Why Free? FAQ

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You may not believe this, but this link is one of the site’s least read.   I am always painfully upfront and transparent, so it never ceases to amaze me how few people bother doing their research.  Congratulations and thank you for making the effort to read how this site works.

Askjosiekay.com is completely free to use and no doubt you will be wondering why a fully qualified Certified Financial Planner, where the average charge is usually at around $250 per hour would bother.  You could also be thinking that I am using this site to source clients.

The answer is no as I am working on too many projects.  My guarantee is that you will not receive a bill from me or be hassled.  I hate people hassling me, so the last thing I would want would be to inflict that uncomfortable feeling onto my loyal radio listeners or regular visitors to this site.

It is simply a site where you can source realistic financial information, booklets, great tools and calculators and seek an opinion from a money expert.  Plenty use it for a second opinion.  After all, they are just doing their homework before they hand over their life savings.  I spend a lot of time on the internet and know where to source the best information.

This site was borne out of my realisation that there is a huge demand for straight forward, no nonsense, easy to understand financial advice.

As you know, I get the opportunity to talk to hundreds of thousands of people each week via my radio show and this is simply an extension of that service.

My friends think my enthusiasm and passion for financial planning is quite weird, but I find it addictive and therapeutic and hope that I am making a difference.

After nearly 20 years in industry, I have seen the good, bad and very ugly parts of the financial services industry and know that millions are being ripped off.   It is not because they are dumb or silly, they simply trusted the information that is provided, usually because they didn’t do their homework.

In other words, they haven’t thought about the motives of the person or organisation giving the advice.

Luckily, they are not all bad.

There are plenty of big businesses and finance professionals who are doing a great job in improving their clients financial lives.   Just luck of the draw as to whether you have found a good one.  Sadly, there are also plenty of people who think they have found a good one, only to discover later they haven’t.

As you know, I am always saying there is ‘no such thing as a free lunch’, so please read on …..

Yes we are, but only if you click on the google ads or access the goods or services of one of our sponsors.  Thousands of hours have been put into the development of askjosiekay.com.au.

Answering some questions takes me 10 minutes, whereas others may take hours.   If you have bothered to send me an email, I want to pay you the respect of taking time to formulate a reasoned and thorough answer.    It would be awesome to have no advertisements or sponsored links. That is impossible.   The reality is that we have bills to pay and have to find ways to keep this service going.   We are not subsidised by the Government, or any particular company or organisation to provide this service.

This is a tough one to answer and you would expect me to say that I don’t believe it does.   In a nutshell, I don’t know how to answer this one.  I prefer that you be the judge and make up your own mind.

To defend myself, those who have met me all say that I sound exactly the same in real life (which I will accept as a compliment!).  My reputation means everything to me.

When I write articles and answers to your questions, I do plenty of research.  Many times, I often refer people to other sites e.g. ratecity.com.au, infochoice.com.au, fido.gov.au, as I believe they are providing a valuable service and worthwhile checking out.

These links are ‘non-affiliated’, in other words we do not receive income from them.   You will also see enticements from us to visit our sponsors which pay us.

I will not add a sponsor unless I am comfortable using them myself.   Should you use one of them and subsequently received poor service, please contact me immediately as I will not hesitate to sever the relationship.

I make no apologies for criticising large organisations and business that take advantage of us, the consumer.

To make sure we are all clear as to how askjosiekay.com.au gets paid, it goes like this:-

• If there is no * attached to a link - we get zilch… nothing!
• If you see a * attached to a link - we only get paid if you purchase their goods or use their services.  The amount varies from sponsor to sponsor.   I have researched them and happy to use them myself.
• Google ads - we get paid per click - not much but it all helps.   It is important to note that these ads have not been researched by me.  Therefore, they are not a recommendation to use them.
• If you see, ‘please visit our sponsors’, we get paid if you purchase their goods or use their services.

There is no legal requirement to put a * by links that pay askjosiekay.com.au.   In fact lots of websites use affiliate links and try to hide them.

Here’s an example:

Click Here to compare car hire rates from Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty and Europcar*

Notice the * after Eurocar? It’s an Affiliate link for DIY Car Hire. These guys are cheap and will save you money next time you need to hire a car.

To be frank, if you do like what you see and have gained some benefit, it would fantastic if you could support our sponsors as it gives us the resources to build an ever bigger and better site.

It could even be something charitable, like buying a ticket in the Mater Prize Home, which is a great cause to help sick kids and babies.

However, you must read this - askjosiekay.com.au is not responsible for the terms and conditions of any of the affiliated websites or partner offers on our website.

We spend a lot of time to screen our offers to ensure the best possible experience for our users. However, we are not responsible or liable for any ensuing charges or contracts incurred between a user and an offer provider. Users should carefully read the requirements, terms and conditions, privacy policy and billing information for each offer or retailer.

Here is a list of our current sponsors:

Airport Parking*     Australian Lifestyle Survey* Avis* Avon* Best Flights* Budget*

Catalogue Central* DIY Car hire* Dodo* eBay* Get Price* Head 2 head trivia*

Howzat Accom* iselect* Quickflix* RP Data* Savvytel* Stella Resorts*

Travel Insurance* Vistaprint* Vroom* Wine makers choice*

I have been called lots of names, luckily most of them nice.   My favourite, is ‘consumer champion’.   It probably all started with my saying ‘Watch out …. Everyone is after your money!  Learn how to outsmart them.”

I am a Certified Financial Planner and have nearly 20 years experience in the financial services industry.  It all started when I accepted a job in corporate superannuation with MLC in 1990 which was a wonderful organisation to work for as they brought out the best in me (some would say worst!) and exposed me to many interesting and amazing challenges.

As a Client Service Manager, I gained invaluable experience addressing the financial planning needs of senior executives of large corporations.  Probably, my favourite part of this role was getting out meeting members of superannuation funds, many of them hard working men and women who work their butt off on the factory floor.

I did hundreds of superannuation and wealth creation seminars in strange and weird places and gained enormous satisfaction knowing that most of them understood that their superannuation fund was their money and had to be taken seriously.

After that I was promoted to the role of Business Development Manager for Central Queensland and in 1998 appointed State Dealership Manager.   In this role I mentored financial planners and trained and assisted them to develop complex financial planning strategies.

Most importantly, I was responsible for ensuring they complied with all the relevant regulations (and there are hundreds of them!).   This is where I had the opportunity to really understand the financial planning industry and what makes it tick.  I am happy to share this inside knowledge and believe it gives me a huge advantage when I discuss consumer issues.

Then life goes into a different direction.   I get married, have three kids and decide to leave the very busy and demanding corporate world for a life on my own (family has to come first).    It is a wonderful feeling not being tied to any particular organisation.

As luck would have it, in 2005 I stumbled into radio land which is so much fun.   Thanks for making it so successful.

I am also hoping that askjosiekay.com.au goes on for a very long time.  The reality is that it won’t survive unless we get lots of hits and our sponsors are supported.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for visiting and hope you tell everyone you know about this free service.   You would also be helping us if you registered your email address to receive the latest from the site and practical money tips.

Cheers and if you have a question about anything I have outlined above, don’t hesitate to send me an email.   I would love to hear from you.

Josie Kay

In preparing any advice, The MoneyOrganiser Pty Ltd ABN 46 117 413 948 has not taken into account any particular persons objectives, financial situation or needs. Investors should, before acting on this information, consider the appropriateness of this information having regard to their personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

We recommend investors obtain financial advice specific to their situation before making any financial investment or insurance decision.

Josie Kay is an authorised representative of Professional Investment Services ABN 11074 608 558, an Australian Financial Services Licensee No. 234951.