Starting Over at 40+: How to Rebuild Wealth After Divorce, Redundancy or a Reset with Naomi Holmes

If you’re in your 40s, 50s or beyond and feel like you’re rebuilding your financial life from scratch, you’re so not alone. In this powerful episode of Get Rich, Molly sits down with financial coach and former adviser Naomi Holmes, host of the Her Money Matters podcast, to unpack how women can rebuild confidence, clarity and wealth after divorce, separation, redundancy or major life changes.

Naomi works with women at this exact stage of life, and she shares the patterns she sees every day, the fear, the avoidance, the “I don’t even want to look at my bank account” era and the practical steps that genuinely get women back on track.

We explore the emotional, practical and strategic parts of starting over: cashflow, asset protection, emergency funds, financial coercion, superannuation, investing later in life and how to prepare financially if you’re thinking about leaving a partner.

In this episode we discuss:

• The FIRST step to rebuilding confidence when starting over at 40+
  
• How to understand your cashflow without needing to be a spreadsheet girlie
  
• The biggest money mistakes women make post-divorce or redundancy
  
• Recognising financial coercion and what to do if it’s happening
  
• How to prepare financially BEFORE you separate from a partner
  
• The three experts every woman should have: lawyer, financial coach/adviser + emotional support
  
• How to rebuild an emergency fund (OMG fund!) when money feels tight
  
• Investing later in life, when to start again and how to think about risk
  
• Superannuation truths every woman 40+ needs to know
  
• Why your money story matters more than your past mistakes
  
• The next 1–2 steps every woman can take TODAY to move forward
  
  

If you’re rebuilding, re-entering the workforce, or finally putting yourself first after years of looking after everyone else, this conversation is supportive, empowering and deeply practical.

This episode is brought to you by InvestorKit, Australia’s #1 Buyers Agency for 2023 and 2024. They specialise in helping investors find high-growth properties utilising industry leading AI and data driven research process across Australia. 70%+ of the properties they purchase are off-market and they have consistently outperformed national average capital growth rates by over 49%. Whether you’re looking to build your property portfolio or secure your first investment. Check them out here.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Welcome to Get Rich & Molly’s money mess story
01:16 – “Is it too late to start again in my 40s or 50s?”
02:13 – First steps: goals, priorities & knowing your starting point
03:45 – Cashflow without the freak-out: why surplus is everything
05:31 – Confidence, fear & the biggest mindset blocks women face
07:30 – Why so many women are starting over at 45–50
08:38 – Thinking of leaving a partner? What to get clear on first
10:01 – Your support team: lawyer, money expert & emotional backup
12:08 – Divorce coaches, mediation & avoiding huge legal bills
13:20 – Rebuilding your emergency/“OMG” fund when money is tight
15:18 – Getting money in your own name when a partner controls finances
17:25 – Why every woman needs her own bank account
19:39 – When to start investing again after a setback
22:33 – Super in your 40s & 50s: why you must stop ignoring it
25:49 – What your super is actually invested in
27:50 – Rewrite your money story & choose your next step
29:11 – Where to find Naomi & the Her Money Matters podcast

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Her Money Matter Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/her-money-matters/id1820346389

CONNECT WITH NAOMI HOLMES 

Website: https://www.hermoneymatters.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/her_moneymatters/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiholmes/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hermoneymatters.com.au/

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

Join our free Facebook group - Ladies Finance Club Money Chat
Website: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladiesfinanceclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-finance-club/

TAKEAWAYS

• The emergency fund is crucial for financial stability.
• Unexpected financial stresses can lead to significant challenges.
• Women, in particular, benefit from having an emergency fund.
• A small set of savings can provide a safety net.
• Rebuilding lives often requires financial security.
• Having savings can prevent life from imploding during crises.
• Emergency funds are essential for everyone, especially women.
• Financial preparedness is key to managing life's uncertainties.
• Savings should be a priority at all stages of life.
• An emergency fund can empower individuals to face challenges.

