Financial Planning

How to Find Yourself Singing in the Rain

Last week we discussed how the Governor of the Reserve Bank Phillip Lowe recently recommended that home borrowers ensure that they have a ‘buffer’ against the time when interest rates inevitably rise. Interest rate buffers are not the only type of buffer in good financial planning. Buffers are used in many areas, but the need for buffers always comes from the same source: understanding that the way things are now is not likely to be the way things are in the future.

Dear Abbey

We love reading those ‘Dear Abbey’ type letters to the newspaper. Especially the financial ones. Here is a classic we read recently – and what we would do if this were our client.

When the Circumstances Change…

People need to adapt to new circumstances. It is how humans have always survived. This was brought home to us last week as we watched the women’s final of the Australian Open. As you might have seen, Naomi Osaka beat Jennifer Brady to claim her fourth grand slam title. Well played Naomi. But it is Brady’s story that we really liked.

Losing Interest? Well, It Could be 2024 Before Things Change.

Earlier this month, Australia’s Reserve Bank dropped their target for interest rates to its lowest rate ever. This has dampened interest rates across the economy – as you will have noticed if you are a borrower or a saver. Rates will stay low for at least three years, so now is a great time to review your financial plan to make best use of these low rates.

The 2020 Budget for Businesses

This week we bring you our analysis of the ways in which the recent Budget will impact on businesses. The main avenue for assisting business is an expansion of the instant asset write-off scheme that has been in operation for a few years now. Support for employment is also expanded – and there is even a little bit of support for businesses that try to help staff who they have had to make redundant.

The 2020 Budget for Households

This week we bring you our analysis of the ways in which the recent Budget will impact on households. The main impact will be for working people who will enjoy a series of tax cuts, but there is also some relief for people on income support due to age or disability and some incentives for employers to hire people on income support due to unemployment.

What’s All This About Deficits?

This week we finally received the 2020 Commonwealth Budget that was initially expected in May 2020. As expected, this is a whopper of a Budget and we will look at much of its content over coming weeks. This is our usual move, as it allows us time to fully digest what the Budget has to offer. For this week, we will focus on the part of the Budget that is generating the most headlines: the deficit. According to Treasurer Frydenberg, the Commonwealth expects a Budget deficit of $213 billion in the current financial year.

How Not to Argue Over Money

If you live with someone you love, then this week we want to offer you some light-hearted but useful advice to avoid arguments about money. After all, successfully managing money together calls for as much tolerance and good humour as all the other parts of life that couples need to negotiate. If you can keep smiling, everything becomes a lot easier.

Hello Sunshine!

Next week brings the first day of Spring – an arrival that can’t come soon enough in this most strange year! To mark the changing of the seasons, this week we take a lighthearted look at the relationship between money management and the weather. You might be surprised to know that serious researchers have looked at this question. So, for investors, could it really be a case of “Hello Sunshine?”

The Best Time to Plant a Tree Was Always 10 Years’ Ago

They say the secret to successful comedy is all in the timing. Funnily enough, the same goes for investment or debt management. But unlike with comedy, when it comes to money it is usually best to get in early. That’s because anything that earns interest is worth acquiring earlier - and anything that charges interest is worth paying off as soon as possible.

CHOOSE YOUR ADVISER