Property Paving the Way for Investment - ShireWomen Empower - Sponsored by DPN

ShireWomen Empower - Sponsored by DPN 

ShireWomen Empower events are all about providing women with the tools they need to take control of their financial future. It’s about fostering conversations with other women so we can all learn and support each other in an enjoyable and safe environment.

ShireWomen Empower - Empowering women for a female driven financial future.

Our second ShireWomen Empower event was another sell out and great success! Thanks to all Members, Guests and the DPN team for making it another fantastic evening.

On 14th August, Guests were treated to live music, wonderful food and premium drinks, plus hearing from interesting speakers who aimed to empower attendees to take steps to improve their financial future.

We kicked off the evening with ShireWomen Business Member and Principle Solicitor Antonella Sanderson of Family Law Matters. Antonella shared some thought provoking statistics around women and finance. In most divorce cases, women are nearly always left disadvantaged, despite the social belief being that women always end up with everything. With many women running their own businesses we repeatedly sacrifice our super balance for money in the here and now. Women who take time out of the workforce to have children sacrifice their super balance, and women who do stay in the workforce have a reduced super balance due to the gender pay-gap. No matter how you look at it, we’re disadvantaged. Antonella relayed the importance of protecting our financial future, with property investment being one of those ways. Antonella asked a series of questions about what steps attendees had taken to protect their financial future. Not surprisingly, only a few women in the room had sufficiently protected themselves, so our aim was to get the rest of our attendees thinking seriously about it by the end of the night.

After some more food and drinks, attendees split into two groups – half with Elisa Dowler – Enterprise Strategy Leader at DPN and Jade Khao – Women in Wealth Ambassador for the Australian Financial Planners Association. The other half went with ShireWomen Business Member Tamara Sciuriaga - Property Consultant from DPN and Lloyd Thomas – Co-Director of Business & Product Development at DPN.

Jade and Elissa discussed some tips for setting financial goals and monitoring budgets. They talked about the typical scenarios that get people off track with their budgeting and gave some tips on how to get started. The most important take away Jade gave was for attendees to uncover their spending habits. She said ‘without knowing where you overspend, it is impossible to set yourself targets or savings goals”.

Jade recommended starting with ASIC’s Money Smart Budget Planner and setting easy small targets for saving or cutting spending. The key point was to ensure you regularly check how you’re tracking and to revise targets if they are unattainable.

For those of you who don’t have time to sit and play with spreadsheets, below is a list of the best apps that will help you to stay focused and on track.

  • Pocketbook – connects to your banks and provides you with a live picture of where your finances are. You can set spending limits, savings goals and more. It sends you notifications when you’re getting off track or doing well. 
  • MoneyBrilliant – Like Pocketbook, connects to your bank and provides you with options to set savings goals and see where you’re spending your money.
  • ASIC’s MoneySmart Track My Spend – No frills spending tracker. Doesn’t have as many features as Pocketbook or MoneyBrilliant but does allow you to track your spending.
  • Raiz – this is specifically designed for those who want to get ready to invest – particularly on the Stock Market.

Jade’s final words of advice were to deal with savings goals in small chunks. The end goal may always seem unattainable - however you can reach your goals by setting smaller targets that are easier to achieve.

Lloyd and Tamara discussed some of the common worries and questions people have when getting ready to invest. From ways to break into the market such as using super balances, getting family members to be guarantors, to the minimum balances required to buy an investment property. They provided insight into the types of property that will give better return on investment and addressed concerns regarding interest rates.

Their top tips were to get professional help so that you can make an informed decision on what is right for you. Regardless of your income or current situation, it is likely you can get into the property market with the right advice and coaching.

If you’d like to have a chat with an expert regarding your options, then reach out to Tamara here and she’ll provide you with advice. Tamara and DPN are uniquely placed to assist you to gain financial independence. They are passionate about helping their clients live the lives they want, and passionate about helping women achieve financial independence.

The night ended with attendees receiving a beautiful gift bag containing a decadent Sodashi product, and an insulated keep cool water bottle.

Courtesy of DPN, you can purchase Sodashi products with 20% off by entering the code EMPOWER at checkout. Offer expires November 2018.

And if that wasn’t enough attendees have until 31st August to enter into a competition to win a Mon Purse! Post your favourite pics from the event that capture the ShireWomen Empower vibe with the hashtag #ShireWomenEmpower for your chance to win a gorgeous leather Mon Purse clutch courtesy of DPN.All the women at DPN have one of these, they are a fabulous size to fit keys, phone and wallet all in one. Winners will be announced on the DPN Facebook page on 31st August.

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