Chapter 1: Why is taking stress leave often stigmatized?
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Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast that makes personal finance fun, especially on Fridays. And every Friday, we get the team together to celebrate you, our incredible She's on the Money community. Of course, Miss Jessica Ricci is here sharing all of your money wins. Bec will be bringing you the best broke tips of the entire week.
We'll be also sharing an insurance-related money dilemma that explores what kinds of protection you might need if you're considering taking some time off work. especially if that leave is taken in the interest of your own mental health. And finally, we're hitting the DMs to settle the question for good. Should you seek financial advice from an unlicensed advisor?
Victoria's going to say about that. Remember, you too can have your money dilemma explored on the pod by leaving us a voice note on our website. Simply tell us what's going on and you might just hear yourself on a Friday drinks episode, but more on that later. But first, my friends, a palate cleanser, a five-star review.
There's something extra special, or I think there's something extra special about hearing from you, our community, directly about all the ways that you are achieving your financial goals. Not only does it mean that you're learning how to build wealth on your terms, it means that our rants and our resources are actually reaching more people in even more meaningful ways.
If our little podcast has helped bring you closer to your money goals, girls, we want to hear it. Please, please, please, and boys. To be honest, I'll hear from anybody. Please share your reviews and honestly, ego-stroking comments on She's On The Money, on Apple Podcasts, socials, on DMs, wherever you want to wax lyrical, we are open. This week's review, it comes from our friend Chantel.
Are you ready? Hi, Chantel. Chantel says, and she DM'd me this, and I was like, I'm so grateful. Please be. This podcast, Victoria, has genuinely changed my life. I found She's On The Money feeling completely behind on my money and honestly a little bit embarrassed about it. I ended up doing both the investing masterclass and the money masterclass and for the first time, money made sense.
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Chapter 2: How might stress leave impact my insurance coverage?
But I like went to, I had to go there to go somewhere else. And so I didn't really see all there was to see. All I know is I couldn't afford to buy anything because it was so expensive. The conversions killer. Killer. And also I went to, I think I went to Big Ben. I don't know. I think I did. The clock. That was the clock. I was like, okay, well, that's kind of cool.
But yeah, I just was kind of like, oh, I don't think I really need to be here for that much longer, you know.
London, for whatever reason, gives Melbourne vibes to me.
Yeah, maybe that's what it is.
So I don't know if it's just not that different for what we, like the architecture is beautiful, like the historical architecture. But I think like the city vibe reminded me a lot of home. Which is probably why so many Aussies move over there to live, really.
That is so true. And also probably why it felt so not that exciting. Because I was like, okay, culturally and aesthetically, I'm basically in Melbourne, maybe, is what the feeling is.
And I'm paying a lot more for that experience.
Yeah, paying double the price to be here.
Oh, yeah.
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Chapter 3: What should I consider before taking stress leave?
It was just so overwhelming. Like you couldn't just go for a serene swim because it was full of just people, like back-to-back people. And, yeah, nothing about it was good. And then I got food poisoning and I remember being like, I don't think it can get worse.
That would truly just taint the place you were in forever, I feel.
Bed bugs, when you want to lay down but you have food poisoning, it's not the experience I wish on even my worst enemy. Okay. I don't even have a worst enemy. Okay. So, yeah, that's the place that didn't live up to the hype.
Okay, cool. I'll take that off my list. I think it's good to sometimes hear the flip side of things because, I mean, I feel like most people just want to travel everywhere. I know I want to travel everywhere. And sometimes it's good to temper, you know, the Instagram with a little bit of reality.
Agreed. Absolutely. Yeah. All right. Well, guys, if you've got a question that you need answered on the pod, please send them through. We love reading your comments and your queries. Honestly, the more unhinged, the better. Now, Miss Jessica Ricci. Yes. Tell me about this week's money wins.
Alrighty, firstly this week I have one from Emily who said, I'm off a Nation Balance bike for baby boy's first birthday. Came across one on Marketplace for $30, which is half price and she didn't have to pay for shipping. It was only just around the corner, so she walked over to pick it up so she didn't even have to spend money on fuel.
Do you know, that's exactly what I've been manifesting on Facebook Marketplace this week. Yeah, but I want the cruisy ones. It's quite a mouthful. What is it, this thing? It's just like a little kid's balance bike. So like it's a bike that it's like basically think of a normal bike, shrink it and remove the pedals. So they kind of like balance on it and they're really light.
