MELISSA DIXON - CLIENT SERVICES ASSOCIATE

I'm unsure when I realised that money was tight in my family because that's just how things always were - my parents had several jobs and worked harder than anyone I know. Over the years with careful budgeting, they turned their finances around and were always generous and willing to help others that needed a hand. This instilled in me and my siblings a similar work ethic and appreciation of the importance of money.

My first job was at CSA Credit Union, and I've stayed in the financial services industry since then. After I left CSA, I cashed in my super (no preservation rules back then) and travelled around Australia. Even more travel came after that - I lived in the USA for a year and then in the UK for three years, working at Citibank and backpacking around Europe. While in the UK, I had my daughter and decided I wanted to be with extended family, so came back to Australia, and my son was born shortly thereafter. After being a stay-at-home mum, I went back to debt collection. After a while, I decided I'd rather deal with people who had money than chase those who owed it. That's when I went to work with a small financial services firm before moving to IOOF, where I spent seven years supporting and training financial advisers with IOOF products. When I was made redundant, travel called again - this time in Australia with my husband - before finding a new work home at HPH Solutions.

HPH is a fantastic place to work - their approach to financial advice is the most comprehensive I've come across. The carefully considered, best practice processes make day-to-day work flow smoothly. Most important to me is the people, though. Everyone at HPH is so helpful and friendly. I'm really looking forward to getting to know all our clients.