Money Magazine August 2019

The beauty of $10,000 is in the eye of the beholder. We find out in our cover story this month, “Where to invest $10k”, that everything is so expensive these days the amount doesn’t seem like much. But we canvassed the views of eight finance experts and discovered there are ways to turn $10,000 into a princely sum. It’s not the size of the windfall but the intention to invest it wisely. Find out more on page 34. If you’ve got a sizeable property portfolio or are looking to buy one, you must be unnerved by the scandals surrounding the Opal and Mascot towers in Sydney. As we go to press, I read reports about a block of units in Zetland, another inner-city suburb in Sydney, that’s been abandoned for…

The beauty of $10,000 is in the eye of the beholder. We find out in our cover story this month, “Where to invest $10k”, that everything is so expensive these days the amount doesn’t seem like much. But we canvassed the views of eight finance experts and discovered there are ways to turn $10,000 into a princely sum. It’s not the size of the windfall but the intention to invest it wisely. Find out more on page 34. If you’ve got a sizeable property portfolio or are looking to buy one, you must be unnerved by the scandals surrounding the Opal and Mascot towers in Sydney. As we go to press, I read reports about a block of units in Zetland, another inner-city suburb in Sydney, that’s been abandoned for eight…

It’s time to ditch the big four banks I can’t understand why so many customers stay with the big four banks, especially after the shocking revelations from the banking royal commission last year. There are some great alternative institutions to bank with, such as credit unions and customer-owned banks. My husband and I made the change more than 20 years ago, and find the fees at our customer-owned bank are much lower. It offers much better interest rates on savings accounts and term deposits, and much more competitive home loans as well. It even rewards loyalty, such as an extra 0.2% interest on term deposits for long-term customers, which is a great help in the current low-interest environment. I would like to strongly encourage Money readers who bank with one of the big…

Jumping on the bandwagon July’s edition highlights the ASX200 breaking through the 30% barrier for women on boards (page 13). So what? Is that some sort of benchmark? Is that good enough, not enough or too much? What is the “barrier”? I would like to see solid facts on whether or not having more or fewer women and/or men is a determinant of the success of ASX200 boards? It might help to explore the impact that factors like education, experience, age, ethnic background, economic conditions, marketing and maybe even just pure luck have made a difference to board and company performance. Headline-grabbing stats such as those under your “30%” banner tend to fuel zealots pushing their own bandwagons ... and that isn’t always the best way forward. Ron Ed’s note:…

Jumping on the bandwagon July’s edition highlights the ASX200 breaking through the 30% barrier for women on boards (page 13). So what? Is that some sort of benchmark? Is that good enough, not enough or too much? What is the “barrier”? I would like to see solid facts on whether or not having more or fewer women and/or men is a determinant of the success of ASX200 boards? It might help to explore the impact that factors like education, experience, age, ethnic background, economic conditions, marketing and maybe even just pure luck have made a difference to board and company performance. Headline-grabbing stats such as those under your “30%” banner tend to fuel zealots pushing their own bandwagons ... and that isn’t always the best way forward. Ron Ed’s note: Thanks for your comment, Ron.…

It’s time to ditch the big four banks I can’t understand why so many customers stay with the big four banks, especially after the shocking revelations from the banking royal commission last year. There are some great alternative institutions to bank with, such as credit unions and customer-owned banks. My husband and I made the change more than 20 years ago, and find the fees at our customer-owned bank are much lower. It offers much better interest rates on savings accounts and term deposits, and much more competitive home loans as well. It even rewards loyalty, such as an extra 0.2% interest on term deposits for long-term customers, which is a great help in the current low-interest environment. I would like to strongly encourage Money readers who bank with one…