"My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income." Errol Flynn
"What's a soup kitchen?" Paris Hilton

Cure or band aid? It is easy to look at your financial health and spot areas where things
may have gone just a little out of control and spending got a teeny bit zealous, or the flip
side where investments have done well and buys being succesful - and there are lots of
band aids that can be applied to control an individual area. But just as with your
physical health treating the symptoms is not the same as finding the cure, and
without attacking the core problem those symptoms just return again.

Like any good diagnostician FRA asks an awful lot of questions before suggesting
solutions - even before you have your first meeting as a new client we ask you
to fill out a questionnaire that helps us get a solid understanding of your
way of life, goals and present situation. It is because we want to know every client
as a person not a financial file, and as your journey progresses we travel with you
as a friend and partner as well as an advisor. One way in which we make this
possible is through our role as mediators, bringing people and ideas together in
a totally judgement-free way within a no blame safe-zone that might be at our offices,
at your home, or in a coffee shop in downtown Santa Cruz - wherever you feel comfortable
to discuss ways in which you can positively move forward to gain peace of mind and
confidence that everything is under control.

FRA supports this understanding with a wealth of tools to help educate you
and answer every question you may have, from our entertaining videos, through
articles, newsletters and Elaine'sTidbits - useful pieces of information about
everything from great soup recipes to tax saving school donations! We
can also provide you with a copy of Elaine's book "Financial Self-Defence
for Women", which addresses many of the every day financial concerns
that we all have... whatever our sex.