Finance queen Victoria Devine shares her savvy shopping habits
Victoria Devine, the woman behind hugely successful ‘Shes On The Money’ podcast, reveals the golden rule of smart shopping.
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It’s no coincidence that my life has led me here to the role of a professional shopper. In fact, years of retail therapy have prepared me for the very moment I signed my contract. Tens of thousands of hours spent scouring websites for the best sales, countless trips to the mall to discover the latest trends, and months spent contemplating the ultimate dilemma — should I pay the extra $10 for shipping or buy another item I don’t really need? — you could say I’ve been training for this job my entire life.
As someone who is passionate about shopping, both professionally and personally, I get it: the idea of talking to a financial adviser doesn’t exactly sound thrilling. It conjures up fears of restriction, control, and endless saving. I was always worried they’d tell me to stop spending altogether. But how wrong I was.
Victoria Devine, 33, is a retired financial adviser, business owner, educator and author. But you’ll likely know her as the woman behind her hugely successful podcast, ‘She’s On The Money’. Not only is she qualified to give financial advice, she’s also lived out her own advice and, in doing so, has managed to climb her way out of $40,000 worth of personal debt in just a few years.
We sat down with Melbourne-based mother-of-one to pick her brain on all things financial literacy – her ridiculously easy savings hack, when and what to splurge on and the golden rule she lives by (hint, it’s how she justifies purchasing big ticket items).
WHAT ARE VICTORIA DEVINE’S TOP THREE MONEY TIPS?
1. Bank account audit
“It’s confronting, but we’re not going to judge ourselves because we’re just going to draw a line in the sand and there’s absolutely no reason why sitting down and looking at your spending should make you feel like trash because you are so motivated and so ready now to change. And if there’s things on there that you’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t like that’, that’s good, that means that we can make instant change.”
2. Set up a savings account
“So the account that you spend from, we are going to break down our bank accounts and get a few different ones.”
3. Spending detox
“It might sound drastic, but it’s a good way of testing our values. Everything I do is very aligned to values-based spending and making sure that it’s aligned to you.”
WHAT’S VICTORIA DEVINE’S BEST SAVINGS HACK?
“One of my favourite things to do is, let’s say there’s a skirt you want to purchase, you’re going to get on their Instagram and on their TikTok and scroll back and see if they did an Easter sale? A Valentine’s sale? What’s coming up? Scroll back because if it worked for them last year, they are probably going to do it again this year,” she tells news.com.au checkout.
“The other thing I like doing is emails. Companies always tell their email subscribers when a sale’s happening first, they’re not going to post on Instagram first. They send out their email and you can get that notification and get your item.”
WHEN SHOULD YOU PAY FOR DELIVERY?
“We are paying for delivery because overall it means that we are being more sustainable with our money in terms of benefit analysis. I would prefer to lose $6.95 than I would prefer to lose $50. And that’s what’s happening, I’m justifying a purchase.”
WHEN TO SPLURGE AND WHEN TO SAVE?
“I have the weirdest rules – I will not skimp on anything that separates me from the ground. So shoes are really important. A mattress, really important. Tyres for my car, really important. I will not skimp on those things that separate me from the ground,” she says.
“But everything else, why can’t I have a cheap top? It’s not going to be related to my safety or my comfort. Wearing bad shoes is a bad decision. It’s bad for your feet, it’s bad for your health. We should be spending money on shoes but you don’t need to spend a lot of money on socks for example.”
WHAT WAS VICTORIA DEVINE’S LAST SPLURGE ITEM?
“I actually currently have an Emma mattress and I’m loving it. I did all the research and the difference was I bought the boujee version of the Emma Mattress. I got the top end one, but she’s great. I’ve been sleeping on her for I’d say two years now. No complaints.”
Emma Luxe Pro Mattress, $1,050 (down from $2,100) at Emma Sleep
WHAT ITEMS ARE IN VICTORIA DEVINE’S SKINCARE ROUTINE?
“Do you know what? I won’t spend money on cleanser because it goes down the drain. So I’m not going to spend money on something that gets mixed with my dank makeup and then goes into the drain.”
CeraVe Hydrating Cream To Foam Cleanser, $24.99 at Adore Beauty
“But I love skincare, so I’m a big fan of Caudalie from Sephora. I use a lot of Caudalie and Sunday Riley.”
Caudalie Vinoperfect Brightening Dark Spot Serum, $113 at Sephora
Sunday RileyA+ High-Dose Retinol Serum, $85 at Sephora
“I love a basic moisturiser though and this is a 10 out of 10 moisturiser. She does what she says she’s going to do on the box. And that’s all you can ask from a product.”
NIVEA Soft Moisturising Cream 200ml, $9.99 (down from $12) at Amazon Australia
WHAT ITEMS ARE IN VICTORIA DEVINE’S MAKEUP BAG?
“Again, high / low. I love Armani, the Luminous Silk Foundation.”
Armani Luminous Silk On-The-Go Format Foundation, $75 at Sephora
“Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer is the perfect blush.”
Armani Fluid Sheer Liquid Highlighter, $69 at Sephora
WHAT COFFEE MACHINE DOES VICTORIA DEVINE USE?
“I have a pod machine at home because often for me having a coffee is about function. I need a coffee, I need the caffeine and I want to keep working. I have the Lavazza and Smeg collaboration pod machine so it looks boujee on my kitchen bench. She does the job and she looks chic at the same time.”
Lavazza Smeg A Modo Mio Coffee Machine, $349 at Appliances Online
Lavazza Milk Up Induction Frother Black, $99 at The Good Guys
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