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To bet or not to bet, is not the question …

Melbourne Cup day is the busiest day of the year for betting agency TAB, with $159 million wagered across Victoria and NSW alone on the day in 2007. The Melbourne Cup is for many Australians part of the institution and culture that makes us what we are.

To bet or not to bet is not really the question … for me its more a question of if you are going to do it, do it responsibly and with people you enjoy being around. 

Melbourne Cup day in 2008 has also seen the Reserve Bank slash interest rates by a further 75 basis points to 5.25% … this action has likley made for more winners than the results of any speculation on the results of Race 7 at Flemington race track.  

What is the difference between investing and speculating? 

Investing involves a disciplined approach to investing your money in line with your goals, risk profile and time horizon in a diversified manner to reduce risk. Speculation on the other hand, is simply purchasing investments that are expected to provide a quick win, with little or no consideration for long term goals, time frame or diversification. Gambling on a coin machine or betting on a horse race are both forms of speculation. How many of you were left with nothing but a piece of paper and a memory of a moment around 2:10pm today?

So, overall investing means putting your money to work for you in a number of different ways. You need to adopt a longer investment time frame and a measured degree of risk. 

A lot of people believe that they do not need to worry about investing for the long term such as retirement as they believe that superannuation will provide a sufficient lump sum at this time.

However, you may be surprised to know that you need to contribute at least 15% of your salary for 40 years to generate a retirement income of 60% of your pre retirement income.

Although this may sound daunting, with the help of a financial planner, and some clever strategies, we can help you reach financial independence for your retirement and help you achieve your other lifestyle goals along the way.

Where to from here?

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Disclosure / Disclaimer: Dan Smith and Plan 2 Prosper are authorised representatives of GWM Adviser Services Ltd ABN 96 002 071 749 trading as MLC financial Planning, Australian Financial Services Licensee (AFSL:230692). The articles being accessed may contain general information and general securities advice. Before making any investment decision on the basis of the articles, you should consider, with or without advice, the contents of the articles in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 at 3:54 pm and is filed under General, Investment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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