Mortgage BrokingNews Obtaining Debt Consolidation Loan In Perth

The Basics of Debt Consolidation Loans

A lot of financial advisers in the Perth area advise their clients to obtain debt consolidation loans. They can be a wise or unwise strategy, depending upon your individual financial situation. We are always sure to let our readers know that we can’t give specific, individual financial advice on a blog, but we can give general information.

What ASIC Says about Refinancing

ASIC says that it can sometimes be a good idea to consolidate loans, but only if the new loan results in the borrower paying less money in fees and interest. ASIC recommends that refinancing only be done if it is the best option.*

Contact the Current Credit Provider

ASIC recommends contacting current credit providers if you are having trouble making any payments. They can often work with you to come to a new arrangement.*

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Financial PlannersNews Navigating the Loan Marketplace

Navigating the Loan Marketplace

When we are providing our clients with financial planning services from our Perth office, one of the more important aspects is the ability to borrow money for a home, a car or other needs. This piece is one in a series we are doing where we give you a shortened, easy to read version of what ASIC has to say about various aspects of household finance.

All information provided here is general and compliant with ASIC regulations.

Can You Afford to Borrow?

ASIC advocates making sure that you can afford repayments before taking out any loan and they recommend the following questions.*

What am I Borrowing This Money For?

Is it to pay bills or debt? Is it to help friends or family? Is it something you really need or is it something you just want?*

Is Borrowing the Best Choice?

Do you have any option that doesn’t involve borrowing? Can you save for the item and pay cash? Can you put it on layaway and pay it off later?*

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NewsRetirement Planning Retirement Planning In Perth Made Easy

Retirement Planning in Perth, Made Easy

We provide retirement planning to many of our Perth clients. We have found that a lot of people have no idea what it entails. While we can’t give any specific advice on this blog, we thought it would be nice to give some basic information on retirement planning. Here are the basics of retirement planning, courtesy of ASIC’s MoneySmart website.

Taking Control of Your Finances

ASIC recommends a three-pronged approach to retirement planning: take control of your finances, create a viable, long-term financial plan and find suitable vehicles for growing your retirement income.*

ASIC provides a booklet that tells you where you may withdraw your super, investment options and income stream choices for retirement, pros and cons of a lump sum versus an income stream, pros and cons of transitioning into a pension stream and where to obtain professional financial advice.*

After you know these facts, ASIC recommends that you find out exactly where you stand financially. This includes knowing your assets, where and when you can access your super, when you can apply for age pension and whether or not you are likely to pass eligibility tests.*

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Financial PlannersInsurance ProtectionNews Basics Of Life Insurance

Life Insurance 101: The Basics

One of the crucial aspects of financial planning is ensuring that clients have the proper wealth protection or life insurance products. We have helped numerous clients in the Perth area become secure in the knowledge that if the unthinkable happens, they and their families are protected.

We wanted to provide a short overview of life insurance products. This one comes from a Government source. We hope it is helpful.

Why Life Insurance?

Life insurance is designed to help protect you and your family in case of death, dismemberment, disability or even loss of employment. When a breadwinner becomes unable to work, life insurance can step in and replace their income. There are different types of life insurance to provide coverage for different situations*

Life Cover

Life cover is also known as death cover or long term life insurance. This pays a set amount in the event of your death. The payment goes to whoever you name as your beneficiary. This may be more than one person.*

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Mortgage BrokingNews Consumer Credit Regulation

Consumer Credit Regulation

Besides financial planning, we also offer mortgage broking from our location in the Perth area. One of the first things that is done in the process of applying for any loan is to run a credit check. This credit report is an important part of determining whether or not you are able to obtain the financing you need for a home loan.

Unfortunately, some people don’t know their full rights under the National Credit Act and fall prey to predatory tactics. Courtesy of the ASIC’s MoneySmart website, we would like to remind you of some basic rights and safeguards that are designed to help consumers know exactly what they are getting into.

Obligations of Credit Providers

The National Credit Act establishes rules to help protect consumers from fraud. Everyone who wants to lease, provide or broker a loan must register with ASIC or work for someone who is registered.*

According to the National Credit Act, no credit provider may enter into any agreement with you that the Government would classify as “unsuitable.” This includes any contract that doesn’t meet your objectives or requirements. It also includes any loan which would inflict hardship upon you while trying to repay it.*

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NewsSuperannuation Fund Basics of Superannuation

The Basics of Superannuation

At Approved Financial Planners, we provide superannuation and self managed superannuation advice to our clients in the Perth area. We would like to present a short beginner’s guide to understanding superannuation. We have gone to the Government’s website, https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/superannuation-and-retirement/how-super-works, to gather some basic information that you may find helpful in understanding superannuation.*

What is Superannuation?

