The past decade has seen an explosion in economic research designed to uncover what truly makes us happy. While scientists attach electrodes to measure pleasure and pain, economists conduct their research with statistics and surveys.

Is your present self aligned with your future self? Although, this question may seem a little philosophical, it’s an important one to consider, as it may prompt you to evaluate whether you are engaged with not only your existing financial situation, but also your proposed financial situation in the future and the relationship between the two. 

To be a successful investor over the long term, we believe it is critical to understand, and hopefully overcome, common human cognitive or psychological biases that often lead to poor decisions and investment mistakes.

Imagine spending a lifetime acquiring habits that offer the promise of a longer, happier and more fulfilling life. Then imagine that to have that fulfilling life, you suddenly must abandon all those habits.

Soaring property prices, the new pension rules and the desire to lead an active, comfortable retirement are driving demand for equity release solutions.

Another interesting article highlighting the choice that is now being offered under the new 'Home Care' regime which commenced on 27th February 2017.

As you are aware, a number of changes to the superannuation system are coming down the line from 1 July 2017. It's important to discuss how these changes will affect your personal situation with an experienced Financial Planner.

Last year, more than 1.3 million Australians received aged care; about 82 per cent of those people received aged care at home. Many people find this statistic shocking, because the words "aged care" are often linked to "nursing home" in their heads.

A sure sign of a good financial planner is that they don’t rush you, carefully listen to you and clearly explain where they can add value, and where they can’t.

The ASFA Retirement Standard benchmarks the annual budget needed by Australians to fund either a comfortable or modest standard of living in the post-work years. It is updated quarterly to reflect inflation, and provides detailed budgets of what singles and couples would need to spend to support their chosen lifestyle.

The concept of retirement, as we understand it today, is completely outdated.

Today, the archaic notion of retirement has morphed into this: Work for 40-50 years. Then, have a party, get a gold watch, go to the beach, sit down in a reclining chair with an umbrella drink and get ready for an exciting 20 or so years of golf.

There's much more to it than this.

There are many things that play into our relationship with money, including our upbringing, education, and employment, but we often overlook the psychological factors at play.

Retirement can bring about mixed emotions for some people. Whilst it is something that hardworking people should look forward to, often people can fear this time in their life as they struggle to discover a new identity without paid work.

In our busy lives, talking about money with our family members may prove to be a daunting and sometimes an emotional subject to bring up. However, avoiding a conversation about money may have us running the risk of us not passing on the knowledge and wisdom gained in our life time.

When it comes to retiring, there are a number of risks that retirees face that are specific to the retirement life stage.