Bankruptcy is a process where you are legally declared unable to meet your debts. But this is not a course of action or a decision that anyone should take lightly. Firstly, you may not be released from all of your debts. Secondly, being declared bankrupt can permanently affect whether you can get credit in the […]
In my experience, people don’t need a million dollars to retire comfortably. Whilst a million dollars would be nice, the fact is that few people will ever retire with this amount of money. Most people retire with less than half a million dollars (in many cases, much less) and get by quite nicely. It’s all […]
Make no mistake. Credit cards are designed to keep you in debt forever unless you are wise to them. How? The repayment terms are designed to encourage you to pay the minimum monthly payment only, thus opening the door for outrageous rates of interest to be charged (up to 20% and higher) on the bigger […]
If you have a full time job or part time job, then you will have superannuation. Regardless of your views on super, it is compulsory for employers to pay a certain level of super for their employees. It is currently 9.5% of your ordinary time earnings. Generally speaking, it is paid on the amount you […]
The Investment Strategy is the most important process in running an SMSF. Getting this part right is the difference between limping along on one cylinder and turning your SMSF into a high performance retirement vehicle. Whilst administration and compliance are important, the real purpose of your SMSF is to maximise and manage your retirement savings. […]
Whenever I review the investment section of a problematic SMSF, the areas I find that are commonly poorly done are: The Investment Strategy Appreciation of risk Asset allocation Inadequate Investment Strategy More often than not, I find the investment strategy is either missing, out of date, or it has been trivialised to the bare minimum […]
People I see leaving the mainstream superannuation system to an SMSF environment are usually disillusioned in some way. Either they have had poor advice in the past, or suffered loss in the GFC, or they want to stop money leaking out of their fund by way of advisor commissions. Of course, some make the move […]
Judging by what I see every day as a financial adviser, the silent enemy in family money management is FINANCIAL STRESS. Financial stress causes arguments, breaks up marriages, and has the capacity to make a serious illness a whole lot worse. The irony is that it is not caused by lack of money but by […]
Last year, a friend of mine who is also a client, had elective breast surgery. During the procedure, the surgeon found a small tumor and removed it. She had been completely unaware of it and even a recent mammogram hadn’t detected it. Several weeks later, she let me know what had happened and I suggested […]
You might wonder why it is important to set clear goals and be certain about your reasons for leaving the mainstream superannuation system to start your own SMSF. I have had two instances recently, where SMSF trustee groups came to me AFTER they’d already moved from mainstream super to the SMSF environment, saying that they […]