Written by Will Lucas
Financial advice is not only for people who are already wealthy. Often, its greatest value comes while you are still building wealth and facing decisions that could shape the next 10, 20 or 30 years.
It's a question we get asked more often than you might think.
Do I actually have enough money to see a financial adviser?
There's often an assumption that financial advice is something you get once you're wealthy. Once you've built a big investment portfolio, paid off the mortgage and accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in super, then you go and see an adviser.
But there's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem with that logic.
If financial advice is supposed to help you make smarter decisions with your money, why would you wait until you've already made most of the big ones?
The better question usually isn’t “Do I have enough money?” It’s: “Are there enough important financial decisions in front of me where getting them right could make a meaningful difference?”
You don’t need to be wealthy. But you do need something to work with.
Let’s get one thing out of the way.
Financial advice isn’t free, and it isn’t going to make sense for absolutely everyone.
At Braeside Wealth, we generally work best with Australians in their 30s to 60s who are ready to take their finances seriously, particularly professionals, families who are building wealth, and people planning for an upcoming retirement. One practical indicator is having surplus income of around $400 per week or more, or having the capacity to create that surplus with some help.
That doesn’t mean $400 per week is some magical cut-off.
It simply illustrates an important point: good financial advice needs something to work with.
That might be surplus cash flow, investment assets, super, equity in a property, a business, a high income or simply some big financial decisions coming up.
Sometimes the people who get the most value from advice aren’t the ones with the biggest bank balances today. They’re the ones with a decent income and plenty of opportunity, but aren’t quite sure what to do with it.
“I earn good money, but I don’t feel wealthy”
This is probably more common than you think.
You might have a good household income but also have:
a sizeable mortgage
kids and the costs that come with them
money sitting in an offset account
some shares or ETFs
super that you haven’t looked at for a few years
competing goals for your money
absolutely no desire to spend your weekend reading about superannuation legislation
On paper, you may be doing pretty well.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean you know what the next best move is.
Should extra money go against the mortgage?
Should you invest it?
Should you contribute more to super?
Could you be doing something smarter from a tax perspective?
Should you keep that investment property?
Can you afford the renovation?
Could you work less in five or ten years?
And what happens if you try to do all of those things at once?
This is where advice starts becoming useful.
We regularly speak with people trying to decide between keeping money in an offset account, investing further, contributing more to super and paying down other debt, while also planning for a future home purchase. The conversation isn’t just about picking one investment. It’s about understanding how those decisions fit together and which path gives them the best chance of achieving what actually matters to them.
The real question is whether the value outweighs the cost
This is the way I prefer to look at it.
Imagine you pay for financial advice and, as a result, you make better decisions across tax, super, investments, debt, cash flow, insurance, major purchases and retirement.
The value isn’t necessarily finding one incredible investment that suddenly pays for the advice.
Often, it’s the cumulative effect of getting lots of decisions right.
Financial advice fees vary depending on the complexity of your circumstances, what advice you need, whether the engagement is one-off or ongoing, and how the adviser charges. It is important to understand both the advice fee and any underlying product costs before you proceed.
At Braeside Wealth, our approach is straightforward. We charge flat, transparent fees based on the complexity and scope of the advice rather than percentage-based fees linked to the amount you have invested.
Ultimately, we need to be able to look at your circumstances and genuinely believe the advice can put you in a better position after allowing for the cost of the advice.
If we don’t believe there is enough value in us working together, we won't recommend that you pay us for advice.
There isn’t a magic number
You don’t suddenly qualify for financial advice when your super reaches $500,000.
You don’t need a $1 million investment portfolio.
And you certainly don’t need to have everything sorted out before you speak to an adviser.
Two families could have exactly the same net worth and have completely different needs.
One might have relatively simple finances, a clear plan and be comfortable managing everything themselves.
The other might be juggling a mortgage, an investment property, two super accounts, kids, tax planning, career changes and a goal of retiring at 55.
Same net worth. Completely different value from advice.
So, when might it be worth speaking to an adviser?
A conversation could be worthwhile if you find yourself thinking things like:
“We’re earning good money, but I don’t really know where it’s going.”
“We’ve got money building up in the offset. What should we actually do with it?”
“Should I put more into super or pay down the mortgage?”
“We want to buy our next home without completely derailing our long-term plans.”
“I want to invest, but I don’t know where to start.”
“We’re doing okay, but I feel like we should be further ahead.”
“I’d love to have the option to stop working earlier. Is that actually realistic?”
“There are so many options that I don’t know which one is actually best for us.”
If that sounds familiar, your biggest problem probably isn’t that you don’t have enough money.
It might be that you don’t yet have a clear plan for it.
And when might you not need an adviser yet?
There are circumstances where paying for comprehensive advice won’t make sense.
If there is very little surplus cash flow, no immediate strategic decisions to make and the priority is simply getting day-to-day finances under control, there are some excellent free resources available.
ASIC’s Moneysmart provides free budgeting tools, calculators and educational information covering debt, investing, super and retirement.
You might start there, build some financial breathing room and come back to advice later.
That’s completely okay.
Financial advice should improve your position, not become another financial burden.
Should you speak to us?
Not sure whether financial advice makes sense for you? Have a chat with us. We’ll learn a bit about where you’re at, what you’re trying to achieve and whether we think there’s enough value in working together. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you.
The information in this article is general information and does not take into account any person’s individual situation. You should always do your own research, or seek professional advice to assist you in making an informed decision about what suits your needs.