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Getting adopted as a baby instilled some form of rejection and a feeling of abandonment in Melissa Meagher. Even though she had a great family and a great upbringing, her biological father’s refusal to meet her — because he firmly believed that she would just ask for money — started Melissa’s strand of money problems. Melissa unconsciously involved herself with unavailable men all her life that gave her a rather dysfunctional relationship with money. Apart from giving up the power to believe that she can control this matter, she resorted to make excuses about it and blamed everyone else but herself. Through her climb, as she describes her money journey, she found out that people like her often thought of external validation as a means to make themselves feel whole. And that people buy things they don’t need or can’t afford because it’s something to fill them up materially that would project their lives as otherwise. Why people do it despite the consequences? Why do couples hide their purchases or personal expenses to their partners? — All these and more are answered further in the interview. Today, Melissa is known as a Money Coach. She’s also a “non-practicing” Certified Financial Planner who has an extensive experience in the financial services industry for 20 years and has worked in a variety of roles. Listen as Melissa shares with us the steps to financial awareness, her tips in facing your money problems, and her advice to women who are wanting to walk their own path in money.

As a species, we believe that everyone desires to have more money. While this is often true on the outside, our brains may subconsciously be holding us back from taking the right steps to gain more money. We may think that we don’t deserve to be wealthy or that we don’t want to stand out — especially with tall poppy syndrome being prominent in Australia.   Kylie Travers joins us today and tells us her inspiring story. In her teens and twenties, she was one of those people who didn’t feel like they deserved more. She was in an abusive marriage and homeless. She hit rock bottom, and that was her wake up call. Today, she is the CEO of her own company, a successful public speaker, and respected author.   Kylie shares her story about how she became so strong and prosperous, including telling her money where to go, viewing positive social media content, and realizing that money is an unlimited resource. Listen and you will hear for yourself that it is possible to make changes in your life to become smarter with your finances.     https://www.kylietravers.com.au/ https://www.thethriftyissue.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/manifestationbabesgroup/ http://manifestationbabe.com/sheskillinit/  

Talking about money or having conversations about it is something most people try to avoid — that’s a fact. The reason varies from one person to another but it usually revolves around family, beliefs, doubts, and sometimes even lack of confidence. The problem of not having these kinds of conversations is that people may find themselves “alone” or stuck in difficult situations that they could have avoided if they faced it instead. Today’s guest, Amy Jackson walks us through her work — helping clients to bravely step up, and finally ask for the money that they deserve. She says people are used to gauge what they deserve but end up asking for less than that amount and it’s often because they don’t have the courage to openly speak about these financial matters that are usually connected with some emotional baggage. Amy shares in depth how she helps clients to be confident in taking important conversations and turning those into getting what these clients truly deserve. She boasts that one of the reasons her retention rate is high because her clients know the value she brings in helping them discover more about themselves. Listen to know more about Amy, her experiences working in this industry, and her own money story. Connect with Amy on her website: www.AmyJackson.net

Michelle’s goal is to empower women with money and help them take away the blame game from the money decisions they make. Her money story starts when her mother lost her job in the airline industry prior to the 9/11 incident. That time, Michelle was in graduate school and working at Starbucks. It was also when her mother had a tough time replacing her job because of the recession that hit Colorado. They had to live together in a small space and Michelle’s money issues started to come to light. Providing for herself and her mom, she came more into debt. Her mindset issue was probably one of the biggest issues she had to fix. It took her years to stop blaming herself and her mom with the money problems they were going through. After her parent’s divorce, Michelle had received no support from her father unlike her half-sibling. To start change in handling her finances, she started a year-long no shopping challenge that eventually killed her unnecessary shopping habit. Other things she recommends doing is to have a “shift in splurging” that she talks more about in this episode.  Today, Michelle believes she is in the middle of her money journey. She runs a personal finance blog and podcast called Michelle is Money Hungry which is her channel to serve people with the best way she can at this point in her life. She emphasizes the need to build a community around you to be able to grow her life. Tune in to know more about our guest, what her advice is to her 27 year-old self and to women, and tips on how you can have the lifestyle you want by using some strategies. Her recommended resources are: Mr. Money Mustache, 1500 Days to Freedom, Frugalwoods, and Our Next Life   Build a community around you Money Mustache, 1500 Days to Freedom, Frugalwoods, Our Next Life Biggest learning: Money flows back and forth into your life The same lifestyle you want can be possible, you just need a strategy Advice to 27yo Michelle: This too shall pass but you also have to put in the work Advice to women: value what you do

