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Welcome to Bruce Brammall Financial

Future’s not so super for toiling Gen Xers

Debt Man column – The West Australian (Business) February 5, 2010. Bruce Brammall Debt Man Berlin’s Wall takes a fall. Kurt Cobain ends it all. Oils’ release “Diesel and Dust”. Chris and Pixie Skase go bust. “Young Einstein’s” Yahoo Serious. Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious”. Yothu Yindi’s Yunupingu. Can you remember Kajagoogoo? Compulsory superannuation … erm … […]

Setting goals can help people achieve their dreams, financial and otherwise. What is the best way to do this and how do you start?

Incense? Meditation? Thppppt! Definite Mars and Venus thing happening here. A journey of a thousand miles (or even one half that length, like The Proclaimers’ 500 miles) starts with a single … list. No shame here – I’m a lists person. Got ’em everywhere. I make them on notepads, scraps of paper, napkins, newspaper margins, […]

Your guide to the Henry tax review leaks

PORTFOLIO POINT: Is super headed towards becoming a defacto age pension system, designed to encourage only the lower-paid to put away for themselves? I’m not sure that any political party really believes that there are too many votes that will be actually won or lost in regards to superannuation. Sure, political parties know that superannuation […]

It’s time for Westpac, Gail Kelly to take a beep test

Debt Man column – The West Australian (Money) For: January 25, 2010. Bruce Brammall Debt Man It’s rare that a life opportunity comes without choice. And life without choice would be like … living in Cuba, in the bad old days, when the whole world was black and white. Some people’s lack of choice is […]

“‘Tis the season for a holiday hangover. How do we get our credit cards and personal budget back on track for the new year?”

Remember Hugh Grant’s immortal line in Four Weddings and a Funeral? “Bugger! Bugger! Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!” If you uttered that line, or worse, after seeing your credit card bill or bank account balance in recent weeks, then there’s a little story you need to read about Humpty Dumpty falling off a wall and the […]

Tinkering with superannuation laws has become a popular pastime for Australian governments. Does it jeopardise a hassle-free retirement?

Great, you’ve just rocked one of my hobby horses! When it comes to superannuation, Governments are hopeless. They are less able to exercise self control than kids in a lolly shop. The constant tinkering with super laws is absurd. Almost every time they act, people lose a little more faith in the system. Poor investment […]

How your DIY fund rates

PORTFOLIO POINT: Finally, you can take a good look in the mirror. The Cooper Review into superannuation has produced probably the best, and most fascinating, statistical analysis of SMSFs yet compiled. So, how exactly do you and your SMSF measure up? Are you an average SMSF member, with a taxable income of approximately $92,000? Are […]

Self-control the key to financial security

Debt Man column – The West Australian (Money? Or News?) For: January 11, 2010. Bruce Brammall Debt Man A new year a whole new wad of money to look forward to blowing. Woo-hoo! No? So you’ve promised to do something sensible and begin a personal financial renovation this year. How’s that New Year’s resolution going […]

SMSFs reasons to be fearful, phase three

PORTFOLIO POINT: The SMSF industry is being asked to stand up against the wall as critics take aim. Which parts should be salvaged in an extreme makeover? Jeremy Cooper has loaded his weapon for his investigation into SMSFs. And his weapon of choice appears to be a scatter-gun. The terms of reference for “Phase Three: […]

Unhedged hogs best position on rollercoaster ride

At a given point of any cycle, there’s bound to be a few markets with their heads in the stratosphere. Gold, for one, has never been this high. Chinese demand for raw materials means there might not be much left of WA inside a decade. The comeback market for 80s Australian rock stars is stubbornly […]