Pension Age may move to 70

I agree 100% with stevo68.

When we started our planning we were very modest wage earners but itemised every expenditure right down to matches and toothpicks....looked at where we were wasting money and closed those gaps.

in a very short space of time we were able to give each other some "pocket money" that we could blow on anything.

we went to the bank and explained what we were doing. we were given an option then of negotiating (note wording) a $75,000 negative geared investment portfolio which we accepted.

the bank , in a short space of time doubled that offer for us , based on our integrity.

we have our own personal advisor, have further increased our investments, reduced our tax payments significantly and look forward to a non pensioned retirement.

Dont have a go at stevo68......have a go with him.

regardless of your current situation you may be pleasantly surprised , and we live on this planet to be happy .....don't we?

The plan for those just above the poverty line is to get a casual job during the holidays and hope to have the small tax return just in time to pay the car rego.
Generally it does not work, some of the home appliances will need replace by that time :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

........................................
Dont have a go at stevo68......have a go with him.

.................................................. ..............

---

Not at all, I just raised the point that there are many people out there that do not have a single dollar spare to plan for the future.
Are you aware of how many people do not know if there wil be bread on the family table next day or week?
Thousands mate and if you do not believe go and do a voluntary work in the community kitchens or organizations that give essentials to family in needs.

Stevo's job it is very important for those that have the opportunity to earn some money and do not have the know how in invest for the future or even for when the job runs out.

Interesting turn of the discussion.
I worked for a company who would only pay the "Superannuation Guarantee" into a fund they chose for all the employees. The "Super Fund Managers" came out regularly to tell the employees how best to manage their investments.
On one such occasion, they said shares were going real well. They were a great investment. They advised people who were close to retirement and owned their home, or owed little on it, to mortgage their home to the hilt and put that money into the risky shares that were booming. They showed pretty graphs that indicated when these people retired they could pay off their mortgage and have thousands left over. Some with a few years to retirement did as advised.
Then the GFC hit. The soon to be retirees discovered they would need to work a lot longer than they anticipated. Some plan that was.
A few years later, I paid off my house. I think my plan was better.
I still have that super account. It is the poorest performing I have. I really need to see a reputable financial adviser to discuss where to move it to.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chucaro

The plan for those just above the poverty line

---

Where is that line nowdays? I'm tipping the past financial year I was well below it.

Financial literacy is vital, no doubt. My experience of financial planners and advisors is a little more involved than some may think, and in my experience most are no better than snake oil salesmen. Not suggesting they all are, or that Stevo is - in fact judging by his willingness to give free advice I'd say he's a rare exception.

I've seen young guys blow lots of cash on the schemes peddled by some in this industry. The "Anthony Robbins" types are thick on the ground, hence my reaction to the class of '53 story, since it's one of his favorites.

If every child spent the same amount of time in financial literacy class as they do learning magic (called religion by some) there would be no need for financial planners/advisors.

A good cross section of experience raised in the last few posts. Arthur, for sure, there are some people that can't be helped or it is difficult to help. For example, I had a potential client, mum/dad, renting, children, $52k in debt. All I could do for them at this stage was set them up with a budget and some discipline, main goal to clear the debt and perhaps for the missus to look at getting a part time job. As an adviser, its not just about investing money as many people think. I look at a clients overall situation. Their super, insurances, Wills and POA's, budget, debts, retirement and everything in between. It all boils down to what that person/s want to achieve from a financial perspective, then make sure it is protected. It's always their plan. Even if you use an adviser, it is still your plan and financial future, one needs to be active in that relationship.

As ramblingboy has pointed out, even on modest wages, things can be achieved with a plan and it all starts with your budget and savings capacity. Here's a blog I wrote on doing it yourself or at least getting yourself started- Financial Planning-It’s not rocket science. | Stevo's General Financial Advice Page it just takes some effort and some advice.

FOFA as I mentioned earlier is all about what akelly has touched on ie snake oil salesmen. FOFA is all about changing the landscape so that the industry is advice driven not product driven and that the focus is on clients best interest, not your own. Hence it is more fee for service driven that it was before. With that has come many changes to the way things have been done before and all for the better for both the professional adviser and for the client.

As for the GFC, that impacted people regardless. My business when I was a finance broker got wiped. People depending on where they had super copped it. People can be greedy and if you are in high growth/ aggressive shares coming near retirement, then that can be dangerous. You should be in a more balanced fund generating income and some capital growth. If you are young though, you can take the hits as overall you will come out ahead. I have mine in high growth/ aggressive funds and averaged between 23-30% returns in last 12 months. Even if it dropped 10-15%, I am still ahead. Again it requires the individual to have a more hands on approach to their super, know what your risk profile is and where your funds are allocated. It's amazing how many people don't know those few questions. It's part of your financial future and you should be all over it like a rash :).

Regards

Stevo

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by akelly

Financial literacy is vital, no doubt. My experience of financial planners and advisors is a little more involved than some may think, and in my experience most are no better than snake oil salesmen.

---

I have to agree - don't trust financial advisors - they do not have your interests at heart and are more interested in lining their pockets with your money.

I sacked my financial advisor a few years back and do it myself and my super fund has improved in leaps and bounds.

Remember you pay the financial advisor if they are making you lots of money but you also pay them heaps when they are loosing your money.

Most are snake oil salesmen.

Garry

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by garrycol

I have to agree - don't trust financial advisors - they do not have your interests at heart and are more interested in lining their pockets with your money.

I sacked my financial advisor a few years back and do it myself and my super fund has improved in leaps and bounds.

Remember you pay the financial advisor if they are making you lots of money but you also pay them heaps when they are loosing your money.

Most are snake oil salesmen.

Garry

---

Ah Garry, the ol tar em all with the same brush mentality. Most of them hey, well there are over 18000 financial advisers, how many have you met or dealt with? These 18000 advisers are also working with millions of Australian's handling billions of $$$$. Are some of them much not chop? For sure. Are some of them as you say "snake oil salesmen" for sure. Pick an industry and apply your logic, you will find the same.

However you are entitled to your opinion but your opinion also shows how little you know about the industry or the profession and to be honest as an industry is something we need to work on if people think that way. That said, I think your just more interested in a) calling advisers snake oil salesman and b) how well you have done with your super than paying attention to the facts ( ie obviously not aware of FOFA all the changes in the industry when it comes to remuneration etc). There is no objectivity just a one eyed opinion you raise at every opportunity :p.

Just for the benefit of others, advisers aren't just about investing as I have clearly pointed out. There are many other professions involved in investing aside from advisers. On another point, an old adage when it comes to investing, you only invest what you are prepared to lose. Risk Versus Return, the higher the risk, the higher the return, same with the lower the risk, the lower the return, so know what your risk profile is.

So, yes there has been some snake oil salesmen, they are being removed as the industry improves and changes are made. However to say that all of them are snake oil salesman, that none can be trusted and only have their interests at heart is juvenile.

Regards

Stevo

Yes, Financial literacy is vital but as long as is a good knowledge of home economics and management.
You have to see what the people put in the shopping trolleys and how much the paid for that to know what I mean.
Without running the home management properly including basic things as how to cook a nutritious meal with fresh natural ingredients, how to manage the energy consumption, the use of the car, etc, in another words learn to live within the limitations of the income, people with good intentions like Stevo are fighting a loosing battle.

IMO home economics should be a compulsory subject from year 5 on.