By MoneyHQ.

The run away success of MasterChef Australia has been hard to ignore. Record sponsorship deals, huge television ratings, a positively beaming Curtis Stone, charming celebrity chefs, stressful food challenges  and emotionally gripping stories of personal and team success (and sometimes failure), tears and triumphs which all ultimately culminate to an unmissable grand finale.

MasterChef may be about excellence in the kitchen but there are unmissable life lessons to take from the show – particularly about your money. We’re not talking about spending less at the supermarket, or how to turn a dodgy carrot and a frozen chicken into a gourmet meal for the family, we’re focusing on the bigger motivational lessons that can be gleaned from the formulaic success of the show with your money management and investments.

There are five key things to take away from the series that you can apply to yourself and your money every day of the year – and while Curtis Stone and the MasterChef crew may not be there to congratulate you at the end, you can bet you’ll feel a whole lot better and be a lot wealthier.

Modest Goals to get started

When you think you’re starting out it’s good to test yourself on the basics. Participants on MasterChef know that the competition is a marathon, not a sprint. Getting a great sauce right or making those macaroons just right doth not a cake make. Additionally the shows’ producers know from the outset that while the contestants have some skills they need to be tested with easier challenges first to sort the wheat from the chaff. Contestants that move on gradually build up the confidence and motivation to keep progressing. Those who brand themselves as failures for not immediately getting something perfect the first time – and can’t get over that, end up losing the spirit to win and are evicted from the show.

Many people make similar mistakes when they begin overhauling their money and make a pledge to do better ‘from now on’. Unhappy with their current financial position, people make unrealistic commitments such as “stop eating out” or “save half my salary each month”. As noble as this aim might be, it is nearly impossible to make such a drastic financial change with no sustained experience at cutting down expenses. It’s better to set more reasonable targets that increase over time, such as starting with saving 10% of your monthly salary first and seeing how that impacts you.

Measure and be honest

There’s nowhere to hide on Masterchef. It doesn’t matter how confident the contestant says they are, the truth is always there are the end of the challenge. Failure to make the dish as required, and to the expected level of excellence and the contestant(s) risk being eliminated.

Tied to the first example, if you’re trying to save 10% of your monthly salary it’s important to be honest with yourself and measure the realities against your goals. It’s all well and good to save 10% of your monthly wage, but if you ended up spending that same amount on your credit card, because you didn’t want to touch your cash saving then you’re really in the same position, but now you have an  ticking clock in the form of high interest rates against you.

If you’re struggling to get your financial ducks in a row you need to be honest with yourself and see where you can make some real savings. See what you can cut, while being responsible and realistic. And next month, measure how you went.

Commitment, planning and discipline

Masterchef can’t be won without a lot of effort, sweat and (more often than not) tears. There is no opportunity to coast along and ‘hope for the best’. The nation is watching, the judges are watching and your competitors are watching. While we haven’t seen a food fight yet – not even so much as an errant flick of cream from a piping bag – it’s important to understand that self discipline and planning plays a major factor in winning the televised competition. Plenty of contestants on the show have the talent to help them get to the top, but all too often their self discipline lets them down, where their temper gets the better of them, or they’re careless with their presentation, those without just the right mix of personal ingredients can easily lead to their downfall. Those who do win, invariably are self-critical, exude discipline and have the tenacious mindset to keep going even when everything seems stacked against them.

Setting our your plan for fixing your finances isn’t as hard – after all it’s just a numbers game – but your own commitment and self discipline to live within the boundaries and rules that you set yourself is just as critical. It’s easy to read about getting your money in order and deciding to get motivated and make changes. It’s easy to read this article and think ‘yeah, I’m going to do something as soon as I get home’ – but when you’ll get home you’ll be busy making dinner and perhaps doing some washing and then watching television. You may give it some thought just as you close your eyes to sleep and then by tomorrow there are new pressures. We at MoneyHQ challenge you to take out a pencil and pad of paper, or just a post-it note, right now and write down three things you want to achieve financially this year. Once you’ve done that, put it in your wallet where your cash usually goes. Each time you open your wallet to pay for anything you’ll see it. Only take it out when you’re really serious with yourself about starting what you’ve already told yourself you want to achieve.

Hold yourself to account

On Masterchef you may well believe that the end goal is to win the competition, and yet throughout the show nearly everyone who doesn’t win invariably says they’re there to make their family and friends proud and, when they do leave, they did the best they possibly could. Accountability is an essential ingredient in the MasterChef competition. Humans are more likely to follow through and give our all if we know others are paying attention and are following our progress.

Just like Masterchef you need to use this to your advantage when it comes to your personal finances and money management. It may sound embarrassing but instead of keeping your goals a secret, tell a trusted family member or friend about them. Go into detail about your plans of spending less, saving more and the change in your behaviours that they can expect to see. Ask them to periodically ask you about those changes and where you’re at. If you feel very confident about your ability to achieve your goals, give your friend a detailed set of dates and financial targets.

If you’re in a supportive relationship this can be a great way of keeping each other committed to a common goal, such as a holiday or saving for a new car, or deposit on a house.

Keeping on track

When things go wrong the contestants on MasterChef rarely fall to pieces for very long, they’re still in the competition until the very second they’re told they’re not. When a cask doesn’t rise, when a jus turns to gravy, when they overcook or under-cook the main, they don’t fall to the floor and simply give up. They fight back and stay positive. Who could deny that Poh has one of the most infectious smiles in Australia? Poh faced tough times, but rarely was the smile gone for very long. Why? Because she knows how important it is to stay strong, positive and in the fight.

It is because of self-puty and an overwhelming feeling of defeat, particularly in the early stages when the goals are small that many people become derailed. “If I can’t achieve a small goal, what chance do I have of big goals” is the common self-defeating argument in many people’s heads. But you need to snap yourself out of that kind of thinking. Stay strong, compete, compete against yourself and time. Treat it as a competition against the financial institutions and the money you would have otherwise spent on interest payments.

Finding your motivation

There’s no way for us to tell you what’s going to work for you. Some people will read articles like this their whole lives and never change a thing and continue to be in debt and think that it’s all too hard. But if you want to change things for the better you need to find what’s going to work for you. You need a motivating reason. Throughout this article we’ve suggested plenty of ways of getting motivated. Treat financial management as one more thing you can control in your life, or maybe you will find motivation in saving for a holiday with your partner, or perhaps it’s a personal battle between you and the banks to pay less money on your debt, or perhaps maybe you’ll find motivation in simply understanding more about your own ability to show discipline in an area where many people have little.

Whatever the reason, there’s no reason you can’t be a master of your money.