Three months before my wedding, I had a nasty accident. Let’s just say: extreme sport, bad turn, torn knee cartilage. Actually, this is embarrassing. The “extreme sport” was golf and … Read More “Compared to many countries, Australia has an enviable public health care system. Where does private health cover fit with this?”

If there are any Gen X readers wealthy enough to retire now, let them raise their hands, so that the rest of us may bow down before them and give … Read More “Capital growth versus income. What should be more important to me and why?”

On our South American backpacking honeymoon, Mrs DebtMan and I wrote an email from a Bolivian internet cafe with this subject line: “Tear gassed in La Paz!” The student peasants … Read More “Aussies love to travel, but what does it mean for your budget and your investments?”

There’s been loads! Where did they come from? Everywhere! Billboards, books, Buffett and Bullmore. From adapting the Nike theme (“Just do it!”) to my personal finances, to the classic truism … Read More What was the best piece of money advice you ever received? Who was it from and how did you use it?”

This is a question about “delayed gratification”. It’s not Jung, Freud or Pavlov! It’s Walter Mischel! The guy who did the fascinating (but probably nowadays illegal) “marshmallow experiment” on Generation … Read More “Some people gulp down their Easter chocolates while others make them last for weeks. What do these behaviours say?”

Opposites? You mean like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher? Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills? Or like my wife and I? Whether it’s business, personalities or money, the most successful … Read More We’ve heard the cliche that opposites attract. How do you manage your money when a spender teams up with a saver?”

You don’t ask for it back. First, you send them a toenail via Australia Post … then you make it known that you’ve got other friends who were pallbearers at … Read More “Lending money to friends and family can be dangerous. How do you ask for it back?”

Older Gen Xers will have got stuck into the mortgage game many years ago. Through the combination of paying down the loan and the property rising in value, they have … Read More “Home equity. They talk about it. They rave about it. But if you’ve got some, what should you do with it?”

Sheesh, there’s been more than a handful. But, I’m sad to say, I’ve clearly made fewer than Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer. Yeah, you read right: fewer than Kerry. Packer reckons … Read More “What’s the dumbest financial mistake you’ve ever made? And how would you suggest others avoid making the same error?”

Xers, if you’re thinking about starting your own SMSF, here are the boxes you need to tick. One, you’ve been into investing for ages. Not just weeks or months, but … Read More “I’m thinking about starting a self-managed super fund (SMSF). Talk me into it or out of it.”