I think that anyone my age that becomes more financially aware, starts to look at their own situation and the people around them. This happened with me and my dad and so I took it on my shoulders.
My dad was in a position where both his parents, my grandparents, sadly passed away quite quickly. This was an overwhelmingly emotional time. I knew that it was important to help dad be able to take a step back and think about everything that comes in a time like this logically rather than in isolation.
Getting caught up and thinking about issues in isolation is something we’re all guilty of from time to time. Especially when faced with an emotionally difficult period, the day to day can be hard enough during these times. It often takes someone almost forcing us to take a step back before we can start to address things logically. Without this we’re all prone to trying to solve issues in our head while we’re lying in bed at 11:30 at night that we never have a hope of following through on or solving.
I knew that if dad sought advice he would get a stepped-out plan and we could start thinking about how to use the cards that he’d been dealt to get him where he wanted to go. For dad and his partner, that meant owning their own home. The home is such an emotional driver for everybody, that’s why we’re all obsessed with it.
So I put dad in touch with someone here at Viridian. By working through everything, Viridian’s been able to help him get there – he and his partner finally bought their own home . To see him happy and being able to rip something off the stairs and retiling out the back is exactly why you want to get into financial advice. That’s the best side of it when you see it make a real impact on someone’s life everyday.
By taking a step back, Viridian was also able to help dad address areas he’d be forgiven for not wanting to look at in his own time such as using his superannuation. He’s now able to look at it as a tool to actually enjoy retirement, as well as considering how to manage his parents’ estate and his WorkCover payments. Previously any financial decision felt like walking through a minefield.
I feel lucky to see the effect financial advice has had in my own family. It’s been absolutely fantastic to see him now comfortable in his own home. Being able to see that the business I work in has had a really positive effect on my dad – you can’t really beat that.
Hugh Goodfellow is a Portfolio Manager at Viridian Advisory
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