Stories

This year, Moneycare Week highlights the essential community resource of free financial counsellors and free tools that build financial capability and confidence. In Victoria, Troy West leads a statewide Salvation Army Moneycare team and has taken this work further by bringing financial education into classrooms. He has adapted Moneycare’s free resource — You’re the Boss — for schools and TAFEs to help young people build strong money skills early.

For Troy, helping young people understand money isn’t just part of his job — it’s personal. Growing up in and out of foster homes and residential care, he had no parental role models and little adult wisdom to guide him.

Money and life skills were a mystery.
Today, he is determined to give young people the financial literacy, confidence and knowledge he never had.

The turning point for Troy came many years ago when a case worker told him, “Your future is bound by your decisions.” It took time for that to sink in, but eventually he understood that although his early life had been very hard and he had not had the support of his family, he still had choices. He decided to learn as much as he could and commit to making the wisest decisions possible.

That determination shaped his working life. He pushed through trade school, TAFE and banking, seizing every chance to pick up financial knowledge. Over time, he built not only a career but also financial security and today he is passionately supporting others through his Moneycare role.

Building capability through real-life examples
Troy explains to students some of the realities of payday lending, where legally interest can reach as high as 48 per cent not including fees.

To drive home the point of crippling interest payments and the dangers of debt, he shares stories of how small loan amounts can spiral out of control. A true story he shares with students is one of humble beginnings — an unpaid phone bundle. Once the debt passed $5000 it was pursued in court.

“People get a knock or a call years later and find the debt has blown out or they risk bankruptcy,” he says. He explains that in states such as Victoria, debt collectors can hold onto a debt for up to fifteen years.

While sharing stories and knowledge, Troy points students to safer alternatives such as No Interest Loans (NILs) for essential needs. He keeps his lessons grounded in everyday reality and shares stories from his own experiences as well.

He tells students his first car was a $5000 Holden Commodore that lasted 10 years. By contrast, a mate bought a $30,000 Commodore on a five-year loan, paid around $15,000 in interest, and three years later the car was worth only $15,000.

“What a way to throw away $30,000,” Troy shares.

The impact of financial education in schools and TAFEs

In schools and TAFEs nationally during FY2024–2025, Moneycare delivered 779 You’re the Boss financial education sessions to 3,900 people. Feedback from participants consistently shows a significant lift in confidence to manage money.

Nationally, 46% of people who participated in You’re the Boss workshops over the past year were aged under 30 years. Of those younger people who completed a survey after their workshop:

• 71% said they felt more positive about their financial future
• 73% said they were more confident in their ability to plan for their financial future
• 77% said they better understood where they can go for help with their finances
• 74% said they were more confident in their ability to manage their money day-to-day 

While Moneycare supports people of all ages and life circumstances, Troy says empowering young people at the beginning of their independent money journey is extremely important. Many students he meets come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and may already be managing or significantly helping to manage family budgets and paperwork.

Troy is passionate that the message that has carried him through life is the same one he wants to leave with young people today. He explains to students that they can only make informed decisions if they have been given good financial education and information.

“The decisions you make today can make your later life easier and more enjoyable, or they can leave you chasing debt for years. That is simply way too important to ignore and I wish we could get the message to schools throughout Australia. I tell students that I’m telling them what I wish I knew at their age,” he says.

“The options are limitless for lifting financial literacy and knowledge, but the dangers of not knowing are very real. The consequences can follow people for years.”