From early November retailers have been telling us what we can’t live without and what our kids must have if they are to still love us on Christmas Day. It’s easy to get caught up in the momentum. Of course, the downside is you end up with the post-Christmas blues when the credit card statements arrive. This may mean that wealth plans get scrapped because you have to pay off the debt first.
In the context of your personal finances, SMART refers to setting clear, quantifiable, feasible and appropriate financial objectives, to be carried out within a defined time frame. You’re much more likely to succeed if you avoid vague, non-measurable, unrealistic and inappropriate aims with no actual deadline. Relying on SMART goals will help you stay on track as you shape your financial future.
The opinion of many people towards debt can be best summed up in the often quoted line from Shakespeare, ‘neither a borrower nor a lender be.’ Yet others will embrace…
If you’ve ever clicked on a Facebook or Instagram ad about paying off your home loan in under 10 years, chances are you’ve been bombarded with more of them since. I’m all for reducing debt as quickly as possible. But let’s be real: not all strategies are created equal, and not all of them are safe.
Recently I got a perfectly understandable question on social media. Actually, it was in two parts:
Why wouldn’t you borrow as much as the bank will let you?
Why would you even bother paying off your own home?
I get why someone would ask this. Around 80% of the marketing you see on social media in the finance space is from businesses promoting the purchase of investment properties. And surprise, surprise the people saying this are usually in the business of selling property. That’s a built-in conflict of interest.
Buying a home in Australia has become a monumental challenge. With skyrocketing property prices and average mortgage debts exceeding $600,000, many young Australians feel homeownership is out of reach. As…
Remember that old ad with the guy proudly polishing his boat while his neighbor asks, “How do you afford all this?” His response—“Equity, mate”—has stuck in the Australian psyche for…
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