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Category: Articles

Most of us overindulge at Christmas. What are your tips for having a fun and happy silly season without the financial hangover?

NAH! Go the whole hog! Literally. Buy the fattened pig! It’s the annual Christmas spendathon. Make it your mission to kick-start the economy. Why deny retailers a little Christmas joy? Get your credit card into a frenzy. Work it, baby! Until you can smell burning plastic. I don’t need to tell you to do that. […]

Here comes the investment property squeeze

SUMMARY: Property investors copping one in the neck – intense focus from regulators and FSI to cool the property market. Property investors must be wondering why a red bullseye suddenly appeared smack over their heart. Attacks are coming from everywhere. Two more financial watchdog heavyweights said this week that they wanted to tighten the screws on […]

What are the best ways for people to save money on their life insurance?

  Let’s start easy – no insurance at all will save thousands of dollars a year. And if you’re a nihilist, don’t really love your spouse and kids, or believe you’re invincible and that bullets rebound off you like Superman, this could work for you. (Do you want me to tell your kids, or will […]

Morphing mortgage from millstone to firm friend

When you decide that you really hate something, it’s funny how you can see all of the faults so much more clearly. Like the snivelling moron you sit next to at work, who is not only lazy and a slob in the kitchen, but it turns out he’s also a liar, disrespectful and a mummy’s […]

Protect yourself using super

SUMMARY: Superannuation is not just about your retirement. A secondary purpose is to protect yourself and your family. Super is that great promise that you’ll have a grand sum of money to take yourself, and your betrothed, into a fabulous retirement. As you work and earn, it grows, in a compounding fashion, so that when […]

Are travel money cards a good idea for Australians planning to holiday overseas?

On my first big overseas trip, back in the mid 90s, I loaded up my credit card with cash. While I was drawing on my savings, I made cash advances and purchases with virtually no fees, apart from currency conversion fees, which were modest. That bank wised up to that one! By my next big […]

An income stream in the family home

SUMMARY: Reverse mortgages are likely, eventually, to become a mainstay of retirement planning. The day is coming when governments will declare that the family home is no longer sacrosanct when it comes to receiving Commonwealth benefits. That is, if you have a $2-million-plus, debt-free home, you won’t be able to (potentially) claim a full government […]

Learn to love your mortgage

When you decide that you really hate something, it’s funny how you can see all of the faults so much more clearly. Like the snivelling moron you sit next to at work, who is not only lazy and a slob in the kitchen, but it turns out he’s also a liar, disrespectful and a mummy’s […]

How do you feel about credit card reward programs, and how do consumers maximise their reward points?

They’re awesome! Free flights, Christmas shopping paid for, wine deliveries … and it doesn’t feel like I’m paying for them. And I’m not really. And many others who enjoy the benefits of rewards cards don’t pay either. But someone is. Rewards program benefits are not really paid for by the bank. They are paid for […]

Gearing in DIY funds under threat

SUMMARY: SMSF borrowing arrangements and super tax for higher earners at biggest threat for change for Murray’s FSI final report. High-income earners and super property buyers could be about to cop a super bullet in the neck, if conjecture is to be believed. The industry chatter suggests that another series of “big bang” changes for […]