As people live longer, more and more will end up in aged-care. The number of people in permanent aged care in Australia is expected to more than triple in the next 35 years, from 225,000 today to 700,000 in 2050. 

The past few weeks have been messy with Brexit, the Australian election, another terrorist attack in France and an attempted coup in Turkey. In fact, the last 12 months have been - starting with the latest Greek tantrum and China share market plunge a year ago. 

When we think of Aged Care, most consumers think that it means moving into residential care (nursing homes) until the end of life. People who enter residential care have to face their own mortality. Commencing the process to look for Aged Care can be daunting. 

We are constantly being reminded that we live in an era of ‘heightened volatility’ in investment markets. In this age of smart phones and social media there now seems to be a non-stop stream of financial news and views, often alarmist and designed to grab your attention. There is compelling evidence that reacting to this barrage of information can actually lead to worse investment decision making.

Whatever your age or stage of life, having an estate plan in place is a must! This is a way to ensure that your wishes are carried out and that your assets are distributed in the way that you want upon your death. These articles will certainly stimulate your thinking around this topic and provide a checklist that you can start to work through.

It’s really important to consistently focus on how to improve your personal finances. But good intentions aside, there’s nothing like a deadline and the end of the financial year (EOFY) is one of the key dates to aim for when it comes to tax planning.

June 30 is a really important deadline to keep in mind to ensure you are taking advantage.