're actually not complicated. They're making my life easier. But understanding that was talking with lawyers and accountants, not going keep your life simple.

Don't do it, Amanda. So it's when you get into those crossroads moments and say, actually that belief no longer holds. Professionals have given me the opposite advice. Where am I gonna choose to put my trust and beliefs? So, and then you sit there and going, wait a second, what else was I told? Or have a inner belief about.

Isn't working for me anymore. And that's a really [00:13:00] confronting thing to do because sometimes they're these core things that we don't even realize that we hold onto

Lisa: Right. And that's what I was gonna say, is that something really important is just to sit down. Right? You know, that's really important. Sit down and look inward and see what those beliefs are and are they still serving you? And I think that's the hard part. For a lot of people to do is actually sit down and acknowledge what their current beliefs are, and Okay, where did it come from and is it serving me?

And, and that's what you're saying. You, you need to recognize it and say, okay, is it serving me? And if it's not, then okay, I get to change it. Right.

Amanda: Absolutely, and pardon me, it can display in some of our habits, you know, are we chronic spenders? Every time we see something, there's the impulse bias. It's like, oh, that'll make me feel better. I'll just grab that handbag. I'll just get those shoes. I'll just get that toy for the child. You know, we end up with all this stuff and we're like, why am I always in debt?

Why is the credit card never paid off? Why can't I get ahead? Yet we're buying all this stuff that we don't need that ends up in the charity bin, [00:14:00] you know, three to six months later, and it's still sitting on the credit card and we're going, I never can get ahead. It's just terrible. My life's so hard not looking at how are we contributing to this life that's so hard.

Lisa: Right, right, right. Or, and, and like you said, well, you know, it sounds like our kids, our kids will too young. They'll see, um, an outfit or something they need, and then it's in the closet for six months, you know? And we're like, wait, I thought you wanted, you know, needed it, wanted it, and you were wear it. And then they never wear it.

I mean, and you're right. I mean, so often that's what we do. Um,

Amanda: But that's also a beautiful opportunity to be able to start teaching our children. Money lessons. Okay? If it's something for school that they absolutely have to have, I get it. This is a need, not a want, you know? Then if it's, you know, this absolutely amazing outfit, some people use that as a teaching lesson, like, okay, it costs this much $30.

Do you know how much mommy or daddy has to work? To make that outfit happen, we have to do a full day at work for you to be able to buy that [00:15:00] outfit. You know, have a think about it. Do you still want or need, or maybe we can save up for it for Christmas or a birthday or it's something special. You know, it's not just the Bank of Mom can just constantly reach into this never ending credit bit and pull it, you know, the Bank of Mom or you know, I remember one mate of mine as a kid said to his mother, just put it on Visa mom. I had no idea what that meant, that mom has to pay the visa. So just put on.

Lisa: used to tell my mom, just write a check. My mom, because I, I'm, that shows my age. We didn't have visas. We didn't have debit cards or credit cards. Okay. When I was growing up, um, we had checks and my mom would say she didn't have the money. I'm like, well just write a check. I didn't understand. I was like, you have checks, don't do you?

And she was like, yes. So then just write a check. And all she would say is, no, that's not how that works. I'm like, okay, but why not? Why? I mean, just write a

Amanda: write it and money appears. Again, a beautiful teaching moment.

Lisa: I'm like, if you have a check and [00:16:00] you can write it, then you can go and get it. And you know, and, and now my kids are like, well, don't you have your debit card or credit card?

I'm like, yes. Okay, well then go, you. No. And I, and I do, I sit down, I've sit down and explained it. I was like, and, and my oldest is autistic. So the explaining it doesn't always. Um, she doesn't always grasp it and I still, I still say it and I'm like, just because we have the debit card does not mean that there's money, you know, or just because we got the credit card doesn't mean that there's actually money to, um, to do those things.

And, you know, one of the things I do is I have separate savings accounts. So like there's an account for out to eat and my girls now know, don't come tell me. Put it on the debit card or credit card. Mommy is their money in the tit account. Because if there's money in the out deed account, then I can use the debit or the credit card because I'm then gonna immediately move the money and pay it.

And so they know to ask. And if there's not any money in there and I show it, and I show them there's not, then they know we're not getting anything out to eat that I. [00:17:00] You know, and hard truth, they don't like it. And it has saved me a lot of, um, sanity

Amanda: And

Lisa: of, of saying, this is a set amount that's going into this account each month.

