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A financial adviser can assist you with making financial decisions and planning for your future. Advice from a financial adviser may include advising on budgeting, investing, super, retirement planning, estate planning, insurance and taxation.
Finding and choosing a financial adviser to suit you is made simpler by keeping these essential tips in mind.
Decide What You Want From Financial Advice
It’s crucial to know precisely what you’re looking to get out of a financial advisor if you want financial advice. Depending on your stage of life, how much money you have available and what you’re trying to achieve, your needs must be accommodated appropriately to ensure that you’re receiving the right kind of advice. Think carefully about what you are aiming to get out financial advice.
Choose The Right Financial Advice For You
A financial adviser can give two types of advice. Financial advisers can provide general financial advice that doesn’t consider personal situations or goals or how you may be affected personally. Essentially, it’s not advice that may take into account your best interests.
However, personal advice must be based on a careful review of your financial situation and goals and align with your best interests. It can include:
Find A Financial Adviser
Once you have a clear financial goal in mind, it’s time to look into finding someone who can help you achieve it. You can find a licensed financial adviser through:
A good adviser will get to know you, keep you informed, and help you achieve your goals. They’ll also discuss how much risk you’re comfortable with. Going on this journey with your financial adviser can assist you in setting up your financial future comfortably. Begin a conversation with us to see if we can assist you on this journey.
If you’re someone who often finds it difficult to make large lump sum payments for goods or services, you may want to consider looking into “Buy Now Pay Later” services.
Buy now pay later essentially means that, rather than paying in a full lump sum payment for a product or services rendered, there may be an option to pay through instalments of a certain amount over a set period to make the sum of the full amount in total. This method should allow you to pay in full for the product or service without overly straining your finances – you pay back what you can, as agreed upon when you begin the buy now pay later service.
Some popular buy now pay later services include Afterpay, Zip Pay, Brightepay, and some credit card networks such as Mastercard and Visa, can offer buy now pay later arrangements.
Though it can be a convenient, immediate solution, it may be challenging to juggle the necessary repayments with other financial commitments. It’s not always the most appropriate method for people, and you should bear in mind your situation and ability in paying back the amounts.
Before you sign up, keep in mind:
If you are someone who could make use of BNPL services, you may wish to:
If you would like assistance in planning your financial future, help in managing your budget or some friendly advice, see us for a chat about what we can do for you.
Sometimes there are a few unexpected expenses that can impact on our financial situations, and make things just a little more difficult to deal with. The refrigerator breaking down the same week that the car registration is due could be too much of a financial burden for many individuals. With many credit-providing schemes and dubious loans advertised to the public, there is a simpler way to solve your financial issue if you are applicable.
The No Interest Loan Scheme is provided by the Australian government for individuals and families to have access to safe, affordable credit.
No interest loans are designed to assist people in getting back on a more stable footing financially, allowing them to borrow up to $1,500 to pay for essentials. The term for this loan is between 12 and 18 months, with no credit checks, interest, fees or charges. Repayments for no interest loans are affordable as you are only paying for what is borrowed.
To receive a no interest loan, you must:
There are only a couple of steps that need to be completed to apply for a no interest loan under the scheme. A meeting must be arranged with a NILS provider through a telephone or website enquiry, in which you will be interviewed and helped through the application process. Then they will assess your eligibility and present you with an outcome. Loan assessments generally take between 45 and 90 minute, with the loans being approved within 2 days. If all paperwork is provided on the day, it can sometimes be same-day approval.
No interest loans can only be used for essentials. These can include:
There are a lot of options when it comes to investing, but often people are daunted by the prospect. A lack of accessible information, misconceptions about investment opportunities and fear of losing money are often reasons people opt out of investing.
Investing can be as easy as a savings account separate from the account that is used for spending, in which a percentage of monthly income can go into. If there are adequate funds, consider investing in real estate for passive income. With real estate values growing over time, on top of earning rental income during ownership, there will be an opportunity to sell later on at a higher price.
Diversifying investment portfolios can seem overwhelming, but all that it takes is putting money into multiple investment avenues. This can be in shares or managed funds with a financial advisor, investments with different rates of return, or in startups or cryptocurrency.
These avenues of investment can still be a lot to take in for individuals, so financial advisors are always a good option for those looking for a little more of an expert opinion on the issue.
