Planning for an AI World: A Practical Money Framework So You Don’t Have to Predict the Future
Every week there’s a new headline about artificial intelligence (AI) changing everything.
Some say AI will trigger a “deflation revolution”.
Others say most jobs will disappear and work will become optional.
For many professionals and business owners in Australia, these predictions don’t feel exciting – they feel vague and unsettling.
You still have:
A mortgage to pay
Children to raise
Parents to support
A business or career that runs on real cashflow, not on future scenarios
So instead of asking:
“Will AI replace my job?”
a more useful question for financial planning in the age of AI is:
“If the world becomes more volatile, do I have a financial structure that gives me choices – instead of forcing me into decisions?”
The good news?
You don’t need to predict the future to protect it.
But you do need a simple, honest framework that connects three layers:
Your income
Your assets
Your deeper values and role in life
In this article, I’ll walk you through a practical framework I use with clients at Earnest InvestSmart to navigate AI, market noise and uncertainty with a clear head.
What AI Might Change – and What It Can’t Touch
AI is already changing:
How quickly industries move
How certain roles are priced
How value is created and delivered
That’s real. We are already seeing it in professional services, creative fields, and even how businesses on the ASX operate.
But three human needs have not changed – and will not change, even in an AI-driven world:
Enough cashflow to live with dignity and look after the people who depend on you
A resilient asset structure so you’re not relying on just one story being true
A sense of meaning and contribution – knowing why you work, not just how much you earn
AI may accelerate or disrupt the numbers.
It cannot replace the work of aligning money with who you are and what you stand for.
This is where an AI-era financial planning framework becomes helpful – not as a magic prediction tool, but as a way to design a life that stays coherent even when the environment shifts.
The Three-Layer Framework: Financial Planning in the Age of AI
When I sit with clients, we look at their situation through three layers:
Income resilience – not betting your life on one job
Asset structure – being able to stand in more than one future
Role and meaning – if work became more optional, who you still want to be
This is how to plan for an uncertain future without living in fear.
Let’s unpack each one.
Layer 1: Income Resilience – Don’t Bet Your Life on One Job
In a more volatile world, the most fragile plan is:
“As long as I keep this one job or this one business, everything will be fine.”
Income resilience is about building a base that can flex when the world shifts. In practice, that means three things.
1. Multiple sources of income over time
This doesn’t mean five side hustles tomorrow. It means gradually reducing dependence on a single income source.
Over time, your “income mix” might include:
A primary career or business you are building with intention
Secondary or project-based income (consulting, short projects, IP or royalty income)
Investment income – dividends, distributions, rental income or portfolio withdrawals guided by a long-term investing plan
The goal is not to maximise busyness.
The goal is to reduce concentration risk in your livelihood.
2. Protecting your “human capital”
For most people, your future earning power is one of your largest assets.
In both AI and non-AI worlds, sickness, accidents or unexpected life events can still derail that. That’s where risk management comes in:
Health cover appropriate to your stage of life
You don’t put these in place because you are fearful.
You put them in place because your future efforts are worth protecting – especially when AI and your job may already feel uncertain.
3. Budget for learning and transition
An overlooked part of how to plan for an uncertain future is investing in your ability to adapt.
That may look like:
A yearly “skills upgrade” budget
Time blocks in your calendar to explore new tools, technology or roles
A realistic transition fund if you are planning a career change
A question I often ask is:
“If your industry changed sharply in the next 3–5 years, how many months could your current safety net support you while you re-skill or transition?”
If the honest answer is “not long”, the next step is not panic.
The next step is to design a safer base, intentionally.
Layer 2: Asset Structure – Owning a Portfolio That Can Survive Multiple Futures
The second layer is your balance sheet – how your assets and debts are structured.
Here, the goal is not to be clever about AI or to guess the next hot sector.
The goal is to build an asset mix that can survive different economic and technological paths – in Australia and globally.
One helpful concept is Core–Satellite investing.
Core holdings: your long-term anchor
Your core holdings are diversified, long-term investments that do not depend on one company or one theme:
Broad sharemarket exposure (Australian shares, including ASX-listed companies, and global shares)
Quality bonds and defensive assets
(Where appropriate) well-selected property
Core holdings are there to support your long-term goals over 10, 20 or 30 years – and to help you avoid the trap of constantly chasing the latest AI story on social media.