SOUND BITES

"OMG fund or that emergency fund behind you"
"Having a small set of savings set aside"

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Molly: Welcome to Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just that. Get rich and stay rich. Hey, I'm Molly Benjamin. I'm the founder of Ladies Finance Club, one of Australia's largest financial education platforms for women. But before I started helping thousands of women take control with their money, I was a hot financial mess when it came to my own finances and not the fun kind of hot, more like crying in a supermarket, wondering where all my money went kind of hot.

[00:00:29] But here's the thing, if I can go from financial mess to owning a share portfolio, investing in property, and building wealth. Then you can too. My mission is simple to make women rich because when we have financial freedom, we have choices, confidence, and control over our future. Every week on Get Rich, I sit down with some of the best experts in the industry to break down how we can all start investing, growing our money, and creating long-term financial security without the jargon, boring bits or overwhelm.

[00:01:02] Because when women get rich, we don't just change our lives. We change the world. So if you're ready to start making some smart money moves, hit that subscribe button and let's get rich together.

[00:01:16] Speaker 2: So today's episode is for every woman who's ever thought I'm in my forties or fifties, is it too late to start again with money? Hey, it's Molly here, and welcome back to another episode of Get Rich. Now, before we dive in, please excuse my voice. I'm learning very quickly that when you're pregnant you catch absolutely everything.

[00:01:35] So not the most fun fact, but here we are. So today's guest is the amazing Naomi Holmes. Financial coach, former financial advisor, and host of Her Money Matters podcast. Now Naomi works with women who are rebuilding after divorce, separation, redundancy, career breaks, or a major life reset, and she sees the same pattern over and over again.

[00:01:57] Women feeling completely overwhelmed, unsure where to even begin, but completely capable once they take their first step. It is such a generous and practical conversation, and if you're starting over or supporting someone who is this episode will really help. Let's get into it.

[00:02:13] Molly: Naomi, welcome to the Get Rich podcast.

[00:02:15] We are excited to have you on here. Ah, Molly, thank you so much. It's amazing to be here with you today. I know, I feel like this has been, you know, a while in the making, so glad. I've got you on, I have spoken to a number of women in their forties who, and fifties, who feel like they are starting over financially again.

[00:02:36] So I know this is definitely a group of women you work a lot with and new coach with and you have a program for. But what would you say is the first step to rebuilding confidence with money when you are kind of starting over in your forties and fifties?

[00:02:52] Naomi: Yeah, thanks Molly. And you're right, I do a lot of work with women in this exact category.

[00:02:56] So whether it's divorce, whether it's leaving a partner, whether it's redundancy, starting a new job, starting a business, any of those sorts of things. This question about starting over financially comes up a lot. It seems to be kind of the new thing for women in their forties and fifties that, you know, through life events or, or whatever is happening, that, uh, gaining financial independence is really important.

[00:03:17] And so there's two things that I really suggest to women when they're, uh, facing these sorts of challenges. The first one is just really understanding what is important to you. And first and foremost, that has to be where you start. So getting clear on your goals, on your priorities and all of this stuff in life that just gets in the way, really being clear on the next one to two years where you wanna focus, you've only got a certain amount of time and resources available.

[00:03:45] So where do you allocate those time and resources? And the other thing that I would suggest is getting a great handle on your current financial position. The two key ways to do that. One is through cash flow and the other through is understanding just your, what you owe and what you own, so your assets and your liabilities.

[00:04:04] Having a good starting position for those two things is, is the two things that I would suggest.

[00:04:09] Molly: Absolutely. And I know when you, you just said, uh, cash flow. I know that can freak some women the hell out. They're like, oh god, cashflow, budget. Where do I even begin? Uhhuh, what would you say to the people listening who are feeling that way?

[00:04:24] Naomi: Oh God. I, as I said, I deal with people like this every day and facing into doing a cash flow. Most people just go, I'm just not, I like, don't put me in front of a spreadsheet, don't be put, put me in front of bank statements like anything but that. It's like sticking pins in my eyes. But unfortunately, ladies, it's really important that you do have a really good handle, and it doesn't have to be line by line through a spreadsheet.

