The heartache behind Tammy’s $34m smile: MyBudget founder tells what drove her to success

MyBudget founder Tammy Barton might appear to have it all but the self-made multi-millionaire’s early life in Adelaide’s southern suburbs was far from charmed.

Down-to-earth Adelaide entrepreneur and My Budget founder Tammy Barton remains proud of her SA hertiage. Picture: Dean Martin

South Australia’s Tammy Barton sees herself as an accidental entrepreneur — and given a glimpse into her life growing up in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, it is not hard to see why.

The founder of MyBudget, which reportedly turns over in excess of $34 million a year — and manages close to a billion dollars annually on behalf of its clients — is the eldest of four children, including a severely disabled brother diagnosed with Angelman syndrome at age six.

Her mum was just 16 and her dad 19 when baby Tammy was born.

“I have a brother, Josh, with a severe disability who is unable to speak … as the eldest, my next sister is five years younger, a lot of the responsibility, in terms of helping with the family, fell to me,” she says.

“I was certainly a lot more mature when I finished school than my friends which is partly why, I think at the age of 22, I thought it was a good idea to start a business.

“My dad was a builder and I helped him all through my teenage years writing cheques, paying bills, so I had practical experience from a young age with money and a good understanding, for example, there had to be enough in there to cover what was going out.”

She describes her parents, who separated when she was 16, as her “biggest supporters”.

“Mum and Dad are a big reason why I’ve achieved what I have so far, they were always so supportive of me, always just let me be myself … and encouraged me every step of the way,” Ms Barton says. “I’ve never experienced any negativity coming from them, they always just believed in me — whether that was on the basketball court as a kid, or as I have built up this business.”

She recalls her dad coaching her junior basketball side. “After we’d finish a game he’d always tell me I was the best player out there, no matter how good the other kids were, to him it didn’t make any difference if they were state players, or who they were,” she laughs.

They, in turn, have inspired her.

“I look at the adversity they faced, especially being young parents … my brother’s disability put a lot of pressure on the family and on them, and their relationship — they were trying to run a business and raise four young children, the three girls all played sport.

“I take my hat off to both of them, really, because they always put their kids first … we never went on a family holiday, we never went out to dinner as we couldn’t take my brother anywhere, so they had a tough life.”

Today, Josh lives primarily in a home when he has 24-hour care but spends three days each week at Ms Barton’s dad’s, and is with her mum once a week.

“My dad, especially, is incredible when it comes to my brother, he brushes his teeth, he clips his nails … when we all have a family dinner at my dad’s house, he will pop off to bath Josh, a grown man, drying him, it is just incredible really,” Ms Barton says.

“My husband (Nathan) tells me Dad is one of the best men he’s ever met and it is true.

“Dad had badly wanted a son he could play footy and cricket with and do all that father and son stuff — later he said, ‘I can’t believe I said I wanted a boy, when all I really wanted was a healthy child’.”

Tammy Barton is pictured here with daughter Ellie, when her youngest was just two. Tammy helped out with her own family’s money matters from an early age. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The former Cardijn College student who set up MyBudget from her kitchen table has plans to further expand the company, hoping to take it from a household name in Australia to one that is recognised globally.

Ms Barton was studying accountancy at university and working for a law firm when the seeds for her business were sown.

“Part of my role was to manage a small debt collection firm that they owned, I really saw how the way people managed money could impact on their lives, not just their hip pocket, but on their relationships, their health, their wellbeing,” she recalls.

“I wondered who I could refer clients to, to get help and there wasn’t anybody. So, I took it upon myself to help … the big driver for me was to help as many people as I could. I never thought too far into the future, the success just sort of crept up on me and sometimes (the company’s growth) does seem surreal.”

“I was never one to do things because that was the norm, I needed to see the practicality in what I was doing, I’ve always had that practical mindset.”

In its infancy, the business — which this month is celebrating its 20th anniversary and now employs more than 250 people across Australia — grew through word of mouth and referrals.

“I had manual processes in place but quickly realised I needed to invest in my equipment, my technology and developed software to manage client accounts as there was nothing that could do what I wanted it to do,” she says. “We are now in the process of doing a rebuild (of that technology) to ensure we are relevant for the next 20 years … and also enable us to scale our business globally.”

She says she still gains great personal satisfaction in helping people.

“I had one particular client, based in Melbourne, and when I was walking down the street she recognised me, came up, wrapped her arms around me, and said, ‘I just need you to know that you and MyBudget saved my life … I was so stressed about the financial situation I was in, my family wasn’t going to see me again, that is where I was at. I had the appointment, my whole life has changed, we are now about to go on a family holiday’,” she recalls.

Tammy and Nathan married in 2015 ... this picture was taken when they were still engaged.

Ms Barton says the tragic reality is three people take their own lives each day, due to money stress.

Speaking to Ms Barton, it’s easy to overlook her phenomenal financial success — she sounds very much the southern suburbs girl, open, friendly and easy to talk to.

She doesn’t shy away from questions about her personal life, including her first, failed marriage. She married when she was 23 but separated almost 10 years later.

While the marriage didn’t last, it did give her two children, Madison, who is now 16, and son Seth, 14 — who she describes, along with her third child, Ellie, almost five, from her current marriage, as “by far my proudest achievements”.

“They are each great little human beings with great personalities but the thing I am most proud of is how empathetic they are to other people and how much they care about others, and that is really all you can ask for as a parent,” she says.

She and Ellie’s dad, Nathan, a tradesman specialising in airconditioners married in 2015.

“We met through mutual friends, he was an Adelaide boy but living in Darwin, when he’d come back to Adelaide I would see him at different friends’ houses and we’d sometimes go for breakfast or lunch.

“I’d take the kids and never thought too much of it — he was three years younger and, of course, I already had kids. One day he said, ‘you do know I have a crush on you, don’t you?’” The rest, as they say, is history. Ms Barton describes her husband as a “hands-on” dad who does the “majority of school drop-offs and packing of school lunches”.

“I really just get to enjoy Ellie,” she laughs.

April 4 marked the 20-year anniversary of MyBudget, which has moved into new CBD headquarters, on the corner of Pirie and Frome St.