Keeping you informed and up to date.

How to minimise the Health Insurance Hike The dreaded 1 April increase is coming and this year, Australians can expect a hit to the hip pocket with an average increase to health insurance premiums by 5.59%, adding approximately $200 a year to the cost of the average family policy. For those who aren’t watching closely…

After criticism that his first budget was too tough and unfair, Treasurer Joe Hockey has used his second budget to restore the confidence of ordinary Australians and shift the focus to jobs, growth and opportunity. Gone is the talk of a budget emergency. Instead, the Coalition government has unveiled nearly $10 billion in spending initiatives…

The sobering fact is that women are still not paid equally to their male counterparts, women’s super balances are falling way behind men’s and nine out of 10 Australian women don’t have enough super to fund their retirement. With 40 per cent less super than men, it’s no surprise that women are 2.5 times more…

The phrase ‘time poor’ is used freely nowadays to describe our busy lives. However, if you’re a successful executive, your workload alone can mean finding time to manage your own financial affairs can be seriously challenging. Having a strong income is undoubtedly a huge benefit in terms of living today, but executives often don’t realise…

A new change in the way that superannuation pensions are treated by Centrelink is coming!   Expected to start on January 1, 2015, the change has the potential to affect up to 28 per cent of full age pensioners and 69 per cent of part-pensioners who are income tested under Centrelink’s Age Pensions rules, saving the…

Australia’s population will both grow strongly and become older according to research released by the Government.  Such slow but profound shifts in the nature of a society do not elicit the same scrutiny as immediate policy issues. The preferable time to contemplate the implications is while these near-inevitable trends are still in their infancy. Population…

As a shareholder you receive a share in the company’s profits or earnings by being paid a dividend. Think of your dividend like interest on a term deposit – it is the income you earn from the investment. Generally Australian listed companies pay dividends twice each year. There is no requirement for the company to…

Weight loss isn’t often used as an analogy for retirement planning, though success in both can come from keeping the steps you take simple, said the CEO and co-founder of Aspire Retire Olivia Maragna. It’s hard to stick with fad diets, as they’re too complicated. In the same way, it’s hard to reach financial goals when the…

At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 per cent, effective 7 August 2013. best place to buy cigars online Recent information is consistent with global growth running a bit below average this year, with reasonable prospects of a pick-up next year. Commodity prices have…

Credit card debt is now sitting over $35 billion dollars in Australia which is an interest bill of over $6 billion each year. If you owe money on your credit card, you know that feeling of pain all too well. So how do you get that debt under control and keep on top of those…

The new financial year is a great time to take another look at your finances  and reflect on what you have achieved, where you want to go and what you need to  get there. These times of reflection are critical to our lives whether we run  our own business, are employed or retired.  The below…

You've probably heard of salary sacrificing, but how well do you understand it? write my paper You can use it to contribute to superannuation funds – even lease for motor vehicles. So, is it something that you should or shouldn't do? Financial expert and Australia's adviser of the year, Olivia Maragna from Aspire Retire Financial…