Latest / ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿 / ✨You Can't Pay the Bills with Passion - Bonus Ep 💸
Transcript
- 0:14Hey, and welcome back to another episode of Aligned and Thriving
- 0:18for Teachers where we talk all about the parts of teaching that
- 0:21no one's pretty much warned you about in uni, including the
- 0:24financial ones. I'm Mel.
- 0:26And in today's episode it sort of touches on a few things that
- 0:29I may have touched on before. But this one's for the teachers
- 0:32who love their job but a sick of feeling like their passion is
- 0:35being used as an excuse not to be paid properly.
- 0:39So we're talking money, stress, the rising cost of living, and
- 0:43where teaching feels like one of the only professions where
- 0:47caring deeply somehow means getting paid less.
- 0:51So if you've ever looked at your pay slip and thought this is not
- 0:56enough for what I do, you're not alone.
- 0:58And today we're unpacking the real emotional toll of the
- 1:02financial pressures that we have on us as a teacher.
- 1:05So the reality of getting underpaid for what we do?
- 1:08Let's just break it down. Teaching is not 9:00 to 3:00.
- 1:10And we all know that the unpaid hours are intense.
- 1:14Our evenings, our weekends, our holidays, we spend planning the
- 1:19marking, doing PD. We are covering roles far beyond
- 1:24teaching nowadays. We're counsellors, we're social
- 1:26workers, we're nurses, we're conflict mediators, we're just,
- 1:29we're a whole bunch of things and yet we still get told oh but
- 1:34you get all the school holidays? Oh at least you've got a stable
- 1:36job. Teaching is a calling, not a
- 1:38career. Cool, try paying rent with your
- 1:42calling. Sorry we have a real emotional
- 1:47cost of this financial stress. When you're constantly worried
- 1:52about the groceries, the bills, the mortgage, whether you can
- 1:55even afford to go on a holiday this year during your holidays,
- 1:58it chips away at your sense of security and yourself worth.
- 2:03You might feel guilty spending money on yourself or when.
- 2:06This is 110% me. I don't know about you but I
- 2:11constantly feel guilt. This is a big money block for me
- 2:15but feel guilty about spending money on myself.
- 2:17Happily go spend money on other people but when it comes to me
- 2:20it's got to be justified. So I have to work on that in my
- 2:23mindset. You might take on extra
- 2:26responsibilities just to feel like you're worthy of then
- 2:29wanting to earn more or move up type of thing.
- 2:33Or you judge yourself for even wanting more.
- 2:35I've done that too, but let me say this clearly.
- 2:38Wanting financial ease does not make you greedy.
- 2:41You are allowed to be paid well for the energy that you give
- 2:45because your energy is expensive.
- 2:47Caring deeply does not mean that you should sacrifice your own
- 2:51well being. So we're working on a bit of a
- 2:54mindset shift here. Passion plus pay equals
- 2:58possible. It's not either or.
- 3:01You can be wildly passionate about teaching and want more
- 3:05income. You can love your students and
- 3:09want to work part time with better balance.
- 3:11You can be grateful for your job and your salary, but you can
- 3:15also advocate for a better pay. Gratitude is not a muzzle.
- 3:19You are allowed to want more without shame.
- 3:24OK I'm just trying to make that message clear with all the stuff
- 3:29that's going on at the moment. I think it's just a very
- 3:31relevant and timely message. So things that have really
- 3:35helped me to shift my money story.
- 3:37Well, this year in general, I've really started working on my
- 3:41money mindset and it's been an absolute game changer.
- 3:44So here's what's helped me daily abundance affirmations.
- 3:49I deserve overflow. I am safe to receive more.
- 3:53I'm tracking what I do have instead of obsessing from what's
- 3:57missing. I've celebrated unexpected
- 4:00income, even if it's small. It is just proof that I'm
- 4:03magnetic and stuff comes to me. That's just a bit of a saying
- 4:07for me. Anyway, I've started and I'll
- 4:11talk more about this in another episode, but some aligned side
- 4:14hustles and investing in my own personal growth and getting
- 4:19honest about spending and savings and having a bit of
- 4:23clarity around that. And that's been giving me back
- 4:25power. I've realised that the more that
- 4:28I believe that I am worthy of wealth, the more opportunities
- 4:33just flow back in. So let's make this practical for
- 4:38you. This week I want you to try one
- 4:40or a couple of these. Start tracking every dollar that
- 4:44comes in, even the random ones. This can mean if you have like a
- 4:48coffee card and you get a free coffee after six coffees, that
- 4:52is free money because you didn't have to pay for that other
- 4:55coffee that's free. So you can claim that on your
- 4:58tracking sheet that that is money coming in because you
- 5:01didn't have to pay that. Another one you could work on.
- 5:05I want you to write down three things that you would love to be
- 5:07able to afford without guilt. I have a very long list, but
- 5:13yes, just three, three things that you'd love to be able to
- 5:16afford without feeling that guilt.
- 5:18And then like affirm it daily. Money flows to me with ease.
- 5:23Money flows to me with ease. I'm a money magnet.
- 5:26Like you can start saying these things to yourself.
- 5:28You could research a side hustle or a passive income stream or
- 5:32anything like that. You could do something.
- 5:34I've got another episode coming out next week to talk a bit more
- 5:38about how that looks for you and how it looks for me.
- 5:41You might reframe A limiting belief.
