Choosing Principles Over Profit
Laura Dalrymple runs Sydney-based ethical butchery, Feather and Bone, with her partner Grant Hilliard (above, left). Their book, The Ethical Omnivore, contains 60 nose-to-tail recipes and stories about our food production systems.
Describe your relationship with money.
When I was very young, my mother taught me that being financially independent is critical for women and that lesson has informed my relationship with money throughout my life. I don’t care much about money but I’ve always made sure I can look after myself and my family and I hate being in debt.
What worries you most about your financial future?
The possibility that I will have to support my children for much longer than we’d planned. Times are very tough for young people and it’s harder for them to become financially independent or own a home.
Are you financially better or worse off now than you were a decade ago?
I have less disposable income now because 10 years ago, I swapped a well-paid job for the trials and tribulations of running a small business with my partner. We make a lot of principle-based decisions that limit our pecuniary profits. But we also own our home and a commercial property, so we’re cash poor but asset rich.
Describe a difficult financial moment and how you managed that.
Buying our first home with my partner. I had money in the bank and a well-paid job and he didn’t have any money to contribute. My anxiety around money and security led me to insist that we sign a contract that split the property according to our investment. This meant I owned the bulk of the property and that was hard to navigate in our relationship.
If you won Lotto, would you spend or invest it?
I’d buy a little patch of heaven in the bush, tuck a bit away for my retirement and use the rest to set up a scholarship for research into regenerative agriculture.
If you were in charge of the finances of our nation, where would you invest?
Education and childcare. I’d also fund a new Department for Sustainability dedicated to a holistic policy approach to addressing the critical issues we face in land, water, energy, agriculture and health. These issues are intrinsically connected and we won’t solve them unless we evolve from a silo mentality.
How would you address the gender pay gap if the decision sat with you?
Introduce mandatory gender reporting for all organisations – public and private. Organisations reporting gendered pay disparity would be required to pay a gender tax that would be funnelled straight into public education. Reward organisations that are achieving a gender-balanced, diverse workforce and paying employees equal pay for equal work.
What’s the biggest win that you have had in your life as it relates to money?
We doubled our money on our first property. Then we purchased a bigger one in less affluent suburb that subsequently increased in value and that gave us the equity to buy the commercial property from which we run our business. We were lucky but also made good choices.
What’s your greatest financial regret?
Not saving money and investing in property when I was very young and living rent-free!
What does financial independence mean to you?
The luxury to make life and business choices based on my ethics and principles.
Interview with Laura Dalrymple by Patricia Sheahan
Photos_ Matt Seymour/UnSplash, supplied