[00:04:48] There is a lot of different ways that you can get a handle on your cash flow. I have a saying, Molly, which I absolutely love. And you know, we are here to talk about not only rebuilding your life, but also how do you start to create real wealth. And one of my favorite sayings is potentially the single biggest key to growing your wealth is creating surplus cash flow.

[00:05:11] And that does mean really understanding where your money goes.

[00:05:15] Molly: Yeah, absolutely. And there's no way around that one is there. You have to, you just have to sit down. And that's why I always say, if that feels really overwhelming, sit down with a coach or join a program. Absolutely. Um, so you're not seeing it by yourself.

[00:05:31] Naomi: No, that's exactly right. And so. As you mentioned, I do one-on-one coaching and I also have courses available. So if it's just way too daunting and it's something that you're not comfortable doing that you yourself, you can either employ someone like me or you can sit down with your bestie who might be able to help you over a glass of wine or a cup of coffee, or just someone to give you the motivation and the guidance to kind of help you just start to look.

[00:05:53] Molly: Yeah. And so what are the most common mistakes you see women make? Maybe they've gone through a divorce, a redundancy, a career break, they're coming back in. What are the most common mistakes you see women make at this stage of life?

[00:06:08] Naomi: Yeah, there are so many limiting beliefs that we have, Molly, and it's all the voices in our heads that kind of go, I'm not good enough.

[00:06:17] I'm not smart enough. I don't have enough. I won't understand it. It's not for me. All of those things are just the things that get in our way, but the reality is, is that everyone can do it. It's just a matter of taking the first couple of steps, and so the mistakes that I see is just women not backing themselves and just.

[00:06:37] Feeling, whether it's a fear, a lack of confidence, a lack of understanding, and not wanting to look stupid in some ways, not wanting to, you know, take the step to invest into themselves. That's what I would see as the, as the biggest sort of mistake that women make because when I work with women, and certainly you get you, you know this from your business as well, you get into a room full of women.

[00:06:59] Are here to talk about a single topic being money. And what happens, like the room just comes to life and they start to understand each other and they start to get invested in each other's stories. And I think once you kind of jump over the precipice and you take the first step, all of a sudden just the world comes to life.

[00:07:16] But you've gotta back yourself to get there.

[00:07:18] Molly: Yeah. And out of interest, like with the client you are seeing, what is that setback? Is it the, they're wanting career change, they're coming back into the workforce. Is it the divorce or separation?

[00:07:30] Naomi: Absolutely. Divorce and separation. So I'm getting lots and lots of women coming to me at the moment, either at any stage of that process.

[00:07:37] So it's prevo during divorce, after divorce, I think because, um, the current stats in Australia now is that the, uh, the most common age for divorce for women is 45 and for men is 48. So basically there's a lot of women at that stage in life. If they haven't been involved in the household finances up until then are now thrust into this position where they've gotta understand it and they're terrified.

[00:08:01] Molly: Yeah.

[00:08:01] Naomi: And so not, not knowing who to trust or where to go has been a really big thing. And so it is very much the, I'm thinking about leaving my husband or my partner and I need to know what to do. It could be during the middle of the process, it looks like I'm going to end up with this sort of asset pool.

[00:08:17] I need to know what to do with it. Or at the end of the divorce process saying. Yep. I've now got my financial settlement and I now, now need to set up my life.

[00:08:26] Molly: Yeah, absolutely. And I mean this is just me being nosy more than anything, but is it them coming to a mutual, like we wanna, we wanna separate or is it generally one party over the other that you're seeing?

[00:08:38] Naomi: Yeah, it's a real combination of both. It really does depend. And as much as I hate to say it, the other big theme that I am seeing is this financial coercion. A lot of women just get so invested in the kids and the family life and just the everyday essence of life, and they just lose control or lose track of where money is going.

