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Category: Articles

Your five best tips to cut your energy bills

          Cripes, the first two tips are easy, if drastic. Don’t partner up. And definitely don’t have children. The energy company must hate it when I’m home. Lights get turned off and doors get closed. I’m the only person who seems to know how to do either. It’s a full-time job. […]

Why are we paying for Sydney’s binge?

        Penalties need to match the crime. And should be meted out to the evil-doer. As a statement, are there any objections? If I didn’t do the crime, should I be punished? So why do I feel like I am being whacked because someone vaguely related to me – like an idiot, […]

How to get around the SMSF property curbs

SUMMARY: SMSF property investors caught up in attack on investor lending by APRA. Self-managed super funds looking to buy geared property are being squeezed for options, as lenders exit the market and jack up interest rates. Lenders have generally moved to limit lending to SMSFs in the wake of pressure from the Australian Prudential Regulation […]

It’s important to teach kids about managing money. How did/do you do it with your kids?

        From inception. In the womb, my DebtKids were played Money, Money by Grateful Dead, Barrett Strong’s Money (That’s What I Want) and Billionaire by Travie McCoy. There was a money mobile over their cots, and were wrapped in to their snuggly quilts featuring $100 notes. Their first soft toy was “Maisy […]

Market tap an insurance policy

    Are we all casually strolling into Armageddon? Hand in hand with that mob we hate/love that oils/finances our lives? I mean, what the hell is going on with our banks? They’ve been announcing record profits, but are now rattling the tins for cash injections, while punishing property investors by sharply increasing interest rates. […]

If you had to cut $100 from your grocery bill this month, how would you do it?

  Is beer a grocery item? If so, easy. I’m done! No, damnit! Why should I be the only one in the house to suffer? Let’s share the pain around. Maybe even more slanted to the DebtKids, as they are non-contributing leaches. (Too harsh?) I have a bigger problem many dads will understand. The only […]

Peer to peer (P2P) lending is on the rise in Australia. What’s your take on it?

              Peer-to-peer lending? If it involves lending to friends and family … are you freakin’ serious! Nothing but horror stories. P2P lending isn’t that. It’s lending to randoms. Via the internet. No emotion. The Terminator. They don’t know who you are. You don’t know who they are. You can’t […]

Permanent chaos – Super’s relative stability

Permanent chaos can be overwhelmingly tiring. A bit of stability and consistency in life is generally welcome. An example of chaos? Greece. Who would be them at the moment? Flat broke and can’t decide whether or not to eject themselves from the Eurozone. Cravings for stability apply to your money, too. Regular paycheques suit many […]

It’s Dry July at the moment: what’s a financial “vice” that you could cut from your life for a month?

It’s the middle of winter. It’s freezing outside. If this is about sacrifice, I think we could cut out heating at home for the month … … by going to Bali! Which is where I’m writing this from. Cheating? Not in the spirit of things? Financial vices, hmmm. I haven’t got many. When I see […]

Were your returns super or normal?

Summary: The average investor posted before-tax returns of 7.86 per cent in FY15. No asset classes were negative, but unhedged currency assets won play of the day. Returns over the three years to June 2015 were stronger, with even conservative investors nudging 10 per cent. Sometimes a dreadful quarter can completely wipe a smile from your […]