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Tag: Gen X

Online shopping is booming, but what are the risks of buying financial products online?

Little known fact: I was the first ever victim of internet credit card fraud in Australia! Okay, not the first. But it was last century, which made it pretty early in the history of cyber crime. And it scared me off online purchasing for years. It was 1998 and I’d never bought anything over the […]

How do you plan to keep a lid on your Christmas and holiday spending this year?

By selling my children. And maybe also a kidney. That will both keep a lid on spending, and raise some bucks at this most expensive time of year. Sure, saying farewell will be sad. Maybe I can arrange visitation rights. Will the guy who buys my kidney want to catch up for coffee? Kids add […]

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 […]

Should people hand back money they are wrongly given, and in your experience, do they?

Damnit. I know every time I answer one of these, my chances at wearing a halo get slimmer. My first money lesson was: “Find a penny, pick it up, then all day you’ll have good luck.” If I was handed too much change at the sandwich shop checkout? I’m not sure I’d notice half the […]

How do you work out how much money you’ll need in retirement, and how do you plan for it?

“Price check, aisle four! Price on a medium-sized tropical island, 50-room palace, 100 staff, world-class golf course, an endless supply of Bollinger and Bintang, an airstrip and a dozen watercraft? Oh, and heaps of those electric golf cart thingys.” Could you get bored of that? Um, no. I forgot to mention the Lear jet. Just […]

Superannuation statements will soon start arriving in letterboxes. What things should you look for in them?

As inscribed on the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “DON’T PANIC!” I know superannuation seems a bit scary, perhaps pointless. But it’s compulsory and you’ll notice it’s a not insignificant amount now, so stay calm. Here’s what Gen Xers need to check when your super statement comes in. First up, don’t stuff […]

Risk reduction takes hold

PORTFOLIO POINT: The primary investment driver of SMSF trustees has changed. Has it taken hold of you? Some shifts in direction are subtle, like a cruise liner slowly changing its course. Some are not. Like a politician back-pedalling on a broken election promise. There was something you, as SMSF trustees, underwent last year that would […]