Have young kids? Well, now’s the time to introduce them to the concept of saving, and there’s no better way to do that than opening up a bank account for them. As parents, we play a critical role in educating our kids around money and, within that, establishing positive habits around spending and, more importantly, saving. To this end, if you’re good with money, chances are,...
The word ‘debt’ cops a bad wrap, in my opinion. Mention debt, and our minds tend to jump to the negative connotations of the word. And rightfully so. ‘Bad’ debt is exactly that – not great. Meaning, any debt that’s not going to make you money over the medium to long term (aka building your wealth) is something you want to avoid like the plague. Well, as much...
Trade wars aren’t new. They’ve been played out throughout the annals of time. So why is the US-China Trade War, which seems to escalate with every passing week, any different? Well, that’s a tricky one to answer. The short answer is the global economy’s been on pretty shaky ground since the Global Financial Crisis. Meaning the world’s two largest superpowers rattling their sabres is shaking what are...
Being in debt ain’t fun. Particularly if it’s credit card debt and the compound nature of interest (in reverse!) means you can see no end in sight in terms of paying it down. I met someone recently who has racked up close to $30K between two credit cards over the past 18 months. She also has close to $3K on Afterpay. Both cards, I’m guessing, would be...
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the job market nowadays. Long gone are the days where you’d work for the same company for 20 to 30 years, get the gold watch, comfortably retire, play golf and put your feet up. Enter 2019, and the whole notion of a full-time job’s fastly becoming a thing of the past. Things have certainly shifted dramatically in the last five...
If you’re invested in the stock market and have had your ear to the ground, you’ve no doubt heard rumblings from Wall Street and major news outlets of the potential for an economic downturn. You keep hearing things like “the property market’s down another 20 percent”, “the global equities market’s bull run’s over”, “the United States’ trade war with China’s going to rip the carpet out...
Mention the word tax, and it typically draws a grumble from most people, even a sense of grievance. And fair enough. Most Australians feel like they pay too much tax, generally speaking, and often don’t have a whole lot in the way of expenses they can claim to help bring their taxable income down. I’m all for paying my fair share of tax. That’s a given. But, with a young...
Energy supply has been front-page news over recent months. And rightly so – the cost of utilities is starting to hit the point of being ludicrous. In fact, it’s an upwards trajectory that seems to have been running rampant for the past 10 years or so. Here in Victoria, electricity alone is tipped to increase by a startling $300 over the next 12 months, off the back of...
Off the back of my new year’s resolutions, I’ve set myself a challenge for this year (and a considerable one at that): to cut my spending by 10 percent. It’s a biggy, I know. Now, here’s why. Last year, my spending on items over $200 made up 65 percent of my total household expenses, with purchases over $500 hitting the 30 percent mark. Long story short,...
Ah, yes, technology. Where would we be without it? I can’t see it ever truly replacing real-life ‘human’ financial advice, but, in saying that, staying on top of your finances has never been easier. In fact, apps and the like are a great way of weeding out unnecessary spending and bad financial habits. For me, technology has a time and a place. While I try to ensure I’m not fixated...
