Via Tova O'Brien from Today FM
With a cost of living crisis affecting most households any advice on how to sensibly reduce spending is welcome.
Jess Irvine has been a high-profile economics and finance journalist for some of Australia’s biggest newspapers for the better part of two decades she’s covered 18 budgets.
But when it came to her own finances she was hopeless.
Finding herself a divorced single mum at 40, who didn’t own a home, brought her to a crisis point about money. Now she’s written a book about the power of budgeting called Money with Jess: Your Ultimate Guide to Household Budgeting.
Jess Irvine joined Tova O'Brien to discuss her book and her top tips for budgeting.
Tova asked Irvine why she describes herself as a classic example of someone who knows a lot about something in theory but is pretty crap at applying it and practice.
"It was only until recently that I really started taking a serious look at my own finances, and it's not that I ever racked up huge amounts of debt or anything. I just sort of let money trickles through my hands like water, Irvine said.
"I just spent I spent up big and never got into a lot of trouble. But gosh, I spent a lot of money and I feel like if I had concentrated a bit better, I could have saved a lot more.
Tova asked Irvine if there was there a particular purchase that became the turning point for her.
"I did manage to buy my first home about two years ago, and then the bank ran all its assessment criteria on me, and I still wasn't quite convinced I could afford how much I'd borrowed.
"So I started keeping a really close look on things and making sure that I could continue to pay the mortgage, which has become more important now that interest rates are rising It's caught a lot of people out".
For more money tips from Jess find her on Instagram moneywithjess and you’ll also be able to find details there on how to order her book.
Listen to the full conversation between Jess Irvine and Tova above.
You can also download the full interview on the Tova podcast, and listen on the go. Check it out on the rova app or wherever you get your podcasts.
