Noel Whittaker's Blog
By Noel Whittaker
How much money do we need to retire? This is one of the questions I’m frequently asked. There is no simple answer – people’s spending habits vary enormously, and a heap of variables, such as how long you will live, and the state of your health, come into play. Even so, it’s worthwhile doing some …
Shares are one of the best long-term investments around. No other investment offers the tax benefits of shares, or the ability to sell quickly in whole or in part. However, this flexibility has a downside – it gives “investors” the ability to get out quickly if they don’t stay the course when the market has …
Last Tuesday the Reserve Bank acted dropped interest rates even further. To make matters worse for retirees, there are hints that the next move is more likely to be down not up. Consequently, I have been receiving a flood of emails from readers asking where they could find the best bank interest rates on their …
Aged care is an incredibly complex topic. Today I will try to simplify a key aspect of it for you: your options for paying up-front or ongoing fees for your accommodation. When moving into aged care, most people will pay the market price for their accommodation, or negotiate a lower price. Retirees with limited means …
Last week was Scams Awareness Week, an educational initiative of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as part of their ongoing fight against scammers. Since the pandemic began, reports of scam victims have increased by 55%, and scammers have extracted over $500 million from Australians in just the last four months. Don’t think you …