The 32-year-old has an army of followers on social media, she runs masterclasses and e-courses, and her smiling face can regularly be seen on TV and in newspapers and magazines, where she offers practical and easy-to-understand money advice to the masses.

But wind the clock back to about 10 years ago and it was a very different story – the Tasmanian-born money guru was once drowning in debt.

However, determined to turn her situation around, Devine began learning all she could about managing money, and made some serious adjustments to her lifestyle and spending.

She not only blitzed her money woes, but realised there were plenty of others also struggling with finances, and made it her mission to help others better manage their money and live happier more stress-free lives.

“When I was in high school I thought I was going to be a psychologist, I was really excited about doing psychology,’’ recalls Devine, who was born and raised in Launceston but is now based in Melbourne.

“And before that I wanted to do medicine. Because I always wanted to help people, those roles made a lot of sense to me.’’

She graduated with two psychology degrees and started working in corporate consulting. But she didn’t love it.

“It was OK, but I didn’t feel like I was having the impact that I thought I could have,’’ Devine says.

She was also struggling with her finances, which was making her increasingly anxious.

“At that time I was not very good with money,’’ Devine explains.

“I owed $45,000 on personal loans, which was wild as my annual income was then $55,000. That debt felt crippling. I couldn’t sleep at night.’’

So she embarked on a quest for knowledge which ultimately transformed her bank balance – and her career trajectory.

“I wanted to learn more about managing money, and the more I learnt the more I realised this is pretty powerful stuff – I ended up making a complete career flip and heading into finance,’’ Devine says.

She returned to university to complete her MBA (Master of Business Administration) while at the same time studying to be a financial adviser and working at a practice part-time.

“I was working in the ultra-high-net-wealth space – people who had a minimum of $10m to invest,’’ Devine recalls.

“And it was just not relatable to a 24-year-old who was struggling with debt. To be brutally honest, I didn’t enjoy making rich people richer.’’

But one thing she realised was that she loved talking to – and helping – her friends with all sorts of money questions.

“If I become passionate about something, I’m wildly passionate about it,’’ Devine says.

“My friends were probably sick of going out to breakfast with me, I’d say ‘sit down, we’re going to be talking superannuation’, or ‘guys do you have a budget or a cash flow? Let me do it for you’. I just really wanted to help people.’’

She started running free “lunch and learn” sessions for women within the corporate space and those sessions were called She’s on the Money.

Demand for her services continued to grow and soon Devine was able to start charging a fee for the service. “I thought it was crazy that people were willing to come and pay me to talk about money,’’ Devine says.

She set up a Facebook group so people who attended her workshops could stay connected and be inspired by each other’s progress.

And she was receiving messages every day from people who had attended her workshops but wanted to add their friends or relatives to the group as they felt they would benefit from Devine’s fun and relatable way of sharing financial advice.

Soon she had 1700 members in the group and remembers how chuffed she was.

“I was this girl from Tassie, I’d always had that close-knit family vibe,’’ Devine says.

“Even when we moved to Melbourne we were living on the Mornington Peninsula, I’m not a big city girl. I remember thinking ‘imagine, if I could get even 100 clients out of this, I could start my own practice’.’’

Fast forward to the present day, and that same group now has more than 79,000 followers and has formed the basis of Devine’s ever-growing She’s on the Money empire.

And one of the centrepieces of her success is her She’s on the Money podcast, which has produced more than 500 episodes, has had more than 45 million downloads and is ranked as the number one finance podcast globally.

In the early days of her workshops and Facebook page, Devine asked her community what they wanted her to do next, and how they wanted to absorb content.

“They started asking for video content,’’ recalls Devine, who was camera-shy at the time.

“I said ‘Absolutely not, that’s crazy, we’re not starting a YouTube channel, no thank you’. I didn’t want to do video, so a podcast seemed like a more approachable way.’’

It was 2019 and she planned to create only 12 episodes to cover topics she was asked about most often – things like budgeting, cash flow, insurance and investing.

