Changes to bank lending
March 9, 2011
Early in February a change to mortgage lending rules came in that I think requires a bit of discussion – its also worth bringing up as many people still don’t get that bank lending practices are a key determinant in the growth of the value in residential property. Read more
Aged Care and Family Communication
January 27, 2011
This week we did some work with a family where the mother of the family, at the sprightly age of 90 has just decided to move into a residential aged care facility. Read more
Attitudes towards Superannuation
January 27, 2011
Recently the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) commissioned a report into attitudes on superannuation. Read more
Superannuation – Who has enough?
January 27, 2011
A survey was released a year or so ago by AMP highlighting the shortfall Australians have in their superannuation savings with approximately 31% of all Australians being on average 11% behind in their savings needs. Read more
Retirement – Are you ready?
January 27, 2011
It’s not hard to lose a couple of hours daydreaming about THE TRIP whether it be touring through Europe, or tripping round Australia caravanning under the stars surrounded by miles of emptiness. Most of us hope to do such a trip when we retire along with the hobbies and activities that so far have been pushed aside as we grapple with the mortgage and the school fees. Read more
Teenagers and their money
January 27, 2011
Remember the days when you knocked on the neighbours’ doors after school offering to wash the car or do the babysitting for a few bucks in the pocket. Those days are long gone with many teenagers today juggling formal part time work alongside their education. A recent survey noted that nearly half of those aged up to 19 and studying full time were also in paid work.
It’s good to see many of the younger generation are out there working and learning about responsibility. Some of today’s teenagers however are earning a sizeable income with Australian Bureau of Statistics showing year 12 students are today receiving an average of $245 a week. That’s a far cry from a few bucks earned from Dad for washing the car back in my day.
I’m not sure why the Y generation isn’t called the I generation given the amount of i-gadgets and i-gizmos in the market place, but regardless of whether you think they are the “Y” or “I” generation, a Commonwealth Bank survey[1] found many of these young Australians have no plans to save or budget, yet most of them still plan to buy a car or go on an overseas holiday.
What’s frightening is that nearly three quarters of those surveyed had some form of debt, with around half not concerned about their debts stating they do not let the amount of debt they are in affect their daily lives. While the easy availability of credit is causing some problems, it seems that mobile phones consistently seems to top the list for causing debt. It makes you wonder how important those gadgets are …. but I digress.
The good news is that young people are keen to learn about managing their money. The report Financial literacy: Australians understanding money by the Financial Literacy Foundation noted that the majority of teenagers want to learn about budgeting, saving and managing debt and see leaving school as a significant milestone in which they can start gaining control over their finances.
So if you have a significant young person in your life, or you happen to belong to the Y generation, it’s never too early to start down the path of managing money. Start surfing, web surfing that is, because there lots of great websites full of ideas and practical tips that set young people on the right path to managing their money. The Financial Planning Association for example has created Dollarsmart, a web based and CD financial toolkit for teenagers to help improve their financial skills and give them confidence when dealing with financial matters throughout their life.
It might also be of use to start looking for a financial planner who can help you on the road to accumulating enough assets so that you get to decide when work becomes optional. A good place to start is with the planner your parents use, check the websites and make a few calls, it could be an excellent investment for you to make.
If you do have any questions about this or would like to know more about us, please email me at admin@bronsonfs.com.au or give us a call on (07) 5577 8653
Please Note:
This publication has been prepared to provide you with general information only. It is not intended to take the place of professional advice and you should not take action on specific issues in reliance on this information. In preparing this information, we did not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. Before making an investment decision, you need to consider (with or without the assistance of an adviser) whether this information is appropriate to your needs, objectives and circumstances. This information is provided for persons in Australia only and is not provided for the use of any person who is in any other country.
Self Managed Superannuation – Is it for You?
January 27, 2011
Articles regularly appear the financial press about the growth in Self managed Superannuation funds (SMSFs) and the fact that many people do not understand the requirements placed on them by the legislation and indeed whether or not it is actually appropriate for an investor actually hold their superannuation funds in such a vehicle. Read more
What is a Superannuation Binding Nomination?
January 27, 2011
Does your superannuation fund allow you to provide a binding nomination? Do you know what a binding nomination is? Don’t get confused with the nominated beneficiary box you ticked when filling out the superannuation paperwork that came with the new job you just started. Read more
The transfer of wealth between generations (or not)
January 21, 2011
You’ve probably seen those ads for retirement planning featuring retirees on Harley Davidsons saying “Retirement is payback time” or have seen the stickers on the caravans of the grey nomads that say “I’m spending my children’s inheritance.” Or even better, “Live long enough to be a burden on your children”. Read more
The Ageing Population
January 21, 2011
Did you know that our global population is ageing so fast that within 10 years, the number of people aged over 65 will outnumber all the children in the world under the age of 5? Read more