Tips and traps of credit

  Tips and traps of credit Starting out with a HECS debt is bad enough, but abusing a credit card can also mean trouble. Admittedly it’s tempting to spend with interest rates at current levels, but most credit cards still have double-digit rates.1 Of course a card is useful when you don’t have ready cash, but unless you pay off the balance in full each month the interest costs add up. Credit card statements today …

Aged care – A loser in the recent 2015-16 Federal Budget

  Aged care – A loser in the recent 2015-16 Federal Budget Residential aged care received only minimal attention in the government’s recent Federal Budget. Unfortunately, people entering residential aged care from 1 January 2016 are the losers from the budget, as the strategy available to assist families wishing to keep the family home will be removed. Currently there is an advantage for people entering aged care to keep the family home and fund all …

How to keep SMILE-ing in retirement

How to keep SMILE-ing in retirement If you’re crunching the numbers to work out how much you need in retirement, it’s time to sit down and take a deep breath… The latest Retirement Standard from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates that people retiring today, who are in good health and own their own home outright, will need $430,000 if single and $510,000 for a couple to maintain a comfortable standard of living …

AMP NATSEM Income & Wealth Report

AMP NATSEM Income & Wealth Report We can work it out: Australia’s changing workforce In recent years we’ve experienced a global recession that’s changed the global labour force with industries closing down, job lay-offs and increasing unemployment. On top of that, in Australia we’ve experienced significant structural and technological change that’s seen us move from an agricultural based economy to being services based. The recently released 36th AMP.NATSEM report takes a look at the current …

Saving Money While Following Eco-Friendly Habits

Saving Money While Following Eco-Friendly Habits Saving the environment is one of the few noble causes that we can work towards. The best way to save the environment is to adopt eco friendly habits that help us save the environment for ourselves little by little. While it is a popular saying that going green isn’t the easiest way, it is definitely worth the try because of its benefits to us. Going green doesn’t only help …

Want To Save Money? Change Your Lifestyle

Want To Save Money? Change Your Lifestyle Money Saving Was Never Simpler! We keep looking for money saving tips and ways to grow money, but how many of us try to figure our mistakes that make us such money wasters? Money saving is not that much of a big deal as we have made it! The problem lies in our lifestyle. We have become so used to unnecessary luxuries that we cannot think of a …

3 Steps To Get Your Credit Card Charge Back

3 Steps To Get Your Credit Card Charge Back With the end of the season of festivities over, it is time for most of the people– who’ve spent lots of their fortune on making holidays fun for their family and friends – to look back at their credit card bills and go through their expenses. Often during this process some people are likely to come across expenditures that have been deducted from their credit cards …

Where Does All My Money Go? Time to Learn Money Management!

Where Does All My Money Go? Time to Learn Money Management! Ever get frustrated that why the money you earn is never enough to satisfy your needs? If yes, then you are not alone. Almost every other person is wondering where on earth do they spend all their money. If you don’t want to be bothered by this question ever again, then you need money management! You might have come across the term a million …

How to make the transition to retirement smooth for you and your partner

How to make the transition to retirement smooth for you and your partner Couples don’t always agree on everything, including retirement. If the time comes for you to retire and your partner is still working—or vice versa—it’s a matter of anticipating the natural changes ahead and then balancing and planning so both your needs can be met. Understanding differences The age you retire may depend on the work you do, your employment arrangements, your health …

4 Reasons Why Money Shouldn’t Be A Worry For You

4 Reasons Why Money Shouldn’t Be A Worry For You The importance of money in a person’s life is almost unparallel and there is no denying this aspect either. With such high integrity to a particular aspect, it is almost natural for people to make money earning and managing one of their top most priorities. The problem with this approach is that it leads to them facing issues and problems when money related issues don’t …