She thought that when her followers asked her questions, she’d have some resources to refer them to.

But she could never have anticipated that those 12 episodes would go viral and her podcast would spend a couple of weeks being the number one podcast in Australia.

“I got to the end of the 12 episodes and people were saying ‘when is the next season coming out?’,’’ Devine says.

“So I decided to carry on and embrace it. I enjoyed it, so it kind of made sense to keep on that route.’’

Her podcast has now had more than 45 million downloads, which she describes as “insane”. “I don’t know how this happened,’’ she laughs.

Devine retired as a financial adviser and sold her financial adviser practice in September 2022 to focus on She’s on the Money, which employs a team of six.

She is also the founder and co-director of Melbourne-based mortgage-broking practice Zella Money, which has 30 staff.

Although Devine is no longer a licensed financial adviser she is licensed to give general financial advice, which she says sets her apart from many others on the internet who are offering money advice without any real background in finance.

Her psychology training also fits in nicely with her finance knowledge.

“I adore it,’’ Devine says of the work she does now.

“My community’s the best. I just love the idea of people championing other people, especially women.’’

She believes the key to her success is that she has found a way to make finance – something that is often considered a dry and complex topic – to be fun and relatable.

“I’m not talking down to you,’’ she says.

“I’m a friend who is just teaching you. And I think that’s part of the appeal. I know you, because I am you. I was in personal debt and it sucked.

“I know what it’s like not to be able to sleep at night, because you don’t know where the next repayment is coming from.’’

Devine has fond memories of her early years in Tasmania. She began her schooling at East Launceston Primary School but after a couple of years she moved with her parents to Victoria, when her dad accepted a job there.

Devine’s extended family members still live in Tasmania – including her beloved Nanna, aged in her 80s – so she returns to the state regularly to visit.

Zella Money is actually named in honour of her Tasmanian Nanna.

“She thinks she’s so cool,’’ Devine laughs.

“When I named the business I got business cards for her.’’

Devine says finance and investing has long been considered a male game.

So challenging the stereotype and empowering women to take charge of their finances and create the life they’ve always dreamt of was a rewarding.

“There’s nothing sexy about looking at superannuation,’’ she says.

“But financial freedom, and living a life that you deserve, now that’s sexy. And superannuation is a tool we need to tap into, to create that financial freedom.’’

She says many people make money mistakes because they’ve never been given the tools and resources they need to correctly manage their finances.

Like most people, she studied home economics at school, but says while she learnt to cook she didn’t learn anything about how to budget or how to pay a bill, or how to make a superannuation contribution.

“Managing a household is not managing cooking or making pancakes, it’s being able to pay the bloody bills,’’ Devine says.

She says once people get the tools they need to manage their finances they thrive and that’s what she loves to see.

With the rising cost of living, her hints and tips for managing budgets and saving money are more sought after than ever.

Devine says it wasn’t that long ago that people could buy a trolley full of groceries for $100 – now you’re lucky to get a small basket of groceries for that price.

“It has become crippling for a lot of people in our community,’’ says Devine, who has started conversations around cheap eats and cheap gifts and favourite budget meals to give people ideas and motivation.

“It can be overwhelming doing it on your own, but it doesn’t feel so heavy when you’ve got a team and a community behind you.’’

Devine has recently renovated her house – a process that “wasn’t smooth sailing, it was really challenging, and the tradies messed up and went over budget” – and she shared the journey with her followers, offering an insight into the emotional and financial challenges that come with renovating.

She and her husband are expecting their first child at the end of February.

Devine also has two new books coming out in 2024, which will take her book count to six.

She published She’s on the Money: Take Charge of Your Financial Future in 2021, followed by Investing with She’s on the Money in 2022, then two books in 2023 – Property with She’s on the Money as well as the She’s on the Money Budget Journal.

Devine, who is clearly passionate about what she does, is also continuing to grow her online space incorporating masterclasses and e-courses.

