When the Reserve Bank Governor says the Sydney property market is crazy, you have to take talk of a housing bubble seriously. And you don’t have to live in Sydney to be concerned. Governor Glenn Stevens’ remarks helped fuel a growing national debate about house prices and affordability especially for first homebuyers. While other property
The decline of the automobile. Getting your driver’s licence was once a rite of passage for Australians. Millions of baby boomers and Gen Xers can still call to mind every detail of their first car and the adventures, romantic and otherwise, they had in it. But the times they are changing. For the first time,
A self-managed super fund can put you in the driver’s seat, offering a level of control over your retirement savings that is increasingly attractive to Australians. SMSFs have grown in popularity over the years with latest figures showing they account for 31.4 per cent of total superannuation assets, up from 10 per cent a decade
Big $ lessons for small fry What do Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Sting and Nigella Lawson have in common apart from wealth? This mismatched bunch is part of a vanguard of rich parents who have vowed not to leave multi-million dollar legacies to their children. While some wealthy parents may believe their progeny are not
Common sense may say that the time to invest is when markets are down, but the reality is that most investors wait until markets are running hot before they get on board. Then, terrified of losing money, when the market starts to fall, they sell. The psychology of an investor plays a significant role in
Cover that works when you no longer can It's bad enough to have an accident or become sick and find yourself without an income, facing hefty medical bills. It's even worse if you are not insured. And yet by Financial Services Council estimates, some 95 per cent of Australian households are under insured. Of course
With interest rates at record lows, investors have been searching high and low for a decent yield. And they’ve been finding them, but not where you might expect. Conventional wisdom says to buy bonds and term deposits for income and shares for growth, but low interest rates have turned that advice on its head. Instead,
The good, the bad & the ugly - good debt vs bad debt There’s good debt and there’s bad debt, and then there’s the good debt that can get pretty ugly if it’s not managed properly. In a nutshell, good debt is when you borrow to buy an appreciating asset and bad debt is when
The countdown to the end of the financial year may not create the same excitement as the approach of New Year’s Eve, but it does have one saving grace. With a little bit of planning before June 30 you could end up with a welcome financial pick-me-up after the Christmas-New Year
After criticism that his first budget was too tough and unfair, Treasurer Joe Hockey has used his second budget to restore the confidence of ordinary Australians and shift the focus to jobs, growth and opportunity. Gone is the talk of a budget emergency. Instead, the Coalition government has unveiled nearly $10 billion in spending initiatives
