The duration of retirement savings Once you get an idea of how long the money needs to last, the next step is to work out how long your money can potentially last. The table below illustrates, for any particular amount of retirement savings, how long the money might last assuming a constant annual drawdown amount … Continue Reading
When you sell an investment that has increased in value, you will typically be subject to capital gains tax, or CGT. That said, there are certain assets that can be sold CGT-free. The CGT-free asset par excellence is the home. The concept of the home as a CGT free investment (and as a Centrelink free … Continue Reading
Positive gearing is the opposite of negative gearing. It is jargon for borrowing to buy an investment where the expected assessable income is more than the expected deductible interest cost (and other costs). Income is greater than expenses, and your assessable income increases accordingly. In the context of housing, if you borrow the full purchase price, … Continue Reading
As financial planners, helping our clients manage their family home is one of the most enjoyable things we do. We love family homes. For a start, we love families – and families live in family homes. What’s more, enjoying your home is the easiest way to enjoy life in general. A happy home – and … Continue Reading
Superannuation really is super. Super lets you pay less tax and boost your retirement savings, all in one go. We really like it and we think you should too. If you are an employee, then you are almost certainly entitled to receive compulsory super contributions from your employer. Generally, these contributions equal 9.5% of your … Continue Reading
Sometimes people really do win the lottery. But here is a story of someone who won the lottery twice. We recently came across a genuine good news story. A woman just approaching aged pension age won a substantial amount in a national lottery. She needed the money! Before the win, she was living on the … Continue Reading
Christmas is coming and you probably know someone who is really hard to buy a present for. You might be tempted to buy them a gift voucher. Can we suggest you think again? Unfortunately, gift vouchers are generally a really bad idea. We know, we know – we sound like the Grinch. But let us … Continue Reading
One of the things we most enjoy is helping people manage wealth across the generations. Most of our clients are working hard to give their kids (or their grandkids) a good start in life. So it makes sense that we teach those kids how to manage their money well. Unfortunately, the school system is not … Continue Reading
