Empower Blog Property & Financial Investment

What does AFL, NRL and Mortgages Have in Common?

We love our sports; all the competitiveness and excitement that comes with it.  Have you ever wondered if the same spirit of sportsmanship also applies to scoring a good mortgage? Over the weekend we have seen the two major sporting codes Grand Finals.  These sporting contests are all about making ground on your opposition and putting scoreboa...

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Property Panel – Fixing your Interest Rates

Fixed interest rate and variable interest rate is another one a common debate points when choosing a mortgage loan. Sometimes, a fixed interest rate can be quite an advantage but on other times, it may be the cause of a difficult financial position. In this session of Melbourne Property TV (MPTV) Panel, Ben Kingsley and the panel discuss about the ...

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Fifty Shades of Underquoting

There are different levels of underquoting but when will it be considered unacceptable? As the media keeps reminding us, we find ourselves in the midst of a Buyer's market.  There are many aspects of this current market which also remind us of the current status; from lower than average auction clearance rates to reducing interest rates.  On...

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Why budgets don’t work!

Budgets are a bit like driving your car down the road with your windscreen totally blacked out only looking through the rear vision mirror - they simply measure history but that’s not enough.  Let me illustrate. Have you ever been guilty of impulse spending?  Whether it’s the pair of jeans you bought when you were meant to be just wind...

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Nothing ever Changes if Nothing Ever Changes

Have you considered if your retirement income will sustain your lifestyle? If not perhaps it is time to put away the fear of change and act now. Households are going to be in for a rude shock in retirement, as they come to terms with reduced income and the impact on their lifestyle unless they start acting now. There is a rule of thumb to help ...

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RBA Rates Decision – October 2012

The RBA has reduced the cash rate at its October Board Meeting by 0.25%.  This brings the cash rate down to 3.25%. Most market analysts were split 50/50 on this decision to reduce rates, but for an economy that is definitely showing signs of slowing, it comes as welcome news to a mortgage holder. How welcome that news is will be left i...

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Return on Investment

What defines Return on Investment and how it differs for Property and other Financial Assets? And how do you align your expectation and the reality of the returns? In previous articles we've been discussing the “outputs” that we are seeking from an Investment Strategy.  Most importantly, we will be looking for ongoing capital growth o...

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Sky Business Channel, Your Money Your Call (September 2012)

Ben Kingsley, Founder and CEO of Empower Wealth joins host Margaret Lomas and fellow panel expert Ian Rodrigues at SKY Business Channel, Your Money Your Call. The panel answers calls and emails from viewers about buying homes, property investing and property markets. In this session, Ben and the panel will be discussing on:   What factors t...

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Myth Buster on What drives Property Values

The "Great Aussie Dream" of owning property is part of our DNA and it's fair to say that most people have an opinion about what makes property values grow. For the Average Joe, these opinions are mostly educated guesses; for many people in the property industry they are often completely off the mark. In this article from Money Magazine (in conju...

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Time Poor to Time Rich – How?

Some days I wish it was more, but we only have 24hrs in a day less the 8 hours for sleep/rest and that leave us with about 16 hours. Then there’s the 8 hour work day, which is more like 10 hrs when you factor in travel etc, so that brings us to 6 hrs of leisure time to scram in socialising, running the house, feeding ourselves, exercise, hobbies,...

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RBA Rates Decision – September 2012

The RBA today decided to keep the official cash rate at 3.5%, which was in line with economists and market expectations.  This decision was most likely made without the full impacts of several key data releases yesterday being fully assessed, but which point to a further slowing in the Australian economy. Here is a summary of some of the data, ...

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Who do you turn to for those big financial decisions in life?

The landscape is changing in the financial services space. Financial planners are moving away, due to government intervention, from commission based selling and accountants are now held more accountable for taxation returns they help produce and submit to the Australia Taxation Office and Mortgage Brokers have been licensed for a reasonable period ...

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The Impact of Knowledge

Previously, we've discussed the “inputs” that will be required for an Investment Strategy starting off by talking about the different ways that money and time will be required to implement an investment strategy and their impacts on the outcome of that strategy. Another key input that will be required of any prospective investor is knowledge...

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