If you, if we, you know, if it doesn't, if it is not there, there's no money. There ain't go you, you are not going or, or we are not going. Um, and it's just, again, it's coming up with something that works right. And, and having a way and then having. Being able to talk to them, um, and, and explain it. And I think that's really, really important.

Um, you are a big advocate of ethical investing and I love the fact that you said you didn't just say investing, you said ethical investing. And for listeners who are unfamiliar and, and I'm, I'm sure there's many 'cause they're gonna say, what's that? What's the difference? What does that actually mean?

Amanda: It depends on the actual client and what your values are actually. So [00:18:00] there's different types of ethical, there's different types. Um, you know, we, we have our own ethical choices. There might be brands, you know, okay, Mac might still test on animals because they wanna be sold in China. And we're like, oh, I don't care.

I like Mac, I'm gonna buy it anyway. And other people go, there's no way I'm touching these particular brands now because they still test on animals. You know, that we've got the Timus and the Sheik, or Sheen, sorry. It's highly possible that some of these brands use slave labor and it's like, well actually I can't afford anything else.

I'm gonna shop on Timo anyway. Or, you know what, I'm not doing that because, so these are things that are important to us individually and some people, I really don't care. And Ethical Investing's kind of similar. We can go, well, I want investments in companies. That either don't have weapons or they don't support smoking, or they don't support drug, or they don't support child exploitation or slave labor.

Whatever those things are that are important to us, there's probably an investment out there that will go, you know what? We fit that. [00:19:00] We won't do those things that you are important to you. And I think that David Attenborough, um, principles. Guide quite a few investments. The UK actually have something that's guided by what David Attenborough wants for the environment and the planet.

So you know, things that are important to us, we actually can now find companies that go, well, there's actually not just you. There's a few people that believe that, and we've put together this portfolio. Probably matches your goals. So do you wanna have a look at the investments that are underlying, you know, I had one client come to me and I said, you know, is ethical investment important to you?

He goes, yes, I, I don't want coal mines in my portfolio, don't want that. And I went, well, I noticed you've got some shares in BHP and one of their subsidiary companies has two coal mines, so we better get outta BHP. And he's like, you are not touching my BHP shares. So how important is it really to you? You know,

Lisa: that, that, that's where you go. Okay. Um, I just said there's gold with coal mine. So how, how, how [00:20:00] important, how, you know, how much of a big, huge value, core value, and that's why I wanna say core value. How much of a core value is that to you? You know, do you just say it and say it or do you mean it?

Except for, you know what I mean? This. And I think that that's really important because, um. I think ethical investment's important. You know, when I first heard the word, I was like, what, what, what exactly what do you mean? And I thought that that's what you were gonna say. I was hoping that's what you were gonna say.

Um, and I love that you said it because I've talked about it being aligned with our values. How we spend our money should be aligned with our values, our core values. Right? How we save money, how we manage it. It should be aligned. And the, and how you were saying, we should also invest it. Ethical that's being aligned with our core values.

And if we're out of alignment, I've talked about this, so I'm boo in the face, it messes with all areas of you being wealthy. Remember the five wealth codes? It's um, it's [00:21:00] spiritual, energetic, mental, physical, and financial. And it's going to, it's gonna mess with it because, you know, spiritually and energetically, if you really don't wanna, for example, do coal mines, but you say you're not gonna touch this.

Okay. Are you. Are you truly aligned? Or is it because you're afraid that something's gonna drop or whatever, and now you're out of alignment And, and those, there's no right or wrong answer to that. That's only an a question that you personally can answer. And I think that's really important to know too, right?

That

Amanda: And look, some people will look at.

Lisa: have different values.

Amanda: The returns of some of the portfolios and go, you know what? It's really not performing how I'd like it to. Um, you know, maybe I will go back to a traditional form of investment, or, you know what, I still wanna be aligned with my values. Maybe I'm gonna put 10% of my portfolio in socially responsible investing.

Um, and I'll, I'll see how that goes. I'll put, you know, put a, put a toe in the water and see. And you know, over time I've had other [00:22:00] people come and go. I do not want a single. Investment that's not ethical in my portfolio. They're usually quite, you know, woke millennials that you, it's, it's very important to them that they're doing this right from the start in how they invest.

So, you know, there's, there's horses for courses. There's people who absolutely refuse to invest in anything that could possibly smack of something that might hurt the environment. Our planet, the people on it and others will go, you know what, I'll take a punt. I don't really mind Vanguard's managing it for me.

