Money Management Articles & Tips

22/05/2012
Investment Education

Financial Sacrifices and Choices

This month commentary has evolved from the clear message that comes out of ANZAC day each year – Sacrifice. Our Diggers’ case represents the most poignant and refined definition of the word. The men and women of Australia back then and today are still choosing to make a sacrifice for the greater good of their community. Some of them makin...

17/05/2012
Investment Education

The Impact of Growth vs Yield

Growth vs Yield? In whichever kind of investment, this question has always brought along endless debates. In previous newsletters, we have discussed the impact of the capital growth of an investment asset and the yield or income produced by that asset. In the majority of long term investment strategies, both of these factors are important. The ...

17/04/2012
Investment Education

The Impact of Yield

In an earlier article, we identified that there are many different investment assets available to use in a strategy designed to deliver long term wealth creation, and that different investment vehicles differ in a number of key characteristics. In the previous newsletter, we talked about the capital growth of an asset and how it could affect the ...

17/03/2012
Financial Planning

How Much Money is Enough?

If you stopped work today, how much money would you have to live off before it all ran out? If you stopped work today, how much income would your investments generate? Would it be enough to live off? Would you eventually have to sell down on your investments to ensure you had enough money to live off? How much is enough? If you have read s...

17/03/2012
Investment Education

The Impact of Capital Growth

In an earlier newsletter, we identified that there are many different investment vehicles available to use in a strategy designed to deliver long term wealth creation, and that these different approaches differ in a number of key characteristics, including : their upfront and ongoing cost in terms of both time and money, the extent to which ...

17/02/2012
Money Management

The Cost of Spending

One of the fundamental principles of Empower Wealth’s Money Planning philosophy is that you should get your money to work as hard as possible for you. In our previous newsletter, we looked at one approach to get your money working for you, by using an Offset Account to reduce the amount of Interest that you have to pay on your Mortgage. This a...

17/12/2011
Investment Education

The Cost of Interest

What is the largest single amount of money you expect to part with in your life? For most families, a family home will probably be the largest single purchase they will make in their lives. But while the actual purchase price you pay for a house may be the biggest amount of money you spend in a single lump sum, there is likely to be another cos...

11/12/2011
Investment Education

Someone Took a Calculated Risk

Question: How many generations can you trace your family back to? 2, 3 or 4 maybe..... Now looking at your family’s wealth base how many of you can easily see the millions of dollars within the family estates in property, cash, shares etc? What....... your family doesn’t have all those tens of millions in the family estate? (Don’t worry I�...

10/11/2011
Investment Education

From Action to Measurement

In last month’s newsletter ( available from our website ), we outlined two key steps needed to take your Money Plan and put it into action - getting your existing money working as hard as possible for you, and taking control of your spending. These two steps can be achieved by implementing the Account Structures and cash flow strategies that form...

10/10/2011
Money Management

From Strategy to Action

In previous newsletters, we have discussed the three stages in Money Planning: knowing where you are now - developing a picture of your current Financial Position, deciding where you want to be (and when) - thinking about how much passive income you will need to allow you to be financially independent, and deciding on the best way to get fr...

10/09/2011
Money Management

From Plan to Strategy

In previous newsletters, we have discussed the first two stages in Money Planning - knowing where you are now and deciding where you want to be (and when). The next step in the process is to develop some ideas about different strategies you may adopt to get from your current situation to your desired future state and the pros and cons of each pos...

10/08/2011
Investment Education

If You Can Measure It, You Can Manage It

You have heard me talk about treating your household as a business. Those of you who are new to our newsletter, let me revisit this point. Your household, which could be you, you and your partner etc, generates income for the work you and potentially other members of your household do, just like a business generates income. In fact if a hous...

10/07/2011
Investment Education

Money Choices

In this month’s comment I’m putting my focus on discretionary and lifestyle spending decision with a goal of just making people contemplate a little harder before making such decisions or continuing with the money choices they currently make... Smoking: Based on research conducted by Galaxy for Pfizer in 2009, the average smoker spends $2,50...