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Who among us hasn’t daydreamed about receiving a windfall? In reality, people receive large sums of money in the form of inheritances, redundancy payouts and lottery wins all the time. Yet many soon find themselves back in their pre-windfall financial position. By following these tips you can use the money wisely to help you in the long run. Splurge (a little bit) You’re going to want to live it up a little. That’s fine, but make a deal with yourself to spend, say, at most 1

Time is our most valuable and finite resource but often in this age of buzzing devices and communication overload we can feel like we just don’t have enough of it. Like a hamster running around a wheel, we end up feeling simultaneously burnt out while going nowhere. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Time, like money, performs best when we invest it wisely. So it makes sense that understanding the principals of time investment could leave you with more hours in the day to p

When it comes to setting financial priorities, medium term goals often suffer from middle child syndrome, not taken as seriously as the oldest or indulged as much as the youngest. The serious long term goal of saving for retirement gets lots of attention, and rightly so. It’s super important. And next year’s trip to Bali will be so much fun, even if it does drain all your savings. It’s little wonder there never seems to be enough money left over to save for those in-between

First home buyers (and even second and third home buyers) are often baffled by the jargon used by real estate industry professionals. This can result in expensive misunderstandings unless you take the time to learn the lingo. Here are some frequently misunderstood terms and concepts you should familiarise yourself with before you begin searching for your dream home. Conveyancing Conveyancing involves transferring the ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer. Both

We all know there’s nothing worse than starting the new year with unpaid debt. Making a solid plan for your silly season spend can make a big difference and will help you avoid a holiday debt hangover. Psychology of the frenzy The Christmas frenzy is pretty powerful. Even the biggest Scrooges in our midst can succumb. And it’s not hard to see why. We are bombarded with marketing from all corners at this time of year leading us to make purchases we normally wouldn’t without re

Planning your dream retirement can be an exciting time. The chance to travel overseas or around Australia without having to rush back to work, time to pursue new hobbies, learn a language or spend time with the grandkids. The possibilities are endless, but what will it cost? Working out how much you will need to live the dream, and what you can afford will come down to a variety of factors. These include whether you own your home, the value of your superannuation and other i

The holidays are traditionally a time to relax and reflect on the importance of family. They are also an opportune moment to think about how you can care for and protect your family all year round. When you are enjoying the summer break with your loved ones, it can be hard to imagine anything could ever go wrong. But life is unpredictable, which is why life insurance is so important, particularly when you have people who depend on you. Whether you are a young couple startin

Sometimes, when thinking about your long term financial goals, they can seem so big as to be insurmountable. But the truth is, those that achieve financial success don’t usually do so by encountering a sudden windfall. Rather, they have in place a set of small habits that allow them to work towards their dreams. And by investing small amounts over the long term, they see big outcomes. It’s much like climbing a mountain. When you start your journey, the summit can seem intimi

Australia is hurtling towards being a cashless society at a startling rate, with some pointing out that if the current trend were to continue it could be as soon as 2022. Though most would agree it’s unlikely that cash will be completely eliminated by then, there’s no doubt the move towards electronic fund transfers is accelerating. Such rapid societal shifts affect everyone and while there are many positives in the move away from cash transactions, there are two sides to ev

From student debt to new technology and landing that first job, today’s young Australians are transitioning into adulthood in a world very different from the one their parents entered. While economies and societies might change, the principles of managing one’s personal finances stay the same. Most parents try to instil good money habits in their children from an early age. Eventually they outgrow piggy banks and pocket money but the opportunities to help them navigate the

Superannuation is a long-term financial relationship. It begins with our first job, grows during our working life and hopefully supports us through our old age. Throughout your super journey you will experience the ups and downs of bull and bear markets so it’s important to keep your eye on the long term. The earlier you get to know your super and nurture it with additional contributions along the way, the more secure your later years will be. Like all relationships, the m

While estate planning is essential for any parent, it takes on additional significance for the parents of a child with special needs. One of your biggest concerns is probably planning for their future care when you are no longer there to look after them. There is a lot to consider and each child’s needs are unique, depending on the nature of their disability and the level of ongoing support they will need. Any plan you put in place is likely to consider things such as where

On 12 March 2018 the Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment) was replaced with Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision. Previously the document allowed you to appoint one person to make decisions about your critical care (eg. life support), but didn’t have scope for directing how that person should make those decisions. This was seen as a major gap as many people hold firm beliefs that they should have the right to legally enshrine their medical care, particularly e

Most people who are intent on building their personal and business finances know there is no quick road to wealth. While some people dream about their lucky numbers finally being called, others are making every day count. Of course, not everyone can make it onto the Forbes rich list, and some individuals rise to wealth largely through privilege and circumstance. However, for many others, their position can be directly attributed to exceptional work habits and a determination

When you are young, healthy and starting your working life the last thing on your mind is life insurance. In your 20s and 30s your financial focus is more likely to be on saving for a car, holidays, a home or the birth of a child. But failing to protect the lifestyle you are creating could have a devastating financial effect. Like many Australians young and old, it’s possible that you already have insurance cover in your superannuation fund without realising it. But that cou

On 2 August 2018 Apple became the world’s first company to reach US$1 trillion in market value. It took 42 years to get there from humble beginnings in an LA garage, but a handful of younger technology companies collectively known as the FANGs – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google - are already nipping at its heels. What do they have in common? All have used innovative technology to create new markets, often beginning with a single product or service. Think Apple’s early de

Our upbringings hugely influence the attitudes we have towards money. Did you observe your parents working hard to put food on the table? Was money a cause of conflict in your household? Was it spent freely, or were budgets obeyed? The money attitudes you were exposed to as a child aren’t necessary the ones you’ve taken on though. Some people exhibit money habits very different to the ones they grew up seeing, perhaps in a reaction to those circumstances or as a reflection o

Millennials are often accused of living for the present and wasting their money on smashed avocado. So it may come as a surprise that younger Australians are at the vanguard of a growing movement committed to the old fashioned virtues of thrift and saving, but with a modern twist. Whereas the mantra of the baby boomers in the 1960s was ‘turn on, tune in, drop out’, their adult children also want to leave the rat race, but they want to do it with a substantial nest egg to all

Running your own Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) can be time consuming, but it’s about to get a little easier thanks to a change announced in the May 2018 Budget. From 1 July 2019, SMSFs will be able to move to three-yearly audits if they have three consecutive clear audit reports and lodged their annual returns on time. That’s good news for the vast majority of Australia’s 600,000 SMSFs. The latest Australian Taxation Office (ATO) review of the sector found only 2%

You will have probably heard the expression ‘cashflow is king’ and there is no better time than the start of a new financial year to commit to smarter cashflow management in your business. There’s a reason many business owners stress a lot more about cashflow than they do about profits or building equity. A steady flow of income is essential to business success, for startups and multinational corporations alike. It has an impact on everything from simple solvency to projectio