When checking through your transactions, you might come across a transaction that doesn’t look right. If this is the case, you should get into contact with your bank as soon as possible.
An unauthorised transaction: Money transferred from your account without your permission
A mistaken transaction: Paying the wrong person by using the wrong details
Here are the signs to look out for to identify unauthorised or mistaken transactions:
But keep in mind:
Your credit score can affect loans and credit you apply for. You are able to have errors on your credit report fixed for free.
The following are typical errors in credit reports, that you are able to get fixed for free.
Errors by the credit reporting agency – there may be instances where the agency that reports your information has done so incorrectly. This can lead to errors about:
This type of error can be fixed by contacting the agency directly.
Errors by the credit providers – there may be instances where the credit provider incorrectly reports information. This can lead to errors about:
These types of errors can be corrected by contacting the credit providers. If they agree that there has been a mistake, then the agency will adjust the details. If there is disagreement, then contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) to file a complaint and receive a resolution.
The following are some tips which will make it easier for you to stay on top of your credit card payments so that you can worry less and save more.
Check when your credit card due date is and plan your spending so that you can always pay before the date. By paying before the due date, you will avoid paying interest or late payment fees but also keep your credit card score healthy.
When you have so much going on in life, it can be difficult to remember a date. To ensure that you’re always paying on the due date set a monthly reminder on your phone.
Pay the most amount of money you can for each repayment so that you pay the debt faster and save money on interest and late fees – this means paying more than the minimum amount. If you are struggling to pay the minimum amount, contact your bank or credit provider to see if you can renegotiate. You should also consider talking to a financial counsellor.
Taking action earlier rather than later will save you money and prevent your debt from growing.
Multiple credit cards can get overwhelming and result in you paying a lot more than you actually need to. Aim to reduce the number of cards you have one at a time. You might choose to prioritise by:
Regardless of which option you choose, continue to pay minimum amounts for all cards and only continue using one card. Once you pay off each card, remember to cancel it!
The easiest way to avoid the temptation of overspending is by placing a limit on your credit card. You can do this by contacting the branch remotely or visiting in person and it takes at most, 2 business days.
Remember that you don’t have to settle on a bad credit card deal. If you realise that your bank is being unfair, or charging too much compared to other banks, make sure you get in touch with them to try and get the best deal for you.
It can be tempting to treat yourself on payday, but in the long run, planning your spending will be more rewarding. Creating a payday routine will help you pay your bills on time and save more money to put aside.
The very first step needs to be completed the night before payday. Transfer any funds you have leftover from the previous payday to your savings account. This will allow you to spend less money you consider ‘extra’ and save it for your long-term goals.
The second thing you need to do is pay as many bills as possible, rather than wait till the ‘due date’. As it is, once money comes into the account, a lot of it is earmarked for bills and payments that need to be made, so rather than holding off on them, you should pay them immediately. This will also give you a clear indication of how much money you have.
Finally, creating a to-do list on the day of your payday is an effective method of viewing or planning your expenses. This will give a clear indication of small and large expenses that need to be paid before your next payday. They will also help identify unnecessary expenses or when extra money is being spent when it shouldn’t be.
These are simple techniques that anyone can apply to get ahead of over-spending on payday.
Reverse mortgages allow you to use the equity in your home as security to borrow money. The following are pros and cons of acquiring a reverse mortgage.
Pros
Cons
Planning for unforeseeable circumstances is especially important during retirement. Therefore before you choose to opt for a reverse mortgage, make sure you consider your options.
Debt consolidation is a form of refinancing which involves taking one larger loan out to pay off multiple small ones. Although this might make managing repayments easier, you may end up paying more money interest rate or fees.
There will be companies that make offers which are too good to be true. If you feel that an offer is unrealistic and the company is promising that they can get you out of debt no matter what your situation is, you should reevaluate using their services. Don’t trust companies that:
The goal behind the consolidation is to manage your payments, not create more fees and interest for you. Therefore, before signing onto an agreement, check how consolidation compares with your current fees and interest rates altogether. Also, take into account expenses and penalties associated with your existing loans and whether you will have to pay more money for paying off your loan early. If the expenses work out to be more, it might not be worth going through this entire process.
Debt consolidation isn’t the only option if you’re struggling with repayments. Other options may be available which are more suited to you. You should discuss with your mortgage provider, credit provider or financial advisors to determine if there is anything that can be done.