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Welcome to Helen Russo Advisory

Financial confidante and advisor

When life changes, money changes too

I work with people at moments when life has shifted - and money suddenly carries more weight than numbers alone.

I’m a financial confidante and adviser for rural and regional families, and for women navigating major life transitions such as succession, divorce, retirement, widowhood, and inheritance. In these moments, financial decisions are rarely just technical. They go to the core of the person, touching responsibility, identity, family roles, and legacy.

This is the work I’ve spent my career doing - helping people think clearly and act wisely when timing, emotion, and complexity are all present at once.

News

Discretionary trust minimum tax changes

On 28 May I joined Kat Feeney on ABC Brisbane alongside Neal Dallas, a lawyer with Business Depot, to talk about something that has been coming up in a number of conversations I am having withRead more

When the ground shifts beneath your financial life

Every so often, something happens in the wider world that causes people to pause and look inward. Not at the headlines themselves, but at their own situation. The 2026 Federal Budget has been one ofRead more

The story beneath the numbers

We are taught to think of money as maths.  Add one dollar to another and you have two. Subtract one and you have one. Simple. Clean. Rational.  But the longer I sit with people and listen, the moreRead more

Why family and money are inseparable

There is an old saying in Italian families; “you never come between an Italian and their money, nor an Italian and their children”.  I grew up hearing this. And the older I get, the more IRead more

To the mothers, and the women who hold families together

Mother's Day always makes me think about the quiet strength that runs through families. The women who carry so much, often without being asked, and rarely without grace.  Whether you are celebratingRead more

A long weekend, and a moment to pause

Some of my favourite conversations happen when life slows down a little. Over a cup of tea, without the usual rush of the week.  The Labour Day long weekend is one of those welcome pauses. HelenRead more

Why my services evolved beyond traditional financial planning

Over the years, my work has gradually evolved beyond what many people think of as traditional financial planning.  When most people hear the words ‘financial planner’, they often imagineRead more

Confidentiality as a personal responsibility

One of the things I understand deeply about living and working in regional communities is that privacy matters. In smaller towns, people know each other. Families have history together. BusinessesRead more

A moment to pause this Easter

Easter is often a time to slow down and spend time with the people who matter most. For many families across regional Queensland, it offers a small pause in the year. A chance to gather, reflect, andRead more

The experience that led me into an advisory career

People sometimes ask how I came to work in financial advice. Like many things in life, it was not a straight path. It really began years ago when I was living in Far North Queensland and working in aRead more

Farming families: more than agribusiness

Much of my work is with multi-generational farming families, where decisions are rarely just about money. On the surface, the conversation might be about succession, inheritance, or restructuring.Read more

Servicing regional Queensland

My office is often a long stretch of highway. My work takes me from the cane fields of Far North Queensland, through Central Queensland cattle country, out to cotton growers and sheep farmers, andRead more

The work beneath the surface

With 28+ years working alongside families and individuals, my work sits at the intersection of advocacy, behavioural finance, financial psychology, and financial planning.

I’m particularly interested in what sits beneath the surface of financial decisions:

  • The unspoken rules within families

  • The emotional load people carry when roles suddenly shift

  • The individual and collective beliefs about money that are shaped by family, culture, and generations

These forces shape behaviour. And behaviour shapes outcomes.

My role is not to rush decisions or impose solutions, but to help people slow things down, understand what is really happening, and move forward with clarity and agency.

Financial confidante and advisor

Helping people think clearly and act wisely when timing, emotion, and complexity are all present at once