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Try our Solar Calculator

The Government grant for solar installation will be reduced by 20% in July 2011 (an approximate reduction of $1200). This reduction in government support will mean that solar will become more expensive to install after 1 July 2011. The rebates will continue to decrease until 2015 when rebates will no longer be offered, as the Government believes solar prices will have decreased enough to be affordable.

To make your life easier in deciding what system is suitable for you and in fact whether you feel it is a worthwhile investment, we have created a solar calculator that takes into account your changing electricity consumption or production and the financing costs of installing. We have built the solar calculator so you can estimate what you think will be the increase in the cost of electricity into the future. The higher you think electricity prices will increase the more you will benefit by installing solar. [Read more…]

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The Forest and the Trees

Many investors cherish the notion that if they only had instant access to the information sources of market professionals—the stock research and broker calls and economic forecasts—their wealth-building dreams would be much further advanced. So, what if you had acted on those big professional calls in the past year?

Financial information group Bloomberg1 recently carried out an analysis of broker recommendations for stocks in the US equity benchmark, the S&P 500 index. It found that the companies that analysts recommended most highly rose by 73 per cent on average in the period from the trough of the market in March 2009 until early 2011.

That sounds pretty good until you realise that the index itself rose by 88 per cent in the same period. Now, compare the performances of the most loved stocks against those with the fewest buy recommendations in the Bloomberg survey. This latter group rose by 165 per cent on average during that period, or more than twice as much as the “top” stocks.

Why analysts get it so wrong can be easily explained: [Read more…]

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Medical Tax offset

Did you know that you can claim your medical tax offset for medical expenses paid for or on behalf of dependants in your tax return? A medical tax offset can be claimed for you, your spouse, your children and even possibly an invalid relative.

The medical tax offset is calculated based on your net out of pocket expenses. That is your total medical expenses less any refunds that either yourself or your dependants have received or are entitled to receive. This includes refunds from both Medicare and your private health insurer.

You can claim the following for your medical tax offset: [Read more…]

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The Price of Bad Advice

Question: How to compare the price of a client-centred fee-only financial advisor with the “free” services supplied by a broker?

Answer: In the second instance, the bill comes much later and at potentially far higher cost.

Pursuing sales people masquerading as advisors has been a major focus in the past year for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a watchdog which shares this column’s view about the risks of investing “outside the flags“.

In one of its most high-profile recent actions, ASIC instigated court proceedings against the promoter of a fraudulent investment scheme that robbed hard-working Australians of more than $100 million in retirement savings.

[Read more…]

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Education Tax Refund

Ensure you get the most back at tax time.

Eligible parents can claim the Education Tax Refund (ETF) in their individual tax returns. The ETF is a fully refundable tax offset that will be paid as part of your tax assessment. (For those not required to lodge an income tax return, a stand-alone claim form can be used).

The maximum you can claim is 50% of eligible expenses up to:

  • $780 for each eligible student in primary school – that is, a refund of up to $390
  • $1,558 for each eligible student in secondary school – that is, a refund of up to $779.

If the expenses exceed your refund for the financial year, you can carry forward the excess expenses from one year to the next, for one year only (as long as you are still eligible).

Eligible education expenses that you can claim include:

[Read more…]

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Investing in Gold

Gold digging

“Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace,” Warren Buffett once said. “Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around to guard it. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.”

The price of physical gold has risen five-fold since 2001 and continues to reach new heights. There is significant interest in gold today as a means of possibly hedging against depreciating global currencies and inflation. The concern now is that for those investors who choose to load up on gold today may be placed in a disadvantageous position if history repeats itself. After gold hit a then-record high in 1980 of US $850 an ounce, it fell and failed to recover for more than 20 years. [Read more…]

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Housing affordability

The residential property market in Australia is easily the most favored asset class by Australian Investors. Residential property is a tangible asset that people can see and experience. Most Australian property investors experience from the past 10 years has given the investor the inner belief that by holding the asset they will reap incredible rewards well into the future. They believe they understand the asset class and will benefit similarly into the future by holding the asset. Most of the last 10 years have been an extraordinary time for property investors with property returning well into the double digits.  Rents have also risen at astonishing rates making negatively geared properties cash flow positive after only a few short years. What were the main factors driving property prices so high and in my view highly overvalued by historical standards? [Read more…]

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End of Year Tax Tips for 2010

The end of the tax year is fast approaching and many people scramble to reduce the dreaded tax bill. Paying money to the tax office that could have been used to benefit your own position can be painful, however there are still some last minute tax strategies that can help you and hopefully with effective tax planning for next year you can reduce your need to panic when June rolls around again. [Read more…]

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2010 Federal Budget

What does it mean for you?

Treasurer Wayne Swan released the Government’s third Federal Budget on Tuesday, 11 May 2010.  It has been reported to be a budget with a “few surprises”, however there is potentially a number of proposals that may impact you.

The proposed changes still need to be legislated before becoming effective, therefore the final form of these proposals may differ significantly. It is important to seek professional financial advice in relation to the impact these measures may have on your personal financial position.

The budget aims to return us to a surplus by 2012/2013 after a budget deficit for 2009/2010, estimated at $57 billion. [Read more…]

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50% Business Tax Break – Will it be of real benefit to your business?

A 50% tax break on a new car makes that new car sound like a bargain; it’s a very tempting offer. It also sounds like a great idea to reduce tax for small business owners. But when considering taking the government up on their offer, you really need to think about the real cost of the new car. Any new assets for your business can be a significant cost to your business, so buying one needs to be a purely business decision. [Read more…]

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