Do you have any idea what a home loan really ends up costing over the life of a mortgage? Thanks to the interest paid over an average 30-year loan term, the figures are eye-watering. Our lead article closely inspects the figures and delves into the simple yet incredibly effective strategies that can carve thousands of dollars off the life of a loan. If you’re in the market to sell a property, we look at the …
Another five great charts on investing that are very useful in times of uncertainty like the present Key points Successful investing can be really difficult in times of uncertainty like now making it important to stay Here are another five great charts to help illuminate those basic principles: the importance of time in the market versus timing; the case to look less at your investments; the relationship between risk and return; the value of …
Planning a career break? Here are tips to help keep your super on track Whether you’re doing it because you want to travel, study or start a family, taking a career break can really affect your financial future. Thankfully, there are ways to help keep your superannuation in shape. Whatever your stage of life, there are several reasons for planning a career break. In some instances, leaving the workforce won’t impact your super. But in …
Is $1m enough to retire? A million dollars is a figure that’s often cited as the amount you need to retire. But while $1 million doesn’t go as far as it used to – it only goes slightly above the median house price in Sydney1 – for many people it still sounds like an impossibly large amount of money to save. In reality, there’s no set figure you need to have accumulated in savings, super, real …
Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets collapsed over the past week as concerns about the global economic impact of the coronavirus intensified, oil prices plunged as part of the secondary impact and policy responses by President Trump and the ECB were seen as not enough. Australian share fell around 20% with energy shares leading the way down but selling was broad based with industrials, financials and property stocks hit hard given …
We all know getting into debt isn’t really desirable. So are there times when borrowing is justified? And what’s the best approach to keeping repayments within reasonable limits? We spoke to Sandy Hopps CFP® from Strategic Planners to get expert advice on smart ways to borrow money. Recent reports and statistics show we’re no strangers to debt in Australia. According to OECD data from 2015, Australia is 4th in the world – behind Denmark, the …
