Take control of your finances now for the new financial year.

Take control of your finances now for the new financial year. If you set yourself money goals at the start of 2019, the upcoming new financial year is a great time to check if you’re on track. And if you didn’t set any goals – or if you have strayed off track – this is the perfect time to get organised, write a checklist and stick with it! Don’t wait until 1 July to start. …

Weekly Market Update 21 June 2019

Weekly Market Update 21 June 2019 Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets pushed higher over the last week as the Fed and the ECB hinted strongly at monetary easing ahead and as it was confirmed that Presidents Trump and Xi will meet on the sidelines of the 28-29 June G20 meeting in Japan. Expectations for monetary easing saw bond yields push even lower with a new record low in Australia. Commodity …

How to save money

How to save money Saving money doesn’t just happen, but these steps could help you to reach your saving goals sooner. How Australians save Research has found that almost three quarters of Australians surveyed save by putting spare money into a savings account, whether they do this themselves or via an automatic transfer. Other popular savings methods include keeping savings money in an account they can’t touch, building up extra savings in their transaction account …

Weekly Market Update 14 June 2019

Weekly Market Update 14 June 2019 Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets, rose over the past week with the combination of expectations for rate cuts/policy stimulus and the tariffs being avoided on Mexico offsetting ongoing uncertainty about the US/China trade war and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Hong Kong. Australian shares made it to an 11 year high led by resources stocks and defensive sectors like healthcare, telcos and …

Why people choose the wrong credit card

Why people choose the wrong credit card Now we have a bit more proof that these warnings from consumer advocates were spot on. As banks face pressure to live up to claims they “put customers first”, the Reserve Bank released research finding almost two out of three Australian cardholders receive no “net monetary benefit” from having a credit card. When you think about it, that’s a surprisingly high proportion of customers who are no better …

Weekly Market Update 7 June 2019

Weekly Market Update 7 June 2019   Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets, except for China’s, rose over the last week on increasing prospects for Fed rate cuts in response to the negative impact of trade wars.The Australian share market also saw a modest boost from the RBA cutting rates. The prospect of more rate cuts and easier monetary policy left bond yields flat to down. Commodity prices were mixed with …

What kind of money parent are you?

What kind of money parent are you? Many parents approach the topic of money differently, but could your way of doing things influence your kids’ success? The majority of Aussie mums and dads recognise that they’re accountable when it comes to shaping their children’s perspective around money matters. A recent report published by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), revealed parents listed themselves (95%), followed by grandparents (63%) and teachers or coaches (59%) as …

Weekly Market Update 31 May 2019

Weekly Market Update 31 May 2019 Investment markets and key developments over the past week Global share markets fell again over the last week on the back of worries about global growth in the face of the escalating US/China trade war, made worse by Trump’s decision to put a 5% tariff on imports from Mexico rising to 25% by October unless it stops illegal immigration. Australian shares were dragged lower too as post-election euphoria wore off …

Ways to invest your money

Ways to invest your money If you’re interested in seeing what your options are outside of investment property and super this article explores some of the different investment options available. Cash investments If you put your money into cash investments (including savings accounts and term deposits), the returns will often be lower in comparison to other investment products. However, these types of investment options typically provide stable, low-risk income in the form of a regular …

Weekly Market Update 24 May 2019

Weekly Market Update 24 May 2019 Investment markets and key developments over the past week Global share markets fell over past week amid escalating noise around the US/China trade war and increasing signs that it may be impacting business conditions. However, Australia’s “miracle” election set off a surge in the Australian share market with investors pricing out the risk of a Labor Government which resulted in a surge in bank, retail and property shares more than …