- 5:44OK, like I never make enough money as a teacher.
- 5:48Teaching is just one way I serve.
- 5:50I'm open to other income sources.
- 5:53If you invest, that's an income source.
- 5:55Just be smarter and work harder. You don't have to, sorry, be
- 6:00smarter. You don't have to work harder.
- 6:02We just have to be smarter with how we're using our money to
- 6:04make it work for us as well. Because your worth isn't
- 6:08measured by your pay slip. But let's be real, like being
- 6:13paid well does help. It creates space for us to
- 6:16actually rest, to travel, to have more joy, just to have more
- 6:21choice. It allows us to say no to
- 6:25burnout and yes to boundaries and putting those in place.
- 6:31I know this is a big issue at the moment across pretty much
- 6:34the whole of Australia because that's where I'm coming to you
- 6:37from. So if you do listen from other
- 6:40states, other countries and States and things, this is
- 6:42probably the same for you guys that teachers are not getting
- 6:45paid what they should be getting paid.
- 6:47Because remember that we are shaping the next generation of,
- 6:51of children like we're, they're our students.
- 6:53We are helping to shape them. And I don't think that we can be
- 6:56replaced by AI. We have empathy and sympathy and
- 7:00that's something that AI cannot do and we can really tailor the
- 7:04learning for the students. Teachers are not replaceable and
- 7:07we are essential. We were proven to be essential
- 7:11workers. When it came through Covad, it
- 7:13was very evident that we were still needed beings.
- 7:17So this is very out and about at the moment because we're in the
- 7:22process of rewriting lots of the agreements for teachers.
- 7:26So that does mean that you will probably see teachers striking
- 7:29because sometimes it's the only way that the message can be
- 7:33heard and we start to make it seen by other people in the
- 7:38public sort of arena. It's not that we want to do
- 7:42those things because we ultimately want to be there for
- 7:44the kids, but it's how we have to send a message because it
- 7:48seems to be the only way to get a message through is if we don't
- 7:50turn up to do our job, then what do?
- 7:53What are they going to do about it?
- 7:54And that's the sad but harsh truth of the matter.
- 7:58But how else do we get a message across that everyone seems to be
- 8:01getting these pay increases, but we're not getting them.
- 8:05And I know that I'm married to someone who gets pay increases
- 8:08and extra bonuses and he gets paid for the hours that he
- 8:12works. And if he does extra, he gets
- 8:13double time, like all this extra coming in and overflow for him
- 8:18because he's appreciated for the energy that he's putting back
- 8:21in. And I will constantly get home
- 8:23and say, why are you doing that? You're not getting paid for
- 8:24that. But it is because that's part of
- 8:27my why. And I choose to do those things
- 8:29to make things more engaging for the kids.
- 8:31But wouldn't it be nice if you got that little bit more just to
- 8:36make that cost of living a little bit easier?
- 8:38And we had that solid income coming in.
- 8:40When we feel appreciated, obviously we start giving back
- 8:43more. That's just how the world
- 8:45unfortunately works because our energy is expensive and we need
- 8:50to be appreciated for actually giving that energy.
- 8:53Because you're not just teaching, you're giving your
- 8:55heart, your energy, your time. It's whole process.
- 8:59We are human first, but then we become teachers and we get into
- 9:02this teaching mode and it just all comes with it.
- 9:05But you deserve to be compensated in a way that
- 9:08reflects the value that you bring.
- 9:11So whether you're budgeting better or setting some new
- 9:15income goals or manifesting your next opportunity, just remember
- 9:19that I'm here cheering for you because I'm probably in the same
- 9:23shoes as you at the moment and going through the same things.
- 9:27And just remember that I'm walking alongside you in this
- 9:30process and doing what I can to help others.
- 9:32So if this episode, I know it was only a short 1, but if this
- 9:36episode lit a fire in you, just share it with your teacher
- 9:38besties, share it with people that you think need to hear this
- 9:41message. Tag me London throwing for
- 9:43teachers. Tell me what's your next money
- 9:45move? Are you going to invest some
- 9:46money here and there? There's some really good apps
- 9:49for that. There's a podcast too.
- 9:51She's on the money. If you listen to her, I think
- 9:55it's by I've also got the book investing with She's on the
- 9:58money. Victoria Devine, if you listen
- 10:01to her podcast, she gives some really great advice and some
- 10:04really simple investing tips and some apps that you can get to
- 10:07help you start investing. That might be something for you.
- 10:11You might get some ideas, but this is where we're at at the
- 10:15moment. Just do what you can and I feel
- 10:19for all of you who are in that position where you have to do
- 10:22things like strike. Just remember that we are doing
- 10:26this to support our future selves, and although it may be
- 10:31disruptive for a day or two, if it's the way that we get the
- 10:34message across, just remember that we're not doing it to the
- 10:37students. We're doing it for the students
- 10:40and for ourselves because we are valued not just for what we do,
- 10:44but for all the stuff we do for other people.
- 10:46I guess I just wanted to make that clear.
- 10:49So until next time, I hope you guys stay aligned and keep
- 10:53thriving. Remember, I appreciate
- 10:56everything that you do because you are amazing and you're doing
- 10:59an amazing job. So yeah, stay empowered, stay
- 11:04abundant, and stay thriving. And I'll talk to you again next
- 11:07time. Bye, guys.