For Marie Juliard Nocklam, running a local food business at the market means more than preparing and selling meals each day. It is a livelihood that requires careful decisions about spending, earnings and what can be set aside for the future.

For a long time, keeping track of these details was a challenge. Today, Marie is developing new financial habits that are helping her understand and manage her business with greater confidence.

Through support from the Markets for Change (M4C) initiative, Marie has gained practical bookkeeping knowledge and started recording her daily expenses and profits.

“I have been recording the daily expenses and profits of my local food restaurant, and it has helped me better understand the importance of managing my spending.”

For Marie, the value of bookkeeping goes beyond writing down numbers. It gives her a clearer picture of how her business is performing and helps her keep track of where her money is going.

“I am very grateful to have gained bookkeeping knowledge, as it has been extremely helpful in running my business and keeping track of my finances.”

Turning Earnings into Savings

Marie’s financial journey has also extended beyond her business.

As part of the Saver Plus initiative, she now has a bank account with ANZ Bank and regularly saves part of her earnings each week.

For a small business owner, setting money aside can be difficult when daily income needs to cover stock, operating costs and household expenses.

For Marie, developing a regular saving habit is helping her think beyond the immediate needs of the day.

“Through this program, I now have a bank account with ANZ Bank, where I regularly save my earnings each week. This has helped me develop a good saving habit and improve my financial security.”

The change is practical: she is not only earning and spending, but also beginning to plan for what comes next.