Best money advice from a financial planner

This article was originally written by Shona Hendley for Mamamia, following her conversation with NGS Super Financial Planner Trudy Jenkins.

Full disclosure: I was a nerd. I adored school because learning was incredibly fun and remains possibly my favourite thing to do - along with hanging with my two kids and enjoying a glass of wine, of course.

While my education set me up well for most areas of my life, in terms of financial literacy, I’d give it an F. This has left me now, nearly 40, still playing catch up in terms of my financial knowledge and confidence too.

The reality is, I'm not the only woman in this position. Trudy Jenkins, Certified Financial Planner at NGS Super tells Mamamia it’s quite commonplace amongst Australian women, despite their achievements and participation in society being at an all-time high.

"Studies have shown that women tend to have lower levels of financial literacy compared to men which can impact their ability to make informed financial decisions," she says.

The good news though, is that there is an increasing number of services, advice and experts who specialise in this area, helping women - like me - with the right tips and tools.

Here are the 9 best pieces of money advice I learnt from my chat with Jenkins (including many nuggets I wish I'd followed before having kids).

1. Seek help from the experts

If you need help with your feet, you visit a podiatrist, in the same way if you wanted a haircut, you'd see a hairdresser. So, when it comes to money, seek advice from a financial expert.

Yes, while this may sound pretty obvious, I was surprised to hear that when it came to superannuation, the majority of my friends learnt what they know purely from their own family members or friends.

"Many people value the advice that family, friends and work colleagues offer," Jenkins confirms.

However, taking on this advice is not always advantageous or current, she adds.

"Although well-meaning, their financial situation, age and understanding of investment concepts and risk, may be very different to your situation. If you are unsure of the rules and limits in relation to your superannuation, reach out to your fund."

NGS Super, a leading industry super fund for education and community professionals, is focused on helping people save for their future by offering personalised services to support them with their superannuation, insurance and investments, explains Jenkins.

Jenkins says: "There’s no such thing as a silly question when you're working towards securing your financial independence."

2. Read and understand your financial statements

Honestly, they aren’t a hugely riveting read, but financial statements (including your annual super statements) are informative, and allow you to work out whether you need to action any changes.

"Read and understand your annual super statements to track your contributions, progress, investment returns and insurance cover. Receiving your annual statement is often a great time to review your investment strategy and make contact with your fund if you have questions," says Jenkins.

Because knowledge is (you guessed it) power.

3. Extra contributions, early and regularly

"They grow up so quickly." This phrase is a favourite amongst parents the world over, as it's painfully true.

Having kids is what prompted me to start thinking and planning for my financial future more seriously by adding voluntary contributions to my super.

But doing this doesn’t have to wait for parenthood, in fact, Jenkins says the earlier you're able to, the better.

“It’s easy to set up a regular contribution to your super account from your salary. Speak to your payroll manager. Contributing early and regularly can boost your benefit through the power of compound earnings,” she says.

4. Pay off high-interest debt first

This advice to many readers would be very familiar: the goal is to pay off high-interest debt first, and avoid accumulating unnecessary debt. For me, this was once my overused holiday credit card.

5. Make friends with the word ‘budget’

If you’re like me, seeing or hearing this word generates anxiety - but creating and sticking to a budget is necessary, especially as a parent.

For me, the budget continually changes as my kids transition from different sports or extracurricular activities over the seasons, or if other expenses like school fees, braces and family holidays come up.

To help you figure out a budget that works for you, Jenkins recommends arming yourself with the free tools we have at our fingertips: making the most of free budgeting calculators on sites like the ASIC Moneysmart website and retirement calculators.

6. Consolidate, consolidate, consolidate

Consolidation was a lesson I learnt a few years ago after discovering that throughout my working life - from my casual job days at school and uni, to various positions within different industries - I had three separate super funds.

Thanks to the ATO's tool to find funds you've lost touch with, I was able to (very simply, may I add) search for and consolidate my super into one account.

If you have multiple super funds, it's important to be aware of them and consider the costs in having more than one, says Jenkins. Before consolidating, it's also ideal to be aware of the effect it might have on your benefits including insurance cover.

"If you have super with other funds or the Australian Taxation Office, combining it into one account can save you fees and make things easier to manage."

7. Social media can be your (helpful) friend

Yep, you have permission to keep scrolling away - as following your bank, insurers, utility providers and super fund on socials is a great (free) way to catch new deals, keep across important information, or assess whether you need to make any changes in light of cost-of-living pressures.

8. Quiz yourself

On the topic of free, testing your knowledge about how your own money is being invested - like this short two-minute quiz - can help you establish where you are with something as important as your super fund, and guide you on where to go from there.

9. Aim to keep learning

My personal favourite: never stop learning.

With an abundance of resources - books, websites, services and social media (many of which are gloriously free) - knowledge is at your fingertips and can often be quite interesting, too. Even if, like me, you aren’t a numbers person.

Book a complimentary chat with an NGS Super Specialist to help you better understand your superannuation, investments and insurance.

This article was originally posted on Mamamia and was reproduced with permission.