How one Aussie working mum turned her financial life around

 

Bernadine Lawrence’s lightbulb moment as a single parent was ‘What am I teaching my daughter? And what kind of role model am I being to her?’

With very little direction and clarity about the state of her finances she decided she needed to overhaul her financial situation and become the role model that she believes many women don’t have.

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Bernadine wasn't taught how to budget, and didn’t know how to open a bank account.

It has a huge social and emotional impact not being able to manage the household finances and caused a lot of arguments.

She was afraid to even look at her finances and would rather someone else deal with it. 

VicSuper’s Super Woman Money Program helps people like Bernadine get clear structure over their finances and get full understanding about what a car or home loan really costs.

“The way I was managing it before was a little haphazard, but how I have a very clear view on where finances are going and what I have in surplus,” Bernadine told Yahoo7 Finance.

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“I needed some grounding and clarity about where my financials stood because going forward I would like to buy another investment property next year and I wanted to make sure I was on track to achieve that – my short term goal in the next 12 months is to pay off my car.”

Tracking at around 65 per cent through her goals, Bernadine’s financial confidence is continually improving, as is her knowledge about investment.

“My ultimate goal is financial freedom. I want control over my money and to get there you need to know about the market and about investments,” Bernadine said.

“That’s what I want to be. Not a speculator or a gambler but a long-term investor and these are the steps which will help me get there.”

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In fact, a study commissioned by VicSuper’s Super Woman Money Program, found that almost half (43 per cent) of the Australian women surveyed felt they needed the help of a parent or partner before feeling confidence enough to take control of their money.

Nearly half (47 per cent) said “a lack of knowledge and too much jargon” was holding them back, and alarmingly, over a third (35 per cent) of women said it would take a financial emergency such as loss of employment or a medical emergency to get them to take action.

Interestingly, when asked about their reluctance, 53 per cent had the perception they don’t earn enough to warrant them taking ownership of their financial situation.

Also read: Three ways to become a superannuation millionaire

“It’s worrying to see such a confidence crisis among Australian women, when we know how capable they can be in managing their own money,” said Sara Daymond, Executive Manager, Marketing and Business Development at VicSuper.

“Financial disadvantage for women in retirement is one of Australia’s largest socio-economic issues – we know that around 90 per cent of Australian women retire without adequate superannuation savings,” Daymond said.