Blog
Welcome to our Personal Finance Blog
Money bewilders most of us. How to spend it, save it, invest it, and how to best protect the person who makes it.
These questions we all face daily — a puzzle we all attempt to understand and solve just about every day. Yet despite money's centrality to our lives and businesses, it's something we all grapple with, and mostly in private.
- Money is the 'Lord Voldemort' of topics; feared by most and mentioned by a few. It's oddly uncomfortable to discuss socially and rarely even with our partners, parents, and children.
Perhaps that's because managing our money and life's risks inevitably involves the fusion of both the emotional and practical aspects of our decision-making processes. The most difficult of questions are those with both economic and emotional answers.
Our educational Personal Finance Blog is for people who want to grow and remain wealthy. And while the journey toward wealth is clearly marked, you still have to be looking in the right direction.
At Sapience, we're all about The How.
Are you part of the 30% of Australians who have remarried and now have adult children from a past relationship?
It's a common fact of modern life, people live longer and have more relationships. It's not uncommon for many parents today to be part of a blended family and to each have older (and often soon-to-be adult) children from a former relationship.
And when it comes to making a Will, how can you be sure you're kids are not cut out of their inheritance by your new partner?
Here's a strategy that might be worth learning more about.
What you can't give away in your Will and why?
To give something away, you need to legally own it first.
You'd think this would be kind of straightforward, well think again.
Now I'm not talking about the neighbour's cat who has lived with you as your adopted fur-child for the past two years or the trailer your adult son still parks at your home for temporary safekeeping, 5 years ago.
I'm talking about bigger value items we sometimes own with others and often believe we can simply give them away in our Will. (And if you don't have a Will we'd love to help you out with that too.)
A problem arises when we share ownership of assets with another party.
Most Australians report preferring to talk to their parents about sex, rather than money
When it comes to the reality of talking with our parents about money and aging, there is never really a right time. But there is probably a better time - and this is what you can do about that.
If you're part of the Sandwich Generation, there's a good chance you’ll become part of the growing number of adult children who will have to get involved with their parents' financial lives as they age.
One day you’ll be ready to retire (whatever that may look like)
The idea is then you can slow down (or stop) working and spend more time doing the things you enjoy. But what are your options when it comes time to access your super?
How will you be using your superannuation balance? Lump-sum or regular income stream - or a combination of both?
Until then, many of us are also taking an active interest in our elderly parent's financial position in their retirement. Many of us are either the paperwork or financial backup, so it pays to have an idea of what they’re working with too.
Investing in turbulent times seems to be a constant feature of investing - and perhaps this is part of the new normal
The last few months have proven a tough time for many investors and super fund members as share market volatility continues to wreak havoc on the expected performance of many investment portfolios.
In light of this, we thought it a helpful idea to take a look at four behavioural mindsets that can paralyse investor's thinking when they need to be the most level-headed.
The risks and responsibilities of a small business company director
The frustration for many small business owners is nobody tells you everything you need to know.
The education journey of a small business owner can be a steep one.
A key part of going into business seems to be an acceptance of ‘always needing to learn something more' and to remember you're usually both the technician and the director of the company - a juggling act that carries more responsibility than many people initially appreciated.
- Its enough to make you want to wash your mind out
- The changing face of work and how it will affect us all
- Growing a side business while working a full time job?
- Are you feeling like your life and business have been Kidnapped by the Covid-19 Virus?
- Under 25 and have less than $6,000 in your super?
- Friends, Flatmates or Defactos and how to tell them apart
- Coronavirus, Life Insurance, Income Protection and You
