Robin Monro

I grew up genuinely interested in how things work — maths, physics, systems. That led me to ANU in Canberra, where I started a physics degree, switched to software engineering, and discovered I was not particularly good at managing money.

At 18 I moved out, refused any help from my parents (who were in a comfortable enough position to offer it), lived in the second-cheapest share rental I could find on realestate.com.au, and spent my teenage savings on a very dinky car. I remember counting out $8 in silver coins at a petrol station to make it to work. Not because I had to — because I was too proud to admit I'd miscalculated.

I graduated, landed a good software engineering job, and did what I do with most things I care about: went completely overboard learning about it. Books on personal finance. Tax deep-dives. Investing blogs. YouTube channels. I was so interested in how financial advice actually worked that I arranged a day of work experience with a financial adviser just to see it up close.

And yet — despite all of that — I still felt anxious about money. Knowing the theory wasn't the same as feeling settled. That gap frustrated me for years.

Eventually the systems I'd built started working well enough that the anxiety genuinely lifted. Not because my income went up (it did, but that wasn't it) — because I finally had clarity. I understood what the money was doing, where it was going, and why. That feeling is what I want to help other people reach.

I'm now going back to university to become a teacher. Tall Poppy Finance is the overlap between the two things I care about most: teaching, and helping people feel genuinely confident about their finances. Not financial advice — I'm not a financial adviser, and the tools and content here are general information only. But I do think most people are more capable than the financial industry gives them credit for. They don't need more jargon. They need better tools, clearer framing, and someone who's actually been where they are.

If that sounds like you, I'd genuinely love to talk. Book a free 30-minute call — no pitch, no advice, no obligation.