David and Lucy were 66 and nearing retirement. They were frugal by nature and had busted their guts their whole working life squirreling away as much money as possible.

We completed retirement projections and to their delight if they invested soundly, they could retire comfortably. This included $100,000 for a few projects around the home they had been putting off for years.

The value of your farm has skyrocketed meaning your equity position is looking much stronger and because interest rates are at all-time lows, your bank is getting a lot less of your cashflow. Equally, some reasonable rain has fallen so your crops are looking better than they have for some time and finally cattle prices

For almost 15 years, a group of my mates have gotten together for what we affectionately call the “annual boys’ lunch”. Every year has been pretty much the same, we get to hear what each of us have been up to over the past 12 months, we eat lots of bad food and inevitably it

Inflation. The Silent Assassin Of A Secure Retirement If you want a financially secure retirement, never underestimate the risk posed by increasing inflation rates. Why is that you ask? Well, let’s start with a simple definition of inflation. In very simple ‘Financial Bloke’ terms, inflation is when the cost of everything just keeps going up each year. It

This month I thought I would share a difficult story with you.Some time ago I received a call from one of my favorite long-term clients (John & Mary for privacy purposes). John had had a stroke and was in intensive care. They found an aggressive brain tumor and sadly he passed away 2 weeks later.It

Looking at it practically, it is easy to construct a solid argument that the Aged Pension safety net will not be around forever. Letting our kids think they can hand over responsibility for securing their retirement to the government would be risky to say the least.So when our kids start working, they will inevitably ask

Sir Richard Branson once famously said, “Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make it complicated…” I believe this is especially true when it comes to off-farm investing. Many inexperienced investors falsely believe that the more complex or fancy pants their investments are, the better their return will be. Sadly, in most cases, the exact opposite

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.” – Vince Lombardi As a financial adviser, I am reminded of this famous quote by Vince Lombardi time and time again, particularly when approached by people who are acutely aware