Thought of the week. Dec 3 2010

With Scott in Shepparton playing golf this weekend he will dial into the show but you have AXA National Manager Paul Williams in the studio to chat with Glenn about all things interesting in relation to finance.

With Christmas around the corner what’s in store for retail, we had an ordinary October retail number come in with retail sales falling 1.1% compared to the expected 0.5% rise.

The moans from the retail industry and their mouthpieces were long and loud. But why should anyone be surprised, after all the national accounts numbers on Wednesday provided a more rational explanation, the increased savings rate by households. Many jotters ignored the truism that money saved is not money being spent. Don’t commentators realise that the banks are now competing with retailers for the consumer dollar? That’s the new battle in business.

I think it’s a disgrace Glenn Stevens put up rates and this illustrates how tough Australians are finding it out there and the last rate rise is a killer. This means families will not have as much money in the pot this Christmas because they are giving it to their bank in the form of Interest or $2 to access their money from some other banks ATM.

The NAB – Nabbed your money last week is the glitch fixed?

Financial Advice – People think you need to be rich to see a financial planner. Well whats the challenge in that, learn from Paul about what advisors can do and how they can help with everything from credit card debt to assisting people with Budgets around Christmas.

The MTR Weekend simulation game, Glenn Ridge is flying in front and The Mug has put the balance of his cash in the bank and is at least earning CMT interest in the event his punts don’t deliver.

All details including an update daily are on the home page of www.thefinanceguru.com.au

Thought of the week:

Personal Finance New Year’s resolutions – Keep it simple. After all, the key to successfully achieving your goals is to make them achievable.