“… just kidding,” she says.
Tash Etschmann was one of TikTok’s early adopters, and she has successfully found her niche in personal finance content.
Fast forward four years, and she’s accumulated a net worth of over $500,000. Now, she wants to teach fellow young Australians how to get there.
“My parents always spoke about money openly when I was younger,” Etschmann said. “When I got older, I realised it wasn’t the case with a lot of my friends.”
Etschmann has worked several jobs, including in retail at H&M, in hospitality at an AFL stadium, and as a swimming instructor and optical dispenser. She was a residential support worker when she bought her apartment four years ago). She is currently self-employed, and has been for over a year.
She had always followed a few finance content creators in the US, but didn’t see many people in Australia doing it. “There’s definitely a lack of financial education, which is why I did what I did,” she said.
She is the co-author of the new book How To Not Work Forever, which is a manual, guide and and entry level “dictionary” of sorts. Think of it as money management for dummies. It’s a collaboration between Etschmann and Ana Kresina, co-host of one of Australia’s leading podcasts Get Rich Slow Club.
The book demystifies what seems to be the daunting world of investing, breaking it down into easily digestible concepts. Cash, bonds, equities, interest rates, commodities — the book has it all. Crypto is mentioned, too, but only as an “alternative asset”.
“Crypto is higher risk,” Etschmann said. “To me, it’s something you should buy in smaller amounts. It is also not a regulated financial product. However, crypto does look more exciting than, say, an index fund, so I can see why some people get distracted.”
Crypto is tempting to young Australians
Etschmann is not wrong. A significant number of young Aussies are intrigued by crypto. It’s a market that doesn’t sleep and is extremely volatile, which is perhaps why people are drawn to it.
June’s Monthly Market Insights report from Binance Australia reveals that altcoin — any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin — trading volumes by Aussie users have grown 3.75 times in value over the last two quarters, although no overall dollar figures were supplied.
Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the most traded cryptocurrencies by Aussie users. Interestingly, this is followed by mostly “memecoins” — cryptos based on viral internet memes that have little to no use in real life. Dogecoin, Pepe Coin and Shiba Inu Coin are among the top 10 trending cryptocurrencies for Aussies.
Does Etschmann hold crypto? Yes, but it makes up just “five percent of my portfolio”, she tells The Chainsaw. “I don’t talk about it too much because I want my audience to focus on the key steps first, like saving for an emergency fund.”
Etschmann’s portfolio as of June 2024 is as follows:
Debt:
- Mortgage: $208,000
- HECS: $17,000
Assets:
- Crypto: $23,900
- Shares and Super: $272,000
- Apartment: $400,000
- Savings: $93,000
- Car: $8,000
If she could go back in time and give her younger self financial advice, Etschmann joked that she’d tell herself to “go buy Bitcoin”.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently all the hype for investors worldwide. So, does one of TikTok’s top finance content creators hold any tech stocks?
“No. It takes a lot of research to stay on top of individual companies. I don’t enjoy sitting there analysing individual stocks, so I just buy ETFs. I think I’ve had quite an easy journey with money because I started so young. [Hitting financial goals] always felt quite achievable.”
Aussie TikTok “finfluencers”
In 2022, after a warning from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian “finfluencers” — a portmanteau for finance influencers — had to obtain financial advice licences in order to continue sharing their content.
In response Etschmann and other popular local finfluencers like Queenie Tan (@investwithqueeine), Aleks Nikolic (@brokegirlwealth) sought authorisation from financial advisory companies. They are now able to provide general financial advice on social media.
Although finfluencers like Etschmann have become authorised representatives of financial advisory firms, unauthorised creators giving financial advice remain popular on TikTok. Per ASIC’s information sheet on “discussing financial products and services online”, issued in March 2022, unlicensed finfluencers could face up to five years in jail and fines of up to $1 million if they discuss financial products and services online.
What’s next for Etschmann? She’s now accredited to provide general financial advice*, owns an apartment, has a net worth of $570,000, wrote a book, and continues to grow her TikTok following.
How To Not Work Forever presents a neat Venn diagram on finding the sweet spot in life. So, what does fulfilment mean to Etschmann? At this point in her life, she says she doesn’t feel guilty about spending money, and spends a lot of time on her hobbies.
“I love to travel, I read a lot of books, I tried living in Melbourne and Sydney. I spent so long working so much. I’m trying to figure it out still.”
*Note: Natasha Etschmann’s ‘Tash Invests’ is an authorised representative of Guideway Financial Services Pty Ltd, per the company’s financial services guide. Tash Invests is paid a fee from Guideway where Tash refers you to Guideway to receive: Financial advice, education and coaching services and/or mortgage broking services.
