WHY EVERYONE (YES, THAT’S YOU!) SHOULD CONSIDER GETTING A FINANCIAL PLANNER

You don’t need to be planning a family. You don’t need to have kids. You don’t even need to have a stack of savings.

For the inexperienced, the term “Financial Adviser” is likely to conjure thoughts of already wealthy people spending their Sunday’s down at the Yacht Club. They are probably sipping Pimm’s and lemonade eating caviar and crackers.

But having a professional advise you on what’s smart and not-smart when it comes to taking care of your finances isn’t, by any means, strictly reserved for people with so much money lying around that of course they need help keeping an eye on it.

The role of a financial planner, generally speaking, is to provide guidance to help you reach your financial goals, whether that’s, budgeting, saving for a house, retiring, paying off debt, or setting your family up with a lifetime of sweet passive income.

A planner services can be applicable at virtually any point in your life, and who doesn’t need a money expert telling them what’s what? Before you set out to find the planner that’s right for your piggy bank, consider the following insights from Andre Dirckze financial adviser at Wealth Effect Group on common misconceptions and mistakes they see with new customers.

It’s OK to not know your direction

“There’s a common misconception that you need to have your goals and objectives ready before you meet with an advisor,” says Andre Dirckze, Financial adviser and strategic partner of the Financial Collective. “Often times, the families I’m meeting with for the first time have no idea what they should be doing or what their options or opportunities are. It’s the job of both the financial planner (me) and the client to work out what their top priorities, goals and possibilities are, and to then create a plan to reach them successfully”.

It’s OK if you’re not in “settle down” mode

Many people are under the impression that you need to have a family in order to create a financial plan, Andre notes. “You can certainly begin planning at any stage of life. Saving for an investment property, for example, is something that each person can do at an individual level, and if/when a partner comes into the picture, the plan can be updated to account for them”.

It’s OK if you’re not loaded

There’s no set financial threshold you need to cross before you can work with a financial planner. “Clients sometimes feel that while they know having a financial plan makes sense, they are unsure if they are a good fit because they may not have a lot saved just yet, or their excess cash flow may be limited,” Andre says.

“But anyone ready to create a plan for their future should be working with a professional to be sure they are maximising their strategy.”

So come on down to The Financial Collective to have a coffee and a free initial chat with our friendly, experienced staff and who knows, maybe it will be you sitting at the Yacht Club on a Sunday!