Thread: Pay off Mortgage quicker, improve retirement prospects and more right here.

G'day and thanks for popping by. So what's this all about? First and foremost it is about you, your current and future financial well being. Hope isn't a strategy and that's where I come in.

Do I have the cred's? Degree qualified with a Bachelor of Commerce, relevant qualifications in Financial Planning, Finance and Mortgage Broking and currently studying for an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning.

As it stands I am authorised to provide advice on the following:

Deposit Products; Life Products, including Investment Life Insurance Products and Life Risk Insurance Products; Superannuation, including Public Offer Superannuation Funds; Retirement Savings Accounts; Managed Investments, including Master Trusts and Wrap Facilities and Margin Lending Products; Government Stocks, Bonds or Debentures; Securities, restricted to General Advice (Tier 1). Credit Contracts: Home loans and investment loans, personal loans, credit cards, overdrafts, and consumer asset finance.

Background: Run own finance brokerage business, orgranised finance for quite a few people from the forum, even the server for the site at one stage. I've worked in corporate and SME's in management, marketing, sales and consulting. I've been married, divorced, 5 children, bought and sold houses and like many, made mistakes along the way. One of the precursors to my new career was I went onto:

https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-...ion-calculator

And punched in my current super and almost had a hearty when I saw what I could retire on. So I studied and the more I learnt and understood, the more I wanted to help others in achieving their goals, not only now but at a time when we should be kicking back and enjoying life. So here I am, here to help fellow forumites if need be with general queries, or if they want to go beyond that, a complimentary financial health check at one of our offices on the Gold Coast, Brisbane or Tweed. For someone interstate, it can be done over the phone and via email.

Now before we get onto paying off mortgages, purchasing income producing assets, we need to have an understanding about what actually is financial planning. The reason being is most people really don’t have an understanding of what it is or they think it is out of their reach.

In a perfect world people would be flowing through the front doors because they know that they need to engage in some sort of financial advice. But they don’t and in many cases it’s because they think it is out of their reach. So onto this updates topic:

What is financial planning?

In simple terms, financial planning is the process of developing strategies to assist clients with managing their financial affairs to meet life goals. Sounds simple enough, and your right, it isn’t rocket science. But losing weight isn’t rocket science either, yet for many (including myself) it isn’t easy to achieve. For many people to lose weight, they bring in a professional, a personal trainer who is going to assist them and drive/direct them to achieve their goals. Financial planning is very similar, we help people get “financially fit”.

How we do this is to undertake the six step financial planning process which includes getting to know a client; collecting relevant information; analysing and assessing their situation; developing suitable strategies and recommendations; implementing these; and then reviewing and evaluating on a regular basis. It’s not a wham, bam, thank you very much exercise, but a partnership over the life of the relationship.

As a financial planner, we must assess a clients’ current financial situation, their goals, and what actions the client must take in order to reach those goals. We approach each financial decision as part of a holistic process, which is a trendy word for looking at a client’s whole situation, not just one aspect of it. This process enables consideration of both the clients’ short and long-term effects on their life goals.

Our role is not just about giving advice on superannuation and retirement. We can also assist clients in planning for all life events such as: buying a house, getting married, having children, paying for schooling, illness and injury, being made redundant, aged care and estate planning.

We do this by working with the client to:

• Identify and set financial goals
• Budget/ Cash flow management
• Manage debt
• Save and invest
• Be appropriately insured
• Manage tax

There is a misconception that financial advice and having a financial plan is only for those earning high incomes or reaching retirement. However, the reality is that financial advice can benefit all Australians, helping them reach financial security and reduce their reliance on Government benefits.

Well, hopefully that gives a bit of insight as to what financial planning is all about.

So what can I do for you?

For individuals/ couples, it’s predominately about wealth creation and getting ahead, or what we like to say, get “financially fitter”. It’s looking at the following key areas:

• Paying out your mortgage quicker- on average our clients are clearing private debt in 8 years, saving $335,616 in future mortgage payments.
• Saving on your tax-on average our clients received a tax refund of $11,632 last year
• Fund Your Expenses- On average our clients spent $5716 on home renovations last year. Could be school expenses, house renovations.
• Travel- on average our clients spent $4054 on their holidays.
• Retire happy- on average our clients will retire earning $72,118 each year for the remainder of their lives and most importantly still maintain their current lifestyle. (Figures based on actual client data at end 31/12/2012).

I can also look at other important aspects like ensuring you and your family are well protected against unforeseen circumstances, how to better magnage your cash flow ( ask me for a Cash flow spreadsheet and I can email one to you), plus anything else that will help achieve your current and future goals.

If you have a business or for the place you work at, I can also hold Financial Literacy Seminars for your staff at no cost to the business. We currently hold these seminars for corporate, government and other businesses in general. Companies that have provided financial education programs for their staff have found the following:

• An increase in talent retention.
• Improvement in workplace productivity
• Improvement in employee morale; and
• Increased company loyalty.

The reason for this is that many staff are financially stressed, so by helping and educating them to be more financially literate results in the above outcomes. To find out more and have a copy of our program sent out to you (hard copy and email formats), let me know.

Business Partnership Program: I am also looking for referral partners for what is known as our Lead Peer Business Partnership Program. We have non remunerated and remunerated models through to potential JV options. We currently have referral partners in the accounting, legal, insurance and mortgage broking space and open to other professions. I am looking to build my own base of referral sources with people that I know and have conducted business with before. That way any clients referred can be put back through to the referrer and if I have clients outside of the referral base that requires specific professional services, which I am then able to refer them to someone with whom I am partnered with.

Now to find out all about this and whether there is anything that can be done, I offer a complimentary 2 hour financial health check up. For people that maybe interstate and can't make it to an office, we can do it over the phone and via email. At the end of the day, I cannot make anyone take control of their financial future, that desire needs to be driven by you. I am purely here to help facilitate and advise. Any queries or questions, write away, or PM me for more information or to organise a catch up,

Regards

Stevo

P.S. I also have a FB page feel free to like and share with people you know who may benefit. It's at https://www.facebook.com/stevosbetterlifeaheadforyou

P.S.S. Take my survey, once I have enough results I will answer some of the queries on there. It can be found at Financial Health Check Survey

P.S.S.S I am working to see if I can get a discount for AULRO members who after an initial consult wish to proceed with a financial plan.

Originally Posted by Vern

business is getting bigger and bigger, although so are the headaches

Been there,done that

I know,it is often an unavoidable part of business,sometimes not for the better.

I downsized about 3 or 4 years ago now,best thing i ever did.Walked away from some massive contracts.
Now we just pick and choose our customers/work.
Profits are up,headaches are down....
Sleepless nights are also gone