Month: February 2024

If one of your goals is to buy your own home, then 2024 might just be your lucky year. It will see the launch of the Federal Government’s exciting new Help To Buy scheme. Over the next four years, this initiative aims to help up to 40,000 low- and middle-income Australians finally buy a place … Read more

Scammers are skilled at tricking you out of your money. Knowing the signs of a scam can help you identify when something doesn’t feel right. Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scams Centre (NASC) says: Stop – Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure Think – Ask yourself could the message or call be fake? … Read more

Adding to your super You can boost your retirement savings by making voluntary super contributions, such as by: setting up a salary sacrifice arrangement with your employer making personal super contributions (and a non-concessional contribution may make you eligible for the government’s super co-contribution) transferring any super you have in a foreign super fund arranging for your spouse to contribute to your … Read more

It’s challenging buying property. It’s tough scraping together a deposit, it’s not easy dragging yourself to one open-for-inspection after another (especially if you’ve been doing it for a while!), and it can be soul destroying being pipped at the post when you have set your sights on a particular property. Then there is getting the … Read more

Understanding your retirement income options How you organise your retirement income streams can make a huge difference to your quality of life. Here are some options you might want to consider. What will you do with your super when you retire? You have plenty of flexibility as there’s a wide range of options inside and … Read more

Give me the main points The most important reason to consider taking out life insurance is to protect your family if you die or become unable to work. There’s a good case for anyone with dependants or people who plan to have dependants to take out life insurance. Life insurance policies can be bought through … Read more

Bonds can provide a stable source of income and can protect the money you invest. They are considered less risky than growth assets like shares and property, and can help to diversify your investment portfolio. What is a bond When you invest in bonds, you’re lending money to a company or government. In return, you … Read more

Understanding financial health Financial health is an important part of our lives. When we take care of our financial health we can better manage financial stress and achieve our financial goals.   Financial health is made up of three components:  the ability to meet everyday commitments like paying your bills and making loan repayments the resilience … Read more

If you’re lucky enough to have received a windfall, perhaps an inheritance or a retrenchment payout, your first decision will be what to do with it. Assuming you have decided against a shopping splurge, finding the best place to invest a lump sum is all about the effect on your tax bill and how soon … Read more

Can you imagine living mortgage-free? For many homeowners, mortgage repayments represent a large part of their salary and many years of hard work, with the end not clearly in sight. Whether your goal is to soon be mortgage-free or to reduce your mortgage to allow you renovate, invest or live more comfortably, there are things … Read more

Overview If your relationship with your spouse ends, you should be aware of what can happen to the super entitlements of you both. The Family Court and super-splitting laws generally enable super interests (accounts in super funds) or super payments (pensions or annuities) to be split by agreement or court order if a relationship breaks … Read more

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced proposed changes to address ongoing cost of living pressures with all 13.6 million Australian taxpayers receiving a tax cut from 1 July 2024, compared to the tax they paid in 2023-24.i Now is the time to assess what it means to your hip pocket and what implications it may … Read more