“Keep an eye on things.” is Anne Tipton’s advice to her 22-year-old self after going through a number of money problems she had in the past.   Unlike most people, Anne went into business straight out of college thinking that traditional employment is just not a fit for her. Her first investment? A piece of real estate property. Unfortunately, she invested just before the US market crashed. It was definitely not a good start for Anne, and it doesn’t stop there too.   At 22 years old, Anne teamed up with her best friend to start a jewelry business. Unlike the real estate investment, this business actually had an emotional and sentimental value for both of them with dreams attached to the business. They’ve set up everything, had a website made, and started selling their pieces. The problem came when Anne intentionally neglected to look at their numbers thinking that making more money will fix the problem — it didn’t work that way. She says, blissful ignorance and perpetual optimism are the two things that kept her from actually understanding their business’ money problem. Anne had to learn her lesson the hard way when her credit card debts mounted up and the bleeding in their business didn’t stop. The business, at that point, had to be shut down.   After the second fail to Anne’s entrepreneurial journey, she decided to take on an accounting job — this is where she learned most of what she implements now in her current business. Today, with an MBA and a 10-year experience in finance, Anne helps women feel great about their money through one-on-one coaching and courses available at CreativelyRich.com. Anne helps mainly women entrepreneurs to work within their means and create a life they love. And her show, the Creatively Rich Podcast, highlights the stories of women in business who are being, doing, and having what they want in life.

This week’s guest, Ainslie Deverson bravely takes us back to the journey she took in her younger years. Ainslie is the creator of The Venus Project, an experience of a personal coaching series, where the curiosities of our spirits, lead us to answer questions that our lives are seducing us with. She is a devoted guide to creating intimacy and space for her clients to weave harmony through the pillars of their life. As they unearth and explore their dormant gifts and skills, and strengthen their active ones, her clients lead themselves to self-trust, acceptance and worth, liberation, and a full, creative life of contribution and vitality. Ainslie’s own gifts and skills of Embodiment, teaching, archetypal Astrology, Holographic Kinetics, and seeing the deep energetic patterns of her clients, are combined together with real-world creative resourcefulness and practical application, bringing harmony and balance between the Celestial and the Earth. You can connect with Ainslie to find out how to work with her at www.ainsliedeverson.com , and to find out more about her face painting work and services, visit www.FacesByAinslie.com.au   Her story starts with growing up in a middle-income family with very hardworking and generous parents. As a child, she was not showered with gifts and toys, but with experiences to treasure. She studied and worked in the childcare field but her desire to have a good time in life led her to drug addiction that caused her financial problems.   She was a high-functioning addict for 10 years and nobody knew about it but her parents and close friends. It was a real estate ad that planted a seed in her mind that what she was doing with her life and her hard-earned money was wrong. To save and set herself up again, she decided to move to Whitsunday and took a job at Hamilton Island. She became successful in building herself again so she came back home and landed a job in sales. Ainslie got into a long-term relationship and for a time, had a good, sweet life — but this was not a happy ending. After some time, all the things in her life started crashing down and she took some time off.   Face painting was something she found joy and happiness in that later became her business. It was a path that made her know herself to an intimate level. Today, with her other business,  The Venus Project, Ainslie is rebuilding her relationship with money from the decade she lost from her addiction. Listen as she unravels the lesson she learned most about money, her advice to her 20-year-old self, and the belief system she believes that needs to be broken down.

