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Tag: Concessional contributions

Don’t bust a cap

SUMMARY: Made a last-minute check of your superannuation contributions? Don’t delay. It’s not too late. Quite simply, none of us have enough time to do everything we want to do before 30 June. There’s only two weeks left. But there are tens of thousands of you who should make the following a priority. Arguably, anyone who […]

Play God with your tax this June 30

Less enjoyably than Father’s Day, but less unpleasantly than a birthday after 40, tax time pounces on us every year. Love it. Loathe it. Ignore it. Your choice. June 30 offers a series of little decisions, some of which can be short-term profitable, some are long-term profitable, while some allow you to “play God” with […]

Low-cost super: It’s not that hard

SUMMARY: Get real. There is plenty of low-hanging fruit if governments really want to cut the cost of Australia’s baseline super. Stop with the pussyfooting on superannuation. If governments really want to strip costs out of the system, the recipe is pretty simple. Recent Super Stream changes are no more than the tip of the […]

Motivation is often lacking when it comes to managing money. What motivates you the most?

EXCUSE me!? Please issue a warning before asking questions like that. I’m choking on my Sunday roast as I write this! Motivation? Lacking? Seriously? Who’s having that problem? Something to motivate you should be easy! Backing your motivations with actions and sacrifices every single day is the “Tough Mudder” part. My motivations? Making sure my […]

TTR: The secret to not having to work longer

SUMMARY: You don’t have to work longer. Just be smarter with your super. Have a transition-to-retirement pension in your sights. Yet another government manifesto says the nation’s workers are going to have to get used to the idea of working longer. The Intergenerational Report (IGR) last week punted on how much longer we’re going to […]

Wealthy will never be trapped in super

SUMMARY: Eat the rich. Super tax concessions don’t cost the $33 billion that is purported. And the aspiring wealthy would find another way. There’s a simple solution to the problem of superannuation tax breaks costing the public too much. Just tax the wealthy’s super harder. Tax ’em more on the way in. Tax ’em more […]

Buying property a 10-year game

If you understand one fundamental “law of life”, making improvements to your lot becomes so much simpler. That law is this: “No long-term good ever comes without sacrifice”. Ever lost weight without cutting back on intake and/or pounding the pavement? Ever got an “A” without studying? Did you buy your first home without spending a […]

How often should you think about changing the investments you hold in superannuation?

Aaah! My financial regret. Not being aggressive enough, early enough, with my super. I sat in a “balanced” fund through my 20s. Foolish. What a twit. Has already cost my retirement tens of thousands. Gen Xers, if that’s also you, it’s not too late. And making a difference now doesn’t have to be hard. Firstly, […]

Federal Budget: Can super tax concessions be saved?

  SUMMARY: Pressure is building for major change on retirement incomes. Which bitter pill will we be asked to swallow? We must be in Budget kite-flying season again. That time when ideas are run up flagpoles to gauge public reaction. The public purse, we are told, is empty. It needs restocking. And one area judged […]

2015: Super changes ahead?

SUMMARY: What’s in store for super in 2015? Hopefully little, but there’s a lot being considered by the Abbott Government. When it comes to predicting investment markets, I’m not a great crystal ball gazer. The riskier the asset class, the more I believe the “gazing” becomes “punting”. It is similarly risky trying to predict how […]