Do you set financial goals? 

Setting financial goals provides you with direction, you know what you are working towards or what your money is working towards. You have a clear focus, clarity and it gives you control. Setting goals can also give you motivation as you are striving to achieve something. 

When you set yourself financial goals you are making a plan for your money. You determine what you want your money to go towards, what you want it to pay off or what you might be saving it for. 

There are lots of different financial goals you can set. Here are the top 10 financial goals most individuals have:

1. Saving for a house 
2. Starting a business 
3. Paying off debt 
4. Saving for retirement 
5. Saving for a holiday 
6. Building an emergency fund 
7. Paying off a credit card
8. Saving for a car
9. Saving for preschool/daycare/school/university fees 
10. Saving for other large items 

Once you have your goal in mind you need to be able to...

Most of us understand the importance of self-care and wellbeing. We talk openly about our health wellbeing and our mental wellbeing, but what about our financial wellbeing.

I believe to live a holistic life we need to have a balance with our health, mental and our financial wellbeing. We need to be Happy, Healthy and Wealthy. Especially given the statistics by AMP 2019 Financial Wellness Report that 2.44 million Australians are suffering from financial stress. 

So what is Financial Wellbeing, “Financial Wellbeing is about a sense of security and feeling knowing you have enough money to meet your needs. It's about being in control of your day-to-day finances and having the financial freedom to make choices that allow you to enjoy life.

Many people find money a topic that they don’t want to talk about or that seems taboo to talk about. There are so many more interesting things in life to focus on rather than money. But what happens is that when people bury their...

What an honor it is to be asked to be a bridesmaid or maid of honor for a friend or family member! You get to be a part of your loved one's special day and stand beside them as they get married. But it's also a massive responsibility and can come with a number of financial expenses. Everything adds up quickly and when the word wedding is involved the price just seems to automatically be bumped up am I right!

As you prepare to celebrate your loved one’s relationship milestone, there is one thing to keep in mind: your bridesmaid budget. First things first it is important to have a discussion with the bride on who pays for what. What are you going to pay for and what do they want to pay for? 

The list of items needed as a bridesmaid includes everything from purchasing a dress to hair and makeup, a tan, nails, shoes, jewelry, possibly even travel and accommodation. 

 Let’s not forget about all the pre-wedding events and activities from the engagement party to...

Valentine's day over the years is increasingly becoming an over-commercialised holiday, wouldn't you agree? We can thank the American culture for that! We have been made to believe that we need to show our love to our loved ones, on this one particular day and shower them with expensive, oversized gifts. But what about those not in a relationship… How does Valentine's Day make them feel?  Or not to mention the strain that this day can put on individuals expecting elaborate expensive gifts that will most likely break the bank.

Social and business pressure can make people feel like they have to have a perfect Valentine’s Day. But why don’t we forget about what everyone else is doing, stop trying to keep up with the Joneses and spend the day however we want to. We can choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day or not celebrate it, purchase expensive gifts or make a homemade gift. Or we could show our love to our loved ones everyday of the year! 

...

Do you have big goals for 2020?   

I have 5 handy steps to help you set and achieve your goals to make 2020 your best year yet. 

Step 1: GET CLEAR - Who do you want to show up as in 2020?  What habits do you want to bring to 2020?  What habits do you want to leave behind?  What do you want to achieve in 2020?  How will you feel once you have achieved this goal?  

Step 2: WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN - You are 47% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Be specific with each goal - What/Why/When. 

e.g.

What: I want to save $1000

Why: So that I can have spending money when on holidays 

When: I want to have $1000 saved by July 2020  

Step 3: VISION BOARD - Create a vision board with your goals on it. Either digital (you can save as your screen saver on your phone or laptop) or physically print out photos and stick to your board. Use photo/quotes; either...

Christmas is one of the most exciting times of the year, with the festive and summer holiday season all rolled into one. Time spent with family, friends, gifts, travel and all that food, it’s hard to get back to the routine of normal life. And even then an even bigger shock hits us at the end of January and when we start to see those credit card bills roll on in. The realisation sets in, that we have probably spent more than we may have budgeted and those new year resolutions we just made …. how are we going to keep them?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, we can’t dwell on the past. But we can make plans to improve ourselves and make better decisions moving forward otherwise we will end up in the same rut forever.

So, what’s our plan:

1. Face your fears and let go of the guilt – Make a financial plan, so that you can lead a happy, healthy, wealthy life.
2. Cashflow – Understand your cashflow. What income do you have coming in and what do you have going...

With only 6 weeks left till Christmas, now is the time to get organised so you don’t end up repeating the same last-minute mistakes as last year. “But it’s not even December yet” I hear you say! With Christmas decorations popping up in stores and Santa’s arrival pending, it's best to get organised now! We all know how quickly those weeks fly and before you know it, it will be Christmas Eve and we still don't have anything to give Aunt Suzie.

Christmas can be a sometimes stressful and challenging time of the year for many. From trying to organise Christmas lunch, shopping for gifts, managing the budget and getting the whole family together. 

My key tip is to plan ahead and be prepared for Christmas early! This will not only allow you to be super organised and enjoy Christmas day without the stress, but also not break the bank whilst in a last minute rush. 

To help you prepare for the fast approaching holiday season, I would like to share with...

With spring upon us, the sunny days and the warmer weather many people begin new health routines. Eating healthier and exercising after the cooler winter weather, where we may have gained a few extra kilos.

Spring is also the time to freshen up the house with a spring clean and get the garden in shape with planting some fresh seedlings.

But have you ever thought that Spring could also be the time to give your finances a spring clean.

Give them a fresh overhaul and remove all those cobwebs.

My top tips to giving your finances a spring clean:

1. Check through your bank statements and review your spending.
   • Do you have any reoccurring payments that you are not using
   • Are your accounts fee free – look for fee free accounts there are many in the market

2. Do you have credit cards that you are struggling to pay off
   • Look at consolidating them into one loan at a lower rate
   • Search low interest balance transfer solutions

3. Home Loan Health Check
   1. Give your home loan a health check
      • ...

With the Reserve Bank of Australia having one of the lowest cash rates in its history of 1%, what does this mean for you?

Well of coarse there is both good and bad news.

First the good news:

• Mortgage Rates are at the lowest they have ever been.
• Most lenders are offering home loan rates of around 3.4%
• Investment loans, on the other hand, are still loaded at around 4.3%
• Personal loan and credit card rates are still high anywhere from 9.9% to 21.99%

What are your options:

• Keep paying your home loan as if you were still on a higher rate
• Even better pay extra, by paying extra you can reduce the principal of the loan by just increasing the repayments, which in turn means you can pay less interest.

For example: the following table is a loan of $500,000, with repayments over 30 years at 4%, approximately $2400 per month. With the interest rate reduction to 3.4% and by keeping the repayments the same at $2400 the loan term will reduce by 4 years.

Now the bad...