
Late last year, I knew something had to change. At 42, I had a great job in marketing and a glamorous lifestyle as a single woman in Sydney.
But behind it all, I was in credit card debt, had no assets beyond a sporty little car, and was worried about ending up penniless in retirement.
It felt overwhelming though. I felt stuck, and didn’t know how to get unstuck.
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My sister had seen a financial adviser a few years back and recommended I do the same.
I’ll be honest – I was hesitant.
First of all, I thought they were for rich people with cars and houses. Secondly, I thought it would be some glorified salesman selling me risky investments.
And deeper than that, I was afraid to draw back the curtain on my financial situation. I was nervous about being judged for the choices I’d made.
Originally from New Zealand, I’d lived a jet setting life in the UK, Middle East and now Australia. I hadn’t wanted to own a home because I didn’t want to be tied down.
But while I had great memories, I didn’t have much to show for it financially. I wanted to settle down and get serious about money.
I decided it was now or never. I logged onto the Financial Planning Association website, explained what I was looking for and asked for three advisers to contact me.
The first two were men, and I didn’t really vibe with them. But the third was Rachel O’Connor at Flourix Wealth, a down-to-earth adviser in Sydney who had set up her own business.
She seemed, well, like a normal person. She’s a working mum who lives in the real world, so I felt comfortable and didn’t feel like she was judging me.
The planning process
When I met with Rachel, she asked me about my financial situation in detail. We put it all on a page, including my income and debts.
She then asked me what I wanted from this whole process – which was just to get my debt down and have a plan for the future.
When we got deeper into it though, I realised I wanted more than that. I wanted to own my own apartment and create a home for someone special… my future dog.
Top Comments
We get people window shopping, just sitting with us for an hour and seeing if we click. Some do, some don't. No hard feelings.
(Some people just want to talk figures, either because that's all they care about or that's how their mind works. There is certainly no issue with that if that works for you)