Many people have debt. Not as many people realise that, if you have debt of any kind, then every dollar you spend is another dollar you have borrowed. That’s how debt works.
Interest rates are in the news and they will stay there for a while yet. So, now is a great time to think about how you are managing your debt. Over the next few weeks, we want to provide some fundamental advice that will help you or someone you love best manage their debts.
You probably already know that making extra payments on a loan can save you money. But few people realise just how much. A relatively small change today can help you save large amounts in the future. Put another way, your small change today can create big changes in the future.
Last week, for the third month in a row, the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked its target cash rate. The target rate is now 1.35%, up from the all-time low rate of 0.1% that it had been at since November 2020. So, what is the target cash rate? And why does it matter?
Inflation is starting to bite, and people on income support, such as aged pensioners, have not had their benefits adjust yet. This has many of our clients thinking about how best to cover the rising cost of living. Happily, the Commonwealth is here to help.
Last week we discussed how the Governor of the Reserve Bank Phillip Lowe recently recommended that home borrowers ensure that they have a ‘buffer’ against the time when interest rates inevitably rise. Interest rate buffers are not the only type of buffer in good financial planning. Buffers are used in many areas, but the need for buffers always comes from the same source: understanding that the way things are now is not likely to be the way things are in the future.
Last week, the Governor of the Reserve Bank Phillip Lowe gave a speech at the National Press Club. As is the tradition, at the end of his set speech, he was asked questions from the floor. One question stood out among the many.
The extraordinary growth in the price of housing in Australia leaves new home buyers increasingly reliant on the ‘bank of Mum and Dad’ to get a foothold in the property market. Six figure cash gifts are increasingly being reported. The movement of money from one person to another often raises questions about the safest way for that money to be transferred.
For most Australians, University is not free. That said, few Australians pay their Uni fees upfront. Most pay them via a loan scheme. This loan must be repaid when your income reaches a certain level. But a question sometimes arises: should you repay the debt sooner?
This week, we want to explore the concept or borrowing in retirement a little more fully by looking at a unique way of doing so – the Commonwealth Government’s Pension Loan Scheme.