BLOGS

How does negative gearing work?

There are many reasons why people are attracted to borrow money to invest in bricks and mortar. One of the most common reasons is the ability to offset the cost of owning the property against assessable income – a strategy known as ‘negative gearing’. Negative gearing occurs when the operating costs of a property is …

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How do banks set interest rates?

Understanding how banks set interest rates can help you make better informed decisions, particularly in regard to identifying the best lender to use. There are three main factors that influence rates. And some products and lenders may be influenced by only one or two of these factors. 1) Cost of funds ‘Cost of funds’ refers …

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Preparing for a loan application… what has changed

Many clients are surprised by how thorough the loan approval process has become. The government has put pressure on the banks over the past 18 months to tighten up their credit assessment processes. The purpose of this blog is to give you an overview of what the banks look at, what questions they ask and …

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How to choose the best super fund or managed fund

How do you identify the best superannuation fund or managed fund? It would seem logical to compare the net investment returns (after fees) over various periods of time and select the one that has produced the best results. But you would be wrong. This approach will not necessarily identify the funds that will produce the …

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Saving for the kids

From time to time, parents ask me for advice on the best vehicle to accumulate savings for the children. The intention of this blog is to give you a summary of your options and to let you know which option I think is the best. Savings, gifts, inheritance and the like Sometimes parents would like …

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Maybe it’s a ‘who’ question, not what?

When faced with financial decisions or questions it is often an instinctive reaction to jump straight to trying to figure out what is the correct answer. However, I’d like to suggest that a better approach is to ask yourself “who” rather than “what”. That is, who is the best person that can help me answer …

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Should you make additional super contributions?

Employers must contribute 9.5% of your salary (up to a maximum of $20,050 p.a.) into super. But should you make additional super contributions? This is a question I’m asked regularly. Of course, like many financial planning matters, the answer does depend on your individual circumstances. However, there are some fundamental concepts that help us understand …

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