After Kylie completed university and had landed a well-paying job, her only plan was to enjoy her new financial freedom. She had living to do – the future was a long way off and would take care of itself … wouldn’t it? 

Kylie’s first purchases were a trendy new hatchback car and expensive clothes suitable for climbing the corporate ladder. Enjoying her exciting lifestyle, she regularly visited restaurants and bars, and took an overseas holiday each year.

According to research conducted by Impact Leaders, Kylie’s way of life is common with one third of 18–34 year olds having no savings and excessive debt. 

It’s understandable, after all, when you’re in your twenties and early thirties, thoughts of saving for a home, much less retirement, are easily put aside. But time has a nasty habit of getting away from you – just ask your parents!

A survey by Leading Edge Trends, found that the majority of 18–24 year olds won’t own their own home by retirement, fostered by a ‘buy now, pay later’ mentality. The result is that many will be excluded from home ownership, while others will struggle with late-life mortgages and financial insecurity at retirement. 

Back to Kylie. 

A few weeks after returning from a holiday around Europe, Kylie was informed that her position at work had been made redundant. With no savings behind her, she borrowed from her parents to pay her rent and other regular bills.

Shortly after, Kylie was forced to sell her car and use her credit card to manage everyday expenses.

Fortunately, within six months Kylie found a new job, again with a good salary, but during her brief period of unemployment she’d racked up considerable debt. A large portion of the new salary would go towards her debts. It would take years to recover. 

What can you do to ensure your story doesn’t end up like Kylie’s?

Savings – a savings plan doesn’t mean restricting yourself. Even small amounts deducted directly from your wage quickly add up and can become a future home deposit or a safety net for emergencies.

Budget – sounds boring, but a realistic budget can help you to live within your means without relying on credit or feeling like you’re missing out.

Income protection – an insurance policy that pays an income if you’re injured or become too ill to work – an important consideration for young people starting out on a big career!

Get advice – not just for older or well-off people, a financial adviser helps you to create your budget and savings plan so you can take advantage of enjoying life now. 

You might not be interested in buying a house just yet, but how cool would it be if the money were available when you were ready? 

You’ll probably be surprised at how inexpensive advice is. Contact one of Leenane Templeton’s licensed financial advisers to find out how your future can gain a head start.

Call (02) 4926 2300 or email us. 

The post Take advantage of the NOW! appeared first on Newcastle Financial Planners & Financial Advisors.

Life in your 50's is great. You don’t have a huge mortgage, the kids have grown up and are not as dependent on you, your career has progressed… So what is next financially?

When you are in your 50s, you can see retirement on the horizon. Sure it might be 10-20 years off, but it is becoming more tangible. So if you haven’t already, you need to start some serious planning.

Decide on your lifestyle

Up until now you may have been reactionary in your lifestyle, with mortgage payments and work pressures being the biggest worries. But you need to start thinking about how and where you want to live for the next 30 or more years. Do you want to stay where you are? Downsize? Always wanted to move to the beach or bush?

Figure out how much you need

Once you have decided how and where you want to live, you will need to set up plans to achieve it. There are a couple of things you can look at to ensure you are on the right track:

Superannuation – Is your super invested appropriately? Do you need to contribute more now so that you have enough for the future?

Investments – If you have managed funds, shares or property, are they invested strategically to help accommodate your changing lifestyle?

Insurance – Do you have the right level of life and income insurance? Are you and your family covered if anything happens?

Daily finances – Are you spending money on things you don’t use? If the kids have moved out, are there ways you can scale back?

Start catching up now

You might find that you are further behind than you thought for your ideal retirement lifestyle. This happens to a lot of people but it is never too late to make a change. You could be at the peak of your earning potential, so that means you have a chance to save more and make up for lost time.

Get help

Everyone’s financial needs and goals are different and it’s worthwhile seeking professional advice before you make important financial decisions. Your financial planner can provide you with strategies to help make your ideal retirement lifestyle a reality.

Source: IOOF

Our expert financial planners are here to help with any financial questions you may have about your 50's. 
Call (02) 4926 2300 or email us. 

To discuss getting ahead in your 50's please give the team at Leenane Templeton a call. 

The post Getting ahead in your 50’s appeared first on Newcastle Financial Planners & Financial Advisors.

