It's Pay Day! The ABC's new column where we ask Australians the money questions we don't like to talk about. We aim to demystify personal finance and normalise conversations about what we earn and how we save it — or spend it.

Caitlin Figueiredo is a social justice advocate and the ACT's Young Australian of the Year. Since 2015, she's been working to give young people and women a voice in politics and at 22 years old made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Over the years, she's worked with the United Nations, been invited to the White House, and received an award from Queen Elizabeth, all while sharing her vision for the future. 

For Pay Day, she shares the first big purchase she made at just eight years old, why she won't stop buying people gifts and how she's managed to stop paying rent. 

How would you describe your financial situation right now?

It's not the best, but I'm okay. I'm currently job hunting after leaving a toxic workplace. I'm fortunate to have paid off all my overhanging debts and I have a few months of savings to sustain me until I start work again.

How was money spoken about in your house growing up?

Honestly, this question is quite emotional for me. For the first 12 years of my life, we were a single-income household. Despite my parents' best efforts, money was often tight, and when mum had to buy things for my brother and I — school books, new shoes, etc — this spending had to be kept a secret.

To make ends meet, we became a host family for students. I had mixed feelings about my host siblings. While I loved having them around, I was also resentful because I felt I wasn't enough for my dad because I didn't bring in money, which led to many arguments. We're okay now.

What I didn't realise until much later in life is that for my father's family, money is a form of intergenerational trauma. My great-grandmother (Mae) lost her husband at a young age and was left to raise my avozinha (grandmother) and her four siblings by herself in Kenya, away from her family in Goa. 

She relied on church donations and taking in boarders to survive. When my family moved to Australia for a better life, they initially lived in public housing before establishing themselves. I'm proud of their resilience and the life they built for my family, but for my avozinha and dad, money was a safety net that shouldn't be touched. It has taken us many years to change this mindset.

What did you spend your first pay cheque on?

I started my first job when I was seven years old, when my dad signed up my brother and me for the local paper run. Three days a week before school, we would get up early, bind the papers together, and deliver them to houses. 

My dad wanted to teach us how to save, so 80 per cent of our earnings went into a "mandatory" savings pouch for holidays or emergencies. Each week, we would deposit our money into the pouch with the date, amount, and an initial sign-off from dad, and the remaining amount — around $5 — was left with us. 

While I don't remember what I spent my first pay cheque on — probably a tuckshop lunch — when I was eight, my family and I went on our first overseas cruise. During an art auction, I raised my hand to buy a limited-edition serigraph cell from Walt Disney's original Cinderella. I remember the artwork cost $250 and I plan to pass it down to my future niece or nephew.

About how much of your income goes towards your rent or mortgage each week?

Zero. When I quit my job and I left my previous rental, a good friend suggested that I try house-sitting to save up for my home deposit. I've lined up back-to-back house-sitting gigs for the next six months, so I don't have to pay rent or utilities. When I have gaps between house-sitting jobs, I stay with my parents. Before this, I was spending 30 per cent of my income on rent each week.

What has been your biggest financial disaster?

When I turned 18, my avozinha passed away and I was fortunate to inherit some money. I was advised to invest my inheritance in shares. Let's just say, I had no idea what I was doing and I lost all the money within a few years. 

To this day, every time I look at how much a two-bedroom apartment costs in Canberra I still can't believe how stupid that decision was.

What's your guilty splurge?

I'm into collecting records. I've managed to grow my collection to 95 LPs, and my most prized possession is a rare original pressing of Tracy Chapman.

But my friends would say my biggest splurge is gift giving; it's an important part of Goan culture and one of my love languages. For me, spending money on the people I love isn't a "guilty splurge", it's a way of maintaining a connection and showing up for them. 

Whether it's organising UberEats for a friend after a long week, buying a book I know they'd like or planning a special experience to share, I'm all for it! All my friends used to tell me off all the time, but they eventually came around.

Have you ever kept a secret about money?

For the majority of last year, I lived pay cheque to pay cheque. I kept up the appearance I was OK financially, but internally I was struggling. There were several times my accounts were overdrawn and I couldn't afford to buy food or my medication — I often halved my dosages or stopped taking my medication altogether, which was dangerous.

Cash or card?

Phone. I'm the absolute worst, I hate lugging things around. Unless I can shove cash between my phone and my case, I don't use it. I also rarely use my card, but my friend gifted me a stick-on card holder to attach to the back of my phone. Now I always keep my debit card with me in case of an emergency.

Loading

 

How many bank accounts do you have? How do you organise your money?

I currently have three accounts: general spending, general savings and a high-interest savings account. I place 30 per cent of my income into a high-interest account and the rest is divided into paying off living expenses and monthly savings. However, once I secure a job, I plan on opening two more high-interest savings accounts and I'll allocate a percentage of my income into emergency savings and for holidays.

What's your biggest source of money anxiety?

Even though I'm about to turn 29, my biggest source of money anxiety is retirement. Because of my previous working situation, I lost out on a year of super. I'm in the process of creating a strategy to recover the loss through salary sacrifice contributions.

What's the biggest lie you tell yourself about money?

I can always offset my current spending with future income.

If you could tell 18-year-old you one thing about money, what would it be?

I'm going to sound like mum, but prioritise investing in yourself and your independence by becoming financially literate and establishing good savings habits.

You can follow Caitlin Figueiredo on LinkedIn here.