MORE MONEY with Noel Whittaker

MORE MONEY with Noel Whittaker

Each Monday, with thanks to our sponsors Bankwest, well known Financial Advisor Noel Whittaker will join STUART BOCKING for “More Money” on 2UE.

Noel will be sharing with us his tips on finance & life transition for pre-retirees.

Noel Whittaker is Australia’s Financial Wizard of Oz.

Not only does he write weekly columns in the Sunday Mail and the Courier Mail, but, by some strange magic, he has the entire Australian continent covered from the Cairns Post in the North to the Hobart Mercury in the South, to the Perth Sunday Times in the West. He also writes in Australian Doctor magazine.

You’ll hear Noel on Fairfax radio and see him on Channel 10.

He has written 20 bestselling books that have sold over two million copies around the world. His book “Making Money Made Simple” set sales records across the country and was recently named in the top 100 of the most influential books of the last century.

In 1988, Noel was named Australian Investment Planner of the Year. In 2003, he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in recognition of his services to the financial services industry and, in 2011 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours List.

Noel is a Fellow of CPA Australia, a Fellow of the Taxation Institute, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management – in fact, he’s a pretty good fellow all round!

He is a Certified Financial Planner, a Chartered Tax Adviser, a member the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Liaison committee, and is currently an Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Business at the Queensland University of Technology.

2013

Week 8: End of financial year advice

Discussion Points:
•    Is it important to have your superannuation in the account before June 30?
•    What other kinds of things should we be doing before June 30?
•    What are your views on the strategy of pre-paying a years interest?
•   What should you do if you have a capital gain this year?

Week 7: Variable rate savings products are paying more interest than term deposits

Discussion Points:
•    Why?
•    What are the advantages and disadvantages of variable rate products?
•    Can you tell us about the role that restricting access to funds can play in effectively sticking to a budget and managing interest returns?
•   What about the role of cash with a savings plan?

Week 6: Pros & Cons of investing in the stock market

Discussion Points:
•    Do you think shares are good investment?
•    How are they different from property?
•    How do you go about buying shares?
•    Is it better to do it yourself or use managed funds?

Week 5: How do rate cuts impact my investment decision?

Discussion Points:
•    Do you think this is the end of the rate cuts?
•    How do rate cuts affect the housing market?
•    Is this the time for people to fix their housing loan rates?
•    How do falling interest rates affect investment decisions?
•    Will last week's budget have any impact on interest rates?

Week 4: Superannuation, keys to ensuring you have enough saved to retire

Discussion Points:
•    After all the changes to superannuation what is still a good investment?
•    At what age should you start the focus on super?
•    How much do you need to retire?
•    The employer contribution is rising – what is the timetable?

Week 3: Investing in Property Market

Discussion Points:
•    At what stage in your life should you consider buying an investment property?
•    Do you think investment property is a good investment?
•    How do you go about it?
•    How should you finance your investment?

Week 2: Lifestage planning with a financial advisor

Discussion Points:
•    Why would someone need a financial planner?
•    What's in it for me?
•    How does the financial planning process work?
•    Things to consider when choosing a financial planner

Week 1: Unclaimed Monies

Discussion Points:
•    What it all means
•    Change to laws in Dec 2012 from 7 years to 3 years
•    How to find out whether you have unclaimed money
•    How to claim unclaimed money (lodging a claim, time frames)
•    How to stop money from becoming unclaimed (make small deposits/transactions, set up automatic savings plans, keep your bank updated with changes to your address)

Week 9: Guaranteed Secret of Wealth

Discussion Points:
•    What do you mean by this term?
•    Give me some examples, how can the average person put this to work for them?
•    What are your thoughts about making savings on home loan repayments?
•    Can I borrow from an investment and
•    What is a margin loan and how can this assist my wealth prospects?
•    How can Salary Sacrificing help?

Week 8: Property Vs Shares

Discussion Points:
•   What is the main difference between property and shares – which do you like?
•    Are you better to invest yourself or use managed funds like share trusts?
•    What are the tax benefits of shares?
•   What are the tax benefits a property?

Week 7: Age Pension

Discussion Points:
•   How do you qualify for the age pension?
•   How much is it?
•   If you get a part pension do you still get both the benefits?
•   How does gifting work?
•   Are there any techniques to maximise the aged pension?

Week 6: Pensioners, Interest Rates and Superannuation Investments

Discussion Points:
•   Can you please explain the deeming rates?
•   What is the purpose of deeming rates?
•   I understand they are changing on March 20 – how does this affect pensioners?
•   Does this affect where I should invest my money?
•   How is superannuation treated for Centrelink purposes and should I keep my money in super?

