When it comes to living a longer, healthier, more active lifestyle, a good approach can often involve easy tasks that you can turn into everyday habits – even when social distancing is on the agenda. If you’re after ideas, here are some ways you might sustain or even improve your physical and mental wellbeing, which…
While society continues to grapple with the factors driving gender and pay inequity, women are proactively turning to investing more than ever before. And in doing so, they are demonstrating a very competent and sensible approach to building up their wealth outside of superannuation. Each year Equal Pay Day, on a date calculated by the…
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, women are retiring with 37% less than men in their super accounts, which is a frightening thought considering women, on average, live up to five years longer. So, what’s behind the super gap? The super gap is partly due to the lower average earnings of women. Data from…
Australian shares are popular investments with self-funded retirees and anyone who depends on income from their investments, due in part to the favourable tax treatment of franked dividends. After falling off in the early days of the COVID pandemic, share prices and dividends bounced back strongly in the year to June 2021. Investors who depend…
Money issues are often cited as the biggest causes of stress in a relationship. Yet despite their importance, a recent survey of Australian couples found that 43% hadn’t discussed how they’d share their incomes before they committed. And close to a third hadn’t talked about their financial situation with their potential partner at all. Even…
For many people, the idea of managing and investing your own retirement savings is very appealing. But there is debate over whether running your own self-managed super fund (SMSF) is cost effective. So, what are the arguments for and against having your own fund? Taking control of your super People choose to run their own…
Introduction The past financial year saw a spectacular rebound in returns for investors as the focus shifted from the recession to recovery against a backdrop of policy stimulus and vaccines. The big developments of the last financial year The global and Australian economies were confirmed to have seen deep recessions in the first half of…
In the past, wealth was often passed on through inheritance. But with our longer lifespans, and the higher cost of living (especially housing), the desire to help our kids while we’re alive and well is increasing. If your children are young, you may have twenty or thirty years to save and invest on their behalf,…
Downsizing the family home is often part of the longer-term financial plans for many older Australians. But did you know that you could consider investing the proceeds of the sale of your family home to your super – depending on your age and circumstances – as a downsizer contribution? What is a downsizer contribution? If…
Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have emerged from a difficult year stronger than ever. Not only have balances been repaired after the initial market shock in the early days of COVID-19, but more young people and women are taking control of their retirement savings. At the end of March there were 597,396 SMSFs with 1,120,936 members,…
