Noel Whittaker's Blog
By Noel Whittaker
New studies show that almost 50% of Australians are financially stressed and unable to pay their bills as they come in. Financial stress can affect every aspect of your life, and will only get worse as we approach the Christmas period, when overspending is rife. So it is timely that I have just released a …
Scammers remain as active as ever, and there are still plenty of people who — despite continual warnings — are prepared to believe that they can profit by becoming involved in schemes that sound too good to be true. Wendy emailed me to ask my opinion on Bitcoin Loophole. She told me she had heard …
Rates have been lowered again. It’s a wakeup call to think about rates in general and the bond market in particular. Bear in mind I am talking about government bonds, not investment bonds which are tax paid investments just like your superannuation. The thing about bonds is that their market value increases as interest rates …
Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) state that only 56% of people aged 55–64 are mortgage-free, and there are fears that more and more Australians will find their retirement plans seriously challenged as they try to survive on a reduced income, with mortgage payments to boot. The problem can be solved by …
All pensioners, whether they receive a full or part pension, will receive one if not two pension bonuses this month. They will receive more on a fortnightly basis as a result of the recent indexation of the pension rates and thresholds. The maximum single age pension has increased by $7.20/fortnight to $933.40 and for couples …