Australian Finance Podcast
Dean's Story: Paying off student debt, staying humble & working hard
03 Feb 2021
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the financial resilience mission discussed in this episode?
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Please remember that all of the information in this podcast episode is limited to general information only. That means the information is not specific to you, your needs, goals, or objectives. So you should seek the advice of a licensed and trusted financial professional before acting on the information.
And before you acquire or apply for a financial product, please read the PDS or product disclosure statement, which should be available on the issuer's website. Lastly, please keep in mind that past performance is not indicative of future performance.
Today's episode is part of our financial resilience mission here at RASC Australia.
Our mission at RASC is to help build up the financial resilience of every Australian and Kiwi, and to do that, we need your help.
The definition of resilience, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress or an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
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Chapter 2: What challenges did Dean face as an international student in Australia?
It was, yeah, it was horrible when I realized that that happened. But yeah, so vacation work definitely helped me kind of get a full-time job, but also kind of pay down bills massively because I was working 45 to 50 hours a week. There's no restrictions during your break on the number of hours you can work. So that was pretty good.
Okay, so you're a bit strategic about how you could get the work in during the study year and when you're in breaks as well.
Yeah, that's right. And like I said, I didn't go back to Brisbane for Christmas. I just stayed and made the most of my time so I didn't have to spend on flights and all this additional expenditure that comes about with Christmas, giving gifts and all that sort of stuff. So I managed to save pretty well over that break. And then once that break got over, my company was pretty happy with me and
I had a really, really good manager. He kept me on part-time while I was studying in my final year of university, which was really handy because now I could then leave the restaurant job, which the pay wasn't as much. And also it was a lot more harder compared to working in my field and working a corporate office job. So that was really handy. So I had my UQ tutoring job and I had my
part-time geology job at the corporate office, which then helped me network more and kind of build up my work resume and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, I think it was really important having a blessing in terms of my manager and just, yeah, it was a nice situation.
Let's fast forward a little bit. You finished the degree. At that time, two questions. Did you go straight into work with the company that you were already working with? And then What you needed to pay off by then? What you wanted to?
No, definitely not. Yeah, no, I still had heaps of sizable amount to pay off anyway. But yes, I did go on to working full time for the same company. And like I said, they were pretty good to me. So they pretty much paid off my work visa expenditure. So they kind of sponsored me in a way.
And that allowed me to kind of spend that money to get my parents to Australia for the first time for my graduation. That was pretty special. Yeah, that would have been. Yeah. And during this process, for some reason, one of the girls I was studying with managed to like me at university and we got into a relationship.
So she was with me through that entire last year through all the highs and all the lows. And at the end of We both graduated at the same time and she said, nothing doing, we've had such a stressful few years and we are going for a holiday. And I was like, I don't really have any money because I just put everything towards the loan and I bought a secondhand car that I needed for full-time work.
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Chapter 3: How did Dean manage his substantial student debt?
So don't let them judge you. Yeah. I think that's a big thing for people. in the finance space, right, is the shame that you feel if everyone kind of looks at you because you do something differently. But, you know, in this case, you said making the most of the free lunches. I used to love those free lunches at uni and the sausage sizzles and all that sort of stuff.
But then also, you know, people think that, hey, you know, I've got to say no to going out tonight because I just can't afford to spend $100. And there's shame in that. And I think that's a really important takeaway that you shared with us. So, Dean, yeah, I think on behalf of Kate and I and all of our listeners, just thanks for taking the time out and sharing your story with us.
Oh, thanks for having me, Owen and Kate. Thanks. It's been a pleasure.
Kate, as always, thanks for joining me on the show.
Thanks for listening.
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