Getting started

Kylie has hit the jackpot. Her career has taken off and she’s loving the work and earning more money than she ever imagined. But she’s horrified to find out how much tax she’s now paying. If she talked to her financial adviser, Kylie could learn about how financial strategies such as salary packaging, salary sacrificing and investing, could save her tax and build her personal wealth.  

• Make your money work harder

Amy’s got the latest iPhone, and she's just come back from a holiday and spent up big in the sales. Now her dreaded credit card statement has arrived and she wonders how she is going to pay it off. Unfortunately, there are no magic ways to wipe out debts - it just takes discipline.

• Paying off credit cards after the fun is over
• Are you a good credit risk?
• It’s your tax refund... what are you going to do with it?

Michael sometimes thinks about the future, but it will be another 30 odd years before his retirement, so superannuation seems too far into the future to care about. What Michael doesn’t realise, is that taking care of super now can have significant benefits to how much money he will have when he retires.  

• Consolidate superannuation
• Government co-contributions
• Self managed super funds

Jane has a good job, and even though she doesn’t have the money saved to buy a house just yet, she does have some spare money at the end of the pay week, which she currently puts in the bank for a rainy day. But Jane could make her money go further. 

• Strategies for investing during stock market volatility
• When it comes to first investments, try a little…often

Mark was doing well in his job and had bought a small unit.  Over time, he had furnished it in style and his entertainment system was his pride and joy. To his horror, Mark came home one day to find the front door off its hinges and his unit trashed. Not only was his entertainment system gone, the intruders had made the place unliveable.  You guessed it – he wasn’t insured. He thought it would never happen to him.  

• Planning for the unthinkable
• Protect what you can’t afford to lose

Nick and Helen have just had their first baby and 2 salaries are now one.  Expenses have shot up and in addition to the significant change to their lifestyle, they have to juggle their money to cope. Nick and Helen now realise they should have thought of that earlier and adjusted their budget.

• Raising children and the cost of education