Estate planning can be a confronting and even upsetting activity, so it’s no wonder it’s something many people avoid.

However, an up-to-date will and succession plan is crucial for looking after your loved ones should you pass away. Making estate planning your new years resolution can be a great motivation for getting this unpleasant task out of the way.

If you do not already have one, you should appoint an executor. The executor will be responsible for assisting and paying for your funeral, and will generally oversee the administration and distribution of your estate assets.

Estate assets are owned by you directly and include items such as bank accounts, real property, personal possessions and shares. It will also include the payouts from any insurance policies in your name.

However, your will generally does not cover non-estate assets. Non-estate assets are those which are jointly owned, i.e. not owned by you directly. This includes your superannuation, assets of trusts that you have a share in and the payouts from insurance policies held by your superannuation fund.

In order to specifically account for your non-estate assets in estate planning there are additional actions you have to take, such as completing a death benefit nomination for your superannuation fund and adjusting the deeds of trusts.

Call (02) 4926 2300 or email us.

Our award winning and expert accountants and financial planners are available to discuss estate planning with you so contact Leenane Templeton in the New Year!

The post A resolution for 2015: Estate planning appeared first on Newcastle Financial Planners & Financial Advisors.

This brief article outlines the role of money in close personal relationships. It lists some financial points which should be considered.

These days there are few relationships in which the sole breadwinner also looks after all the finances without any involvement of their partner. With two-income families more common than past decades, both parties in a relationship have a say in the financial situation and an understanding of what is going on.

While pre-nuptial agreements don’t sound very romantic they do make sense, particularly where one partner has considerably more assets than the other before marriage. Such agreements have had a formal legal standing in Australia since 2000 but it is important that both partners seek legal advice as these agreements can be set aside by the courts if found to be unjust or unreasonable.

Even more important than a legal agreement is a full and open understanding of joint financial affairs, and mutual agreement of how income will be shared and expenses paid.

Whether you are already living together or planning to, some of the important points to discuss openly include:

1. Make a budget for income and expenditure that you can both agree on.
2. If you are planning a wedding, how will the costs be split?
3. Be sure to cover the costs of children from previous relationships.
4. Will you have joint bank accounts and credit cards and how will bills be paid?
5. If one partner is expecting an inheritance, or some other lump sum, discuss how it will be used and whether it will be kept in one name or shared.

Like most issues that arise in relationships, the best way to avoid future problems is to have an honest and open discussion on financial matters early in your relationship.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat 4102.0, Australian Social Trends Data Cube 1996-2006  www.abs.gov.au/ausstats

Disclaimer

If you wish to discuss the role of money in close personal relationships further and the steps you should be taking, please do not hesitate to contact our financial planners here at Leenane Templeton.
Call (02) 4926 2300 or email us.

The post The role of money in close personal relationships appeared first on Newcastle Financial Planners & Financial Advisors.

Thanks to modern day treatments, cancer survival rates are on the rise. But can you afford to be treated?

This article will help you understand the importance of trauma cover when facing serious illness.

One in two Australians will develop cancer before the age of 85 and one in five will die from the disease, according to a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

But while the incidence of all cancers rose by 27 per cent in the 25 years to 2007, deaths from the disease have actually fallen by 16 per cent. This proves just how far modern medicine has come and the calibre of treatments available to treat the various forms of this illness.

In fact, this report has revealed that cancer patients are increasingly living longer with 66 per cent now surviving for at least five years (for all cancers combined in the period 2006-2010) – a large increase from the 47 per cent survival rate for all cancers in the period 1982-1987.

According to Anne Bech, spokeswoman for AIHW, “While overall cancer survival is improving in Australia variations still exist between types of cancer.”

The cancers with the largest so-called survival gains from 1982-1987 to 2006-2010 were prostate and kidney cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Survival rates for lip, larynx and brain cancer along with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia didn’t improve. Between 2006 and 2010 the cancers with the highest survival rates were testicular, prostate and thyroid cancer, along with melanoma of the skin. All had a five-year survival rate of 90 per cent or more.

Sadly pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma remain incredibly lethal and have the lowest survival rate, with less than ten per cent of patients surviving five years following diagnosis.

