Self Managed Super Funds - Your Perfect Match?
June 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Sick of lack lustre returns? Think you could do a better job investing your hard earned superannuation savings than the professionals? If you would like to control where your money is invested, a Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) could be the answer. A word of warning though - you might be biting off more than you chew!
Managing your own self managed superannuation fund can be time consuming, and very few investors fully understand the responsibilities of being a Trustee of their own fund (and the ATO are onto them!). To give you a hand to start your research to ascertain whether a SMSF is your perfect match, I have sourced the following publications on the Australian Taxation Office website:- Read more
Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Program - Are you eligible?
March 19, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
I have just come across this wonderful Government benefit whereby some patients may be able to receive dental services under Medicare.
Basically, if you have a chronic disease, such as asthma, cancer, diabetes or some other major illness, you may be able to claim up to $4250 over a two year period for major dental work. To ascertain whether you are eligible, following is a link to the Department of Health and Aging. You will also need a referral form your General Practitioner.
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/fact%20sheet_dental-patients
Alternatively, you can ring Medicare on 132 011.
Cheers
Josie Kay
ps. It is rumoured that the Labour Party was to axe this benefit, so don’t leave it for too long to find out if you qualify.
Fire Your Bank! Money Tip without the Boring Stuff
December 8, 2008 by Josie Kay · Leave a Comment
Not happy with your bank, credit union or building society, but overwhelmed by the thought of canceling and re-activating all those direct debits? The Government introduced new rules from November 2008 which should make it easier (in theory anyway). Following is a link to http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byheadline/Switching%20bank%20accounts?opendocument#2 which provides a step by step process.
For people who love detail, included in the information is a booklet published by APCA (Australian Payments Clearing Association) which includes lots of good information. There is also a copy of the Code of Conduct that the financial institutions need to adhere to. Just go to Part D. It states they have to provide you with the information within five working days. Make sure you keep them on their toes. Read more
Save big $$$ on hire car excess insurance - Money Tip without the Boring Stuff
A big thank you to Mick for this one.
Mick travels a lot and has shared this fantastic tip to save money on Damage Waiver Excess Insurance that car hire companies entice you to pay. You know the drill. You front up to pick up the keys and sort out the paperwork and then they ask if you would like to purchase insurance to waive the excess which is usually a daily charge. You smell a rat, but you are in a bind as you don’t want to risk it. If you had an accident or your car was stolen you might be liable to pay thousands of dollars. It would certainly put a dampener on the holiday.
However, did you know that travel insurance provided by various companies already covers this excess (in the fine print)? Even if you travel domestically you can purchase travel insurance for medical, unexpected cancellation, lost luggage etc. Read more
First Home Owner’s Grant - Grab it or leave it be? Money Tip without the BS
November 24, 2008 by Josie Kay · Leave a Comment
The Government’s announcement that they would temporarily double the First Home Owner’s Grant from $7,000 to $14,000 if you purchase an existing home and triple it to $21,000 if you purchase a brand new home was welcomed by the housing industry. They certainly need a boost at the moment.
I remember the days when I was itching to buy a home and it felt great when I was able to purchase a little three bedroom home in the burbs on my own. This was back in the early 1990s. I sold this house in only a few years ago and it did increase in value. However, after I calculated interest costs and ongoing maintenance I made very little from it. At least it forced me to save. Read more
Financial Planning Factories - Money Tip without the Boring Stuff
It is a tough world out there. How do you find a financial planner that you can trust? First and foremost, we are not demigods (although I think I have met some that believe they are half human, half God).
It is not the first time you have heard me say that finance professionals cannot predict the future (obviously). It worries me no end that people (known as prospects to the financial planner) walk into extravagant financial planning offices and think to themselves ‘Wow, this guy must know what he is talking about!’ Look he is so successful!.
Intelligent investors know if anyone possessed the ability to consistently and accurately time the market, they would be instant billionaires. Why didn’t Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, anyone in the Top 500 Rich List walk into the same office? Oh that’s right.. I forgot they genuinely care about the little people. Codswallop! (not even sure if it is a word). If that is the case, why do they need to charge ridiculous fees? Why do they have to preach to the masses? Why do they need to advertise to get people to attend their seminars? Read more
Money Tip without the boring stuff - Is My Money Safe?
Even though the Government announced on Sunday 12th October, 2008 they would guarantee all savings within banks, building society and credit unions, I am still getting lots of queries.
Must admit it is confusing as the Government didn’t include the fine print. You will not find a better guarantor than the Australian government. Following is a link to the Treasury Department - www.treasury.gov.au.
Money Tip without the Boring Stuff - Will property prices fall?
October 10, 2008 by Josie Kay · Leave a Comment
Bricks and mortar - safe as houses? Not sure after surfing the internet trying to find a balanced argument in favour of buying property at the moment. Here is a summary of what I found. The blue (as in colour) comments are mine. Please share your thoughts on this subject.
John Hewson – former Liberal leader, economist – 7 October 08 Gold Coast Bulletin (quite pessimistic)
“Property markets are going to go down, and go down for some time.” said Dr Hewson.
He said that falls would be across the board, particularly commercial properties. “I think there could be a hell of a property shakeout.” Read more
Save money on insurance - this week’s Money Tip without the BS (boring stuff of course!)
October 1, 2008 by Josie Kay · Leave a Comment
Insurance is one of the expenses that we just love to hate. Unfortunately insurance is also one of life’s necessities. Following are some suggestions on how you can save on premiums:-
Review your insurances annually. Insurance companies are very clever at finding ways to make sure you pay the premiums on time and often.
Pay by the month is a great way to manage the budget, but I suspect the insurance companies also know that we probably won’t check on them until the budget is really tight. Read more
Short selling stocks - Risky business?
September 24, 2008 by Josie Kay · Leave a Comment
To put it simply, short sellers make money when the share price goes down. It goes a bit like this. Let’s say you own 1000 BHP shares and the current share price is $40 (total value = $40,000).Because I am a risk taker, I will take on the role of short seller. I contact my broker who gives me, I mean borrow for a fee, your shares and then I immediately sell them on the stock exchange. I have pocketed $40,000. Read more
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