There are only two things I don’t talk about. The first is how I vote. The second is how much I earn. But not talking about how much I earn is completely different to discussing money matters with friends. I’m a small businessman – I don’t know how much I earn! My books say one […]

Christmas is all about overeating, overdrinking, oversleeping, overspending and … ham-off-the-bone-and-gruyere buttered toasted sandwiches made with banged-together leftovers and a hangover on Boxing Day. Sure, the price tag reads 657,000 calories. Don’t care. Put me down for two! Budgeting? I budget all year, saving up points, scrimping here and there, pushing back haircuts, eating salads […]

Even without bringing in sex-addict Arnie Becker from LA Law, Generation X is likely to have the costliest and nastiest of relationship breakdowns. Typically, Xers will have some combination of a marriage, a house, a mortgage and piles of debt. And the worst … young kids. None is fun to separate, split or share. The […]

Grill a potential adviser like a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Apply heat and pressure and the good ones will, metaphorically, make your cheese gooey, giving you confidence that they’ll do what’s right for you. Here are my top five. Who ultimately owns your licensee? Independence. If the adviser is ultimately licensed through a product […]

I love modern society. It’s awesome. Everything is immediate. Waiting? B-a-a-h! We can work from home in our Reg Grundies, choose from 10,000 TV channels and video call our overseas friends on our computers, for FREE! Remember paying Telstra $487 a second to call London? Outrageous! I am NOT a good shopper. When I shop […]

Great. Let’s throw some divisive domestic distributions into the mix of these Generations questions. What am I? A marriage counsellor? You’re making me Danny DeVito between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in The War of the Roses here! It’s a tough question, but a really important one. From a financial/tax perspective: If you have a […]

Here’s the more important question … oh, Capital Gains, WHEREFORE ART THOU? You’ve been gone too long! We miss thee. We’ve learned our lesson. All is forgiven. Please come back! You walked out years ago and left behind your ugly sister, Capital Losses. We are truly sick to death of her. Small doses only. Not […]

Seriously? Trick question, right? There is only one “scam” almost universally common to Gen Xers. The most disturbing of them all. Tin lids! Kids don’t just vacuum your wallet empty every month for 20-odd years. Simultaneously, they suck up all your time, your love, your patience, your sanity, your sleep … And, damnit, your FORTIES! […]

In the voice of Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid: “Aaah, editor sage like Buddha! One question asked. Two questions posed.” The first question: “How do you time the share market?” The second: “How do I know when I should invest in the share market?” Can mere mortal investors time the market? Not consistently over years […]

Oh, too easy, Batman! When outgoings are more than incomings … when you work harder and harder every month, but still go backwards … when your credit card has that hideous, melted-plastic smell from overuse … Like an intergalactic trip on board the Starship Enterprise, avoiding financial “dark matter” can be difficult. For Gen Xers, […]