The financial conversations every family wishes they'd started sooner.
Where money finally makes sense — and cents — in print and in play.
One day, your children will make their first financial decision without you.
They’ll sign a loan. Open a credit card. Buy a car.
Will they face those decisions with knowledge and confidence or with uncertainty and fear?
Most Australian families never talk openly about money, not because they don’t care, but because nobody taught them how.
That’s why I created Financially Illiterate and After Dinner Cents — two practical resources that help families understand money, challenge inherited beliefs and start conversations that can change generations.
Because the most valuable inheritance isn’t money. It’s financial literacy.
Meet Jelena
I learned about money the hard way.
I grew up in the former Yugoslavia during hyperinflation, war and economic uncertainty, where the value of money could change overnight.
Years later, after building a career as an educator in Melbourne, I realised something confronting.
Despite decades of education, I had never been taught how money really works.
No one had explained the psychology behind spending.
How everyday conversations shape our financial future or why intelligent people still struggle financially.
That discovery changed my life.
As an English language teacher, I knew learning could transform lives.
Today my mission is simple:
Help families break generational money habits through better conversations, practical education and lifelong financial confidence.
Book Collection
TWO TOOLS. ONE MISSION.
Empowering tools designed to open hearts and minds to your Money DNA and the long-standing habits that shape it.
Financially Illiterate
The book schools never gave us.
Financial literacy isn’t just about budgeting or investing.
It’s about understanding your Money DNA, the beliefs, habits and experiences that quietly shape every financial decision you make.
This book combines behavioural psychology, practical financial skills and real Australian examples to help you build a healthier relationship with money.
Whether you’re a parent, educator, young adult or simply someone who wishes they’d learned this years ago, this book gives you the framework to make better financial decisions—for yourself and the next generation.
After Dinner Cents
The conversations your family has been waiting for.
Some of the most important conversations never happen.
Because nobody knows how to begin.
After Dinner Cents contains 150 carefully designed questions that help families talk honestly about money, values, goals, relationships and the experiences that shape our financial lives.
No lectures.
No awkward lessons.
Just meaningful conversations that strengthen understanding, connection and confidence.
From teenagers and parents to grandparents and friends, these cards turn ordinary evenings into conversations people remember for years.
The financial literacy framework
The Three-Step Framework for Lifelong Financial Confidence
Financial confidence starts with understanding yourself, your environment, and the skills needed to make better money decisions.
Money DNA
Understand the beliefs and experiences that shape your relationship with money.
Environment
Recognise the influences around you and create healthier financial habits.
Skills
Build the practical skills needed for budgeting, saving, and investing.
The financial literacy gap
Here's why this conversation can't wait
Around 8.5million or 45% of adult Australians are financially illiterate.
(Financial Literacy in Australia: Insights from HILDA Data)
Start one meaningful money conversation.
Understand their habits and build lasting financial confidence — together.