It’s Pay Day! The ABC’s new 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.
Last year Reece Edwards sped past two Olympians to win the 2023 Melbourne Marathon, crossing the finish line in 2:14:34. You might think an athlete would take a break or rest after an achievement like that — but the very next day Reece went back to work in healthcare.
Since running his first marathon in 2018 the Coffs Harbour native has become one of Australia’s top distance runners, competing in events around the world. He fits in training around his full-time job as a rehabilitation physiotherapist in Melbourne.
For Pay Day, Reece reflects on why he has been happy to forgo typical “financial achievements” like building a property portfolio to focus on life achievements such as running and travelling instead.
How would you describe your financial situation right now?
I earn almost exactly the average yearly salary in Australia and don’t currently experience any significant financial concerns. My wife and I do not own credit cards and are not big spenders. We don’t need the latest smartphone, a new car every year etc… however I also don’t feel we actively restrict what we purchase when needed.
Reece won the 2023 Melbourne Marathon. (Supplied: Reece Edwards)
How was money spoken about in your house growing up?
Both of my parents spent their entire working careers at the NAB. My father worked in business banking and my mother retail banking. Therefore money, especially saving money, was spoken about often in our house growing up.
What did you spend your first pay cheque on?
I started working at 14 years nine months at a local retail store. I didn’t spend any of this money until I was 17 on a $3,500 carbon road bike for cycling.
About how much of your income goes towards your rent or mortgage each week?
I am guessing too much. I am paying rent plus I have a mortgage for a block of land and eventually a home. I would say roughly 70 per cent of income goes towards the payments although I have never thought about this.
What has been your biggest financial disaster?
I have always been a saver, therefore I had the ability to buy a home more than 10 years ago but never really got around to looking.
I think an onlooker would call this a disaster — but I personally would never have lived overseas with my wife and achieved many of my running-related results and had so many amazing adventures and stories if I had of gotten a mortgage at 19-20 years of age. So I guess I have never had a big financial disaster, in my eyes.
Reece and his wife lived overseas before returning to Australia. (Supplied: Reece Edwards)
What’s your guilty splurge?
I purchase a Banh Mi on Wednesdays for lunch.
Have you ever kept a secret about money?
This is a hard question. Maybe I have previously lied about the cost of some of my running shoes to my wife.
How much was the last loaf of bread you bought?
I purchased a $1.90 baguette from Coles. Can be split into three to four sandwiches for work.
Cash or card?
What is cash!!! I am the type of person that will leave a shop if they do not allow the use of card payment.
Reece often fits in two training sessions a day, around full-time work. (Supplied: Reece Edwards)
How many bank accounts do you have?
I have four accounts: a spending account which is where my pay enters; a small savings account for emergencies; a large savings account which currently has a 5.2 per cent interest rate (this account is savings for a home on our current land and to ensure I always get the bonus interest, I never draw on this account for living expenses); and then I have an offset account linked to my mortgage.
What’s your biggest source of money anxiety?
Every day I am reminded about the cost-of-living crisis and housing crisis in the Australian news. I don’t think this is healthy. I am fortunate to not currently experience any anxiety around money as I spend and borrow within my capacity.
What are you saving for right now and how are you doing it?
I am not actively saving for anything currently. I rarely spend money beyond the basic needs so I tend to always have some savings for experiences/travel with my wife and child during annual leave periods.
Reece (third from left) has a young child. (Supplied: Reece Edwards)
What’s your biggest financial achievement?
Not restricting my experiences of life on financial terms. I don’t find owning property, having a large stock portfolio etc interesting achievements. Life without work would be quite boring in my opinion so I am happy to have as many experiences running marathons and ultra-marathons around the world whilst I am young.
Travel when you are young vs retired is very different and I want to be able to run up a mountain when I travel, not sit on a tour bus once I retire and finally have time.
If you could tell 18-year-old you one thing about money, what would it be?
I would reinforce the importance of having savings. Also if choosing a sport maybe focus on golf or tennis instead of running.
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Reece Edwards is a rehabilitation physiotherapist at Epworth HealthCare in Melbourne. Outside of the clinic he is a long and ultra distance runner.
