Gearing

Growing your Wealth

In simple terms, gearing is borrowing to invest. The investment could be in direct shares, managed investments or property. Gearing is, in essence, directed towards producing a larger investment return by using borrowed funds, often in addition to your own funds, so that your financial goals can be achieved more quickly. Gearing can be used as part of the overall investment strategy to help build your wealth. It gives you greater potential to generate wealth because you have more money invested.

Personal Insurance

Protecting Your Wealth

Insurance is a way to protect yourself, your family and your possessions if something goes wrong. It enables you to replace or repair your assets, whether those assets are your belongings or your capacity to earn income.

Did you know?

There are various types of insurance – Superannuation funds are not all equal when it comes to providing insurance – Tax treatments vary between those paid from within Super Funds and other payment types.

Transition To Retirement

Preparing For Retirement

Transition to retirement is a strategy that can help you to reduce your tax obligations and boost your retirement savings through salary sacrifice. This is achieved by drawing a pension from your superannuation using the ‘transition to retirement’ condition of release.

Everyone who is of preservation age (currently 55) but less than 65 years of age is eligible to commence a non-commutable allocated pension (NCAP).

Retirement Income

Maintaining Your lifestyle

During your working life you receive regular income in the form of a salary or business income. In retirement, this regular income stops, so you need to draw on your savings to meet your lifestyle costs. You set up your savings so you still receive regular payments, just like a salary. This is called a ‘retirement income stream’. The type of income stream you can start at retirement depends on whether your savings are inside or outside of super.

The structure under which your retirement savings are held can have a significant impact on the amount of tax you pay and possible Centrelink entitlements.

Superannuation

Investing In Your Future

Superannuation, or ‘super’, is a way to save money for your retirement. It is important to understand how much super you’ll need, and how to best manage the money for your retirement.

Through super, you can hold a wide range of investments such as shares, property and cash.

Superannuation is attractive because it receives favourable tax treatment, both when you are working and once you have retired. The government offers these tax savings to encourage you to build your super assets.

Budgeting

Managing Your Money

What is a budget?

A budget is a plan that works out how you will manage your income and expenses. Maintaining a budget is a powerful way to control your money.

Do you need a budget?

A budget allows you to see how much money is coming in and going out. It helps you ensure there is enough money to cover your expenses and is an effective way to make sure you are not spending more than you can afford. More importantly, a budget can help you work out how much of your income you can put towards saving for your future, without impacting your everyday needs.