Salary Sacrificing a Bonus Awarded a bonus at work? Depending on circumstances, it may be worth salary sacrificing the bonus into superannuation. This can increase retirement savings & lower taxable income. The benefit depends on the difference between the 15% tax on super contributions and your...
I said, “So, Walter, errr, script’s pretty good, huh?” And he said, “The script sucks, kid. I owe my bookie $2 million.” And that was Kevin Pollack’s introduction to Walter Matthau on the set of Grumpy Old Men. It was said Matthau lost $50 million gambling over his lifetime....
From pooches to second-hand cars, to homes in regional areas, to ground beef in the supermarket. Everyone has a story about how their money is buying less. Eight years ago, you could get this good girl delivered to your front for $1300. Today, or more precisely...
The first post COVID budget has been released and while the numbers are slightly better than what was previously expected, it wasn’t a budget where the reins were pulled. Given the spending, Labor must be wondering what to do with themselves. On a surface level,...
It is a week out from the US Presidential election. We’ve deliberately avoided the election until the very last moment. Why? Its lack of importance. We hear ‘this is the most important election of our lifetime’ almost every election. On some issues, maybe it is. When...
The delayed and momentous 2020 Federal budget has been handed down. It contains some amazing figures. The normally fiscally conscious Liberal Nationals have turned spendthrifts in a bid to lift the country out of the COVID-19 induced recession. It wouldn’t be a budget without heroic assumptions...
ESG investing. You’ve probably heard the term, but what does it actually mean? ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, it may also be termed sustainable investing. You may say it is an investment decision based on your beliefs. It is a wide term as it...
We’re deep in a global pandemic. The positive? Governments are responding. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. Interest rates to near zero. Governments putting money into bank accounts. Financial support for business. Government quickly realised the time for half measures was over. President Trump especially. He’s...
When the market falls 7% in a day. There’s no sugar coating it. It’s very painful. What now? We’ve been through this many times before. Our experience tells us to do nothing. With every previous market fall there has been a recovery. Every financial adviser has a...
For weeks there was calm. Then suddenly there was panic. Admittedly, it was surprising. Markets have been moving upwards without a hitch for a while and initially, they shrugged the Coronavirus off. Australian investors, getting little joy from cash, may have been pushing into the...
