People in other parts of the globe will be glad to see the back of 2009 – particularly those in the US, UK and Europe. But here in Australia, 2009 wasn’t all gloom and doom, in fact for many consumers and investors, 2009 was a very good year indeed. Take the broader economy. While economic […]

In the previous two instalments of my money makeover, I looked at getting your hard earned money into property and shares. Now comes the boring wealth spinner — bonds, fixed interest and cash. The professionals will look at these three asset classes as being different investment alternatives, but to normal people, they do have common […]

In Friday’s installment of my 12-part money makeover series, I looked at ways to build your wealth using good old bricks and mortar. Now I want to put the spotlight on this asset’s mortal enemy — shares! The eternal battle In stockbroker or financial adviser circles, there’s an age-old battle between which asset class is […]

It's now time for the actual stuff you can do to start getting wealthier. In articles over the past week, which you can check out here, I gave you the fundamentals for changing yourself, setting your goals, finding the money to invest and destroying debt. Coming soon Over the next six instalments, I¹ll look at […]

In terms of economic conditions, the noughties was arguably Australia’s best decade in the modern era.  Unemployment remained low across the period, there were consistent real wage gains, wealth levels soared, and outcomes for both inflation and interest rates were far better than in the 1970s or 1980s, although less stellar than the 1960s. Some […]

“The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.” So wrote Arthur Bloch in Murphy’s Law Two. Everyone wants a reputation for being really charitable but few of us are prepared to sacrifice a whole lot to get this high community rating. Well, to be good with money, you […]

A bank, by tempting us with credit cards, is the modern day pariah that seduces many of us into a life of wealth-killing debt. Though I must say I have met people who have used credit cards to kick off great businesses, but, in pure numbers, these people are few and far between. Credit cards […]

What a year to remember and what a year to forget. We have seen a significant recovery in equity prices and confidence levels over the course of the year yet I just don’t see a lot of happiness going around. Already the sale signs are up in the stores and it is not even Christmas […]

At the risk of being called dull and boring, again let me remind you that the main game has to be to find money and get it into income earning assets. At the same time, you must have a serious look at the disastrous debt situation you might be in, and then you have to […]

What follows are the 10 habits of successful wealth builders. There are more, but I think these are a nice start. If you’re not ticking off at least eight of these, then you are probably reducing your chances of maximising your richness in the future. 1. Like a business with a business plan, create a […]

Success is simple — CHANGE! But that’s the hard bit. How do you change? There are seven questions you have to answer: Hands up those who want to be a success? Hands up those who want to be wealthier? Hands up those who want a great business, that works really well, is a pleasure to […]

The big picture The festive season kick into full swing over the next week and with most investors in wind-down mode, and it’s worth reflecting on how the economic landscape has changed over the past year - particularly given that the latest round of economic growth figures have come and gone for another quarter. Earlier […]