My parents immigrated to Oz with about $500 to their name and 5 kids. They lost everything they owned when the container was lost off the ship. Dads pre arranged job as a mechanical engineer fell through and he started work as a labourer while he looked for another job. My parents are alive and I lived with them through university- I did nursing then medicine- they didn’t charge me rent but never gave me another cent. They still haven’t. My mother, when she does will leave about $1000 to each of her grandchildren- that is all the money she has. My father remarried and all the money he has will go to his second wife.

My husbands parents gave us $10k to help buy a house. We have received no other money from anyone.

I have worked a fairly low paid job for an MD- a kids Er doc in the NSW public hospital system- but it’s 3.5x average wage. My husband is corporate and earns about 4x average wage.

We spend $10k one year about 15 years ago on a (tax deductible) independent financial advisor. He sorted out all our insurances and gave us saving goals which we stuck to. That money goes into a low cost managed fund. Once we had enough to pay for an apartment we bought and it is now rented out and paying for itself. We have rebuilt the managed fund.

I think the financial advice was priceless- but it had to be from someone who was completely independent- and therefore costly.