Advice - where to get the right financial advice?

[~Ash~]

I am really keen to sit down with someone and make a financial plan for DF and I for over the next few years.

It's not so much about a budget for right now - I can do that kind of thing myself. It's more getting advice on which options and choices are right to land us in the best position or the future ITMS.

I was planning on seeing the financial planner at the bank to start with but after realising they charge (first consult it free) I thought it would be better to pay an accountant or proper financial planner the money and not be up for a sales pitch for the banks products.

I'm just not sure where to start and would love some advice as to which direction to go.


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[M D]

It all depends what you want to do: save for a deposit for a house, do you have an exisiting mortgage and or debts, save for retirement. PM me if you don't wnat to put these things on here.

I was a FInancial Planner before having children so I might be able to help out a little.

[BellyBelly]

I love Robert Kiyosaki - check out his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I think his wife has a book for women too. Learnt heaps from them! Its amazing what you can learn by attending money seminars, just have to pick the right ones. I've also been to Millionare Mind Intensive (T Harv Ecker) and Dr. John De Martini - did a review of one of his talks and posted it in here. They are all on FB if you are on there, can add them and get their tips and advice. Financial education is so important, without it you can make mistakes. Just like you wouldn't do a job without the training....

[~Ash~]

We have saved up a deposit for a house but also have debt we are paying off. We've decided to put off buying a house for about a year because we are in a pretty good position to save money at the moment.

I'm wanting to end up being in the best position possible at the time we buy but I'm not sure what steps to take or even what the options are to get there. Pay off existing debt? Save more money? Invest what we have to increase our returns?

I would love your opinion - I will pm you the details. Thanks so much!


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[BellyBelly]

Here's Robert Kiyosaki's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/RobertKiyosaki - he recently won an award for the most popular finance expert of 2011.

"If you want to be rich, you must have a financial education and control over your money and your investments."
"Savers are losers because interest rates are lower than inflation"
"One of the reasons the poor are poor is because they do not invest money or time into their financial education."
"Careful who you get advice from. I get advice from people who are where I want to be."
"An investor’s most important tool is information. Without good information, and an education to understand it, investing becomes guesswork."
"I do not save money or have a retirement plan. I keep my money moving buying cash flow assets. These assets are my retirement and savings."
"Most people put money in their piggy bank. I buy a goose that lays golden eggs over and over again. That’s what an asset is."
"Financial planners are salespeople. They are NOT teachers. Get your education from someone NOT getting a commission." (sorry kts64s not having a dig, just sharing)
"My rich dad said, “Most people struggle financially because they take advice from sales people, not rich people."

[~Ash~]

Thank you so much for the advice Kelly! I'm definitely going to look into all of your suggestions. I would love to be very knowledgable in this area.

I've always been a bit suspicious of financial seminars - are they usually a sales pitch for a product of some kind?

I actually have 'rich dad, poor dad' in my bookcase! DF owned it before he moved in so I'm definitely going to give it a read.


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[BellyBelly]

I still am very picky which ones I attend. If they are run by banks, advisory firms etc then I don't bother. If they are people who walk their walk, are recommended by other successful business people I follow then yes I will listen and decide. Kiyosaki has just published a book with Donald Trump, called The Midas Touch. Love him or hate him, you couldn't get any more successful than that. Anthony Robbins is also highly ranked and regarded by prestigious organisations for his business and money advice, including top accounting firms around the world, American Express and more. These people have made it (and you don't without knowing a thing or two), I want to learn from them.

[PinkPalace]

I was planning on seeing the financial planner at the bank to start with but after realising they charge (first consult it free) I thought it would be better to pay an accountant or proper financial planner the money and not be up for a sales pitch for the banks products.



DH is a FP for a leading bank and i can tell you that it a big misconception that bank planners are NOT proper planners.
He has the highest qualification in the country - more than most roper: planners as you call them

You will find that every planner is limited by their governing licenced products. It doesnt matter who they are or who they are employed by.
what you need is to find a PERSON with skills, knowledge and ethics. this is much more important than who they work for!

also, shop around, and dont take advice from anyone not registered to give it.
Unfortunately people charge for service.
A dr wont give you medical advice without a fee
and accountant wont give accounting advice without a charge
a lawyer wont give law advice without a charge.

it baffles me why people have a huge issue paying a FP for their experience and education. It is a professional service and you just need to find the PERSON that clicks with you.

