Clare, early 40s

As an actor, my work can be up and down. My husband’s work is similarly variable. Now that we’re a little older, and with children, we’re wanting more stability and consistency. Not just in the short term but also to ensure that we’re considering our longer-term financial situation so that we can take a holiday each year and factor in the cost of education amongst other things.

Inheriting a sum of money prompted me to seek advice on how to make this work for us in the longer term.

We were recommended to see SFS by an older couple that we know and respect. We were reassured by the fact that they’ve been a client of SFS for over 25 years and I had no experience with financial planning, other than a bad experience with a mortgage broker.

Thankfully, the team at SFS were the complete opposite. The team were so down to earth and really took the time to get to know us. Their understanding of who we are, and our values, is reflected in the type of investments they have chosen for us, reflecting our preference for investing in sustainable companies. And they made recommendations that I’d never really considered such as making changes to our superannuation plan that were more suited to our situation and ensuring that we had adequate levels of life and income insurance.

Even though the money coming in is variable, SFS helped us to get a bigger picture of our finances over a year so we had peace of mind and could better manage the fluctuations. The result for me is a huge sense of relief and control.

The feeling of knowing where we’re going and how to navigate our way there has given me a renewed confidence for the future.