[00:09:00] You know, incredibly successful. All sorts of different women kind of have had this happen to them where just time disappears and all of a sudden they don't, they're not across the household budget, the household. Cashflow, that sort of position. And then they're faced into this space where he's controlling everything.

[00:09:17] Yeah, all of the assets are kind of, they're not really sure where they're up to, and so the whole financial coercion thing is quite alive and well, and really quite horrifying.

[00:09:28] Molly: Absolutely. And um, so for someone who might be in that situation, they're listening and they're like, look, and we have, I do know of followers who have messaged me in the past saying, Hey, I'm thinking about separating with my partner.

[00:09:40] What are the things I can do to get in a good financial position now? Mm-hmm. Do you have, I know this is probably a little bit of a question probably for a family lawyer and I always say, you know, seek, you know, definitely seek family lawyer advice. Yeah. But what would you say are some good starting points?

[00:09:55] Is it just starting to gather. Information around what are your bank accounts?

[00:10:01] Naomi: Absolutely get as much as you can, would be my advice. And the earlier that you can do it, the better it is. So if you kind of just think about the, the common assets of the household, it will be your own house. It will be your super and his super, and it will be the budget and bank accounts just as the kind of starting position.

[00:10:21] So if you can get across. Where does the money come into From his income and from my income? What bank accounts do we have? Where's his super invested? Where's my super invested? And what does our mortgage or deposition look like? Even just starting there is gonna give you a really good sense of what is happening financially in the house.

[00:10:40] Molly: Yeah,

[00:10:40] Naomi: and so getting a hold of those core documents I think is really important. But then the other thing I would suggest, Molly, is that I think that there's three piece, like three, I guess, specialists to really start to think about, and you mentioned one being the family lawyer. So the family lawyer obviously is a key part of the whole divorce or separation process.

[00:11:02] The second one is someone financially, whether it's a financial coach like myself or a financial advisor, but having someone financially who can help you. Part, kind of a, a subsection to that is if there's assets that are being hidden or you're not sure where they are, you might need a forensic accountant to come in and help you dig and go down the rabbit hole and, and find the assets.

[00:11:22] But the third and final piece for anyone who's going through this, and I think really importantly, is your support network.

[00:11:29] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[00:11:29] Naomi: And your support network might be your girlfriends, it might be sisters, it might be mom, it might be, you know, close family, friends. Or it might even be a counselor or someone who can really help you more psychologically start to move through it.

[00:11:42] Yeah, and I've spoken to a lot of women about those three things. So the family lawyer, sorry, the legal side, the financial side, and the support side. And there's no recipe as to which order women wanna do that in. Everyone is different, and so some people want the support first. Some people want the legal first and some people want the financial first.

[00:12:01] But it's just understanding that those three communities. Or sources of information are really important in this process.

[00:12:08] Molly: Yeah, and I know there's actually divorce coaches you can get as well. Like women have been through it themselves and they've had such a hard time that they're like, I wanna help other women and coach them through the divorce process.

[00:12:19] Naomi: Yeah, absolutely. And so divorce coaches can be really helpful in a couple of ways. But what you wanna try and avoid if you're going through this process is paying excessive legal fees. And if you get into a point where you are not aligned with each other and you are fighting a lot, there's a lot of animosity in the relationship.

[00:12:38] It doesn't take much to start to stack up those legal fees. And so that's where someone like a divorce coach can come in really handy because they'll be promoting, well, they should be promoting mediation.

[00:12:48] Molly: Yeah.

[00:12:49] Naomi: And how do you stay out of court? So how do you try and work together amicably through a, a separation or divorce so that you get to a settlement sooner rather than later?

[00:12:59] I think that's a really valuable service.

[00:13:01] Molly: Yeah, absolutely. And I think as well from just the stories we've heard through family lawyers at Ladies Finance Club, you know that financial advice, that financial coach is so important because they'll also be able to. Recommend which assets you like, what in the split that you go after as well.

