Whoa-boy! Steady up Xers! You’re trying to move faster than Charlie Sheen when he’s “on the drug Charlie Sheen”. Answer these important questions first. Do you have a minimum of $200,000 in super? Are you great (not just good) with paperwork? Can you stick to a plan, or calmly but quickly adjust your plan, when […]

No! No enjoyment for you! That may sound a little bit Seinfeld “Soup Nazi”, but that’s the way it’s got to be. Don’t you know that the person with the most money wins? Economic reality saw God sell out long ago. You want the best seats ringside in heaven? They’re for sale! Good deeds alone […]

Excellent! Time for some Baby Boomer bashing! Billy Joel stated “we didn’t start the fire” in his 1989 hit that claimed his Boomer generation wasn’t to blame for the world’s woes. Bollocks! Yes, you did start it and, yes, you are to blame. It was Boomers that invented “hippies”, elevated pot smoking to a lifestyle […]

Donate more? Wha-a-at?! We’re already taxed to within a breath of extinction. And PM Gillard wants more next year! With what’s left, you want more … blood from stone! I’m kidding, of course. Regarding donations, Gen Xers have a tough set of scales to balance. Upwardly moving and time-demanding careers, big mortgages, trying to invest […]

Best and worst? Nuh-huh. Worst and worster! Just take my Grandma. She’s used her credit cards to obliterate her home equity and her Boomer kids’ inheritances. (“Bad Grandma! Very naughty!”) Via a nasty RSL club cocktail of pokies and cheap feeds, her good times Golden Girl party team and an ever flowing tap of Visa […]

“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.” That’s a quote from PJ O’Rourke. In my opinion, the funniest man alive. I’ve read his two “finance” books, if you could call them that, Eat the Rich and CEO of the Sofa. They are both informative and […]

IF ANY?! To quote tennis legend John McEnroe: “You cannot be serious!” Remove “if any” from that question for Generation Xers! I know it’s awful to think about, but picture yourself dead or paralysed from a major car accident. If dead, how deep in the financial poo would you be leaving your partner and/or family? […]

Yes and, um … no. Well, yes. But not really. New Year’s Eve is a stupid time to make resolutions. For a start, nobody should promise anything when they were as drunk as I was. How would you remember them? If you could, do you wish someone had gaffer taped your mouth shut? The biggest […]

I don’t believe in crystal balls. They’re trouble, like poking Chopper Read in the eye. Exact predictions are for crazy people. And liars. Nobody knows what’s going to happen this year. So, in the great Australian tradition, I left mine out on the footpath years ago and somebody took it. I hope it’s causing them […]

Sssh! Bite your tongue! Be wary of inviting hippies into any financial discussion. Imagine the world’s economy if Neil from The Young Ones was in charge of Treasury? Debt recycling is based on the premise that tax-deductible debt is cheaper to service than debt on which there is no deduction. Example: take a debt of […]