It’s obvious that investors select investments based on the rate of return they can earn on their funds. For share investments, the rate of return has two components: Sell the share for gain - assume you purchase 100 shares $20 each. If you later sold the shares for $40 each you have made a gain of $20 per share. The total gain is $2,000 ($20 for each share) on the original 100 shares; Ear...

The Schoolkids Bonus scheme came into effect on 1 July 2012 however the federal government has decided to abolish the scheme from 1 January 2017. Until the scheme is closed, families with school-aged children who qualify for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A will automatically receive $422 for each primary school child and $842 for each high school child. The bonus will also be payable to fami...

Sickness or injury can strike any of us at any time. Being sick or injured is no fun but the impact can go way beyond you to affect your family and loved ones. Emotional distress can be heightened by the impact on your family’s finances. Consider the following statistics: Cardiovascular disease kills one Australian every twelve minutes and prevents 1.4 million Australians from working and...

The traditional Christmas carol starts ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there. Nowadays the carol could be rewritten ‘Twas the week before Christmas, the cash registers ring Shop till you drop, don’t miss a t...