As a person who has successfully made it back from the brink of financial despair, Brenda Whitehead knows what she is talking about when she tells her clients to persevere with their financial goals.

Brenda did all the 'right things', working hard to have her own home and be in a situation where she and her husband could survive on one income, allowing her to concentrate on being a full time mother. Brenda was hit hard when she suddenly found herself a solo Mum with three children to fend for.

It was perseverance and a focus on being the best parent she could be that saw Brenda through that difficult phase of life. Planning and budgeting became a large part of her life and she soon decided to pursue a career working with numbers, applying her skills to help others obtain financial independence.

Highly driven, Brenda became a financial adviser and studied extramurally through Massey University, completing her Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning in just three years, whilst working fulltime.

Brenda’s commitment to helping others extends itself to donating many hours helping to run the Financial Literacy Programme at a local school. Brenda also tutors through a community education programme. It was a proud moment for Brenda last month when Lyn Morris, the National Director of the Enterprise New Zealand Trust, presented one of Brenda’s students with a cheque and an award for achieving the highest mark attainable in Financial Planning. “With over 100 schools throughout New Zealand participating in the Financial Literacy Programme, I was delighted this award went to one of my students”.

Brenda Whitehead is a financial adviser and proud owner of the Albany franchise for Money Managers Ltd. She provides personalised, professional financial advice on investments, insurance and estate planning and offers a free one hour initial consultation. Brenda can be contacted on 09 9156114 or by email at albany@mmg.co.nz