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Welcome to Bruce Brammall Financial

Food is one of the biggest weekly household expenses. How can you cut your supermarket spending?

Um, bit embarrassing. I think my accreditation to speak authoritatively here has lapsed. The division of labour in our house means I only go to the supermarket five minutes before people arrive to get forgotten items. However, with beer shopping, I do have A+ qualifications. So, the following is largely from Mrs DebtMan. “Sign up […]

Six super strategies for couples

SUMMARY: Couples working together financially can make one plus one equal more than two. It’s an unusual statistic, though it shouldn’t be overly surprising: Surveys show the widowed are generally the least worried about their retirement. The reason is understandable. Most of two lifetimes spent saving to fund a joint retirement is now going to […]

It’s almost seven years since Australia’s sharemarket hit a record high. When do you think it will get back there?

  With the way markets have behaved in the last two months? Possibly next decade. Maybe in another generation’s lifetime. Kidding. However, I don’t have a crystal ball. If I (reluctantly) must pin a tail on this donkey, I’d suggest about 2017. That would make it a decade from one peak to the next. That […]

Six ways to get ready for retirement

SUMMARY: Six steps to making sure your run up to retirement is as profitable as possible. There is a fuzzy point in your life when the retirement you have been working towards suddenly starts charging at you. It’s fuzzy because it’s going to be a different age for everyone. For most, it will happen somewhere […]

Aussies are sticky customers when it comes to banking. How should you review your bank accounts and how often?

“She works hard for the money, so you better treat her right.” Donna Summer’s 1983 classic was written about a restroom attendant. Could easily have been about the world’s “oldest” profession. Or about any of us and our relationship with our banks. Banks should treat us right. Sadly, they often don’t. They are great at […]

Australia takes silver in super rankings

SUMMARY: Australia picks up “silver” in global pensions survey – but has probably already lost its chance to defend its position next year. Australia has jumped to second in the global retirement incomes rankings – but could already have tumbled off the podium due to government policy changes. Denmark was the only country to have […]

Super or the mortgage – what is the best place for your generation to place any spare money?

THPPPT! Spare money? For Generation X? Ho, ho, ho! Surely you jest, dear editor. Weddings, monster mortgages, hungry midgets’ mouths, education expenses … we’re just trying not to drown. However, the truth is we do get through. And for Xers striving to get ahead, here’s what you’ve got to weigh up. In the early years […]

Don’t fear buying first home

Can you think back to a time when we weren’t all scared? When you, or those around you, weren’t fearful of an impending catastrophe? We live in a constant state of global panic – war/terrorism, financial and disease, in roughly that order. Fear is good. It stops complacency. Keeps people on their toes. Inevitably, relatively […]

Telstra shareholders steal a few centimetres

SUMMARY: Telstra’s buy back winners are a limited few. But in the investing game, every few centimetres count. The billion-dollar Telstra buyback ended up being a bit of a fizzer, even for those who were amost assured of being winners. Everything went against investors – the discount maxed out, the share price was depressed and […]

Pet insurance has been growing in popularity but is it worth it for most households?

My mum was allergic to animals, following a nasty incident with a cat when she was pregnant. Consequently, animals weren’t part of my early childhood. My parents eventually relented and got us two cats, Steak and Kidney. Kidney Kitten got his name because his first feeding bowl was an old kidney specimen vase, a relic […]