You’ve recently opened Google or asked AI, “I need financial advice, where do I start?”. Taking the first step toward managing your money can feel daunting. You know that intentional financial planning is paramount. You’ve realised that leaving your savings to sit passively in a low-interest bank account isn’t going to cut it anymore. Your financial goals have changed, and you need a new way to structure your funds.
So, you take the plunge and actively start looking for professional help, suddenly you run into a confusing wall of industry jargon. You hear terms like wealth managers, brokers, and independent financial advisors. Worse, you start to wonder: How do these people get paid, and can I really trust that they have my best interests at heart? Feeling overwhelmed, you close the search and decide you’ll come back to it at a later stage, or maybe your family members can give you advice based on how they manage their finances.
Getting started doesn’t have to be overwhelming. What you need is an advisor whose incentives align perfectly with your personal goals.
Here are the easy steps you can take to start your financial planning journey, to build your financial freedom:
Step 1. Define your immediate financial “Why”
You need a clear picture of what you are trying to solve right now. Financial advice isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach; it’s a personalised strategy built around your current needs and future goals.
- Identify your short-term friction points: Are you trying to aggressively clear credit card debt, build a six-month emergency fund, or figure out how to maximise your tax-free savings account before the end of the tax year? Pinpointing your immediate needs gives your future advisory sessions a sharp, actionable focus.
- Look at the big picture milestones: Think about what you want your life to look like in three to five years. Whether your goal is buying your first property, starting a business, or planning a family, knowing these milestones helps ensure your investment strategy matches your real-world timelines.
Step 2. Decode how the financial advice industry charges you
The most important question you can ask an advisor is, “How do you earn your money?” Historically, the financial services industry has hidden its fees in complex structures that eat away at your long-term wealth without you even noticing. Understanding these models is key to protecting your hard-earned cash.
- The Traditional Model (AUM Fees): Most traditional advisors charge an Assets Under Management (AUM) fee, usually between 0.5% and 2% of your total investment portfolio every year. While the percentage sounds small, it compounds over time. If your portfolio grows, you pay significantly more money for the exact same amount of work and advice. This model often incentivises advisors to only take you on as a client if you already have millions to invest.
- The Commission Model: Some brokers earn their living via upfront or ongoing commissions from the specific financial products (like life insurance or specific mutual funds) that they sell you. This creates a massive conflict of interest: it leaves you wondering whether they are recommending a product because it’s genuinely right for your situation, or because it pays them the highest kickback.
Step 3: Consider the modern alternative: Flat-fee advice
- Paying for professional expertise, not products: With a flat-fee model, you pay a clear, transparent fixed fee for an advisor’s time and expertise, much like you would pay an attorney or an accountant. It doesn’t matter if you have R50,000 or R5,000,000 to invest; the cost of creating your financial plan is fixed, not based on the size of your wallet.
- Unbiased, unconflicted guidance: When an advisor doesn’t earn commission from the product sale or a percentage of your assets, their advice becomes completely objective. Their sole objective is to help you make better money decisions, navigate tax efficiencies, and build sustainable long-term wealth.
Consider Doshguide as a flat-fee alternative
This is exactly why we built Doshguide. We believe that top-tier, professional financial planning should be accessible, transparent, and entirely free from industry biases. We are here to make expert money guidance straightforward and affordable for everyone.
- A subscription that builds real wealth: We offer fixed, flat-fee subscription pricing that costs less than your monthly custom coffees. By removing asset-based fees and commissions, we ensure that 100% of our incentives are aligned with your success.
- Actionable tools to track your progress: We don’t just hand over a dense, hundred-page document and leave you to figure it out. Doshguide pairs you with qualified professionals and gives you practical, ongoing support to bring your plans to life.
Ready to kickstart your journey?
Reach out to Doshguide and get a personalised plan that suits your unique goals. Let’s strip away the confusion and build a clear, un-conflicted roadmap for your money.