October 19 marked the 30th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash. On October 19 1987, Black Monday, the Dow Jones fell 508 points, a 1 day record even greater the great depression of 1929, wiping $800 billion off the price of shares on 1 day. The next day in Australia, Black Tuesday, the All[…]
If you are close to 50 you have probably completed two thirds of your working life. Your Kids may be close to being off your hands financially. Perhaps thoughts of retirement have been crossing your mind more often lately. How prepared are you for retirement? One of the first questions new Clients ask me is[…]
We have some important news – we’ve expanded our range of professional services to include advice on Aged Care. We are fortunate to live in a country where longevity is becoming increasingly the norm, however, not everyone will be able to continue to live independently – many will need to access residential aged care services.[…]
A young couple we met with last week, Sam and Melissa, wanted to make sure they were doing the best that they could with their savings. They were currently both working, and were able to save after paying their bills and their mortgage repayments. Their only debt was their home mortgage. In the next few[…]
You can’t expect to create a bountiful garden full of colour and edible delights if you don’t do the right things at the right time. There is a right time to prepare the soil, to plant, to prune, and then to reap your rewards. There are certain things you need to do regularly like watering[…]
Children today are faced with a very different financial world than the one their Parents faced. The days of budgeting by putting cash in different envelopes earmarked for bills to pay are a distant memory of what (Great) Grandma used to do. Nowadays internet banking, credit cards, EFTPOS, Internet shopping, and easy credit is the[…]
During periods of increased economic uncertainty, understanding and securing your cash flow needs is a priority, especially if you are already retired, or nearing retirement. When you are in secure employment, if you listened to the wisdom of your Grandparents you will spend less than what you earn and invest the surplus into growth areas[…]
In the last few weeks nearly 700,000 Australians received a letter from the Department of Human Services letting them know that they have been identified as potentially being impacted by the assets test changes from 1 January 2017. This includes those close to the new thresholds in case their circumastances change in the future. The[…]
Too many people pay too little attention to the effects of inflation. We are lulled into a false sense of security by commentators talking about our current low inflation environment. We forget however, that this years cost increases are added to last years, and so forth. The compounding effect of inflation is very scary over[…]
The UK took the world by surprise last week when its citizens voted to leave the European Union (EU). This unprecedented move has left everyone wondering what’s next. So what happens next…? The UK government is expected to ratify the referendum decision and invoke article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to inform the EU it[…]