For many people, doing and enjoying the things we love and are passionate about is a mjor part of enjoying life. “Work to Live not live to work” may even be an extension of their own personal value statement. (more…)
The 2008 Federal Budget contained no major surprises, with many of the measures re-iterating previous announcements (including personal tax cuts). While there were no substantial changes to superannuation, there were still some items of particular interest from a financial planning perspective.
Examples include:
Did you know that every working Australian has a 1 in 3 chance of becoming disabled for more than 3 months before turning age 65. This means a 1 in 3 chance of not being able to work for a period of more than 3 months. The majority of disablements occur outside of work so Workcover/workers compensation often does not apply.
Have you had the unfortunate experience of being off work for a few months? … thankfully I haven’t, but I know a few people who have. They tell me watching the mind numbing soapies is painful enough without stressing over having the extra burden of paying the mortgage or regular expenses while they are unable to work. It is a fact … disabling sicknesses and injuries happen every day.
The majority of things in life have a financial cost attached to them and family and relationships are no different.
Generally speaking, you will be more confident of achieving goals relating to family and relationships if you are able to plan for them in advance. To restate a recurring mantra … planning helps you prosper: by increasing the chances of avoiding financial surprises.
Family and relationships hold different levels of importance for different people. The financial and lifestyle goals for someone with a large, close family may differ enormously from someone with a very small, separated family (even if they share identical financial circumstances). Likewise it is important to recognise that people have different cultural backgrounds which may lead to vastly different personal values. (Different values perhaps highlights why for one persons important need is another person less important want). (more…)
