My Relationship With Money: Nareen Young
We need it, then we think we don’t need it as much. We are determined not to obsess over it, but then we rely on it to achieve independence. Throughout our lives, our attitude to money is ever-evolving and ever-challenging. In this occasional series, we ask women how they handle one of life’s trickiest relationships.
Here, Nareen Young, Industry Professor at Jumbunna Institute of Education and Research and leader of the Indigenous People and Work Research and Practice Hub, University of Technology, Sydney, tells us some financial truths.
Describe your relationship with money Traditionally not great, but my partner is fantastic and I long ago accepted that he is better at managing it than me. We work things out together, but guided by him.
Are you financially better or worse off now than you were a decade ago? We have concentrated very much on paying our mortgage down and as a result are a lot more secure.
What’s your greatest financial regret? Not buying property earlier. We thought that we didn’t want the responsibility! We have advised our kids to do it differently.
Describe a difficult financial moment and how you managed that. After we got our first mortgage we had absolutely no leeway. We had to buy budget nappies for our son (they were terrible!) and I stopped spending on clothes and cosmetics – my big spends – for years until we had more money.
What’s the biggest money win that you have had in your life? Buying our first house has served us really well and working for a union early in my career meant I was educated about the value and purpose of superannuation.
If you were in charge of our national finances, where would you invest? Education, skills, wages, young people and superannuation. Crucially, I would enable Indigenous people to have autonomy over Indigenous budgets and spending pursuant to the framework set out in the Uluru Statement.
How would you address the gender pay gap? Fund non-governmental organisations and the public sector to get rid of it and introduce reporting legislation for the private sector. I would also address it as it pertains specifically to Indigenous people, people from culturally diverse backgrounds, younger and older workers and people with disability. Many women fall into these intersectional categories.
What worries you most about your financial future? That I won’t have enough in retirement. Neither of us come from inherited wealth and we rely on our super.
If you won Lotto, would you spend or invest it? I would buy some lovely pieces of jewellery and invest the rest.
What does financial independence mean to you Enough to live decently and with dignity when I’m older.
Interview with Nareen Young by Marina Go