Things to think of for retirement.

[photomike666]

Have an investment property and not only will you reap the rewards of greatly inflated prices when you sell, but you may also have an income when you are not working.

That might be ok if you can positive gear as opposed to negative gear.... and hope like hell the tenants look after the place and it's not vacant for extended periods..... oh and don't forget the capital gains tax when you sell........... Not that simple

Doesn't have to be a house - could always be a commercial property in a prominent business location. More lilely to have tenants, more likely to be looked after so the property looks good for customers.

[Six Addict]

if youve got a vacant rental property at the moment its obviously a shithole, there arent enough to meet the demand at the moment...

[robracer]

True Pinchy, a mate of mine was looking for a place nearby & had to submit his application of interest with a dozen other people when a place became available, I guess the real estate / owner gets to choose a suitable candidate, nice position for the owner but not so for the would be tenant

[Six Addict]

mm its very selective... two of my uni mates, whod both lived out of home before, and hold down respectable full time jobs (both in the design industry) couldnt get a place until they had a girl on the lease as well, simple as that, two 25 year old guys needed a girl with them before they could even get a flat...

[sunshine]

did you say two 25 year old guys couldnt get a fat unless there was a girl for lease

im in holiday mood


mick

[seiko1]

I don't plan on living that long

[Gosling1]

....Not me, I wouldn't put 5 cents of my own money into Super until I have paid off my mortgage and any other debts and then i'm going to hide the rest under my mattress....

biggest mistake you will ever make. Looked at the age pension lately ?? Its barely above the poverty line.

Sure, you can sell your house when you get old - but you still need somewhere to live right ?? Long-stay caravan park ? There is this thing called *quality of life*, and the more money you have invested in a good super fund - not all of them send you broke, in fact most of them make a tidy sum for the members....

Its your own call of course, as it is for everyone - but *not* putting money into super is basically ensuring that you will have no other form of income when you most need it.....

[laidback]

Super is definitely the way to go. Industry funds are good. Mine was with the NSW public sector so didn't have any choice of funds in the early years and kept with the State Super after they allowed choice. I figured out that by the time I was 75 I wouldn't be fanging about too much so setup my pension to fit in with that. I have an allocated pension and do some part-time work to supplement that to pay for my toys - roady, tracky, track days etc.

The big advantage with super is the tax arrangements as the gov want everyone to fund their own retirement. Of course paying off mortgage etc is sound too as home is tax free ATM and you save by not paying interest from taxable income.
EG you earn wages and pay say 40% tax THEN pay mortgage and interest.

Another good way to add to super is to salary sacrifice it so you don't pay income tax on that money and super contributions don't incur fringe benefits tax either.

[rooster]

On the basis of how long my kids live at my place I will reciprocate and live with and off them

[laidback]

On the basis of how long my kids live at my place I will reciprocate and live with and off them

WTG rooster...become a SKIN - Spend the Kids Inheritance Now...

[Gosling1]

.....WTG rooster...become a SKIN - Spend the Kids Inheritance Now... .....

that's EXACTLY what my old man is doing right now !!!! The bastard !!!!!

[smithy5]

....Not me, I wouldn't put 5 cents of my own money into Super until I have paid off my mortgage and any other debts and then i'm going to hide the rest under my mattress....

biggest mistake you will ever make. Looked at the age pension lately ?? Its barely above the poverty line.

Sure, you can sell your house when you get old - but you still need somewhere to live right ?? Long-stay caravan park ? There is this thing called *quality of life*, and the more money you have invested in a good super fund - not all of them send you broke, in fact most of them make a tidy sum for the members....

Its your own call of course, as it is for everyone - but *not* putting money into super is basically ensuring that you will have no other form of income when you most need it.....

Super is definitely the way to go. Industry funds are good. Mine was with the NSW public sector so didn't have any choice of funds in the early years and kept with the State Super after they allowed choice. I figured out that by the time I was 75 I wouldn't be fanging about too much so setup my pension to fit in with that. I have an allocated pension and do some part-time work to supplement that to pay for my toys - roady, tracky, track days etc.

The big advantage with super is the tax arrangements as the gov want everyone to fund their own retirement. Of course paying off mortgage etc is sound too as home is tax free ATM and you save by not paying interest from taxable income.
EG you earn wages and pay say 40% tax THEN pay mortgage and interest.

Another good way to add to super is to salary sacrifice it so you don't pay income tax on that money and super contributions don't incur fringe benefits tax either.

Gos, Laidback, You guys might be right about Super and probably will be better off than me in retirement.... Just too many maybes for me that's all.........
maybe I'll be dead like Seiko , maybe the Government will change the rules or the tax on payouts, maybe there will be another stock market crash or another recession and I won't get what I was expecting.... I'm just too short sighted to see that far ahead ( Fark it's only 15 years)..... I would gladly accept Super from my employers fund if I had one, but being self employed, it's my money. If I had shit loads of surplus funds, I might look at it differently, but I've got too many things (toys) that I want to enjoy today, while i'm healthy. The way I think, is I wouldn't sacrifice or go without today, hoping for something better years away...... My father work all his life and he was going to retire at 68.... He had a stroke at 67 and another at 69 and he now lives (if you can call it that) in a nursing home.... Maybe that has influenced my thinking as well........ Mum always said, "they don't make pockets in shroud's"

and I will never understand people that salary sacrifice into Super, whilst paying off credit card debt at 17, 20 or 26 percent interest rates

[seiko1]

BINGO Smithy5

[philbo]

same as smithy5 got no savings but got the toys. and will continue to get the toys to enjoy now

[waynemorgan]

The main thing is to at least have a plan.

If you prefer to invest in Super and take advantage of it's taxation characteristics then use it and make it work for you. If you can make additional contributions to it that's even better. Just remember that on the flat 9% contribution it will not be enough. Simple observation - if you can live on 9% or 12% or 20% of your current income (as contributed to Super) then what are you doing with the rest of it? If you factor in 5% growth (yes it should earn more but always work on a worse case scenario)

Superannuation is a good long-term investment - for most.

There are other things to invest in and make work for you. You need to look at what you want and how you're going to get it.

Smithy5 also raised a point in relation to fees paid to financial advisor's. If you want to use a financial advisor / planner and have concerns about the commissions they make in the product recommendations then insist on working on a fee-for-service model - remove the temptations of commission from the equation. Industry Super funds offer this as do most financial planners now.

OR - do it yourself. It's not rocket science.

The point is - have a plan and work it.

Just a side note on this - I had a client who was 67 years old. She had 11 investment properties - some positively geared, some negatively. Her sole income was rental and she didn't qualify for Centrelink benefits. Lived in a small unit with a fantastic garden. Was happy and reasonably healthy. Her plan worked for her.