There will always be an “inherent reluctance” to seek financial advice, and overcoming this barrier is key to engaging everyday Australians, according to Map My Plan.
Map My Plan founder, Paul Feeney, said that financial planning today was flawed as only 20 per cent of Australian households had access to professional personalised financial advice.
“What we’re trying to do [with Map My Plan] is decrease financial stress in people’s lives. Our research shows that the best way to do that is to make sure people have access to the information they need at the right time to make a well-informed financial decision,” Feeney said.
“Financial literacy is great, there’s a lot of education out there but a lot of it lacks one key ingredient and that’s context.”
According to Feeney, financial planning was littered with “industry jargon” which it made difficult for ordinary Australians to become actively engaged in managing their finances.
Last year, Map My Plan commissioned a report on the state of financial wellbeing in Australia to provide a deeper understanding of the issues affecting working Australians.
The findings were used to form a ‘Financial Fitness Index’, which looks at the financial situation of working men and women, and allows them to compare their own situation with that of peers and others.
According to the study, Australian women scored lower than men when it came to financial fitness, with 37 per cent of working women surveyed categorised as “financially fit” compared to 45 per cent of men.
Feeney confirmed the fintech will be now be looking to add a variety of new modules and financial goals to their product offering next month, with plans to expand their tool to include income in retirement and investments later this year.