*Trigger Warning* This episode discusses the loss of a relative and suicide. You can get further information and support about this topic from: www.anglicarewa.org.au www.supportaftersuicide.org.au   Suzanna Broughton’s awareness about money started at a young age and is the result of her parents being separated. At a young girl’s eyes, she saw how her mother hustled and struggled to make both ends meet while her entrepreneur father, she thought, always had money. At her young age, she also learned that you shouldn’t be telling people about what you have when a friend and 3 other girls had stolen the $50 bill she earned on her vacation break.  Going into university with ZERO savings for her books and tuition fee and getting into debts after a travel in Australia, Suzanna decided she has to do something. She took financial planning for her bachelor’s degree, put herself into budget, kept track of her money and graduated debt-free. But this isn’t the happy ever after of her story. She moved to Australia as part of her dream and then moved in with the guy she met there. 3 months later, the relationship didn’t work out and started a year of huge challenges for Suzanna.  From all that she’s gone through, she realized that helping women with their money is the biggest thing that she wants to do in her life. Suzanna founded, Her Money Her Purpose, a business that helps support women who are on the path of creating more income from the work that they enjoy. Listen as Suzanna imparts with us her money story — how her life had been in Australia after moving out, facing a new row of challenges both in the emotional and financial aspects, and how she came to understand the importance of self-care and emotional wellbeing to each person’s life.  Resources: Suzanna Broughton http://hermoneyherpurpose.com/

Julie Rainbow, after being married to her ex-husband, decided to put her time and focus in building her family — leaving every financial decision to her partner. What she didn’t know was the lifestyle they had was not going to last. From having an award-winning business and a complete family, Julie, one day just found herself in an unbelievable life-changing situation — suddenly having to file for bankruptcy. The reason: her ex-husband running financial bits without her knowledge and leaving her and their children for good.  Women are usually ones not being informed about what they need to know financially and this is what sets them back from taking over money matters. Most women leave their finances to their partners thinking it might be too complicated, but in reality, you need not be a trained accountant to understand your budget. Julie’s children became her motivation to keep going and with the help of her family and a large supportive group of people who believed in her, she was able to break through the walls of loss and uncertainty. She believes what happened changed her perspective about risks that led her to take responsibility and ownership of her finances. Today, Julie is the director for Clarity Road, a business she founded with the goal of helping women cope with life-changing events. Listen as she walks us through her own experience of having to go through bankruptcy and turning the tides around for her children and family. Resources: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-rainbow-95641550/ http://www.clarityroad.com.au/

“Stick to your values and boundaries with money” is the financial advice Wendy Russell would give her younger self. Wendy started in the real estate industry in her early 20s, and, together with her partner, became very successful. They had what seemed to be the perfect life, but it soon came crashing down. They separated, Wendy felt she had hit rock bottom, and even suffered from depression. It’s not uncommon for all of us to have challenges like this in life, but for many, it’s a taboo subject. We keep the details private, trying to look our best to everyone else. And so, it’s refreshing to see Wendy who puts her life out there on social media in a real, authentic way. Wendy found the strength to turn things around, and is now, once again, living a life she loves. Her authenticity comes through in her work, as Wendy prides herself on earning the trust of her clients in an industry where consumers consider real estate agents some of the worst scorers when it comes to trustworthy professionals. There’s much to learn from Wendy’s early story, her mindset now, and she also shares some solid financial advice for women. Links: http://www.wendyrussell.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-russell-72151042/ https://www.facebook.com/wendyrussellbuyersagent/ https://www.thriveinvestmentfinance.com.au FREE eBook: "How to Choose a Mortgage Broker – An Insider’s Guide" https://www.samanthabright.com.au

On today's show, Samantha will be interviewing Bryanna McDermott the founder of  www.fearlessfemaletraders.com.au. She created this digital platform, so people could use it as a resource to learn about money. Bryanna will be telling her financial story; where she started, why, and where she is today. In her early 20’s, Bryanna had major difficulties handling her personal finances. Pinpointing the start of her financial downturn to when she was 18 years old. At that time her mother suggested she get a credit card to assist her with her financial troubles. By age 24 she had to go to her mother and ask for financial assistance in covering her monthly bill. This was when she asked herself “What the heck am I doing?” and realizing “I am not going to be successful if there is one piece in my life out of control.” That was when Bryanna decided it was time for a major financial overhall. She started with cutting up all her credit cards and then continued from there. Through her years of experience, Bryanna has realized people make bad money decisions because they don’t talk about their issues with money. Also, that most people’s bad decisions with money come from a problem with self-love. When asked  what her best advice would be to young people, she replied: “Avoid credit cards if you can and get educated (about money).” If you are looking for further information on Bryanna be sure to check out her blog, linked below. Links: www.thriveinvestmentfinance.com.au FREE eBook: "How to Choose a Mortgage Broker – An Insider’s Guide" www.samanthabright.com.au www.fearlessfemaletraders.com.au