Here’s a rundown of what you can do to structure, manage and maximise your financial situation. Are you still on track to achieving your goals?

Cash flow and budgeting – Stickman Wealth talks about cash flow ad nauseum, because just like cash is the life blood of a business, cash flow is the life blood of your quality of life. 

The benefits – maximise your bank account structures, understand your discretionary vs non-discretionary spending and where you can save money. Refer to our cash flow blog for tips or seek guidance from a financial adviser.

Debt reduction – Using that credit card for day-to-day purchases? Paying 20% interest? Paid for a holiday with a personal loan and still paying it down years later? After getting your cash flow and budgeting in place, the next and most important element is to manage your debt. Don’t even think about investing until you have wiped out any large debts. 

Investing – Where is your money? Is it working hard for you? Once you have your cash flow and debt sorted out, you need to maximise the returns on your money. This means using your money to buy assets that grow in capital value and generate you an income! 

Through debt reduction and investing, you’ll reach your life goals sooner. You’ll develop more options and grow your wealth quicker. 

Don’t forget, that with reward comes risk. Whether it’s property or shares, there will always be factors that may affect your returns. However safe you think your money is in the bank, remember, after inflation, it is in fact going backwards. Seek education from your financial adviser. Your risk is mitigated once you understand the playing field and your perception changes. 

Debt recycling – Do you have a home loan? Want to pay it down quicker, save thousands in interest and build wealth at the same time? Fantastic, us financial advisers are full of great strategies to help you reach your financial goals and help you achieve your desired quality of life. 

The benefits – you’ll pay down your home loan quicker, convert bad debt to good debt, build an investment portfolio and save on tax.

The pitfalls – as described in the investment segment above, there are always risks to investing. Owning a home is also a risk – you have to pay the bank no matter what! Seek guidance and partnership with a financial adviser. We specialise in helping you build sound financial strategies. 

 Superannuation – Your super, after your home, is typically your biggest asset. Super is a great, tax efficient way to build for your future. Get it working for you NOW, invest it properly and ensure that you aren’t paying too much in fees. Investing is about time, the earlier you start, the better. There are tax efficiencies on contributions and structure, you can use it to save up for a home and it is forced savings. As with any investment, there are always risks. Seek guidance and partnership with a financial adviser – we specialise in helping you build sound financial strategies. 

Retirement strategies – Are you thinking about retiring soon? Don’t wait until the last minute to take the necessary steps. You need an understanding of what this means and how to prepare. Seeking guidance and partnership with a financial adviser will give you certainty around your quality of life in retirement and clarity on your goals for retirement including how you plan to spend your time. We can build sound financial strategies to help you to continue living a life that’s rich in retirement. 

Insurance – Do you have a plan B in place? Your most valuable asset is your capacity to earn an income. What happens if you get sick and can’t pay for your home loan? We all think it won’t happen to us – but sorting this out will give you peace of mind knowing you and your family will be looked after financially should anything detrimental happen to you. It’s worth reviewing as many people are often under or in fact OVER insured – you may even be paying too much in insurance premiums. Talk to your adviser about your options and understanding what you really need.

Estate planning – God forbid something does happen to you. Where does your money go and to who? Who controls the distribution of that money? Is it tax effective?

• Benefits – Peace of mind knowing where and how your money will be distributed should something happen to you. 
• Pitfalls – None.
• Guidance – Talk to your financial adviser about your options and putting in place estate planning measures.

We encourage you to get in contact with us to talk through these options and how they might apply to your situation.

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