I'm not quite sure where they put it. Um, it's up to them. That's what I pay them for. So bury my head in the sand one more time. That's fine.

Lisa: Okay. I'm curious, how do you personally balance your values with Smart Money strategy?

Amanda: I am. Very big on doing research into the products that I buy and not just investing. So I am a bit of a Nazi, um, about not purchasing [00:23:00] products tested on animals. I don't want any to wear clothes that, you know, that could have, you know, a little child in India's running through scrap heaps, you know, trying to, to find things.

So, and some of our biggest brands are responsible for. Not not being as ethical. And usually when we do have mass produced and super cheap, you can have a look and see. So, you know, it's not like I'm going to look up a, I want a white t-shirt and I'm going to spend, you know, $65 on something I can buy, you know, from for $5 at a still ethical.

Store. Um, I'm not quite down that rabbit hole, so, but, you know, some people choose to be, it's like, I want this to be the most ethical cotton T-shirt I've ever bought. So I, I think it's that trade off between, you know, I can still get it for $5. It wasn't produced by, by slave labor, or I'm going down the, I'm, I wanna push these brands so that they, you know, get more mainstream.

It's, for me, it's, it's that trade off. I don't want, you know, products tested on animals. I don't want. Slave, like, you know, if they, if their things [00:24:00] good for environment, there's other investments that they call social impact investments. So where they, they can do good socially as well. So I like to explore some of those.

And again, some of them take a while to get going and the returns may not be there and I might be better off in a, you know, term deposit with my local bank until they've proved themselves or had a bit of a history. So it's doing a bit of reading and I think understanding what motivates us. Some people go, you know, I don't care about the tobacco.

I don't care if they make armaments. You know, we, we have to have a defense force so it, again, water lines with me and everybody's different. We've all got that line in the sand that we won't cross or we will.

Lisa: Yeah. Yeah. And, and I think it kind of comes, I talked about taught this, I talked about this with someone else, and this just reminded me, it, it's kind of aligned with, um,

Amanda: Correct.

Lisa: with how, like what food we eat, what food we eat or what, [00:25:00] what food we buy. You know, we were talking about how, um. How a lot of people are eating totally clean.

Right? And I was, you know, and people were like, well, are you trying to eat clean? And I was like, I am eating as clean as possible. I cannot say I'm a hundred percent clean one, I live in the us. We're just gonna put that out there. Right? Two. Um, you gotta have a certain amount of money if you're gonna make sure that you're eating a hundred percent clean, like.

Okay. And I'm not there yet. Okay? However, I am very strategic. I am, I'm like you. I now read the backup ingredients and you know, I told somebody, I said, if it has more, if it has more than one ingredient that I can pronounce, I immediately put it back. Like if I look at the ingredients and it's got five or six.

Five, six syllables that [00:26:00] I cannot pronounce. I'm not getting it. And they were like, well, if it has one, I'm like, well, then I'm doing a little bit more research. Right. You know, and it's, it's the same thing. It's like, you know, am I gonna put that back and get something that I can, that I can read all the ingredients and it's gonna cost me five times the amount?

Or am I going to get something that's gonna be just as good? It, they are ethical, however, they put one thing in there. Know, it's, it's being able to

Amanda: Make the trade.

Lisa: Right. You, you, you ha So I tell people it's like, look, I can't say I don't eat process a hundred, a hundred percent. I don't eat processed food. I can't tell you I am about 85, 15 now.

You know, I can't say I'm hundred 'cause I can't say I'm not a hundred percent. 'cause I had a slice of pizza from a frozen pizza yesterday. I only had one slice, but I did have a slice

Amanda: Yeah. I was

Lisa: product. You know, do I mostly eat, um,

Amanda: good as you can. Like you said, [00:27:00] it's the choice you make in any given moment, isn't it? So the girlfriend I had in Michigan, she was saying to me one day like, oh, my poor husband, he gets all these terrible migraines all the time. I dunno what to do. And I said, can I ask, you know what, what does he eat each day?

She's like, oh, well, you know, I'll make him a patch sandwich for lunch. I do the best I can and you know, I might throw in a packet of Doritos or some corn chips or something like that,

Lisa: Carbs, I.

Amanda: wait. I'm just going. The chips that you're giving him, do they have yellow food coloring in the seasoning?

