There's a moment MyBudget founder Tammy Barton remembers as the moment she knew she was helping to make a difference in people's lives.
While walking down the street near the MyBudget Melbourne office, a woman walked up to Tammy and hugged her. She explained that her service had helped her take control of her family's finances and, consequently, improved their relationships. The client had just booked the family's first holiday in five years – all paid in cash.
"That was really touching," Tammy reflects. "What makes me feel successful is how many people I can help."
Tammy started MyBudget nearly 15 years ago with a desire to help individuals take back financial control by helping them to create budgets and manage their cash flow, and helping them to actually live to that budget. The business's main clients were originally people in financial strife but as MyBudget evolved, it attracted more and more people who simply wanted to better manage their money and live a debt-free life.
"Having the extra support and visibility into your finances is something we can all benefit from, not just if you're acutely financially stressed," she says. "People want to be able to save money and stop relying on credit to buy things. They want to have cash there to take that holiday, pay the school fees, buy those clothes, to have that security."
Why did MyBudget join Qantas Business Rewards?
"It was a no-brainer. I have 250 staff, 50 of whom travel regularly so it was a great opportunity to earn Qantas Points for flights the company was paying for, as well as to then use those points for flight upgrades for staff or upgrade to business class when we travel overseas."
"Of course, there's also the discount that is offered once you move up the different membership levels. At the moment we are on Level 2 which gives us a 7% saving off most flights which is an added bonus. Being MyBudget, anywhere we can save money, we will!"
What are some of the ways you earn Qantas Points through Qantas Business Rewards?
"We did a bit of research around which card would provide MyBudget with the best benefits and the Westpac BusinessChoice Rewards credit card did that (as a Qantas Business Rewards member, you can earn uncapped Qantas Points with the Westpac BusinessChoice Rewards credit card.) We put all our business expenses on that card, which gets paid off in full every month so we don't pay interest on the card, and we earn 1 Qantas Point for every $1.50 spent on the card. The benefits that those points can bring are unreal. We wanted to make sure we were getting a card that gave us value for money and gave great rewards. If any other business owners ask me, I tell them that is the card to use!"
"As my team and I travel fairly regularly we also earn Qantas Points from car hire through Avis and Budget and hotels through Qantas Hotels. We also earn points through some of our insurance policies."
How does MyBudget use their Qantas Points?
"I occasionally redeem our business' points for products from the Qantas Store but I mostly use them for travelling. I find the best value is in saving them up and using them for international upgrades. That way, when we go overseas for business we can travel in comfort and hit the ground running. When I travel for work, I don't necessarily like to be away from my family for too long."
"Using points to upgrade to the next cabin, whether that be economy to business or business to first, means that I can get a seat on the plane and get off quickly, do what I have to do, get back to the airport and work from the fantastic lounge, get on the plane and not come home too jetlagged."
"That is one of the huge benefits of having Qantas Points. The other is that you can use them to travel generally. I use the majority of the points for business but sometimes use them for my partner or children to come on a work trip with me if I'm going away for a while."
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