Superannuation can be a loaded topic for First Nations Australians, says Larisha Jerome.
The proud Jarowair, Wakka Wakka and Wulli Wulli woman has dedicated her life to helping empower Indigenous Australians and breaking down barriers of economic injustice.
But as a kid, money was never a topic of conversation.
“Super, tax, we didn’t learn that at school,” she said.
Many like Larisha also grew up with complex impacts of generational trauma.
In communities, she would find distrust of the government had led to suspicion over basic wealth-building levers like superannuation.
“Superannuation is good,” she said.
“But it’s initially money that’s kept away from you and given to you when you’re retired right? But when you think about it, stolen wages back in the day, is the government taking money that doesn’t belong to you and then giving it back to you at a later date.
“That was such a long time ago and people are still not getting their stolen wages paid to them until recently.”
Reservations around superannuation and other limiting beliefs around money are what Larisha has been working to change as a self-concept and mindset coach at First Nations Foundation.
“There are so many economic disadvantages that have led to where First Nations people are today,” she said.
“My grandparents worked and earned money in rations. My great-great-grandparents, they didn’t have control of their own money. I did not grow up with generational wealth whatsoever.
“My earliest childhood memories [were] in a women’s refuge with my single mother…and then I ended up becoming homeless when I was 17 and lived in a residential care home.”
Scarcity shaped Larisha’s start in life but she did not want to get stuck there.
“I didn’t want to live paycheck to paycheck and I knew it was up to me to break those generational curses,” she said.
“In life, you get all of these lessons in whatever form they may be until you actually learn.”
Her first big financial goal was to buy a home that would give her the safety and security she’d been craving.
Shifting her mindset from one of scarcity to abundance allowed Larisha to change the trajectory of her life.
Within a few years of working hard and saving money, she managed to purchase her first home with her partner at the time.
She was just 21.
“What I wanted to do is to completely change the narrative of the life I was living,” she said.
“Now, I’m more positive around overcoming my self-limiting beliefs and changing the way I view money.
“I feel like we get stuck in the generational trauma aspect of things but now it’s time we talk about our generational strengths because we have survived over 60,000 years of life.”
Changing the narrative
Larisha believes diversity in the finance industry can help transform the lives of more Indigenous Australians by creating better access to culturally safe and relevant information about money.
But lifelong change would also need the right mindset.
Larisha hosts the Rich Blak Women podcast, which encourages listeners to shift their thinking around money.
“People’s perception of wealth is completely different,” she said.
“Financial wellness is the overall holistic financial health. I always take it back to spirituality because spirituality is an Indigenous practice.
“Mentally you want to achieve that financial wellness. Spiritually you want that financial contentment and then physically you want that financial freedom.
“Mentally [you] want to be abundant, you want to be capable, you want to have that educated mindset. Spiritually you want to feel at ease, you want to feel comfortable and you want to release that money shame which, unfortunately a lot of us as women we experience.
“And it comes back to that self-worth piece as well and then of course physically, we want that financial freedom to provide, share and to support those people who are around us.”
Unapologetically disrupt
Larisha wants more people, especially Indigenous women, to rethink who they are and step into a newfound purpose without shame.
“I spent so much time as a teen feeling unworthy, not capable, not deserving enough but I’ve worked so hard over the years to really overcome these self-limiting beliefs,” she said.
To stand in her power, show up authentically and have a more abundant life, Larisha had to step outside her comfort zone.
“When I was younger money was never a conversation,” she said.
“Now, every single day, I am out here talking about it so that’s redressing economic injustice.
“We’re taught to suppress [conversations about money], to shy away from it [but] it’s just a great opportunity to disrupt and do that unapologetically. We don’t grow if we’re not outside our comfort zone.
“It’s okay to be seen and to be heard. This is exactly what our ancestors fought for as well. We can be the voice for the voiceless.”
Positive disruptive change happened in Larisha’s life after she started little rituals each day like revising vision boards, journaling, spending time in nature, updating goals and repeating affirmations that helped change the story she was telling herself about her identity, finances and future.
She said these little habits over time could transform anyone’s life.
“It keeps you in that abundant energy and it keeps you accountable as well,” she said.
“You’re retraining your subconscious blocks that are in your head, that are ingrained.
“Every single thing that you want and desire comes into fruition.”
Hear more from Larisha Jerome on episode three of the Spotlight on Women series, where Women’s Agenda examines key industry areas to profile women building game-changing and influential careers with purpose, thanks to our partnership with Grant Thornton Australia.