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Welcome back to Pay Day, the new ABC column where we ask Australians the money questions we don't like to talk about. We aim to demystify personal finance and normalise conversations about what we earn and how we save it — or spend it.
Tyler Mahoney calls herself a "professional gold digger" — but that doesn't mean what you may think it means. The 29-year-old is a fourth-generation gold prospector, and also runs a gold dealership in the Western Australian outback city of Kalgoorlie. Her current start-up isn't her first foray into bootstrapping; she started her first business when she was 19 and has learned plenty of lessons along the way.
For Pay Day, Tyler Mahoney talks about the lessons she has learned from starting her own businesses and why cash is still "king" in the outback.
How would you describe your financial situation right now?
I am extremely privileged that I live in an area with a very low cost of living and I run a company that can afford to pay me a good wage. I own a start-up with two employees plus me and we are completely bootstrapped so I do feel the pressure of managing cash flow!
How was money spoken about in your house growing up?
Tyler Mahoney's parents moved the family to the outback to become full-time gold prospectors. (Supplied: Tyler Mahoney)
When I was young we grew up with not a lot of money so we definitely learnt the value of a dollar. We were always taught the difference between a want and a need and we were taught hard work. My parents sold everything and moved into the outback when I was 11 to be full-time prospectors. We lived in a caravan in the bush while we found a house and my parents prospected for gold.
My brother and I watched them work extremely hard to get in front in life — there is no sick leave or annual leave being a gold prospector. If they weren't out hunting for gold there was no money coming in!
They took a huge risk but it was worth it; I think watching this made me comfortable taking financial risks. My parents are hard working middle-class people so I wasn't taught a lot about investing outside of gold so I have worked hard to educate myself to make sure I am financially literate.
What did you spend your first pay cheque on?
I was paid in gold and I cashed it in for clothes from Supré I am pretty sure