The more you consume, the less content you are. If you don’t believe me, think back to the last time you ate just a bit too much of your favourite ice cream. For me, that’s Jeni’s salty caramel. There are few things in life better than that first spoonful. Except, that is, for the second bite,…
I read somewhere that average Americans will spend more time planning their vacation to Disneyland than they will planning their financial future. I’m not sure that’s correct, but it wouldn’t surprise me. There are a number of reasons why we are hesitant to spend time planning for our financial future, but the biggest one is…
The surge in inflation coming out of the pandemic and its subsequent fall has been the dominant driver of investment markets over the last two years – first depressing shares and bonds in 2022 and then enabling them to rebound. But what’s driving the fall, what are the risks and what does it mean for…
Finding time is hard. I often think about all the things I would do if I could just find the time. But really, what a crazy thing that is to say. Find the time? Where should I look? Did I hide it in the bushes outside the White House? Can I find it on Aisle…
Property investors are getting ready to take advantage of our housing markets in 2024. The value of total new investor loan commitments rose 1.9 per cent in November and was 18.0 per cent higher compared to a year ago. The value of new owner-occupier loan commitments for dwellings rose 10.1 per cent through the year…
Many people face two financial planning challenges. Firstly, their projected super balance may not be enough to fund their desired living expenses in retirement. Secondly, they would like to enjoy the flexibility of being able to reduce working hours (or even retire in full) in their 50s. Often, the solution to these two financial planning…
I’ve got a lot of hard proprietary data on why the rich are rich and why the poor are poor. Some of the research I’ve gathered centres around the decision-making process of self-made millionaires. What I found is that self-made millionaires don’t make rash decisions. They often mull their decisions over, sometimes for weeks or…
The prospect of another interest rate hike next month has become more remote after inflation fell faster than expected. The monthly CPI Indicator came in at 4.3% in the year to November, down from 4.9% in October and a recent peak of 8.4% in December 2022. However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has emphasised that the fight…
A while back my wife and I hired a financial planner. It was a big change to sit on the other side of the desk and see the process from the client’s perspective. I received some interesting reactions when I told people. The most common one was: Why does a Certified Financial Planner need to…
We are hardwired to be lazy. And we have our brains to thank for it. The human brain is lazy. Or, looking at it another way, the brain finds ways of doing things that enable it to work less. And that is exactly why we have habits. Habits use less brain fuel (glucose or ketones),…