The report also revealed that cancer sufferers, who have survived for five years, had a 90 per cent chance of living for another five years for all cancers combined. This is all good news right? Well, if you have enough money to cover all the necessary (and ongoing) treatments then absolutely! But, what if you can’t afford to be treated?

One might be forgiven for thinking that a combination of income protection insurance, private health insurance and Medicare are enough to cover the treatment of serious illness. But the truth is, in the case of cancer, where it can take years of treatment including many rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and even surgery, serious illness can come at a huge cost which can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars out of your pocket.

Take Kathy for example…

Kathy, aged 41 and with two sons, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had two rounds of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, not to mention the reconstructive surgeries on top of that. After Medicare and the health fund had paid their parts, the gap costs came to tens of thousands of dollars.

Read on to find out why she wished she had listened to her planner’s recommendation to take out trauma cover sooner.

It’s important to speak with your planner to understand the difference a lump sum payment can make in the event of suffering a pre-defined traumatic event such as cancer.

Not only will trauma cover help to meet any out of pocket expense you might face, but it could help you on the road to recovery by removing some of the added financial pressure created by the need for ongoing and often expensive treatments.

Consider the incremental increase in survival rates for all cancers combined:
■ 1982-1987 – 47%
■ 1988-1993 – 52%
■ 1994-1999 – 58%
■ 2000-2005 – 62%

Are you financially prepared for the treatments that go along with surviving serious illness?

For more information on trauma cover to put your mind at ease, contact our office and speak to our specialised risk management team.

Source: Zurich, November 2013

Disclaimer

The post The importance of trauma cover appeared first on Newcastle Financial Planners & Financial Advisors.

Ready or not, the end of the year is fast approaching and now is the perfect time to start thinking about the year(s) ahead. In particular, this time of year presents a great opportunity to meet with your adviser to review your financial strategies and goals.

Many people use the Christmas/New Year period to reflect on the year that has just passed, often in a blur, and to begin thinking about the year(s) ahead. In particular, this time of year presents a great opportunity for you to review your financial strategies and goals in preparation for 2014 and beyond.

The importance of reviews

Changes can take place to your circumstances at any time and while you may already be having regular meetings with your adviser to ensure your plans continue to meet your needs, there are other changes that can have an impact, such as legislative and tax changes.

This is why reviews should take place on a regular basis, where you have the opportunity to make informed decisions and factor any of these changes into your financial plan.

Below is a simple guide to tidy up your finances for the year ahead.

1.Have your key financial goals changed?

Our lives are not constant and our goals change slightly (or greatly) from year to year. Also, major life events such as serious illness, the birth of a child, inheritance, marriage and the death of a parent or spouse can all result in significant changes to our wealth management goals.

2.Prioritise your goals.

It is important to rank and prioritise goals and decide in what timeframe you want to achieve them. Being realistic about your timeframe is essential to ensuring that your goals will be achieved.

3.Short, medium or long term?

Most industry experts agree that a short-term goal is one that can be achieved within a year or so. Medium-term goals typically require two to five years, and long-term goals usually take longer than five years.

For example, reducing credit card debt is likely to be a short-term goal, whereas saving for a home deposit would often be a medium-term goal. Depending on your age, providing for retirement is a long-term goal.

4.If your financial goals have changed, how will this affect your financial strategy?

This is where the advice of a financial planner is critical. An adviser has the tools and knowledge to create projections that take into account changes to your goals, and changes to your timeframes for achieving them. These projections will help you to see where your plans for savings, assets or investment contributions may need updating.

5.Be savvy.

Make sure that your investments and level of protection support your level of risk and your goals. An adviser can develop a tailored analysis that best suits your individual needs and provide ongoing portfolio.

Reflecting and thinking about your financial position, as well as setting a clear path, is critical to making sure you can reach your goals. You don’t have to wait until the first day of January to review your financial situation…contact your adviser today, so that you can get the help you need to achieve your “New Year” resolutions.

Our Office will re-open on Monday 6 January 2014 and we would love to help you set your financial goals for 2014 and beyond. Give us a call!

Source: Zurich, October 2013

Disclaimer

The post Time to reflect appeared first on Newcastle Financial Planners & Financial Advisors.