And she's like, well, yes. And I'm like, all right, let's have a look at that packet, because yellow is notorious for causing headaches and migraine. She's like, oh my God, are you telling me I'm poisoning my husband? I'm like, well, it may be his reaction to that particular coloring. So yeah, he might be able to still have a corn chip, but you might have to go a natural flavor, not one with the artificial yellow coloring.

She's like. I didn't know about this, so I'm like, well, unless you do the reading, you don't

Lisa: Well, A but it, I mean, it's also [00:28:00] not on the back. I mean, it's got the ingredients, but it doesn't tell you what what's possible. Right. And

Amanda: well. Often the, the food coloring numbers are in Australia. I dunno if they're, they're in the states as well, but a lot of them

Lisa: are one of the last, we're the last country to get rid of the red food coloring, so. You know, and, and that just comes back to again, what is your values, right? And, and do, do your due diligence. Do do your research. Don't trust what you're seeing, reading on a portfolio or what you're reading on an ingredient goal.

Wouldn't you know y'all, we have Google. Okay.

Amanda: We have read it. We have

Lisa: We have

Amanda: we

Lisa: go. I was gonna say, we got, if you don't like Google, you got, uh, what is it? Microsoft Edge. You got Safari, you've got enough. Um, you got bing. You, you've got enough, um, search engines. And if you don't go ask your child. 'cause I promise you they can name a whole bunch more than 'cause my child can, um, than I can.

And you can just [00:29:00] go search it. Now is it gonna take you down a rabbit hole? Probably be diligent on what you click on. But still research, I mean, read like she's saying because, and especially with the investments, because had a client and, and, and she was frustrated with one of her investments and I was like, okay, but you know, did you go and research it?

And she's like, no, but I asked the person and this is what they said. And I said, please don't take this the wrong way. Take what they said with a grain of salt. get it. Put it in and ask the question, do your research. I promise you'll get your answer. You may have to do it a little bit digging, but you'll get your answer.

If it doesn't come back to the answer you want, then go back and start having another conversation. And because again, it's your money, right? And, and, and you need to make sure it's aligned with your values. I just. I think especially when it comes to women, we're so afraid to say, no, that's not [00:30:00] what I want you to do with my money and, and one of the reasons why I created this podcast for the Love of God, stop. Just do it. Just if it's not what you want, tell them to stop.

Amanda: this magical device in our pockets now that could actually give us the answer to every question we ask. Oh, that's right. We do.

Lisa: right, exactly. I mean, uh uh you know, and then you got all these chat GBT apps and whatever AI apps, and I'm pretty sure they can do the research for you and spit it out in like 10 seconds as long as you asked the right question. You know, and I think it's just really important. In the questionnaire that I sent you, you'd said that one of the things you were most proud of is, was having more assets than debt, which I think is, is really important. Being in a position to choose your next steps. I, I tell people that wealth is different than being rich and in, [00:31:00] in a lot of my ways. To me, being wealthy is more than here, being out before you disagree with me. Okay. It's more than just assets, having more assets than debt. It's be living. Aligned with your values and your goals.

If that's working a job, great. That's owning your business so that you're home with your kids and you have the freedom to take time off even better. For me, that was. To me that made me wealthier than anything in the world because I didn't come from money. I didn't have money, so I wasn't sure what it was gonna be like to have it anyway.

What I wanted was the freedom of when my child needed to be going to having assistance at school, or I had to fight for whatever, have her appointments, whatever, that I was able to do that without having to jump through 50 hoops to be able to do it. Okay. And so I think it's important that you're looking at, like I said, those wealth codes, looking at all those areas and being aligned and assets.

[00:32:00] Unless debt is important too, there's a difference between good and bad. Another podcast, I promise, I've gone over it sometimes debt is necessary when you have a business, if you utilize it correctly. And there is also still the bad debt. It's what we call frivolous spending without being str strategic and just spending to spend kinda like what she was talking about.

You go buy all this stuff and it's in your closet, but you still have it on your credit card. Um, so the question, what does real wealth mean to you at this stage that you're.

Amanda: I think when you put it into those five categories. Before, that's where you have to look at the wealth in those five categories. Do I feel spiritually wealthy right now? Whether that means going to church every weekend, giving back to charity, meditating in the mornings, what does that look like for you?

