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Trouble Spending it?
Read more: Trouble Spending it?As tends to be the case these days, a large number of people head to the internet to ask questions. Sometimes anonymously, sometimes not. While more and more of these questions will likely be asked of AI as we go forward, plenty of people still like to ask questions and converse with each other online. The questions range across a lot of areas, but money, home maintenance, cars, medicine and health are popular categories. This is evidenced by the fact all of these areas have multiple forums on the internet set up to cater for discussion. If you’ve started a…
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Deeming Rates on the Rise – What you need to know:
Read more: Deeming Rates on the Rise – What you need to know:After a five-year freeze, deeming rates are set to increase on 20 September 2025. For some older Australians, this may not be a welcome change. An increase in deeming rates increases assessable income for Centrelink and Veterans’ Affairs, which may reduce entitlements and/or increase aged care fees. But for many people, the impact may not be significant. Why the change? Deeming is used to determine a level of assessable income from your financial investments – bank accounts, shares, managed funds, some superannuation and income streams, loans you have made and excess gifting. Deeming rates are usually reviewed twice a year,…
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Money as a Measure
Read more: Money as a MeasureIt’s a well-worn anecdote, but if you haven’t heard it before… authors Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller were at a party held by a billionaire investment manager. Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its whole history. Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have…enough.” It’s a two-part commentary. Heller is inferring that internally he has a contentment with his status, success in his chosen field and his financial position. At the time, this…
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Superannuation: Inertia & Urgency
Read more: Superannuation: Inertia & UrgencyIt’s fascinating how systems evolve. Once upon a time, the inertia that came with Australia’s superannuation system was something of a drawback. Superannuation wasn’t always compulsory, and guaranteed contribution rates were lower. It took longer to accumulate a decent balance. It didn’t seem a grand sum of money, and people really didn’t understand the whole thing. The media didn’t care much because the public didn’t care much. This could mean investors dawdled along, stayed stuck in dud funds, while being charged too much. The penny would drop at some point, but had there been an interest taken earlier those balances…
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Top 5 things to know about 1 November Aged Care Changes
Read more: Top 5 things to know about 1 November Aged Care ChangesBig changes are on the way for aged care, with new rules starting from 1 November 2025. While these changes aim to create a more sustainable and fairer system, they do bring added complexity — especially when it comes to understanding the fees and making the right financial decisions. Here are the five key things you need to know: 1. Aged care will cost more – but is still subsidisedIf you or a loved one is moving into residential aged care from 1 November 2025, the amount you’ll need to contribute will be higher. That said, the Government will continue…
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