Secure your financial future by following these tips from the experts.
Secure your budget
According to Dale Gillham, co-founder and chief analyst for Wealth Within, a Melbourne-based portfolio management firm, these days with money being transferred around electronically it is getting harder for people to understand exactly where it all goes.
Dale’s advice?
‘If you struggle to spend less than you earn there is a solution – simply set a budget,’ he says. ‘A budget actually frees you from money worries, so you spend more on what you want and less on what you don’t.’
Clear your debt
Clearing debt is critical to both your short-term quality of life and your longer-term financial goals, according to Marion Mays, founder and wealth mentor at Thalia Stanley Group. ‘Consolidate debt where possible, eg: credit cards to a personal loan and focus on one debt at a time and getting rid of it as quickly as possible – this influences our confidence and motivation,’ she says.
Invest wisely
According to Philippe Brach, author of Creating Property Wealth In Any Market, when investing, it’s best to keep to proven strategies.
‘Look at shares, properties and cash,’ he says.‘Avoid the exotic products such as cryptocurrency (Bitcoin for example), which are mostly driven by greed and more akin to gambling than good financial management.’
Philippe recommends maintaining a balance in your investment portfolio.
‘My personal strategy is to focus on property outside my super fund and on shares within my super fund.’
How to get into the share market
Anyone can start investing in shares from as little as $1000. According to Dale Gillham, the simplest way to start is by purchasing the 10 biggest blue chip stocks on the market.
‘With every $1000 you save you can purchase shares in a different company until you own between eight to 12 different stocks. Once this occurs, when you save another $1000 you would add to one of the stocks you already own and continue to do this equally across all of the stocks you own.’
He says that if you continue this strategy over a period of 10 years, you’ll be very proud of the result you achieve.
‘Of course, remember to leave your investments alone so they can grow,’ advises Dale.
Get advice
Need advice but not sure where to go? Marion Mays recommends seeing a wealth mentor.
‘Financial planners cannot advise you about tax law, an accountant or financial planner cannot advise you about property, and a mortgage broker cannot advise you on any investment class at all,’ she says.
‘I believe working with a wealth mentor, who can oversee all of these experts and make sure their approach is integrated and complement one another, is the best approach.’
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