Author and wealth adviser Lisa Barber in her office in Sydney. Picture: Tim Hunter

LISA Barber’s life changed when her father died suddenly in a workplace accident when she was just 13.

He was just 49. Her family suffered untold devastation.

Barber was one of four kids and her mother, who had a “big heart”, also looked after foster children.

Lisa Barber had women like her mother in mind when she wrote her book. Picture: istock

“You grow up really quickly after something like that and I wanted to help out mum as much as possible,” she says of her childhood in Toowoomba.

The family’s grief was only made worse by immense financial strain. Her dad hadn’t organised a will and they were put at risk of being homeless.

It had a “profound” impact on Barber and set her on a path as a financial adviser.

When she was in year 10 she really wanted to do work experience at a nursery or a childcare centre.

Instead she walked up to the board at school and saw she had been placed with a financial services firm.

“I went in to work there and absolutely loved it and ended up staying for seven years,” she says.

Barber now has 20 years experience in the industry and works as a “wealth coach”.

She is the director of Hillross-Aspire Wealth in Sydney and the co-founder of Females Inspiring Females Inc, where women support each other’s ideas.

Wealth adviser Lisa Barber ended up with a career in finance by chance. Picture: Tim Hunter.

On Tuesday, she will launch her first book — A Woman’s Guide To Wealth: What My Mother Needed To Know. The tome is about helping people make the most of their plan A life, while empowering them to choose a plan B that will go a long way to financial security.

It’s designed to help women gain control and confidence when dealing with finances, and using money as an enabler to live the life they want.

“The sooner you understand your finances and make your money work hard for you, the sooner you’ll get to live the life you want,’’ Barber says.

“It may seem fantastical and possibly out of reach compared to where you are in you life right now, but I’m living proof and a witness 100 times over that it works.

“Through education and discipline, we can begin (to) realise that financial independence isn’t confined to the realm of experts, men or rich people.

“It’s available to anyone who is prepared to spend a little effort now to receive greater returns down the track.”

Barber becomes incredibly passionate while talking about why women, specifically, need financial advice tailored to them.

Lisa Barber is passionate about financial equality between men and women.

She points to the statistics, including that women have a whopping 46.6 per cent less superannuation than men.

“Because we do earn less than our male counterparts, we live longer, we are under pressure to look good and overspend, and when a woman is the main income earner in a family, she still does more housework,” she says.

With so much juggling going on, sorting out the finances gets lost.

The vast majority of her clients, Barber says, are single women.

“There’s usually a catalyst for them coming forward to seek advice, they turn 40, or get a pay rise, or separate from their partner,” she says.

“Financial security is something women seek. They live by themselves, more and more women are choosing not to marry, or they’re waiting for that knight in shining armour but realise he’s not coming any more.”

A significant step to getting “financial freedom” is to figure out what it actually means to the individual person, Barber says. Money is only the enabler to living the life you want.

“Before I do any work with clients I need to understand what’s really important to them,” she says.

It’s important for women to do their sums.

For instance Barber’s own definition of the term is to provide “better options” for her children’s education, explore the world and drink champagne at sunset in Paris at least once a year.

Then it’s about understanding cash flow — how much you earn each month and how much you spend.

“One of the first questions I ask my client is ‘what is your cost of living?’ Nine out of 10 can’t answer,” she says.

Barber says working out how much tax is being paid and organising superannuation are also important first steps.

It’s about managing the cashflow and working out the timeline on when you want to reach your goals, like buy a house, she says. She doesn’t like the term budget because it’s like dieting: unsustainable.

“Once you identify how much surplus you have there’s a regular pattern on how much you’ll be able to save each month. Also remember to have a little safety buffer in case you lose your job or something happens,” she says, adding it can also be important to work out ownership of assets.

“Then start investing, the higher the risk the greater the potential, but you need to calculate your appetite for risk.”

It’s important for women to do their sums.