Simple doesn't always mean easy

When it comes to managing our personal debts and credit cards, savings and investing, many people are quick to look for a sequence of simple steps to follow (or a three minute blog to read) to achieve what can usually be a complex outcome.

If a fast solution isn’t found, ‘it's obviously the wrong option’ so we quickly browse on elsewhere looking for that dopamine hit of ‘New’ and never really get to where we need to go.

It's enough to make you want to wash your mind out

What a mess.

Well the Banking Royal Commission (aka Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry) closed in early 2019 and 76 recommendations were made spanning the Banking, Superannuation and Insurance industry and the government’s regulators a plenty.

So what is the final outcome of the Banking Royal Commission?

We’ve tried to distill the main themes down to 4 simple points below.

All the depressing and reprehensible details you can read yourself, here .

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.

How to leave an inheritance to your Grandchildren, but not your adult children?

The reasons why you may wish to leave an inheritance directly to a grandchild and not your adult children are as wide and varied as the motivation to do so.

Just leaving money via your Will for a grandchild to be held in trust until they reach 21 is fraught with risks; from of a challenge to your Will through to concerns of the effects of addiction, divorce and financial mismanagement.

So to help you better understand your options, here are three key phrases you need to understand.

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.

Yet, the overwhelming majority of adult children – have not had detailed conversations with their parents about their finances, their estate wishes and plans.

Have you ever thought about running a small business on the side while working your full-time job?

Perhaps you're already part of the new gig-economy and providing work-on-demand services back to your past employer.

For many people, working a side hustle is becoming more and more important in our growing world of temporary contracts and flexible working hours.

While providing flexibility (and promising better work-life harmony), growing a side business also requires a new business owner to learn new skills and new habits, before success arrives.

Here are some common financial mistakes time-poor new business owners can avoid.

If you're feeling like your life and business have been Kidnapped by the COVID-19 Virus, we can relate.

It's a difficult time affecting us all, and all in very different ways. The opened-ended nature of this worldwide health crisis fuels a sense of uncertainty. And this won't be the last crisis our world sees.

This changing environment can kidnap our thinking with the seemingly urgent and distract us from the still important.

And our hearts go out to the people who are not in very fortunate situations.

As we find our way through this time, we don't want platitudes and denial but on the same token, we need to find ways we can keep calm and focus on what we can control - and look for something solid.

Friends, flatmates or de facto partners - and how to tell them apart

When it comes to romance and relationships, the emotional decision about who you think is your partner, may be very different to the legal decision about who is legally considered your de facto partner.

The questions about who may be a boyfriend or girlfriend and who is a de facto become important distinctions when it comes to super payouts, life insurance payouts and family law claims on your finances, investments and property interests.

Getting better at managing our personal and business risks in our connected world

The current Coronavirus epidemic is going to affect Australian families and businesses - but perhaps not for the reason you suspect.

Australians are not new to facing risks to manage. Communities who live in areas of risk have bushfire plans, flood plans and even snow closure emergency plans.

Welcome to a new year (and a new decade). Remember old habits don't usually take us to new places.

Hopefully this the year you’ve decided to set some family goals and get a little more proactive on achieving some saving goals. One of the challenges of a busy life can be we keep our ideas and hopes about our personal money goals locked in our head, rather than writing them down where we can see them, talk about them and maybe even ask about our progress to achieve them.

Trauma Informed Financial Advice is now here

Nobody understands the impact of trauma, stigma or discrimination better than the person experiencing it.Drew Browne

Sapience Financial and Investment Services is the first Trauma Informed Organisation providing specialty Financial Advice and Insurance Advice through our Trauma Informed methodology.

This is what that means for you and your family.