And I'm wealthy if I get to do my 10 minute meditation three times a week. I'm wealthy, uh, physically if I get to do my aqua aerobics class. Two times a week and give back to [00:33:00] myself. I'm wealthy now that in my family, because I've got two very tiny little grand babies who, and I get to take Fridays off and hang out with a two and 1-year-old and get snotted on and coughed on and loved and

Lisa: And you get to spend money and not have to tell them no, because grandparents say that that's their right, that we said no to you as kids. But we get to say yes as grandparents. It's, it's

Amanda: My grand, my daughter-in-law rang me last week going, what did you feed my child? He's got mental. And I'm like, wasn't me? I don't do that.

Lisa: I dunno what you're talking about. That is wealthy. I love that. I love that. That is wealthy. Whatcha talking about it? Me? I dunno. Nobody else was with them. Still wasn't me.

Amanda: So it's in each of those categories. We have to look at what it means. So financially, yes, having more assets than debt is important to me and living within my means. Having something left at the end of each week that I then choose. Do I put that against debt? Do I put that into my [00:34:00] savings? Do I put it for future Amanda in my retirement account?

That's wealth. It doesn't have to be a lot. Me and I just, you know, we all say, oh, I'll give up my coffee in the morning. That's fine. What are you gonna do with that $5? You gonna leave it in your wallet and spend it on something else, or you're gonna go, right, that $5 is going into my future retirement account, it's going to bring down my debt.

Just saying I'm not spending on that anymore makes absolutely no difference if we don't direct it into something positive. So. Wealth can be such little things. It doesn't have to be I now have a million dollars in the bank. I am wealthy. It's, it's not about that. I mean, none of us are Scrooge Mac ducks anymore.

Life doesn't work like that. So wealth can just be, I got to spend five minutes on my own without anyone interrupting me and have my lemon ginger tea on the deck in peace. That was my wealthy moment for the day. For my health and wellbeing. For my mental health. What? Whatever it was, it can be that simple.

Wealth isn't always about the dollars.[00:35:00] 

Lisa: Yeah, I, I mean, I think that I agree and, you know, I also agree financially that yes, more assets than debt and being able to, when I go to bed at night, did I make the best decisions possible with the money that came in, with the decisions that had to be made. And also to me, it's, I paid my bills. Because I know it's like not to have the money to pay my bills.

I've been able to pay my bills and I sh I'm, I'm grateful and I'm thankful, and I, and I express that. Right. And then. You know, is okay, am I, if I, if I had to have debt and I've, I've made it a a thing, I don't hold anything back. I had to carry debt to keep my business in practice. Last year, 2024 was a difficult year.

All businesses have difficult years. Fair warning, they all happen. And I did what was necessary. Okay? Am I doing what's necessary now to bring myself out, to bring my business out of that? Am I in [00:36:00] alignment with that? And the answer is yes, I am doing those things. So I. I'm getting to where I'm gonna have more assets than debt again, right.

In my business and all. And it's making sure that you're, that you're, you're being strategic. You know, I tell people all the time before you go to spend, wait 24 hours and make sure it's not an emotional spend or an emotional investment. Make sure that it's. It's, um, strategic and it's what you want and it's not emotional because so often we, we react and, and we go and spend, we do it out of emotion and I think it's really important to know.

And, and like you said, for me, if I'm able to do my workouts, I work out with my trainer four days a week. If I'm able to do all of it. I'm super wealthy if I'm able to, no matter what life throws at me. If I'm able to get at least three of them in, I'm. I'm great. I'm wealthy. Right? And, and I think that that's really, really important.

[00:37:00] Um, I think my question is, is what do you wish more women knew about protecting and expanding their wealth without burnout or fear? I.

Amanda: I think the truth about money is really boring. I think everybody's after this really sexy, um. Get rich quick. It's really boring. It's know your numbers and live within your means. It's

Lisa: But I say, I say that that can be sexy though. I say knowing that can be sassy and sexy, but it's right at first. It's really boring.

Amanda: but you know, the, the, the concepts and ideas are hundreds of years old. They're not new. They're not gonna make you rich overnight. But the beauty and the sexiness of it is that it gives you control.

Lisa: Mm-hmm.

Amanda: you know that it costs you $493 a week to pay all your bills and you make 500, you know you're covered.

You don't have much left, but you can pay everything to live. [00:38:00] If you, you know, have a $600 per week outgoing and you only earn 300, you know you're in trouble.

Lisa: Mm-hmm.