HTH
x

[Astrid]

I saw a FP at our bank. I am quite happy with the service/advice we got. Cost $770 for both of us 4 years ago. Yes it was a lot, but we had a stupid amount of Super funds that needed to be rolled together and I had struggled with doing it myself, as it was not easy to remember a job and home address from my late teens/early twenties (I had a few crappy jobs). Often they would talk to him, but not me.

I have seen him since and not been charged, but that could also be due to us having the bank super product (which has been returning very well).

His advise was quite sensible. Basically pay down debt, in particular mortgage, as you don't want to be using your Super payout on retirement to finish paying it off. He gave us a time schedule, as in keeping high risk, high return until a certain age, then going more conservative. He also helped us out with income protection, life insurance etc. He even recommended non-bank products.

I certainly think one is worth seeing in your scenario. Also have a chat to your bank as to what they consider for loans, things like existing debt and available credit card limits will affect how much they can loan you. Best of luck, it is a good thing that you are thinking about your future.

[Epacris]

We shopped around and saw a few different finical advisers before we found the one that suited us. If you Google "financial advice commission v’s fee based", you will find lots of good information. In the end we chose to go with an independent fee based financial advisor. I am an extremely skeptical person by nature and I just could not ever go with a commission based finical advisor, it just wouldn’t work for me.

[Liviam]

DH & I are thinking exactly the same thing. We need someone to tell us what to do and how to do it to be more financially secure in the future while being able to afford the kids education and a bigger house. But still have some free money to do holidays/dinners etc.

I find it som confusing I don't even know where to start.

Does it matter if we don't make heaps of money? I would be embarrassed if a FP said they couldn't help us as we are too low income - IFYKIM.

[MummaBee]

To be honest I have had some luck with accountants belive it or not they seem to know what to do with your money to get ahead

[BellyBelly]

I think the big thing is are those people wealthy themselves... Because I had a brilliant accountant for tax, but he also ended up struggling with money in the years I saw him. If they are living proof and walk the walk, maybe they know what they are talking about. Society is often full of negativity towards wealthy people and wonder what they did to get there (must be dodgy/greedy people) but they know something that we don't and we need to find great wealth mentors.

[~Ash~]

Thanks so much for the advice!

PinkPalace - I am very happy to pay for financial advice, I was just thinking that if my bank provided a free service in the area I would start there to help get my head around what I the service I wanted to pay for actually is. Instead, seeing as I will be paying for the service regardless - I wanted to get some opinions on whether paying for financial advice from my bank is the best solution for me - may as well pay an accountant or a financial planner that doesn't receive a commission on up-selling if that is beneficial to me at the moment.

Astrid - thanks for sharing your experience - I am glad that you mentioned that your FP recommended non-bank products. My super is definitely something I need them to look at too - it's been bugging me for years that I have so many accounts all over the place lol

Epacris - I am a bit sus on commission based services too so I can totally understand where you are coming from - I will definitely look into it some more before making my decision.

Liviam - I don't think you need lots of money. They should be able to assist you to make the best decisions for your situation right now - we definitely don't have a lot of spare money and I really don't want that to be our excuse as to why we aren't being proactive with what we do have. At the moment our income is too low to service the mortgage that we want so we have to put off buying until I have an income - we still found corners to cut to save up our deposit (and it only took me a few months to train DF into not being so swipe happy with the account lol)

Mummabee - DF has an accountant that he has been using to do his tax for the last few years and he likes him a lot. We have spoken about maybe seeing him but we haven't got around to calling him to find out if they offer financial advice as a service - definitely something we are considering though!

Kelly - I agree completely that you have to be picky with who you take your advice from - my parents were never that great with money and I can see myself making the same decisions they did without even considering alternatives - I would love to take control and be proactive with our finances and I would love to feel like I have broken that cycle by giving DD the opportunity to be savvy with her money as she gets older.