A Book by Jelena

A BOOK BY JELENA PETRONIJEVIC

Financially Illiterate

You didn’t get the lesson. Your children still can.

We taught kids algebra, history, and grammar, then sent them into adulthood without the one skill they needed every single day. Most of us learned money through guesswork, fear, or silence. This book fills that gap by uncovering the inherited habits nobody talks about and giving families the tools to finally change them.

Why Jelena wrote this book

‘I learned about money the hard way through debt, silence, and a library section I stumbled upon almost by accident.’

Jelena grew up in Yugoslavia during hyperinflation, watching prices change between morning and afternoon, seeing her parents queue for basics, learning far too young that money can vanish without warning. Those memories stayed with her.

Years later, living in Australia and facing debt, she realised something she had never been taught, money isn’t just maths. It’s memory. It’s fear. It’s family. It’s the stories we carry without even knowing it.

This book is her way of breaking that silence. Her way of showing that you can rewrite the beliefs you inherited and build habits that feel calm, doable, and genuinely yours.

She wrote it so the next generation grows up with confidence instead of anxiety, clarity instead of confusion, and a sense of possibility instead of fear.

Because understanding money is one thing. Understanding yourself with money is what actually changes things.

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.

How This Book Changes the Way You Think About Money

04 Outcomes

01

Understand your money story

Discover where your money habits and beliefs come from so you can stop repeating patterns you never consciously chose.

02

Talk about money with confidence

Learn to have honest money conversations that replace stress and silence with curiosity, understanding, and connection.

03

Create Simple Financial Systems You'll Actually Use

Build simple habits that keep working, even when life gets busy.

04

Break the cycle

What you learn here doesn’t just change your finances. It changes the money beliefs your children carry into adulthood.