This month Darry Jopling of Refund Easy offers Balanced Media readers some advice on taking back control of your financial destiny and offers great advice on things every household should be preparing for and identiying in your own personal budgets.

I saw a George Clooney film recently called “Up in the air”. In it George as part of his role speaks about taking control. He talks about everybody’s personal backpack in which we carry all our lives and relationships and asks us to feel how heavy our backpack is. So how do we lighten our load? By reducing the day to day baggage we carry around and making choices to control what goes into our backpack. It will reduce the weight on your shoulders as you feel the straps stop digging into your shoulders.

There are many ways to reduce the load and sometimes you have to take the contents out and repack them selectively. Many things weigh each of us down daily but you can fight back and take control of your finances.

You can take direct control of all your finances and do everything yourself or surprisingly you might choose to delegate some of these responsibilities and move them out of your backpack by delegating them to someone else.

TAKE BACK CONTROL

Why would you delegate? In today’s life you simply may not have the time to do everything yourself. You also may not have the expertise in a particular area to complete the work efficiently and accurately so get a financial planner, mortgage broker, accountant or solicitor to help.

So what things should you be looking to review and unburden yourself financially?

Prepare a budget. Sounds simple but many people don’t have one. If you don’t know how much income you have and how much you are spending then how can you possibly know how much you can save?

Expenses. Some people go as far as writing down every cent they spend for a month and then reviewing it. Many are surprised how regular small items mount up over a month.

Bills. Review your providers and the value you are receiving

Review your superannuation. Check to see what the costs are to run the fund, where the money is invested and what commission you are paying on the fund. If you are paying commission then either make sure you are seeing a financial planner at least annually or if you want to do it yourself arrange to have your commission refunded going forward using a company such as Refund Easy.

List the 7  most important things in your life. If you were to pass away, be totally and permanently disabled, unable to work if you were ill or injured or the item was damaged what would happen? Can you insure them?

PEACE OF MIND

What types of insurances are available to give you peace of mind and reduce the load from the backpack?

1. Life Insurance. A lump sum payable if you pass away
2. Total & Permanent Disablement Insurance. Pays a lump sum if you cannot work again because you are totally and permanently disabled
3. Trauma Insurance. Pays a lump sum if you have one of the traumas listed in the policy such as a heart attack, cancer etc.
4. Income Protection. Replaces 75% of your income if you can’t work due to illness or injury.
5. Business Expenses Insurance. Pays some of your business expenses if you are self employed and unable to work due to illness and injury.
6. Other insurances such as car, house and contents protect your assets

REVIEW THE IMPORTANT THINGS

1. Review your Will and Power of Attorney.
2. Review you mortgage provider.
3. See which products pay commission. Many industries work on a commission basis. If you are receiving advice for the commission you are paying that is excellent. If you are not receiving any advice or ongoing service maybe a commission refund service such as Refund Easy may be a consideration. Refunds are usually available on Superannuation, Managed Funds, and Personal Insurances.

People are now retiring younger, living longer and want more options. This change in attitude, coupled with recent super legislation transformation, makes it more important than ever to be pro-active to ensure income needs in retirement are addressed.

Modern retirement is now about enjoying a long, healthy and active period of time. With boomers living longer, some opting to retire early and others remaining employed beyond age 65, many of the traditional financial assumptions regarding retirement need to be re-examined with a view to incorporating longevity into a retirement strategy more so than in the past.

Darryl Jopling, Director of Refund Easy Pty Ltd, is a Certified Financial Planner and Authorised Representative of Guardian Financial Planning. Darryl and the Refund Easy team can be reached on 1300 992 889 and for more information be sure to see www.refundeasy.com.au for a wealth of information and advice.

This information has been prepared without taking into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision based on this information you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. You should read the applicable Product Disclosure Statement, available from your financial adviser, before making any decision about whether to acquire or invest in a product. Tax legislation or its interpretation may change in the future. You should seek tax advice specific to your circumstances before making a decision