NRL Fantasy 2020 Part 89 - Finals Fantasy 2020 End of Days

quicksand wrote:

Would it be worth combining all debts into 1 low interest loan with no restriction on how fast you can pay it off ?
only paying 1 fee.
If the minimum payment for example is $50 a month, pay $200 or more and the balance will reduce very fast !

StormTrooper96 wrote:Hey guys,

Seeing as a number of you are most likely older than me I was after some advice/wisdom.

My partner is 22 and works for the government where most of her colleagues are 30+. She is earning some pretty decent coin for 22 and one piece of advice from one of her colleagues (30+) was that if he was her age earning the money she is earning, he would definitely go and see a financial advisor.

I was just wondering if anyone here has ever engaged with a financial advisor and whether or not you think they are beneficial or possibly just a waste of time.

Cheers!!

StormTrooper96 wrote:

My partners mum has the book and has told us to read it about 100 times. I am not a reader... I think the only book I have read is Captain Underpants.

I know a financial advisor and he charges $200 for an initial consult and that includes him looking over everything and providing a financial plan, investments etc. Maybe ill give the barefoot investor a go first.

StormTrooper96 wrote:Hey guys,

Seeing as a number of you are most likely older than me I was after some advice/wisdom.

My partner is 22 and works for the government where most of her colleagues are 30+. She is earning some pretty decent coin for 22 and one piece of advice from one of her colleagues (30+) was that if he was her age earning the money she is earning, he would definitely go and see a financial advisor.

I was just wondering if anyone here has ever engaged with a financial advisor and whether or not you think they are beneficial or possibly just a waste of time.

Cheers!!

Honeysett wrote:

I will give you the run down of the Barefoot Investor but I would read it.

Set up Buckets for your money.

60% to your Blow Bucket (everyday things, rent, food, utilities)

10% to your Splurge Bucket (things to make you happy like clothes/grams of coke etc)

10% to your Smile Bucket (long time planning like wedding or holidays)

20% to your Fire Extinguisher Bucket (When things go bad or house deposit etc)

Talk with your partner about money at monthly Date Night

Have a different date night where you talk openly about how you are doing with savings. Where you can improve and your goals.

Talk openly about your money, your debts and don't hide things from each other.

Arrange your debts

Arrange them from smallest to largest and pay them off, you get a great sense of accomplishment from removing debt.

Check out better rates for things and always ask for lower.

---

Financial advise is great if they're someone you can trust. Ultimately though the key is communication.

I work for a Bank and I see where it goes wrong for couples that don't think things through and don't speak about their finances. It's important to be on the same page and have an exit strategy. My partner and I are looking at building a place together, we've put an exit plan in place if it goes badly between and we'll be looking at a prenup to protect us both - because we have great communication there is no hidden secrets or fears.

multiple.scoregasms wrote:

If you are going to engage a financial advisor, make sure they are fee for service (up front fee) rather than on going fee (percentage of investments). The later tends to push you towards products where they have a vested interest, normally making a commission from the business on top of your fee

One thing to consider is that most superannuation funds will cover the cost of one session with a financial advisor, which is enough to get your ducks in a row generally.

If you want some more generalised advice I'm happy to discuss most things of a general nature free of charge

It largely depends on your goals, but generally some pretty sound advice is as follows:

- Build an emergency funds of 6-12 months expenses. Keep this in a savings account for a rainy day, if in a not secure job (doesn't sound like it with government work) you probably want to be closer to 12 months
- Pay off high interest debts in order of interest rate. Get those credit cards, personal loans, car loans etc down to zero as close as possible, as they severely impact your next step
- Superannuation is an important step to wealth building, regardless of if you want to retire at a traditional age (65+) or earlier. Make sure your Super fund has low fees and good returns. Canstar provides some independent reviews (https://www.canstar.com.au/superannuation/) that are pretty solid
- Depending on tax bracket there are a number of Superannuation options available. It may be worth maxing out concession contributions, obtaining government co-contributions or even making spousal contributions. It's generally not worth making non-concessional contributions until you are closer to retirement, but depends on your circumstances
- Decide on long term goals, like if you want to buy a property to live in, or you are happy renting in the medium-long term. Property is one of the greatest builders of wealth in this country and allows you to do some funky things with equity for future investments (see video in comment about to No Worries)
- Choose an investment strategy - Most popular options are shares or investment property. I personally lean towards shares but both options have merit. This website is a good beginners guide to share investing (https://passiveinvestingaustralia.com/)

Happy to answer any questions you have

NOTE: General advice only etc.

multiple.scoregasms wrote:I don't think they are popular in your neck of the woods ST, but would recommend to never ever buy off the plan

They involve contracts that go up to hundreds of pages specifically designed to screw you out of money. Most of them are built using special purposes vehicles so any warranty isn't worth the paper it's written on

StormTrooper96 wrote:

Sorry what is this for?

StormTrooper96 wrote:Thank you everyone for all your advice. You all seem very very switched on and know what you're talking about. I will definitely take away so much knowledge from this group of people. I wish there was a way to sit everyone down because I reckon we could talk for hours on end!!!.

Our 5 year plan.
- Wedding in Sept 2021
- Obviously Honeymoon (looking like an Aussie one at this stage)
- Build a home (nothing too outlandish, something nice, simple and modern that would be easily rentable in the future)
- Have a kid or two

10 year plan
- Rent out our home and build another home (more to our taste as will most likely be our forever home)
- Purchase a unit somewhere to rent out

That is pretty much our goals for the future. I always say I reckon my partner will be the DG for her department one day... so see how we go.

Anyways lets get back on footy!!! Storm 20 - Panthers 8!

StormTrooper96 wrote:Thank you everyone for all your advice. You all seem very very switched on and know what you're talking about. I will definitely take away so much knowledge from this group of people. I wish there was a way to sit everyone down because I reckon we could talk for hours on end!!!.

Our 5 year plan.
- Wedding in Sept 2021
- Obviously Honeymoon (looking like an Aussie one at this stage)
- Build a home (nothing too outlandish, something nice, simple and modern that would be easily rentable in the future)
- Have a kid or two

10 year plan
- Rent out our home and build another home (more to our taste as will most likely be our forever home)
- Purchase a unit somewhere to rent out

That is pretty much our goals for the future. I always say I reckon my partner will be the DG for her department one day... so see how we go.

Anyways lets get back on footy!!! Storm 20 - Panthers 8!

FaringdonSwirl wrote:

Very property heavy mate, was that on purpose? Some low cost index funds could be a good option to diversify.

multiple.scoregasms wrote:

Sounds like you need to come to the next meet up

StormTrooper96 wrote:

Well was meant to be at Magic Round this year (where a number of blokes here were attneding) but got canned!

Shady2K wrote:
Also not sure if it's been mentioned but any chance of an Origin fantasy comp in the same format?