[00:13:20] We've had women where they've, you know, not gone after the sup, well, not gone after, but they've had the house, not the super, where actually financially had they spoken to a gotten financial advice or financial coach, that might have looked very different for them going out. Also when you speak to a family lawyer, most family lawyers will do a free initial one-on-one consultation to, and just give you some really good starting points.

[00:13:45] And even if, you know, maybe it's gotten to the point where your partner's like, let's not do go to lawyers just yet. That's what I would always say is a red flag and you should be going to lawyers at that stage. We've heard countless stories of the situations where the partner's gone. Don't go to a a lawyer yet.

[00:14:02] Because they're busy doing things behind the scenes. Yes. So

[00:14:07] Naomi: definitely

[00:14:08] Molly: one,

[00:14:09] Naomi: and I agree with you like having that first initial consultation with a good family lawyer is invaluable because they will ask you the hard questions and the things that you need to be thinking about. And quite often that can be the kick up the bum that you might need to go.

[00:14:23] Okay. Well, I. Do need to get these documents or I do need to think about this. And the good family lawyers will get you to focus on outcomes.

[00:14:31] Molly: Mm-hmm.

[00:14:31] Naomi: So what do you wanna achieve out of this process? Like is it security for the kids? Is it security for yourself? Is it cash flow? And starting to think about those things the earlier you do that mm-hmm.

[00:14:42] The more you can plan through the process and the more you can start to think about financially, how and where you want, might want that division of assets to go.

[00:14:49] Molly: Yeah, absolutely. And look, we've done lots of podcasts in the past with Land and Rogers on how to untie the knot once you are wanting to separate.

[00:14:58] So definitely check out one of those episodes as well for him. Oh, I like

[00:15:02] Naomi: that.

[00:15:03] Molly: Yeah,

[00:15:03] Naomi: how to unie the knot. That's great. Unie

[00:15:05] Molly: The Knot. Yeah. It was actually the chapter in my book as well. I was like, how do Untie the Knot? What's your advice on rebuilding emergency funds or as I like to call them OMG funds when money feels tight for these women?

[00:15:18] Naomi: I am so glad you've asked me this question because the emergency fund for everyone, but in particular women who might be rebuilding their lives. Oh my God, Molly, it is so important to do, and it's so important for a number of reasons, because some of the biggest financial stresses that can happen in life is that if something unexpected comes out of left field and you don't have that OMG fund or that emergency fund behind you.

[00:15:44] Life is gonna implode.

[00:15:46] Molly: Yeah.

[00:15:46] Naomi: And so having a small set of savings set aside at all points in your life, ideally, is what you are going to be looking for. So whether it's part of the financial settlement, if it's divorce, if you've just been made redundant, putting aside some of that pull from redundancy, whatever the sort of circumstances are when you're going through a rebuilding phase in your forties or fifties, or at any point in life, making sure that you've got ideally a minimum of.

[00:16:12] Four weeks salary or four weeks of expenses set aside is really important. And anywhere up to six months depending on what you can afford. And I would really encourage, and I think you have a similar sort of piece of advice, Molly, is do that first. So before you think about anything else, get that emergency fund set up so that way you have got that security in case anything does go awry.

[00:16:34] Molly: Yeah. And always in your own name that only you can access.

[00:16:38] Naomi: Absolutely.

[00:16:40] Molly: I mean, this is a tricky one and I, I don't know if you have an answer for it, but for people who are maybe in a situation where, look, their partner has been managing the money and they don't really have, and if they went and said like, Hey honey, I wanna start getting involved, it would look a bit why now?

[00:16:57] Yeah. So any advice around women who are in that situation who are thinking, okay, I might wanna leave my partner, but how do I get some money of my own in an emergency fund? Like without LFC ladies, like we say from the get go, like they should have their emergency fund. You should have your emergency fund, yes.

[00:17:15] But if you're not in that situation and you've been busy with other priorities in life, maybe job, family, elderly parents, how can you approach that?

[00:17:25] Naomi: Yeah, I think, and I mean every situation is really different. On my last education course that I just ran, I had an example of someone on that course who was very much in this situation where she was considering leaving her partner and she really didn't have a hold on the financial situation or the asset pool at all.

