Meet your coaches: Tengu Mamba

Name: Tengu (Tee) Mamba  

Role: Digital Advisor 

Pronouns: She/Her

Tengu Mamba, who also goes by Tee for short, is a Digital Advisor ready to help members achieve their financial goals. She’s passionate about social justice and is always fascinated by how pop culture reflects the big issues that shape our lives. And when the Olympics are on, you bet she’s tuning in.

TEE: I've come to deeply appreciate the importance of financial wellbeing, particularly for women navigating their financial futures. This understanding has motivated me to dedicate my efforts to fostering positive and ethical advancements in this field. While the specific path within finance or superannuation wasn't initially clear, I feel incredibly fortunate to now be involved and learning about critical issues like the gender disparities in financial services.  

TEE: I was raised by a single mother of 4 who had to become financially literate, both by necessity and by choice. Through her experiences, I learned just how crucial financial independence and the ability to make choices are for achieving a high quality of life, especially when it comes to retirement. It became clear to me that this kind of financial education isn’t typically taught in schools. 

If I hadn’t had the privilege of being around her and others like her, I would have been far less informed and much further behind in being able to work toward my own financial goals.  It also matters to me greatly that this information is accessible to women from socio-economic situations backgrounds where this resource is even harder to reach. 

TEE: Financial coaching is a resource designed to help individuals make smart, informed, and impactful financial decisions while working towards their financial objectives. It offers a supportive space for people to discuss their goals, concerns, motivations, and anything else related to their finances, especially regarding superannuation. Like coaching in areas like fitness or mental health, our members can expect to be listened to, understood, and provided with tailored strategies that cater to their unique situation. 

It's definitely underestimated how important it is to create a supportive environment where people – especially women, feel comfortable discussing personal finances and getting advice to better their situation. 

TEE: It's genuinely rewarding for me to guide superannuation members through their retirement options. Many people aren't clear on when and how they can access their funds or the related conditions, so I find it incredibly fulfilling when someone leaves a coaching session feeling more informed and empowered than when they arrived. Giving them a complete picture of their superannuation is something I particularly value. I find leveraging technology to introduce them to helpful tools like great resources like the Magazine and in-house online courses significantly increases their confidence in making decisions and encourages them to ask insightful questions to dig deeper into their choices. 

TEE: Members often worry about where they currently stand with their retirement savings. This includes understanding their investments, contributions, and how on track they are for retirement. Questions like "What should I do?" or "Am I where I should be?" are common, often arising from a lack of engagement with their superannuation. The broad and seemingly uniform nature of super can feel overwhelming, leading members to seek clarity and direction. They want to know how their current situation aligns with their retirement goals and need reassurance that they can still adjust along the way. As a result, members commonly seek discussion and guidance to understand their current standing relative to their objectives, along with the reassurance that they retain the flexibility to make changes at any point. 

TEE: Robert Kiyosaki's famous quote, "Don't work for the money, let the money work for you," while perhaps a distant reality for many, highlights a key principle that resonates with superannuation. By actively engaging with our super and understanding how to maximise its growth during our working lives, we can essentially set our money to work for us in retirement, potentially leading to a more comfortable and secure future. 

TEE: I’ll give you one of each! I have a deep appreciation for films and TV shows that offer introspection—those that aren't overly heavy but still provoke thought and reflection. So, I enthusiastically recommend 'The Joy Luck Club' and 'Orange is the New Black' as essential viewing. What resonates with me about these works is their portrayal of women's experiences, particularly those of women of colour. They delve into the complexities of their lives and histories, offering perspectives often overlooked. 

These stories are nuanced, illustrating that women, even those sharing the same race, background, or generation—are not a monolith. They present conflicts that are universally relatable. One of my favourite aspects is their exploration of inter-generational relationships among women. I found this really adds a layer of empathy for those of us who have struggled at some point(s) in our lives to understand or be understood by our mothers, aunties, or siblings etc on a deeper level. 

I've watched these at different stages in my life and with each viewing there's always plotlines or narratives that I find new relevance and relate to more and more. Highly recommend! 

Book in with a coach at vervesuper.com.au/coaching.