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Category: Your Money Gen X

Has superannuation become a good vehicle to invest in residential real estate? Why or why not?

Jennifer Hawkins looks good in anything, right? But how much hotter is she in a swimsuit? Similarly, residential property has always looked sexy in super. Super, like a bathing cozzie, is a skimpy tax environment. Recent superannuation rule changes have put property in a bikini. Now, it’s smokin’ hot! The hottest super model of the […]

Ethical investments: Are they good for your wallet or just your soul, and how do you know what ethical is?

HIPPY alert! Sound the warning sirens! Whooop! Whooop! Whooop! Be careful when inviting hippies into your investment world. You might get a little more than “peace”, “free love” and a sitar being gently played by Ravi Shankar, if you know what I mean. Janis Joplin, Cheech & Chong and Timothy Leary are all are highly […]

What is the rudest thing somebody has said to you about money? How did you react?

“Can’t you afford to drive something better than that? What the hell is it?” (One expletive has been downgraded from that quote.) The Holden Epica is tough to recognise, because so few have sold. It sorta resembles a Commodore from “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”. Or a Cruze beefed up on Hulk Hogan’s cast-off ’roids. […]

It’s easy to suffer from information overload these days. Where can your generation get the best free advice?

The “best” advice is rarely free. And “free” advice is rarely the best. To quote Tom Hanks in Apollo 13, “Houston, we have a problem”. The best advice is tailored to your situation. And that’s generally going to involve a financial adviser and a cost. It’s one-on-one stuff. Advisers don’t work for free, but are […]

Memory loss affects some Generations more than others. What key things do investors often forget?

You know, I know where this question wants us to go. But I’m just not sure that it’s right. The obvious answer? “They forget about the unbreakable relationship between risk and reward. And they forget about pain.” But is it forgetting, if you’ve never experienced it before? Every time a stock market really, really soils […]

Property trusts versus direct property – what’s your preferred option for real estate investment and why?

Oh, no, no, no! That’s not the right question. Try these. Would you rather cycle across town … or take a chopper? Do you want to holiday at home … or in strange/exotic foreign locations? Would you rather eat toast … or phantasmagorical street-vendor food in Phnom Penh? Bikes, downtime at home and toast are […]

Which Generation would you trust the most to give you good financial advice, and why?

Or, I could ask, which one would you rather slap in the face with a huge cream pie? Easy! Boomers, of course. They got everything delivered to them. They raped and pillaged the planet. They created financial disaster after economic catastrophe. Actually, I don’t believe that. All up, Boomers have done a pretty good job […]

Mining stocks have been hammered lately. Are they still good for your share portfolio or super fund?

Every great bubble story comes with its own disastrous crash landing. And when it’s the stock market, it’s so often carnage of the mid-air jumbo jet explosion variety. Debris and casualties strewn over thousands of hectares, tens of thousands of lives impacted, plans changed forever, general fear and panic. Don’t think Flying High. This is […]

Should we write down every dollar we spend, or is doing this just a waste of time?

To answer this question requires some help from the divine wisdom of Yoda. “Waste of time, it is, if you already know where your money goes. Yessss, hmmm.” What the late 900-year-old registered lethal weapon is saying is, if you only ever have enough moolah to just get through a week … then yes, start […]