The Inkwell

Dip into our inkwell…bottles of ink in cmyk colors, magenta with splash…the place where we pool our thoughts on all things wealth-related

We all set goals, either consciously or unconsciously, but most of us are content with vague easily set targets that are just as easily forgotten the next day. We sort of know where we’re going and we count upon fate, luck, providence and quick thinking to get us there. This might work sometimes, but it also makes it easy for us to become confused, find excuses or give up.

Some home loan approvals can be processed in days, others take weeks. Why the delay? Don’t be tempted to blame your mortgage broker because rarely they are the ones causing the hold-up. Usually it is either a delay by the lender or incomplete client paperwork that causes the blowout. Some lenders fund loans faster than…

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Financial fitness is not that different to physical fitness. Both take time, moderation and discipline, and both are equally rewarding in terms of improving your quality of life. Here’s a five-step plan for putting your finances in healthy working order.

If you are moving house, home loan portability gives you the option to take your current home loan with you. By keeping your loan from one property to the next, you won’t have to go through the process of refinancing and you can save on establishment costs like application and valuation fees, government charges and…

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Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision – We have “INKed” it to plain language to help explain under each paragraph. At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.0 percent. The global economy is expanding at a moderate pace, but some key commodity prices are much lower than a year ago. This…

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1. Small business growth Recognising that small business is the powerhouse of employment and our economy. The government announced several supportive initiatives to stimulate growth. Income tax rate for businesses less than $2m in turnover reduced to 28.5% and for sole traders a 5% reduction. Capital gains tax relief on restructuring small businesses. FBT reduction…

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With official cash rates at rock bottom, now is the time to get ahead with your home loan. Overpay on your monthly repayments: Just because interest rates decrease, doesn’t mean you need to drop your repayment amount. In fact, why not increase your repayments as if rates were already higher, or alternatively, round up your…

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There are many ways to build wealth, but what about protecting it? I’m often struck by how strongly Australians focus on the wealth-building side of their goals: they understand mortgages, they know about starting a business and they understand that regular contributions to super is a good idea. But look closer at these wealth-building ideas:…

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Putting together the paperwork needed for home loan approval is a task many prospective home buyers dread. We see many happy faces when we tell people that as your mortgage broker we can help simplify the paperwork process because we know what lenders are looking for when it comes to assessing an application. The paperwork…

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