If you entered the world between 1980 and 1996, you’re part of the “millennial generation”. You’ve grown up in an age of unprecedented abundance and incredible technical innovation, and as a group, enjoy a greater wealth of opportunity – professionally, socially and recreationally – than any previous generation. Many goods and services have never been […]
Archive for the ‘Budgeting’ Category
Millennials and finance – your unique needs
By admin • May 30th, 2017Tap and go – is it too easy to use our credit cards?
By admin • May 30th, 2017
Talk about hammering the plastic. In November 2016 Australia’s 16.7 million credit card accounts were used to make 226 million transactions with a total value of $27.8 billion. We are currently paying interest on $32.2 billion worth of credit card debt, running up an annual interest bill of over $5.6 billion (that’s $5,600,000,000!). It’s not […]
You CAN save one million dollars!
By admin • February 23rd, 2017One of the most common questions I’m asked as a financial adviser is “will I have enough to retire?” It truly is the sixty-four thousand dollar question and if $64,000 was the answer, we’d all be on easy street! With so many variables involved, there is no set answer, but these days with many of […]
To stay on track, it pays to look back
By admin • February 23rd, 2017Financial planning is, by its nature, forward-looking. What counts is where you are now and what you do in the coming months and years. That said; there’s good reason to pause and take a look over your shoulder to see how far you’ve come. Why? Because taking stock of what you have achieved so far […]
Super or the mortgage?
By admin • November 29th, 2016Many people wait until their home loan is paid off before investing more in super. However, if you are currently making more than the minimum home loan repayments, you may be better off when you retire if you make additional super contributions instead. Why super? There are two key reasons why topping up your super […]
Insurance in super – is your cover adequate?
By admin • November 29th, 2016You have insurance cover in your superannuation right? You probably think you’re adequately covered, yet if something were to happen to you, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise – and by then it might be too late. An example from an adviser’s perspective: I met a new client recently who was in quite […]
Important changes to the age pension in 2017
By admin • November 29th, 2016From 1 January 2017, there are some important age pension changes that could impact your benefits and warrant some pre-emptive action. What’s changing? The lower asset threshold that determines your eligibility for the full age pension will increase. This threshold varies, depending on your relationship status and whether or not you own a home. It’s […]
Offset accounts: A better way to manage your mortgage
By admin • November 29th, 2016If you want to repay your mortgage quickly and still have easy access to your additional repayments, an offset account may be worth using. What’s an offset account? An offset account is a transaction account that is linked to your home loan and the money you deposit in it offsets the loan balance before interest […]
Do you have a “modest” or “comfortable” lifestyle?
By admin • November 7th, 2016Modesty and comfort are both in the eye of the beholder to a certain extent. But have you ever wondered how your retirement plans (or retirement reality) stack up against everyone else? Each quarter, the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia (ASFA) release their Retirement Standard benchmark, which calculates the amount of annual income, in today’s […]
A few interesting facts about retirement
By admin • September 23rd, 2016Given the financial demands of everyday life, planning your retirement may be a relatively low priority. You may also think that you have plenty of time to plan. But before you put off planning for your retirement any longer, here are some key facts you should consider. Your retirement could last 30 years or more […]