Did you know Australians are wasting more than $4 billion a year on their mortgages? In fact, unnecessary interest costs are one of the key drivers of all Australian household financial waste. According to a recent report by uno Home Loans, Australian homeowners have taken their eyes off the prize. Sure, they may have searched… Read more »
Hey gang, get up to speed on this week’s financial trends with my market updates. Read on for a snapshot of what is ‘an inverted yield curve’ and why it’s creating panic in the global markets: In very simple terms, an inverted yield curve is the canary of the health of the global economy. It’s… Read more »
As part of their annual tax refund, around 700,000 taxpayers claimed almost $2 billion of ‘other’ expenses including non-allowable items such as dental costs, child care, private vehicles and even Lego sets. One particularly charitable taxpayer tried to claim for a car purchased as a gift for their mother. While the ATO appreciated the sentiment,… Read more »
Money has never been cheaper. So use this opportunity to reign in your debt monster. The Reserve Bank this week cut the official interest rate for the second consecutive month to a historic low of 1 per cent. While the banks haven’t passed on the full rate cuts they have slashed borrowing (and savings) rates.… Read more »
Robots doing your investing. No it’s not the latest Will Smith movie, this is real life. Your superannuation fund manager already probably uses computers to chart share price movements or compute formulas to produce “buy” or “sell” signals on their current investment portfolio. So it was only a matter of time that computer investing would… Read more »
The start of a new financial year should be a time to step back and assess how your investments are tracking and whether they are stacking up to your expectations. It has been a wild ride with markets spooked by everything from the rise of Donald Trump to Brexit to our own marathon inconclusive election… Read more »
There is so much “noise” around the Coalition’s proposed superannuation changes that their impact is being distorted by the various vested interests pushing their own barrow. So lets take the political spin out of it and look at the winners, the losers and what it means for your retirement planning. First up, remember these changes… Read more »
Low inflation is here to stay and it will wreck your investment expectations. Get used to it because we are all going to be forced to adjust. It means reassessing everything. From how long it will take to save for a home deposit to what you’ll need to contribute for retirement. Remember when we used… Read more »
Savers, retirees and other income-focussed investors are facing slim pickings at the moment. With interest rates sitting at record lows, savings accounts and term deposits are offering record low returns… and many experts are tipping rates could fall even further. For those after income from their investments to fund their retirement or lifestyle, the challengno… Read more »
When it comes to money… everyone has an opinion. Whether you’re at a backyard barbeque or the water cooler at work, it feels like there’s always someone ready to pounce and give you their take on your money. We’re not talking about professionals here… more like friends, family, colleagues or that guy with the hot… Read more »
