Meet Renae - Founder of Money Mode
My love of numbers and entrepreneurial streak goes back as far as I can remember…my dad owned a pub and I spent Sundays (when it was closed) playing shopkeepers, this turned out to be great training for my first job at 14 as a check out chick! My first business venture was at the age of 12 when I start making craft items (with the help of very crafty grandmothers) and having my own stalls at weekend local markets, and then with the help of my mum I raised orphan cows to sell at local cattle market. I’ve always been one to look carefully for opportunities and I supported my ‘need and wants’ from a very young age being also fortunate to be taught to save.
My personal experience with money hasn’t always been rosie though, and I’ve had my share of bad experiences and hard lessons over time which I will share with my followers and through my content…they are all learnings though and have provided some of the fuel for my passion in wanting to help others not make the same mistakes.
I completed a Bachelor of commerce, majoring in Finance, Financial Planning and Accounting through Deakin University in 2002. This experience in itself, coming from the country and moving out of home, supporting myself through university with Austudy and part time work, taught me enormous lessons in managing time and money, wants and needs -without even realising it at the time!
Half way through my degree, Deakin offered Financial Planning as a major…as soon as I took the first unit I felt like I had found my calling. This was the ability to combine numbers with meaning and emotion and to be able to genuinely help and make a difference to people. I was hooked.
It’s now over 15 years that I’ve worked in the Financial Planning industry, I’ve worked as an Adviser and also in operations and strategic management roles prior to starting Money Mode.
I have to admit that I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the industry at times. I’ve been bitterly disappointed with the greed and self-interest and dare I say it ‘mans world’ that is prevalent in pockets of the industry, I also was shocked to discover how much of the industry is packaged up and disguised as glorified product sales. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great advisers amongst us and I’ve worked with many of them over the years, who genuinely do great things for people, but I still got to the point many times wondering if I’m in the right industry to be able to align to my personal values and morals to my work life.
I got close to walking away all together a few times, and each time my thinking got close something nudged me back, and a passion reignited, its that feeling I had at Deakin when I was first introduced to Financial Planning all those years ago and I know that my calling is to stand up and deliver advice and knowledge to as many people as I can so that they can have their life changing moments and realise what is available to them.
Money mode is all about breaking down the barriers to financial advice, making it more accessible, more affordable and more meaningful, it caters for people at any starting point on their journey.
Renae Vercoe is a licensed Financial Adviser and is an Authorised Representative (No. 1267523) of Integrity Financial Planners Pty Ltd. Money Mode Advice Pty Ltd (ABN 29 627 492 791) is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 1267522) of Integrity Financial Planners Pty Ltd | ABN 71 069 537 855 | AFSL 225051