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‘Cards vs personal loans in debt consolidation’ by Paul Clitheroe

AFS — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:45:14 +0000

Personal loans are going head-to-head with credit cards in the battle for debt consolidation. For consumers facing a raft of options, the trick is to choose carefully. What helps one borrower manage their debt may not be the best option for you.

Debt consolidation – where you fold several high interest debts into a single lower rate loan, used to be the exclusive domain of personal loans. But these days plenty of credit card providers are pitching at the same market, which has lead to some very appealing balance transfer offers, presently ranging from zero percent interest for 6 months to around 4.99% for the life of the outstanding balance.

What is a carbon footprint… really?

AFS — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:18:35 +0000

After the long carbon tax debate, most Australians are tired of hearing the word “carbon”, but aside from the politics do you really know what a carbon footprint is?

Human activity is increasing atmospheric levels of known greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These form a blanket around the earth trapping heat, a process known as the ‘greenhouse effect’, which experts believe is linked to global warming and climate change.

The carbon footprint, as the term denotes, is the impression that these gases leave behind in our atmosphere. Estimating a carbon footprint seeks to highlight the volume of greenhouse gases produced by a particular activity or a product over its lifetime. Usually this is measured in terms of equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide produced. This general definition can also be applied to determine the impact of an individual, an organisation or company, or a country

‘Getting your finances in shape for 2012′ by Paul Clitheroe

AFS — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:38:05 +0000

A New Year provides the incentive to sweep a new broom through many areas of our lives, and there’s no better place to start than with your household finances.

Kick off a personal money makeover by listing your assets – things of value you own like your house, savings and investments. Then compare this to your liabilities – your mortgage, personal loan, car loan and credit card debt.

If your assets are worth substantially more than your liabilities give yourself a pat on the back, you’re on the way to achieving financial security. But if your liabilities are close to, or overtaking your assets it’s time to get serious about bringing debt under control.

‘Why new years resolutions don’t always work!’ from the ipac blog

AFS — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:52:51 +0000

Like a lot of people, you probably made New Year resolutions or promises to yourself that you will change those parts of your life you’re not happy with. And chances are that you have let yourself down by not acting on those promises or quickly fallen back into old habits.

One of the reasons many New Year resolutions go unfulfilled is that we rarely take the time to think clearly about the result we want to achieve. The ultimate outcome.

When you resolve to change one of your life habits or patterns, it’s important to be totally clear about the real reason for the change.

‘New initiatives impact homeowners’ by Paul Clitheroe

AFS — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:16:59 +0000

The new year marks the introduction of several important initiatives that home owners and first home buyers should be aware of.

First up is the arrival of home loan fact sheets introduced as part of the federal government’s banking reform legislation.

Lenders are now required to provide a fact sheet for each mortgage you may be considering. The beauty of this initiative is that borrowers can make a side by side comparison of each loan’s headline interest rate, and also each loan’s ‘comparison’ interest rate – which includes many of a loan’s fees and charges, as well as the total cost of the mortgage over the full term.

Figures from financial comparison website RateCity show that by moving from the average of the major bank’s standard variable rate of 7.30 percent to one of the cheapest comparison rates available on the market, at 6.35 percent, a borrower with a $400,000 home loan could potentially save around $240 in monthly repayments and more than $72,000 over 25 years

‘Cut the cost of the home loan’ by Paul Clitheroe

AFS — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:52:56 +0000

The Reserve Bank’s December rate cut was initially greeted with enthusiasm by home owners. However relief quickly turned to disbelief when the big banks proved reluctant to pass on the rate cut. This chain dragging may reflect difficult conditions in global financial markets but it also reinforces the need for borrowers to do some rate cutting of their own.

The banks’ hesitation to reduce mortgage interest rates is a direct result of the debt crisis being played out in Europe. The cash squeeze is affecting the availability – and cost, of funds that banks use to supply home loans here in Australia.

Making Christmas a time of joy for you!

AFS — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:17:07 +0000

Seriously, not many people really look forward to Christmas – do you… really?

The stress involved in organising and preparing meals, buying gifts or arranging a Christmas party can have the opposite effect to what most of us would like to achieve at this time of year. And the financial anxiety that can eventuate when credit card bills arrive in January can be a very unwelcome hangover.

The good thing is that you get another chance each year to do things differently so you can have a different and much better Christmas this time around. Here are some ideas:

‘Reducing business risk’ by Paul Clitheroe

AFS — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:16:26 +0000

There are two million businesses in Australia and 96 per cent of these are small, family run operations. For the people involved, these ventures are often an excellent investment – one that funds family life, pays the home loan and forms the basis of retirement savings. But unlike their larger corporate counterparts, small businesses are often dangerously exposed to unexpected events that can derail the owners’ financial wellbeing.

In many small enterprises one person plays a critical role in the ongoing success of the venture. If anything were to happen to this key person – be it ill health, injury or even death, the day to day running of the business could be severely impacted. At worst, the business could fold altogether

‘Super idea for school leavers’ by Paul Clitheroe

AFS — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:37:04 +0000

Over the past few weeks thousands of Australian teenagers have reached a significant milestone in life. Their final Year 12 exams are completed and their days as a school student are over. For many of these teens, the summer will be spent working in holiday jobs until uni or TAFE starts next year, others will take on permanent job. It’s at times like these that parents can provide valuable final advice – especially when it comes to choosing a superannuation fund.

Young workers aged 18 or more who earn over $450 each month in before-tax wages, are entitled to employer-paid super contributions. It doesn’t matter whether you’re full time, part time or a casual worker, you’re still eligible for these compulsory super payments

‘Franchising – a popular, and often worthwhile business option’ by Paul Clitheroe

AFS — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:20:33 +0000

As we head toward the holiday season, many Australian workers are planning their annual leave. It can be a time when our thoughts turn to saying goodbye to the boss for good, and taking up the option of self-employment. Buying into a franchise is a popular alternative to starting a business from scratch but it’s not a guaranteed path to prosperity.

Australia’s franchise sector turns over annual sales of around $128 billion, and investors have a choice of over 1,000 different franchise options from fast food outlets to pet grooming, juice bars and real estate.