Welcome to Episode 79 of our podcast, Courageous Conversations, hosted by Leanne Pilkington.
In this episode, our guest is Molly Benjamin, Founder of Ladies Finance Club. She talks about what the Ladies Finance Club community is, how it came about while she lived in the UK, what brought her back home to Australia, how she reinvented her finance community upon her return, her personal finance tips, the importance of training your mindset around your money, and how to have courageous conversations about your financial situation.
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00:22 – An introduction to Ladies Finance Club
01:15 – How Molly started the group from a visit to the supermarket with borrowed money from a friend
02:25 – Women are retiring on half the super of men, but statistically live longer. Worldwide, only 18% of investors are women.
03:15 – Starting her first events in her living room and through a friend who worked in finance; how that experience motivated her to create a safer space without judgment of questions
04:30 – How she kicked off her events and how costs were covered (driving away focus on profits and directing it to getting the information out there)
05:30 – Making finance fun e.g. having a drag queen with a finance expert teach the topic ‘Budgeting doesn’t have to be a drag’
06:30 – Molly’s move from the UK back home to Australia in 2019 to be with her sister, who had battled with Hodgkin’s lymphoma the previous year
06:50 – Her sister’s book: Life Is Tough (But So Are You)
07:30 – August 2019 was her first event in Sydney when returning to Australia
08:10 – What’s next for Ladies Finance Club, including a 2-day summit towards the end of the year
09:10 – Molly’s personal finance tips: save more than you spend, remove your high interest debt as fast as possible
09:45 – Write down what are your short, medium and long term financial goals,
10:20 – Have an emergency fund that’s worth 3-6 months (the ‘OMG’ account)
11:00 – Most people save after they spend, when it should than the other way around
12:00 – It doesn’t matter your profession or salary; anyone can save effectively
12:40 The 50/30/20 rule: 50% into your living expenses, 30% into your fun money, and 20% into growing your wealth
13:15 – Discussing Afterpay, lay-by and affordability mindset
14:50 – Finance mindsets and how Molly targets this through her events
17:00 – Molly’s advice for how people can find their motivation for investing; what your ideal life is will be different to others’; work out what’s important to you
19:15 – Single women over 55 is the fastest growing demographic of homelessness in Australia
20:00 – You are the only person in charge of your finances (even if you’re not the one paying the bills)
21:00 – Have date nights with your partner or close friend and converse about your net worth, etc; why Molly thinks these conversations are avoided
22:30 – If your partner gets defensive or shuts down your finance questions, it’s a big red flag
22:40 – Questions to ask your partner
23:30 – ladiesfinanceclub.com