Vote early, vote often!

Posted on Monday, April 29, 2019
I suspect you've heard the phrase, "vote early, vote often". Well, from today you get your chance on at least the first part of that statement, with early voting centres across the country throwing their doors open for the first day of voting in the Federal Election. It sounds great: most of us would rather vote on a day and at a time that suits us. After all, with election day being a Saturday it's often easier to slip away from work for half an hour during the week, than it is to find the time between brunch and kids' sport on election Saturday. And the numbers we've seen in two recent state elections suggest that early voting is quickly becoming our preference. In the recent NSW State election more than 1 million votes were cast prior to election day. In the Victorian State election last year around 1.4 million of us got it out of the way early. But there is also a significant issue here that requires reform, if the early voting trend is going to continue. The issue is that voter ... Read the rest of entry »

The impact of public holidays on small businesses

Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2019
As a sporting tragic, it’s safe to say I’ve shed a few tears over the weekend, with Winx and Tiger woods cementing their places in history as the GOAT in each of their sports.  However, the next little while will see some tears spilled by small business owners across Australia for less happy reasons. In the seven days from Thursday this week, we will have four public holidays: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Anzac Day. This presents some serious challenges for small businesses, who are faced with the conundrum of whether they can afford to open or not. Here’s the equation: -       Option 1 – open, pay staff penalty rates, and potentially lose money -       Option 2 – open, work the days yourself to save the penalty rates outlay, but potentially have a negative impact on your physical and mental health -       Option 3 – don’t open at all and write it off ... Read the rest of entry »

90 Second Budget Wrap

Posted on Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Last night Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down his first budget, which he hopes will be enough to get the Morrison government re-elected next month. Major tax cuts are the big candy, but don't get too excited, as the majority of last night's budget promises will only will be delivered if the Coalition win the Federal Election next month, which in my opinion will be 11th or 18th May. And that's a big IF. They will however try to rush through their energy subsidies in the next 48 hours. In any budget there are winners and losers, and I've spotted three winners and one loser, assuming the Coalition gets across the line. Winner: Middle-income earners The Coalition needs these votes, as these are the pro-negative gearing voters, the SMSF voters. The government is banking on tax cuts being vote winners, and the biggest cuts will affect the 4.5 million taxpayers earning between $48,000 and $90,000 a year. Those taxpayers will get a cut of $1080. Those earnin ... Read the rest of entry »

Federal Budget 2019: a show about nothing

Posted on Monday, April 1, 2019
The 1st April flags the start of Q4, and the annual challenge of trying to avoid getting pranked for April fools’ day. But with the federal budget set to be handed down tomorrow, it remains to be seen whether it’ll be the Morrison government or the voting public who will end up the fools. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has already flagged about a quarter of voters can expect to receive a one-off payment of $125 from the feds to help cover the soaring cost of utilities bills. They’ve also flagged more than $2 billion in infrastructure improvements for vulnerable Victorian seats, sold as a plan to help manage the state’s burgeoning population, but clearly an attempt to hold seats at risk of being lost. The question is, will these pledges be enough to buy the votes Scott Morrison needs to get him across the line next month? Only time will tell. Sadly I expect Josh Frydenberg's budget speech will be reminiscent of an episode of Seinfeld: a show about nothing. Stay tuned for our special po ... Read the rest of entry »

Pet insurance: is it really worth it?

Posted on Monday, March 25, 2019
There’s no doubting it, pets are part of the family. A decade ago, if you’d told me that pet owners would be taking out insurance to protect themselves from vet bills, I’d have thought you were mad. But the fact is that today some pet owners are forking out more for their pet’s health insurance than they pay for their own.  Like any insurance though, it’s important to know the ins and outs of what you’ve paid for, and what’s actually covered. It’s not uncommon for a pet to suffer an injury or illness, and their owner to be told that the insurance won’t cover it for one reason or another. On last Friday’s episode of A Current Affair, I shared my tips for taking out pet insurance: Guru tip 1 – if you can’t face the thought of forking out for the eye-watering cost of full comprehensive cover, I’d suggest taking out emergency injury and illness cover as a minimum. At least this way you’re covered if something goes wrong ... Read the rest of entry »