So you can kind of, toddlers, toddlers suck. They say, no, I really want my bike. I really want my bike. Bec, I have to take my bike. And then you get five minutes into the walk and they're like, I want to be carried. So you need a really light bike. So that's an important one. Yeah. To like pick up and take places because like, girl, you're going to be carrying the baby and the bike. Yeah.
Anyway, they're very expensive normally. $30 is a good deal.
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Chapter 4: Should I seek advice from an unlicensed financial advisor?
Yeah, exactly. But maybe we put together our favorite fake away meal based on things that we can either prep and freeze. And I'm saying that because I know Jess makes her homemade dumplings and Anything Jess makes is good. So I'm basically like, hey, can we have all your recipes, Jess?
Me and my freezer and my air fryer, I like this, let me tell you. All right, next I've got a money win from C who said, when Kayo put their prices up to $60 a month for premium, she went to cancel and they offered her a $30 discount a month to stay.
I love when I do that.
Half price. She said, try cancelling your subscriptions. You might get a discount before you actually have to cancel.
Yes, agreed. I do test that even when I don't want to cancel. I'm like, what would happen if? And then I click it and they're like, oh, we'll give you, you know, 50% off next month. Thanks. Sometimes they're like, okay, bye. I'm just testing you. I was also being a pest the other day. Sorry, side note. My phone bill went up. And so I got on the chat. I'm like, it's Sunday.
I'm breastfeeding a baby. Girl, I have nothing but time. I am ready for this conversation. So I'm messaging...
the phone company I'm with and I was like I want a better deal and they were like cool we can basically offer you $10 off a month for the next six months and I was like nope I just googled it and you're offering this here and this here and this for new customers and they were like that's a new customer deal and I said I was like, you know what, this is probably not the right thing to do.
But I was like, so you don't value me as much as you do new customers. Come back from that. And they were like, oh, no, we definitely value your ongoing service or whatever. And I said, so give me a better deal. And they all of a sudden were like, no worries, we're going to transfer you to the customer retention team. I said, no worries.
Again, I have nothing but time on this bright, sunny, rainy Sunday.
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Chapter 5: What are the legal implications of receiving financial advice?
And yeah, ended up getting the price of the new customer for the next 12 months. Oh, my God. Love that for you. Just keep pushing. I wasn't rude, but I was like, oh, so you're trying to tell me that you don't value me as much as a brand new customer? Talking of their heartstrings. That's so crazy.
And like I quickly Googled while I was on chat what other companies were doing and I was like, oh, well, this company is doing this. Could you do this? That's clever. Anyway, work hard. Smarter, not harder. Absolutely. Not even smarter, just question their morals.
Yes. Worked.
Make them sound.
When the last fails go for the heart. Exactly like we said.
Exactly.
Lastly this week, I've got a money loss from Amanda who said their washing machine died. However, she's thankful that past her set up an emergency fund and she was able to go shopping for a new washer without having to dip into savings or use credit and their budget is still on track. Good. Incredible. I live in constant fear of the day my washing machine dies, the sound that that thing makes. I
I can't even tell you guys. It's going to be a very, very bleak day for me when the rocket ship finally leaves for the moon because that's what it sounds like. These white goods are so expensive. I know. I was like, you know what, maybe I will get a new one. Sorry, they're like $3,000.
Is it bad? They're in my head. That's crazy. I promise I don't need to touch grass. I promise. I know how much things cost, but I have in the back of my head how much things should cost. And maybe this is from, I don't know, maybe I'm stuck in 2009 or 2010 when these prices were accurate. In my head, washing machine, $600. $600.
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Chapter 6: How can I differentiate between stress leave and other types of leave?
McDonald's, we need to talk because you are ruining my crispy Coke experience.
Yeah. Oh, speaking of, free ice at those. I wonder if they still have them. You know, you fuel your own Post Mix. Oh, Post Mix Coke. Take, take, take is what I'm saying from the world around you. Mm-hmm.
You know what? And don't be sorry about it. And don't be sorry about it. No. All right. I love that. We're going to take a quick break. But when we come back, we're going to be getting into a money dilemma that's also a work dilemma that's all wrapped up into one. So, my friends, stay tuned.
Welcome back, everybody. Let's take a listen to this week's Money Dilemma.
Hi there. Have you got a money dilemma you just can't solve? The She's On The Money team is here to help. Every week we tackle your dilemmas, both big and small, to answer your most burning money, career and life questions. To get involved, simply head to our website and leave us a short voice recording and you might just find yourself on the show.