[00:17:45] And so the way she approached it was she went to him and said that she really wanted to learn about money because she wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet, and she wanted to be able to contribute to the family conversation. About what was happening financially. And so she wanted to come and do my course.

[00:17:58] And so that's how she set up that conversation. He didn't object and couldn't object because any rational person would say, that's a great idea. You know, go and learn about money, and then that way we can tackle this together as a family that works for her. That might not work for everybody. But I think just finding whatever that first step is, whether it's just saying.

[00:18:19] You know, I wanna be able to have money for the kids that I can control, so I'm just gonna set up a fund of a hundred dollars a week or whatever it is, and that's gonna come out of the bucketing strategy. So I'm gonna put from the primary bank account, I'm gonna start to move a hundred dollars a week into this fund, or whatever it takes just to take that first step.

[00:18:36] Molly: Yeah.

[00:18:36] Naomi: I think it's just having that conversation and doing one thing to just, just to begin and to kick off that conversation.

[00:18:42] Molly: Yeah. That's great. Yeah, I love that. Or you can be like, I was listening to this podcast with Naomi and Molly and they said,

[00:18:51] Naomi: yeah, you

[00:18:51] Molly: should have our own emergency fund. And so

[00:18:55] Naomi: yeah, if something happens, the other thing you can use, actually that's a good one, but in the event of something terrible happening like a.

[00:19:00] Bad accident or ultimately someone passing away. If you don't have a power of attorney set up, then essentially you can't access the money. And so the reason why,

[00:19:10] Molly: right? They, yeah,

[00:19:11] Naomi: absolutely. Every single person should have a bank account in their own names so that if tragedy happens, they've got access to money anyway.

[00:19:19] So that's another good reason to be able to do that.

[00:19:21] Molly: Yeah, absolutely. And that's actually one of the reasons we always say like, have your emergency fund in your name, because if something happens and even something legal and they freeze both of your accounts, you know, you still need to be able to pay the mortgage to look after, you know, the family.

[00:19:36] So you've gotta have money. Definitely your name,

[00:19:38] Naomi: definitely.

[00:19:39] Molly: Alright, and this has been so great, Naomi. Thank you so much. Quick question on investing. Now, obviously in an ideal world, everyone would seek a financial advisor, but the reality is that it's just out of people's price range. So when is the right time, do you think, to start investing after one of these kind of financial setbacks?

[00:20:01] And what's the best way to begin if you are? Risk averse or you know, retirement might be 10, 20 years away.

[00:20:07] Naomi: Yeah. And again, I also love this question because it's a limiting belief of so many people that I've left it too late, or I don't have the information, or I'm just not confident, you know, whatever that limiting belief is, this comes up a lot.

[00:20:22] So one of the other things that I really talk about in my courses is something called Your Money Story. And your money story in my mind has three different components to it, and it's certainly around what has been the impact or the primary things that inform your beliefs around money from your upbringing, from your education, and from your experience.

[00:20:45] And so there's a couple of things that I'm gonna just break down if you don't mind, in relation to the question that you just asked, because if you've come from a financial setback. If it's come because you've made a bad financial decision or something didn't quite go right, that's gonna come into the experience side of things.

[00:21:02] And we can rewire our thinking when it comes to experiences, certainly by understanding a little bit more. So building your education back up and taking a different pathway or a different step forward. But knowing what you wanna do differently and how you wanna tackle that is a really important thing to do.

[00:21:21] But the second thing is, is around that risk adverse side. And when you understand that the only asset, Molly, that women have more of than men is cash in term deposits.

[00:21:34] Molly: Yeah.

[00:21:35] Naomi: Every other asset men have more invested than women. And so this risk aversion is very alive and real when it comes to women. And it's another reason why I think you do your job and I do my job, is because helping women actually understand whether it be property, whether it be shares, whether it be exchange traded funds, or other types of assets that they can invest into, knowledge or education is such a big fundamental piece of that.

