This is a real eye-opener! It’s embarrassing, but honestly I’ve never considered writing a will until now, and I think it’s something that a lot of young people consider to be irrelevant to them. Hopefully it is irrelevant for most of them, but tragically, sometimes it isn’t.

I think it’s important for everyone, no matter their age, to consider…[Read more]

I completely agree! Most young people have SOME assets, whether its cash, shares or their super balances, plus most people have either full insurances or default insurances. So it’s not uncommon for that to be $200k – $500k on the table.

Unfortunately, death often brings out the worst in us, so I often describe a Will as giving your loved ones a…[Read more]

I’m closely looking at the conversation about franking credits, as I know that this will have a significant impact on my grandparents, as self-funded retirees. But I’d also love to see the arguments about this explained a bit better (because I still don’t understand how it could be a valuable policy).
I’m also curious about the funding for bodies…[Read more]

I hear what you’re saying Lara. I always find it surprising how they make it sounds like money is just appearing out of thin air to fund all these exciting new projects (and what about the things that should be maintained going forward?).
I’ll keep an eye out for policies around this issue for you!

I haven’t actually watched the Labour reply Becky, I find the opposition replies to be so misleading and hard to follow. There’s so many assumptions that go into a government budget, and 10 million more that go into an opposition budget.

When I travel to Brisbane for work, I notice the cost of living is lower too!

Interesting question re thinking about whether the grass is greener elsewhere. I can’t say I think about this as I quite like living in Sydney and make sacrifices, like living at home, to make it work. Ultimately I want to live near the beach, but I think I’d move to Newcastle and be closer to husband’s parents so the rent is more affordable.

A number that really rattled me was that a 30 year-old woman is 28% more likely to make an insurance (income protection) claim than a man of the same age. For a 30 year-old? What? What does that say about our health and wellbeing? (although I’m happy that women have insurance and are making claims when needed)

That is an interesting one. On one hand, I like it, but on the other hand it reminds that me that a lot of women, who have primary custody of their children, get the house in divorce settlements. This is fabulous in the short-term, but can lead to significant wealth issues in the future.

Yes, I was speaking at a fabulous event by ANZ. It went…[Read more]

Hey Rebecca,

I meant to share this with the FW community on IWD but got sidetracked – one of the elements of my IWD keynote was on microaggressions, and this great study that McKinsey published in October 2018.

It’s relatively ‘easy’ (and of course, worthwhile) to pinpoint the big stats like pay gap percentages, but I think one of the key…[Read more]

I assume I’m never going to start working in some capacity. Don’t know if this is naive (my mum usually tells me this is unrealistic as I’ll have no energy). I don’t look at my parents and think I’ll be in the same position, they actually drive me to do and think about things differently!

100% @alimcnamee – the accounts I have are Personal Spending, Adventures (like travel, snazzy dinners), House, 4WD and Buffer 🙂

My weekly shop at the fruit & veg market! Under $30 haul of veg for the week, some kefir and sneaky cold meats for my husband.

I don’t know what an “EBA” is so that says a lot! I remember when I completed my first Tax File Number Declaration form and I had no idea what the question about claiming the tax free threshold was about (and I have a Finance degree too). But it seemed like the ATO was expecting us to know…

This is an interesting topic. Do we have any practising accountants in the group?

I definitely take a no dickheads policy with tax return – don’t claim for unreasonable or untrue stuff. You’re asking for trouble.

I used to get so aggro at my partner for being “foolish” with his money. Once we agreed with getting salaries paid into a joint account (and therefore joint contributions to savings / loans / investments) and then each getting individual personal spending money, we legit have not had an argument about money in 7 years.

Yes. The Royal Commission has finally released the final proposal report. After four years in finance, Superannuation and Insurance and a small dose of banking – they all need to make sure their mindset is focused on prioritising the customer. Plus, the general mindset around money needs everyone’s attention.

I started working with @melinderoliver over a year ago to help me actually execute on all the brilliant ideas in my head and converting them to well written content. I found that engaging with an editor was less about the quality of my content and more about the accountability of actually delivering it.

I totally agree @rhansen, money definitely buys happiness for me but that’s not necessarily in the way of materialistic items. I find joy in enjoying beautiful food and drinks on the weekends, whether it be Saturday night dinner or a long Sunday lunch. These are things that I’m excited for all week. During times when I have tried to cut back on…[Read more]

Absolutely love this! Such a GREAT question as well. There is a common saying about how money can’t buy happiness and I used to agree with it but not anymore — after I did a reset mindset recently which I’d love to share. Instead of thinking how money can’t buy happiness, reframe it to with money, it gives me the freedom to do things that i…[Read more]

Very interesting reflection! I see the cleaner option all the time as a financial coach, and it’s amazing how spending $50 a week / fortnight on this reduces the arguing between couples. It’s like uber-cheap therapy 🙂

I remember learning the basics of money — and the importance of working for it — by doing jobs for ‘pocket money’ as a kid. I don’t have kids myself, but if I did, I’d most definitely use the ‘cash’ method the author talks about. I can’t imagine it’d be easy for a kid to get their head around a machine that literally spits out money from nowhere.

Given I bought my nephew an abacus for his first birthday, feel like I can easily convert this counting fun into money fun. Though I’m wondering still how you eventually tie in the tap ‘n go into the mix.

Money was never spoken about in my household, my parents are still very secretive to this very day. When I started earning money I had no clue how to save and spend.

It’s never too early to start talking about money with your kids. We have to remember that it starts in your relationship and/or self first though and being aware of your habits and…[Read more]