23 women share their best financial advice for your 30s.

Gone are the days of gatekeeping. 

From podcasts to Facebook groups, WhatsApp chats and female-focused finance accounts thriving in our feeds – the desire to educate and empower women to make the most of their money has never been greater. Not only are we sharing knowledge, building wealth, and creating the financial literacy many of us were never taught in school – women across the country are working together to expose the gender super gap, close the gender pay gap (yep, still that old chestnut) and control the future of our finances.

Conversations around money are now more commonplace and candid than ever before. Thanks to these honest and open discussions, we know the true value of having a savings back-up for those ‘just in case’ days (hint, it’s not to buy multiple sets of Beyoncé tickets). 

We know finding a top-performing, profit-to-member superannuation fund — one like CareSuper — can help us maximise the value of our super and actually enjoy our retirement. We also know the importance of forward planning, especially if we’re preparing to take time out of the workforce to raise a family or support a loved one (hello spousal super contributions). 

What’s important now is that we continue to share this information with the women around us and build on these newer and stronger finance foundations. As the old saying goes – a rising tide lifts all boats.

With this in mind, we reached out to 25 amazing women of all ages to hear their top money tricks and tips. The key takeaway? Every small step towards your finance goals today helps future you tomorrow. It’s never too late to get started, so here we go. 

Carrie, 38

“If you’re getting ready to travel or have an extended holiday, aim for an online currency exchange platform that offers the mid-market rate and low fees. It’s better value than a lot of currency exchange outlets and organisations.” 

Flo, 33

“Pay attention to your super if you’re having a baby. When I was on mat leave, my husband made payments into my super so that our contributions stayed equal, and I didn’t fall behind. Don’t forget, this is the moment when the most divide happens!”

Sarah 39

“Think about ways you can start earning passive income now while you’re also working full-time. This might be through acquiring assets, investment or shares. If you have a side hustle, maybe you can monetise this through a subscription-based model, an online course or a template people can buy.”

Margaret, 65

“Women should always have their own accounts. This is important at any and every stage of your life. Establish a separate account for yourself and your partner but a joint account for bills. Try to organise signing rights to your partners accounts and to yours in case of a real emergency.” 

Patricia, 59

“Don’t spend too much money on depreciable assets because… well, they depreciate! This is particularly true of items generally like jewellery, furniture and cars.”

Christiane, 48

“Talk to a financial advisor now so that you have the time to really make a positive impact on your finances rather than waiting till you’re closer to retirement age. Smart decision-making in your 30s can lead to life-changing outcomes down the line. The last thing you want is to wake up and realise you don’t have the ability to fund your retirement.”

Stephanie, 34

“If you feel you deserve a raise, ask for one. Don’t wait for your boss to come to you. It weakens your position. Everyone is awkward about having conversations on money, including your boss. Use this to your advantage. Organise a meeting, come up with why your contributions to your role and workplace are important, and ask for more money.”

Isabel, 42

“It’s one thing to contribute to your super but it’s another to do a full health check of your super fund to make sure you’ve only got one fund and it’s performing well. Wrap your head around all the different options – whether it’s cash or high growth, and learn about the way your super may perform over the course of 20 years, not 12 months. If you’re not sure whether you’ve got multiple super accounts – check! Chances are, if you’ve changed jobs in the last few years and each organisation has created a new super fund for you, you’ve probably got a few. The benefit of just having the one fund means you’re only paying one set of fees. This could save you a lot of wasted cash.” 

Toni, 44

“Avoid getting an overdraft – it’s just as bad as having credit card debt in that it sticks around for so long and every time you pay it off, there’s temptation to dip back into it. If you have an overdraft already, try to pay it down as quickly as possible and reduce the amount of money you can access with each big repayment. So for example, if your overdraft is $20,000 and you can pay off $5,000 – cap the overdraft at $15,000 going forward. Repeat until gone. That way, there’s no risk of dipping into the funds and needing to start the repayment process all over again.”

Desiree, 66

“Salary sacrifice as early as you can! You might do this for a new laptop or computer or even a car.”

Claire, 38

“Voluntary super contributions! Even if it’s just $20 a week. For women who don’t want to play the share market, I think super is where they can get the highest returns.”

Kat, 56

“Investigate whether you need, or are eligible, for life insurance and income protection insurance. We never know what’s around the corner and having that added layer of cover and protection is a game-changer. If you don’t have private health insurance but you’re thinking about getting it, shop around for the best deal. Ideally you want to pick a not-for-profit fund. Don’t get sucked in by all the unnecessary extras you’ll likely never use. Basic cover including ambulance is all you need.”

Jody, 35

“Get into property as early as you can, if you can. Listen to your parents and start at a young age. My parents were always pushing me to do it with their help and I didn’t listen. Instead, I spent my money on lifestyle items and experiences. My friends who started investing in property in high school (!!!) benefited so much more later in life. Having savings or beautiful things is great, but it’s not as motivating as having your money in something tangible like property.”

Carla, 46

“Every time you’re about to buy something online – screenshot it, leave it for 24 hours and see if you still want it the next day. Most of the time we’re just caught up in the moment, and with a bit of time and space, we realise we don’t need as much as we think we do. That money is better spent working for you in a high-interest savings account for the time being."

Caitlin, 38

“Consider re-branding your emergency fund. Start small, check-in with your money as you go and keep building. I’ve also found that a 20-30-50 works better for me than any other budget approach. It’s flexible and forgiving. Implement this at any time but it’s always good when you get a tax refund so you can distribute that refund effectively and then build a better savings habit.”

Christina, 40

“When moving jobs, consider parental leave policies (for both parents). They can differ significantly between organisations.”

Pauline, 51

“If you’re about to enter the property market, see if you qualify for an offset account. This is basically a transaction account that’s linked to your home loan so you can deposit or withdraw money as needed. What makes it special is that your offset can help to reduce the interest charged on your home loan. If you’ve got an offset, make sure you’re putting all your savings and money in there to get it as high as you can. That’s where you’ll see the biggest benefit to your interest savings.”

Carla, 44

“Make sure your home loan repayments happen every fortnight and not every month. If you set it up this way from the start, you’ll pay your loan off faster in the long term and won’t notice the extra payments. It will be second nature.”

Sam, 35

“Have an understanding of your spending. No need to crack out the spreadsheet but have an idea of the big stuff – housing costs, food, transport, fun. You want to know that if/when your income drops, you’ll be covered.”

Ashley, 40

“Use up any annual leave or long service leave balances in addition to your parental leave. Using your leave means you are paid super and continue to accrue additional leave whilst on leave.”

Katie, 33

“I took my mat leave at half pay so I was still receiving an income for most of it. I contributed what I could to our shared finances, but also kept a set amount of ‘fun money’ aside for myself. This meant I retained some financial independence and didn’t feel bad about spending from our shared finances for things I wanted.”

Monica, 36

“If you're working for a start-up or an emerging business where your salary is lower than market rate, or there is a higher level of risk, check out becoming part of their employee share option plan (ESOP). This is where over time you accrue shares in the company, which you'll hold even after you've moved on. Not having an ESOP is a red flag, stay away.”

Iris, 57

“Talk to your close friends about money. Ask them about how they're going about saving, investing and super. Share about what you're doing and anything that you've found useful or educational. The more we normalise talking about money the better off we'll all be.”

Find out more about Industry super fund CareSuper to see if it's right for you.

This is general advice only. The opinions expressed are the writer's and contributors' own.

Feature Image: Getty/Mamamia.