[00:22:01] And so kind of working out where your gaps are. You've gotta find someone to trust that you can go and seek advice or seek some help from. And it doesn't have to be particularly expensive. There's a whole bunch of very cost effective ways that you can do this. And Molly, I know you run courses that people can access, but just getting that education and getting that base level of understanding.

[00:22:22] And then dipping your toe in the water and it like gone are the days where you had to have 20 or 30 or $40,000 to invest to start. You can start investing with as little as a hundred bucks.

[00:22:32] Molly: Yeah.

[00:22:33] Naomi: So just starting to get that experience, set up an account, set up a regular income plan, so that might be $50 a week or a hundred dollars a week or whatever you can afford and just start investing.

[00:22:44] That is the best way that I think to learn,

[00:22:47] Molly: and I would actually say it to women in their forties and fifties, who we see the most in our investing course. Yeah.

[00:22:52] Naomi: Yeah.

[00:22:52] Molly: Um, as well. 'cause they're like, okay, I need to learn how to do this.

[00:22:57] Naomi: And there's also no surprises there because what I'm finding is a really common thread with the women that I'm dealing with is that women in their forties and fifties are really empowered.

[00:23:05] Yeah. It's the generation X women, right. That have come through from the baby boomer generation. They've actually got more money than the previous generations.

[00:23:14] Molly: Yeah.

[00:23:14] Naomi: The kids are now off their hands typically, or starting to get off their hands. Yeah. And they're like, I wanna learn this. I wanna take control of my future and I wanna take control of my life.

[00:23:23] And now is the time. Yeah. My kids are gone, my parents are okay. My career is stable and I wanna invest into me. And I'm seeing that a lot.

[00:23:34] Molly: Yeah. Great. Okay. Just two questions left, and again, I'm loving this conversation so much. Okay. So you see a lot of women, you've been like financial advisor in the past.

[00:23:45] You've seen hundreds of clients when it comes to super women in their forties and fifties. What would you like to say to them?

[00:23:54] Naomi: Oh, I've got so much to say. Don't be afraid of it and don't avoid it.

[00:23:59] Molly: Yeah,

[00:24:00] Naomi: so again, I have so many conversations all the time with women and you know, I ask them, so when your super statement comes in at the end of the year, what do you do with that envelope?

[00:24:09] And I would, without a word of a lie, about 50% of them would say either, what super statement. Or I don't even open it and I throw it straight in the bin.

[00:24:18] Molly: That's what I used to do, Naomi. I used to throw it straight in the bin. I'd be like, oh, don't need to worry about that.

[00:24:24] Naomi: Yeah. It's like an avoider, like an ostrich sticking my head in the sand and hoping one day that I'll, you know, I'll wake up and it'll all be all good.

[00:24:31] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[00:24:31] Naomi: There is a really, really, really important concept, which is the power of compounding interest. And the thing about compounding interest is the earlier you start, the more money you will have. And so the one thing that I can really encourage everyone to do is understand where your money is invested within your superannuation.

[00:24:53] Molly: Yep.

[00:24:53] Naomi: So just open the statement, have a look at what fund it is. You can whack it into chat, GBT, and say, tell me about this fund. Or you can go onto the superannuation funds website and have a look at where the money's actually invested, but pay attention to how much money your superannuation is making you, because ladies, one day that is gonna be so freaking important.

[00:25:13] Yeah, and the earlier in life you start that the better. But the other really important thing is it's never too late.

[00:25:20] Molly: Never too late. Absolutely never. Even if you're listening to this in your fifties, sixties, and you're like, oh God, it's not too

[00:25:26] Naomi: late,

[00:25:27] Molly: ladies.

[00:25:28] Naomi: Even at 60, 65, life expectancy for women who are aged 65 is 88.

[00:25:35] Mm-hmm. So you've still got 23 years, and that's just a life expectancy that you've gotta be able to make that money last. So trust me, 65 is almost just the beginning.

[00:25:46] Molly: Yeah,

[00:25:46] Naomi: but as much as you can understand that earlier on, the better it will be.

