Patricia Howard

Money has been the thread running through my entire career. I started out as a finance journalist, reporting for The Australian, the AFR, and The Age on interest rates, markets, and the economy. Back then, financial planning was only just emerging as a profession in Australia — and I was one of the few people writing about how everyday Australians could make smarter money choices.

When my three boys were young, I wanted a career that gave me more balance than journalism allowed. I built an accounting firm on the Mornington Peninsula, and from there stepped fully into financial planning. For the past two decades, I’ve worked with clients across Australia to make sense of their money, with a focus on retirement and wealth planning.

In 2020, I published The No-Regrets Guide to Retirement — a book born out of countless client conversations where I saw how much anxiety money decisions caused. The book struck a chord because it made the complex feel simple. That’s what I love most about this work: taking the fear and confusion out of money so clients can move forward with confidence.

Today, you’ll often see me on Sky News or quoted in Money Magazine, Canstar, and The Senior, sharing grounded advice on retirement, super, and investing.

Outside of work, I’m still very active. I ski, horse ride, and love spending time with my family. Retirement, in my view, isn’t about slowing down — it’s about having the freedom to live life on your terms.