“To me money is an extension of using our voice to say what we support and what we will not tolerate.”

Marion is the founder of Money Strong, a coaching business that blends behavioural psychology, financial education and mentorship to help individuals and corporations.

- Vanessa Walker

She is a certified money coach, a role that sits between a financial adviser and a financial counseller. Marion has more than 30 years in the finance world, banking, asset recovery, property and consumer lending.

Tell us about your early years. What were your formative money experiences?

I am the youngest of many children and I grew up in a working class family - not that I knew it really as we had everything we needed, including a stable home, organic homemade food and new clothes when we needed them.

I grew up with two belief systems that my mum and dad modelled for me: one, there is always enough to go round; two, there are always creative ways to make do. So while I may have been at the lower end of the social-economic system, I never felt this.

My parents did everything together and shared the responsibility equally for money, errands, cooking and childcare. That was unusual for that time, but it is all I knew growing up. Equality seemed normal to me. They instilled in me a notion that I should not borrow money or spend what I didn't have. While well-intended, that advice would have stopped me from borrowing money to buy things, such as a car, which would have impacted my ability to travel for work or invest in property.

What was your first job and how much did you earn? What did you spend that money on?

My first job was in the Coles bakery in my local area. I didn't spend my wages, I always saved them. I'm going to guess about $4 an hour.

You're a money coach with three decades in the field, helping Australians navigate their finances. Tell us the main insights you've garnered about our relationship with money.