Now let's take a listen to this week's Money Dilemma.
Hi guys. I'm getting in touch because I'm hoping for your thoughts on a bit of a workplace dilemma I have at the moment. I'm in a really stressful role at work, but I have a great team around me and I have been offered to go on stress leave, which I think I would benefit from because my mental health has been struggling a bit lately.
That said, I'm very mindful of the implications of taking stress leave, that this can affect things like insurances in the future and I suppose I worry about the stigma that can come from that, even working in a field that is quite positive towards, you know, seeking out mental health supports.
I have tried to get my insurance done previously and I have accidental injury insurance, however, wasn't able to get other insurances due to some other health conditions other than income protection, which is through my super. So I suppose I know I'm already not as insuranced or protected as I would like to be.
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Chapter 7: What are the potential risks of contributing to a family SMSF?
And that's cool. That's fine. The other thing that I think about is why you're taking stress leave. Obviously, if it's personal, it's very different. But if it's because of work, if it's because you're being bullied or because of your workload or because you experienced a traumatic event. work cover and workers' compensation exist.
And they can often cover paying you while you're off work or even cover treatment if you need it. And I think that that's important to look into as well. But yes, I would be talking to your employer, but also an insurance advisor to be like, well, I'm clearly stressed about what this means for my insurances, but I think you should be putting your mental health first.
If it's not just you going, oh, V, I'm thinking about taking some mental health leave or some stress leave, that's very different to someone having suggested you take it because clearly it's not just you going, oh, I need to put myself first, which is very important, but clearly it's bleeding into every other area of your life and something needs to give is where I would be at.
Sending you lots of love. Yeah. Hope you feel better and don't feel bad about whatever journey you have to take. That's totally okay. You're important and valued and special and we love you. Completely.
It's time for our DM of the week where you guys slide into our DMs with a dilemma that you would like us to group source and solve. And this week we've got a really good one. And I feel like everyone's going to know what I'm going to say. But I want to know what you guys are going to say. Hi, She's On The Money.
I have a dilemma and I would love to hear your advice and thoughts from the community. My partner, his siblings and his parents have a financial advisor that they all use and has helped to set them up in a shared self-managed super fund. Recently, my partner and I have had big conversations around planning our financial future.
We decided to meet with their financial advisor to discuss our options. I'm not paying for the advice as it's being covered under their family agreement. After doing some research, I have found out that this financial advisor does not currently hold an AFSL, which is an Australian Financial Services License. My partner and his family are aware and they don't feel that this is an issue at all.
I'm concerned about the implications of receiving financial advice from an unlicensed advisor, especially free advice. I also am uncomfortable discussing strategies involving us making contributions to an SMSF that I am not a part of. What would you do?
Oh, this is sounding like who the hell is Hamish? Yeah, and we had her on the show.
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Chapter 8: How can I protect my mental health while navigating work stress?
And it matters because the license is what's going to protect you. So like it's not just like, oh, Victoria needs to be licensed to give advice. It means that I've been given a rule book around how advice is given, what disclosures I need to give you, what conflicts exist, what documentation and what happens if something goes wrong. How do you sue me?
How do you make sure that you're not in a worse off position because I gave you shitty advice?
Yeah.
And that is important.
If they were a financial advisor, they would know this. So maybe they won't ever.
Yeah. And without that, you have no recourse. Like if you go take this advice ā And it doesn't work. And you end up in a worse off financial position. There. Yeah. There's no recourse. So the fact that the advice is free is actually, I guess, a bonus because you're not spending money on advice that's probably going to lose you money.
If anything, I think that should be more of a red flag because good advisors charge for their advice because it's going to make you a lot of money. Because financial advice is not free. Like, full stop, end of story, it's just not free. There's usually a structure or an incentive behind it, even if it's not super obvious upfront. Like, be aware. Take everything with a grain of salt.
Like, someone somewhere along that line is going to be making money. Ask yourself who. Ask yourself when. The other big red flag for me, SMSF. We know how I personally feel about this. Doesn't mean that it is a terrible structure. No, SMSFs are real cool in theory. SMSF is a self-managed super fund, and I love the idea of being in control.
But with compliance in 2026, they are really a good option. And when I say really, I mean, if you don't have like half a million dollars in your superannuation fund... I probably wouldn't even blink. Like I wouldn't even consider it because the fees, the compliance, the accounting, the audit, all of that stuff is just too much. And you being asked to contribute to someone else's super.
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