MyBudget

{{Short description|Australian financial services company}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox company | name = MyBudget | logo = MyBudget_Corporate_Logo.png | logo_alt = Corporate Logo of MyBudget | logo_caption = | image = | image_caption = | trading_name = | native_name = | native_name_lang =  | romanized_name = | former_name = | former type = | type = Private | traded_as = | industry = Financial services | genre =  | fate = | predecessor = | successor = | foundation = 1999 | founder = Tammy Barton | defunct =  | location_city = Adelaide, South Australia | location_country = | locations =  | area_served = | key_people = Tammy Barton | products = | brands = | production = | services = Personal Budgeting | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum =  | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = | footnotes = | intl = | bodystyle = }}

'''MyBudget''' is an Australian financial services company based in Adelaide, South Australia, which provides personal budget management services.

==History== Tamara Jill Barton (née Monaghan; formerly May) started MyBudget as a home-based business in Adelaide in 1999 at the age of 22 after working at a debt collection agency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afr.com/business/financial-freedom-just-a-budget-away-20120509-jyzl4|title=Financial freedom just a budget away|website=Australian Financial Review|date=10 May 2012 |access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/sa-business-journal/south-australian-tammy-mays-mybudget-business-aimed-at-helping-people-budget-is-making-an-impact-in-different-ways/news-story/2dc8b758510104f36de7ca6d9c1fc676|title=South Australian Tammy May's MyBudget business aimed at helping people budget is making an impact in different ways|last=Moss|first=Cory|date=2 March 2004|website=The Advertiser|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> On 26 October 2012, Barton was appointed to the BankSA Advisory Board,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/new-faces-for-banksa/news-story/fe8c4f9652819cf0257f13806ec45604|title=MyBudget founder Tammy May and former Ernst & Young SA managing partner Mark Butcher join BankSA advisory board|last=Booth|first=Meredith|date=22 October 2012|website=The Advertiser|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> however, she remains director of and spokesperson for MyBudget.

==Product== MyBudget provides a personal budgeting service which analyses a client's finances, including income, expenses and debt. The budgeting system works by ranking each bill in order of priority categories, from those which are the highest, such as living expenses and mortgage repayments, to those with a lower priority.

==Criticism and malware== In December 2013, MyBudget was named in a national current affairs television report as "profiteering at the expense of people who are struggling with debt".<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3908247.htm The businesses cashing-in on people under financial stress] ''7:30 Report'', ABC TV, 9 December 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2014.</ref> MyBudget issued a statement responding to the report, claiming that "the segment was an unbalanced attack on our industry and that many of the comments made are inaccurate".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mybudget.com.au/abc-730-report-response-from-mybudget |title=ABC 730 Report Response From MyBudget :: MyBudget |website=www.mybudget.com.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722132019/http://www.mybudget.com.au/abc-730-report-response-from-mybudget |archive-date=2015-07-22}} </ref>

In 2017, MyBudget was the object of a class action due to withholding interest accrued by clients.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-05/consumers-warned-of-debt-management-companies/8419400|title='Debt vultures' 'preying' on the financially vulnerable, lawyers say|date=5 April 2017|publisher=ABC News|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> In September 2018, the courts dismissed the proceedings, with Judge Lee stating that "MyBudget obtains and suffers the pluses and minuses of the bank accounts necessary to discharge its obligations to provide the services," and, in addition, "The Provision did not cause an overall detriment, financial or otherwise, to clients".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lawyerly.com.au/judge-dismisses-mybudget-consumer-class-action/|title=Judge dismisses MyBudget consumer class action – Lawyerly|date=18 September 2018|work=Lawyerly|access-date=12 November 2018}}</ref>