[00:25:49] Molly: And when people go to open, you said the statements or the funds, they pop it into chat dp, is it likely they'll be kind of like in one of four funds, like a conservative, uh, balanced fund, uh, growth fund or a high growth fund?

[00:26:03] Is that still the case we're seeing?

[00:26:05] Naomi: Not really, because what will happen if you've never paid attention to your super. And you've never gone onto the superannuation website and made a decision about where your money wants to be invested? Yeah. It's gonna be in one of two places, depending on where your employer is putting your money.

[00:26:21] One type of fund is called a, like a life stages. My super fund.

[00:26:26] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[00:26:26] Naomi: And how that works is based on your age, the superannuation company will invest money in alignment with your. Basically 10 year demographic. So twenties to thirties will look like this. Thirties to forties will look like this, forties to fifties, fifties to sixties.

[00:26:41] And unfortunately as you get closer to the fifties to sixties, they actually make it more conservative. The younger you are, the more aggressive they haven't invested. The more conservative you, uh, the older you are, the more conservative they haven't invested, but you'll basically not have any choice over that.

[00:26:58] That's what will happen throughout the superannuation fund. The other side of things is that if you're not in a my super or a life stage type of investment, you'll be in a balanced fund. So that'll be one of the two things.

[00:27:11] Molly: Generally, the default fund is a balanced fund.

[00:27:14] Naomi: Correct. Okay. And so a balanced fund, depending on your superannuation provider, means that you'll have somewhere between typically 50 to 70% of your money invested in growth assets, so the shares and property.

[00:27:26] And you'll have 50 to 30% invested in defensive assets, which is things like term deposits and things called bonds.

[00:27:34] Molly: Yeah. Okay. And so defensive assets, defend your portfolio growth assets, grow your portfolio.

[00:27:40] Naomi: That's exactly right. And depending on your age and what your ability is to sleep at night, depends on, you know, how much you should have in either of those two areas.

[00:27:51] Molly: Awesome. And just my final question, Naomi, if you could give one piece of financial advice, well, not financial advice, if you could give one piece financial education to every woman rebuilding her wealth in their forties or fifties, even sixties, what would it be?

[00:28:08] Naomi: Yeah. For me it's understanding your money story and knowing where to take your next step.

[00:28:13] So once you actually kind of go into your background and you work out in your head what's holding you back, all of a sudden the doors to the future open up. So if the voice inside your head, your limiting beliefs are saying, as I said, I can't do this, I'm not good enough to do this. I don't have enough to do this.

[00:28:28] I'm too old to do this. Yeah. Whatever that voice inside your head is telling you, try and work out where that's coming from. Is that coming from your upbringing, from your parents and that was their beliefs? Is that coming because you haven't got enough understanding and, and you know you need to build your education a little bit more?

[00:28:45] Or is that coming because you've had a bad experience with money or something's happened to make sure that you are telling yourself negative stories about money because of the experiences that you've had? So really understanding your money story is fundamental to be able to progress it and to take it further.

[00:29:01] And then the next thing is, what are my next logical steps? What are the the one or two things that I can do today, not tomorrow, to start making a difference for my financial future?

[00:29:11] Molly: Love it. And again, if you are feeling confused, lost, there's so many people out there exactly like Naomi, who can help you on your journey.

[00:29:19] You do not have to do this alone and work it out by yourself, and you have a podcast. Where can people find that?

[00:29:25] Naomi: Yeah. So my podcast, Molly, is called Her Money Matters. Because it does ladies. Yes,

[00:29:31] Molly: it does.

[00:29:31] Naomi: And yes, you can find it on either Apple Podcast or Spotify. And yes, we we're recording episodes and dropping them every Monday.

[00:29:39] Molly: Love it. Alright, thank you so much, Naomi. And we'll put all the links in the show notes where you can learn more about Naomi and the awesome work she does. Thank you so much, Molly. This has been amazing.

KEYWORDS

emergency fund, financial stress, savings, women, rebuilding lives