Category Archive

As you are probably aware now, last week the United Kingdom (‘UK’) voted to leave the European Union (‘EU’). This has caused a lot of volatility in markets. Today, two ratings agencies have downgraded the UK’s credit rating from AAA to AA. So Australia now has a better credit rating than the UK – we’re still (for now) AAA rated. … Read More

On 1 January 2017, the Assets Test for the Aged Pension is changing. For example couple homeowners with assessable assets of more than $823,000 will lose their Pension (the old maximum is $1,156,500). These people will also lose the ‘grandfathering’ status of pre 1 January 2015 Account Based Pensions which were also not deemed for the Income Test. For many … Read More

One of my favourite shows is Quest Means Business. Hosted by BBC trained Richard Quest, but normally hosted in New York city, he applies a certain British sensibility to financial matters globally. Right now, he is travelling the UK in a Bedford campervan. The latter was built in the 1970s. This was the time when the UK voted to join … Read More

My New Favourite Thing is investment bonds. Why? The last Federal budget has now put limits on how much we can put into super. So where can we put surplus cash now? Investment bonds. They are also called insurance bonds. Investment bonds actually pre-date superannuation, and before super arrived they were much more popular. So much so that quite a … Read More

Last week Glenys spoke at a special seminar for women members of SunSuper. The ladies who attended Glenys’ presentation were very engaged and moved by Glenys’ personal stories. There were quite a few questions about trauma cover – something that they can’t get via their super fund, and yet such an important cover to have. This is because it can … Read More

Recently we moved home. Here is our first bill: $1,091 is a lot of money for two people and a small dog. In our defence, it was for four months, not three. We are now in an apartment, and so we only have electricity, not gas. The apartment has a very large electric hot water system. But we were running … Read More

You are probably aware that Aldi has recently opened in Adelaide. Last weekend Glenys and I ventured out to try it – and one of us fell victim to what I call ‘Aldi Lust’. More on that later. What Is Aldi? Aldi is a German based retailer that has been established on the Australian East Coast and is now opening … Read More

Recently I have been talking with several clients about what I call the Dream Home Strategy. Many people purchase Australian residential property, often on the basis of advice from their accountant. This is too often tax driven only. So they will be advised to purchase a new property (for the depreciation benefits), and will often buy close to where they … Read More