I have always thought I was good at budgeting - turns out I might not be!! I need help with free financial counseling, someone looking at our budget, finding ways to save, pay the debt off faster or possibly Debt Consolidation? I don't think the latter would be an option though...and I just don't know how to tweak it anymore... I have attempted to contact a free Financial counseling service in WA with no luck yet...Any suggestions?

Hi Stef,

being very light on detail I dont know whether you are looking for help to get some savings happening, or you are in a position that you dont have enough money for the basic essentials to survive

I found a dozen different free services in and around your area, so if none of those are any use to you, then I suspect what you need is something more than some advice on how to make your income stretch far enough to pay the rent and groceries?????

I know that some financial planners offer a service to track and report on household expenditure.....but this is far from free, and in my opinion only useful for people who need to be told that they are spending too much on chai latte if they want to go to Spain next winter.

And I dont know where you fit into the spectrum of people who need advice Stef.

I would start with the free counselling services in Perth and get them to recommend other service providers if what they can give you doesnt suit your needs.

And remember, once you get past the free services offered to people in genuine need of counselling and advice, you do actually have to pay for advice......

good luck

bc

Hi Stef,
Firstly, it's great to see you've identified you need a hand. That's the first step to getting things sorted. Well Done!

Next:
Be Careful!
There are So Many companies out there that'll tell you they can do a "Debt Consolidation", but in reality, they'd be putting you into a Part IX (9) Debt Agreement, which is an act of Bankruptcy. This Part IX will DESTROY your credit rating for 5 to 7 years.
Now, PartIX's are good for some people, but Most People that enter into a Part IX Debt Agreement do it without knowing that they'll have to pay off a large portion of their debt, and still end up with a rubish credit rating.
Many people would have possibly been better off going Bankrupt then to enter into a Part IX.

There are limited benefits of a Part IX over a full Bankruptcy, but you have to weigh up the cost versus those benefits.
If you need more information, I am happy to let you know as much as I know. We get so many people coming to us asking for help fixing their credit files after they were told by a Part IX company that the 'consolidation' would "help" their credit score, and exactly the opposite is true. A Part IX is almost impossible to remove from a credit file and will be on there for a minimum of 5 years, or a maximum of 2 years after the Debt Agreement is finalised (if greater than 5 years). Defaults, Judgments, Enquiries are easy, but not Part IX Debt Agreements...

If you need some financial counselling and armed with the knowledge above, you can try LifeLine. They are free and may be able to assist.

Also, there's a number of free resources available on ASIC's "Money Smart" website.
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-resources/calculators-and-apps/budget-planner

https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/managing-your-money/budgeting

https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-resources/calculators-and-apps/budgeting-and-saving-calculators

I hope this helps a little, and if you need more help, please ask me and I'll do what I can :-)

Good Luck and stay safe!

Graham

Hi Stef

I would need some further information about your scenario and what help would be feasible but I would be happy to have a review and point you in the right direction.

Thanks

Abby
abby@symmetrygroup.com.au