Read how Travis uses PocketSmith to forecast life’s what-ifs and make confident money decisions for his family.
Firstly, I’m a dad, an educator, and a bit of a future planner at heart. I work in South Australia, helping teachers and schools rethink how we teach, especially in maths. At home, life’s a mix of family time, work, and figuring out how to make good long-term choices — without losing sleep over money.
Definitely the planner. I’m the one thinking a few steps ahead — whether that’s budgeting for childcare, figuring out if we can sell a property, or making sure we’ve got a solid buffer in place. My partner and I talk things through a lot, but I’m usually the one with the spreadsheet (or in this case, PocketSmith) open.
I wanted something smarter than a spreadsheet, but not locked into just “tracking expenses.” I liked that PocketSmith could look forward, not just back. Plus, it wasn’t trying to sell me anything — just help me get a clear picture of our money.
Since sometime in 2024. It started as a bit of an experiment, but now it’s part of my regular routine.
Planning. Forecasting. Playing out “what if” scenarios. Like: “What happens if we drop to one income?” or “Can we still hit our savings goal when our daughter goes to ELC?” It helps us make evidence-informed decisions with actual numbers, not just gut feelings.
It’s made money feel less stressful. I feel more in control and less reactive. Instead of panicking about an upcoming bill, I can see it coming months ahead and know we’re covered. It’s also made those big life decisions — like selling a property or adjusting work — way easier to plan for.
The calendar view is gold. I love seeing how our balance changes over time, and spotting when we might dip below our buffer. The scenario feature is super helpful too — being able to test out different plans side by side is brilliant.
Don’t skip the setup — tagging and categorising properly make everything clearer later. Also, take the time to play with scenarios, even if nothing major is changing. You’ll learn a lot about your money just by modelling different situations.
Timing the possible sale of an investment property to line up with my wife going on parental leave and our daughter starting early learning. PocketSmith helped us map it all out and make the leap without stressing. It gave us space to focus on family without scrambling for cash.
