The presence of stress leading up to each payday as Virginia worried about how she was going to get through the coming week led her to contact Visionwest Money Mentors. Despite initial fears, she now says it’s the best thing she could have done.
It was a friend who suggested Virginia contact a budgeting service. The friend had noticed Virginia was often having to borrow money off friends or visit WINZ for a money top-up. Virginia resisted her friend’s urgings for quite a while but eventually felt she had no choice but to give it a go. After Googling “West Auckland budget services,” she contacted the first result she saw – Visionwest Money Mentors. One phone call and she’d set up an appointment with Mahesha, one of the Money Mentors Financial Mentors.
As a solo mum with a young son, my life was one of constant financial stress. I thought I was pretty careful with my money and didn’t waste it but, whenever anything urgent or an emergency come up, I had to either talk to friends or try going to WINZ to cover it.
When my friend started suggesting I go to a budget advisor, I was hesitant. All I could picture was me sitting in a room being told off for not using my money properly. Then I met Mahesha; the experience was totally different to my nervous expectations.
Virginia meets Mahesha from Money Mentors
Virginia describes Mahesha as, “awesome.” Having been so nervous and feeling very confronted about having to address her finances, Virginia was met with warmth and empathy for her situation.
I had this idea in my head about what it was going to be like. I had an idea that it would just be a punitive experience. I thought, I’ll give it one session then I can tell my friend that I gave it a go and it didn’t work. But it wasn’t anything like what I expected. It was the complete opposite. Mahesha was so welcoming and totally non-judgemental. All she wanted to do was help.
Speaking about what life was like before she came to Money Mentors, Virginia speaks again of feeling stressed all the time as she waited for each payday to roll around and asked, “How am I going to get through this time.”
Like many people in the situation Virginia found herself in, it wasn’t until after she’d received some financial mentoring and felt the relief of being in greater control of her money that she realised just how constant the underlying stress had been.
I was worried, always worried. Worried about how I was going to get through the week. Worried if anything was going to come up that I hadn’t planned for. Worried about events for my son because he’s involved in sport and cubs and lots of little things like that. Worried that he might be invited to other kids’ birthdays, and I’d have a present to buy.
There’s an element of guilt that goes with that too. My mum was a solo mum, and I never planned that I would be one. Once it happened, I was determined to do the very best for my boy, but it’s so difficult, especially at a time when prices are going up all the time.
Virginia regains control
Mahesha helped Virginia frame things differently when thinking about and planning her finances. First step was to help Virginia make money her friend rather than the enemy each week, and to remove the feeling of just stumbling through from one week to the next.
Thanks to Mahesha and Money Mentors, I feel like I have control back. No longer do I have to constantly worry and feel under stress. Not only am I able to cover my expenses, I have money left in the bank after the bills go out. That means, for the first time in a long time, I can cover the unexpected things that are bound to pop up from time to time.
The stress I felt was overwhelming. I would go as far as saying, I was going back into a bit of depression about it. Everything was just a mess to me, and I couldn’t see past where I was at. But when Mahesha put everything onto one A4 page, rather than rather than looking at piles of bills; once everything was summarised into what is income, what is expenses, and what are your debt payments going out, it looks different. I felt better immediately.
I think that was the key for me. My impression was that my money situation was so bad there was no escape. Mahesha simplified it all and I suddenly realised, I have got enough. Suddenly I realised, I had a bit of structure, things were manageable. From that point on I knew, I can do this!
What I’ve achieved thanks to Money Mentors is a profound difference to my finances and the way I think about them and the way I manage them. To think that I went along really believing it wasn’t going to make any difference.
Like most Kiwis today, Virginia feels the challenge of a rising cost of living and notices the increasing prices of items she buys regularly. The great thing is, for the first time in a long time, she feels like she’s managing and has some plans for the future.
My immediate hope is to be able to tuck away a little bit more each week until I have enough money for travel and other big-ticket items. I’d love to go to Aussie to visit my best friend and to the UK where my twin sister lives. It would be awesome to do that with my son and for him to meet her.
Longer term I’d like to give back, probably in the mental health area; perhaps counselling but probably more in the support of people going through tough times mentally. There are places where I know I could be of help to people and this process with Mahesha has given me confidence to give it a go.
Virginia confesses spending part of the morning before sharing her story reflecting on her life and where she’d be today if she hadn’t made that phone call to Money Mentors. She uses the word “dread” to describe her predominant emotion previously and is at a loss to know where it would have led her. The one thing she does know is that that dread and the stress that came with it is gone. In its place is a joy, one that comes from being able to buy occasional treats for her son; even something as small as an ice cream on the way home from school – something that, just a short time ago, wasn’t possible.
Mahesha and Money Mentors have been amazing. I keep going back to the fact that I just didn’t think the process of sorting out my finances would be fun. I thought it would be so hard and that I’d feel judged and feel like a failure. I was never made to feel like that at all. It was so unexpected. Mahesha has a real gift for putting people at ease and teaching things I didn’t think that I needed to learn.
I really came along to that first meeting thinking there was nothing I could learn in a budgeting process but wow, this has made life so much easier for me.
Now that Virginia has experienced the freedom that comes from being in control of her finances, she’s recommended Money Mentors to a couple of friends. Like Virginia, they were very hesitant, but Virginia was able to tell them about her experience. Who knows, perhaps they will be the next people to discover the joy of a balanced budget?
Read another inspirational Visionwest Money Mentors story – Verna’s Story – You Gotta Keep Going and you Gotta Seek Help.
Find out more about Visionwest Money Mentors.
** We understand that it is a great privilege when someone generously agrees to share their story. Virginia gave permission to share her story in the hope it would inspire others to take the steps she did – we thank her for her generosity.