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Do you have a secret bank account, stash of cash or credit card that you keep from your partner? How about that pricey pair of shoes you omitted to tell your husband about? Or, the money you covertly set aside after you scored a bonus at work? If your answer is a sheepish ‘yes’ to any of the above, then you are guilty of financial infidelity. This don’t-ask-don’t-tell principle is a no-no when it comes to handling family finances. Research conducted by Relationships Australia revealed 37 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men cited financial stress as

ASIC is encouraging people to start the New Year with some positive financial resolutions following its new report which revealed that only about two in five Australians have a short-term financial plan in place, and only a quarter of those surveyed have a long-term financial plan. ‘Having a financial plan in place – ranging from a household budget to paying off debts to saving for retirement – is key to creating a better financial future in 2016 and beyond,’ Miles Larbey, Senior Executive Leader for Financial Literacy, said. ‘A great place to start your New Year’s financial plan is by

Use SuperStream to cut super admin by 70% Did you know that SuperStream is cutting the time small businesses spend on super administration by around 70%? With 2016 on the horizon, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is encouraging small businesses to cross SuperStream off their ‘to-do’ list ahead of the 30 June deadline and reduce time spent on super administration. With only two quarters left until SuperStream becomes mandatory, now is the time for small businesses to make the change and ensure their system is running smoothly before the deadline. According to the ATO, over a quarter of a million

If you were to be run over by the proverbial bus tomorrow, would your grieving family be forced to suffer even more because of tricky financial issues? Estate planning can be as simple or as complex as your portfolio of investments and assets. But with a little thought and care, you can ensure that your family or other beneficiaries are not left with a mess to deal with. Here are three things you can do right now to start getting your affairs in order. 1. Write a Will This is the easiest step but the most overlooked. An estimated 50

In our 30s many of us finally have real world experience under our belts — we’ve tried some things, failed at some and succeeded at others. When we are asked for ID in bars it’s a pleasant surprise, we spend more money on fewer drinks, we upgrade from hostels to hotels and not all of our furniture is from IKEA. Some of us have financial dependents for the first time and this responsibility can be daunting. To help you get on top early, here are the mistakes to look out for in your 30s. 1. Spending too much Keeping up

It might be difficult to imagine losing track of your hard-earned cash, but thousands of people do so every year. Money from a variety of sources, including bank accounts, shares, superannuation accounts and deceased estates that have lain dormant for a certain period is held by various government agencies, waiting to be claimed. Inactive bank accounts If a bank account is left untouched for a number of years (currently three, but due to revert to seven years following a recent change to the law), it is considered inactive. The funds are then transferred from the bank to the federal government

Being debt free is a goal few manage to achieve. Or at least quickly. Claire Mackay, a financial planner at Quantum Financial in Sydney, says you should think of debt as you would cholesterol. Just as there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, there is good debt and bad debt. She says: It’s incredibly important that you can distinguish between the two and that you manage both wisely. We know it’s healthy to monitor our cholesterol levels, so too we should monitor our debt levels. Good debt builds your assets. We classify investment loans, business loans, equipment loans, mortgages and

1. QUANTIFY WHAT YOU VALUE MOST IN LIFE What you value most in life is a representation of who you are as a person. There is no right or wrong answer, it is an entirely personal blue print of what makes you who you are and in order to plan effectively for your retirement, you should always start by detailing your values. 2. PRIORITISE WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU It is proven that there is a high correlation between people who achieve their goals and those who have committed them to paper. A financial plan is about prioritising and charting

Every parent wants to do the very best for their children, and for many giving them the best education possible can be a high priority. However, if you don’t have enough money to support your lifestyle, pay off your mortgage and save for your retirement, it may be in your family’s best interests not to put aside extra money for their education. Not because you don’t love them, but because you want what’s best for them and your entire family. “Put simply, you don’t want to be a financial burden on your children in your old age.” So work out

Retirement can be very daunting. For the first time in a long while, you face the prospect of no regular pay cheque. What next? 1. How much money do you need to live on? One common theory suggests that you should aim to have an income that is three-quarters of your pre-retirement salary. For example, with an annual salary of $80,000 prior to retiring you should aim for an income of $60,000 per year in retirement. This accounts for the fact your tax bill is likely to drop (or disappear) once you call it a day from the workforce. Some