The rate we hate

July 6th, 2010

The Reserve Bank has met again and decided what is best for the economy (and inflation) by raising, lowering or keeping steady interest rates. The average homeowner doesn’t give two hoots about the economy, only how interest rate movements will affect them personally.

Some people are living so close to the edge that even a 0.25% increase in interest rates will force them to do something drastic. Like sell their home.

Don’t view interest rates in terms of what they will be doing in the short term. Look at where they could be in the medium and long term, then evaluate how this will impact on you. If you could not handle rates rising again, please get in touch with your lender now. Right now. Give yourself the best chance to hold onto your home by sorting it out early. And if the figures tell you that you need to sell, remember that your family and mental health are worth much more than 4 walls and a roof.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst – it’s a great philosophy to live by.

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What’s important?

July 4th, 2010

Things in life that are more important than money: life itself (wow, that’s heavy), love, family, happiness, good health, laughter, education, fulfillment, sex, helping people, wisdom and playing card games.

Things in life that are made easier by having your finances sorted: all of the above.

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No regrets

July 2nd, 2010

It’s natural to see past performance figures for a particular investment and think “I wish I’d invested money in that 7 years ago”. When it comes to investing, people will often look back and regret not making a decision.

It’s much better to look forward 7 years to when you say “I’m glad I did something wise with my money in 2010”. With investment, getting in early is important, but it’s never too late to start.

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Tax cuts

June 30th, 2010

As of tomorrow it’s the new financial year, and that means it’s time for the latest round of tax cuts. Don’t expect a massive difference to your income, unless there will be a big change to your financial circumstances. But you will probably be better off by at least a couple of hundred bucks by this time next year.

Aussies have become accustomed to getting regular tax cuts courtesy of lower tax rates over the last decade or so. If you’ve been earning a steady wage or salary over these years you should’ve noticed that you’re now paying less tax. Haven’t noticed? Righto then, it’s time to get organised.

If you don’t know when you’re paying lower amounts in tax then it probably means this money is being blown. If so, organise with your pay office to have the amount of the tax saving taken out of your pay and put into a savings account before it hits your everyday bank account. This way, you won’t notice a difference in the money in your everyday account, but you will have extra savings, without even trying.

Now that’s a happy new financial year!

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Super money for nothing

June 28th, 2010

With the end of the financial year approaching some people will turn their minds to last minute tax planning, including topping up super payments. If you earn less than $31,920 in the current financial year, you can contribute up to $1,000 out of your bank account (not salary sacrificed) and the federal government will give (yep, give) you $1,000. You can earn up to $61,920 and still get a partial payment from Julia Gillard (yeah, the red head’s the new boss. I’m still getting over that too!)

Now for the catch. Your super fund needs to receive the payment before close of business, June 30. If they get it after this time it will count towards next financial year. So unless you can give a cheque to the trustee of your super fund in person sometime over the next 2 days, you will need to rely on 2 things. The first is that you will be eligible for the co-contribution next year. And the second is that there will be no changes to legislation over the next year that effects this area of super.

Happy new financial year!

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Welcome

June 24th, 2010

Welcome to the Financial Freedom for Gens X and Y blog. We officially launched the website on Thursday June 24 2010. We will be providing some great financial info in this blog, stay tuned for more….

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