Money & a Good Life

42 Episodes

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Navigating career transitions with Natalie Tran

2025-10-2743:28

Have you ever felt stuck in your career? Like you're meant for something more but unsure how to make the leap? Or maybe you've tried to pivot before, only to end up right back where you started, frustrated and unfulfilled. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Natalie Tran, Business and Career Transition Coach and founder of Transition With Purpose to talk about navigating career change without burning out or losing momentum. Natalie knows firsthand how comp...

Becoming your own money boss with Betsy Westcott

2025-10-2035:37

A lot of people start a business to create more freedom. More time, more flexibility, and more money. But instead, they end up overworked, underpaid, and overwhelmed. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Betsy Westcott—financial wellness coach, keynote speaker, and media regular—to talk about how to actually become the boss of your business instead of feeling like it runs you. Betsy shares her Money Boss framework, the five steps to getting your business fi...

How to unf*ck your finances with Mel Browne

2025-10-1336:14

If your money situation is making you feel hopeless, this episode is for you. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Mel Browne—bestselling author, financial educator, and someone who knows exactly what it's like to hit financial rock bottom and come out the other side. In her 30s, after a divorce, Mel had nothing. No rental bond. No money for wages. No business cashflow. She was living in a "frat house" with five flatmates and five-figures of debt, wondering...

Surviving and thriving after financial abuse with Tammy Casselson

2025-10-0635:16

In this episode of Money and a Good Life, hosts Stephanie Coombes and Ryan Watson sit down with author, educator, and advocate Tammy Casselson to talk about her lived experience of financial abuse. From the outside, Tammy’s relationship looked perfect. But behind closed doors, she endured years of coercive control, including financial abuse that left her and her children facing homelessness. Tammy shares her very personal story of survival, the red flags to look out for, and the r...

The Life List and living audaciously with Kate Christie

2025-09-2945:34

How often do you catch yourself saying, “I’ll do that one day”? One day you’ll travel. One day you’ll make time for yourself. One day you’ll chase the dream you’ve been putting off. But what if one day never comes? In this episode of Money and a Good Life, we’re joined by Kate Christie — time management specialist, bestselling author, and creator of The Life List. After losing her children’s father to cancer, Kate realised she could no longer defer joy. She set out to design...

Widowed without a will, Lahra Carey’s story

2025-09-2233:34

Most of us don’t want to think about what happens if we lose a partner. It’s uncomfortable. It feels far away. But Lahra Carey’s story shows why it’s a conversation we can’t afford to avoid. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Lahra - entrepreneur, media strategist, and crisis expert to talk about the sudden death of her husband, Ben, and the financial mess that followed. Ben was a lawyer. Smart, successful. But he died without a valid will. La...

Why we make irrational money decisions (and how to stop) with Evan Lucas

2026-04-0645:45

We all like to think we're rational when it comes to our finances. But the truth is, most of our money decisions are driven by emotion, family history, and psychology. So does that mean we're trapped by our brains? Forced to make illogical decisions from now until eternity? Not necessarily. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Evan Lucas, behavioural finance specialist, media commentator, author of Mind Over Money, and host of the podcast Exchanges with Eva...

Cashflow hacks #2 with Matthew Rea

2026-03-2332:23

Today we're revisiting a topic that's greatly improved lives, including Steph's. It's probably the easiest change you can make to your finances with the greatest impact: cashflow. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan bring back Matt Rea to go through the fundamentals of cashflow and dig a little deeper into how it actually works in practice. If you've ever felt broke despite earning a good salary, struggled with lifestyle creep, or wondered why money feels so hard to man...

What to expect in your first 100 days with a financial adviser with Rachael Holder

2026-03-0952:34

For a lot of people, working with a financial adviser feels intimidating. Do I need advice? Am I "bad with money"? What actually happens? In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Rachael Holder Tribeca Adviser with psychology training and behavioural finance expertise to demystify the process. Rachael walks through the first three months of working with an adviser, explaining what happens, why it matters, and how it transforms your finances and wellbeing. If yo...

Sea changes, marriage and riding the waves of midlife with Kate Halfpenny

2026-02-2343:04

Midlife is supposed to be the time when things settle down. The kids grow up, careers feel stable, and life gets a little simpler. Right? Well, that's not always how it plays out. Careers shift, marriages strain, parents age, health changes, and suddenly you're rewriting the script entirely. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Kate Halfpenny — columnist for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, founder of Bad Mother Media, and author of Boogie Wonderland, to ...