Satellite positions: focused growth and themes
Satellite investments are more focused and higher risk:
Specific sectors (e.g. technology, healthcare, AI-related industries)
Smaller companies or specialist funds
Other conviction ideas that match your risk profile
The key is that your satellites are managed by position sizing, not emotion.
They are part of a plan – not random bets.
Liquidity: breathing room in your plan
In an AI-driven, uncertain world, liquidity becomes even more important:
3–12 months of living expenses in cash or short-term assets
Larger buffers for business owners and self-employed professionals
Room to handle higher interest rates or short-term shocks without panic selling
Liquidity is what allows you to say “no” to misaligned work or rushed decisions, instead of agreeing to everything because you are squeezed by cashflow.
A simple exercise is to ask:
What are my core holdings?
What are my satellites?
Where is my liquidity, and is it enough for the kind of life and risk I want to take?
If you’re also thinking about how macro trends like currencies and interest rates affect your portfolio, you may find it helpful to read our explainer on gold, the US dollar and interest rates and what they mean for investors.
Layer 3: Role and Meaning – If Work Became More Optional, Who Would You Be?
Most AI conversations stop at:
“Will there still be jobs?”
For real humans with real families, there is a deeper question:
“If work became more optional one day, who would I still want to be?”
For many of us, job titles have become our quickest introduction:
“I’m a lawyer / engineer / doctor / business owner.”
There is nothing wrong with that.
But it is rarely the whole story.
Outside your role, you might also be:
The person your children run to when they are afraid
The partner who carries the emotional load with someone you love
The friend or mentor whose words help others feel less alone
The steady presence in your community, workplace or church
Financial independence and long-term investing are not just about escaping work.
They’re about earning the right to choose the kind of work and contribution that is truest to you.
In annual reviews, I often ask clients questions that sound less “financial” but are deeply connected to their money:
“If your job title disappeared from your business card, what would you still want to be known for?”
“Looking at your week, how much time and energy actually goes into that?”
“What small adjustment in money, time or boundaries would move you closer?”
Money is not the hero in this story.
It is the infrastructure that supports a life aligned with your values – especially when the world is changing quickly.
How to Start: Practical Steps You Can Take This Year
You don’t have to solve everything at once.
But you can start building an AI-resilient financial plan with a few grounded steps.
1. Map your three layers on one page
List:
Your income sources and their risks
Your assets, debts and liquidity
3–5 roles that matter most to you as a human being
This gives you a simple snapshot of your income resilience and where the gaps might be.
2. Do an “income resilience health check”
Ask yourself:
How concentrated is my income?
What protection is in place if something happens to me?
Do I have a learning or transition buffer if my role changes, or AI reshapes my industry?
If the answers feel uncomfortable, that’s information – not failure.
3. Re-organise your assets into core, satellite and cash
Look at your investments and property:
Reduce over-reliance on one asset class, one market or one story
Be honest about how much risk you are really comfortable with
Make sure you have enough liquidity to sleep at night
This is where thoughtful long-term investing and rebalancing can protect you from emotional, headline-driven decisions.
4. Schedule one annual “direction review”
Once a year, block out time for a simple review. Not to chase market headlines or the latest AI trend, but to ask:
“Is my money still arranged in a way that reflects what matters most to me?”
For many Australian investors, this annual check-in sits alongside regular reviews of superannuation, insurance and tax planning.
Final Thoughts: You Don’t Need a Perfect Forecast – You Need Alignment
AI will continue to develop. New tools, new risks and new opportunities will appear.
But underneath all the noise, the essential questions stay surprisingly stable:
What does “enough” look like for you and your family?
Who do you want to be, as you move towards it?
Is your current financial structure helping you live that out – or pulling you away?
You don’t need a perfect forecast of the future.
You need a clear, honest framework and the courage to take the next small, aligned step.
At Earnest InvestSmart, that’s the work we do with our clients:
designing money systems that still make sense in 10 or 20 years – whether AI speeds things up, slows things down, or surprises us all.
In an AI world, financial planning is less about predicting the future, and more about staying true to what really matters through every season.
No Advice Warning / General Advice
The purpose of this website is to provide general information only and the contents of this website do not purport to provide personal financial advice. Earnest InvestSmart strongly recommends that investors consult a financial adviser prior to making any investment decision. The contents of the Earnest InvestSmart website do not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any person and should not be used as the basis for making any financial or other decisions. The information is selective and may not be complete or accurate for your particular purposes and should not be construed as a recommendation to invest in any particular product, investment, or security. The information provided on this website is given in good faith and is believed to be accurate at the time of compilation.