“A lot of people tell me ‘you need to slow down, you’re having a baby’,’’ she says.

“But She’s On The Money is also my baby, I get so much joy out of it, I will be a better mum if I’m nourished from that as well.’’

She says following people’s journeys, and seeing them achieve goals like buying their first house, or getting out of debt, or mastering the art of investing, or simply feeling more confident with their finances is an “absolute pleasure”.

“I still don’t believe it, that this is my life,’’ Devine says.

“It’s very cool, but definitely not what I thought my career would be. The impact, to me, is wild. It’s so special to have the ability to change the trajectory of other people’s lives for the better.’’•

For more information about Victoria Devine and She’s on the Money visit shesonthemoney.com.au or listen to Devine’s top-ranking podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

She’s on the Money, by Victoria Devine, Random House, is $32.99.

12 TIPS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR FINANCES AND START 2024 WELL

Know your financial position and create a budgeting and cash flow system that works for you. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Be honest about your spending. Budgets aren’t about restrictions, they’re about understanding your financial position and spending accordingly.

Write down your goals. Then you can see what you’re working towards, which helps to visualise things more clearly. Think about short term (1-2 years), medium term (3-5 years) and long-term (5-10 years) goals. Having direction is key to taking charge of your finances, otherwise instead of charging forward you’ll just be treading water.

When you’re setting goals, make sure they’re small enough to be achievable. Break down bigger goals. If you want to buy a house and your goal is a $50,000 deposit, start with a plan for saving the first $1000. Small wins will motivate you to keep going.

Scrutinise your spending. Print a couple of weeks worth of bank statements. Review your transactions and highlight every item you purchased that was not essential. It’s amazing how quickly the cost of lattes, internet shopping sprees and after work wines add up.

Think about your money story. What are your attitudes and opinions around money? Why do you act the way that you do? What role did your upbringing play in shaping your money habits? The path to financial freedom starts with reflecting on your money story and understanding why you are the way that you are when it comes to finance.

Short-term pain for long-term gain. Trim your budget. But remember, just because you cut out something like dining out, doesn’t mean it is a luxury that is gone forever. Set a time limit – six months or 12 months – so the end is in sight and you won’t feel like you’re missing out as much. Once you’ve achieved your saving goal, you can build those luxuries back into your budget.

Compare and negotiate. If you haven’t looked at your bills and outgoings for a while, now is the time. Even though the cost of living has increased, companies are quite competitive and want to retain your business. See if your car insurer or phone carrier can offer you a better deal or a loyalty discount. Or see if the same insurance is cheaper elsewhere.

Check your subscriptions. Did you decide to learn Spanish last year and signed up for an app that you’ve never used but forgot to unsubscribe to? Are you paying for more cloud storage than you need? Open your phone’s settings and you can view a list of active subscriptions. Unsubscribe to anything you don’t need or use. All those little amounts quickly add up.

Get on top of your bills. Bills tend to wreak havoc when we’re not prepared for them. Set reminders. Use BPay. Break down bigger bills like power, water and rates into smaller amounts and set up recurring payments weekly, fortnightly or monthly to give you more control and avoid the stress of an unexpected bill. This also helps avoid late fees.

Make other plans. If your friend invites you out for brunch but your budget doesn’t allow it, be honest about your savings goals and suggest a coffee date at home or a walk on the beach. Your friend will be happy to see you, regardless of the location or the cost of the outing.

Embrace buy and sell sites. If you want something that’s out of your budget, look at second-hand options on places like Facebook Marketplace. Devine says there’s a misconception that second-hand goods are not as good. Marketplace is a great way to offload stuff you don’t want or use, and to also earn extra cash to boost your savings goal.

Be kind to yourself. No one is perfect when it comes to money. Know that you are going to make mistakes along the way. And know that the rising cost of living poses additional challenges. Don’t beat yourself up about not having investments or not topping up your super if you can barely afford groceries or rent.