Just three years ago Joel lacked confidence managing his money. After moving to Australia for university aged 18, then graduating and starting full-time work, it wasn’t long before Joel realised he was out of his depth when it came to organising his finances. Fast forward to today and Joel has grown a $175,000 invesment portfolio with the help of three money tips.

“I was born and raised in India. So, there was a lot I didn’t understand or have exposure to with the Australian financial system – whether it was superannuation, taxes, the different investment products and tools. I was learning everything from scratch,” he said.

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“I didn’t have any exposure to finance growing up, and then once I moved here I was on my own. There definitely was a certain pressure to create financial security for myself because I don’t have my family close by to turn to for guidance. I had to take that initiative to learn about it.”

As he approached his mid-20s, Joel enrolled in Mastering Money, an online financial education program run by SkilledSmart helping adults learn to save, invest, and manage their money.

With the help of the program, Joel developed the confidence to start investing, streamline his cash flow, fix his superannuation, apply for insurance and more. Within three years, he went from being a nervous investor who was afraid of risk, to a $175,000 portfolio.

Now, at the age of 27, Joel has his sights set on achieving ‘financial independence’ by the age of 45. He is also saving to buy his first property, and feels more confident about his finances than ever before.

Joel shares the three money lessons that helped fast-track his financial growth:

1. Challenge your own money beliefs

Joel became aware through the program that he had absorbed certain beliefs about money that were holding him back financially. “I learned to look at my own beliefs about money and start to question where they came from, and whether they are still suitable based on my future goals,” he said.

“I grew up in a financially conservative family. My parents focused on saving money, and low-risk investments like fixed deposits. So, I still carried that mentality after I migrated.”

Learning to identify these beliefs and create a new ‘money story’ gave Joel the freedom to take actions that were more aligned to his financial goals. “I realised a lot of my old beliefs needed to be updated because the context I’m living in now has changed. For example, I always felt guilty spending money. Now, I have a more balanced relationship with spending, and I can enjoy spending while also working towards my long-term goals,” he said.