Case study

Dennis and Anne

At Bridges — we’ve had the privilege to guide thousands of Australians, just like Dennis and Anne, towards brighter financial futures.

Their goal was to start to consistently build their wealth. Together, they were earning close to $200,000, but with two teenagers, a mortgage, and a busy lifestyle — they would be lucky if they could save $5-10k a year.

They had plenty of options available to them, but they were unsure of the right path to follow. Should they start to invest? Should they pay more into their Super? How long, realistically, would it be until they could pay off their home?

It’s at these moments when the value of advice can make all the difference. After meeting, the first thing we did was review their financial ‘ins and outs’ to get a clear picture of their finances and cash flow. It’s so important to help people understand their lifestyle, the life they want to live as they get older, and the compromise that it sometimes requires.

Dennis and Anne didn’t want the moon — but they did want a bit more security moving forward, and the occasional holiday.

When it comes to advice there really is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. During our initial conversations, we discovered that their home was their only piece of equity and savings were low. However, Dennis and Anne wouldn’t need to access their funds for at least 10 years. This meant we could recommend a long-term investment strategy, together with a high interest term deposit for their additional monthly savings. They’d have less cash immediately accessible — but would be in a far stronger position later in life, especially when they got closer to the age of retirement.

For Dennis and Anne, it was a fantastic result and a load off their minds. They’d need to be a little bit more prudish in the short-term but knowing that they had a clear plan to work towards and new strategies in place — gave their money a sense of purpose that had been missing before.