Leisa helps women regain cash control
FINANCIAL turmoil caused by the breakdown of her marriage was a turning point for Townsville businesswoman Leisa Quagliata.
The behavioural finance specialist was left with a broken marriage and two toddlers to contend with on her own.
Leisa’s world turned upside down in 2010, but she resolved it wouldn’t break her.
“I was 36 and chronically fatigued,” she said. “I decided to go back to uni to finish what I started in 1991. “It was very, very hard. “I had to finish my degree in less than three years because that’s how long I was financially subsidised. I would be taking extra subjects during the holiday periods.
“I knew I had to do it. I didn’t want to get trapped in not earning enough because I didn’t have this piece of paper.”
Leisa now juggles coaching with running a business and a household.
“My passion is making sure that other women don’t end in the same situation I did,” she said.
“I’m a huge believer in women having access to their own money. Love doesn’t always last forever.
“A lot of women have been being stay- at- home mums because men have traditionally looked after the finances.
“Unfortunately, a lot of women won’t have access to money when the relationship breaks down and can be with- out an income for months.
“Centrelink payments can take up to three months to process.
“It’s unacceptable that there are these women without access to any money.”
She doesn’t believe women are sufficiently financially lit- erate, and plans to help change that with an ambitious national campaign to help 200 women save $ 200,000.
“I don’t want to see women crippled by their finances,” she said.
Leisa also battled “mother’s guilt” as she placed her children in day care to work to support her young family.
“I think kids are very resilient and they don’t need a lot of material things as long as you give them a lot of love,” she said.
Leisa and Bec Townsend, the founder of Townsville Women, will hold an event this month to give women strategies and advice on how to take back their finances.
To find out more, head to: a p p . e v e n t s f r a m e . c o m / e / roPX18dQ4/ making- friendswith- finance