Amanda: And then you've got options. What can I cut back? How can I earn more? So it give, puts you in this position of going, what do I need to live? So I think as boring as it sounds, doing your spending plan or your budget or whatever you wanna call it, and knowing

Lisa: map. Just do it.

Amanda: money roadmap.

Yes. And most people come to me and go, well, I can't do that because, you know, I'm in the gig economy and I never know what I'm making each week. Don't give a toot. I won't, um, swear,

Lisa: You can cuss. I don't care.

Amanda: um, what you're making if you don't know what has to go out every week. How can you then allocate when you do have a bump a week or a dodgy week? You know, if you still don't have that 4 93, it costs you to live each week or 8 97, how are you going to allocate when the money comes in? Most people live on a fairly fixed income.

Others are at the whim of their bosses and how [00:39:00] many shifts they get, but at least if you know what it costs you to wake up and breathe per pay cycle. You then know where you can allocate that money. Are you making enough or not? Do you need extra work? Are there things you can cut back on? You know, do you need to get a border into

Lisa: you are an entrepreneur too. I mean, how often? How many times I've got, oh, well I just, you know, I don't know. I just gotta make money. I know I got, she said, what was the first thing that you have to know? I love her already. You have to know your numbers. You have to know how much is going out, how much is coming in.

You've got to be able to know that in order to determine, okay, should I be making more or should I make cutbacks or should I use the line of credit for this month? Y'all how I made this, the decisions I made last year and how I make 'em this year, which is getting me out of it, is by knowing what the hell's going on with my money, knowing my numbers.

And when you don't know your numbers, you're just burying your head in the sand and you're just gonna, oh, I'm just gonna leave it to, you know, whatever.

Amanda: Universe, [00:40:00] it'll all work out. That's my

Lisa: oh my gosh.

Amanda: The universe will provide,

Lisa: Um, okay. No.

Amanda: the.

Lisa: Thank you. Thank you very much. Right. Like, okay. You gotta help yourself and then, okay. Um, you have dropped so many powerful insights today. So before, before we close out, tell us where one people can. Where people can connect with you and learn more about your work. Um, and if there's a re, a free resource or a starting point that you would recommend, um, I would love for you to share that with our listeners because you did, you, you dropped a lot of, um, awesome insights today.

Amanda: Sure. So you can find me on LinkedIn as Amanda Cassar. Now there is an Amanda Cassar in the States. She does yoga, so you'll be able to tell us apart really quickly. I'll be the Australian financial advisor, not the American yoga instructor, so

Lisa: And if [00:41:00] you're not sure, just listen to the, the podcast again. The accent should give it away.

Amanda: Um, I'd love to provide you for people who are interested in the ethical investing, I do have an ethical. Um, investment questionnaire to see what's important to you. So I can happily share that resource with you so that you can go through and go, oh, what is important to me? I can tick a few boxes and work out my, my tolerance that way.

So I'd be more than happy to share that with you guys, Lisa Marie. So, yeah, look forward to hearing, you know, if you've got vulnerable money stories, if you were a victim and who's become a survivor, I'd love to hear about what happened to you. Um. Collect those stories. I lo I'm, I'm very interested in people's survival

Lisa: Oh, I think, yeah,

Amanda: and motivational. So yeah, please share because there's people who are currently in victim mode who need to hear that there is light at the end of the tunnel and you can get past this. So they're really important as well. But yeah, love, love to stay in touch.

Lisa: Yeah, I and I, [00:42:00] and I'm y'all, I'm gonna be signing up for that. It'll be in the, um, show notes. The link will be in the show notes. We'll make sure it's there. I know I'm gonna be signing up for that because I'm really curious to see, you know, what, where it is that the lines. And I wanna make sure that I'm aligned.

Um, and. I'm hoping that this episode. Resonated with you and that you can see, okay, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You're not alone. You, you can, you can make changes. And if this conversation brought up, um, some things that you've been pushing down, maybe you've avoided looking at your finances or maybe you're realizing your money store was never really yours to begin with, it was actually somebody else.

Then it is time for a wealth alignment call. This is your space to drop the shame, ditch the guesswork. That's what I always say. Get a clear picture of what needs fixing strategically and emotionally. The link is also in the show notes. Um, I'm here to help you. That's what I do in those wealth alignment calls.

They're free. Um, and as always, until next time, remember, confidence and [00:43:00] cash are the ultimate power duo. I don't care what else says, I believe that. So go check in with your money. Sh Amanda said it too. And as always, have a fantastic and wealthy day. Bye.