Dr Matisse Fox: driven to succeed

Just before relocating to Far North Queensland for work, junior doctor Matisse Fox’s car started playing up, and she knew she had to quickly find a solution.

Clinical notes

Name: Dr Matisse Fox

Specialty: Obstetrics and gynecology

Financial Specialist:
Laura Cartwright

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Dr Matisse Fox was about to move her entire life 1,330 kilometres north to Townsville when her car died. An unfortunate situation for anyone, let alone a junior doctor with little savings about to start their residency in a new city.

‘Working and earning an income was in sight, but I wasn't there yet,’ says Matisse. ‘I was about to move from the Sunshine Coast to Townsville, potentially with a lemon of a car. That was going to be a liability for me in a new place where I didn't have any other form of transport and no family or friends support. It was a very stressful time.’

In the nick of time

Matisse had her sights set on medicine from high school. She trained at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Having an old banger of a car is standard for many people at university, but by November of last year, it was really becoming a problem.

‘The car issue was evolving all through November and December to a point where I said, “I can't keep investing money in this car if it's not going to be fixable”,’ she recalls. ‘The car that I had was going through a bottle of oil every week. At that point I started to pull the plug, but also, I had no money.’

She reached out to Walshs, a Brisbane-based accounting and financial planning firm that specialises in the medical profession. They put her in touch with Laura Cartwright at BOQ Specialist – a blessing in disguise, as Matisse and Laura already knew each other.

‘We went to high school together in Brisbane,’ Matisse explains. ‘So, she helped me organise a car loan at a time where I had hardly any money to my name. I reached out to her the week before Christmas, and she went above and beyond to try and help me get a car loan.’

That was the other problem. It was Christmas time, and Matisse was planning to move to Townsville before the New Year. She had booked a trailer to move all her belongings up there, and the car needed to be on it.

‘I had a due date that I really needed to have a car by,’ she says. ‘Laura helped get all the paperwork and money in line. The only thing I had to do was pick a car and put it on the trailer and move up to Townsville without worrying about transport, which was really fortunate for me.’

Clinical notes

Name:
Dr Matisse Fox
Specialty:
Obstetrics and gynecology
Financial Specialist:
Laura Cartwright

Want to know more?
_{1300 160 160}
_{ENQUIRE NOW >}

Dr Matisse Fox was about to move her entire life 1,330 kilometres north to Townsville when her car died. An unfortunate situation for anyone, let alone a junior doctor with little savings about to start their residency in a new city.

‘Working and earning an income was in sight, but I wasn't there yet,’ says Matissef. ‘I was about to move from the Sunshine Coast to Townsville, potentially with a lemon of a car. That was going to be a liability for me in a new place where I didn't have any other form of transport and no family or friends support. It was a very stressful time.’

In the nick of time

Matisse had her sights set on medicine from high school. She trained at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Having an old banger of a car is standard for many people at university, but by November of last year, it was really becoming a problem.

‘The car issue was evolving all through November and December to a point where I said, “I can't keep investing money in this car if it's not going to be fixable”,’ she recalls. ‘The car that I had was going through a bottle of oil every week. At that point I started to pull the plug, but also, I had no money.’

She reached out to Walshs, a Brisbane-based accounting and financial planning firm that specialises in the medical profession. They put her in touch with Laura Cartwright at BOQ Specialist – a blessing in disguise, as Matisse and Laura already knew each other.

‘We went to high school together in Brisbane,’ Matisse explains. ‘So, she helped me organise a car loan at a time where I had hardly any money to my name. I reached out to her the week before Christmas, and she went above and beyond to try and help me get a car loan.’

That was the other problem. It was Christmas time, and Matisse was planning to move to Townsville before the New Year. She had booked a trailer to move all her stuff up there, and the car needed to be on it.

‘I had a due date really that I needed to have a car by,’ she says. ‘Laura helped get all the paperwork and money in line. The only thing I had to do was pick a car and put it on the trailer and move up to Townsville without worrying about transport, which was really fortunate for me.’

‘The only thing I had to do was pick a car and put it on the trailer and move up to Townsville without worrying about transport, which was really fortunate for me.’
— Dr Matisse Fox

Set of wheels

The only question left was: What kind of car befits a young doctor?

‘It's a second-hand Hyundai Kona,’ says Matisse, ‘but it actually used to be an ex-Thrifty rental car. I was aiming to try and get a car that was reliable, low kilometre usage so far, fuel efficient and would be able to take me into the next 10 years of my life.’

Career-wise, the future is looking exciting for Matisse. She is excited to be stepping into the role of Principal House Officer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Townsville University Hospital in 2024. But most importantly, she has a car that fits her current ideal criteria: ‘I just wanted to not have to refill it with oil every week,’ she laughs.

Best Practice

BOQ Specialist’s Laura Cartwright was pleasantly surprised to see her old school friend’s name appear on an application that came through for a car loan. The challenge, however, was in the timing. It was just before Christmas, and the cut-off dates for the credit and operations teams in the bank had passed. Laura says ‘It was a big team effort to get it across the line.’

Luckily, though, BOQ Specialist had a product available that was a perfect fit for Matisse’s situation.

‘It's called a CareerStarter Banking Package, and it’s for students who have already received their employment contract,’ Laura explains. ‘The package is really designed to assist graduating doctors and dentists with their transition from university to the workplace.’

Laura explains that once a graduate has an employment contract, they can get a loan for necessities like a car – even if they haven’t received a payslip yet. ‘We are one of the only, if not the only bank that can assist based on their future income rather than what they're currently making. We don't need payslips in this case; we can use their employment contract.’

Laura Cartwright
07 3212 3323
laura.cartwright@boqspecialist.com.au

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