With interest rates virtually nothing, reverse mortgages may be the lifeline that cash-strapped retirees need right now.  But, proceed with caution.

In a previous blog, I talked about 5 things that we can learn from happy retirees. One of these 5 was to honour something known as the ‘rich ratio’.  I’ve had a couple of requests to dive a bit deeper with this so here goes:

This year’s federal budget was about encouraging us to spend, spend, spend our way out of recession, and creating many needed jobs along the way.

And while you may have heard all about the tax cuts and other giveaways, you may have missed some important changes to your superannuation.
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It’s tied up in a package called Your Future, Your Super, which the Government estimate will save us $17.9 billion over the next 10 years.

Wishful thinking some say, but even if they are half right, that would be a good thing.
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Here’s the changes.

The Federal Government last night outlined a big spending budget, designed to kickstart the economy. The Government hopes to create 950,000 new jobs during the next four years.

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Any of these sound familiar?

• Ignore it. The problem will go away.
• I have enough time before the exam, I'll start studying tomorrow
• The grass is greener on the other side.

​And how did that work out for you?

When it comes to your financial plans, do you do the same?
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Let's have a look at what these assumptions could be costing you.

So you've got a little spare cash. Not sure whether you should repay your mortgage sooner and pay extra in to super? 

It's one of the most common questions we get.  Here are some rules of thumb you can follow to work out what's right for you.

It's easy to understand why retirement doesn't loom large on the horizon for 20-somethings. Young workers are more concerned with kick-starting careers, not ending them in the long-distant future.

​And in your 30’s, there’s probably extra mouths to feed and debt to reduce.

​“So what do you do?” the cardio surgeon asked.  It’s an innocent enough question, but it turned out to be loaded with philosophical importance.  

His eyes lit up when I said financial planner.

​In the grand scheme of things, money's not that important. It's important only to the extent that it allows you to enjoy what's important to you. Despite this, a recent survey of Millennials found more than 80 per cent said their major life goal was to get rich. Another 50 per cent said that another major life goal was to become famous.

​There's unlikely ever to be a law banning percentage-based financial advice fees, but if the Financial Planning Industry were serious about becoming a profession and being fair, it would head that way. In my view, one of the big rackets in the financial advice industry, hiding in plain sight, is percentage fees.