Where’s the best place to put your money? When it comes to deciding between super and your home loan there’s a lot to consider. If you’re paying off your home loan but you also understand the value in building up your super, you may find yourself trying to balance your present needs with those you’ll have in your future. So how can you straddle the short and long terms and give yourself the best of …
Are you prepared for the changes to the Age Pension assets test? How the assets test will work in 2017 could increase your Age Pension entitlements, or take some or all of them away. With revisions to the Age Pension assets test just around the corner, it’s important to understand how the changes could impact you, particularly with part-pension thresholds somewhat tighter than initially projected. These thresholds are the value of assets you can own …
The unwritten rules of gift-giving The holiday season is full of tough questions. What to wear to the office Christmas party, whether to go in for seconds (or thirds) of ham, how long leftover seafood keeps for (don’t push it), whether pudding is an acceptable Boxing Day breakfast (it is). But the toughest dilemmas of all have to do with exchanging gifts. If you’re feeling a bit nervous about gift shopping, you’re not alone. A …
Super changes from July 2017 How will they impact you? We cover some of the factors to be aware of given changes have just passed in parliament and are due to become superannuation law. Earlier this year, the Federal Budget announcement included a proposal to introduce changes to super bigger than the likes of anything we’ve seen in almost a decade. Then, in September the government announced some significant adjustments to its proposal. The revised …
Sending more to the tax office than you should? Can you keep more money for yourself and work towards being better off from 2017? As the year-end fast approaches, it’s a good time to think about how you can start working towards being better off. Before the end-of-year holidays start shifting into full swing and before you know it you’re splurging your hard-earned money, take a moment to think about whether you can give yourself …
Five tips for happy healthy ageing The best ways to sustain or improve physical, mental and financial wellbeing in your pre and post retirement years are sometimes the simplest. If you’re in or approaching retirement, you may be surprised to know when it comes to living a longer life and leading a healthier and more active lifestyle, the best methods are often easy tasks you can turn into everyday habits. As Australians have one of …
A modern-day myth exposed: multi-tasking If you have little faith in your ability to do more than one thing at a time, science reveals you’re onto something. Cognitive behavioural researchers shine a light on our inability to multi-task. We simply cannot perform multiple tasks with the same level of skill as when performing one task at a time.i The old adage that women are better at multi-tasking may after all be untrue—or more accurately reflect …
Government pulls back on proposed changes to super The government has made significant changes to several of its plans around super reform. The government has announced changes to three key 2016 Federal Budget proposals—the most significant being that it would not go forward with its proposal to introduce a $500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional (after-tax) super contributions. In a nutshell the new proposals include: From 1 July 2017, the existing annual cap of $180,000 on …
Don’t want to work fulltime? What are the pros and cons of going part time? If you’re a fulltime worker you may be considering joining the multitude of Aussie part-timers, and having more time to do what really matters to you. Maybe you’re a parent who wants to spend more time with your family, an executive who wants to put an end to too-long hours at the office or perhaps you’re working your way towards …
Changes to the Age Pension assets test The government’s recent changes to the Age Pension could affect your ability to plan for a comfortable retirement. Recent reports[1] suggest that more than 300,000 Age Pensioners will have at least part of their pension cut, with just under 100,000 of these people losing all Age Pension entitlements, taking effect from January 2017. The Age Pension and assets test explained The Age Pension provides income support and …
