People sometimes ask how I came to work in financial advice.
Like many things in life, it was not a straight path. It really began years ago when I was living in Far North Queensland and working in a bank. People would come into the branch and ask what they should do with their money. At the time my role was quite limited. I could help with term deposits or superannuation, but beyond that there was very little guidance I was able to offer.
Still, those conversations stayed with me. I found myself increasingly curious about the decisions people were facing and the responsibility that came with managing money. It was clear that financial decisions were rarely just about numbers. They were connected to people’s lives, their families, and the futures they were trying to build.
Around that same time, my own life changed in a way I had not expected.
When I went through a divorce, I realised how little I understood about some of the financial structures that affect long term security. Things like family trusts and how assets can be held within them. After ten years of marriage, I walked away with nothing financially. I was even told that my future financial plan would likely be to marry again. I remember thinking how confronting and, frankly, how insulting that felt.
That experience was a turning point for me.
It made me determined to understand how financial systems actually work and how people can rebuild and protect their future. Fortunately, the bank was offering what was essentially an apprenticeship pathway into financial advice at the time. I decided to take that opportunity and learn as much as I could.
Over the years that followed, something became very clear to me. Financial planning itself is often the final step. The real work begins long before numbers or strategies are discussed.
It begins with people.
Understanding where someone has come from, what matters most to them, what responsibilities they carry, and what they hope the future might look like. Every person brings their own story to the table, and those stories shape the way they think about money, risk, family, and legacy.
For me, that is the part of this work that matters most.
I have always been fascinated by people and by the role money plays in our lives. Not money for its own sake, but because it flows through almost every decision we make. Not having money can create problems, but having money can bring its own complexities as well.
My role is simply to help people make sense of those moments and move forward with clarity.
Over time I have come to see this work as a responsibility as much as a profession. Trust sits at the centre of everything I do. My aim is always to approach conversations with honesty, transparency, and care.
Above all else, I try to stay true to the person sitting in front of me and to the responsibility that comes with helping someone shape their financial future.
Because when life changes, money usually changes with it too.
