- Recent studies confirm many people failing to keep building financial knowledge
- Key reason for failure of financial self-help courses is sole dependence on lowest-cost solutions
Financial adviser Andrew Zbik has launched a personal finance training course for people who want a sustained, disciplined approach to their money.
Andrew’s approach is two-pronged with people doing his course before becoming ongoing clients for his advisory firm or choosing to run their own wealth plans using a workbook.
A number of recent studies confirmed a worrying decline in financial literacy in Australia between 2016 and 2020, particularly for women and people aged under 35.
Rising interest rates, cost of living concerns and ongoing uncertainty around Covid-19 have made financial literacy, especially around household budgeting and money management, all the more necessary.
Also highlighted was the need for financial planning activities such as longer-term savings goals in order to build greater financial wellbeing.
These studies confirmed Andrew’s belief that a simple self-help approach is too limited.
“I could not see how a self-help book would take a family through their working life and a 30-year retirement. No single text is that good. I have read a some of the popular self-help books and the key themes seem to value cost saving over real planning.
“I thought there was a better way to build wealth and a practical, truly interactive course would produce better results for many investors,” said Mr Zbik.
Clear need for workable financial learning course
The need for the hands-on course came to Andrew after seeing the thirst for knowledge from new clients about how to think about money as much as how to make money.
“Millennials seem well suited to seeing a money problem and knowing they must expend energy and resources to produce a sustainable strategy to learn and act.
“A workbook and an experienced guide are better tools to develop a plan, be it to pay down debt, build a house deposit or to focus on building wealth. I have seen that where investors writing down their planning and progress in the structure laid out by a professional seems to be a better recipe for real success,” said Mr Zbik.
Course customised to meet individual needs
Mr Zbik starts by getting people to write down their success stories with money as well as their failures and then build their needs from the course.
The DIY action plan has several key elements:
- Budgeting tool provided by myprosperity.com.au (this subscription-based software works well in making plans stick)
- Self-assessment of past failures/successes to gauge current position as a saver
- Check-in time assists in keeping people on track until the ‘habit’ forms.
The Your Financial Action Plan course involves a minimum of 168 hours of reading and online course work. A face-to-face course option will also be offered in Sydney.
Sources:
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey
Financial Wellbeing and General Life Satisfaction in Australia
Australian Government 2021 National Financial Capability Survey
Andrew Zbik
Senior Financial Adviser
Creation Wealth
0422 038 253
andrew.zbik@creationwealth.com.au
www.creationwealth.com.au
About Andrew
Andrew is Director and Senior Financial Adviser at CreationWealth. His role is to act as a personal financial coach for his clients. Primarily this involves helping clients understand what is happening with their investments and ensuring that they are comfortable with their chosen investment strategy. Andrew has been assisting clients learn and evolve their wealth journey since 2007.
Andrew is married with three children. In his spare time he enjoys woodwork, cycling and rowing. Andrew services his local community as a Councillor and Mayor on Lane Cove Municipal Council.
Andrew’s qualifications include:
• Bachelor of Business Administration from Macquarie University
• Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University
• Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice
• Diploma of Financial Services
• SMSF Specialist Advisor (SSA) Accreditation
• Registered Tax (Financial) Adviser
• Justice of the Peace in New South Wales
This advice is general and Andrew Zbik nor any employees or representatives Finans Pty Ltd trading as CreationWealth has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the advice is suitable for you and your personal circumstances.
(If relevant: Before you make any decision about whether to acquire a certain product, you should obtain and read the relevant product disclosure statement and recommend that investor obtain financial advice specific to their situation before making any financial, investment or insurance decisions).