Week 5: Reclaiming unclaimed super

Discussion Points:
•    How did all of this unclaimed super come about?
•    It's a bit of a hassle to find it – is at worth it?
•    Should a person spread their super with a couple of different funds for diversification?
•    How do I go about finding my lost super?

Week 4: Changing Asset Allocation as you get older

Discussion Points:
•    What do we mean by the term asset allocation?
•   Should this be the same for all your life?
•   Should you get particularly conservative when you reach age 65?
•   What should I do if my fund is automatically changed my asset allocation and it doesn't suit what I see as my risk profile.
•   How do I know what is a reasonable asset allocation for my circumstances?

Transferring Assets - what are the do's and don'ts
•   Is there any point in transferring assets from one party to another?
•   Is it worthwhile transferring assets to a family trust or to a self-managed super fund?
•   What are the main things to be aware of when transferring assets within the family structure
•   Does it adversely affect you for Centrelink purposes if one partner transfers assets to another partner?

Week 3: Choosing the right Term Deposits/ Investment to suit your goals for the year ahead

Discussion Points:
•    What type of Term Deposits/Investments are in the market at the moment?
•    What are the differences between the assets?
•    How much should you have in each asset class?
•    What role does cash play in the assets?

WEEK 2: Setting yourself up to make 2013

a great year

Discussion Points:
•    Calculating your net worth. What steps do you need to take to do this?
•    Getting all your superannuation together. What are the best avenues to get this done?
•    Have you got the right loan?
•    Have you got financial goals for the year? How can you achieve these?

WEEK 1: Review of 2012 - Highlights from the year in Finance

Discussion Points:
•    What the mood was like at the start of the year?
•    What actually happened as opposed to what people thought would happen?
•    How did the various asset classes perform during the year?
•    What were the major changes in the financial services legislation that affect people?

2012

WEEK 8: Tax Intricacies of Loans

Discussion Points:
•    What have loans got to do with tax?
•    I have heard about a line of credit loans where you bank your pay into the loan itself and then make a withdrawal for living expenses. Are there any potential problems with this strategy?
•    What is the difference between the deductible debt and non-deductible debt?
•    If you buy an investment property, and you have a home loan, should the investment loan be principal and interest or interest only?
•    If I move out of my home and rent it out can I start to claim the interest and other costs as a tax deduction?
•    If I have nearly paid off my residence, and I decide to keep it while I buy another one to move into, and I take a loan against the original property for the new one, will the interest on that new loan be tax deductible?

WEEK 7: Loans

Discussion Points:
•   Is this the time to be taking a fixed or variable loan?
•   Where do you think interest rates are heading?
•   Is there an optimum loan repayment?
•   When is it appropriate to use an interest only loan?
•   What is the difference between a home equity loan and a margin loan?
•   What is mortgage insurance and when is it payable?
•   What happens to the mortgage insurance if you try to transfer your loan to a new lender?
•   If you are buying an investment property what percentage deposit should you have?
•   What is an offset account and are they worth while?

WEEK 6: Deciding Retirement Goals

Discussion Points:
•   How do I know how much money is enough?
•   How can I generate an income in retirement?
•   How can I access my biggest asset – the family home to my advantage in retirement?
•   Getting advice

WEEK 5: Estate Planning

Discussion Points:
• Do you need a will? What if you die without a will? Where should the will be kept?
• Are there any assets that passed to the beneficiaries that are outside the will?
• What is the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common?
• Do you also need an enduring power of attorney?
• What happens if you wish to exclude someone from your will?
• Is a simple will from the newsagent enough or do you need to pay big dollars to consult a lawyer?

WEEK 4: Superannuation

Discussion Points:
• There have been many changes to superannuation – is it still worthwhile?
• I have heard that superannuation is taxed three times – is that true?
• Many people like to do their own thing – they think they lose control by using superannuation. Do you agree?
• If you are over 50 and have our home mortgage is it better to focus your energies on paying off your mortgage or should you boost the amount you salary sacrifice to superannuation?
• What is a transition to retirement pension?
• Are there any traps we should be particularly aware of?

WEEK 3: Deciding retirement goals

Discussion Points:
• How do I know how much money is enough?
• How can I generate an income in retirement?
• How can I access my biggest asset – the family home – to my advantage in retirement?
• Getting advice

WEEK 2: Different types of cash investment

Discussion Points:
• Differences between fixed products (term deposits) and variable?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
• Is it wise to lock away money in a declining rate environment?

WEEK 1: The role cash plays in Investment Planning

Discussion Points:
• How much money should you have to begin Investment Planning?
• What form should this cash be in to invest?
• What are the options when looking to invest your cash?