SMSF Scepticism (Or, What Should You Do With That Property?)

What makes a good financial adviser? A simple question with many different answers. And different answers when you’re a widow navigating those first big financial decisions. But one characteristic I believe every good financial adviser holds is robust, professional scepticism. An ability to see through the marketing noise and cut to the only question that really […]

Life, Loss and Legacy

For most of the people we work with, the term ‘widow’ can be hard to get used to. Sometimes, it’s because the word sounds like it’s for people much older than they feel. For others, it’s because the word’s not big enough to encompass their experience, their past, their life – and their loss. It […]

Quiet wealth

This last one, the ability to say how you spend your time, is, to me, true luxury. Where, instead of having to troop into the office, or sit in that meeting, or listen to your hack boss, you can do what you want.  

The Laundry Cap Rule

But what’s it mean?

Well, take the cap on the bottle of detergent atop your washing machine.  

That cap is far bigger than it needs to be. Twice the size, probably. Because you don’t need ever really need to use a full cap. A half cap, at most, will leave your clothes fresh and clean. 

Sudden, Embarrassing Wealth

And something that’s come up quite frequently has been how they feel about this wealth they are newly responsible for. 

Be it from their divorce, an inheritance or sudden retirement, I’ve had a surprising number of women tell me: 

“I’m embarrassed by this money.” 

Rafting the River of Divorce – Part 2

You enter the rapids and immediately feel uncomfortable as the pace picks up. You’re quickly bouncing from side to side, and there’s the occasional rock scrape on the bottom of the kayak.  

It’s the Light

Which is why, when I think of the happiest people I’ve been able to work with, I don’t think of the millionaires.  

Instead, I think of the long-working single mother who was able to retire on her own terms.  

Or the diesel mechanic who never lived beyond his means, paid for his daughter’s private education and managed to pick up two investment properties over the years.  

Rafting the River of Divorce – Part 1

You can’t help but notice, though, the sheer volume of other rafts mindlessly floating along into the frightening rapids of the right fork.

How Clean Is Your Windscreen?

But you also can’t tell if you’re still even on the road.  

I mean, you can normally feel when you’re still on the road. But with a dirty windscreen, you can never be entirely sure.  

Because you can’t see where you’re going, so you’re driving by ‘feel’. And, really, who wants to spend their entire life driving by feel? 

Tracey – Let’s Talk About Superannuation

Usually, a financial adviser’s blog about retirement would be all about superannuation. Not this one, though! Our independent financial adviser Jordan Vaka has waited until the fourth part of his Retiring Solo series before tackling the thorny, complex topic of superannuation. In this post, he discusses how it can help you retire with confidence, what acorns have to do with financial security and explores some of the complexities that are part of superannuation.