How to Teach Yourself About Money

Whether you grew up surrounded by wealth, taught about money or in poverty, we can all learn something now.

It is up to you to improve your financial situation.

I have been sharing my debt journey, starting with the financial mess of almost $60,000 worth of debt and how I cleared over $10,000 in my first month.

My goal is to learn what I can, get the right team of professionals, create generational wealth for my kids and change our lives.

To do that, I have to start with myself.

So how can you teach yourself about money?

1. Speak to a financial professional to help create a plan for you, learn about your specific tax situation and what you can do to set things up better. This can include financial advisors, estate planners, lawyers, accountants etc. Do some research, ask for recommendations and learn.
2. Websites, podcasts, YouTube, books etc. You can learn heaps from these but you need to know what to look for, what is relevant to your country and situation, what is real, what people's qualifications are, their incestives for recommending certain things and so on. Too often online financial advice can be scams by "influencers" or you are looking at stuff relevant to the USA or UK which is not the same as Australia. There are loads of great Aussies to learn from, depending on what you want to focus on.
3. You can only cut back so far. Once you have your budget or plan sorted, have learnt to live within your means, focus hard on increasing your wealth. This includes assets, cash flow, increasing your income through promotions/asking for a raise/changing careers/starting a business and similar. Read how to double your income.
4. Study those you want to be like. If you want generational wealth, learn from those who set up trusts, reduce or avoid tax etc. You will often find the wealthy manage money quite differently to those on lower incomes. E.g. 21 money habits of the wealthy. Read Tax Secrets of The Rich for some tips too. It is not about getting a private jet lifestyle, it is about protecting your money, your kids and creating a better future for everyone.
5. Create your plan and take action. You will learn by taking action as well as following the advice relevant to your situation.

How to Teach Your Kids About Money

Lead by example. Your kids will see what you do and either copy it or decide they want to go in a completely different direction.

Show them living within your means, saving, investing, clearing debt and share what you learn.

Give them opportunities to make money, have jobs or their own businesses and be involved with things such as the grocery shop, meal planning and other basic lifeskills.

Doing all of these things at age appropriate levels, playing the audiobooks or podcasts in the car, having the conversations and being open to it always will help them absorb the information better too.

How to Create Generational Wealth

Many Aussies I see are struggling and do not know how to break that cycle. I am not a professional so I strongly urge you to get professional advice relevant to your situation.

There are so many things you can do to create generational wealth if you set things up correctly.

Instead of randomly investing in some shares, do your research.

Learn how you should set up your investments, what you can do to protect your wealth, find out about discretionery trusts and similar.

We tend to focus so much on frugality, we miss out on all the other opportunities available to us.

Yes, this is much harder if you are reliant on Centrelink whcih is why I say get advice relevant to your situation.

Then do what you can to make it happen.

Our Meal Plan

This week we are with EveryPlate again. We picked a selection of meat and vegetarian dishes this week and can't wait to try them.

Discount for new and past customers who have cancelled more than 12 months ago: get up to 40% off your first 5 boxes with the code THRIFTYEVERYPLATE here.

What I Am Reading

​Family Trusts: A Plain-English Guide for Australian Families might sound like a boring read but if you want to know without paying a professional, this book is a good start.

A few others you might want to read:
​Replace Your Salary by Investing: Save More, Invest Smart and Maximise Your Money​
​Wills and Estate Planning: The Essential Guide for Australians​
​ADHD Money: A Finance Book Made for Your Neurodivergent Brain​
​The Barefoot Investor, Classic Edition​
​The Fun Finance Formula: Unlock the Secret to Growing Your Money and Loving Every Step​

All of the above are for an Australian audience and most of the authors have other content channels you can follow.

The Thrifty Issue Community

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