Overcoming financial shame and starting fresh with Bec Allan

2026-02-0936:24

Most people think that working in finance means having your money life sorted. But today's guest proves that even the experts aren't immune to burnout, financial stress, and major setbacks. For more than 20 years, Bec Allan built a career inside Australia's major banks. She climbed the ranks, built a reputation, and did everything "right." But behind the scenes, she was exhausted, stretched thin, and carrying the weight of being a single mum trying to hold everything together — including $80,...

The big picture: global markets decoded with Anthony Kritikides

2026-01-2634:26

Banking and global markets can sound distant, sometimes even irrelevant. But the reality is, bonds, interest rates and currencies shape almost everything in your day-to-day life. Your mortgage, your super, your cost of living, even airfares. In this episode of Money and a Good Life, we’re joined by Anthony Kritikides, Managing Director and Global Head of Institutional Sales at CBA Global Markets. Anthony sits at the centre of global financial markets, helping some of the world’s largest insti...

Money from a Millennial’s POV with Jake Boulter

2026-01-1235:10

Sometimes Millennials get a bad wrap for how they manage their money. The narrative has been that they don't save and they'd rather spend on travel or avocado toast than build wealth. But is that really true? In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Jake Boulter, Senior Adviser at Tribeca and a Millennial who grew up in a family spanning four generations, from Boomers to Gen Z. Jake shares what Millennials really think about money, how their approach differs fr...

Financial literacy for kids with Vivianne Nikou

2025-12-0843:06

How do we make sure young people are leaving school ready to face the real world, not just academically, but financially as well? Because right now, the stats aren't great. Nearly half of all Australian adults are considered financially illiterate. But when it comes to young people? Things look even more concerning. Only 28% of teenage boys and just 15% of teenage girls demonstrate essential financial literacy skills. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Dr...

**BONUS EPISODE** Retire life ready with James Wrigley

2025-11-2641:09

For a lot of people, retirement is a big financial unknown. Do I have enough super? Am I doing enough? Am I too late? What if I get there and hate it? In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with James Wrigley, Melbourne based financial advisor, part-owner of First Financial, and author of Retire Life Ready, to talk about building wealth, shaping a retirement that actually feels good, and navigating the critical years just before you retire. James...

Forensic accounting in divorce and separation with Julie Garis

2025-11-2433:29

When a relationship ends, dividing up the finances can be one of the most stressful and confusing parts of the process. Who owns what? What's been disclosed? What's being hidden? And what happens when something just doesn't feel right? In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Julie Garis, founder of Simple Split Financials and forensic accountant with many years of experience to talk about the financial side of separation and divorce that most peopl...

Financial advice is more than money with Sean Birch

2025-11-1032:01

When you think about financial advice, what comes to mind? Numbers? Spreadsheets? Maybe superannuation or investments? But the best financial advice goes way beyond the money. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Sean Birch - Financial Adviser & Director, former accountant, and someone who understands that financial planning is really about people, family, and legacy. Sean (or Birchy, as he's known) has that rare combination of a numbers brain and high ...

Affording private school and planning for your kids' education with Peter Higgins

2025-09-1531:53

Private school can offer great opportunities... but it also comes with a steep price tag. Do you ever wonder how families afford it? In this episode, we investigate the real costs of private education and how to manage them. Whether you're already paying private school fees or just starting to think about your children's future education, this conversation will help you get your head around the planning, saving and investing strategies that make it possible. We're joined by Pete Higgins, Seni...

Why couples need to talk about money with Rob Devlin

2025-09-0125:22

The truth is, for a lot of couples, money is one of those conversations people try to avoid. But here's the thing - that's not a great idea. You should be talking about money, how you manage it, and yes, even what happens if you break up. In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Steph and Ryan sit down with Rob Devlin, Head of Advice and Partner at Tribeca Financial, to tackle one of the most crucial yet avoided topics in relationships: money. Rob brings his unique blend of fin...

Burnout, busy culture and breaking the cycle with Christian Miran

2025-08-1833:48

Is the 5-day workweek outdated? With burnout on the rise and workplaces scrambling to retain talent, the 4-day workweek is gaining serious momentum. But does it actually work? And how do we design workplaces where people feel fulfilled, not just productive? In this episode of Money & a Good Life, Ryan and Steph dive deep into the future of work with Christian Miran - an expert in organisational transformation and the architect behind Medibank's groundbreaking 4-day workweek pilot. Christi...

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