There has never been a more important time for the people of Sydney to get a financial planner. The COVID-19 pandemic has left the people and businesses of Sydney in a precarious position at best – with a roadmap to a new normal. But what is the roadmap for your financial normal?
NSW accounted for the largest share of postcodes where households have overstretched their finances, in large part due to the soaring house prices, with “the average new loans in Sydney are often eight times income”. [1]
This leaves you and your family extremely exposed with more than two in five (42 per cent) households were experiencing mortgage stress in August – up by 42 basis points from the previous months.
In a US study, 35 per cent of all respondents experiencing relationship stress said money was the primary cause of friction[2], is this something that you want to have in your life with everything that the last few years have thrown?
How can a financial planner help secure your future?
By employing a financial planner, whether you are planning to stay living and working in Sydney for 1-week or for your entire life, a financial planner can help you create your roadmap to financial freedom.
Just like the roadmaps out of COVID lockdown, a financial plan will provide quantifiable benchmarks that need to be achieved by you, it will keep you accountable for your actions, but also not set up unrealistic expectations, roadblocks or provide unrealistic plans for your finances.
With so much mortgage stress in Sydney, not to mention the pressure on household expenditure, a small interest rate rise will likely send many people to a place they don’t want to be – and quite simply can’t afford to be. Even a small interest rate increase could result in individuals needing to remove children from private school, relocate to regional areas, or even cause separations in marriages.
A Sydney-based financial planner can sit down with you and your partner to assess your current financial position, earning capacity, how much tolerance to risk you have, your earning horizon (how long you must work) and set a range of realistic goals.
Thinking of buying a house? Why not - but not at eight times your earning capacity! Why not rent in Sydney and purchase a house in a growth region of Australia, rent it out and set up a long-term passive income stream and capital investment?
Why should I see a Sydney financial planner?
If it isn’t clear enough already, financial planning is about developing strategies to help you manage your financial affairs and meet your life goals – and the first step is to make sure you have access to the right advice.
Working with a professional financial planner can give you confidence and peace of mind that your financial future is secure”.[3]
Irrespective of the time you have left to work, your bank balance (or lack thereof), your marital status or your access to capital now – a financial planner can assist you to plan and ensure a positive future.
You wouldn’t get in the car without having a realistic map of where you are going? Nor should you move through life without a realistic roadmap of where you are financially now, and into the future.
Don’t end up like those two in five (42 per cent) households were experiencing mortgage stress or getting a home loan 8-times your earning capacity, which could come crashing down if the Australian housing market or interest rates see any form or adjustment.
Speak to a qualified, expert financial planner today, and live your Sydney dream now and into the future with the knowledge that you have set yourself up with a plan. Because in personal finance, a failure to plan is a plan to fail.
[1] https://www.afr.com/property/residential/half-of-mortgage-stressed-households-have-borrowed-to-the-hilt-20210929-p58vmd
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2015/02/04/money-is-the-leading-cause-of-stress-in-relationships.html