In May 2020, MyBudget was the confirmed target of a cyberattack. As a result, the company quickly moved its employees into work-from-home arrangements amid the coronavirus outbreak.<ref name=ransomware>Siebert, Bension and Krishnan, Shuba (15 May 2020) [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-15/mybudget-blames-ransomware-for-system-outage-amid-coronavirus/12252316 MyBudget blames ransomware hack for system outage affecting thousands of customers] ABC News. Retrieved 20 October 2022.</ref> Automatic transfers were interrupted, but progressed manually. Customers expressed concerns as to whether the significant personal data held by MyBudget had been leaked or hacked.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last1=Slessor |first1=Camron |last2=Martin |first2=Patrick |date=13 May 2020 |title=MyBudget system outage leaves thousands of Australian customers in financial limbo |newspaper=ABC News |publisher=ABC |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-13/mybudget-system-outage-leaves-customers-in-financial-limbo/12244926}}</ref> Later, hackers claimed to have stolen data from MyBudget using ransomware and threatened to publish it unless paid.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-03/hackers-threaten-to-release-data-stolen-in-mybudget-cyberattack/12313464|title=Hackers threaten to release data stolen during MyBudget cyberattack|newspaper=ABC News|date=2 June 2020|last1=Martin|first1=Patrick}}</ref> During the ransomware attack "users were unable to view their account balance for at least seven days."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collett |first=John |date=2022-10-11 |title=Budgeting apps share your financial data, but how safe are they? |url=https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/budgeting-apps-share-your-financial-data-but-how-safe-are-they-20221006-p5bnrt.html |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> In a statement to the media on 15 May 2020, MyBudget stated that there was "no credible evidence that significant data was accessed or will be misused [h]owever we can't rule this out and are taking all cautionary measures".<ref name=ransomware />

== Awards == {{Primary sources section|date=November 2025}} MyBudget's industry recognition is primarily attributed to its founder, Tammy Barton (formerly Tammy May), who has been acknowledged by various Australian business organizations for her entrepreneurship and female leadership in the financial services sector.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;" |+ Awards and recognition received by founder Tammy Barton |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Awarding body ! scope="col" | Award category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" | Ref. |- | 2017 | SmartCompany | Top 30 Female Entrepreneurs | Listed | <ref>{{cite web |title=Australia's Top 30 Female Entrepreneurs 2017 |date=7 March 2017 |url=https://www.smartcompany.com.au/lists/australias-top-30-female-entrepreneurs-2017/ |publisher=SmartCompany |access-date=20 November 2025}}</ref> |- | 2017 | Telstra Business Women's Awards | South Australian Business Woman of the Year | State Winner | <ref>{{cite news |title=MyBudget founder Tammy Barton named 2017 Telstra Business Woman of the Year |url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/mybudget-founder-tammy-barton-named-2017-telstra-business-woman-of-the-year/news-story/4d65174759770783133053d86325435e |work=The Advertiser |date=17 October 2017 |access-date=20 November 2025}}</ref> |- | 2017 | League of Extraordinary Women | Female Entrepreneur of the Year | Recipient | <ref name="Keynote">{{cite web |title=Tammy Barton: Speaker Biography |url=https://www.keynoteentertainment.com.au/speakers/business-speakers/tammy-barton |publisher=Keynote Entertainment |access-date=20 November 2025}}</ref> |- | 2016 | League of Extraordinary Women | Female Entrepreneur of the Year | Recipient | <ref name="Keynote" /> |- | 2015 | League of Extraordinary Women | Female Entrepreneur of the Year | Recipient | <ref name="Keynote" /> |- | 2012 | ''Australian Financial Review'' | 100 Women of Influence (Young Entrepreneur) | Honouree | <ref name="Keynote" /> |- | 2008 | Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award | Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Central Region) | Regional Winner | <ref>{{cite web |title=Fearless Conversations: Innovation & Enterprise |url=https://www.flinders.edu.au/fearless/conversations/ep09-innovation |publisher=Flinders University |access-date=20 November 2025 |quote=Young's Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Central Region)}}</ref> |- | 2007 | Telstra Business Women's Awards | South Australian Business Woman of the Year | State Winner | <ref>{{cite web |title=Tammy Barton (May) in 1999 at 22 grows her Adelaide personal budgeting service idea into national success |url=https://adelaideaz.com/articles/tammy-barton--may--in-1999-at-22-turns-adelaide-personal-budgeting-service-idea-into-fast-growing-national-success |publisher=Adelaide AZ |access-date=20 November 2025}}</ref> |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Personal finance Category:Financial services companies established in 1999 Category:1999 establishments in Australia