Often clients come to us when they have received an inheritance. Their goal is often to ensure they leverage their position by finding the most tax effective investment opportunities. This was the case for Lisa and Chad. They also had two young children aged 8 and 6 were looking at ways to invest some money to help with their university and early adult years.
The Reserve Bank has announced the first interest rate increase in more than 11 years taking the cash rate up to 0.35 percent. With all major banks deciding to pass the increase on in full this will add $65 a month to repayments on a $500,000 mortgage. This coupled with high inflation presents some challenges for those with high debt levels who may have to cut back on non-essential spending.
Finally, it’s time to pull up stumps. You have worked hard and feel its time you spent more time doing things you enjoy rather than working. Retiring is a major life moment and it’s important that you have the right plans in place to make the most of this milestone. We have prepared a checklist of things to think about if you are retiring this year.
The idea of being mortgage-free is very appealing and often a key financial goal for our clients. Paying off your home loan as quickly as possible to avoid paying excess interest has many benefits but many of our clients focused on accumulating wealth are also wondering whether this should be their sole focus. The question is, are there other ways to optimise any spare dollars?
There are some reasonably complex variables to think through which is why there is considerable value in seeking professional financial planning and investment advice.