Superannuation is a process in which your employer currently pays 9.5% of your salary into a fund earmarked for your retirement. By 2025, this contribution would have increased to 12%. You are allowed to pay your own money into your super fund account to increase the fund. Money gained from super fund investments is usually taxed at a lower rate than the same investments made outside of your super.*

Choosing a Super Fund

Your money is usually invested into a super fund of your choosing. However, some employers decide where your funds will be invested. If you want to decide where your super fund will be invested, you must fill out a form from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). It is called a “Standard Choice Form.”*

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Financial PlannersNews What the Government Says about Finding a Financial Advisor

What the Government Says about Finding a Financial Advisor

Financial advisors have become ubiquitous in Perth and for good reason. The current financial climate can be confusing with so many options and variables. More and more people are turning to professionals for help in managing their money. There are a lot of financial advisors out there and we are constantly asked how clients know they are choosing the “right” financial advisor.

We thought it might be productive to provide you with what the government has to say about finding a financial advisor. Remember that all information here is general and that none of it should be taken as specific financial advice or as a substitute for a personal, one on one meeting with a financial planner.

Referrals

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) notes what they feel are the two best places to find referrals: The first is professional associations. They mention the Financial Planning Association and The Association of Financial Planners, for example. Their second choice is to ask people you know if they are satisfied with their financial planner. When you find one who is happy with theirs, you can ask for the planner’s name.*

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Insurance ProtectionNews Insurance Market in Australia

How False Confidence Affects the Insurance Market in Australia

Life insurance isn’t always a topic people want to talk about. In our Perth office, we see all forms as income protection insurance. Unfortunately, every time there is a study or a poll, it seems like more and more Australians are underinsured. This is often due to avoidance and denial, but it often happens out of a false confidence many have that “it can never happen to me.”

Unfortunately, “it” does happen to a lot of Australians every day. Nobody plans on having catastrophic illness or injury, but they still happen. The most recent survey showed up on an insurance industry website called RiskInfo, which publishes insurance industry news.

According to the poll, in which more than 1,000 Australians were asked questions about their life insurance coverage, 33% perceived themselves to be underinsured, while 23% said they were unsure if their current coverage was enough to protect their families if they died or became unable to work. Only 45% estimated that they were adequately insured. *

Some other results: of those who had only one of the four major types of insurance, more than 67% said they thought their coverage was adequate to protect their income and their families. *

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Insurance ProtectionNews Insurance Checkup With Financial Planners Perth

Do You Need an Insurance Checkup?

One of the more important and underrated aspects of financial planning is income protection. To that end, we offer various forms of life insurance in our Perth office. We can’t give individual advice in a blog because everyone’s financial needs are different, but can offer some indications that it may be time to at least call a financial planner and ask for an insurance checkup.

Yearly Checkup

When you entrust your financial planning to us at Approved Financial Planners, we are always happy to offer a yearly insurance checkup. We feel that we owe it to our clients to provide them with the best in financial services. Consequently, we offer a yearly insurance checkup just to ensure that changes in your financial situation haven’t made it necessary to alter your coverage to better protect your assets.

Life Changes

Changes in your life often affect your financial situation because they can change your financial needs and priorities.

Changing Employers

If you change your employers, your entire financial situation can change. Different employers usually have different superannuation funds and different insurance plans. If you were depending upon your previous job for any kind of insurance, it is a good idea to find out what kind of insurance your new job provides.

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NewsSuperannuation Fund Online Super Funds: A Recipe for Financial Disaster?

Online Super Funds: A Recipe for Financial Disaster?

Considering how many qualified financial advisors there are in Perth alone, it is distressing to many of us to learn that a lot of people are using online self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) services.

It sounds great on the surface: appeal to your ego and tell you that you are capable of outperforming qualified financial planning professionals by simply visiting a website and establishing your own SMSF in a few clicks. We are sorry, but any financial advisor in Perth will tell you that it simply doesn’t work that way.

In the interest of full disclosure, we will mention that our parent company, AMP, offers five different SMSF products, with myriad variations to serve any need. We should also mention that we can’t give individual advice without talking to you and gathering enough information to provide that advice. However, we can tell you why online SMSFs are so risky and we can provide general information.

Individual Advice from a Professional

Online SMSFs may work for some people. Unfortunately, everyone’s needs are different. The reason we can’t give individual advice in a blog is the very reason that online SMSFs are so dangerous: they are a “one size fits all product” being marketed to people who all have different needs.

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