Why you need an emergency fund

What is an emergency fund? An emergency fund is a financial safety net, offering you instant access to money when you need to cover the cost of unplanned expenses, like losing a job, unexpected travel or a medical emergency. This involves putting funds aside periodically so you can dip into this cash reserve without needing … Read more

Insuring against loss of income

Protecting income from unexpected illness and injury is particularly important to anyone with a mortgage to service, small business owners and self-employed people with no sick leave available. With income protection insurance, you can be paid some 70 per cent of your income for a specified period to help when you cannot work.i The most … Read more

The Age Pension and your retirement plans

Most people intend to retire between ages 65 and 66, according to the latest data and, surprisingly, despite growing superannuation balances, the Age Pension is the main source of income for many retirees.i  The intended retirement age has increased significantly in the last two decades, from just over 62 years on average in 2004. Australian … Read more

Keeping records for property

Which records to keep for your property so you can work out CGT when you sell it. Property records you should keep For your property, you should keep records of: your acquisition of the property and related expenses, such as purchase contract stamp duty legal fees settlement statement survey and valuation fees your disposal of … Read more

It’s super hump month. Make the most of it

Six ways to get more money into your superannuation fund. The start of the 2024-25 financial year on 1 July saw some significant changes come through designed to help working Australians get more money into their superannuation. Fundamentally they involved increases to the statutory amounts individuals can contribute into their super every financial year. The … Read more