THANKFULLY, IT’S NO LONGER A TABOO TOPIC

Sara Ocean,30, content manager

Sara Ocean was frustrated by never having any money and decided to learn more about managing her finances through the online education course SkilledSmart. “I was quite in debt and had no money education. Basically I decided to make a change and educate myself. I found the course online and enrolled and that was the beginning of my wealth-creation journey,” says Sara.

“Money had always been a taboo topic for me, a necessary evil.

But what really kickstarted her journey was the simple bucket system and automating her income and expenses. “I was also interested in investing and the knowledge the course gave me helped me lose the fear of investing,” she says.

Sara now has stocks in Australia and the US, and a small amount of crypto. She buys her US shares through Stake and Australian shares through SelfWealth.

“My focus now is creating cash flow. I have a diverse portfolio, and my husband and I are thinking about starting a family soon, so my main concern is going down to one income and keeping cash flow. Buying a property is also on the horizon,” she says.

Not all Sara’s friends could understand her wanting to become financially educated. “At first there was a bit of resistance when I said I was doing the personal finance course. People said it was a waste of time and money. We didn’t have conversations about money – it was all about going out and having a good life.”

However, things have changed and Sara says she now has talks with friends about budgeting and cash flow, and has started surrounding herself with people with the same mindset, helping them create their own spreadsheets with budgets.

“Money and money education is now part of my everyday life with friends and family. I never had money education at home, but now I’ve inspired my mum to start saving, even with a deposit for a house.”

While Sara says her job is important, as she needs an active income and she loves her role, she is also focused on earning a passive income. “I know how much I want to earn a year and the job will be a massive hunk of it, but there are other ways to supplement that income and I have to know that if I lose my job tomorrow I will have that passive income still coming into my bank account.”