Nobel Finance Sydney – Money Matters Newsfeed

1. Get a habit Speaking of habits, saving isn’t the only one you should be fostering. “Getting together a budget or money plan is the best way to get into the habit of living within your means,” say Sheila Freeman and Helene Richards, co-authors of Money Management for Women (UNSW Press).
2. Deal with the ‘credit monster ‘While it may make you feel better, binning your credit or store card statement without opening it is a recipe for disaster. “Aim to pay off the cards,” say Freeman and Richards. “Hit the ones with the higher interest first and always make more than the minimum repayment.” It wouldn’t hurt to take a look at your spending habits at the same time — earning your first decent pay cheques can bring out the shopaholic in all of us, but stopping for a moment to ask yourself if you really need that 75th handbag might make a difference to your bank balance.

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By Allison Tait

At this stage of life, a mortgage seems like a life sentence and retirement is for really old people. So what should you be doing with your money? Here’s your “to do” list for the decade.

1. Aim to learn something “One of the best things you can do at this stage of life is to look to improve your financial literacy,” says Matthew Walker, director of Sydney’s WLM Financial Services Pty Ltd. “Read books, take a course, search the Internet or talk to people with experience.”
2. Think about tomorrow So you’re scrabbling to buy your lunch today, let alone the rent at the end of the week? While the big ticket tomorrow items such as a mortgage, superannuation and all that other grown-up stuff might seem a long way off, the truth is that it’s never too early to set up some shorter term goals. Saving for a car or a holiday is a great way to fast-track a sense of achievement — and it sets up an invaluable habit. Walker suggests putting aside 10 percent of what you earn as a start.

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by Darren Callea 

During your career, one of the most important things that you need to do is plan for your retirement. Although it has become rather a cliche, there is still truth to the old expression:

“Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” There is really nothing so disappointing as reaching your retirement without having planned for it. To this end, there are a few resources that you need to be considering. So when you are planning for your retirement, take into account some of the following:

1. the financial articles available online and elsewhere

2. engaging the services of a financial planner

3. preparing a long term financial plan

In fact, you should really start your planning now, by at least reading a few financial articles in your spare time. If you can, hire a financial planner to help you put together a detailed financial plan for your future, as part of your over all preparations for retirement.

These three work together to ensure that you have everything that you need for your retirement. If you make appropriate use of all of them, you will be in an excellent position when it eventually does come time for you to retire. You certainly don’t want to end up realizing, after it’s already too late to plan ahead, that you haven’t made provisions for enough money to follow your dreams, or even to support yourself.

Reading finance articles can help you with this, as they will provide you with the basic information that you need to know all your options, and decide what you ultimately want to do. Finance articles range significantly, and will help you in every part of your planning for retirement.

More then that, rarely do people have the necessary experience to work out a plan on their own. Although finance articles will be of great help to you in this, it is definitely worth contracting the assistance of a professional financial planner just so that you can be sure you are covering all the options, and to make sure you don’t miss out on anything that might help you. There are plenty of reliable financial planners, who work especially to provide you with options for your retirement. A specialist such as this could be exactly what you are looking for with regard to your own financial objectives.

In the end, of course, you cannot just randomly guess at your future. Think of the future as a country you’ve never been to- just as you would not head into a physical country without a map, so should you put together a map of the time ahead. So prepare a good retirement plan, that will make sure you get what you want. Read relevant financial articles, and contract a financial planner to help you implement a meaningful plan for your future.

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From Money Magazine, March 2005

by Effie Zahos

Your finance broker should be able to answer these questions for you when selecting a loan that suits your circumstances.

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by Cynthial Stewart 

Reasons that can lead to a credit card debt are numerous and far more complicated than simply over-shopping. A sudden medical emergency, costly surgery, loss of a job, sudden death of someone beloved can all potentially escalate credit card debt. It’s easy to get oneself into mounting credit card debt. If someone has more than one credit card, things become more complex and unmanageable.

Credit card debt consolidation can be a good solution if you have something to offer as collateral, usually the home you live in. But, things are not so gloomy for those who are not a homeowner, or those who don’t have a good credit history. Banking and financial institutions present a good number of options for such people to get themselves out of debt.

There may be lot of options but the poor credit situation and the fact that the borrower is not a homeowner goes against him or her in deciding the terms of credit cad debt consolidation. The lenders when they find that there is no collateral to secure their loan, they hike the interest rates and give a considerable less amount of loan for credit card debt consolidation.

The drawbacks of taking a credit card debt consolidation while not being a homeowner can be tackled to a certain extent if you take the following precautions.

Adopt good financial habits. Don’t keep more than one credit card unless you absolutely require and never ever max out your credit card.

Shop around for the best debt consolidation offer. Don’t just settle for the first one you get. Take your time and negotiate. If you hire a debt management or a credit counseling organization, be in touch with them constantly. Ask them what they are doing about your situation. Being vigilant and keeping your eyes open could save you a considerable amount of money and avoid unpleasant surprises later.

Credit card debt consolidation is a process to tackle your multiple debts in a more efficient way. Let it be that way. It should not be used to get temporarily relief and waste out on the opportunity. Check out your credit report progressively and make sure that the hard work you did on getting out of debt is reflected positively on your credit report. Keep in constant touch with the credit card counseling agency about this.

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