Patricia Howard

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Greenwashing

Why is low unemployment a bad thing?

Later today the Reserve Bank will meet yet again to determine whether it should continue to push interest rates higher in its continued attempts to bring inflation down or sit on its hands and do nothing as it has for the past two months. Interestingly most analysts believe the key

The No-Regrets Retirement Newsletter

So with winter now well and truly upon us, the outlook for the Australian economy appears just as bleak, with interest rates still rising and little to suggest that will stop anytime soon. While you will read in my latest economic run down that the local rate of inflation has

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Read this before you do anything

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What are the pitfalls?

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Can you really find green investments?

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Where to now?

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To hold or not to hold?

The No Regrets Newsletter

Yet again it feels we have raced into the middle of the year, with the weather turning decidedly chilly and the end of the financial year almost upon us. As a result, I thought it timely reminder to anyone who still has assets in a self-managed superannuation to really think

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So what is a green investment?

Should you be receiving the age pension?

My father looked upon the age pension as a sophisticated savings account. He felt he had worked hard all his life and paid more than his fair share of taxes - taxes that the Federal Government effectively kept aside for his old age. That once he reached pension age, he

Time to close your SMSF

If you're sick of the ever-increasing cost of running and owning a self-managed super fund, here are five simple steps for closing your fund before the end of the financial year, which is just 30 days away. 1. Start today. The end of the financial year is just

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Five tips for successful investing

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Economic outlook for 2023

The No-Regrets Retirement Newsletter

As we are getting close to being halfway through the year, I think this is a good time to give everyone a bit of a booster concerning the economic outlook and more importantly where their superannuation sits among all the doom and gloom. There is no doubt that a large

Deeming rates

Will the Federal Government decide to lift the deeming rates inferred on assets held by those receiving the aged pension, in this month’s Federal Budget or later in the year? In calculating how much each older Australian receives by way of the Federal Government’s aged pension, Centrelink combines

Why super matters!

One of the most common statements I hear from people is that my super balance is so low, there’s nothing a financial planner can do for me when in fact, these are the very people that need my help the most. For people who feel like this, it is

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Early Access to Super

Are you are gold bug?

In times of uncertainty, investors everywhere start turning their heads to so called safe haven investments and the most obvious choice of a safe haven investment is gold. It just kind of makes sense to a lot of people. It’s a rare metal that no one is making any

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Tax time

Free book offer!

While you might not know it, April is Financial Literacy month in Australia and to mark the occasion, I am offering to give any reader of this newsletter a free copy of my book The No-Regrets Guide to Retirement. Simply email me your name and mailing address this month and

How high will interest rates go?

There maybe some relief in sight to the Reserve Banks determination to push interest rates ever higher as a means to curtail inflation, with the latest statistics showing a slowdown in consumer buying. The most recent consumer price index figures prices increased by just 0.2 per cent during February,

Every extra dollar counts

Something that isn’t talked about much these days and should be, is the Federal Government’s Superannuation Co-Contribution Scheme for low-income earners. I think it’s one of the best Government schemes available. If you earn less than $42,016 a year, for every dollar of after-tax dollars or

Slash your tax bill!

One of the biggest issues facing most wage earners is the simple annoyance that no matter how much they earn each week, an ever-increasing chunk of their income goes straight to Canberra in the form of taxes. One of the few ways of reducing your tax bill is by making

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Is Lithium the new gold?