Category: General

On Top Financially - Mountain 7

5 Realistic Steps To Win Financially

Many people would say there are more than five steps. Others would say just one or two things could get you on top financially. Both could be argued, but after reading many blogs, living out all of the five to some degree, and doing a lot of thinking, I have come up with my five realistic steps to get on top, stay on top, and win financially. To set the ground work I just want to say that by “on top” and “win” I mean not having to worry about money. I am not talking top 1% or 0.1%, I am talking...

Money Tips - Tip Jar (#MoneyTips) 5

Money Tips 11 to 20 Explained

Money Tips 11 to 20 Explained (#MoneyTips) Time for my second set of 10 money tips to gain an explanation. I have been posting my thoughts on money to Twitter (using the hash tag #MoneyTips) and found that some of them were very hard to keep within that magic but annoying 140 character limit. So far I have managed it, however sometimes a little of the meaning seems to get lost, and occasionally I wanted to add a little more explanation. This is where I do it. I hope you enjoy the next 10 tips – and remember to tweet @RememberToWater...

2016 Federal Budget - Tax 6

2016 Federal Budget Part 2 – Super

My View Part #2 – Super Back in part #1 I had a look at whether the federal budget had actually addressed bracket creep like they had been saying. In this next part I would like to touch on the changes to Super that impact me. Super (or Superannuation) is more or less the Australian equivalent of the 401k in the US – it is the required method for saving for retirement. Now if you are getting closer to retirement then there are areas I will not be looking at here. If you are uber wealthy, then I won’t be considering...

2016 Federal Budget - Tax 3

2016 Federal Budget Part 1 – Bracket Creep

My View Part #1 – Bracket Creep On Tuesday the 3rd of May 2016 the proposed federal budget was handed down. Budgets will often change or tweak a lot of things from education to defence, from welfare to health and from taxation to job creation. Almost every budget has good parts and bad parts for every individual, company and the economy/country as a whole. Being squarely in the individual category, and with this being a personal finance blog, it is the changes that directly impact me, my family, and my friends (along with fellow Australian personal finance bloggers) that I am most interested in. I...

Dividend Update - Relaxing Frog 15

Dividend Update – 2016 Q2

So, I have finally got to a point where I can create a second post on a recurring topic – my second quarterly dividend update (and passive income in general). I must say it is a nice change from thinking about the best way to structure a topic, or from having to crystallise my point of view on a topic. You would be surprised how many times I go to start a post only to realise that there is more thinking required on the topic before I am comfortable with my viewpoint. This time however, it is all facts and figures. Bring...

Money Tips - Tip Jar (#MoneyTips) 19

Money Tips 1 to 10 Explained

Money Tips 1 to 10 Explained (#MoneyTips) I love tips! If you are American, or one of the many other countries that abuses the idea of tipping, I hate tips. Pay your staff a decent wage and let tipping be a smaller amount or for genuinely exceptional service. The tips I am talking about are succinctly encapsulated ideas that provide insightful information. Or as Google puts it in the third usage as a noun under the second definition: “a small but useful piece of practical advice.” I think there is nothing better that a good short sharp piece of practical advice that...

Stop Dividend Reinvestment Plan - Dominos 7

Why I Stopped My Dividend Reinvestment Plan

A few months ago I stopped the dividend reinvestment plan for most of my shares. So I thought I would share the reasoning behind that decision. It’s not a huge decision, but it is one that I feel strongly about. Or at least feel strongly about now, who knows what changes tomorrow will bring. It really comes down to a few points that helped me align my investments with my goals. If you are interested in some additional pros and cons then this ASX article contains a nice list. Reason 1 – Control This one is the reason that made me start to think about whether dividend reinvestment...

Dividend Update - Relaxing Frog 11

Dividend Update – 2016 Q1

I have finally got around to tracking, calculating and graphing my dividend income. It took three attempts to find a tracking/recording system that I like enough to keep using. I found a few trackers online, but none gave me the specifics I wanted without the overhead I didn’t. If you know of any good ones, please let me know. As a result of having a nice system, I will now be providing a quarterly (Feb, May, Aug, Nov) dividend update/interest update for my passive income for those of you who are interested (pun intended). Yes, I am a little late on...

Real Cost Of Free Money - Your Identity 9

The Real Cost Of “Free” Money – Your Identity

With companies like Uber now valued over $60 billion USD and Airbnb at over $25 billion USD (yes, with a “B” as Dr Evil learnt the hard way) it’s clear that the sharing economy is not going to go away any time soon. As with any new and emerging area that has not yet been fully tested, there can be some pitfalls. Being a financial blog I would like to touch on just one of them that I have now had some direct experience with (thankfully not as a victim). Theft – What Are Your Valuables? It is one thing...

Remember To Water Garden 2

RTW Featured In Making A Difference On Canadian Budget Binder

This week I am being featured in the Making A Difference section of the Canadian Budget Binder blog. This section features a personal finance blogger each week to help with networking of finance bloggers. I know that I have found a number of interesting and informative new blogs from the MAD feature on CBB and hope you do too. If you found me from MAD say hi in the comments below, if not, why not have a read over on the CBB site! I have also put the text below: Who are you? My name is Tom. I live in Australia and...