More jobs … more taxes … any speed-bumps ahead? Lets talk about the 2022 Australian budget and what it really means for all of us. This year the Government will collect a record $508 billion in tax from Australian workers, businesses and retirees. As more people join the workforce – and unemployment falls to 3.75…read more
A “black swan” event is one that you don’t expect but one that you should account for. In finance, it broadly means something that nobody could have reasonably foreshadowed, but which has a dramatic impact on world economies and stock markets. COVID-19 is the classic black swan. Nobody could have, in all reasonableness, expected for…read more
The delicate balance between inflation and interest rates A few months back I explained inflation … and that your personal inflation rate might be quite different from the official cost of living measure the Australian Bureau of Statistics puts out. But inflation is in the news right now because if inflation is rising, it is…read more
Don’t let the ghosts of your past mess with your afterlife – Get a will! *And you can forget about leaving your dough to Brad Pitt. There’s little doubt that at some time in your life, someone has told you to get a will. As you get older, people tell you all sorts of other…read more
One of the things that frustrates me most is people who say: “If only I had enough money, I would retire on the spot. “And do what?” I normally reply. There’s a reason ageing rock-bands like The Rolling Stones, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac (in all their various incarnations) keep on playing. Some of the…read more
Volatility is the enemy of the patient person; the friend of the opportunistic. Nope, I’m not quoting anybody … I just made it up on the spot. But then I had to check Google to see if anybody else said it first. Nope .. phew … proceed. Other Google quotes I found are close. “Volatility…read more
Right now, most people who own assets like houses or investment properties should be happy. House prices up; superannuation up; share prices have been at record levels. All good, right? YES (mainly) For the most part, yes! The increase in property prices is directly related to falling interest rates and easy access to debt. And…read more
1. SPARE CASH IS LIKE WINE, THERE’S RARELY ANY SPARE One of the dilemmas for any person or family is what to do with spare cash (though many would argue that, like wine, there is rarely any spare). But if you are broadly following a financial plan and setting some money aside for future disasters…read more
*It could be stealthily eating your wealth. Inflation: National Versus Personal In the last few weeks, the official annual inflation rate in Australia jumped to its highest point in 13 years – 3.8 percent. Normally this would ring alarm bells that interest rates are about to rise, because part of the Reserve Bank’s charter is…read more
These days, many investors have a philosophy of ABC. But this strategy has nothing to do with the basics of investing … it means Anything But Cash. This approach is borne out of a view that with interest rates so low, you need to get your money out of cash and into the share-market or…read more
It might seem kind of obvious, but the most valuable piece of advice around tax time is this – Declare ALL your income on your tax return. Nobody wants Tax Office troubles down the track! Crucially, this includes almost all the special COVID-19 payments. A good example is JobKeeper. If you received this allowance via…read more
Tax time comes with a lot of worry. Receipts, accounts, log-books – it all adds up to a headache. Which explains why more than half of Australians use an accountant. When it comes to reconciling business tax, the figure rises even more. There are a couple of really good reasons to get professional help at…read more