Some of my husband's 20-something colleagues like to rib him about having a "famous" wife and want me to talk to them about money.
Their question in a nut shell is this: "How do I get ahead financially while living a party lifestyle and not doing any of the boring stuff like budgeting?"
Gauntlet accepted.
Now I'm not qualified to give personal financial advice, but I can share some general thoughts that might be useful.
First step is to earn more money. Getting ahead financially requires living within your means. If you're not willing to compromise your party lifestyle or do "boring stuff" such as budgeting, then you need to increase your means.
Choose a career with good earning potential, invest in your skills and professional relationships, always put your best work forward and be willing to learn. Renegotiate your salary regularly, but if you have to choose between experience and pay, then go for experience as that pays off more in the medium to long run.
Second, automate your savings. If it's boring to you, then find a way to get it done without thinking about it.
Research suggests that most people don't notice a pay rise because their consumption increases in line with income. This means the reverse is also true and, unless you are on a low income, you probably won't notice it if you give yourself a small pay cut.
Organise for part of your salary to be paid into a high-interest savings account. Your employer may let you nominate multiple bank accounts for your pay; failing that, you can set up a standing order.
When you've got a few thousand dollars saved then you can buy into share-based investments. Some people find this fun and investing directly is certainly the best way to learn the ropes – Money has a lot of articles online that will help get you started.
But if you don't want to think about it too much then you could look for a managed fund, where a fund manager chooses the stocks for you; or an exchange-traded fund (ETF), which tracks the market.
Keep feeding your savings and investments with part of your salary.
If you lack discipline and find that you keep dipping into savings, then you might want to use salary sacrifice into superannuation. The downside is that this money is untouchable until you are in your late 60s or beyond, even if you want to buy a house in 10 years' time or need it for some other reason.
The upside is that compound interest means super contributions made in your 20s and 30s will be worth a lot more when you retire than if you saved the same money in your 40s and 50s.
It might be better not to lock the money away, but it beats spending every last cent on your party lifestyle.
While you're tinkering with your super, fill out the forms to consolidate all your accounts into one place, and make sure that you're in a growth option. For most people a balanced option is for middle age, while a conservative option is for after retirement.
Third, you might be able to make this money stuff less boring. Don't like budgeting? How about you turn it into a game and try "extreme budgeting" where you don't spend anything at all beyond the bare necessities?
Do it with a friend and even if you go back to your normal life after a couple of months, you'll still have some money to show for it at the end. A money diet is not like restricting what you eat, where you risk actual physical damage to your metabolism.
Or you might try out an app like Acorns, where you can round up your spare (virtual) "change" from card transactions and save it into a tracker fund. Or you might put every $5 note that comes your way into your sock drawer. Whatever works.
Finally, what do you mean by a party lifestyle, anyway? There are lots of ways to have fun and they don't all cost money.
If you mean "going out with my friends and drinking alcohol", then start at home or in the pub rather than buying drinks at a night club, avoid getting roped into "rounds" for large groups, and know when to call it a night.
Even if you ignore all my advice on money, look after yourself physically. Health is even more important than wealth.
