From banking to baby – Lisa’s finance story

Written by Money Empire

December 11, 2017

We recently sat down with Lisa Barton, our in-house finance guru, to tell us a little bit more about how she came to be working for Money Empire and how becoming a parent has changed how she looks at money.

Before I started at Money Empire, I’d been working in the banking industry for nine years. At Westpac I’d worked my way up from a bank teller to a lending specialist then a manager. I first met Jess and Kayne from Money Empire when I was asked to assist with organising finance for one of their clients.

It probably sounds a bit clichéd but everything about Money Empire appealed to me from the get-go – the way the company was portrayed, how Jess and Kayne worked with their clients, and the guidance that they were able to give people – so when the opportunity came up for me to join the team, I jumped at it. The plans I was seeing Jess and Kayne create for their clients really intrigued me, so the decision to make the move wasn’t a difficult one.

The banking industry is great, but there’s a lot to it, and it can be hard to build relationships with clients over the long term. Working with Money Empire means I can work with people as their situations change – maybe they become parents, or they change jobs, or they move cities. I now have the opportunity to provide a more holistic service to my clients as well, which definitely appeals to me.

I love that I get the chance to talk to people about their ideal lifestyle, then work with them to make it happen. There are so many options that we can use to get people into their dream lifestyle – it’s different for each client but always exciting.

One of the parts of my job I enjoy the most is learning from our clients, and then being able to apply those learnings to my own finances and those of other clients. I really do believe that if you’ve lived through a life event then you can give much more honest and realistic advice or guidance. Through both my own experiences and that of my clients, I’m able to advise people who are going through all sorts of major life events like buying a first home, buying an investment property, moving to the regions or starting a family.

Becoming a parent – our first child Chloe arrived late last year – has definitely changed my outlook on finance. It can seem like money just flows out of the house all the time when there’s a baby involved, so having Chloe has a been a great reminder that it’s so important to have household bills and essential living costs covered. As a parent I want my child to have everything possible, but at the same time I have to remember that if she’s fed, warm, happy and loved, then that’s really all she needs.

Outside of work I’m happiest when I’m surrounded by friends and family, and I’m definitely looking forward to firing up the barbecue during what’s shaping up to be a long and hot summer!

If you’ve got a dream lifestyle in mind but need some help getting your finances heading in the right direction, get in touch with Lisa today.

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