Reflection

What’s Changing in the New Financial Year?

New financial year, new financial rules. Here are some of the Government changes that took effect on 1 July. We will look more closely at these and other changes in the weeks and months ahead.

RBA’s Inflation Struggle: The ‘Feet in the Oven, Head in the Freezer’ Problem

If your feet are in an oven and your head is in the freezer, on average you probably feel quite comfortable. That’s the problem with averages. And it is a problem worth remembering when it comes to the task ahead of the RBA as they try to bring inflation down.

Want a Lower Interest Rate? There’s no Harm in Asking

As interest rates continue to rise unabated, many of our clients are finding that things are getting tight. They are wondering what to do. Well, the first step for many people is to see if you can reduce that rate of interest.

The Cheque’s (No Longer) In the Mail

If you like writing or receiving cheques, your days might be numbered. Last week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced a plan to phase out the use of personal cheques by 2030. To be honest, it is amazing cheques have lasted this long.

The End Is Nigh (of the Financial Year, that is)

June 30 is sneaking up on us and there are only three more weeks until the end of the year. Time to really make sure you have all your ducks in a row. Here is our year end ‘to-do’ list for all things superannuation.

The smarter way to seachange

Covid saw an increase in ‘seachangers, as 50,000 people left Australia’s cities for the regions. This was the first time this had happened for decades. So, did it work?

More on Budget 2023

Last week we looked at the recent Budget’s ‘big picture’ – the unexpected surplus of $4 billion. This week, we take a closer look at some of the specific announcements. There were no really ‘big’ announcements (other than the surplus); rather there were a suite of smaller changes.

Budget 2023 – An Unexpected Surplus

The Commonwealth Government handed down it’s Budget on Tuesday night. One of the most striking things about the Budget is that the Government will be in surplus for the 2022/2023 year.

What is Monetary Policy Anyway?

Last week you may have seen the release of a review into the Reserve Bank of Australia. The review calls for a number of changes, none of which are particularly earth-shattering or will change how monetary policy operates in Australia. But that begs a bigger question: what is monetary policy anyway?

Competition is bad for the Competitors!

There is a basic human principle that we should always remember: financial competition is usually bad news for the competitors. Avoid if possible!