How to prepare financially for starting a family Starting a family is exciting, but it can also mean big changes to your lifestyle and your finances. As expecting parents, it’s natural to have questions around family finance planning. One of the main questions you may have when starting a family is “how much do babies cost?” According to research, it costs an average of $140-170i. It could help to plan and have a family budget …
Three key habits of the financially secure Financial wellness describes how we evaluate our finances and cope with any related stress. It can be a significant factor that affects our overall psychological wellbeing. AMP’s recent financial wellness research found three financial habits that people who are financially secure have in common: They save money regularly They pay off their credit card debt They avoid using layby and buy now, pay later (BNPL) services. We explore each of …
6 steps to building good financial habits How financially secure do you feel? Recent research1 into Australians’ financial wellness – which is a person’s satisfaction with their current and future financial situation – revealed that people with good financial habits feel more financially secure. It sounds like a no-brainer. But adopting good financial habits isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Otherwise, we’d all be doing it already. With the impact of COVID-19 still being felt, …
7 ways to get your money working harder during COVID-19 If you’re fortunate enough not to have been affected financially by coronavirus, you might find you’re spending less and saving more The COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak has seen Australians rise to the challenge of a new way of life involving a lot less time spent outdoors and a lot more time spent at home. We’ve seen new concepts added to our daily vocabulary like social distancing, …
Staying (Financially) well as the years go by Our financial priorities tend to change as we move through life The good news from AMP’s 2018 Financial Wellness Indexi is that only 7% of Australian retirees aged 65 or over report being stressed about money. So if you’re feeling the pinch earlier in life there is light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s take a closer look at how your financial wellness is likely to change …
Should you be sharing your super with the kids? According to the latest research from REST Industry Super, working Australians aged over 50 are very much in the habit of making financial contributions to their kids. So far they’ve shelled out $31.6 billion for home deposits, $55.9 billion for education and nearly $10 billion for wedding expenses1. So is funding major life events for the next generation affordable? And what happens when you want to …
Planning is the key to making it financially If you’ve paid off your home, have a healthy stash of super and take an overseas holiday each year, you’ve made it financially. That’s the view of many Australians according to recent research. A study by comparison site Finder found paying off the mortgage is the financial milestone 74% of Australians value most. Having enough in super to retire comfortably comes a close second for 59% of …
Relationship breakdown It’s a sad fact, but according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2012, there were 49,917 divorces granted in Australia, an increase of 982 (2.0%) compared to 2011. People between 40-44 years of age had the highest percentage of divorces granted, with 16.9% of males and 17.6% of females being granted a divorce falling in the age group in 2012. In the midst of all the emotional turmoil caused …
